bayedsolid Chapter 452 Spirit Mist Manor
Chapter 452 Spirit Mist Manor
Sunlight fell on the pearl hairpin in her hair, breaking into soft spots of light.
"Alright! I'll go make some pear soup right away. It's easy for you ladies to get a sore throat from eating roasted meat." Yueying clapped her hands and turned around.
The jade pendant at her waist swayed gently with her movements, and the red ribbon in her hair fluttered in the wind, forming a lively arc.
Green Shadow followed her for a couple of steps, then suddenly turned back and added, "I'll go help Sister Moonshadow."
“Go ahead,” Dongfang Jin said, her gaze softening as she looked at the busy crowd in the manor.
Most of these people dressed in coarse cloth are descendants of former members of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.
After the Empress Dowager (Cang Lingyuan's mother) passed away, my father-in-law listened to my grandfather's advice and settled all the elderly people in the mansion here.
The young people working in the fields today always have a touch of their fathers' honesty and simplicity in their eyes and brows.
"Second Young Madam, are you and the Second Young Master really going to stay at the estate for a long time?" A hoarse voice, tinged with trepidation, came from behind her.
Dongfang Jin looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qi Zhongzheng walking over with a hunched back.
The old housekeeper, nearing fifty, had gray hair and deep, knife-like wrinkles around his eyes.
His blue cloth robe had faded from washing, and a string of polished keys adorned his waist—a mark of over twenty years of managing the estate.
My father-in-law said that the grandfather and father of this Steward Qi were both servants of the Gu family.
His father was his father-in-law's study companion, and his mother was his grandmother's head maid.
His wife was the daughter of Liu Mama, who was part of his mother's dowry. Liu Mama was also by his mother's side when she was murdered.
After the Rongguo Duke's family buried them, they arranged for her two daughters to be raised here by the Qi family.
The couple now has a son and a grandson, all of whom live on the estate.
“Uncle Qi,” Dongfang Jin pointed to the new plaque leaning against the corridor, its gilded characters gleaming warmly in the sunlight, “please replace the old plaque on the estate.”
Qi Zhong followed her gesture and saw the four large characters "Lingwu Manor" neatly carved on the nanmu wood. His cloudy eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
He strode forward, bent down, and ran his rough hands over the edge of the plaque, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Good...good! Our village finally has a place with a name."
His aged voice was tinged with sobs, as if he wanted to transform the loneliness of the past few years into a sense of relief.
"By the way, about the Imperial Estate..." he lowered his voice, a sudden glint of light appearing in his cloudy eyes.
Looking at his flushed cheeks from excitement, Dongfang Jin suddenly remembered what her father-in-law had once said.
There are more men than women in this village. They used to be idle, but since it became their property, they have gradually started to have work.
Now that they hear that the vineyards and wineries of the Royal Estate have been handed over to her, these farming men have a burning hope in their eyes.
"Your second young master is keeping an eye on things over there," Dongfang Jin said softly, his gaze sweeping over the faintly visible walls of the imperial estate in the distance.
"You should have those who want to go to the winery sign up, and then tally up the number of people."
The rest of you shouldn't be idle either—this estate will need repairs later, and we'll need quite a few more people.
If we don't have enough people, we'll have to go to the brokerage firm to buy more.
Qi Zhong nodded repeatedly, the keychain at his waist jingling with each movement.
He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eye, then suddenly straightened his hunched back, his voice gaining a touch of the efficiency he had when he was young and on duty: "This old servant will take care of it right away!"
Second Young Madam, rest assured, I guarantee I'll take care of it for you! With that, she turned to leave.
He suddenly turned around, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile: "By the way, the people down below picked a lot of mushrooms from the back mountain."
"I heard you're making roast meat today, what do you think...?"
"Then bring some over. Mushrooms can be grilled too. Uncle Qi, bring some garlic as well."
"Alright, Second Young Madam, this old servant will go right away," he said, turning and leaving.
Dongfang Jin watched his hurried departure, listening to the crisp sound of the keychain gradually disappearing under the eaves.
Suddenly, I felt that the breeze, carrying the scent of grass and trees, smelled even better than the incense in the mansions of the capital.
The sound of Gu Chenglin carrying a basket of corn on his back could be heard in the distance.
As he approached, Dongfang Jin stepped forward and brushed the corn kernels off his hair.
"Why did you run inside to pick a few ears of corn?"
“The corn inside is bigger and more tender than the corn outside,” she said, then leaned close to Dongfang Jin’s ear and said, “I also grabbed a few lamb chops to roast later.”
"Okay, I'll make radish and lamb chop soup for those kids later."
"Isn't the corn in the space delicious? Why eat from outside?" Ruyi said with disdain.
Do you think the people here won't become suspicious if I take out the corn from the Realm of Auspiciousness?
To be honest, she really doesn't trust these people anymore; the housekeeper's scheming is too obvious.
The Rongguo Duke's mansion is a murky place, teeming with spies; she cannot afford to be careless.
Indeed, we're not familiar with the people here yet.
Yes, so one should always be wary of others.
By the way, keep a close eye on your surroundings; things haven't been peaceful in the capital lately.
Those people from those countries seemed law-abiding, but in reality, they all harbored their own agendas.
Which of these princes doesn't want to return from this visit to Donglin Kingdom and compete for that throne?
Do you think they wouldn't secretly compete with each other and form cliques here?
Ruyi, [I know, there's no bad news from Taxue and Dahua (a stray cat).]
By the way, there are quite a few birds here, would you like to have them keep an eye on things?
Okay, go ahead and tell me. I can't reveal these things here.
Seeing his wife lost in thought again, Gu Chenglin tapped her nose: "Chatting with Ruyi again?"
"Let's go, Stone and the others should be back soon."
"Let's go."
Around noon, Dongfang Jin was eating a roasted corn when several horse-drawn carriages entered the manor one after another.
Yu Ying walked over carrying a plate of skewered vegetables. Seeing the carriage approaching, she said, "Master, the young master and the others have returned."
"Bring over the milk tea I made for Caiwei and the others; they'll definitely want some when they get off the bus."
Yueying looked at Dongfang Jin: "Master, the young master has been named the heir apparent by His Majesty for three years now. Aren't you going to talk to him about it?"
Dongfang Jin twirled the corn in her hand and shook her head: "No, he's still too young. We should wait until he's fifteen."
That was when her cousin asked her to take the Crown Prince away, saying he would grant Gu Chenglin a marquisate, but she refused.
In the end, the cousin gave the title to Gu Jingye, and Gu Caiwei's background was also a factor.
It's not good to bestow titles on the son but not on the daughter, but the king has spoken to her about it.
If Caiwei is given a title, I'm afraid some people might cause trouble.
Therefore, this title will have to wait until Caiwei comes of age, and we'll also take a look at her in-laws' situation.
“Mother—” Gu Caiwei was helped off the carriage by Anlan and Mulan.
"Auntie—" It was Gu Rongrong, who got off the car right after Caiwei.
They pulled Gu Caiwei along as they ran, with the maids and servants following behind, shouting things like, "Miss, slow down!" and "Don't fall!"
Yang Wenwen stood on the cart shaft, looking at the vast estate: "Aunt Jin, I'm here—"
Following behind her was Chu Mengyu (the daughter of Gu Yunhu, Gu Chenglin's half-sister), who was also helped down by An Lan. She called out in Dongfang Jin's direction, "Auntie, I'm here—"
The two cars behind stopped, and the people inside got out. Inside were Gu Rongrong and Chu Mengyu's maids and servants.
Following closely behind were several carriages from which Gu Jingye, Gu Mingyu, Changsun Yu (Changsun Lan's youngest son), Gu Yongqing (Gu Rongrong's older brother), and Zhao Pengyu (Gu Yunshan's youngest son) disembarked.
Shen Qihui grabbed Gu Mingyu and ran towards the barbecue grill: "Auntie, let's eat barbecue!"
"Wow, it smells so good!" Zhao Pengyu was the first to run to the grill, staring at the meat on the grill and swallowing hard.
"Auntie, can I eat this?"
Dongfang Jin stared at the boys like a hungry cat: "Eat up," he said, then pointed to the hot drinks on the table next to him, "Have some hot drinks to warm your stomachs before you eat."