Chapter 166 Nangong Mansion

"I won't go. The fog in the back mountain is too heavy. It will be after noon when the fog clears." Jiang Shuyue fiddled with the bangs on her son's forehead with her slender fingers.

There is a maple forest halfway up the mountain, which is fiery red and very beautiful.

Jiang Shuyue was so busy with rabbits yesterday that she didn't even have time to appreciate them. When the fog cleared, it was too late to come and go.

"But Uncle Gao Mu wants to take me to the mountains to play."

Jiang Shuyue: "..."

This is a drunkard who doesn't care about drinking. He clearly wants to take her son up the mountain to hunt for treasure.

No, she had to go and see if they had peeled the wild chestnuts.

Holding Suisui's hand, she went to the kitchen and saw Aunt Cao, Gao Mu and Cangyun peeling wild chestnuts.

"Miss, the method you taught us is so effective. Just heat the pan and the cut will explode."

Aunt Cao picked up a cracked chestnut and showed it to Jiang Shuyue.

It is said that people who rely on the mountains eat the mountains. Every year, Zhang Qiu picks up a lot of wild chestnuts from home. Since they are not easy to shell, most of them go bad before they are eaten.

Gao Mu saw that there were still a few chestnuts left in the dustpan that had not been peeled. He chuckled and said, "Miss, they are all peeled. I will take the young master up the mountain to have a look."

"Don't worry, miss, we will definitely be back before noon." Cang Yun immediately added as if she was afraid that Jiang Shuyue would not agree.

"Mother, I want to go." Suisui raised his head, took Jiang Shuyue's hand and shook it.

"Go ahead, leave early and come back early."

Gao Mu and Cangyun took Suisui to practice Qing Gong, and of course they would be back before noon.

When I returned to the courtyard, I saw Lan'er and Mei'er drying the clothes they had changed yesterday.

Jiang Shuyue sat in front of the small couch in the hall, thinking about her next plan.

Qiu Ju made a pot of tea and brought it over, "Miss, in more than ten days at most, Mr. Su and Nan Nan will arrive in the capital. I don't know if they can catch up with the scientific examination."

Jiang Shuyue counted on her fingers and found that the time for the scientific examination in previous years had passed.

"The situation this year is special. The scientific examination will probably be postponed. It will be useless for us to stay here. When we return to the city tomorrow, I will go to the palace to inquire about Liuli Mu."

While the master and servant were talking, Aunt Cao brought Zhang Cai's wife Jinhua and son Zhang Yaozu to visit them.

"Happy miss," Jinhua bowed.

"I don't come here often, so I'll leave the yard to you, mother and son, to take care of it."

Jin Hua was wearing a blue dress that had faded slightly after washing, and her hair was arranged meticulously, with a peach wood hairpin tied behind her head.

His appearance is unremarkable but simple, his eyes are clear, and he is respectful and polite.

"Thank you, Miss. I will clean it every day. Whenever Miss comes to the yard, it will be clean."

Jinhua had never received a monthly salary from her former employer before. She heard that her current boss was a woman and gave her a monthly salary as a maid in the capital.

She is not good at words and doesn't know how to express her gratitude.

Zhang Yaozu stood timidly next to Jin Hua. He glanced at Jiang Shuyue with his dark eyes and quickly lowered his eyelids.

Jiang Shuyue said to Qiu Ju, "This child is really cute, let's enjoy it."

Qiu Ju took two silver coins and put them into the child's hands, and said gently: "Young master will be back soon, we can play together."

Seeing the reward from her employer, Jinhua bowed to thank her again.

Aunt Cao pulled the child over and said, "Yaozu, come and kowtow to my boss."

"It's the first time I've met a child. It's just a little kindness. Don't scare the child." Jiang Shuyue raised her hand slightly.

Qiu Ju stepped forward and took Zhang Yaozu's arm and said with a smile: "We have already seen the ceremony. If you don't want to kneel, please don't kneel."

"Thank you, Miss, for trusting us and looking after our family. If you need anything, please just ask me. I will go to the kitchen to work now."

There was still pheasant stewed in the pot. Jinhua rarely saw noble people, so after thanking him, she stood with her head bowed. Aunt Cao quickly led her daughter-in-law and grandson to retreat.

Watching the three of them walk out of the yard, Qiu Ju smiled and said, "Zhang Cai's wife has a stable character. She is not like some women who make noises. When I saw her entering the house, I lowered my head. She knows the rules."

"I see that she is dressed plainly but very cleanly. I feel relieved to leave this place to them."

Jiang Shuyue actually liked this place very much, thinking that when Yinqiao and the others could stand alone, she would come to Zhuangzi to stay often.

Before noon, Gao Mu and others came back from the mountain.

Gao Mu carried a basket of wild chestnuts on his back, and Cangyun picked a basket of wild apples.

"Miss, these apples are crispy and sweet. The young master said he would take them back to the emperor and Mr. Nangong." Cangyun said, putting down the basket on his back.

Jiang Shuyue's son's affection was so good that the palace was lacking everything.

"Put them all in the carriage and return to the city tomorrow."

Under the tree outside the courtyard, Suisui saw Yaozu, who was about the same height as himself, and introduced himself: "My surname is Jiang and my name is Sui'an. You can call me Suisui."

Zhang Yaozu pursed his lips and shook his head, timidly saying: "Grandma said that you are a young master, and Yaozu does not dare to go beyond the rules."

"I'm over four years old. How old are you?" Suisui looked at Yaozu's height like a grown-up.

"Yaozu is six years old." Yaozu's voice was as thin as a mosquito.

"You can eat more chicken later. Mother said you will grow taller if you eat more meat."

Seeing Zhang Yaozu's shy look, Sui Sui smiled and said: "Your grandmother is still pointing at you as Guangzong Yaozu, so you have to grow stronger."

"Master, you know so much."

The aroma of pheasant stewed with chestnuts floated in the air, and Yaozu sniffed it quietly.

"Master, can Yaozu also eat chicken?" Yaozu asked bravely, perhaps because he was too greedy.

"Of course you can eat it. There will be fish to eat later."

Yaozu showed a shy smile, "Thank you, Master."

After a while, the two children became much more familiar with each other.

When they parted the next day, Yaozu waved goodbye to Suisui. He wanted to ask when the young master would come again, and he kept in mind his grandmother's teachings that there is a difference between master and servant.

His lips moved, but the words came to his lips but did not come out.

…

Next to Jiang's house, Nangong Zeyue was busy. He searched all the house owners in the capital, but he could not find a yard closer to Jiang's house for sale.

He had an idea and knocked on the door of the yard next door with the house owner.

The owner of the house finally lost to his repeated price increase, took the silver and left quickly with his valuables.

The second yard was not big, and Nangong Zeyue was very satisfied. He spent all the silver in his pocket and embezzled the money for the coffin of his uncle.

He cleaned the yard again by himself.

Looking at the brand new yard, Nangong Zeyue walked out of the house with satisfaction.

When he looked up, he saw the plaque on the gate tower that he didn't like.

There were few people passing by on the street in the early morning, so he jumped up to the gatehouse and took down the plaque.

Back in the courtyard, Nangong Zeyue, adhering to the principle of saving as much as possible, found a pen and ink, erased the original household owner's surname, and wrote the word Nangong.

Not satisfied with his pen and ink, he looked up at Qingyunzhai across the street.

He made up his mind that he would ask Zhen Jingxiu to help rewrite it the next time he saw him.

In order to hang the plaque straight, he found a bamboo ladder and wiped the plaque spotlessly with a rag before hanging it up.

More and more people were on the street. Some people saw him hanging the plaque alone and came forward to help him hold the bamboo ladder.

The sound of the wheel stopped in front of the door, and then Gao Mu's voice was heard.

"Mr. Nangong, what are you doing?"