The day of the bride's return to her family home arrived in the blink of an eye.
When Wen Ye woke up, the snow outside the window had already stopped.
Today was the day to return to her family home, and lunch would be eaten there. Therefore, they had to depart from the Duke's mansion by mid-Mao hour (around 6 a.m.).
On a snowy day like this, the journey from the Duke's mansion to the Wen Family would take nearly an hour and a half.
At the beginning of Mao hour, Wen Ye sat down at the dining table and glanced out the window. Apart from the occasional chill seeping through the cracks, she could feel nothing else. It was still dark outside.
Wen Ye had a bowl of red date porridge, two meat-filled pastries, and a few spoonfuls of refreshing side dishes before putting down her chopsticks.
Xu Yuejia had risen even earlier than Wen Ye. After having breakfast, he had been in the western study, reading and sipping tea.
When Wen Ye finished her breakfast and everything was ready, Xu Yuejia emerged from the study.
Seeing that the maid had already helped Wen Ye fasten her cloak, he said, "It's time."
Wen Ye responded with a faint "Hmm."
On such a cold day, Madam Lu was worried, so besides Nanny Ji and the others who usually took care of Xu Yuxuan, she added two trusted maids, Qingxue and Bai Mei, to the party.
The group left the main courtyard and, after walking for about a quarter of an hour, finally reached the gates of the Duke's mansion.
The entrance was solemn and imposing.
On the day of her wedding, Wen Ye had been veiled and couldn't see clearly. Now, she got a proper look at the front gate of the Duke's mansion.
The carriage and sedan were already prepared. Xu Yuxuan had been carried onto the sedan by Nanny Ji, and Xu Yuejia asked Wen Ye to board the carriage first.
Wen Ye didn't stand on ceremony with him—it was simply too cold.
Once inside the carriage, Wen Ye glanced at the child sitting obediently on the right and took a seat opposite him.
Shut off from the biting wind outside, the carriage was much warmer, with a pot of tea brewing inside.
Xu Yuxuan's head bobbed up and down, clearly still drowsy but struggling to keep his eyes open.
Wen Ye held a warming stove and found the sight amusing.
Soon, Xu Yuejia also entered the carriage and sat in the middle.
Wen Ye averted her gaze, poured herself a cup of hot tea, and tried to shake off her sleepiness.
As the carriage began to move, the only sound inside was the bubbling of the tea.
Wen Ye sipped her tea and nibbled on the pastries placed on the tea table. Across from her, the child, seemingly realizing there was no one familiar around, began to grow visibly timid.
He glanced at Xu Yuejia in the middle, then at Wen Ye opposite him.
A pair of small hands emerged from the cloak that enveloped him like a cocoon, clutching at its edge.
Xu Yuejia had worked in the Ministry of Justice for many years, and his demeanor carried an intimidating air of severity. As a result, Xu Yuxuan had always been somewhat afraid of his father.
However, compared to Wen Ye, whom he had only met a few times, Xu Yuejia was still the more familiar figure.
The child inched his little bottom toward Xu Yuejia until his short arms could reach him, then stopped.
Now feeling a bit more confident, Xu Yuxuan looked at Wen Ye with a bolder expression.
His gaze shifted from the pastries on the plate to Wen Ye's mouth, which was steadily moving as she ate.
At this point, Wen Ye had picked up a book. With a journey of over an hour ahead and her companions being an unfamiliar man and a child, she naturally sought some entertainment.
However, it seemed Tao Zhi had given her the wrong book.
After flipping through a couple of pages, Wen Ye's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Halfway through the book, Wen Ye noticed Xu Yuxuan's intense gaze fixed on the half-eaten date cake in her hand.
She paused, then stuffed the entire piece into her mouth.
Xu Yuxuan looked at her, then at the now-empty plate, realizing that Wen Ye had just eaten the last piece. His little face crumpled with grievance, his lips quivering.
For some reason, though, he didn't cry out loud.
Wen Ye slowly swallowed the last bite and looked up to see Xu Yuxuan tugging at Xu Yuejia's sleeve. Both father and son turned their gazes toward her.
One had tears in his eyes, looking utterly wronged.
The other wore an indifferent expression, revealing no emotion, though he didn't seem inclined to stand up for his son.
After a moment's thought, Wen Ye put down the book, took out another plate of red bean pastries from a nearby food box, waved it in front of Xu Yuxuan, and then placed it closer to herself.
She began eating again, showing no intention of sharing.
Seeing that Wen Ye still had more, Xu Yuxuan sniffled and tugged at Xu Yuejia's sleeve again, his meaning clear.
However, Xu Yuejia merely glanced at him and remained unmoved.
Wen Ye ate at a leisurely pace, but Xu Yuxuan grew impatient. He slid off his seat, his short legs navigating around the tea table, and made his way past Xu Yuejia to Wen Ye's side.
He didn't seem to notice that he was wrinkling his father's clothes in the process.
Wen Ye felt a sudden weight on her leg and looked down to see a soft, round face staring up at her, calling out, "Mother~"
The child clearly knew how to curry favor.
But Wen Ye was not swayed. In a calm voice, she asked, "What do you want?"
Xu Yuxuan pointed at the tea table and whispered, "Eat."
Wen Ye then grabbed the front of the child's robe, hoisted him onto the seat, and handed him a red bean pastry.
"Go ahead," she said, then returned to her book.
Xu Yuxuan held the pastry and nibbled on it. It wasn't large, so he finished it quickly.
With his hands empty again, he looked at Wen Ye and said, "Mother..."
Without looking up from her book, Wen Ye accurately picked up a second pastry and handed it to the child beside her.
This time, Xu Yuxuan's enthusiasm for the pastry waned. After three bites, he stopped.
He slid down again, placed the pastry on the tea table, and used a handkerchief to wipe the crumbs from his hands.
Then, step by step, he moved closer to Wen Ye, growing curious about the book in her hands.
Wen Ye noticed the longing in his puppy-dog eyes and asked, "Is Yuxuan old enough to start learning now?"
She was naturally addressing Xu Yuejia, who sat at the head of the carriage.
Xu Yuejia looked at Xu Yuxuan, who was now close to Wen Ye, and replied, "The tutor will arrive after the New Year."
Wen Ye relaxed. Since he hadn't started learning yet, he probably couldn't read a single word.
"Do you want to look?" she asked.
Xu Yuxuan might not have understood, but he nodded eagerly nonetheless.
Wen Ye grabbed the child's robe again, but this time she tucked him under her cloak, holding him close.
She placed the book in front of both of them, and they began reading together.
The child was like a little heater, and with him around, Wen Ye no longer needed to hold the warming stove.
With one hand free, she continued to eat, occasionally feeding the child in her arms. The two of them were thoroughly engrossed in the book.
Before long, Xu Yuxuan's face was covered in pastry crumbs, even his eyebrows weren't spared.
Xu Yuejia, seeing this, couldn't help but frown.
A moment later, he asked, "What's the story in the book?"
Hearing Xu Yuejia's voice, Wen Ye's first thought was that she had imagined it. But when she looked up and met his gaze, she realized it was real.
As for the content of the book...
Xu Yuejia pressed, "Can't you say?"
Wen Ye knew that Xu Yuejia had never secretly read the books on her shelf in the western study.
As long as she behaved, he would never intrude on her private space.
"It's not that," Wen Ye said, but the book she was reading wasn't an ordinary one—it was a risqué romance!
She closed the book, paused for a moment, and began to explain:
"This story is about a famous courtesan from the south who falls in love with a scholar. She gives him all the money she's saved over the years to help him go to the capital for the imperial exams. But the scholar turns out to be heartless. After passing the exams, he abandons her and marries a princess, becoming a royal son-in-law."
Xu Yuejia frowned. "Was this written by a man?"
Wen Ye was surprised. "How can you tell?"
Xu Yuejia gave her a look that said, "Isn't it obvious?"
Without the book, Xu Yuxuan mimicked his father, furrowing his little brows and silently accusing Wen Ye.
Wen Ye discreetly stashed the book in a hidden compartment of the carriage, then covered Xu Yuxuan's eyes with one hand and said, "Actually, the story isn't over yet."
Based on the first half, it did seem like something a man would write.
Wen Ye continued, "I only told the first half earlier. In the second half, after the courtesan learns the truth, she becomes furious and travels to the capital. Along the way, she coincidentally saves a renowned physician, who, upon hearing her story, offers to help her change her appearance as a way to repay her for saving his life. Thus, the courtesan arrives in the capital with a stunningly beautiful face that even the unfaithful scholar wouldn’t recognize. Through a series of coincidences, she becomes the Emperor’s new empress, and from then on, the princess and the unfaithful scholar have to address her as 'Mother Empress!'"
Xu Yuejia: "......"
Thankfully, Xuan'er can't read yet.
The story is what it is, but Wen Ye had been telling a censored version. She had spent several years searching for this particular tale in a small, obscure bookstore in Sheng Jing, one that was different from the popular ones featuring scholars and princesses, or the daughters of ministers, empresses, or wealthy families.
However, she had just been reading a rather risqué book to a two-year-old child. What a sin, what a sin.
Wen Ye looked down at Xu Yuxuan, who was struggling with all his might to crawl toward the light, and thought to herself: Good thing he can't read yet.
After teasing the child for a little while, Wen Ye finally let him go. Xu Yuxuan, now back in the light, exclaimed with a mix of accusation and grievance, "Mother!"
Just as Xu Yuejia's gaze fell upon them again, Wen Ye felt a fleeting pang of guilt.
Teasing a child in front of his father was somewhat audacious.
Fortunately, the carriage soon arrived at the gates of the Wen Family residence.
Wen Ye handed Xu Yuxuan back to his father and quickly stepped out of the carriage.
Nanny Ji was already waiting in front of the carriage. As soon as Wen Ye stepped out, Nanny Ji bowed slightly and then efficiently entered the carriage.
Upon seeing the scene inside, Nanny Ji nearly lost her composure.
After hurriedly bowing, she cautiously asked, "Young master, what happened?"
Xu Yuejia was calmly wiping cake crumbs off Xu Yuxuan's face and replied indifferently, "It's nothing. He just knocked over a plate of pastries."
Hearing this, Xu Yuxuan tilted his head up, his expression one of confusion.
Nanny Ji, no longer suspicious, quickly straightened Xu Yuxuan's clothes.
Wen Ye waited outside for a while before Xu Yuejia and his son finally stepped out of the carriage.
At that moment, Father Wen and Madam Shen, along with their sons and daughters-in-law, arrived at the gates of the residence. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
