In this lifetime, at only a few years old, three men—from her cousin Yang to Wang Hongbo, and now Chu Yao—have already expressed their desire to marry her. She couldn't be more sought after.
Wushuang touched her wet little face. Could it be that she was exceptionally beautiful and loved by everyone in her life?
Chu Yao carried Wushuang out of the bathtub, wrapped her in a white cotton towel, and placed her on the bed. She was round and soft, and wobbled so much that she couldn't even sit up straight.
Wushuang frowned, glaring at him with a bitter expression, and muttered, "I don't want to play with you anymore, I want to go home, go home!"
As Chu Yao put on his clothes, he said coolly, "Your home is far away. It will take you at least ten or twenty days to get back, so there's no rush."
The cloth was wrapped too tightly, binding his arms so he couldn't move. Even something as simple as twisting his fingers was impossible for Wushuang. He could only sway back and forth like a roly-poly toy to express his anger: "I was talking about my cabin."
"Aren't all the cabins the same? Even the layout is pretty much the same." Chu Yao turned around and smiled. "Does it matter which cabin you stay in?"
The difference is huge!
At least her parents, sister, and Wang Hongbo all go along with her in everything and don't bully people like he does.
Chu Yao is such a detestable person!
Wushuang grew angrier the more she thought about it, and twisted her body in protest, "I just want to go back, why won't you let me go back—Achoo!" She sneezed loudly halfway through her sentence.
It was hot in June, and Chu Yao never expected that she could catch a cold like this. He immediately stopped joking, strode out of the room, and went to find a servant from the Jun family to bring clean clothes to take Wushuang back.
As for the cause of his cold, Chu Yao deliberately twisted the story, saying that Wu Shuang was playing in the cool water and accidentally overturned the bucket, getting her clothes wet.
When the matter reached the ears of Jun Shu and his wife, Wu Shuang was inevitably scolded, but she was too ashamed to tell the truth and could only suffer in silence.
At the end of June, three days after Wushuang's birthday, the treasure ship docked at Tongzhou Wharf, and the group finally returned to the capital city they had been away from for a long time.
The Marquis of Runan's residence is now like an empty courtyard.
The old lady, suffering from the summer heat, took Wuyou to a manor in the suburbs to escape the heat in early April. All the servants of Fuyou Residence naturally followed, leaving only Granny Qi to guard the manor.
Junheng has been in a bad mood ever since Tang Biqiu's incident. He volunteered to go to the army on the northwest border for training and has not returned yet.
Thus, the vast courtyard of the Marquis's mansion was left with only the Second Master Jun Nian and his daughter Wu Hui. One of them spent his days at the yamen and his evenings with friends, rarely returning home, while the other was observing a strict mourning period for her birth mother, which made the house seem even more desolate.
After returning home, Junshu rested briefly, distributed the gifts for his younger brother and niece, and the next day he took his wife and children to the estate to visit his mother.
The Jun family's estate is located at the foot of West Mountain. It has a clear spring in front and a high mountain behind it. It is shaded by dense trees and has a cool breeze, making it the best place to escape the summer heat.
In her previous life, Wushuang accompanied her grandmother almost every year, so she knew the way well. As soon as she got off the carriage, she took off running to Liuyun Pavilion.
"Grandma, Shuangshuang misses you so much." She threw herself into the old lady's arms, twisting and rubbing against her, trying her best to be affectionate.
The old lady was overjoyed by her granddaughter's affection and teased her, "Oh dear, you were the most cheerful one when you left. I didn't see any sign that you were reluctant to part with this old woman."
At times like this, the more she explained, the more guilty she would appear, so Wushuang simply remained silent, puffing out her cheeks and tilting her head back. The old lady then used a wooden fork to spear a piece of watermelon and fed it to her.
The watermelon was chilled with well water, making it sweet and juicy. Wushuang ate one slice and then wanted another. By the time Junshu and his wife carried Junyu in, her little belly was already bulging out from being so full.
"Sister, come sit here with me." Seeing that Madam Yang wanted to show the baby to the old lady, Wuyou, who was sitting behind the table, took the initiative to invite Wushuang to change seats.
After Wushuang knelt down beside her, Wuyou poured a cup of tea from a purple clay teapot and said to her, "Sister, have some tea. This is a new Anxi Tieguanyin tea from this spring. It's good for clearing heat and reducing internal fire, and it's perfect for summer."
The tea was still steaming slightly. Luckily, the teacup had a handle, so Wushuang held it in one hand, blew on it a few times, and then carefully sipped the tea. The tea was slightly hot on the palate, with a rich aroma and a sweet, thirst-quenching taste. Wushuang gulped down the whole cup, patted her little belly, and sighed contentedly with her head tilted back.
Seeing that she had put down her teacup, Wuyou immediately refilled it: "This is the third infusion, just when the flavor is coming out. Drink more, little sister."
Jun Shu sat to the side, observing Wu You's considerate actions, and then turned to signal the servants to bring in the gifts they had given her.
The Jiangnan region has always been prosperous, and its specialties are abundant. Junshu himself has two daughters and knows little girls' preferences very well, so finding the right gifts was effortless. The box was full of gifts, including a rhombus-shaped fan, a purple bamboo-ribbed silk umbrella, and a double-sided embroidered screen, each piece exquisitely handmade and made of precious materials. There were also Nanjing brocade and Suzhou Song brocade, with more than ten bolts of various bright colors selected. The other small items were even more numerous and difficult to count.
Wuyou clearly liked it very much, touching this piece and looking at that one, her delicate oval face beaming with an even wider smile.
However, she quickly restrained herself and asked softly, "Uncle, does Wu Hui have all of these too?"
“Of course,” Jun Shu said. “Each gift is in duplicate, so neither of you sisters will get more or less.”
Wuyou frowned upon hearing this, then bent down and picked out two bolts of pomegranate red and light blue silk from the box, placing them on the couch. She said softly, "Uncle, I want to leave these two bolts of cloth for my sister Wuhui. Grandmother said there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, so my allowance is always less than that of my sisters. It's not that the family doesn't love me, but it's the rule. As long as we are not greedy and abide by the rules, we will make fewer mistakes, and life will be much smoother."
Jun Shu glanced at his youngest daughter, who was slumped behind the table, and then at Wuyou, who looked like a little adult in front of him. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his niece and said softly, "It's alright, you can accept it. The allowance is the rule, but the gift your uncle is giving you is your uncle's way of expressing his feelings. The two things are different."
Wuyou hesitated before looking up at the old lady. Seeing the old lady smile and nod at her, she put the cloth back into the box.
"Good child, come over to your grandmother and come see your little brother," the old lady called to Wuyou.
In a family like the Jun family, how could they truly be stingy with a few pounds of vegetables or a few bolts of silk? She taught Wuyou the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, but only because she was the only illegitimate child in the family. If she didn't have the right mindset, and her marriage prospects weren't as good as her sisters' when she grew up, she would inevitably harbor resentment, making it difficult for her to have a good life. Actually, the old lady doted on her granddaughter, always thinking of giving Wuyou the best food and toys. While she appeared much more disciplined on the surface during her time with her grandmother, Wuyou was actually living a much more comfortable life than when she was with her biological mother.
Although Wuyou was young, she had a very good temperament. This was probably because her aunt had spoiled her too much and rarely taught her anything. As a result, Wuyou's mind was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. She was easy to teach and obedient, so the old lady cherished her more and more each day.
Everyone cuddled around Junyu, who had just woken up, until he cried. They had to call the wet nurse to take him away and feed him.
After leisurely eating a few pieces of fruit and drinking a few cups of tea, the old lady said to Jun Shu and his wife in a slow and unhurried manner, "A year is almost over, and it's time to start making arrangements for your brother's affairs."
She was referring to Jun Nian's decision to remarry.
Madam Yang interjected, "Does Mother have a suitable candidate in mind?"
“I rarely go out, so how would I know what good girls there are in the capital?” the old lady sighed. “It’s just that the He family has always wanted to marry their illegitimate daughter to us.”
When the older sister passes away, the younger sister is often married off to her brother-in-law as a second wife. This is mostly because the younger sister is worried about the older sister's children and fears that a stepmother with no blood relation will mistreat them.
Another meaning is to maintain the kinship between the two families.
These are all natural human feelings, and the old lady had no objections. She only said, "I don't have much of an impression of that child, and I don't know what he looks like. It would be best if I could have the opportunity to meet him. We can talk about the rest later."
In most families of noble birth, before a formal marriage proposal, an opportunity is always made for the parents of both the groom and bride to meet and see their future son-in-law. More enlightened parents will often arrange for the couple to meet each other as well, ideally exchanging a few words. This way, they can get a sense of whether the couple's appearance is satisfactory and whether their personalities are compatible.