Chapter 461: Chapter 450: The Top Scorer from a Farming Family
"Then go find this family; if it’s possible to buy it, then buy it, even if it costs a bit more."
"Yes!"
"Wait." Xiao He called to his subordinate, "Remember, avoid conflicts with others."
"This subordinate understands."
Xiao He always felt somewhat uneasy about the Ye Family that suddenly appeared; it was better to be cautious.
Ye Qiu and the others were also baffled. They had just bought a small estate and had not yet started planning when someone came with a high offer. To his knowledge, the estate had been on the market for nearly half a month before they purchased it.
Despite the high offer, Ye Qiu still did not want to sell. Estates on the outskirts of Shangjing were not easy to come by; missing this one would make finding another difficult. The steward would also be arriving soon; without an estate, where would they plant the Chinese roses?
"Does the young master need an estate for cultivating flowers?" The subordinate, discerning Ye Qiu’s intention from his words, asked, "To be honest, the estate that Young Master Ye has just bought is useful to our master. Since the young master only wants an estate for cultivating flowers, how about we exchange it for another one? We guarantee it won’t be inferior."
Ye Qiu did realize that there must be some problem with his estate, although he could not figure out what it was, but it might lead to trouble in the future. Then the Chinese roses would need to be transplanted again, and his own people might become targets. Since this gentleman was so polite, it indicated that his master was not a domineering person. Exchanging one estate for another to acquire stability seemed like a good deal.
After some thought, Ye Qiu immediately agreed. The Ye Family was without power or influence in Shangjing; it was best not to get involved in some inexplicable strife.
After the subordinate reported the negotiation results, Xiao He nodded, "Since they are so straightforward, let’s exchange my peach garden for their estate."
"Yes!"
Soon, both parties completed the handover, and Ye Qiu and his party arrived at the "Peach Garden" that had been exchanged with them.
Before even entering, Ye Qiu knew that he had struck a great bargain.
Firstly, the location. The Peach Garden was close to the official road, and nearby were the estates of other high-ranking officials and nobles, so security was not a concern. In addition, a river flowed nearby, so there was no worry about the water supply. Most importantly, the terrain was flat. Besides having a large area planted with peach trees, there was also extensive farmland. Inside the estate, there was a courtyard with complete and even expensive furnishings and household items. They could move in directly.
Moreover, the size of this estate was at least twice as large as their previous one, if not more. Even Xiutong, after seeing it, quietly asked, "Isn’t that person a fool?"
"Don’t talk nonsense." Ye Qiu knocked on his sister’s head, "Now that the estate is yours, think carefully about how you want to manage it."
Filled with fighting spirit, Xiutong looked at the large estate and clenched her fists, "I will definitely plan well, I will make the Chinese rose the most fashionable flower in Shangjing."
"Big brother, come over here quickly, these peaches are so sweet." Xiuying called out to them, sighing contentedly.
Xiutong, seeing how much she liked it, said with a chuckle, "There’s no need to dig up this peach garden for now; the farmland over there is already enough for me to plant flowers."
"Thank you, Sister Two." Xiuying smiled at Xiutong, looking up at her.
Half a month later, the steward arrived in Shangjing with large cuttings of roses. From then on, except for the occasional trip to the flower market, Xiutong basically stayed inside the peach garden without leaving. Xiuya and Wang Zhaoxing also successfully bought a small courtyard and moved out, leaving only Ye Qiu and Xiuying at the large house.
Ye Qiu was preparing for next year’s Imperial Examination. Besides occasionally attending book meetings with Wang Zhaoxing for the students in Shangjing, he mostly stayed at home to study, naturally unaware that his little sister was running outside every day and had already met an extraordinary friend.
"Here, take this. This is made by our family cook following my recipe," said Xiuying with a benevolent face as she handed Xia Yu a wallet, then sympathetically added, "You are really pitiful, not even having tasted rice cakes. Try this, I added sesame and bean flour in it, it’s really delicious."
"Doesn’t eating bean flour give you diarrhea?" Xia Yu hesitated.
"You’re thinking of croton powder, this isn’t it. Try it, it’s really fragrant," Xiuying said, swallowing saliva as she ungraciously pinched a piece and put it in her mouth, then squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
Xia Yu, watching her, followed suit and stuffed a whole rice cake into his mouth. Indeed, it tasted very sweet!
You one piece, me another, unwittingly, the two finished all the rice cakes in the wallet.
Looking at Xia Yu’s longing eyes, Xiuying giggled with embarrassment, having eaten half of what was meant for him, thus she nonchalantly suggested, "Come on, I’ll take you to try something else. There’s a place at the dock selling lamb offal soup. Despite its simple appearance and cheap prices, it tastes better than what the big restaurants serve. The soup is milky white, topped with a handful of cilantro. You can choose to add chili or not, but I like to add a bit more. The lamb offal is chewy but tender, and with a steamed bread roll, it’s simply divine."
With Xiuying’s vivid description, Xia Yu hadn’t even seen it yet, but felt certain the lamb offal soup must be delicious.
Only lamb meat, and not lamb offal, was eaten in the palace, so he was also very much looking forward to what the lamb offal soup tasted like.
Indeed, ’the palace’ because this Xia Yu was none other than the Little Emperor, who had ascended the throne at thirteen and had reigned for four years already. He hadn’t started ruling in his own right yet, which is why he had much free time to go out.
The Empress Dowager and imperial tutors were also cautious not to push him too hard, thus they turned a blind eye to his secret excursions from the palace. Nonetheless, they dispatched numerous people to ensure his safety covertly. Ever since meeting Xiuying, he had forbidden tastings of his food, which worried the Empress Dowager and others for quite some time. Fortunately, Xiuying’s family background was clear, and no trouble had arisen these days, allowing the two to accompany each other with the claim of wanting to sample all the delicacies of Shangjing.
"My Lady, what should we do if Your Majesty takes a liking to that girl named Xiuying in the future?"
Hearing the palace maid’s words, Empress Dowager Liu laughingly closed the memorial: "Haven’t the guards investigated clearly? That girl’s brother is a scholar and is expected to take the Imperial Examination next year. If he becomes an Advanced Scholar and Yu’er really does like her, bestowing a title of concubine wouldn’t be a problem."
"It’s just that Lady has thought things through well, but isn’t the girl’s family background a bit lacking?"
"Lacking in what?" Empress Dowager Liu narrowed her eyes, "Yu’er is still too young, and though I am now conducting curtain listening to politics, in at most another two years, those ministers will push me to relinquish my power. I’m more worried about a concubine’s family being too influential, which could hamper Yu’er. Even for Yu’er’s future Empress, I would reject any family of third-rank officials or above."
The palace maid suddenly understood: "My Lady truly has his best interests at heart."