Morning.
After her morning exercise, Qiuqiu sat at the table having breakfast. As she was thinking about what to write in the next month's Beijing monthly report, a flowery butterfly tiptoed in.
"Qiuqiu, let's go to Baozhu's manor quickly!" Yin Susu ignored the delicious food on the table and hugged Qiuqiu, coquettishly.
Yin Susu was the most coquettish among them. She used to act coquettishly in front of Baozhu. Since Baozhu moved to the manor and Qiuqiu had to stay in Beijing to handle official affairs, she had started acting coquettishly towards Qiuqiu.
Like Baozhu, Qiuqiu couldn't resist Yin Susu's coquetry and always softened her heart.
Just imagine, a bright and charming young girl keeps a cold face to others but shows a smiling face only in front of you. Like a delicate kitten, she shows her belly to you. Who can refuse?
Anyway, Qiuqiu and Baozhu couldn't.
Urged by Yin Susu, Qiuqiu quickly finished her breakfast and took her to Baozhu's farm.
...
At the farm gate, King Rui was taking a walk with two children. He held the son of Chen Miaochun and Yan Mingli in his left hand and the daughter of Xu Yutang and Shen Haiyan in his right hand. King Rui had finally lived the life he had dreamed of, enjoying the company of his grandchildren.
Seeing King Rui holding Shen Zhiyi, Yin Susu stopped and asked curiously, "Is Yuan Qingxi injured again? Did Sister Wu do it this time?"
Yuan Qingxi was the neighbor's son who had brought Xu Yutang to the capital back then. He was lucky enough to enter the final imperial examination as the last qualifier and was caught by Commander Wu's eldest daughter as her husband right after the exam.
The eldest daughter of the Wu family had inherited the martial arts talent of her family and was the first female general of the Dayong Dynasty.
Commander Wu had originally looked down on scholars, but his granddaughter was as stubborn as him. After getting along with Shen Haiyan for three days, they had seven disagreements. Commander Wu had no choice but to settle for a scholar who seemed to have a good temper.
Yuan Qingxi did have a good temper, but he was timid. He could even injure himself without his wife's doing. For example, being afraid of being beaten by his wife, he ran away in a hurry and knocked his head and fainted. Being afraid of being scolded by his wife, he decided to scold first and was choked by water when he was about to take a sip to moisten his throat. Quarreling with his wife, he was so angry that he ran away from home and broke his leg...
In front of the Wu family, Yuan Qingxi seemed to be a fragile porcelain doll that would get injured at a touch.
Yuan's parents had once thought that it was their daughter-in-law who had injured their son and came to the capital to ask for an explanation. Just then, they happened to receive the emperor's imperial edict and learned that their daughter-in-law was a more promising general than their son. Their attitudes had changed dramatically. After witnessing their son injuring himself once, they decisively chose to go back home.
As they had put it, it was so embarrassing.
After taking care of Xu Yunmiao, Xu Yutang had also found her favorite direction, studying medicine.
She had learned from Princess Jingning. Because she had a good relationship with Yuan Qingxi, she was often invited by Yuan Qingxi to see patients.
Qiuqiu reached out and touched Shen Zhiyi's head and said with a smile, "When has Sister Wu ever laid a hand on Brother Qingxi? If she really did, it wouldn't be a medical consultation but collecting the body."
King Rui shook his head helplessly. "You, your mouth is getting sharper. Jinxing and Zhiyi, let's go quickly. If we're slow, Aunt Qiuqiu will scold us."
The two children had seen Aunt Qiuqiu's might and didn't dare to stay. They followed King Rui and left.
Qiuqiu was very satisfied with her reputation. She led Yin Susu forward.
Ahead was a large expanse of farmland. There was a man in a short shirt in the field. Seeing Qiuqiu and Yin Susu's figures, the man hurriedly ran over. "Miss Wanqiu, Miss Susu, the master came back yesterday and is resting in the main courtyard. Do you want me to send someone to report first?"
Qiuqiu shook her head. "No need to report. I'm just going to find Baozhu. By the way, where's Brother Su Qian? Has he come recently? Susu wants to enter the Ministry of Works. Let him explain it to Susu."
Su Qian was now working in the Ministry of Works, in charge of the kiln and porcelain firing.
The man grinned. "He hasn't come these days. He'll probably come once in the second half of the month. When Su Qian comes, I'll ask him to find Miss Susu."
Yin Susu clasped her hands together and thanked him. "Thank you, Brother Su Ming, for your help. Thank you very much."
After saying goodbye to Su Ming, Yin Susu twirled around as she walked. She was full of expectations for the future. "Qiuqiu, do you think what kind of people I'll meet after I enter the Ministry of Works? Will I become very powerful?"
"Qiuqiu, do you think my dress looks good today? Baozhu helped me pick it. You're not allowed to say it doesn't look good."
"Qiuqiu, since Baozhu is back, is Cousin here too? If he drives me out, will Baozhu protect me?"
"I bet she won't." A clear voice suddenly came. Yin Susu's expression changed. She turned around and looked behind her.
A handsome young man in a black robe was standing there. His spotless temperament made him look like a celestial being.
But Yin Susu knew that he was an out-and-out stingy person!
Facing the stingy person, Yin Susu knew when to yield. She flattered him with a smile. "Cousin, what a coincidence. I didn't expect to see you here."
Gu Chen raised his eyebrows and looked at Yin Susu, emphasizing again, "I bet Baozhu won't protect you."
This was a lie. Shen Baozhu would firmly choose Gu Chen, but she wouldn't let him bully Yin Susu.
Qiuqiu knew it. Gu Chen knew it. Only Yin Susu didn't know.
So, in order to coax Gu Chen, she acted submissively all the way. Qiuqiu wanted to help but was helpless because of Gu Chen's presence.
Fortunately, the main courtyard wasn't far away. After Yin Susu had been acting cute for a while, she finally saw Shen Baozhu.
In the courtyard, the young girl was wearing a simple short shirt and sitting in the courtyard making clay figurines. Without any makeup, she looked like a fairy.
Yin Susu sighed in her heart. A real celestial being should be like Baozhu. Cousin was just a stingy person and didn't deserve to be a celestial being!
She ran over quickly. "Baozhu, you're back! Is the drought in the north under control? When will you hold your coming-of-age ceremony? My parents won't let me enter the Ministry of Works. What should I do? Baozhu, I miss you so much!"
Shen Baozhu's birthday had been three months ago, and her coming-of-age ceremony should have been held then. But because of the drought in the north, she and Shen Danqing had gone to relieve the disaster, so the coming-of-age ceremony had to be postponed.
Yin Susu was one year older than Shen Baozhu and Qiuqiu, but her mind was like a child's. Gu Chen thought that she had been overprotected and wanted to send her to Shen Heqing's place to be tempered, but Qiuqiu had persuaded him.
Shen Baozhu already had two clay figurines in her hand. The one she was making now was for the most picky Dragon King. "Second brother is finishing up. We still need to discuss and persuade them. I miss you too."
After answering every question, Shen Baozhu looked at Qiuqiu. "Qiuqiu, do you still have new storybooks?"
Gu Wanzhu was Qiuqiu's pen name. She had written many storybooks over the years. The Dragon King liked every one of them and always wanted three copies each time. One for collection, one for reading, and one for display.
Speaking of the pen name, there was an interesting story.
Qiuqiu's original name was Wanzhu. Gu Chen had accidentally found out and accused Qiuqiu of isolating him. Qiuqiu had to add a homophone of the character "Chen" in front of "Wanzhu" and changed it to Chen Wanzhu. This name didn't sound like a pen name but more like Qiuqiu's younger sister. After changing it for a long time, she finally had the current "Gu Wanzhu".
Qiuqiu was already used to this. "I've prepared them. I've kept one copy each of the ordinary version, the collector's edition, and the limited edition."
After Shen Baozhu finished making the clay figurine in her hand, she began to come up with ideas for Yin Susu.
Since Yin's parents thought that a woman should get married, Yin Susu could get married first and then start her career. Speaking of "career", Shen Baozhu looked up and asked, "Susu, the Ministry of Works is very dirty and tiring. How about changing to another place?"
Yin Susu had been practicing dancing since she was a child and loved using perfume. Wherever she went, there was a faint fragrance. And many things in the Ministry of Works needed to be done personally, such as the cement and the waterwheel a few years ago, as well as the gunpowder and machines now. According to Shen Baozhu's understanding of Yin Susu, it would be very difficult for her to adapt to the Ministry of Works.
This was something that Yin Susu and Qiuqiu hadn't considered. Yin Susu was entangled in her heart and thought that she needed to think about it again.
Gu Chen didn't care about their friendship at all and couldn't wait to drive Yin Susu away. "Since you've asked your questions, go back quickly. Don't disturb Baozhu's rest."
Yin Susu glared at Gu Chen and left huffily.
After she left, Qiuqiu told the story of Caixing meeting the third prince and carefully observed Gu Chen's reaction. "...Why don't you show any reaction at all?"
Gu Chen was using a handkerchief to wipe Shen Baozhu's hands. He didn't even raise his head. "Meeting the third prince is just meeting the third prince. He's just a stranger... Baozhu, the other hand."
"You'd better think about how to write the monthly report quickly."
Speaking of work, Qiuqiu was a little annoyed. She pushed Gu Chen aside and wiped Shen Baozhu's hands herself. "Baozhu, I missed you so much when you were away. Can we sleep together tonight?"
Shen Baozhu also missed Qiuqiu and nodded in agreement. "Okay."