Eight Treasures Trousseau

61

Chapter Sixty-One: Paternal Family

Just as Hua Xi Wan finished attiring herself for the day, Yan Jin Qiu walked in from outside. Because of the snow, a small part of his shoes was wet. When Hua Xi Wan saw this, she immediately had the servant girls take out shoes for Yan Jin Qiu to change into. She handed a cup of warm tea to Yan Jin Qiu. "It is a major court session today—how is it that you came back so early?"

Yan Jin Qiu allowed Mu Tong to change his shoes and then waved the other people out. He then took a sip of hot tea before saying, "The Emperor fainted in anger because of the case that the Judicial Office is investigating right now."

With a son like this, it would not be right if he did not faint a few times every year.

While she thought this, Hua Xi Wan said with slight concern on her face, "What do the imperial doctors say?"

"What can they say? It is just too much anger." Yan Jin Qiu saw Hua Xi Wan's splendid attire and remembered that Hua Xi Wan was going to visit his in-laws at the marquis fu today. He said, "The snow has decreased slightly. I will accompany you to visit the parents. Even though today is not the old taitai's significant birthday year, as one of the grandson generation, it is proper to go wish her well. Also, it has been a few days since I have played a match with Mt. Tai."

"All right," Hua Xi Wan said with a smile. "A few days ago, Mother was saying to me that ever since Father played with you, he disdains my two brothers' skills. Once you go today, you can satisfy some of his weiqi yearning."

Even if they were simple and frugal, the procession of the wang ye and wang fei still looked ceremonial and noble in the eyes of other people. Fortunately, the people in Jing were already used to this. In Jing where the Imperial Family members could be found on the streets, and the nobility was as numerous as dogs, they would just exchange gossip between them when they saw a grand procession appear on a snowy day.

"I heard Xian Wang once gave Xian Wang Fei a night pearl the size of a fist to curry favor with her. That is a very rare object."

"What are you saying? I have a distant relative who works in the fu of a certain Imperial Family member, and they heard that Xian Wang Fei doesn't like night pearls at all. So in the things that they send as gifts to Xian Wang Fei, they have to avoid things like night pearls."

"I've also heard this. What night pearl, that is so cheap. Would someone as beautiful as Xian Wang Fei like something like that?"

The people on the street fantasized about the days that the Imperial Family members lived. In their imagination, people like Wang Ye and Wang Fei would definitely live differently from them. Also, Xian Wang had a good and elegant reputation before. If Xian Wang Fei was the object of such affection from him, she definitely would not be a woman who only had beauty.

Even though there were warming stoves placed in the large carriage, Hua Xi Wan still felt slightly cold. When she lifted the curtain slightly, she felt the cold wind scurrying into the carriage. She moved towards Yan Jin Qiu and inhaled the cold air. She neatened the sleeve of her palace robe that was trimmed with fox fur and said, "The days are getting colder."

"I wonder what the harvest will be like next year." Yan Jin Qiu's brow furrowed. "The day is cold and the ground is frozen; I wonder how the poor will manage to pass the winter."

"Jing is like this every year when it is winter. Fortunately, some prestigious families will give out rice and porridge in the winter, or give out warm clothing to some of the poor families. Otherwise, it really is difficult to live as one of the common people." What Hua Xi Wan did not say was that, right at the feet of the Emperor, the people did not need to worry about dying from being frozen or starvation. Those who really endured hardship were the people in remote areas. With the Emperor so far away, no one knew how much of the Imperial Winter Funds that the Ministry of Revenue sent each year would truly land in the hands of those who needed them.