Time flew by rapidly, and before you knew it, another year had passed.
If there was any slight turbulence in Wen Ye's life in Duke Xu's residence, it would probably be attributed to Duke Xu himself.
The root of all this stemmed from Madam Lu's previous two birthdays.
Wen Ye had no intention of backing down. In her eyes, she was clearly playing the role of a facilitator.
Moreover, life couldn't always remain the same. Having someone causing a bit of commotion actually made things quite interesting. It was just a matter of time before Duke Xu realized this.
After all, even Madam Lu had already seen through it.
At the beginning of this year, Elder Mistress Shen, along with her daughter-in-law Lady Yao and her five-month-old grandson, returned from Ling City to reunite officially with her son, Shen Tingxuan.
Although Shen Tingxuan's official position in the court wasn't particularly high, he held a pivotal role. As long as he remained fair and just and made substantial achievements, future promotions were only a matter of time. With no more worries weighing on her, Elder Mistress Shen often visited Duke Xu's residence to spend time with Wen Ye.
Additionally, Xu Yuejia had also been promoted.
Old Minister Jiang from the Ministry of Justice once again requested to retire from his position to the emperor, and this time, the emperor didn't deny him. As soon as the position of Minister of Justice became vacant, the emperor promoted Xu Yuejia.
When Wen Ye found out, what she cared about most was: "So, is the salary higher now as well?"
Although the court's salary was nothing compared to the profits from those shops and estates, they carried different meanings. Previously, Wen Ye hadn't paid much attention to how much an official of Xu Yuejia's rank earned monthly.
Xu Yuejia looked at her, his eyes carrying a trace of helplessness, and said: "Yes."
Wen Ye was quite delighted and said: "Congratulations on your promotion, my lord."
It wasn't clear whether she was happy because of his promotion or because of the salary increase. Beside them, Xu Yuxuan, who was practicing writing, overheard and poked his head out, asking: "Is Father promoted?"
Wen Ye responded upon hearing: "Yes, and when your father receives his salary, he can buy you roast chicken." At four years old, Xu Yuxuan wasn't as easily fooled as before. He muttered with a faint hum: "Mother just wants it herself."
He wasn't foolish!
With the study being so small, the child's mumbling naturally reached Wen Ye's ears. She smiled and said: "Then don't eat it when your father brings it back."
Xu Yuxuan certainly wasn't willing, immediately saying: "I want to eat!"
Not foolish, yes, but roast chicken was still something he wanted to eat.
After the autumn arrived, Madam Lu selected a small foal for Xu Yuxuan. Two years ago, during their trip to Xiquan Mountain to escape the summer heat, Xu Yuxuan had constantly wanted to learn how to ride a horse, and now he could finally fulfill that wish.
The foal wasn't at the residence but at a manor outside the city.
Originally, Madam Lu was going to accompany them and at the same time check on the manor's affairs. However, just before they were about to leave, there was a disturbance at another manor, with some injuries being severe, and the manor head reported it to her.
The troubled manor was in the southern part of the city, while the manor where the foal was kept was in the northern part, not in the same direction at all. There was no way around it; with events having varying levels of urgency, Madam Lu could only go deal with the disturbance first.
Not wanting to disappoint Xu Yuxuan, she asked Wen Ye if she could handle going alone. The task of teaching him to ride didn't require them to do it themselves; there were plenty of guards in Duke Xu's residence who could choose from, surely finding some who were meticulous. Wen Ye didn't have any objections.
They set off early, and by the time they reached the manor, it was just after the seventh hour. Wen Ye had people set up a recliner and a bamboo table with tea and snacks beside it. From a distance, she watched Xu Yuxuan, with a guard holding the horse's reins, riding the foal in circles on the flat barren land.
Occasionally, she could hear Xu Yuxuan calling out to her: "Mother!"
Wen Ye usually waved back in response.
The wind at this time still carried a bit of a chill. Wen Ye didn't watch for too long before lying down, placing a novel over her face, and quietly taking a nap. Tao Zhi and Yun Zhi immediately moved forward, standing on either side of her to block the wind.
Throughout the entire morning, while Xu Yuxuan was learning to ride, Wen Ye was sleeping; when Xu Yuxuan went to the fields to dig up potatoes, Wen Ye woke up, ate some snacks, drank some tea, and picked up the novel to continue reading.
After Xu Yuxuan finished digging potatoes and ran to the manor's mill to watch the donkey grinding grain, Wen Ye had also finished reading the novel and started thinking about the midday meal.
At this age, Xu Yuxuan had never seen a donkey before. After watching the donkey grind grain, he excitedly ran back to tell Wen Ye about it. Nanny Ji and the others followed behind, panting from exhaustion.
Xu Yuxuan was now like a little slickster. With his legs growing more nimble, besides Wen Ye and Xu Yuejia, even Madam Lu couldn't catch him. Xu Yuxuan shook Wen Ye's arm and pleaded: "Mother, I want to buy a small donkey~"
Wen Ye lifted her eyes and looked at him, saying: "Isn't there already a foal?"
Xu Yuxuan, struggling to put his thoughts into words, said: "But, but Xuan'er doesn't have a small donkey yet!"
Wen Ye neither agreed nor refused but asked: "What would you do with a donkey?"
Xu Yuxuan thought for a moment but couldn't come up with an answer.
Finally, he scratched his head and said: "To keep the foal company, the foal is too lonely~"
Hearing this, Wen Ye couldn't help but let her thoughts wander, wondering if they should also get a mule.
"Mother?" Xu Yuxuan tilted his head and called out.
"Go ahead and buy one if you want," Wen Ye said.
Xu Yuxuan sweetly said: "Mother is the best~"
Wen Ye wasn't fooled in the least: "Mother has no money, if you want to buy a donkey, you'll have to use your own silver."
Xu Yuxuan chuckled sneakily; he still had money to buy a donkey.
"Nanny Ji, do you have any silver with you?" Xu Yuxuan looked at Nanny Ji beside him.
Nanny Ji, full of loving kindness, nodded: "Yes, yes."
The entire manor belonged to Duke Xu's family. If Xu Yuxuan wanted a donkey, they could just have the manor head note it down and bring one over. However, since he was willing to spend his own money, it was fine to let him do so.
After resolving the matter at the southern manor, Madam Lu returned to Duke Xu's residence.
The morning's rush had left her quite fatigued. Originally, she had planned to visit the northern manor to see Xu Yuxuan learning to ride, but now she didn't feel like it anymore. Duke Xu and Xu Yuejia had already left early for court and were unaware of the disturbance at the southern manor, believing that Madam Lu was at the northern manor.
Seeing only Madam Lu alighting from the sedan chair, Duke Xu asked in confusion: "Where are Xuan'er and Sister-in-law?"
Madam Lu first looked at Duke Xu, feeling nothing unusual then, and explained the situation to him, but upon meeting Xu Yuejia's gaze beside her, she inexplicably felt a momentary guilt in her heart.
★
In the afternoon, Xu Yuxuan continued learning to ride, while Wen Ye continued lounging in the recliner.
The autumn sky was clear and refreshing, providing a most delightful relaxation.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard the sound of approaching horses.
She instinctively turned her head and was surprised to see Xu Yuejia, who was wearing an unusual deep red brocade robe, adding a touch of distinctive color to this desolate horse field.
Wen Ye's eyes changed as they followed him.
Xu Yuejia had ridden over on horseback and was also pulling another horse.
After dismounting, Wen Ye sat up and asked: "Why do you have time to come here, my lord?" Her gaze remained fixed on his face, which was accentuated with a bright, lively hue by the deep red brocade robe.
Xu Yuejia explained: "Elder Sister-in-law asked me to come and teach Xuan'er to ride." Wen Ye "oh"ed in response, not suspecting anything and said: "Xuan'er is over there."
In the distance, Xu Yuxuan had somehow dismounted from the foal's back and was currently engaging in a battle of wits with the newly purchased donkey.
Xu Yuejia glanced at the scene and quickly turned his attention back to her, saying calmly: "I know of a beautiful scenic spot nearby, would you like to go and enjoy it?"
Wen Ye, feeling bored, became interested at once: "Is it far?"
Xu Yuejia shook his head: "Not far, riding there only takes about a quarter of an hour."
Seeing that he had already prepared the horse, there was no hesitation on Wen Ye's part, and she immediately put down the novel in her hand, saying: "Let's go."
Whether the scenery was beautiful or not, she wasn't particularly concerned. What she cared about more was today's Xu Yuejia, a rarity.
Usually, when he wore official robes, he always exuded a solemn and disciplined demeanor, but today, dressed in a simple deep red robe, he presented a different impression. Wen Ye stretched slightly, took the reins handed over by Xu Yuejia, and mounted the horse.
Xu Yuejia also remounted his horse.
Wen Ye looked at him and said: "After enjoying the scenery, would my lord like to go soak in the hot springs?"
The hot spring manor wasn't too far either.
Xu Yuejia, who knew exactly what she was plotting, smiled and said: "Sure."
At that moment, Xu Yuxuan finally managed to climb onto the donkey's back, trying to drive it just like he did his foal.
He lifted his head and saw the two familiar figures on horseback in the distance, his round eyes lighting up, and he began to shout: "Mother! Father!"
Wen Ye heard the childish voice from behind and smiled at Xu Yuejia: "My lord, let's hurry and ride away first."
Xu Yuejia couldn't agree more and slightly nodded.
Wen Ye waved the reins: "Giddy up!"
Xu Yuejia followed closely behind.
Xu Yuxuan saw that both his father and mother had galloped away on horseback, so he hurriedly mimicked the people in the mill shouting at the donkey, "Work!" The donkey did move, but it only circled in place.
Xu Yuxuan kept yelling towards the direction of Wen Ye and Xu Yuejia, "Wait for me! Don't leave Xuan'er behind!" However, no one answered him.
Xu Yuxuan, on the other hand, hugged the donkey's neck and let the donkey keep circling in place, seemingly challenging who could last longer. In the distance, two fine horses galloped swiftly away, with two figures side by side, never falling behind.
