Volume 1 Chapter 103 Heading South (4)

  Xiao Xing and Xiao Li also said: "It's not, it's better than the ones in our garden! And this lake, it's really big!" They are not like Fan Shuangshuang, who has been staying in the Yao mansion for a long time.

  Yao Cunhui let out a hearty laugh and said, "This isn't even the most beautiful time yet. If it were in late March or early April, when the peach blossoms and pear blossoms are in full bloom, and the swallows and orioles are flying about lightly, set against the backdrop of these lush green willows and sparkling lake waters, that would truly be a scene of gentle mountains and soft water, a picturesque landscape!"

  The master and servant were chatting, when they suddenly heard the sound of young men and women laughing and talking coming from the nearby dock, accompanied by the occasional clear notes of a pipa or qin being played by a woman's slender fingers. Several people looked over in the direction of the sound without thinking.

  A group of young men and women, about eleven or twelve in total, were boarding a magnificent large painting boat under the service of Xiaoyi and Xiaohuan. The men all had jade hairpins holding up their hair, wearing elegant clothes with brocade belts; the women wore thin silk dresses, their hair ornaments dazzling to behold; the scent of perfume and the shadow of their eyebrows were truly captivating.

  In such a scene, such a magnificent and luxurious display was being performed. How could it not capture people's attention? Xiao Xing and Xiao Li stared intently, and Fan Shuangshuang also couldn't help but be mesmerized for a moment.

  Fan Lei slightly frowned, feeling that the several young girls staring at this romantic scene with unblinking eyes was not quite proper, so she lightly coughed and said: "Second Miss, let's move forward, shall we? Second Miss?"

  Yao Cunhui seemed to be in a daze, and Fan Li couldn't help but raise his voice.

  "Ah?" Yao Cunhui suddenly came back to her senses, her eyes lightly blinking as she withdrew her gaze, looking at Fan Li with some surprise.

  "Second Miss, aren't you tired? Let's find a teahouse to take a break!" Fan Shuangshuang and Xiao Xing also came back to their senses, seeing that Yao Cunhui's face looked a bit off, they asked with concern.

  "Alright, let's take a break and have something to eat. We can go for another stroll in the market later." Yao Cunhui smiled, but was secretly seething with anger.

  Among the group of young men and women, she clearly saw a man wearing a light yellow round-necked arrow-sleeved robe, with a face like jade, sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, smiling warmly like the spring breeze in March, his movements elegant and refined. If it wasn't her brother-in-law whom she had met by chance at the Lantern Festival that day, who else could it be?

  Sister is now pregnant, but he's fine, running out to have a good time with a group of friends! No wonder he was so clingy and shameless when pursuing sister at first, turns out that's just his true nature! She thought he was so romantic, ugh!

  Yao Cunhui got angrier the more she thought about it, and she really wanted to go up and give him a good beating. In her heart, she scolded him dozens of times. Thinking of her gentle and elegant sister, she felt both injustice and sourness in her heart. Ironically, this was something she couldn't tell her sister, not only could she not say it, but she also had to comfort her sister from the side, telling her that everything is fine now and what's most important is to take good care of herself!

  This brother-in-law is so dissolute outside, he must be surrounded by women at home too. If sister really gets angry and falls ill, what's to be done?

  Along with that, Yao Cunhui's impression of the Xie family also worsened a bit, and she secretly made up her mind that on this trip, no matter what happened, she would absolutely not ask the Xie family for help.

  The next day, he arrived at the Xie family home and paid his respects to Old Man Xie and Mrs. Xie with a full set of formal greetings, presenting them with the local specialties he had brought as gifts.

  Mrs. Xie had a good impression of her in Beijing before, and now with the addition of Yao Cun Jia's relationship, she was even more cordial when they met, smiling and chatting, telling her "Don't be formal, just treat this place like your own home!" and "Stay for a few more days, have a good time, and keep your sister company!" Yao Cun Hui responded accordingly.

  "Sister, why not let Hui'er live with me in Yuhua Hall? It's spacious enough, so there's no need to make other arrangements!" Yao Cun Jia was overjoyed to see his sister, and had many intimate words to share with her. He held her hand, smiling with joy that lit up his face.

  "It's all right, I know you sisters have a lot to talk about!" Mrs. Xie smiled and reminded Yao Cun Jia: "You're pregnant now, don't overexert yourself, be sure to rest!"

  "Understood, Mother," Yao Cun Jia smiled in response.

  Yao Cunhui saw that Mrs. Xie was gentle and kind to Yao Cunjia, so he smiled and said: "Aunt, don't worry, I won't tire out my sister! This is my sister, how could I not care for her?"

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Mrs. Xie smiled and nodded, "This is indeed the case, I know you sisters have always been very close! Since that's the case, Jia'er, you can take Hui'er with you now! Rest for a while first, later I'll let Mother Fang come over to take her to your grandfather, second aunt, and third aunt's place to pay their respects. You don't need to follow along! Tonight, the whole family will come over for dinner, let's consider it a welcome party for your sister!"

  Yao Cun Jia smiled and nodded in agreement. Yao Cun Hui stepped forward, bowed and smiled: "Hui is a junior, how can she be worthy of such treatment from her aunt? It really makes Hui blush."

  "You don't have to be polite, this is what should be! The dishes in Jiangnan are also quite good, you can try them all tonight!" Madam Xie smiled again with a slight purse of her lips.

  "Hui'er thanks Auntie first!"

  "Haha, you kids are really likable! You two sisters are both good!" Mrs. Xie smiled and said, "Alright, you must be tired from the long journey, go back now!"

  Yao Cun Jia also stood up and bid farewell, taking Yao Cun Hui with him.

  The Xie family's mansion was vast and sprawling, and the Ruhua Hall where Yao Cun Jia lived was a good distance from the main courtyard where Mrs. Xie resided, separated by several courtyards. Now that she was pregnant, she usually rode in a sedan chair when going out. At this time, walking with Yao Cun Hui was somewhat difficult.

  It's not good to let my sister walk while I ride in a sedan chair, and it's also inconvenient to order someone to carry another sedan chair. Although my sister is a guest, she is after all younger than me, if Madam Xie orders the sedan chair to be given to her, as her elder sister, I would have done the same, otherwise the servants will gossip.

  Before they could react, two sedan chairs appeared outside the main hall. Fang's mother stepped forward with a smile and said: "These were prepared by the mistress for Miss Yao. You must be tired from your long journey, please get in!"

  Miss Yao and her sister couldn't help but thank Mrs. Xian again, then thanked Madam Fang again, before getting into the sedan chairs one after another. The robust servant girls carefully lifted them up, and the group headed towards Ruhua Hall.

  Ronghua Hall is a large courtyard with three entrances and exits, as well as east and west wing rooms and east and west side houses. There are fifty or sixty rooms of various sizes, and behind it there is also a not-so-small garden.

  In the garden, there is a living water introduction, winding out of the garden, following the water to dig a pond, planting lotus flowers, and building a four-cornered flying eaves pavilion by the water. In the northwest of the garden, a giant undulating artificial hill is piled up, dividing the entire garden into two large and small parts. The artificial hill is nearly two zhang high, with a small path winding to the top, and on the mountain, there is a six-cornered pavilion, surrounded by railings, interspersed with plants such as roses, peonies, pomegranates, yulan, and bamboo, very elegant.

  The six-sided pavilion on the mountain top has a very broad view, and almost the entire Xie Mansion can be seen.

  Xiao Xing and Xiao Li, who had considered themselves worldly in the Yao household, only realized what true wealth and nobility were when they arrived at the Xie household. They carefully followed behind Yao Cun Hui, with Fan Shuang Shuang not daring to take an extra step or glance around. Fan Li had already been led away by a male servant from the mansion.

  "Sister!" The sedan chair stopped in front of the innermost courtyard, and Yao Cunhui quickly stepped forward to personally help Yao Cunjia down. Yao Cunjia smiled slightly, her slender white hand gently resting on her sister's arm as they walked in together, smiling.

  Xing'er and Ruo Fang, along with several other young maidservants, had already come out to greet them. After paying their respects to Madame Wang, they hurriedly paid their respects to Miss Yao the second.

  Yao Cunhui smiled and let go, ordering Xiao Xing and Xiao Li to hand over the gifts to Xing'er and Ruofang. Yao Cunjia smiled and instructed them to distribute it among everyone, then said to the crowd: "You can all disperse now, Green Lotus and the others will attend to you!"

  Everyone thanked Miss Yao and retreated to the side in an orderly manner, waiting for Sisters Yao Cun and Jia to enter the house before quietly dispersing.

  Yao Cun Jia ordered someone to take down Xiaoying and the others to wash and rest, Yao Cun Hui washed her hands and face, changed her clothes, and the two sisters sat down to talk.

  Seeing her sister radiant and full of happiness, the face of Xie Fu Yun, who was smiling all over his face when he boarded the painting boat, flashed in Yao Cun Hui's mind, and she felt very uncomfortable.

  Now for my sister, the fetus in her belly is the most important thing. Emotional issues can wait. What's most important now is that my sister and the baby are safe and sound. When the time comes, a healthy and beautiful baby will be born, and that will be a great success!

  A family like Xie's, with a legitimate wife and a son by their side, should be stable and secure, right?

  "Does your sister ride in a sedan chair every time she goes out?" Yao Cunhui couldn't help but ask.

  Yao Cun Jia understood her meaning, and smiled brightly, saying: "This is mother's kindness, I shouldn't refuse. You can rest assured, every day I will follow your words, strolling in the garden for half an hour, morning and evening!"

  Yao Cun Hui smiled and said, "Now I can rest assured! Although pregnancy requires careful nurturing and avoidance of strenuous exercise, appropriate exercise is necessary. This way, both you and the baby in your belly will be healthier, and childbirth will also be smoother. You must remember this, sister!"

  "Yes, yes, you were very serious in your letter, I remember every single word!" Yao Cun Jia smiled and gently pinched her hand, his eyes warm and gentle like water, full of tender love.

  Only a sister of the same mother would do such a silly thing for her! An unmarried and unengaged little girl, actually ran to the imperial physician's place to ask about pregnancy precautions, and carefully recorded every word, sending it thousands of miles away to her. The letter was full of repeated reminders, with every sentence revealing deep concern and care. How could she not be moved by this?

  At that time, she received a thick and absurd letter, she was so scared that she thought something big had happened at home, and she hastily opened it in a hurry. Xie Fu Yun was also curious, peering over to take a look.

  After reading the contents of the letter, Yao Cun Jia was so moved that his eyes turned red, and his heart was filled with something, tears almost flowed out.

  Xie Fu Yun thought to laugh but didn't dare to, and after a while, laughed and sighed: "This second sister is really an amazing person!"

  Yao Cun Jia's eyes turned red as he lightly sighed, "This girl is really a fool! She doesn't know how to take care of herself and still remembers me from afar!"