The Emperor visited Yan Wang Mansion on New Year's Eve was nothing short of extraordinary. The Emperor could not leave the palace easily, especially on big days like the New Year. If there was a slight mishap, no one could bear the responsibility.
But the Emperor came out discreetly, and his first stop was Yan Wang Mansion. Lin Wei Xi subconsciously looked at Gu Hui Yan when she heard the news. Sure enough, he wasn't elated or felt like an honored subordinates. Although Gu Hui Yan looked calm as usual, but there was an invisible seriousness in his eyes.
Gu Hui Yan stood up, following his movements, the whole room became quiet. The Emperor's goal on this trip was obviously Gu Hui Yan. After he took two steps, he seemed to remember something, his movements halted then turned to Lin Wei Xi and said: "I will go out to meet the Holy One, you will wait here for now."
Many people outside were waiting for Yan Wang, but Yan Wang stopped at this moment and specifically explained to Wangfei. No one dared to speak inside or outside the house, only Lin Wei Xi's voice sounded: "Wangye, I understand."
Perhaps he saw that Lin Wei Xi looked nervous, Gu Hui Yan covered Lin Wei Xi's hands, his palms were warm and powerful, it gave an indescribable sense of peace of mind: "I'm just outside, don't be afraid."
Lin Wei Xi's heart instantly calmed. She squeezed out a smile for Gu Hui Yan, nodded and said, "Alright, I'm waiting for Wangye."
Gu Hui Yan soon left. When the people that were waiting at the door saw Gu Hui Yan coming out they followed him silently, and in the blink of an eye the group disappeared from the red gauze screen inner courtyard.
The Emperor personally came to Yan Wang Mansion on a reunion day like the New Year, which showed how important Yan Wang in His Majesty's heart. The servants were all proud and immersed in the joy of receiving the Holy One. Wan Xing was born in a small town, and before meeting Lin Wei Xi, she never thought that one day she would be able to see the Emperor. Wan Xing's face was filled with uncontrollable joy. Seeing Lin Wei Xi's faint expression, she couldn't help saying: "Wangye, the Holy One is here, maybe will have the meal together later."
"I know." Lin Wei Xi replied in a low voice. When the Emperor came, she pretended to be delighted and grateful. Lin Wei Xi had a smile on her face, but her heart couldn't stop sinking. The Emperor left the Empress Dowager and the people in the palace behind, for what he went through so much trouble to go to Yan Wang Mansion? This kind of thing must be hidden from everyone. What is the Emperor want to do?
Gu Hui Yan went out to meet the Emperor, but Gu Cheng Yao stayed inside. Not everyone was qualified to face the Holy One. The Emperor went incognito to make a private tour. If the Emperor took the initiative to speak to Yan Wang's family and relatives, this was of course no problem, but if the Emperor didn't speak, it's best not to make claims.
Everyone in the room was smiling now, but Gu Cheng Yao could tell at a glance that Lin Wei Xi was not sincere. Gu Cheng Yao looked a few more times and couldn't help but said to Lin Wei Xi: "Since the Emperor is traveling incognito, and he hasn't passed the words in advance, then he won't be too picky about the reception etiquette. You...mother don't be nervous."
Gao Ran glanced at Gu Cheng Yao in surprise. Why Gu Cheng Yao specifically said this to Lin Wei Xi? Was it for comfort? Lin Wei Xi didn't look back when she heard it, just faintly nodded with an "um".
Before long, there were hurried footsteps outside, the maids and the palace envoy hurriedly walked into the inner courtyard. Lin Wei Xi stood up when she heard the footsteps. After hearing the message from the palace servant, she immediately led the crowd and waited respectfully at the door. According to seniority in the family, Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran were Lin Wei Xi's son and daughter-in-law, so based on welcoming customs Lin Wei Xi stood at the front, and Gu Cheng Yao stood one step behind Lin Wei Xi. Gu Cheng Yao couldn't help frowning as he looked at the fiery red and delicate back in front of him.
Soon, the Emperor appeared surrounded by everyone. The Emperor, who was still a youth walked in the middle. Next to him was Gu Hui Yan. Behind the two of them were many eunuchs wearing palace servant clothes.
Lin Wei Xi bowed deeply the moment she saw the Emperor. The beautiful lady had folded skirts, her head hanged slightly, and her long and graceful neck was especially obvious. Gu Hui Yan recognized Lin Wei Xi in the crowd at a glance. When he approached, the Emperor smiled and spread his hands: "Wangfei, please rise. Today Zhen come uninvited and disturbed Uncle Yan Wang. If still tiring Aunt Wang to make salutation, then Zhen is too much."
Lin Wei Xi lowered her head and said she didn't dare. Although the Emperor asked her to get up, she still saluted the Emperor properly, and then slowly stood up with the help of the maids.
Gu Hui Yan said: "The wind is strong at night, dare not let Your Majesty stand outside for too long. What words to say, let's say it inside."
The little Emperor agreed, and the group walked into the house. Before the Emperor came in, Lin Wei Xi and Gu Hui Yan were sitting above at the main seat. Now that the Emperor suddenly came, Lin Wei Xi certainly did not dare to let the Emperor take the second seat. She gave up her seat, and a maid had already moved a light armchair for Lin Wei Xi, and Lin Wei Xi sat down beside Gu Hui Yan.
Sitting in a small room were the top noble people under the sky, surrounded by gold and jade, the fragrance was curling up, the maids and palace envoy were standing upright, the servants were like clouds, everything looks grandeur, beautiful and bright. The little Emperor dressed in crimson plain clothes sat opposite Gu Hui Yan. Although Lin Wei Xi was sitting on a small chair, but she was leaning against Gu Hui Yan so her identity was obvious. The remaining Gu Cheng Yao, Gao Ran and others could only stand, and behind them, there were many more maids and servants.
After the host and guest took their seats one by one, the maids filed in, served hot tea with pastries, and then bowed their heads and held their breath to retreated, moving silently between them. After everyone was gone, the Emperor took the lead with a smile and said: "Uncle Wang have a reunion with aunt and Shizi. Zhen garrulously disturbed the reunion of Uncle Yan Wang with his family, really feel apologetic."
"Your Majesty's remarks are very wrong. Your Majesty honored us with your presence is making the Yan Wang Mansion flourish." Gu Hui Yan said.
The Emperor was now thirteen years old. He was between a man and a child, with a long neck and fair skin, looks young and tender and also energetic. He laughed after hearing Gu Hui Yan's words and said: "Uncle Yan Wang's words are too polite. In order of age Zhen and Shizi are still brothers from the same family. Uncle Wang doesn't dislike Zhen for coming uninvited and disturbing your family conversation is good. How can Zhen use the monarch and minister's ceremony to trouble Uncle Wang and Wangfei."
The Emperor's smile seemed clean and friendly. This was the privilege of children and young people, no matter what, it was difficult for people to feel disgusted. Gu Hui Yan nodded and smiled when he heard these words: "This is natural. Gu Cheng Yao has the luck to be a few years older than Your Majesty. He is honored that Your Majesty not abandon, and use brotherhoods to call each other. You are all of the same generation, maybe have more common topics to talk about. Whether reading or martial arts, if Your Majesty and him can exchange pointers, it will be a good deed."
The Emperor smiled more sincerely when he heard these words. Although Lin Wei Xi was sitting very close to the Emperor, she was sheltered under Gu Hui Yan's figure, and her sense of security doubled, if the Emperor have some hidden thoughts she didn't necessarily pick it up herself. Lin Wei Xi slowly pondered over the words of the Emperor and Gu Hui Yan just now. The two seemed to be talking about everyday things, but there were fine and subtle meanings in them, if not listened carefully it would really be impossible to figure out. The Emperor's visit to Yan Wang Mansion on New Year's Eve already had a lot of meaning, and just now he deliberately said that everyone was surnamed Gu and from the same family. Afterwards, Gu Hui Yan also responded to the hook thrown by the Emperor and pushed Gu Cheng Yao out. Gu Cheng Yao was a younger generation, and speaking with the same generation should be better than with Yan Wang himself.
TN: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I originally planned to take a break for a while, because even though I don't celebrate Christmas, it is holiday season and I get distracted A LOT. But, I know that if I don't translate or updating for several days it's really hard to pick it up again. And I really want to finish this project. I am also a reader so I know the most annoying thing about reading Chinese novels (or Koreans or Japanese) is when the translators suddenly went AWOL. So cheer me on y'all and hopefully I don't get c-word and can safely finish translating this novel.
It was impossible for the Emperor to come over from afar just to exchange pointer with Gu Cheng Yao. What he wanted was Yan Wang's attitude. Now there were many members of imperial court, and First Assistant Zhang's disciples were everywhere. Yan Wang was a ruler of the vassal state, and he held a large army of 100,000. Which side he was on? Here was the meaning of "the same family" that the Emperor said.
After Lin Wei Xi picked up the subtle meaning of these two sentences, several more rounds of dialogue between Gu Hui Yan and the Emperor had passed. Lin Wei Xi couldn't help sighing from the bottom of her heart, no wonder they said that becoming the close minister for the Son of Heaven was not good. This was the most powerful and also the most dangerous place. If it changed with her, she might still in the middle of understanding the Emperor's deep meaning, and the conversation on the other side would have ended. How could she be able to answer so smoothly like Gu Hui Yan, handled matters with ease, and the exchanges were all hidden words.
The Emperor got a satisfactory answer, and his expression was obviously flying. Lin Wei Xi looked at the timing and took the opportunity to ask: "Your Majesty, the mansion's annual banquet is ready, may this subject wife be so bold to ask if Your Majesty is willing to attend?"
"This is natural. For a long time have heard Yan Wangfei's orchid heart and vanilla quality. The Empress Dowager in the deep palace has heard about it. Didn't expect today Zhen able to see it." The Emperor stood up as he said, and others accompanied him to stand up, but the Emperor instead of rushing to leave, he said to Lin Wei Xi, "Although Mother Empress is at ease in the palace, but without people to talk to will inevitably be lonely. If Yan Wangfei has time, there's no harm going to the palace more."
Lin Wei Xi responded with a smile, "Yes."
The Holy One will also be seated, and the mansion's New Year's Eve dinner immediately increased three levels. Fortunately, Lin Wei Xi's management of the inner house was very regulated. Now that she had enough status, she didn't have to worry about the people below, and there was no Bu Mama who used ordered people around. Lin Wei Xi's arrangements had become more and more clear, strict and self-contained. The servants all had their own department, and Lin Wei Xi's instructions were sufficiently clear, so in the extraordinary circumstances like the Holy One's sudden visit, there was no mistake.
When the Emperor arrived suddenly, many arrangements in the kitchen had to be redone. This way, the time was rushed and the pressure was high, and it was most likely to cause trouble. Gao Ran had secretly raised her heart, but when she saw the annual banquet served meticulously, and there was not even a little disagreement, the feeling in Gao Ran's heart became more complicated.
Gao Ran glanced at Gu Cheng Yao and found that he was also obviously relieved, and a trace of admiration appeared between his brows. Gao Ran pursed the corner of her mouth and retracted her gaze. After this incident, afraid Lin Wei Xi's position in the mansion would become more detached. Even the big banquet with the Emperor could be arranged in a moment, and who else dares not accepted it, a mistress who had been managing the household for 20 or 30 years probably would not dare to speak such big words.
The Emperor said that he was going to have the New Year's Eve dinner with Yan Wang Mansion's family, but in fact he only sat down for a few rounds of wine with Gu Hui Yan, soon he got up and left the mansion. Now the news that the Emperor's going out of the palace must be known to every household, even if the Emperor was not happy, he still need to visit First Assistant Zhang's house.
After the Emperor left, everyone silently breathe a sigh of relief.
Gu Hui Yan's expression was still calm, but Lin Wei Xi spent day and night with him, and immediately saw that although he looked calm, there were still many subtleties, he should have a load on his mind and only the little Emperor who had just left was worthy of Gu Hui Yan's thoughtful expression.
"Wangye." Lin Wei Xi called out softly. Gu Hui Yan regained his senses, glanced at Lin Wei Xi, and took her hand from under the table: "It's okay. Your Majesty should go to Zhang Mansion. We don't need to worry about entering the palace. Let's continue with the meal."
Lin Wei Xi nodded in response, and Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran also took their seats. However, after this episode, they ate without tasting the food, no one could focus on the meal.
Seeing many people just dropped their chopsticks, seemed not intend to continue, Lin Wei Xi waved her hand to let the maids take down the New Year's Eve banquet. The maids moved the dishes quietly, while the masters had already moved and took their seats in the other room.
This was the first New Year since Lin Wei Xi has been married in her two lives. There was a huge gap from an unmarried daughter to a daughter-in-law. She usually found a quiet place to talk to her sisters and maids, but now she absolutely couldn't. Fortunately, Lin Wei Xi did not have a mother-in-law, and the only one in the mansion who was older than her was Yan Wang. However, accompanying her husband and accompanying her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law to welcome the New Year were obviously two different things. Lin Wei Xi was by Gu Hui Yan's side, and she didn't feel that it's unbearable.
However, in the same situation, Gao Ran's mood was completely different, as Gao Ran still had to stay by Lin Wei Xi's side. Lin Wei Xi sat behind and felt sleepy. Her eyes were too heavy, but she thought that she was an elder, and she must be dignified in front of the junior, so she forced her eyelids up. After a while, her eyes were full of water mist, stared blankly ahead.
The sleepy Lin Wei Xi reacted much slower. Compared with her usual glib-tongued, with her wet eyes, she looked harmless and innocent. For people who was often ravaged by her words, she was undoubtedly many times cuter now.
That's what Gu Cheng Yao thought. Of course he knew that it was wrong to think like this. It was his stepmother, and it reasonable for him to avoid suspicion. This was not only disrespectful to the young stepmother, but also disrespectful to his father. But even if he retracted his eyes, he still couldn't control to replay the scene he had just seen in his mind. It turned out that Lin Wei Xi was like this when she was sleepy, her reaction was slow, and the whole person was tender and delicate.
Gu Hui Yan sat upright for a while, in the end couldn't help it. He sighed, reached out his hand to support Lin Wei Xi who was swaying back and forth, and said, "Since you are sleepy, go back and rest for a while."
Lin Wei Xi's brain was not too clear. Sleepy people were just like a drunk people. The most taboo thing was for others to says that she was sleepy. Lin Wei Xi slapped Gu Hui Yan's hand away: "I'm not sleepy."
The whole room was silent, Wangfei actually slapped Yan Wang's hand? Wan Xing was about to be suffocated. She wanted to step forward and shake Lin Wei Xi awake to remind her one or two, only to find that Yan Wang just sighed, supporting Lin Wei Xi's shoulder and laying her flat on his lap.
Lin Wei Xi followed the momentum and lay down, and after a while, she fell asleep in confusion. Gu Hui Yan sorted out the falling hair on the back of Lin Wei Xi's neck, and immediately continued to do his own things without the slightest offensive displeasure. Wan Xing was dumbfounded watching this scene, until someone pulled her sleeves, she silently retreated, just like the many gasping people in the room, pretending to not see anything.
Lin Wei Xi didn't know what happened, she just felt that she slept warmly and comfortably. It was unknown how long before she was gently shaken to wake up: "Wake up first, it's new year."