Ch. 255 Looking for Snow Mountain Mists
Of course, Chu Lian obviously wasn't allowed to go in the end, so she stayed in the mansion.
However, she wasn't silly enough to just wait around doing nothing. She compiled modern tips and tricks for hiking onto a sheet of paper for He Changdi to take along with him.
Although Chu Lian had never climbed Mount Everest in her past life, she had tried climbing some other snowy mountains. Furthermore, she had taken the time to take several lessons under a professional coach, so it was obvious that she was more well-trained for mountain climbing than the ancients.
He Sanlang tucked the list of 'things to note' away into his clothes. The thin slip of paper felt like a personal heater for his heart.
When he looked at the writing and saw how different it was to 'Chu Lian's' writing in his past life, He Changdi didn't know why he didn't feel a single shred of alarm. Conversely, the tightly wound nerves in his heart relaxed.
The northern border troops had achieved an overwhelming victory over the hundred thousand-strong Tuhun army, and this news only took two days to reach Suzhou City, which was next to Lake Qianshan.
Suzhou City then passed on the news to the capital, sent out at the highest speed and priority.
The scourge of the north had been defeated, and it was nearly New Year. If the good news could reach the capital before New Year's Eve, then the capital's celebrations would be even more joyous.
With their borders safe and their tributary states coming down to pay their respects for New Year, it was a double blessing for the Great Wu Dynasty.
When the news reached Suzhou City, Xiao Bojian was in the middle of drinking some tea inside his tent.
Three men dressed in black were kneeling in the center.
One stood right next to Xiao Bojian at his usual place. He was trying his best to erase all signs of his presence, afraid that he might provoke his unstable master somehow.
Xiao Bojian's cool gaze swept over the three kneeling men. Although his tone seemed normal, the three men knew exactly what he meant when he spoke. They couldn't help but shiver in fear.
"One, settle this according to our standard procedures."
Even the leader of the secret guards, One, couldn't hold back a shiver from the unfeeling words.
However, he didn't have any right to plead for mercy for them. He walked up to the three men and stuffed a small brown pill in each person's mouth so quickly that they couldn't react.
After having the small pill forcefully fed down their throats, the faces of the three men turned deathly pale.
"It's your last chance now. You know what will happen if this poison isn't cured after a month," One warned.
Following that, Xiao Bojian dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
One took his place at Xiao Bojian's side again, turning back into an invisible person.
Only he knew what he felt inside at this moment.
He just couldn't understand how a pampered, weak girl like Honoured Lady Jinyi could have escaped from the hands of their deadly operatives. She had also been able to kill the four operatives before escaping... His throat suddenly felt a little dry and cold sweat gathered on his back.
Xiao Bojian's features had always been more feminine. The threatening aura draped around him only emphasised the sinister cast of his face. Now that the northern border troops had won the northern war, there was no longer any need for the northwestern army to continue staying in Suzhou City. He believed the Emperor would recall the northwestern army once he received the news and send them back to their original posts.
Then he would be returning to the capital soon.
Although Xiao Bojian refused to accept this truth, there was no longer any need to remain in Suzhou.
But thinking of Lian'er... Whenever Xiao Bojian thought of how Chu Lian was still by He Changdi's side, his rage would slip out of his control and he would feel the urge to rip He Changdi to shreds.
While the clouds hanging over Xiao Bojian's expression had yet to fade, someone outside the tent had something to report.
Returning to his senses, Xiao Bojian hid his emotions and allowed the messenger to enter.
The curtain blocking the entrance was lifted and a low-ranking soldier entered with a letter.
With the utmost respect, the soldier said, "Sir Xiao, you have a letter from the capital."
It was One who stepped forward and picked up the letter, handing it to Xiao Bojian with both hands.
Xiao Bojian gripped the thin letter with his slender fingers and waved in dismissal at the soldier. The soldier then bowed his head and left.
As Xiao Bojian stared at the letter, his brows drew together.
He checked both sides of the envelope, but there weren't any markings at all. If not for the feeling of something inside the envelope, he would have thought that it was empty.
He sneered inside; this was probably a ploy from someone.
His parents had died when he was young and his clan had fallen into decline. There weren't that many of them left. The only people he was familiar with in the capital were members of House Ying and his schoolmates. He had already received House Ying's letter a few days ago, so this couldn't have been sent by Old Duke Ying. This made the anonymous sender even more of a mystery.
After tearing the envelope open, Xiao Bojian found a thin piece of paper.
Not much was written within; only up to half the paper had been filled. However, just the content alone was enough to make Xiao Bojian's expression change completely.
His disdainful expression was instantly wiped clean. Xiao Bojian gripped the paper in his hands hard as his features contorted. After a moment, he actually burst out into loud laughter. The sight was so spine-chilling and fearsome that even One's body trembled.
"Mas... Master, is something wrong?"
"The heavens are truly on my side!" Xiao Bojian was already so immersed in the waves of excitement overwhelming him that he didn't even hear what One said.
His upturned eyes were filled with excitement as he gripped the letter in his hand and ordered, "Send some men to Mount Ah-Ming! They must annihilate He Changdi no matter the cost! If they fail the mission, then expect their heads to roll! Send someone to investigate the source of this letter as well!"
One didn't dare to question his master further and immediately left to carry out his commands.
After One left, Xiao Bojian was left alone in the tent.
He stared at the words on the letter. Mount Ah-Ming, Snow Mountain Mists! He Sanlang, this is going to be a journey of no return for you!
After staring at the letter for a while, Xiao Bojian felt that the writing was strangely familiar, but he lost the feeling after inspecting it carefully.
When he gave it some thought, Xiao Bojian couldn't help but find it strange. He Changdi had gone into the army so quickly, just who could it be that hated him so much? House Jing'an didn't have many enemies in the capital as Count Jing'an spent most of his time guarding Mingzhou. Furthermore, the information contained in the letter was a huge secret that should only be known to the family members of House Jing'an.
Even his spies hadn't been able to find out that they needed the Snow Mountain Mists flower.
Xiao Bojian's eyes turned into narrow slits as he pondered.
The following day, He Changdi brought a team of people he trusted and rushed towards Mount Ah-Ming.
Mount Ah-Ming wasn't too far from Liangzhou City. Now that they had their snowboats and the warm pens, there wasn't any place that was too far from reach for them, even on the snowiest of days.
The northern border troops had just achieved a huge victory, and He Sanlang was one of the soldiers who had contributed much to that. After he had privately explained his reasons to Great General Qian, the general had kindly given him half a month off and even allowed him to choose a few elite soldiers to accompany him.
He Changdi didn't depart from the He Estate and left directly from the main camp instead. Thus, Chu Lian didn't have to send him off.
On the third day after He Sanlang had left for Mount Ah-Ming, Chu Lian had just gotten out of from bed when she noticed Wenqing, Wenlan, and Manager Qin all busy directing the other servants in a buzz of activity. Her courtyard was especially lively with people going to and fro.
Even Urihan and her two children were pitching in to help.
Chu Lian was flabbergasted. She didn't know what they were so busy with.
When Wenlan noticed her bewildered young madam standing in the corridor watching them, she hurried over to welcome her with a smile.
"Third Young Madam, why didn't you put on an extra cloak on such a cold day?"
Chu Lian waved her hand to indicate that she was fine. Her body was completely healthy now, and she wasn't that fragile.
"What are you all so busy with? There's so many people, and it's so early, too..."
Wenlan's eyes widened with how startled she was. She covered the smile that had sprung to her lips and said, "Third Young Madam, you must have forgotten the date! The Kitchen God Festival is approaching, so we are getting everyone to clean the courtyard in preparation for the Kitchen God Festival."
Chu Lian smacked her head. Her mind had been so occupied with worries these few days that she had completely forgotten about that!
It was the 18th of December now, so in a few more days, it would be the Kitchen God Festival.
Chu Lian smiled helplessly. "That's right. I've actually forgotten such an important date."
Wenlan smiled along with her and ordered one of the maidservants passing by to retrieve a list, which she then passed to Chu Lian. "Third Young Madam, these are the things that Manager Qin, Wenqing and I have come up with after discussing what we need to prepare. Please take a look and let Manager Qin know if there's anything we've missed out."
Chu Lian took the list from her and glanced over the long list of goods. She felt a little overwhelmed; they had even listed all the types of dried fruits and nuts they needed.
Her fingers pointed at a few items on the list. "This, this, and this. Are we able to get these in Liangzhou City?"
Wenlan covered her mouth and chuckled. "Third Young Madam, have you forgotten that we have the snowboat now? Suzhou City isn't far from Liangzhou. If we rush over there to buy the things we need now, we'll definitely be able to send them back before the Kitchen God Festival."
Chu Lian: ...
Alright, she had actually forgotten about the 'sled' she had ordered to be made.
After hearing what Wenlan had said, a light bulb lit up in Chu Lian's head. Her limpid eyes were sparkling as bright as if if there were gold ingots in her eyes as she said, "Quick, go and call Manager Qin over."
Before Wenlan could answer her, she turned back and returned to her room. Chu Lian sat by the desk in front of the window and began fervently writing with her charcoal pen.
When Wenlan led Manager Qin in, Chu Lian was still hunched over the table. Seeing that she was in deep concentration, Wenlan didn't dare to disturb her, so she stood there silently waiting with Manager Qin.
By the time Chu Lian had finished writing out the idea that had suddenly struck her, an hour had already passed.
She stretched out her sore body. It was only when she turned her head that she noticed the two waiting for her.
Chu Lian walked over to the warm hearth and pointed at the seats on either side of her. "Everyone, take a seat. I have some orders for you."
Following that, Chu Lian handed over the papers in her hand to Manager Qin on her right.
It wasn't the first time Manager Qin had worked for Chu Lian. No one knew better than he did how novel Chu Lian's ideas and how well she could execute them.
He respectfully received the few pieces of paper and his attention was immediately taken away by them. He lowered his head and started reading earnestly.
At first, the space between his brows was wrinkled in confusion, but as he got to the end, his eyes began to sparkle even more. Manager Qin's whole face was flushed red with excitement. He held the few pieces of paper reverently as if they were some ancient treasure.
Manager Qin looked at Chu Lian with his eyes as wide as they could go and said, "Third Young Madam, please entrust this matter to this humble one! This humble one will definitely execute everything perfectly!"
Chu Lian smiled. "I called you over to look at this, so of course I was planning to hand this task over to you. Even if you wanted to reject it, I wouldn't allow you to."
After getting confirmation from Chu Lian, Manager Qin's excitement shot through the roof. "Thank you for granting my wish, Third Young Madam. This humble one will head out to select the helpers immediately!"
Wenlan stared after Manager Qin with a face full of curiosity. When she saw how stirred up he was as he ran out, her face showed that she couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Third Young Madam, what's wrong with Manager Qin? Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?"
Chu Lian smiled secretively, but didn't explain her plan to Wenlan at all.
Ch. 256 Aunt
Instead, Chu Lian changed the topic. "Since the border troops have come out victorious, there's even more reason to celebrate. I've thought of some foods we can have for New Year's. Go and discuss it with Wenqing, then put all the ingredients we need on this list and hand it over to Manager Qin."
After all that had happened ever since they had come to Liangzhou, Wenlan was very happy to see that her mistress had finally recovered the mood to cook up some good food. Chu Lian had just mentioned the food offhandedly and Wenlan was already bubbling with questions about what she was going to make this time.
Although they were stuck out here in rural Liangzhou, Chu Lian didn't want to just make do for this New Year. Anyway, they weren't going to make it back to the capital in time for New Year's Day, so why not make their own preparations here and have some nice festivities with He Changdi?
Thus, for the following days, Wenqing, Wenlan, and Chu Lian made spring rolls, dumpling skins, then the actual dumplings, new year cake, and all sorts of assorted snacks...
Time passed so quickly that, in the blink of an eye, it was already the night of the Kitchen God Festival. Chu Lian and the maidservants prayed to the Kitchen God before they sat down with Urihan and her sons for a hearty dinner. At first, Wenqing and Wenlan weren't willing to sit at the same table as their mistress, but after Chu Lian shot them a warning look, the two of them sat down awkwardly.
The table was filled with all sorts of food. A huge hotpot was placed right in the center with plenty of ingredients next to it. There were thin slices of beef and mutton, tofu, clean sheep intestines, dried vegetables, beancurd skin, beef meatballs...
Chu Lian and a whole group of maidservants had been kept busy the whole day in order to prepare this authentic 'Chongqing hotpot'.
Other than the lack of fresh vegetables, it was pretty much the same as the modern Chongqing hotpot.
There was some weak yellow rice wine, especially suited for women to drink, warming over the brazier. Chu Lian waved her hand to signal the maidservants to start cooking.
The He Estate in Liangzhou was filled with people making merry and enjoying the festivities. Even the outer court was no exception, with Li Xing and the old soldiers leading the celebrations.
However, it wasn't so peaceful and lively back in the capital's Jing'an Estate.
At the end of November, the estate had been greeted with the news that Heir Jing'an's servant concubine, Miaozhen, was pregnant.
On the very same day, the heir's wife, Madam Zou, had burst out in a fit of temper and broken the teacup in her hand. She had even brought Senior Servant Qiao and her handmaid, Jinshui, to Miaozhen's courtyard to make a fuss.
Miaozhen had almost been force fed some herbal medicine to make her miscarry.
Luckily, her maidservant had been quick-witted enough to run away and report the situation to Countess Jing'an, Madam Liu.
When Madam Liu had heard what was going on, she flipped her lid and pushed her sickly body out of bed to stop Madam Zou.
Following that, she had brought Miaozhen back to her side so that she could have a peaceful pregnancy.
However, after forcing herself out of bed and having her blood pressure shoot up from her anger, the efforts that Great Doctor Miao had put into strengthening her body were completely wasted. The state of her health was back to where they started.
Since Madam Zou had no other outlet to vent her anger on, when He Changqi returned to the estate, she had another huge quarrel with him.
He Dalang had been feeling guilty about the whole mess at first, but after what Madam Zou put him through, that little bit of guilt instantly disappeared.
Madam Zou took her two daughters with her back to her maiden home, the Dingyuan Estate, for a week. After both getting persuaded by her mother and being invited back by a messenger from Matriarch He, she finally returned to the Jing'an Estate.
The new year was almost here. The estate couldn't do without a woman in charge of the household, and there was no one else who could take the post.
It was around this time that Madam Zou suddenly started playing up her helplessness. Her belly was still boiling with anger. Furthermore, the stores in House Jing'an's name weren't earning much. They had to spend lots of money to keep up their dignity as a noble house while visiting friends around the capital.
On this day, she brought her two daughters over to Qingxi Hall to give their greetings to the matriarch.
Madam Zou pulled the six-year-old Little An and the four-year-old Little Lin close to her and whispered in their ears, "Hurry up and greet your great-grandmother."
Little An and Little Lin ran over to the matriarch on their little legs and called out sweetly in unison, "Great-Grandmother!"
The matriarch patted the two girls' heads with affection.
When she had a good look at how the two girls were dressed, Matriarch He's expression turned grave.
"It's almost New Year's now; why haven't you let the children dress up a little? At such a young age, they should be wearing brighter and livelier colours. They should have their golden lock amulets and pearls on, too."
After Matriarch He mentioned their state of dress, everyone in the parlour directed their gazes to the two youngest misses of the house. They showed all sorts of expressions after doing so.
The two young girls were wearing some worn, plain short dresses today. There wasn't even a single kind of decoration on their little heads. Even the pearl-inlaid gold collars they usually wore had been taken off. They didn't look anything like the precious noble ladies they were. Instead, they looked no different from the daughters of commoners.
It was going to be New Year's in a few more days, yet the legitimate misses of their estate were dressed so poorly. No wonder the matriarch wasn't pleased.
Madam Zou had been waiting for Matriarch He to say something like this. She gripped the handkerchief in her hand without saying a word, as if she was embarrassed to speak. Senior Servant Qiao couldn't stand seeing her mistress like that, so she spoke up.
"Matriarch, please pardon us. The two young misses are our madam's dear children. How could Eldest Young Madam bear to treat them shabbily? It's just that our Eldest Young Madam has found it hard to make ends meet as the lady-in-charge, especially since we're preparing for New Year's. Eldest Young Madam still has to spend an appropriate amount for gifts to other estates so that our estate won't be looked down upon. Since the two misses are Eldest Young Madam's daughters, the two misses have to share a little of the burden now that the main branch has cut down on spending."
Senior Servant Qiao immediately kneeled down right after she finished speaking, as if she knew she had done wrong by explaining all that and was prepared to receive any punishment for speaking out of turn. This made it hard for the matriarch to say anything else.
The corners of Madam Zou's eyes reddened and she mumbled, "Grandmother, it's Granddaughter-in-Law who wasn't capable enough to manage the household properly and made Grandmother worry."
Matriarch He frowned deeply. Although she was starting to dislike this granddaughter-in-law of hers more and more, Dalang had indeed taken a concubine before he had turned thirty, so she still felt like she owed Madam Zou a little for that.
After thinking for a bit, the matriarch swallowed her frustrations.
"Bring over the public account books for me to see how much we're lacking."
Madam Zou inwardly celebrated even as she kept her head lowered in a sign of obedience. She quickly shot her handmaid Jinshui a look.
In a short moment, the account books had been brought over.
Matriarch He set the account books on a table next to her and waved her hand at Madam Zou. "Go and mind your tasks. I'll keep this account book with me for now. Come back again tomorrow morning. Also, Little An and Little Lin are still young. Even if we can't make ends meet any longer, we can't let the children suffer."
Madam Zou stood up and led her two daughters to bow towards the matriarch with reverence. "Thank you for your teachings, Grandmother. Granddaughter-in-Law won't let this happen again."
"Alright, alright. You're dismissed."
Madam Zou left and brought her daughters back to the main branch's courtyard.
Little An and Little Lin were taken back to their own rooms by their nursemaids. Only Madam Zou's most trusted servants, Senior Servant Qiao and the handmaid Jinshui, were left in the room.
Senior Servant Qiao passed a teacup to Madam Zou. "Eldest Young Madam, will this really work? Even though Third Young Madam is no longer in the estate, the matriarch's servants are still managing Guilin Restaurant. The matriarch didn't agree to this before, so why would the matriarch agree to it now?"
Madam Zou harrumphed. "This time, it's not up to the matriarch any longer! Just wait and see!"
Although Senior Servant Qiao didn't agree with what Madam Zou was doing, she couldn't stop her anymore. She could only sigh to herself.
Ever since the heir had taken a concubine, Madam Zou's thoughts had gone to new extremes.
Actually, House Jing'an's family tradition was one of the best around. Even though He Changqi hadn't waited until he was thirty to take a concubine, according to the family laws, he was already twenty nine this year. That was already close enough to thirty. The couple had been married for almost ten years, but they still only had Little An and Little Lin.
There was no male heir for House Jing'an at the moment. In any other noble house, it was perfectly normal for the senior family members to be getting antsy by now.
Even so, Eldest Young Madam wasn't putting her efforts into winning back her husband, but on trying to control the family fortunes instead. Senior Servant Qiao lamented again in her heart.
Madam Zou's eyes were still alight with determination.
The matriarch's only daughter was about to return home. She really had to thank the person who had revealed that information to her.
Within Qingxi Hall, Matriarch He was still lying back on the wooden couch with an account book in hand. The more she looked at the accounts, the more she wanted to tear the book apart with her bare hands.
Senior Servant Liu was doing some embroidery next to the old matriarch, together with Muxiang. When she saw the matriach's tightly furrowed brows and depressed expression, she quickly set down the needle and thread in her hands. Senior Servant Liu walked over to the matriarch's side and, in an attempt to comfort her, said, "Matriarch, what's the matter? Please don't get angry over small matters like these."
The matriarch tossed the account book in her hands aside and let out a long sigh. She angrily pointed at it and said, "Take a look at it yourself. How is that a small matter? You know how much our family assets were worth when I handed them over to her. Look at what she's done to them! The value of our assets have shrunk by at least half. For this whole year, not a single store brought in any profit for us. No wonder she doesn't even have the money to send out New Year presents!"
Senior Servant Liu took up the account books and flipped through the pages. Soon, her brows were furrowed just like the matriarch's. "How can this be? How could we have such heavy losses? Still, you should calm down, Matriarch. You know that Eldest Young Madam isn't good at managing businesses."
"Forget it, forget it. Who told Dalang to have done such a sorry thing to her! Go and get my personal account books from the drawers."
The matriarch flipped through the personal account book in her hands and pointed at a few parts. "Tell the steward to give all these to Madam Zou."
Senior Servant Liu was watching carefully the whole time. When she heard so, she pressed her lips together like she had something to say.
Matriarch He glanced at her. "What's wrong? What is it that you can't say in front of me now?"
"This old servant doesn't dare. But this old servant was just thinking, if you give all these to Eldest Young Madam, then what about Miss Ying..."
The matriarch froze for a moment. Miss Ying was Matriarch He's only daughter; she had married far away to Siyang. Back when she had gotten married, something had happened that had caused Matriarch He to stop all contact with her daughter for many years.
After so many years, Senior Servant Liu had still kept the habit of calling the past Eldest Miss of House Jing'an by her maiden title, Miss Ying.
Half a month ago, Miss Ying had sent a letter home, saying that her husband had passed away from illness and that her husband's family had fallen into ruin. She wanted to bring her daughter back to her maiden home to live out the rest of her days.
The events of the past had happened long ago, and her son-in-law was already gone. Miss Ying was still Matriarch He's very own daughter- how could the matriarch bear to ignore her for the rest of her life?
Thus, the soft-hearted matriarch had sent a letter and some servants to bring Miss Ying and her daughter back to the capital to celebrate New Year's together.
The matriarch stayed in a daze for a long time, as if she had slipped back into her memories. Finally, she said, "For all the assets under my name, which store is the most profitable right now?"
Senior Servant Liu replied truthfully, "You have two silk stores and two grain stores under your name, as well as a dried medicinal herb store. As for the most profitable one, that would have to be that old Guilin Restaurant that you gave to Third Young Madam."