The family rested briefly in the pavilion before setting off for the Marquis of Runan's residence.
When they finally arrived home, the old lady was already waiting for them at Fuyouju, accompanied by her second daughter-in-law He Caiqiong and granddaughter Wuyou. After a long separation, everyone was moved to tears.
After a brief conversation, the old lady told Junshu's family to go back to their room to rest: "You have had a long journey, so please rest early today. We can have a reunion dinner tomorrow when you are well-rested."
“Then I’ll go and order a table of food. Brother and sister-in-law, would you prefer Green Willow House or Eight Treasures House?” He Caiqiong immediately replied.
Since Madam Yang had been away from the Marquis's residence for several years, the responsibility of managing the household had been handed over to He Caiqiong. At first, the old lady was worried that she wouldn't be able to do it, so she had to supervise and guide her from the side.
Although He Caiqiong was born out of wedlock, she was raised by her stepmother and knew all the skills a high-ranking lady should have. She managed the Marquis's mansion in an orderly manner, no less than Yang Shi.
Only then did the old lady relinquish control, allowing her to manage the business entirely.
“The main courtyard has been cleaned and maintained every day without fail, and people can move in and out at any time. Wushuang, you can stay in the main courtyard with your parents today. Tomorrow, Wuyou will take you to Baifang Garden to choose a courtyard that you like, and then you can move in.” He Caiqiong added.
Baifang Garden is the courtyard that Junyu mentioned. It's a newly built courtyard in the Marquis's mansion. The old lady, seeing her grandchildren growing up one by one, thought of arranging for them to live together. She wanted the younger generation to be close, so that even after they all married, they could maintain a deep bond and support each other. Only in this way could the Marquis of Runan's mansion last a long time.
"I want to live next to my second sister," Wushuang said.
The old lady clicked her tongue and teased, "It's good that you sisters are so close, but Wuyou will be getting married in the fall. If you're too attached to her, you might have a hard time later."
Two years ago, under the auspices of the old lady, Wuyou was engaged to Pang Yuan. Originally, she was still young and not in a hurry to get married, but Pang Yuan was already in his early twenties. Pang's family was eager to have a great-grandson, and he also had several younger brothers waiting in line to get married, so they kept urging Wuyou to marry into the family as soon as possible.
Girls who are eager to marry are not valued. The old lady, who had lived for decades, knew the ways of the world and kept delaying her acceptance until after Wuyou's coming-of-age ceremony, when she finally relented, seemingly reluctantly.
"I can't bear to part with my grandmother and mother," Wuyou said gently, her face flushed.
"No matter how reluctant you are, you'll have to go through this sooner or later." The old lady teased her, "You have two younger sisters. If you don't get married, they can't get married either. Wouldn't all the girls in our Runan Marquis's mansion be stuck at home?"
"Does Grandmother think of us as walnuts?" Wushuang asked.
The old lady laughed, amused by her: "It's been years since we last met, and Xiao Wushuang is still the most clever and knows how to make me happy." As she spoke, she pinched Wushuang's cheek, "Oh, how come this little flesh is so firm? You've gotten quite a bit taller, why don't you lose weight?"
"My third sister's husband likes my third sister to be chubby. He's afraid she'll get too thin in Quanzhou, so he sends us a lot of meat every month."
Junyu, who only had a superficial understanding, answered without thinking, which caused a burst of laughter from the room.
Wushuang was both embarrassed and ashamed. She stamped her feet and protested, "You're just talking nonsense!"
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Jun Yu retorted. “The people escorting the carts always said they were asking the third young lady of the Jun family to check the contents.”
Wushuang blushed and interrupted, "Where is Wuhui?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady's smile vanished, and she said sternly, "He's never home all day, always going to the princess's residence. He can't distinguish between relatives and friends, he's truly a hopeless case."
"It's all because my daughter-in-law failed to teach me properly." He Caiqiong immediately stood up and apologized.
"It's not your fault," the old lady sighed. "Every child resembles the other."
Seeing that her unintentional remark had ruined the cheerful atmosphere, Wushuang quickly added, "That's why I resemble my grandmother!"
The old lady was furious with Wu Hui, and she couldn't directly confront her, so only the late grandmother was happy.
“You weren’t born of me,” the old lady said.
"Grandmother gave birth to Father, Father gave birth to me, Father looks like Grandmother, and I look like Father."
"Oh, so this is where you were waiting for me." The old lady laughed. "Look at your smooth talk, it's so pleasant to hear. No wonder His Highness Prince Ying spoils you so much, sending you cartloads of delicious food, fun toys, and nice clothes all the time to the south."
Why are they all making fun of her and Chu Yao today?
Wushuang had no desire to marry and could not compare to Wuyou's shyness. However, young ladies are still easily embarrassed, and she was unhappy after being teased repeatedly. She pouted and turned her back to express her dissatisfaction.
Seeing her adorable appearance, everyone laughed and joked for a while.
The next day, Wushuang slept until the sun was high in the sky. She got up lazily, washed and dressed, had breakfast, and then leisurely went to Baifang Garden to find Wuyou.
Baifangyuan is a large courtyard containing several smaller courtyards, with houses, flowers, trees, pavilions, and towers all modeled after the style of Jiangnan.
Wuyou Residence is a two-story building with pear trees planted inside and outside the courtyard. When the pear blossoms bloom in spring, looking out from the second-floor window is as if standing on the clouds, hence the name.
The pear blossoms are in full bloom at this time, and I am fortunate enough to witness this beautiful sight.
"It looks like a fairyland from here," she exclaimed, leaning against the window. "Second sister, do you have any spare rooms? I'll stay here."
“It would be nice to have more people with me, but Grandmother and Mother put a lot of effort into building this garden, so you should take a look around before drawing any conclusions,” Wuyou said.
The two chatted and laughed as they went downstairs, walked out of the courtyard along the gravel path, and strolled southwards.
The closest place to the sea of clouds is Furongli, where large areas of mimosa trees and ground hibiscus are planted in front of and inside the courtyard.
"The flowers haven't bloomed yet, so we can't see the effect," Wuyou explained softly. "In autumn, the sky and the ground will be ablaze with red, so beautiful and vibrant that it's impossible to look away."
"The shady trees are quite nice," Wushuang nodded.
When the old lady started building this garden, she thought that her granddaughters and future granddaughters-in-law would all be young girls, so she made sure to cater to the preferences of girls. Each courtyard was planted with at least one type of flower, and the flowering seasons were different in each courtyard, so that flowers would bloom all year round, making it the perfect place for the younger generation to enjoy the flowers and gather together.
Therefore, Baifang Garden occupies a large area. Wushuang and Wuyou strolled around leisurely for half an hour and only walked through a small part of it.
"Once you cross that bridge, it will be the ends of the earth for Fourth Sister."
Wushuang looked in the direction Wuyou was pointing and saw a corner of the eaves peeking out from among the branches of a large tree in the distance.
"Why does Wu Hui live so far away?" Wu Shuang asked curiously. "There are only the two of you in the garden now, doesn't she find it boring?"
"Sigh, there's a small lake at the ends of the earth, where summer lotuses grow." Wuyou seemed unwilling to talk about gossip, answering a different question. "Grandmother originally named it Lotus Breeze Cottage, but my fourth sister changed the name herself. But it doesn't matter that she lives far away. Anyway, the two of us hardly ever talk. Grandmother also said that she always goes to the princess's mansion and rarely stays at home, so it doesn't matter where the courtyard is." But in the end, she couldn't help but talk about the relationship between the sisters.
Wushuang was about to say something, but before she could speak, a little maid rushed up to her and said, "Second Miss, Third Miss." She curtsied politely and said, "The Old Madam has an urgent matter to discuss with Second Miss."