Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the 10th of August, in the autumn of the 23rd year of Minghua, Old Madam Wang and Old man Wang arrived at Wanning City.
The city was already decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, waiting for the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Ah Yu and the others had already received Old Madam Wangâs letter in advance, so they were waiting at the city gate.
Zhuâer held a huge candied hawthorn in his hand and suddenly waved his hand. âBig Brother Zaoâer!â
âZhuâer, who are you calling?â Ah Yu tilted her head to look and saw people coming and going at the city gate. A few people turned around in the direction of the voice, but she did not know who Zhuâer was calling.
âHeâs a very good Big Brother. He often goes to Little Auntâs grocery store!â As Zhuâer spoke, he pointed at someone and said to All Yu, âBig Sister, look, thatâs him.â
Ah Yu was on a break from work today, and the other Big Brothers were still studying in the academy. Today, only a few sisters-in-law brought her and Zhuâer to pick up Grandpa and Grandma.
When she heard this, she looked over and indeed saw a young man. He was about ten years old and had a lake-blue headband on his head. He had a green jade pendant tied to his waist and was holding a wooden fan in his arms. He was instructing two servants who were holding small wooden boxes.
Hearing Zhuâerâs shout, he looked around and discovered them.
Zhuâer walked forward and bowed to them. Only then did he realize that it was Ah Yu. âMiss, itâs you.â
Ah Yu also recognized Zaoâer. âWhat a coincidence. Itâs actually you.â
The two of them had met before. At that time, there was still an arrogant young man beside Zaoâer. Back then, because he was rude, his hand was broken by Qin Huai.
It was also at that time that Ah Yu realized that Qin Huai might have psychological problems. As long as she had the chance, she would accompany him to relax, afraid that he would accidentally become a little demon.
âI didnât ask around properly previously. 1 wonder how that brother is doing?â Ah Yu was also asking casually. That personâs words were indeed very annoying. After so long, she didnât compensate him back then, so it was even more impossible for her to do so hypocritically now.
Zaoâer shook his head. âHe has already been sent to a villa in the countryside by Uncle and Aunt.â
Zaoâer did not say much about what was happening there. He only said, âDonât worry. Are you going out of the city?â
âNo, weâre here to pick up our family. What about you? Are you preparing to leave the city or have you just returned?â
âIâm returning from outside the city. The West Wind Nation will be sending an envoy to visit soon. There are stalls set up outside Wanning City offering various goods from foreign lands, including quite a number of exquisite items. One of these items is a fragrance that our elders particularly enjoy, so 1 came to buy some. If thereâs anything your familyâs elders might fancy, consider this a gift for you.â Zaoâer spoke, about to present one of the small wooden boxes.
Ah Yu hurriedly said, âNo need, no need. Arenât you a regular customer of my Little Auntâs shop? She always prepares a few portions of any popular goods in her grocery store. She got someone to buy such fragrances a few days ago.â
âThatâs true. 1 almost forgot. Youâre relatives with Auntie Bao, so you definitely donât lack anything. Then Iâll leave first. 1 have to present the gift to the elders in the family first.â As Zaoâer spoke, he looked at All Yu and added, âBy the way, 1 heard that West Wind Nation will be sending envoys this time. Wanning City will host a joyous party for half a month until nightfall. If you like lively things, you can get your family to book some restaurants and pavilions in advance, lest you canât find a good spot.â
âThatâs something we didnât know. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome.â
After Zaoâer left, Ah Yu got into the carriage and told her sisters-in-law about this.
Jiang Wujing said, âWeâre not from Wanning City, so we really donât know about such rules. Usually, thereâs a curfew at midnight. Now that itâs been extended to dawn, 1 wonder if the academy will give a holiday.â
The academy in Wanning City had much more rest days than Wangbei County. They would also rest during all kinds of festivals. Sometimes, they would rest for 2 weeks in a month.
Ah Yu said, âIf Third Uncle and Third Aunt were here, they would definitely prepare a few new recipes in advance. With such a long festival, I wonder how much more money they can earn.â
âYou!â Wei Qianying tapped Ah Yuâs forehead with her finger and shook her head helplessly. âDonât joke about the elders like this. Be careful not to let Fourth Aunt hear you and scold you again.â
Zhou Chuchu also smiled. âThird Sister-in-law, youâre wrong. How can Fourth Aunt bear to say anything about our Ah Yu? If she hears this, she will definitely have to guard against Ah Yu sneaking out at night.â
âSneak off to where?â
âTo secretly sell sachets!â
âHahahaâ¦â
Everyone in the Wang Family knew that Ah Yu had a business selling Top Scholar sachets. Even the sisters-in-law were involved now. The Wang Familyâs Big Brothers helped write and the sisters-in-law helped cut the materials. They did a lot.
However, in the past, it was always All Yu who asked Tang Yuan to send it to Fuji Temple. Puji Temple bought all of it and placed it in front of the Buddha to be consecrated before selling it to the fated person.
In this way, although they sold each piece for little money, hundreds could be sold at a time. They would not be sold anymore next year, and it would not ruin Qin Huaiâs reputation.
Moreover, Qin Huai had also received a sum of money.
Although All Yu was young, she had already become the best at earning money in the Wang Family. No one knew how much money she had now.
âAlright, youâre all teasing me. I wonât buy anything for you in the future!â All Yu deliberately pouted, causing everyone to laugh again.
As they were talking and laughing, they heard Zhuâer shout, âLook, itâs Grandpa and the others!â
Everyone looked over and as expected, they saw Old man Wang sitting outside the carriage holding the reins of the horse. Next to him were several large paper bags filled with neatly wrapped items, clearly gifts prepared for the family.
âGrandpa!â All Yu shouted.
When Old man Wang heard Ah Yuâs voice, he handed the identification in his hand to the city guard for inspection as he looked up. When he saw Ah Yu, his old face wrinkled.
âAi!â
When they got close and everyone got out of the carriage, Ah Yuâs heart ached. âGrandpa, why are you driving the carriage yourself? Where are the others?â
âHeâs just itching for something to do. Ignore him.â Old Madam Wang got off the carriage with Old man Wangâs subordinate and said angrily, âThe official road over there has been expanded. He just wanted to try the fast horses and almost shook my old bones to pieces!â
Their previous carriages had been taken away by the juniors of the two villages. This carriage had been prepared by Duke An. Not only was the carriage spacious and comfortable, but even the horses were retired warhorses.
Although they were old horses, their speed was not something ordinary horses could compare to.
When they reached the wide and spacious official road, Old man Wang could not sit still. On the way, he encountered a few foreigners galloping on their horses, so he still wanted to compete with them.
In the end, it was obvious that he had lost. He couldnât get enough of it, so he pushed the Crimson Guards aside and rushed all the way to the city gate.
Old Madam Wang rolled her eyes. If not for her martial arts foundation, she would probably have fallen apart.
Ah Yu was surprised when she heard this. She did not expect Grandpa to have such a side to him. She was wondering if she should think of a way to prepare a good horse for Grandpa.
It was not that they could not get a first-grade horse, but it was too eye-catching. They could get a second-grade horse for Grandpa to enjoy. In any case, their family did not have much now. They only had a lot of land. It was very suitable for riding horses.
The family chatted and laughed as they left the city gate. There were still some things that were not suitable to be said here, so they did not say much.
Not long after they left, they heard the sound of horses galloping. Everyone gathered at the city gate to watch.
âThose are the advance envoy representatives of the West Wind Kingdom, right?â
âAll of them look dignified. They really stand out.â
âThe advance envoys are already acting like this. Could it be that theyâre here to establish an imposing air? Itâs been decades since the West Wind Nation and our Great Chang fought a major war. Theyâre not here to cause trouble, right?â
âYou donât understand. I heard that the old king of the West Wind Kingdom is critically ill, and his children are restless. I heard that they want to usurp the throne! Itâs said that the person who came to visit our Great Chang this time is a Prince. He came to the Great Chang to seek external help so that itâs easier for him to go back and seize the throne.â
âTsk, how do you know so much? In my opinion, that Prince is probably not here to seek external help, but to look for a marriage alliance.â
âLooking for a marriage alliance? There are only three princes in our Great Chang. Only the Eldest Prince is barely of marriage material, but heâs already engaged. If heâs looking for a princess, Princess Ruyi is still too young. It doesnât make senseâ¦â
Everyoneâs words were just hearsay. No one could explain clearly.
Only one person held a wine pot in his hand and said drunkenly, âYouâre wrong. You idiots are all wrong. The West Wind Nation is not here to form a marriage alliance, but to look for someone! The most favored princess of the West Wind Nation has come to the Great Chang and her whereabouts are unknown. Theyâre here to look for her.â
When everyone heard this, they were stunned and immediately dispersed.
âGo, go, go. Where did this crazy alcoholic come from?â
âWho doesnât know that thereâs no princess in West Wind Nation, let alone one thatâs the most favored? Why havenât I heard of her?â
âForget it, forget it. Who cares about the West Wind Nation? 1 still have to rush home to cook for my wife.â
When everyone dispersed, they did not realize that the crazy alcoholic who had originally spoken was already far away..