Capital of Beijing

  Great Chu, 25th year of Jia Yuan, September 9th, Yang Mansion of the Marquis of Jing'an.

  In the second month, the grass grows and the oriole flies, it's the time when willow trees sprout. The weather is still slightly cool. The main gate of the Jing'an Marquis' mansion in the capital city is wide open. The servants and maids inside stand in two rows, with the man and woman dressed in brocade at the front clearly being the master and mistress of the house.

  In front of him stood a robust man with a stern expression, wearing a blue satin robe with auspicious cloud patterns, and a deep blue jade belt around his waist. He wore a white jade pendant in the shape of a circle. Beside him stood an elegant woman with a gentle demeanor, wearing a crimson embroidered dress with lotus flowers and a narrow-sleeved jacket. Her lower garment was a moon-white pleated skirt with gold trim, and on her head she wore a golden hairpin adorned with rubies and pearls, as well as a jade hairpiece in the shape of a plum blossom. She held a silk handkerchief in her hand, occasionally twisting it back and forth, her brow furrowed and her face slightly anxious.

  Next to her stood a young boy and a little girl, the boy wearing a cyan brocade robe with a white jade belt, carrying a golden fish gourd-shaped purse, looking around ten years old. The little girl was full of childishness, seemingly around ten years old, wearing a brand new pale pink five-blessings cloud round-collared jacket, inside which was a stand-up collar silk-embroidered stem lotus flower green small jacket, with a crimson eight-blessings auspicious skirt below, and a light purple plain fragrance bag hanging at her waist. Her delicate face was white and lovely, without any adornments or makeup, standing obediently beside the boy.

  The man in blue was Yang Zhi, the second son of the late Old Jing'an Marquis's family. The beautiful woman was his wife, known as the Second Master and Mistress. The young boy by their side was their eldest son, Yang Yu, the eldest son of the second house, and the girl was his younger sister, Yang Mingyu.

  They are waiting for the current Lord of Jing'an, Yang Xu, whose wife is the birth daughter of the Empress Dowager and the younger sister of the current Emperor. Yang Xu was once in charge of suppressing pirates and stabilizing the coastal areas as the governor of Guangdong. Now that his six-year term has ended, he has returned with his wife and daughter.

  Before long, a team of carriages came from afar, and the one at the head was a dark blue velvet silver trimmed black lacquered three-horse carriage. An older woman standing beside the second lady, wearing a silver-gray plain satin jacket with ermine trim on the cuffs, exclaimed excitedly: "Ah! They're back! The Marquis and the Eldest Princess have returned!"

  The man in blue robes let out a sigh of relief, and his face also showed a few shades of joy and excitement. The second lady hurriedly instructed again, "Have you prepared the hot water properly? Brother and princess must take a bath first after their long journey back. Tell the kitchen to prepare some light porridge and small dishes that are refreshing and easy to eat. Has the princess's mansion been notified and everything is ready?"

  The old woman smiled warmly and said, "Don't worry, madam! I checked everywhere again early this morning, it's absolutely impossible to be wrong."

  The second lady nodded with relief, a faint smile on her lips. "That's good, I just wanted to remind you of two things."

  Before long, the carriage slowly stopped in front of the mansion. A slender and handsome man got out first, with a calm and wise demeanor, his eyes shining like bright stars, his face as smooth as jade, elegant and refined. He stretched out his right arm to lift up the curtain, and from the carriage came down a woman with delicate features and beauty, wearing a hairpin adorned with sea-pink flowers and phoenix-shaped jade. Following closely behind her was an 8 or 9-year-old girl who looked quite similar to the woman, with bright and sparkling eyes, a soft and rosy face, and a crimson-colored jacket with cherry blossom patterns, underneath which was a scarlet-red padded jacket, and at the bottom was a pale blue water-patterned skirt.

  Soon, two tall horses also arrived in front of them. Two unusually dressed young men in brocade robes dismounted their horses and greeted the second master Yang Zhi with a bow, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, have you been waiting for long? Father and Mother brought gifts for you, I'll show them to you later!" The familiar tone carried a warm and intimate atmosphere.

  "Good! We're all good! Brother, Princess, you must be tired. Was the journey safe?" Second Master took a step forward and asked for Yang Xu's well-being with great sincerity and warmth in his eyebrows.

  The ladies on this side also greeted each other and asked about each other's well-being. The second lady smiled warmly at Princess Hehui and her daughter, her eyes filled with kindness. "Your Highness must be tired from the journey! I've ordered hot water to be prepared for you, and some light porridge and small dishes have been made. You can rest and bathe to refresh yourselves!"

  He Hui Chang Gong Zhu wore a crimson red brocade jacket with golden trim, a deep red skirt with white peony embroidery and a simple hairpin made of agarwood on her head. Her skirt fluttered as she moved, exuding elegance and refinement in every gesture, her beauty shining brightly, fully displaying the noble bearing of an imperial princess.

  He Hui Zhang Gongzhu stretched out her hand and gently touched Yang Mingyu's tender little face, teasing, "Still recognize your great aunt?"

  Ming Yu slightly flushed, but still calmly and unhurriedly paid her respects to Princess Ming Hui, "Ming Yu pays her respects to Eldest Aunt and greets Younger Sister!"

  The little girl beside her was Yang Lan, the only daughter of Princess Hui Chang. It's worth mentioning that although Yang Lan is young, she has already been granted the title of Junan County Princess by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor himself, enjoying the privileges of a county princess with a fiefdom.

  The two young men who just greeted were the eldest son and second son of Marquis Hou, Yang Huan and Yang Mai. The eldest son, Yang Huan, was thirteen years old, and the second son, Yang Mai, was eleven years old.

  Yang Lan smiled brightly with her eyes narrowed, "Lan'er greets Second Aunt, so you're Mingyu sister! Mother told me about you earlier, I brought a gift for you! Guaranteed you've never played with it before!"

  Two little girls quickly pulled hands to one side, chatting and laughing as they went. After a flurry of activity, the crowd ushered Lord Hou and Princess Minghui's family into the mansion to rest, and also to pay their respects to the elderly lady of the house.

  The two madams had gentle smiles on their faces as they watched the two children playing together affectionately, revealing a look of delight. "The old lady is already waiting for you at Songhe Hall, she heard early this morning that you were going to the palace to see Empress Dowager, and she couldn't hold on so she went back to rest first." After saying that, they carefully looked at Princess Minghui, their smiles also somewhat unnatural.

  He Hui Zhang Gongzhu just smiled lightly and said with a careless smile: "Younger siblings don't need to play these tricks on me, I've known what kind of person the old lady is for a long time. We younger generations don't need her to come in person to receive us. It's been hard on you and Second Uncle all these years! This time I came back, I specially brought a few pieces of high-quality purple sandalwood and yellow rosewood for you, to be used when Mingyu gets married. Good materials are not easy to find, so I took the opportunity to buy two more, anyway, with daughters at home, there's no need to worry about using them up."

  The second lady let out a sigh of relief, and her face showed a few more points of genuine gratitude. "Then I won't be polite to my sister-in-law anymore, after all, it's still my sister-in-law who loves me the most!"

  He Hui Chang Gongzhu smiled and patted her hand, everything was self-evident.

  A crowd of people followed the old lady to Songhe Hall to pay their respects, passing through the garden and circling around the flower corridor to arrive at the courtyard gate, only to be met with a closed door.

  An elderly mother, dressed in a stone-blue brocade jacket with a crimson-colored fu character vest, stood respectfully at the door to greet them, with an apologetic smile on her face. "Your humble servant greets Master and Young Mistress!"

  Marquis Hou's face was serious with no extra expression, and he slightly raised his hand to ask: "Permit Auntie, is Mother's body still at peace?"

  Mrs. Xu sighed, "The old lady got up early this morning and waited for the masters to not think it was chilly in the spring, caught a cold, and now she's feeling uncomfortable after drinking ginger soup and fell asleep. It's not good for me to wake her up either. Why don't you masters go back first, and I'll go... when the old lady wakes up?"

  "Hehe!" Hui Chang Gongzhu let out two snorts of laughter, her expression careless and nonchalant. She glanced at her husband and ultimately left him with some dignity, not saying a word.

  The young master let out a deep sigh, his thick eyebrows furrowed and then weakly waved his hand, "Forget it! Mother's health is important, I'll come visit again tomorrow!"

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and carried his little daughter towards the princess's mansion, leaving behind the second couple with a face full of embarrassment and awkwardness. In the end, they also stomped their feet and left.

  Everyone else had left before Granny Liu walked into the Songhe Hall. Upon entering, there were three rooms with a hall in the middle, with seats on either side. Further inside was the main hall, where a purple sandalwood screen stood, adorned with intricate carvings of arhats. In front of the screen was a purple sandalwood carving of a flower, placed on a red carpet. A heated table sat in the center, flanked by two sets of embroidered quilts, and below them were two rows of chairs.

  An old lady with a kind face was sitting on the upper seat in the warm pavilion, wearing a dark red "Fu" character jacket, her face slightly cold. Seeing Madame Xi enter, she opened her mouth and asked coldly: "Has everyone left? Did she say anything?"

  Mrs. Xu lowered her head and stood aside, respectfully replying: "No, but the eldest princess looked unhappy, but didn't say anything, probably to save face for Master. Master, why are you doing this?" Her face showed a look as if she had a thousand words of advice to offer.

  The old lady waved her hand, with a hint of anger on her face and a tone of discontent. "Hmph! Filial piety is as vast as the sky, even if she were a royal princess, she cannot defy it! I'm just asking her to find a good position for Old Three, how can't she help me?! The eldest is getting more and more disobedient, if I don't teach them a lesson, they'll think I've become useless with age!"

  "Hey! You'd better calm down and persuade him, don't be in such a hurry. After all, you're brothers from the same family, how can you really just ignore each other? Now that you've lost face in front of your uncle, won't you be embarrassed later on? What if you end up offending the princess, wouldn't it be Third Master who suffers?"

  Xu's mother was a maid who followed the old lady as a dowry, serving in front of the old lady for many years, and is considered a very dignified mother. What she says, the old lady can still listen to one or two sentences.

  The old lady thought for half a day and felt that Mrs. Xu was right, it was just a moment of anger before! It's easy to wait until the eldest son gets married, and she can also become an old lady, who knows that she brought back an ancestor, saying nothing, I still have to make a national gift with her first, let alone put on the mother-in-law's airs!

  "Sighing, she said: 'Go and get the golden silk red agate bangle from my dresser, tomorrow morning take it to Lan'niang as a gift for our first meeting. Give those two sheep fat white jade pendants to the two boys! After all, they are also descendants of the Yang family, I won't treat them unfairly!'"

  Madam Xu's face immediately lit up with joy, and she said repeatedly: "Don't worry, old lady, I'll get everything ready for you."

  The old lady's surname was Lin, and her family was considered a scholarly family, but her father was only a fifth-grade official, not a high-ranking position. She was introduced by an acquaintance to marry the old marquis, whose father had been in disfavor with the previous emperor during a tumultuous period. The Marquis of Jing'an's family had always been known for their military prowess and had been a prominent family for centuries. Their ancestors had served as commander-in-chief of the southeastern naval forces, and the old marquis had controlled the southeastern naval forces for many years, making great contributions to the country of Da Chu.

  At that time, the previous emperor was getting old and began to worry about the stability of the dragon chair. Coincidentally, Old Jing'an Marquis was framed and impeached for not taking sides, and was treated coldly by the previous emperor due to his suspicion. He took the opportunity to recall military power, and Old Jing'an Marquis had to keep a low profile. He married off his son to a fifth-rank official's daughter, who is the current marquis' father.

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