Yu Wan did not know when the little fellows fell asleep. When she opened her eyes in a daze, the three of them were already lying on her and Yan Jiuchao. Xiaobao hugged Er Bao’s feet and placed them in his mouth. Yu Wan yawned, arranged the three of them, and fell asleep again.
When she woke up again, it was already the next morning. As expected, the spot beside her was already empty.
“Young Master has something on,” Li’er said as she lifted the curtain.
Yan Jiuchao did not do anything on the surface, but he had to be on guard in secret for the visit of the envoys from Nanzhao. Yu Wan looked at her other side. Eh? The little fellows were no longer around?
Li’er understood and hurriedly said, “Young Master was worried that the little masters would wake up and disturb you. After he woke up early, he asked the nanny to carry the little masters back into their rooms.”
Yu Wan was warmed by her husband again. He could never say a good word, but he was always considerate.
She was worried that he would be angry with them after being interrupted by the little ones last night. It seemed that she was thinking too much. He was their father. He doted on them as much as she did. Why would he really be angry with them?
Li’er continued, “By the way, Young Madam, Young Master also said that the cherries in Young Master Manor have ripened again. We can send some to Young Madam’s maternal family and also send the little masters over. The little masters’ grandmother and grandfather must miss them very much, so he let the little masters stay in the countryside for a while.”
At first, it sounded like that, but later on, she gradually felt like something was wrong. Is he their biological father? Was he going to send his sons to the countryside just like that?
“Did he say when they’ll leave?” Yu Wan asked.
Li’er took a set of clothes for Yu Wan to change into. “He said to wait for the Shadow Guard to return. The Shadow Guard followed Young Master out.”
In that case, he was asking the children to leave at night and let Shadow Thirteen follow them. How anxious was this fellow…
When Yu Wan was dressed neatly, Zi Su came over. Because Nanny Fang was leaving, Yu Wan asked Zi Su to learn more about the Young Master Manor from Nanny Fang. Zi Su was here to report to Yu Wan about the progress.
Yu Wan did not think that there was a need for Zi Su to report every day, but she thought that Zi Su used to ask for her servants like this in the manor, so she also asked for her now.
“…Nanny Fang said that the accounts of the Qingfeng Courtyardwere originally with the public account, but at that time, Young Master and Young Madam did not move in. Nanny Fang’s intention is to let Qingfeng Courtyard have their own accounts…”
Yu Wan listened patiently as Zi Su spoke methodically.
“Young Madam, do you have any instructions?” After Zi Su finished her report, she waited for Yu Wan to express her stand.
Yu Wan shook her head. “Nothing. Just do as Nanny Fang says.”
“Yes.” Zi Su agreed and planned to take her leave.
Yu Wan suddenly stopped her. “Also, you guys will have four sets of clothes every season. Change it to eight sets every season.” In the past, there were only nannies and men in the manor, so they didn’t care about clothes. Now that there were so many maidservants, they had to dress up to be pleasing to the eye.
“Yes.” Women loved new clothes, and Zi Su was not immune to it. Her “yes” was clearly much more surprising than the previous one.
It was still early for class. Yu Wan sat in the room for a while and felt that her sons should wake up soon. She set off for their room.
There were giggles and the little fellows jumping around the bed excitedly.
Yu Wan could not help but smile. She walked to the door with light steps. Just as she was about to cross the threshold, she saw Su Mu standing in front of the bed. The three little fellows covered their faces with their hands and met Su Mu’s eyes. The moment they met each other, they turned around shyly. After a while, they turned around and continued to meet Su Mu’s eyes.
This sly and cute look made everyone in the room laugh.
Yu Wan’s gaze landed on Su Mu. For some reason, she couldn’t quite smile.
Yu Wan accompanied the little fellows to breakfast. In the past, her sons would stick to her and not let her go to Nanny Wan’s class or hang on her lap to teach with her. Today, they obediently put down their small bowls and chopsticks and ran to the courtyard to play.
It turned out that Su Mu had made three swings. A small leather cushion and a firm rope were tied tightly to the little fellows. Even if they didn’t hold on tightly, they wouldn’t be thrown out.
The little munchkins flew into the sky and landed back on the ground, laughing like pigs.
The servants were overjoyed. The Qingfeng Courtyard had never been so lively.
Yu Wan retracted her gaze and restrained the disappointment in her heart. She sighed softly and went to the Lanfang Pavilion.
However, before she could start class, a servant reported that Emissary Cui had arrived.
Emissary Cui was here to pass on a message for the Empress. “…Her Majesty is organizing the marriage between His Highness Prince Cheng and the princess of Xiongnu. Her Majesty said that she’s old and can’t keep up with the preferences of young people, so she wants to invite Young Madam to the palace to help her come up with ideas… If the little masters have nothing to do, why don’t you bring them into the palace to take a look? Her Majesty hasn’t seen them yet, so she misses them.”
Yu Wan understood that the Empress was expressing her goodwill to the Young Master Manor. First, there was Worthy Consort Xu, then there were the envoys from Nanzhao. There were internal and external problems. They also needed the Empress.
Yu Wan agreed readily and applied for leave from Nanny Wan. She returned to the Qingfeng Courtyard and brought the three little fellows to the palace to meet the Empress.
The last time they entered the palace, Tao’er and Li’er came out with pale faces. The two of them were young and had not seen the world. Yu Wan did not plan to bring them into the palace. Yu Wan asked Zi Su to pack up and bring the three little lads along.
The three little lads held Su Mu’s hand and refused to leave with Zi Su.
Yu Wan looked at them. They also looked at Yu Wan with innocent expressions, as if asking why she didn’t bring Su Mu along.
Yu Wan rubbed their little heads and said to Su Mu, “You should follow too.”
“Yes.” Su Mu bowed.
“Fu Ling, follow me too,” Yu Wan said.
Fu Ling walked with the height of a seven-foot-tall man and followed with a domineering gait.
The group entered the palace.
Fu Ling did not care about the outside world and was not nervous. Zi Su was knowledgeable and did not show her nervousness on her face. In addition, Su Mu was very calm. The maidservants accompanying her did not embarrass the Young Master Manor this time.
The maidservants waited outside the main hall of the Zhaoyang Palace. Yu Wan led the three little lads into the room to see the Empress.
The little fellows kowtowed a few times, making the Empress extremely amused. There were also children in the Eldest Prince Manor, but they were only princesses. The grandsons of the royal family only had these three little fellows.
The Empress rewarded everyone with a longevity lock. The little fellows held the lock and bowed slightly, thanking her.
“They still can’t speak?” The Empress asked. “They’re more than two years old, right?”
Yu Wan nodded. “Two and a half at the end of next month.”
The Empress hurriedly smiled and said, “There’s no hurry. These children are all extremely smart. They’ll definitely be able to speak in a few days.”
“Thank you for your blessings, Your Majesty.” Although she said that, Yu Wan could tell that the Empress was worried that the children were fools. She wanted to say that her sons were not, but she did not know how to say it.
The little fellows sat on the chairs cutely.
The Empress asked Emissary Cui to bring them to the courtyard to play. Today, the little princess of the Eldest Prince Manor was also here. The little princess was only two years older than the little munchkins, so they should be able to play together.
Then, the Empress and Yu Wan talked about the wedding. “I originally wanted to set up a stage in the Fei Luan Hall. The troupe has been hired, but someone from Nanzhao came. His Majesty said that since Nanzhao Nation has the intention to be on good terms with the Great Zhou, we can’t neglect it. We also have to take into account the preferences of the envoys from Nanzhao. Help me choose first.”
How could Yu Wan know this? She might as well look for a diplomat from Honglu Temple.
The Empress patted Yu Wan’s hand and smiled gently. “I’ll bring you to hear it first.”
The troupe was hired from the commoners. Yu Wan had never heard of ancient operas, so she was really curious. She stood up and went with the Empress.
“Let the little masters and princess come too,” the Empress said to Emissary Cui.
“Yes.” Emissary Cui carried the little princess and called Fu Ling and the other two.
The Empress’s eyebrows twitched when she saw the tall and majestic Fu Ling. However, she did not lose her composure. She held Yu Wan’s hand and entered the opera garden of the Zhaoyang Palace.
The stage was almost set up, and the performers were also ready backstage. The troupe master came forward and bowed to the Empress.
The Empress waved her hand and led Yu Wan to sit down in the corridor.
The little princess sat beside the Empress, and the three little lads sat beside Yu Wan in turn. The few of them had never seen a stage before, and all of them were staring intently. The first scene was a fighting scene. Accompanied by a thunderous sound of gongs and drums, the martial arts students in black flipped onto the stage.
“Thunders” and “men in black”. The little munchkins were instantly frightened. Yu Wan thought things were bad and hurriedly went to hug her sons beside her. However, she saw Su Mu appear in front of the three of them.
The little munchkins pounced into Su Mu’s arms and hugged her neck tightly.
Yu Wan’s hand froze in midair.
