Union

Chapter 60, 059th Anniversary Gift
Yunying's illness came on quickly and went away quickly.

By the next day, she had truly recovered.

Having fallen ill, and with a light drizzle falling that day, Yunying dared not go out, staying only in her room. She spent her time reading, practicing calligraphy, or handling minor household chores, finding contentment in her situation.

It was almost noon when Qiu Ning came running over again, all excited.

She's been coming to Yunying's courtyard quite frequently these past few days, supposedly making three trips a day, but she actually spends most of her time there. If Yunying weren't so impatient with sleeping with others, Qiu Ning would even have liked to sleep in the same bed with her at night.

Yunying had also figured it out; once Aunt Ding left, Qiu Ning had started to let loose.

Although Aunt Ding had left and was in charge, it was clear that Qiu Ning didn't take the matter too seriously. She didn't have any respect for Aunt Ding, who was in charge, and still treated her like a sister.

However, this didn't bother Yunying much. She found it quite pleasant to have Qiu Ning come over and chat, which helped pass the time.

However, her coming too frequently and staying too long was causing Yunying a lot of distress.

Just as Yunying was fretting, Qiu Ning asked her excitedly, "What are we going to eat today? It's so cold today, I've even put on my cloak."

Qiu Ning shivered. "It's so damp and cold today. I feel like the chill is crawling into my clothes like snakes. Oh my god, if it weren't for coming to keep you company, I would have stayed in bed all day."

After rambling on and on, Qiu Ning finally made the decision: "It's too cold. Let's have hot pot today. Let's get some beef and mutton, and some vegetables. It'll be a lively and warm meal. What do you think?"

Yunying didn't think it was very good.

She had just recovered from an illness and had little appetite. All she wanted now was some simple porridge and side dishes; she refused anything else.

But she didn't want to hurt Qiu Ning's feelings.

Whether she needs someone to accompany her is one thing, but Qiu Ning takes her illness so seriously and comes to stay with her every day. This affection is very genuine.

It's just hot pot, she can just eat with her.

So that noon, the two of them ate a hot pot with a broth made from chicken, duck, and pork bones. They also chose fish balls, pigeon eggs, tofu, fresh meat, egg dumplings, winter bamboo shoots, and spinach as side dishes.

Yunying didn't have much of an appetite, and she ate very little of the food in the hot pot. But the broth was particularly rich and flavorful today, and Yunying did drink a bowl of it. She even asked the servants to cook her a bowl of noodles with the broth.

The noodles were simply topped with a few greens and two shrimp. Yunying ate them with gusto and finished the whole bowl without even realizing it.

Having just finished eating, Yunying lay on the chaise lounge, chatting with Qiuning about where Aunt Ding and Ruizhu might be at this moment. Just then, a maid rushed in through the door and said, "Miss, something has been sent from the capital, four whole carts full, and it's already been delivered to the front yard. What do you think we should do with all this stuff?"

Before Yunying could say anything, Qiuning exclaimed "Oh dear!" and clicked her tongue in admiration, "Sending gifts again? I must say, although our Second Master has been demoted to Lingnan, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion still values ​​him highly. It hasn't even been half a month since the last gift came, and they're already sending gifts again. Aren't they coming too frequently?"

Yunying said, "There is a twenty-day interval between the two times. However, the Madam is now in charge of the household. She is the Second Master's biological mother, so it is only right that she takes extra care of him."

He added, "This time, sending so much must be for New Year's gifts. Well, the New Year's gifts we sent to the capital are still on their way, but the New Year's gifts sent to Second Master from the capital have already arrived at the county government."

Qiu Ning said, "They probably sent it over early because they were worried about rain or snow delaying the journey. Alright, I won't take up any more of your time, you can go ahead and get busy."

As she spoke, Qiu Ning got up and muttered, "Luckily the rain stopped, otherwise it would have been even more painful to run to the front yard. I used to envy you for being favored by Aunt Ding and becoming a steward with some power, but now, I still think it's more leisurely and carefree to be a little maid with no official position."

Qiu Ning muttered to herself as she walked away, and Yun Ying also got up, changed her clothes, and went to the front yard.

Although the rain had stopped, the ground was still very wet, and the weather was indeed damp and cold, so Yunying specially found a pair of thick deerskin boots to wear, and also put on a thick cloak over them.

Wearing thick clothes, she wasn't so cold walking in the chilly wind. However, the howling wind stung her cheeks. Yunying instinctively pulled her hood tighter, hunched her shoulders, and hurried to the front yard.

They had just arrived at the front yard and hadn't yet seen the carriages loaded with goods when they saw the Second Master walking in from outside.

In the bleak, cold wind, the Second Master wore only a black, wide-sleeved python robe. He wore a jade crown, a jade belt, and leather boots. Tall and straight, with a cold and sharp face, he still maintained that aloof demeanor. However, when he saw her, his deep phoenix eyes suddenly revealed a hint of surprise and a smile.

Second Master walked over unhurriedly, looking down at Yunying, who was wrapped up in a ball.

She was dressed warmly, but it couldn't hide her slender figure. She must have been terribly cold, because she tucked her neck into her cloak, shivering all over, looking rather comical.

Second Master tried hard not to laugh out loud, but the smile in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

"If you're so afraid of the cold, what are you doing out here in this weather?"

Yunying could clearly see the smile in the Second Master's eyes, but what could she do?

She wanted to stand tall and hold her head high, but if she straightened her neck, the cold wind would whistle into her padded jacket. Shivering, she could only resolutely choose warmth and comfort over elegant posture. Yunying covered her mouth and nose and answered the Second Master's question, "I didn't want to come out in this kind of weather either, but there's a reason for it."

Then she told him about the four cartloads of goods that had been sent from the capital. Upon hearing this, the Second Master made the same guess as Yun Ying: "They must have sent the New Year's gifts along with them."

"I think so."

Yunying looked at the Second Master standing in front of her, who showed no intention of leaving. Actually, she felt a little awkward seeing the Second Master now.

She was delirious with fever before, and the Second Master visited her in her boudoir. Although he didn't do anything inappropriate and never stepped into her courtyard again afterward, she still felt a great turmoil in her heart because of that incident. Even when she saw the Second Master, she couldn't remain calm and composed.

This was the first time the two had met since the Second Master visited her in the hospital. The awkwardness was still there, and Yunying felt somewhat uncomfortable talking to the Second Master.

The Second Master didn't say anything, just looked at her in a seemingly casual way.

Yunying shrank her neck further into her collar and said in a muffled voice, "Second Master, if you have nothing else to do, I'll go ahead and get busy. There are four cartloads of stuff. I'll put those things away first, so that some of the food won't go bad if they're left out for too long."

The second master nodded slightly and turned to let her leave.

But just as Yunying brushed past him, the Second Master called her back, "It's alright to deal with things later. The weather is cold now, so the food won't spoil even if it's left out for a few more days. You... wear something warmer, and go back to your room if you feel cold."

Yunying nodded, bowed to the Second Master, and hurriedly left.

Even after walking quite a distance, Yunying could still feel the burning gaze behind her.

She hung her head, her mind a jumble of thoughts, and even her steps were unsteady.

After rounding a bend, the person behind her disappeared from sight. Sui'er then whispered, "Miss, did Second Master... you..."

"You're overthinking it." Yunying interrupted Sui'er before she could finish speaking. "Second Master is probably just feeling guilty towards me. After all, I fell ill because I went out with him to search for someone. Second Master is a considerate master, and it's only natural for him to take extra care of me."

He Sui frowned. "Is Second Master a good master?"

This was probably the funniest joke she had ever heard in her life.

Unfortunately, she dared not laugh, much less expose the girl's self-deception.

She could only follow the girl, head down, hurrying forward, silently thinking: I'll see how much more considerate the Second Master will be towards you. How long can you keep deceiving yourself, young lady?

Soon, several carriages appeared in front of them.

Mo Xue stood beside the car, instructing the servants to unload the items and place them in the empty courtyard.

Upon seeing Yunying approach, Moxue cupped her hands in greeting, let out a soft sigh, and said, "Miss Yunying, now that you're here, I'll leave things here to you. Second Master has other matters to instruct me on, so I'll take my leave now."

Yunying nodded and told him, "When I came over just now, I happened to see Second Master returning from outside. He should be in his study now, so you can go directly there."

Mo Xue nodded slightly, thanked Yun Ying, and quickly disappeared into the courtyard.

For the next half day, Yunying watched as people unloaded and put everything away. Then she began to unpack the boxes to see what had been sent from the capital.

Of course, there were plenty of expensive dried foods and goods, as well as several boxes of tea, more than ten jars of wine, and a number of aged medicinal herbs.

The imperial gift included more than twenty bolts of silk, as well as writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, books, articles, spices, porcelain, and so on.

They even sent a few small trinkets for their enjoyment, and quite a few peach wood charms and couplets that were hung in the mansion for the New Year. They even sent several boxes of rouge and face powder—clearly, these were prepared for the concubines.

At the same time, Yunying also saw some women's jewelry.

What might seem insignificant to their masters was quite valuable to Yunying. These pieces of jewelry were either made of pure gold or inlaid with precious stones, the materials were vibrant and beautiful, and even the styles were probably the most fashionable in the capital at the moment.

Of course, the largest portion of all these New Year's gifts was definitely the seasonal clothing prepared for the Second Master.

There were thirty or forty pieces of various straight robes and outer robes alone, as well as inner garments of various colors, gold and jade crowns on their heads, belts around their waists, official boots and cloud boots on their feet, and silk stockings on their feet.

Even the jade ornaments and purses worn at the waist were fully prepared, piled up in several large boxes with a dazzling array of items.

(End of this chapter)