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Chen Feng remembered the red packet Marquis Chu had given her that morning. Opening it, she found a thousand taels of silver.
With a smile, she fetched a lacquer-decorated wooden box from the vanity drawer. Inside were stacks of silver notes and a few silver ingots. She placed the silver notes inside, then had Autumn secure the box.
Her six thousand taels of hidden silver had already been exchanged for silver notes at the bank, all stored in this box. Additionally, there were four thousand taels from last year’s Hongyun Hotpot Restaurant dividend, which Yang Mingyuan had asked Chu Lingxuan to pass on to her.
In this box alone, there was over ten thousand taels of silver.
Chu Lingxuan teased, “Wife, you’re not lacking in funds now. Why do you still smile so much at the sight of silver notes?”
Placing the wooden box back in the drawer, Chen Feng chuckled, “Husband has never experienced financial difficulties, so he can never understand the feelings of those who have.”
Chu Lingxuan chuckled, retrieving a small sandalwood box from the cabinet. “This is part of my private collection. Keep it, buy whatever you like. Remember, with a husband who lacks nothing, you won’t lack anything either.”
Accepting the box, Chen Feng noticed it was brought from the outer courtyard before dinner. Upon opening it, she found silver notes totaling four thousand taels, along with five gold bars and a few small gold ingots.
Initially, Chu Lingxuan had planned to buy more jewelry for Chen Feng, but realizing she seemed to prefer silver, he decided to give her the Hongyun dividend along with some gold directly.
Seeing his young wife smile happily, he felt content and placed the items neatly back in the vanity drawer.
Pretending to be hurt, he remarked, “Why do I feel like you were happier looking at that box than me?”
Chen Feng shot him a playful glance, saying, “Impossible! Master is much better looking than that box. When I see Master, not only does my mouth smile, but my heart smiles too.”
Chu Lingxuan chuckled and lightly pecked her cheek, saying, “Well, your husband loves to hear that.” He added, “Auntie calls me by my name, and my mother used to call my father ‘Chu Lang.’ So, please don’t call me ‘Master’ anymore, it feels distant.”
Chen Feng exclaimed, “So, Mother-in-law also called Father-in-law ‘Chu Lang,’ that must be an endearing term filled with love. It’s a pity that Princess Rong Zhao tried to imitate it, also calling Father-in-law ‘Chu Lang.’ Hearing her say it makes the term ‘Chu Lang’ repulsive to me.”
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Chen Feng truly disliked the term ‘Chu Lang’. Every time she heard Princess Rong Zhao coyly call Marquis Chu “Chu Lang”, she couldn’t help but shiver, finding Princess Rong Zhao nauseating. Despite being a fierce woman and advanced in age, she insisted on acting coy.
Chu Lingxuan’s expression darkened, “That woman learned from my mother… Forget it, let’s not talk about that woman, it’s nauseating.”
Chen Feng then asked, “What should I call you then? Lingxuan? Xuanxuan?” It seemed call sign/name weren’t common in this era, otherwise, having an endearment name would be fitting.
Chu Lingxuan thought carefully and replied, “Just call me Lingxuan or Xuan, Feng.” Initially, he had wanted her to call him “Xuan Lang”, but after hearing her aversion to “Chu Lang”, he decided against it.
Chen Feng nodded in agreement.
As they lay down to rest, their affectionate interaction continued without mentioning their titles.
The next day, before dawn, Chen Feng got up. Today, she planned to make mango egg tarts and needed to retrieve some ingredients from the space.
Seeing Chu Lingxuan still fast asleep, she quietly entered the washroom, secured the door, and slipped into the space.
The space was silent, not seeing the Golden Swallow, Chen Feng called out, “Baby, Baby…”
“I’m here, Mommy. Please don’t call out.” The Golden Swallow poked its head out from a small gold house.
Chen Feng was about to ask something but quickly swallowed her question.
The Golden Swallow flew out, chirping happily, “Mommy was going to ask…?”
Chen Feng interrupted, “Why didn’t you…?”
The Golden Swallow, with its sleepy eyes, rolled them in response. “If you can do things, why can’t I say things? It’s like the officials can light fires, but the commoners can’t even light a lamp.”
Chen Feng couldn’t argue with the little creature. It seemed to understand too much about certain things yet too little about human relationships, creating a contradictory unity.
Realizing she was asking a favor, Chen Feng softened her tone, “Alright, alright, you’re right. Baby, give Mommy some fragrant agarwood wood bark. Mommy wants to make some treats for the Empress Dowager.” She reached for a handkerchief and wiped away the eye crust from the little bird.
The Golden Swallow felt her touch was a bit heavy and used its wings to push her hand away, saying, “Mommy, you’ve been using agarwood quite frequently lately. I’ll give you some for today, but you can’t come asking for it every other day.”
Seemingly, she had been requesting it quite often. Chen Feng planned to fetch a bowl of water later and soak the agarwood in it, then she could use the infused water for flavoring.
Chen Feng successfully obtained a small piece of fragrant agarwood bark. Seeing little progress in the construction on the ground, she asked, “Have you been slacking off lately?”
The Golden Swallow sighed, “Ah, I’ve grown up. These days, I’ve been busy exploring the true essence of bird life, pondering whether the bird came first or the egg. I can’t figure it out, so I haven’t had time for construction.”
After finishing speaking, it settled beside the little Jinbei, propping its head up with a wing, lost in thought.
Observing the thoughtful bird, Chen Feng noted its physical and psychological maturity. She didn’t disturb its exploration and exited the space.
She prepared more treats this time, giving two pieces to each master and forty to Third Madam. After finishing, Chen Feng expressed her desire to visit the Hongyun Hotpot, meet with Chen Yu and Yang Mingyuan’s family. However, Chu Lingxuan suggested waiting a couple of days as he had already requested a royal decree for her, which was likely to arrive soon.
Seeing Chen Feng’s disappointment, he added, “I’ll have Chen Yu come over instead.”
Before he could send for Chen Yu, a maid from the outer courtyard reported that the Prince Rui and his wife, along with their second son, had arrived at the residence. Prince Rui was led to the study directly, while Princess Rui and their son headed towards the Bamboo Pavilion.
Upon hearing this, Chu Lingxuan hurriedly rose to greet them in the outer courtyard.
Chen Feng also stood up to welcome the guests. The Prince and Princess seemed to be maintaining a humble posture. Originally, Chu Lingxuan had planned to invite them to the restaurant in a couple of days, but they had unexpectedly shown up themselves.