Gu Sui’er had already heard from Xiao Heng about how the prince’s residence was constructed, but she hadn’t seen it herself. Coming here, she discovered that it was originally the residence of a high-ranking official from the previous emperor’s reign. It had been serving as a temporary imperial residence for the Emperor after slight renovation. Now, it had been rebuilt in accordance with the layout of a princely residence for Xiao Heng.
Walking past the second entrance, Xiao Heng led Gu Sui’er forward. Passing through winding corridors and moon gates one after another, she was beginning to feel a little dizzy.
“Are we the only ones living in this big residence?” She asked.
It did not seem to be any smaller than the Ruiding residence. However, the Marquis residence had separate yards for the eldest branch, second branch, and third branch of the family, so it didn’t feel too spacious or empty. Now that it would only be Xiao Heng and herself living here, she couldn’t help but feel that it was too large.
“For now, it is just us.” Xiao Heng said. Guessing she was exhausted, he held her hand and sat down on a bench made of white marble beside the corridor.
“What about in the future?” Gu Sui’er asked. It did sound like there would be other people moving in later, didn’t it?
Xiao Heng glanced at her before looking at the yard and said faintly: “In the future, there will be Ah Chen and his wife and children.”
Gu Sui’er hadn’t thought of this. She was taken aback for a moment and couldn’t help but mutter: “So in the future, if we have a few more children, we can have separate yards for the eldest branch, second branch, third branch, fourth branch……”
In that case, it would be like the Ruiding residence where everyone had their own separate yard and could visit each other with just a few steps.
Xiao Heng uttered after a few moments of silence: “If we have that many children, then it is really possible.”
Initially, Gu Sui’er only thought that having more people would make the atmosphere of the residence livelier. She hadn’t considered the issue of having several children. She almost choked on her own saliva.
So many children… who would give birth to them? Her?
She averted her eyes quickly, feeling somewhat guilty and embarrassed all at once.
They could see the lake and mountains beyond the corridor from the bench they were sitting on. In summer, the lakewater was dark green, and when the wind blew from there, it made them feel refreshed and spirited.
“There is also a lake here ah, but there are no trees or flowers around it.”
“Nothing has been planted there yet. I wanted you to see it before it is decided what should be planted there.” Xiao Heng said: “Do you wish to plant anything?”
Gu Sui’er looked at the lake and blinked. “Anything is fine?”
Xiao Heng nodded. “En, whatever you wish.”
His tone was cool and indifferent, just like when they first met, but Gu Sui’er could sense the warmth behind it.
He let her decide what to plant around such a large residence?
She smiled and took his hand with a deliberately teasing smile: “Really ah?”
Xiao Heng saw a rare flicker of mischief in her limpid eyes, like a fish jumping over the shimmering surface of a lake, reflecting the sunlight beautifully.
He nodded: “En.”
Upon hearing his answer, Gu Sui’er asked: “Then how about a field of corn and wheat?”
Xiao Heng was taken aback. But seeing the glimmer of mischief in her eyes, he realized she was doing it on purpose.
“It’s not necessarily impossible.” He replied.
“Then let us have them planted. We should plant more, so that when autumn comes, the field will be all golden and we can harvest a good amount of crops!”
“……” Xiao Heng acquiesced: “Alright.”
However, Gu Sui’er knew that he was just playing along.
As the fifth prince who had just reclaimed his identity and moved into this residence bestowed upon him, countless people were watching his every move. As a result, he couldn’t possibly have a backyard full of farm crops when inviting friends and associates in the future.
Not thinking about it any further, Gu Sui’er then proceeded to mull over the topic.
They discussed what flowers to plant, where to grow grass, how to organize the different areas of the residence and gave orders accordingly.
After talking for a while, they were about to continue forward when they noticed two servants approaching with their heads down, carrying a soft sedan.
It was a kind of long couch where one could semi-recline on it and be carried by people with the help of the two long poles on the sides.
She looked at Xiao Heng in surprise.
He explained blankly, “We don’t have a proper sedan in this residence, so this was made first.”
They had just moved into this residence. How did he think of everything so thoroughly?
This residence was too large so it was true that a woman like her would get tired after walking around so much.
Gu Sui’er didn’t expect that in the time it took for her to relax, he had already had someone bring a movable couch for her. For a moment, she was in disbelief.
She blinked, looking at him in doubt.
But Xiao Heng’s face was as expressionless as ever.
With an uncontrollable smile, she leaned closer to him and said softly, “Third Master is so nice.”
He had taught her a poem before which had a line- ‘moisten things finely, without a sound1T/N: The line she quotes, ‘moisten things finely, without a sound’ (润物细无声 or rùn wù xì wú shēng) is from a Tang dynasty poem called «Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night» (春夜喜雨 or chūn yè xǐ yŭ) by Du Fu (杜甫). This line basically implies that rain doesn’t blow its own trumpet for rejuvenating everything. The poet here refers to those who selflessly help others. For more info on the poem, click here. Source for poem’s line: here.‘. He was just like that: he didn’t like to talk, but he was considerate in every other way.
She really felt much more comfortable after sitting on the soft couch.
Especially since the noble fifth prince walked by side while she was carried in the sedan. That made her feel even more remarkable.
Soon, they arrived at the main yard where they were going to live. As soon as they entered, Gu Sui’er noticed something.
“This yard is also called Tingzhu Courtyard?”
“They also planted bamboo here?”
“The bamboo is a bit similar to that in our Tingzhu Courtyard ah!”
She couldn’t help but look around. The bricks and glazed roof tiles were all brand new, there was a gate in the front and back each, and a yard in the middle with a little pavilion and a rockery. In the corners, there were faint swaying shadows of bamboo plants.
When the winds blew, it made soft rustling sounds like that of the Tingzhu Courtyard of Ruiding residence. This made her like this yard even more. After all, she had been living there for so long, she had already gotten used to it.
Gu Sui’er was wearing a light yellow muslin dress today. She jumped out of the sedan and walked gracefully with light steps.
Her dress fluttered in the wind, revealing a little of the delicate and embroidered shoes hidden under it.
She walked around happily, her eyes full of anticipation, curiously looking here and there like a tender yellow butterfly fluttering in the breeze.
Standing there for some time, Xiao Heng couldn’t help but reach out and catch this cheerful little butterfly.
Lowering his head, he asked in a hoarse voice: “We will live here from now on, okay?”
Have children and raise them here. Spend the rest of their days together.
Gu Sui’er was moved.
She liked it here. This place felt like a real home to her.
Looking back, in Ruiding residence’s Tingzhu Courtyard, even though she knew she would be living there and serving Xiao Heng from then on, it was still unable to give her the feeling of home.
Perhaps it was because she had stepped there with fear and trepidation. So much so that even when her apprehension had gradually subsided, she still couldn’t truly feel that it was home.
But starting now, she would be living in this enormous residence, taking care of it with all her heart, planting flowers, grass, and crops. Her little Ah Chen would also grow up here, get married and have children. She might even have grandchildren running around here.
“En, okay!” She nodded and smiled.
Xiao Heng watched her without a word. When she smiled, he saw the sunlight dancing on the tip of her brows.
He clutched her into his arms tightly as if he were embracing a graceful butterfly dancing in the warm sun.
“Third Master?” Caught in his embrace, she gently bit her lip and looked at him.
He raised his hand and touched her eyes, always feeling that they were like clear spring water, able to reflect the subtlest rays of light.
“I feel this is… quite nice.”
He tightened his arms, gathering the butterfly in his embrace, then lowered his head and gently kissed her eyes.
Gu Sui’er closed her eyes. She could feel the cool and gentle touch of his lips brushing against them like the warm breeze.
After three or four days of arranging the matters, she finally had the time to relax.
Where to set things, where to put which maids and servants on duty, all of these needed to be approved and arranged by her. At first, Gu Sui’er was like a headless chicken but after she had Guizhi note everything down and she pondered over the register, she slowly began getting everything in order.
In addition to the subordinates brought from Ruiding residence, Xiao Heng had also purchased another batch of experienced, well-trained servants and nannies, most of whom were bought from the south.
It became more difficult to supervise more people. So Gu Sui’er simply divided the duty between Guizhi and Nanny An, with Nanny An in charge of the outside matters and Guizhi in charge of the interior ones.
As for those purchased from outside, she would observe them and slowly promote those who were suitable.
After a few days of hard work, Gu Sui’er was exhausted. Her head felt heavy, her feet were powerless, she barely knew which side was what and her back was sore and aching. She lay on the bed and groaned, not wanting to budge at all.
Before, she had only thought that the wives of rich and noble families had a good life; they only needed to manage the subordinates and enjoy the services of those servants. They didn’t have to do any physical labor. But now that it was her turn to be the hostess, she realized that it wasn’t an easy job at all. Just dealing with the food, clothing and other expenses of these servants required a lot of thinking, not to mention setting up their tasks, which required even more deliberation.
Initially, Gu Sui’er was just about to catch her breath after deciding on matters when she realized that there were still many things that required her attention.
After moving into the prince’s residence, it was necessary for them to enter the Palace and thank the Emperor for his grace. Inviting the people of Ruiding residence some day was also a matter of etiquette. This heap of socialising was all important; none of them was to be postponed.
She didn’t understand any of this but fortunately, Nanny An was there to give her some advice, and Guizhi handed her a small notebook to jot down everything. In this way, she could barely keep up.
Luckily, she still knew the Young Mistresses of Marquis Ruiding’s family. There would have been even more trouble otherwise.
“Must I enter the Palace to express my gratitude to His Majesty?”
While helping Xiao Heng undress, Gu Sui’er asked.
She recalled the last time she went there and felt a little nervous. If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, she really didn’t want to go again.
Xiao Heng looked down at her as she untied the pouch hung at his waist and removed his waistband. He said faintly, “Must.”
Gu Sui’er stood up and helped him remove his outerwear. She heard him say: “Ah Chen will have to go to the Palace more often in the future, and so will you.”
He didn’t have a legitimate wife. As his concubine and the only graded lady in his residence, she was bound by etiquette to enter the Palace and pay her respects to the Empress on many occasions.
Gu Sui’er felt somewhat helpless but said, “Alright, I’ll go.”
When one is pressed to a certain degree, one must do what is needed to be done.
If she married a peasant from the village, she would need to learn how to chop firewood, do farmwork and slaughter pigs. If she married a prince from the imperial family, she would need to learn how to supervise maids and enter the Palace to pay her respects.
Gu Sui’er understood this principle now.
Even if she didn’t want to go, she would have to grit her teeth and adapt slowly.
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