Chapter 425 - Visitor (1/2)
His imperial uncle, Imperial Prince Jing, was quite capable and had no greedy ambitions. His eldest son had a steady character, while his second son was radical. His third son had the most unpredictable temperament, but he was the most capable among the three brothers. Had it not been for Junyang’s instability, he would have long put that kid in an important position and let him handle important matters. There was no way that he would let him constantly run off to Dongshan Village.
While he was deep in his thoughts, Su Ran, who seemed to have seen through his thoughts, thoroughly recounted what had happened earlier in front of Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Junfan raised his brows. To be able to pull his younger cousin back from the verge of tyranny, that lass was really quite capable. There was a lid for every pot. The heavens must have specially prepared that young girl from the Yu Family for that kid Junyang. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have transmigrated back thousands of years to meet him.
As his older cousin, Zhu Junfan was finally at ease to know that a girl who could control that kid had appeared. On second thought, it was fortunate that he didn’t make the wrong decision of ‘killing in order to obtain the treasure’. Otherwise, that kid Junyang would probably go on a rampage and destroy Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Junyang, who was riding on a horse and following the General Estate’s carriage, leaned over and looked into the carriage through the window. He finally couldn’t help but ask, “Xiaocao, why were you so nervous in the imperial study? Did the emperor force you to do something?”
Regarding her secret, it was already quite dangerous to have the emperor know about it, so there was no way that she would dare to disclose it to another person. Since ancient times, a person’s heart was the hardest to predict. Royal Prince Yang took great care of her and her family, but who could guarantee that he wouldn’t be interested in such a tempting treasure?
“No…nothing! It’s just that the emperor thinks too highly of me. He wants me to cultivate wheat and rice grains that produce a thousand catties per mu. I might have been a little dazed due to the pressure. Young Royal Prince, I didn’t act improperly in front of the emperor earlier, did I?” In order to avoid the earlier topic, Yu Xiaocao pretended to be at a loss. Zhu Junyang couldn’t use his mind reading ability on her anyway, so it was harmless to tell a little lie.
Zhu Junyang looked seriously at the little lass. Since she didn’t want to tell the truth, he wouldn’t force her. He was willing to be a protector, who silently guarded her for a lifetime. It was just that he didn’t know what the emperor’s intentions were.
For the two people on either side of the carriage, one was in an unsettled state, while a myriad of thoughts went through the other’s mind. For a moment, they fell into a silence and only the crisp sounds of the horses’ hooves and the wheels rolling over the road could be heard…
Zhu Junyang escorted her to the main entrance of the General’s Estate and looked at the doorkeeper, who hastily opened the side door to welcome the young miss’s return. An idea came up in his mind, so he said in a soft voice, “You’re now someone who has to deal with official matters. In the future, the supervisor of the Imperial Plantation and lower ranked officials of the Ministry of Revenue will come ask for advice from time to time. Even Minister Liu might also come to disturb you. Therefore, it will be inconvenient for you to stay at the General’s Estate. This prince has a small and exquisite house nearby. If you need to, feel free to use it…”
Yu Xiaocao considered it carefully, and then declined the offer, “My father will go back to Tanggu Town in a couple of days. There are a lot of matters that he needs to take care of at our farmstead. Since the emperor is paying close attention to our farmstead, we must manage it properly. My father was granted the position of a seventh-ranked official, so he should naturally take responsibility for his duties. In this way, I’ll be the only one staying in the capital. My godparents would definitely be worried and not let me move out. At best…I can ask my godmother to let me reside in a separate courtyard with a side door.”
Zhu Junyang didn’t force her anymore. The little lass was only twelve, which was an age when the children of other families would be acting like a spoiled child in front of their parents. If she really lived in a house alone, he wouldn’t feel at ease, let alone others.
As the two of them talked at the door, a head peeked out from the side entrance. With a closer look, it turned out to be one of Yu Xiaocao’s maidservants, Xichun. Yu Xiaocao wasn’t very good at coming up with names, so her godmother helped her name the head maidservants in the courtyard.
Yingtao was in charge of the pharmaceutical workshop in Dongshan Village, while Yangliu was responsible for the braised food shop in the capital. The other two girls, Wutong and Pipa, had more ideas in their heads and were less loyal than the others. Thus, they were only responsible for serving her daily life. However, she was now granted a position of a government official and was responsible for managing the Imperial Plantation. So, she needed to urgently train some capable assistants.
For the names of the second-ranked maidservants, she had plagiarized the names of several of the young misses of the Jia Family in Dreams of the Red Chamber like Tanchun, Xichun, Yingchun, and Hechun. The name ‘Yuanchun’ was too eye-catching so she didn’t use it. Her godmother praised that the names were artistic and well-named. Anyway, Dreams of the Red Chamber didn’t exist in this era and that Cao Xueqin [1] wasn’t even born yet. Why should she feel shameful about it? Thus, she shamelessly accepted the compliment.
Among the four ‘chun’, there were two who were capable. For example, Xixhun who was currently in front of her. With a clever and flexible mind, she never did things sloppily. She was also capable of working independently. Most importantly, this girl was absolutely loyal to her, and she also somewhat idolized her. Since she was bestowed a position of an official, this girl always looked at her with little stars in her eyes. The girl obeyed everything that she said like it was an imperial edict. Moreover, she always completed her assigned tasks in a strict manner.
At this time, the young maidservant dashed over at full speed with excitement in her eyes. Before she had even caught her breath, she eagerly said, “Young Miss, Minister Liu of the Ministry of Revenue has been waiting at the estate’s study for a long time.”
Yu Xiaocao knew in her heart that he must have come for her ‘potion’ which was good for the growth of crops. She glanced at the lass Xichun and noticed that she was currently staring admiringly at the official’s gown that she was wearing.