Prior to leaving, Luo Huai Yuan stopped by the manor one more time.
This time, Yan Yan no longer tried to convince him otherwise. She gave him a letter and a person.
This letter was personally written by the Zhenguo Duke. The Fu Province's City Commander Office's Commander Xie used to be someone under the Zhenguo Duke in the past. The contents of the letter was extremely simple, overall just saying the holder of this letter was someone of the younger generation and should be taken care of.
Yan Yan had personally made a trip to the Zhenguo Duke Estate to ask her grandfather for this. She didn't say who it was for, but the Zhenguo Duke probably knew without her saying.
The person she gave him was Lady Hui.
Yan Yan had decided this after thinking about it over and over. Lady Hui was skilled in martial arts. If something really happened, it shouldn't be a problem for her to grab Luo Huai Yuan and run. Especially since Lady Hui had spent her early years as a wandering martial artist. She had a lot of experience on the road, and was definitely better off than someone from the capital blindly running off in one go.
Luo Huai Yuan chuckled foolishly, and hid his gratitude in his heart. He asked, "Little sis Ah Yan, do you have any silver?"
Yan Yan thought he had no silver, and felt like dragging him out for a beating. Wanting to go earn money without any silver. What on earth was he thinking?
Being stared at by Yan Yan made Luo Huai Yuan feel very awkward. He rubbed his nose and said quietly: "I have silver, just not a lot."
These few months the barbecue business netted him a good amount of profit. There were around thirty thousand taels. Although this seemed like a lot of silver, it actually wasn't enough to do anything. Of course, him asking Yan Yan this wasn't just because he lacked silver.
Yan Yan didn't say anything before going back to the Guiyan Chambers and grabbing a little box. She handed it over to him.
"This is everything I've saved up over the years. I'll give it all to you."
Opening the box, everything inside was gold and silver. There were gold and silver ingots as well as all sorts of gold and silver nuggets. They were all given to Yan Yan by her elders. On the very top were several banknotes. The contents were worth around five thousand taels all together. This was all the currency Yan Yan had authority over.
Yan Mo also went to grab his little box. He was small and wasn't as strong. Yan Yan went and helped him carry it out onto the table. Yan Mo silently pushed it towards Luo Huai Yuan.
The contents of this little box was similar to Yan Yan, but Yan Mo was much poorer. There were only several hundred taels.
"Big bro Luo, Ah Mo doesn't have much money. This is for you."
Looking at the two boxes, Luo Huai Yuan rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly: "This, I'll count these as investments. I'll give you dividends later on."
In his several lifetimes, he had experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature. Yet this was the first time he met someone as straightforward as this brother and sister pair. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved. He was about to start tearing up, but that wasn't his style. He could only smile, and smile like a blooming flower.
Others might not be able to tell the meaning of his smile but Yan Yan understood.
She scoffed and said fiercely: "Enough, stop acting. Having it here isn't of any use. It's just sitting around. There isn't that much anyway. That Lady Hui is my martial arts master. I'll lend her to you so you better bring her back in one piece."
Lady Hui smiled faintly. "Miss doesn't have to worry. Lady Hui has been to the Fu Province before, and is very familiar with the place. Even if an accident were to occur, it wouldn't be a problem to protect young master Luo and myself."
Luo Huai Yuan obediently went up to Lady Hui and gave her a bow. "I'll have to trouble Lady Hui in the future." This fellow never missed an opportunity to go with the flow.
Lady Huai repeatedly waved her hand. "Young master Luo musn't say that."
Luo Huai Yuan said his farewells to Yan Yan and Yan Mo and planned on carrying the boxes. These boxes didn't look big but were actually very heavy. He actually couldn't lift them up.
Lady Hui twitched her lips in a smile and took them over.
Luo Huai Yuan only now understood what the little consort meant when she said martial arts master. Could this be an expert?
He didn't have time to overthink it. He waved his hands in farewell. "You guys wait a little. Big bro Luo is going to get a chicken that lays golden eggs for you guys."
.....
Luo Huai Yuan left secretly. He brought along four guards and Xiao An Zi, as well as Lady Hui.
Apart from his own thirty thousand silvers, he also had Yan Yan and Yan Mo's little storage boxes.
That's right, Shen Qi's as well. Shen Qi had gone to send him off in advance, and given him a large stack of silver banknotes. There were around ten thousand taels. This was Shen Qi's share of the profit this month as well as everything in his savings.
Along with this silver which could also be called heavy friendship, Luo Huai Yuan departed for the distant Fu Province. This journey was full of unknowns, but Luo Hai Yuan started feeling more and more confident.
The silver was one thing, but the key was the letter in his robes. With this, as long as it was used appropriately, nothing would be difficult.
Little sis Ah Yan, wait for me. Wait until I earn enough to come back and marry you!
*
After Luo Huai Yuan left, Yan Yan's life became peaceful once more.
A few days later, the teacher Shen Yi Yao found for Yan Mo arrived.
This teacher was surnamed Wu, and was a withered old man over fifty who had quite a lot of white hairs. It was said he used to be a heaven-shaking talent in his early years. He was helpless against misfortune and repeatedly failed the imperial exam. In his anger, he decided to educate people instead. He only had the status of someone who passed the county-level exam, but many of his students actually passed the provincial level exam, and there were even a couple who passed the metropolitan exam. He was very sought after as a teacher.
Shen Yi Yao was only able to invite him over with a large amount of money while also using the allure of the hotsprings.
When the old fellow heard he would be paid quite a lot for tuition, given clothes for all four seasons, room and board, and there were even hotsprings included in the deal, he immediately packed up and came over.
Back then, his wife worked bitterly and stayed home to support him while he took the imperial exam. She ended up falling ill. They had gone to several doctors who all said there weren't any major issues. She just had to properly recuperate. He had worked for some major households in the past and heard from them that hotsprings have healing properties.
Unfortunately these things weren't something normal people could see let alone soak in. Therefore, when he heard there were hotsprings at the manor, he immediately decided to come.
Luckily he and his old wife only had a daughter. After she married out, the old couple lived together by themselves and it didn't really matter where they lived.
When the two arrived, they were given a one compound residence outside the Peaceful Garden. They even got a little lass and a granny to serve them. The old couple was very satisfied.
This residence also had a couple of hotspring pools. It wasn't just the Peaceful Garden that had them. Other areas in the manor had them as well. Back when the Peaceful Garden was constructed, it was built around two hotspring sources. Another source was left outside, and was used to construct two large pools. One was for men and one for women. Only a few limited people were able to make use of it.
After old teacher Wu's wife arrived, she was taken to soak in the pool by Qiao Rong's wife. After she came back, she said it was very comfortable and felt much more relaxed all over. Old teacher Wu made up his mind to properly instruct this little young master so he could live here for a long time.
Yan Mo thus started his lessons, which happened every day for around half a day. Yan Mo was very motivated and hardworking.
After old teacher Wu taught Yan Mo a few days, he told Shen Yi Yao that the young master was innately intelligent. After studying a few years, he would definitely be able to pass the exam.
Shen Yi Yao remained silent.
This old teacher Wu had only been here for a short time and he didn't know the background of this family. He only knew they were wealthy and weren't simple. Of course, he was rather curious about the single mother and her children in this manor. However, he had worked in many major households in the past and knew to be cautious with his words. Therefore, he didn't ask.
Only after listening to the people in the manor did he find out this was a mistress and young master from a marquis household.
He immediately lamented and felt it was a pity. His words hadn't been flattery. Yan Mo was truly innately intelligent, and was rather talented in studying. Unfortunately the Grand Xi had a rule that descendents of royalty and nobility were not allowed to take the imperial exam. Wasn't this a pity?
On second thoughts, these descendants of nobility were a higher level than others the moment they were born. There was no need for them to take the exam. Wasn't it preposterous to feel pity for him? Thus he no longer had these thoughts.
Apart from guiding her daughter, Shen Yi Yao started making clothes and sending it to the Zhenguo Duke Estate in her free time. Although her maternal family didn't show any response, it didn't matter. As long as they accepted them, it was sufficient to make her happy.
The next time Shen Qi came over, he divulged a secret. His grandfather had put on the clothes aunt sent over. Shen Yi Yao was happy for several days, and became much more proactive.
The more she realized the truth, the more Shen Yi Yao felt she had let her parents down. Even if they hadn't forgiven her, it was enough that they accepted her filial piety.
As for Yan Ting, he hadn't come by again. Apart from Xue-shi occasionally sending some things over along with some news from the estate, the Weiyuan Marquis Estate seemed to be very far away from their lives. It was as though the Yan household had already forgotten Shen Yi Yao and her children, and they had forgotten them as well.
But Yan Yan didn't neglect the news from the estate. Every time Shen Qi came, he would give her some.
She knew Yan Ting had gotten connected with the Chengen Marquis Estate and was very smug nowadays. She also knew that the woman Yan Ting brought back was pregnant so the old madam now saw her in a different light. She was promoted to a concubine....
Yan Yan had mentioned this to Shen Yi Yao, who was very calm about it.
Time passed like a boat through the water. Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Many things happened in these three years. Yan Yan and Yan Mo both grew up, and in a few months Yan Yan would be turning fourteen. Yan Mo was almost ten as well. Compared to his previous frail self, not only was he two heads taller, he was also much sturdier.
He no longer had to worry about catching a cold, getting sick and eating medicine. While he couldn't be compared to those muscular boys, he was no different from most of the other boys his age. He studied with his teacher daily and trained with his sister to strengthen his body. In his free time he made a few friends around his age at the manor.
There were a few children at the manor. At first they didn't dare approach Yan Mo because he was the young master. As time passed, they understood that this young master didn't put on airs and would play together with them. He would steal eggs from trees and grab fish in the river.
Apart from this, he also had an extremely beautiful and extremely awesome sister.
This impression came from what they saw when Yan Yan came to call Yan Mo home. Yan Mo who normally directed them to split up into teams to play shoulder wars and officials catching bandits suddenly became a quail when he saw his sister. These brats couldn't help but feel some reverence.
Of course this wasn't the extent of it. This was something that happened previously.
Every manor had several tenant farmers under it. These farmers were mostly born in farming households but didn't have their own farms. They would cultivate the manor's land and sent their harvest upwards. Normally this sort of rent required them to offer up sixty percent while they kept forty. Shen Yi Yao was kindhearted, so the manor only took fifty percent.
These tenant farmers were naturally moved to tears and all praised the madam as a benevolent person. But since ancient times, people couldn't be generalized. There were many types of people. Some were hardworking and capable and they naturally lived in peace and worked happily. Others were naturally lazy and were naturally without clothes, food or money.
These years, the weather was good for the crops and there was a bountiful harvest each time. There would never be tenant farmers who couldn't pay their rent or have to be in debt. However, this year dozens of households were late in their payment. These people weren't trying to not pay, but when the time came, they all had matters to attend to and didn't show up. The manor sent people to hurry them up and those people all had excuses on hand. They said they would pay in a couple of days.
The ones who came for the rent were naturally people who often interacted with these farmers. The head of the farmstead could tell what these people were up to. But since it wasn't appropriate to call them out, he turned around and left.
These tenant farmers continued to drag things out and didn't pay the rent.
At this time, Yan Yan had just taken over the manor's affairs from Shen Yi Yao. This matter was reported to her.
In theory, this could be handled by the head of the farmstead. If he couldn't do it, there was still Manager Qiao.
But as was mentioned before, Shen Yi Yao was a kindhearted person. Normally there would be a couple of households who couldn't pay the rent every year for various reasons. When the servants reported it, Shen Yi Yao would take pity on the distressed farmers. She would feel they didn't even have enough to eat and thus waive the rent.
Because they had this precedent, every time this happened the managers would report it. In the past, they would mention it during their monthly reports. Now that the mistress was living in the manor, she would naturally know about it right away.
The first year Shen Yi Yao moved to the manor, the harvest was pretty bountiful. The head of the farmstead also knew the tenant farmers got a pretty good harvest, but suddenly several more households didn't pay the rent. When it was reported to Qiao Rong, he had some thoughts about it in his heart. When he reported it upwards, he hinted that there might be some people intentionally defaulting on rent.