Chapter 1632: Chapter 1632: Well-Informed
After dinner, Zhulan signaled the maids to leave before talking about the twins again, worriedly saying, “Unless Jiang An fakes his death, he can’t return to the country. He has reached his current position and won’t easily return, right?”
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, “As long as he’s not exposed, the Emperor won’t let him return, unless we annex that country.”
Zhulan, “…”
If the Emperor wanted to annex it, he would’ve done so long ago. Now annexation would be a burden; the grasslands and Dongbei are two large gluttons devouring gold. In times of food scarcity, the Imperial court lacks the spare capacity to manage surrounding small states.
Zhulan calculated the twins’ age, “They’re not young anymore; they should have been engaged by age. Now they can’t return, and abroad they can’t just remain unmarried, can they!”
Thinking of her grandchildren marrying overseas, for their country but marrying someone they don’t like, it made her feel suffocated!
Zhou Shuren also felt stuffy, “These two brats.”
Zhulan, “Tomorrow your eldest daughter will definitely come crying to me.”
Zhou Shuren, “…..”
Just like Zhulan said, the next day without even eating, Xue Mei came back, her eyes swollen badly. Zhulan signaled Qing Xue to bring another bowl of wonton, “No appetite for rice, join me for a bit.”
Xue Mei’s voice was heavy, hardly slept last night, tears fell uncontrollably thinking of her two sons, “Hmm.”
After breakfast, Zhulan waited for the table to be cleared, leaving only Qing Xue before saying, “If you think both kids are serving abroad, does that make you feel better?”
Xue Mei’s voice was heavier, “They’re different from their second brother, who is not in danger. They are, even a slight mistake could cost them their lives.”
Zhulan, “Who says your second brother’s foreign service isn’t dangerous? They all are.”
Xue Mei pursed her lips in silence, tears silently streaming down; she felt miserable for her two eldest sons.
Zhulan sighed, “Stop crying; if you cry, I might cry too.”
She felt extremely distressed, her daughter’s tears pained her, and she worried even more for her grandchildren; her heart felt increasingly unsettled.
Xue Mei wiped her tears with a handkerchief, “By age, they should be married now.”
Zhulan, “I mentioned it to your father yesterday, alright, stop worrying.”
The twins actually benefited the Jiang family; even with Shuren’s operation, Jiang Zhu and Muphan wouldn’t have gone to such good places. The twins’ contributions were a factor here.
Xue Mei couldn’t cry at home; neither her mother-in-law nor her father-in-law knew Jiang Ping had returned. Afraid her mother-in-law would find out, she could only confide in her own mother.
After a while, Lin Xi came in, “Grandma, I promised Yu Wen cousin to go out, aunt, why are you crying?”
Xue Mei’s eyes were terribly dry, her smile stiff, “I’m missing your twin cousins.”
Lin Xi didn’t know how to comfort her, “When they come back, aunt must give them a beating, see if they dare make you sad again.”
Xue Mei, “Alright, I’ll listen to Lin Xi.”
Yu Wen also inquired and confirmed that her aunt was okay before heading out with Lin Xi.
Xue Mei came to her senses, “Wait, why did Yu Wen actively go out?”
Zhulan, “Because her father is well-informed.”
Xue Mei, “Ah?!”
Zhulan didn’t mention Yu Wen had taken a liking to Gu Sheng, diverting the topic, “Did Jiang Zhu and Jiang Miu send any letters back?”
Xue Mei felt better thinking of her children, “A few days ago a letter arrived, they have settled down, both kids are fine, telling us not to worry.”
They also sent some dried fish and other seafood back, but she hadn’t given them to her mother as they weren’t anything good.
Zhulan, “As long as they’re okay, I just fear they won’t take to the coastal climate and fall ill.”
Xue Mei had a smile, “I sent a lot of medicine pills with them.”
“That’s good.”
In Zhangzhou Province, Yushuang was sitting by the field with two children picking wild vegetables, the land was owned by families growing medicinal herbs. Yushuang picked a basket full of wild vegetables and felt a bit tired.
Liufeng walked over to his mom and the kids, “Tired?”
Yushuang nodded, “Do you want to rest a bit?”
Liufeng was also tired, wearing coarse clothes today, having personally planted herbs for a while, he didn’t mind the dirty ground and sat next to his wife, “This year many villages have opened up a lot of cultivated land, life will keep getting better.”
Yushuang looked at the kids in the fields, “It’s hard to see new clothes before, now many kids have new outfits.”
Liufeng smiled, “Life is wealthier, and the county isn’t lifeless anymore.”
With silver in hand, the county saw a lot of new shops open up, including snack stalls.
Liufeng barely planted for a while before the people didn’t let him continue, not because they disliked his planting but didn’t want him tired, for growing herbs had brought silver to their hands, Liufeng was dearly loved by the people.
The result being on Yushuang’s way home by carriage, not only did she have a lot of wild vegetables, but someone had fished two fish specially.
Yushuang giggled, “These wild vegetables can be eaten for a long while.”
Liufeng also laughed, “Dry them if we can’t finish for winter consumption.”
Yushuang, “Alright, we’ll send some to the capital then, all a testament of people’s favor towards you.”
Liufeng felt a bit embarrassed, “It’s what I should do.”
Yushuang was proud, reaching out to hold her husband’s much rougher hand, “You are my pride.”
Liufeng hugged his wife, knowing without his wife’s family, being a good official would’ve been hard; his smooth journey was owed to her family and her unwavering support and companionship.
In the capital tea house, Lin Xi had drunk two cups of tea already, “Cousin, did you get the place wrong?”
“No possibility, my father couldn’t be wrong.”
Gu Sheng readily defends from his father, his father asked casually, Gu Sheng mentioned the name of the tea house directly!
Lin Xi suddenly tugged at her cousin’s sleeve, “Is it them getting off the carriage?”
Yu Wen glanced, indeed it was the Gu family brothers, both went into the tea house, soon another carriage arrived, a woman alighted, with a young lady behind her, clearly older, not married at this age, some story must be here.
Yu Wen summoned the waiter to inquire a bit, after a little while, a maid came over, “Mr. Gu is enjoying tea downstairs.”
Lin Xi caressed her whip, “Is his brother considering a match?”
“Seems like it, otherwise he wouldn’t have come alone.”
Lin Xi sighed, “A child without parents has to personally worry.”
Within a quarter, Yu Wen and Lin Xi saw a woman and young girl leave, followed shortly by two women, an older and a middle-aged one from Gu Sheng’s private room, seeing the Gu brothers escorting them onto a carriage.
Yu Wen smiled, “Quite courteous, found a matchmaker on their own.”
Lin Xi pulled her cousin up, “If we don’t get up now, they will leave.”
Yu Wen didn’t move, “They’ll come back, won’t leave for a while.”
Lin Xi saw the two brothers return to the tea house, gasped, couldn’t help but bump her cousin’s shoulder, “You’ve hardly seen Gu Sheng much, yet know him quite well!”