Chapter 165: Unexpected Visitor

Dabao nodded and then led his mother into the house. He said, “Mom, I saw Uncle Chu smiling.”

Chen Feng chuckled and scolded, “Nonsense. He’s so far away, even in broad daylight, we couldn’t see him smile.”

Dabao pouted and said, “Well, I just felt like he was smiling at us.”

Returning to the western wing, Chen Feng told a few stories to the three children. She then sent Dabao and Yang Chao to the eastern wing to sleep with Lu, while she took Yang Qian to sleep in the western wing.

Zeng Xiaoqing came in with water to help them freshen up. She noticed the pets waiting nearby as they washed up, and found it somewhat surprising.

Chen Feng laughed and said, “They’re waiting for me to clean them off.”

After putting Yang Qian to bed, Chen Feng returned to the main room and wet a cloth in a basin. She watched as the pets stretched their necks, waiting for her to clean their faces and bodies. After she dried them off, they lifted one foot at a time for her to dry. Once they were done, they went back to their nests in the southern room, waiting for Chen Feng to tuck them in.

Chen Feng covered them with blankets and said, “Goodnight, darlings.”

After closing the door to the southern room, Chen Feng turned to Zeng Xiaoqing and said, “Although they are dogs and parrots, we treat them like family. It’s cold now, so we usually bathe them once every two weeks. But every morning they need their mouths cleaned, and every evening they need to be wiped down…”

Perhaps the two parrots were too excited from playing today, because you could still hear them practicing inside, “One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four…”

Chen Feng cracked the door open and scolded, “I won’t feed you tomorrow.”

The parrots then settled down.

Zeng Xiaoqing covered her mouth and chuckled. Any lingering disappointment from the journey from the city to the countryside had completely disappeared.

At the break of dawn, Steward Luo and Luo Xiao arrived in a carriage. They not only brought nine sheep but also ten casks of wine, including two casks of tribute blue wine, six hams, a basket of apples, ten pounds of refined sugar, twenty pounds of dates, one hundred pounds of fine flour, ten pounds of premium rice, four pieces of satin, and more, filling up six large carriages. They presented a formal list, stating that these were New Year gifts from Tangyuan.

Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang, astounded by the abundance, exclaimed, “Heavens, how can we live up to this? How can we?”

Chen Feng chuckled and said, “Don’t forget, Mr. Chu specifically mentioned yesterday that when his grandfather comes, we should prepare hotpot for him several times. I reckon his grandfather will not only come to our house for hotpot but will likely have most of his meals here. Some of these items could be the old gentleman’s provisions. We mustn’t touch the blue wine and premium rice, those are to be reserved for the old gentleman.”

Chen Ming nodded and added, “Should we add a few of these fine items to the gifts for my mother and my elder brother?” They had already bought many New Year gifts for the main house in the county, including food, drink, and clothing.

Chen Feng agreed, saying, “Alright, let’s add another ham, two lamb legs, a cask of wine, ten pounds of apples, and a piece of satin.”

The main house had been quite considerate this time. Not only did they not compromise their integrity for the fifty taels of silver, but they also came to Luyuan to inform them of these developments. Their gesture also entailed a certain degree of risk, a sentiment that both Chen Ming and Chen Feng remembered.

Mrs. Wang further remarked, “Since Tangyuan has sent us New Year gifts, should we send something back to them?”

Previously, they had only prepared some New Year gifts for the Luo family and had made two sets of clothes for Chu Hanyan. However, since they had received so many gifts, it wouldn’t be right not to reciprocate.

Chen Feng stated, “We should reciprocate. They have a sweet tooth, so we should prepare some rare delicacies to send to them.”

Afterwards, Chen Feng bid farewell to the tearful Yang Chao and his sister. This time, she had made a set of clothes for each of them, and also gifted them ten pounds of apples and a basket of homemade snacks.

Four estate guards from Tangyuan arrived to escort her, and Chen Feng took Dabao, Zhui Feng, Qiqi, and Gray to work at Tangyuan. Wangai wanted to follow, but Chen Lu forbade it, insisting that it stay home and watch the house.

Seeing Wangcai’s teary eyes as it tried to follow, Dabao promised to bring back some delicious food from Tangyuan, which seemed to cheer it up.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, after lunch at Tangyuan, Chen Feng hurried back to Luyuan to make snacks. She wanted to prepare them early to gift to Tangyuan. As Tangyuan had fewer residents, her unique snacks could potentially be given as New Year gifts to other households.

She prepared twenty pounds of osmanthus glutinous red dates, golden silk cakes, twist cookies, plum blossom cakes, and sweet doughnuts. Altogether, they totaled one hundred pounds. In addition, she included two sets of clothes, two undergarments, two pairs of shoes, and six pairs of socks for the little girls, constituting their New Year gifts.

With more people, they managed to prepare these snacks in just two days. On that day, Chen Ming, accompanied by Lu and Dabao, solemnly delivered the gifts to Tangyuan. Steward Luo received them at the outer court of Tangyuan, treating them with great respect, offering tea before Chen Ming left with Lu. Meanwhile, Dabao entered the inner court.

Subsequently, Chen Ming also led Chen Lu to deliver New Year gifts to Steward Luo’s family, including a set of clothes for both Steward Luo and his wife, along with some food and snacks.

After lunch at Tangyuan, Chen Feng returned to Luyuan with her bodyguards. From afar, she noticed two carriages parked at the entrance. Apart from Tangyuan’s people, Yang Mingyuan was the only one to drive a carriage to their home. Since he was in the capital and the siblings had only left two days ago, it wasn’t possible for them to visit.

Curious about the unexpected guests, Chen Feng and her group hurried home. Even before reaching the courtyard of Luyuan, Zeng Xiaoqing rushed toward them. Seeing Chen Feng, she quickened her pace and pantingly said, “Young miss, we have some guests at home. There’s an elderly lady who claims to be the mother of the magistrate, Mr. Chen. She wants to discuss something with you…”

So, Luyuan had some unexpected guests, including five women and two men.

Upon hearing this combination, Chen Feng wasn’t afraid. They had several strong laborers at home, along with her bodyguards, so they wouldn’t be at a disadvantage in a confrontation. She wondered why the elderly lady had come and whether she would mistreat Mrs. Wang again. With quickened steps, she headed towards Luyuan.

Inside Luyuan, she saw old Zeng and his son, Xue Dagui, along with Chu Xiaoniu standing in the courtyard. There were also two men, Zhao Lizheng and another unfamiliar man.

When Zhao Lizheng saw Chen Feng, he politely nodded. Chen Feng ignored him and instructed the four guards who had accompanied her, “Wait outside.” Then, she briskly headed towards the main room.

In the main room, Chen Ming sat with a stern expression on the left side of the Eight Immortals table, while an elderly lady of about fifty sat on the right.