There was still an hour before dinner. Yun Luoqing and Yun Qiya, the brother and sister, were dressed in fresh clothes and headed to the main courtyard together.
“Third Young Master, Miss, the Old Madam and the First Wife are talking inside. It’s cold outside, please go in quickly.” Nanny Yao, who was guarding the door, saw them and opened the curtain for them with a face full of smiles.
“Two or three hours ago, the way she looked at you was full of hidden hostility and wariness. How did her attitude change so much in just one afternoon?” Yun Luoqing nodded elegantly to Nanny Yao. After entering the room, he raised an eyebrow and whispered to Yun Qiya, “What did you do to her?”
Yun Qiya touched the pearl hairpin at her temple and said with a smile, “Eldest Aunt treats me like her own child, so her dowry nurse naturally treats me with enthusiasm.”
“Heh.”
Yun Luoqing chuckled. Even a dog wouldn’t believe that.
“Luoqing, Yaya, come here quickly.” The Old Madam noticed the siblings enter and had them sit beside her.
“Grandmother, Eldest Aunt.” Yun Qiya sat next to the Old Madam and hugged her arm. “Grandmother, the courtyard you prepared for me is so beautiful, especially that Auspicious Cloud and Star-Moon Screen. It’s so pretty I can’t take my eyes off it.”
The Old Madam hugged her and swayed her like a child. “Then you should thank your Eldest Aunt. She prepared that screen specifically for you.”
“Thank you, Eldest Aunt.” Yun Qiya turned her face toward the First Wife from her grandmother’s embrace, her eyes filled with joy and gratitude. “You are so good to me.”
Such a dazzling gaze was like sunlight suddenly pouring down, making the First Wife instinctively look away for a moment.
She was long accustomed to being stoic and keeping her emotions hidden; such a direct and brilliant gaze made her feel a bit awkward.
Not long after, a servant came to report that His Majesty was dissatisfied with some of the Ministry of Rites’ arrangements for the Birthday Celebration and had summoned the officials to the palace to discuss the matter. Eldest Uncle wouldn’t be able to make it back tonight.
The Old Madam praised the deep affection between the Emperor and Empress for a few moments and then ordered the servants to set the table in half an hour.
“I see that Luoqing has an extraordinary bearing, refined and elegant. He must be a studious sort.” The First Wife’s gaze fell on Yun Luoqing. Her brother-in-law’s behavior was unseemly, but his children were born with such grace; they must have taken after their mother’s strengths.
“I heard that the Imperial Academy will be recruiting new students after the spring. Does Luoqing have any thoughts?” The First Wife explained, “Your two cousins are also studying at the Imperial Academy. Once you enroll, the three brothers can look out for one another.”
The smile on Yun Luoqing’s face faltered slightly. Studying?!
“Thank you, Sister-in-law, for worrying about this useless thing of mine.” Wen Yuxiu walked into the room, paid her respects to the Old Madam, and sat below the First Wife. “I’ve been away from the capital for many years and am ignorant of many things here. Without your reminders, Sister-in-law, I would be like a headless fly, unable to find my way.”
Seeing her goodwill accepted, the First Wife felt relieved and softly began explaining the details of entering the Imperial Academy to Wen Yuxiu.
Yun Qiya leaned in her grandmother’s arms, laughing shamelessly.
Her brother did like “reading,” but he only read storybooks.
Well, storybooks were still books.
Seeing her gloating, Yun Luoqing glanced at her and gracefully picked up his tea, draining it in one gulp.
He, Yun Luoqing, was born to be lazy and was hardly a person of great virtue; why would he like studying?
However, if a noble scion wanted to find an easy and dignified idle post after his coming-of-age ceremony, he would have to spend two years in the Imperial Academy. So, there were benefits to going in.
“Thank you, Aunt, for planning for me.”
The First Wife didn’t want to take the credit. “You are the eldest grandson of the Marquisate; you already had a spot for enrollment. I only mentioned it.”
Yun Luoqing decided he would burn incense for the ancestors tonight to thank them for being so successful as to leave behind a valuable Marquis title for his grandfather.
Most descendants of the meritorious officials who helped the founding Emperor conquer the world had faded into obscurity. Unlike their Yun family, whose hereditary title had been passed down and down. By his grandfather’s generation, it was still a dignified Marquisate. Their ancestors were truly impressive.
Thinking of this, he looked toward his Eldest Aunt with fervor. Eldest Uncle had just turned forty and was already a third-rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He was clearly the future pillar of the Yun family.
After finishing dinner, Yun Zhongsheng and his two children began packing food boxes and cloaks, looking ready to head out.
“Don’t take those pastries; your Eldest Uncle doesn’t like overly sweet food.”
“Take those boxes of tea. Your Eldest Uncle loves tea, and he can share it with his colleagues.”
“What are you doing?” Wen Yuxiu returned after bonding with her sister-in-law. Her gaze swept over the messy room, and she picked up a wooden box that had fallen to the floor.
“Mother, we plan to go to the Ministry of Rites office to bring Eldest Uncle some clothes and food.” Yun Qiya nimbly tucked two bags of somewhat childish candy into the food box. “Father hasn’t seen Eldest Uncle in a long time and misses him very much.”
“Eldest Uncle is the dearest uncle to me and my sister. Naturally, we should accompany Father.” Yun Luoqing noticed Yun Qiya’s little movement. He raised his handsome eyebrows and pointed at her from across the room.
“Hehe.” Yun Qiya closed the lid and patted it.
Don’t mind her; she had her own ideas.
“Take this pair of gloves as well.” Wen Yuxiu handed a pair of fingerless gloves to Yun Zhongsheng. “Your Eldest Brother often writes at the Ministry of Rites. These will keep him warm and be convenient.”
Surely, when Eldest Brother-in-law wore these gloves, he would feel the deep affection of their family of four.
“Will do!” Yun Zhongsheng tucked the gloves into his robe and said to his children, “Your Eldest Uncle has protected me since we were small. Don’t be restrained when you see him later. Treat him with the closeness and respect due to family.”
“Mhm, mhm.” Yun Qiya nodded while holding the box. “He is our own blood uncle; we understand.”
***
When the Ministry of Rites’ carriage emerged from the palace gates, fine snowflakes began to flutter from the sky. The charcoal in the carriage had already burned out. Three officials from the Ministry of Rites were squeezed together, too exhausted to speak.
The carriage suddenly stopped. The Minister of Rites lifted the curtain with a freezing hand. A vermilion-wheeled carriage made of cold iron and gold passed quietly by their old, half-worn carriage.
He hurriedly dropped the curtain and whispered to his two colleagues, “It’s Prince Ruining’s carriage.”
The three of them scrambled out of the carriage, straightened their clothes, and stood by the side to perform a formal bow.
The black carriage didn’t stop, quickly vanishing into the night.
The three of them didn’t mind. Prince Ruining ignored everyone equally anyway; he didn’t care whether others bowed to him or not.
Once the carriage was out of sight, they scrambled back inside. In such cold weather, no one wanted to suffer more than necessary.
Unfortunately, while the Prince didn’t care about etiquette, the Emperor cared very much.
His Majesty was usually quite normal, but whenever Prince Ruining was involved, his emotions became unstable. Every day, he was either suspecting someone had wronged his son or was on his way to suspecting it.
“Sigh.” The Right Vice Minister lowered his voice. “I heard the Prince was seriously ill a while ago. Since he’s out of the palace now, his health must have improved.”
If the Prince was healthy, it meant the Emperor and Empress wouldn’t go mad. They in the Ministry of Rites could finally have some peace.
“Ahem.” The Minister of Rites wrapped his cloak tighter. “Royal affairs are not to be spoken of lightly.”
Yun Boyan leaned against the carriage wall without speaking, his mind full of family matters.
His brother had returned home with his wife and children today. He had been away for so many years; he wondered if he had grown thin, or if he was comfortable living at home.
“Boyan, are you feeling unwell?” The Minister of Rites noticed Yun Boyan’s complexion wasn’t great.
“Thank you for your concern, Sir. This subordinate is fine.” Yun Boyan cupped his hands in thanks, suppressing his urge to go home.
The Ministry of Rites office was very close to the palace. Before long, the carriage stopped outside the main gates.
Several carriages were parked outside, mostly belonging to the families of officials who had come to bring clothes and food. The Minister of Rites never made things difficult for his subordinates over such small matters.
After Yun Boyan stepped out, he noticed his own family’s carriage. He was surprised; his family knew his personality and wouldn’t usually send things at a time like this.
He turned toward the carriage. When he was five or six paces away, the curtain was lifted from inside, revealing three heads.
Yun Zhongsheng’s voice was loud and excited: “Big Brother!”
Yun Luoqing was graceful and perfectly polite: “Eldest Uncle.”
Yun Qiya’s eyes were close and full of admiration, her voice even carrying a hint of sweetness: “Eldest Uncle~”
Yun Boyan was stunned, then overjoyed. His brother had brought his niece and nephew to see him!
“Eh?” The Minister of Rites noticed someone was missing as he walked. “Where did Boyan go?”
“Perhaps his family brought him some clothes,” the Right Vice Minister explained. “I saw the Yun Manor carriage parked outside just now.”
The Yun family held a Marquisate, so their carriage used vermilion wheels; he had recognized it at a glance.
“I see.” The Minister of Rites was a bit surprised. Boyan was a rigorous man; when he was on duty, he almost never handled private family matters. Today was quite rare.
About half an hour later, the Minister and the Right Vice Minister, who were barely staying awake with strong tea, finally saw Yun Boyan return.
When he entered, he was carrying two large food boxes and wearing a thick cloak. He looked radiant, without a trace of fatigue.
The Right Vice Minister asked, “Brother Yun, seeing your expression, has something happy happened at home?”
Yun Boyan smiled. “Brother Liu, how did you know my younger brother was worried I would be cold and brought his children to see me?”
The Right Vice Minister was blank. Huh? He didn’t know.
Younger brother?
Was Brother Yun talking about that troublesome brother of his who chased chickens at ten, harassed dogs at twelve, fought at fifteen, left the capital with his family at twenty-eight, and still wrote to Brother Yun for money in his thirties?
“The mushrooms in this chicken soup were hand-picked and dried by my nephew and niece. If you and Brother Liu don’t mind, please have a taste.” Yun Boyan served two bowls of chicken soup to the Minister and the Right Vice Minister.
The soup was steaming and fragrant. The Right Vice Minister stared at his bowl for a long time, only finding a piece of mushroom the size of a pinky nail.
He glanced at the Minister’s bowl. It was a bit better; there was a whole mushroom.
Better, but not by much.
“My little niece is mischievous and insisted on sharing her favorite candies with me. I don’t even like these sweet and sour things.” Yun Boyan looked into the bulging sachet of candy and slowly walked to the Right Vice Minister’s desk.
Two candies appeared on the Vice Minister’s pastry plate.
Yes, only two.
The Right Vice Minister, whose surname was Liu, was very mild-tempered. At this moment, as he looked at the bulging sachet in Yun Boyan’s hand, he couldn’t help but laugh.
If he was so reluctant to share, he could have just not shared. Why grumble and pretend to complain when he was actually showing off?
***
“What are you two whispering about?” Yun Zhongsheng yawned. “Yaya, didn’t I tell you your Eldest Uncle doesn’t like sweets? Why did you sneak candy into the food box?”
“That wasn’t just ordinary candy; it was my favorite.” Yun Qiya looked up. “Dad, you don’t understand. This isn’t just candy; it’s the heart of a niece sharing her favorite things with her dear Eldest Uncle.”
“That makes sense.” Yun Zhongsheng had a realization and gave a thumbs up. “My daughter is indeed smart.”
“Of course.” Yun Qiya was about to boast a bit more when she saw the carriage suddenly stop. She lifted the curtain and saw a vermilion-wheeled carriage with a dragon pattern and gold wheels slowly approaching from a distance.
Without even needing to exchange a look, the three of them jumped off the carriage in unison and bowed their heads.
The three of them were good-looking, and their bows carried a bit more grace than others. The Golden Armored Guards escorting the carriage glanced at them out of the corners of their eyes as they passed.
The vermilion carriage went straight past, leaving the family of three with nothing but rising dust.
“That carriage is so beautiful.” Yun Qiya watched the carriage fade into the distance, her eyes sparkling with envy. “Even the bells hanging under the roof are made of jade.”
“Envy is useless; that’s a royal carriage.” Yun Luoqing pressed the back of her head and tugged her hair bun to pull her back. “Little sister, see that pair of star-crossed lovers at the corner ahead? We’re standing here, making it awkward for them to whisper sweet nothings. Get in the carriage and let’s go home to sleep.”
“My hair! Brother, be gentle!” Yun Qiya clutched her head. Before climbing into the carriage, she glanced back at the star-crossed lovers. The man in the green robe speaking to the woman happened to look over as well.
Their eyes met. Yun Qiya looked away uninterestedly and climbed into the carriage.
A mediocre appearance.