The life of the Xianyu family through books

With the old emperor's order to serve the meal.

The eunuchs took turns, their shrill voices rising and falling in the distance.

The old emperor got up and moved, and Yan Yu followed behind, always maintaining a just-right distance.

She went over what she had just said in her mind.

There shouldn't be anything wrong with it.

She kept the fact that she had hunted the giant bear a secret.

It would be very inspiring to say it out loud, but every part of a bear is a treasure trove: bear skin, bear paws, bear heart—all are good things.

She couldn't answer any of the emperor's questions.

Could it be that the Crown Prince's wife bought it and gave it to her father?
Didn't they put it in the Crown Princess's pocket?

The old emperor might not mind, but he was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would use it to make a fuss.

Today, upon meeting the Emperor, I must first record three essential matters.

First, answer any question without hesitation, even if it's a tangent, and never pause.

Secondly, be highly vigilant about the people and events within the Royal Palace, and keep quiet as much as possible.

Third, she should know her place. She is neither a member of the Prince of Ying's Mansion nor a member of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion. She only has one superior, and that superior is the old emperor.

Provided these three conditions are met, the rest is up to her to do as she pleases.

Yan Yu has a good godfather.

Even without special instruction, after spending a long time by my godfather's side, apart from his excellent tea ceremony skills which I could never truly learn, I could do everything else quite well.

For example, the timing of her reaching out to help the old emperor sit down, and her habit of quickly dusting off the dust on the low stool with a handkerchief—her actions were swift and decisive, as fast as the wind!

The eunuchs serving nearby were stunned.

When the imperial meal was served, it was time for Yan Yu to put on a show.

As she set out the plates, placed the chopsticks, and served the soup, she explained to the old emperor.

"My godfather makes these dishes look so beautiful. Even the simplest dishes can be arranged in a way that is pleasing to the eye. I am not very good at it and can only imitate the basics. Please don't be offended. It is my sincere effort."

"I dare not take over the task of making tea from you, Father-in-law. Please do it so I can learn a few tricks from you."

This chubby baby speaks sweetly, knows how to get along with people, and is lively yet polite.

The key is that this child is generous and open-minded in everything she does. After helping to set the table, she didn't pretend to refuse when the emperor offered her a seat, but sat down directly.

For this reason alone, the emperor's chief eunuch held her in high regard.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing me to dine at the same table with you!" The chubby boy's eyes shone brightly as he lingered on the dishes, his little mouth moving unconsciously as he secretly swallowed his saliva.

She is indeed somewhat polite, but compared to those well-behaved young men, she falls far short.

The emperor was not offended.

On the contrary, I felt that this child had a rare vitality.

He was already old and frail, his days numbered.

What I envy is this vibrant life.

Yan Yu has an uncle who doesn't like to talk much at the dinner table.

She has a mouth that can both eat and talk; she can use only one function and temporarily shut down the other.

The chubby girl ate happily, her face beaming. When she encountered a flavor she liked, she wielded her chopsticks with the same unstoppable force as if she were going into battle.

His chubby cheeks moved with his bright red little mouth. The old emperor ate very slowly, taking only three bites of each dish at most, and each bite was very small.

Yan Yu knew the rules; she waited until three chopsticks had finished picking up the food before she finished it all.

The ever-emptying plates proved that what she said was true.

They certainly have quite an appetite.

Without the old emperor even giving any orders, plates were constantly being replaced.

The old emperor sipped his soup slowly.

He just stared at the child on the table.

Watching her eat, watching her try her best to maintain dining etiquette, she devoured the food in a flash.

She would occasionally steal glances at him to see if he had put down the spoon in his hand.

I suppose that once he waved his hand, the child wouldn't dare to eat anymore.

The old emperor's lips curled up slightly; he wanted to see just how big Yan Yu's belly was!

Yan Yu did not disappoint the old emperor.

Eat your normal amount of food.

That startled everyone present, and they all looked at her differently.

It's as if she's a reincarnation of a good-for-nothing.

Yan Yu felt both embarrassed and annoyed.

If the old emperor hadn't been there, she would have really wanted to yell at them to stop staring at her belly!
The old emperor took Yan Yu for a stroll around the palace to digest their food.

After eating and drinking her fill, Yan Yu became more energetic and started talking non-stop. For every question the emperor asked, she could talk at length.

The old emperor seemed to be having casual conversation with her, asking questions such as how they made a living in Guanzhou, what kind of houses they built, where she and her family were when Huju was besieged, and how they navigated the vast grasslands.

Yan Yu then sold off all of her family's businesses, including making scented soap, burning charcoal, buying and selling firewood, selling leather goods, and even running a tofu stall in the city. Her father could make maltose, and she and her sisters had also sold paper-cut window curtains.

The family had several rooms, built of brick and stone. The money for repairing the house came from bandits they encountered on the road, and they got it by stealing from them.

They built several kang beds, kept a lot of livestock in the backyard, and showed what the villagers' houses looked like. They had taken cattle and sheep from the Northern Rong, and each family had received a share. Many families kept dogs, and the dogs would chase the cattle and sheep to graze.

She then vividly recounted the scene of the siege, describing how she ran out wrapped in tin to deliver a message, and how her father, along with her master, climbed onto the roof and crawled through dog holes...

The old emperor couldn't help but laugh.

The old men and women also held back their laughter.

Then Yan Yu mentioned Li Lianji, the eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who once brought an imperial edict to Huju to commend Lords Xiao and Zhang for their loyalty, bravery, and benevolence in defending the city, and for their compassion for the people of the border city, granting them a year's tax exemption.

"...At that time, every household in Huju City was empty. People were gone, and the money and grain had been robbed by the Northern Rong. If it weren't for the tax exemption that year, it's hard to say whether we could have survived that winter." Yan Yu didn't mention the tragic scene of every household in Huju City being covered in white that day. Eunuch Li would definitely report what he saw and heard in Huju City to the Emperor.

Yan Yu then mentioned going to Xizhou to buy coal.

"That steward in the rebel king's mansion is so arrogant. My father begged and pleaded, bribing him with silver and saying all sorts of nice things, before he finally got some coal ash for free. Xizhou has coal mines, so naturally they don't care about that ash, but we do! We mix the coal ash with soil, make it into balls, it saves coal and burns longer. The prince is overjoyed! He said that in Guanzhou, no matter where people are, as long as they listen to the letter and are willing to go to Xizhou, they can go and haul as much as they can!"

Yan Yu laughed happily, "The rebel king never expected that those coal slags they didn't want would save us. Back and forth, the Xizhou people were not discreet and even exposed their hidden mines. They even sold them to the barbarians outside the pass! That's how we found out and followed them into the depths of the grasslands."

“Speaking of finding directions,” Yan Yu said, putting her hands behind her back and sighing like a little adult, “Don’t laugh at me, but everyone in my family has a good sense of direction. We can recognize any road we’ve been to once, and the villagers are good at it too.”

But for some reason, my uncle could get disoriented even when standing still. He could easily get lost if he went out alone. Later, when we found out about this problem, we stopped letting him go out by himself. No matter where he went, he had to be accompanied by someone who knew the way.

"At first it was my eldest brother and me. Later, my eldest uncle took a job at the Huju Yamen (a local government office), and every family in the village wanted their sons to go to the county town to broaden their horizons. So, the position of the pageboy next to my eldest uncle became a rotating one." (End of Chapter)