The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 688 Envoy from the Western Wind Kingdom

In the autumn of the twenty-third year of Minghua, on the tenth day of the eighth month, Old Mrs. Wang and Old Mr. Wang arrived in Wanning City.

The city is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, awaiting the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Ayu and the others had received Old Madam Wang's letter in advance, so they were waiting at the city gate early on.

Zhu'er held a large candied hawthorn in her hand and suddenly waved in one direction: "Brother Zao'er!"

"Zhu'er, who are you calling?" Ayu turned her head to look and saw people coming and going at the city gate. Several people turned around at the sound, but she didn't know who Zhu'er was calling.

"He's a very nice older brother. He often goes to Auntie's general store!" Zhu'er said, pointing to someone and telling Ayu, "Sister, look, that one with the blue hairband is him."

Ayu is off work today. Her other brothers are still at school. Only her sisters-in-law brought her and Zhu'er to pick up her grandparents.

Upon hearing this, she went to investigate and indeed found a young boy, about ten years old, with a lake-blue hairband on his head, a cyan jade pendant around his waist, and a wooden fan in his pocket, directing two servants carrying small wooden boxes.

Hearing Zhu'er call, he looked around briefly before spotting them.

Zhu'er stepped forward, greeted the group, and then noticed Ayu: "Miss, it's you."

Ayu also recognized Zao'er: "What a coincidence, it's you."

The two had met before. At that time, Zao'er was accompanied by a very arrogant young man who had his hand broken by Qin Huai for speaking rudely.

It was then that Ayu discovered that Qin Huai might have psychological problems. Whenever she had the chance, she would accompany him to relax, fearing that he might accidentally turn into a little devil.

"I didn't properly inquire about your family's status before. I wonder how your brother is doing?" Ayu asked casually. That person's words were indeed very annoying. So much time had passed, and she hadn't made amends back then, so it was even less likely that she would go and pretend to be kind now.

Zao'er shook her head: "His aunt has already sent him to a villa in the countryside."

Zao'er didn't say much about what had happened, only saying, "Don't worry, are you going out of the city?"

"No, we're here to pick up our families. What about you? Are you planning to leave the city or did you just get back?"

"I'm just returning from outside the city. The Kingdom of Xifeng will be sending envoys to visit soon, and some stalls have been set up outside Wanning City. They sell foreign goods, including many exquisite items. My elders at home like one particular spice, so we came to buy some. If any of your elders also have similar tastes, I'll give this to you as a gift." As Zao'er spoke, she was about to give away a small wooden box.

Ayu hurriedly said, "No need, no need. Aren't you a regular customer at my aunt's shop? Her general store always has a few of the latest trends in stock. She had someone buy these spices a few days ago."

“That’s right, I almost forgot. You’re related to Aunt Bao, so you certainly won’t be short of gifts. I’ll be going now to present the gifts to the elders in my family.” Zao’er said, glancing at A Yu, and added, “By the way, I heard that there are many envoys from the Western Wind Kingdom this time, and Wanning City will be holding a celebratory event for half a month, until after midnight. If you like a lively atmosphere, you can have your family book some private rooms in restaurants in advance, so you don’t have trouble finding good seats.”

"We didn't know that, thank you."

"You are Welcome."

After Zao'er left, Ayu got into the carriage and told her sisters-in-law about it.

Jiang Wujing said, "We are not from Wanning City, so we really didn't know there was such a rule. The curfew is usually at Hai Shi (9-11 PM), but now it has been extended to Chou Shi (1-3 AM). We don't know if the academy will have a day off."

The academies in Wanning City have many more days off than they used to in Wangbei County. They also have days off for various festivals, and sometimes half a month is spent on holidays.

Ayu: "If my third uncle and aunt were here, they would definitely prepare several new recipes in advance. With such a long extension, they would have made so much more money."

"You!" Wei Qianying tapped Ayu's forehead with her finger and shook her head helplessly. "Don't joke about elders like that. Be careful that your fourth aunt hears you and will scold you again."

Zhou Chuchu laughed along, "Third sister-in-law, you're mistaken. Fourth aunt would never bear to say anything to our Ayu. If she heard that, she would definitely be careful to prevent Ayu from sneaking out at night."

What are you doing running out there?

"Selling sachets secretly!"

"Hahaha……"

The Wang family all knew about Ayu selling the "Top Scholar's Sachet" and even her sisters-in-law were now involved. The brothers helped write the inscriptions, and the sisters-in-law helped cut them out; they made quite a few.

In the past, they sold them frequently, but now Ayu has Tangyuan delivered directly to Puji Temple. Puji Temple buys them all, consecrates them in front of the Buddha, and then sells them to those who are destined to receive them.

In this way, although each item would fetch less money, several hundred could be sold at a time, and by next year they would stop selling altogether, thus not damaging Qin Huai's reputation. Moreover, Qin Huai would also receive a share of the profits.

Despite her young age, Ayu has become the Wang family's most successful money-maker, and no one knows how much money she has now.

"Fine, you're all teasing me. I won't buy you anything anymore!" Ayu pouted deliberately, which made everyone burst into laughter again.

Just as they were talking and laughing, Zhu'er raised her voice and shouted, "Look, it's Grandpa and the others!"

As everyone looked, sure enough, they saw Old Wang sitting outside the carriage, holding the reins, with several large paper bags piled up beside him, clearly gifts prepared for his family.

"Grandpa!" Ayu called out.

When Old Wang heard Ayu's voice, he handed the token in his hand to the city guard for inspection, and when he looked up and saw Ayu, his old face broke into a smile.

"Hey!"

When they got closer, everyone got off the carriage. Ayu looked on with a pained expression and said, "Grandpa, why are you driving by yourself? Where are the others?"

"He's just itching to ride, ignore him." Old Mrs. Wang helped Old Mr. Wang off the carriage and said irritably, "The official road over there has been widened, and he wanted to try out the fast horse. He almost shook my old bones off!"

They had given their previous carriages to two young men from the village. This carriage was prepared by the Duke of Anguo. Not only was the carriage itself spacious and comfortable, but the horses were also retired warhorses. Although they were old horses, they were still far superior to ordinary horses.

Once they reached the official road, Old Wang couldn't sit still. He encountered several Westerners galloping on horseback and insisted on challenging them to a race.

In the end, it was obvious that he had lost. Not satisfied, he pushed aside the guards surnamed Chi and made his way all the way to the city gate.

Grandma Wang rolled her eyes so hard they almost popped out of her head. If it weren't for her martial arts background, she probably would have been shaken to pieces.

Ah Yu was astonished to hear this, never expecting her grandfather to have this side to him. She began to wonder if she should find a way to prepare a fine horse for her grandfather.

It's not that we can't get a top-class horse, but that would be too conspicuous. Let's get a second- or third-class horse so Grandpa can have some fun. Anyway, they have plenty of things now, but they have plenty of training grounds, which are perfect for horse racing.

The family chatted and laughed as they left through the city gate. There were some things that were not appropriate to say there, so they kept quiet.

Not long after they left, a noisy sound of galloping horses could be heard, and everyone gathered at the city gate to watch.

"Those must be the envoys from the Kingdom of West Wind?"

“These men, each one of them, are quite distinguished and imposing.”

"But is the envoy's behavior such that he's here to intimidate us, Dachang? We haven't had a major war between Xifeng and Dachang for decades. Is he here to cause trouble?"

"You wouldn't understand, would you? I've heard that the old king of Xifeng Kingdom is critically ill, and his children are restless, even plotting to usurp the throne! The person who came to visit our Dachang this time is said to be a prince. He's here to seek outside help so that he can go back and seize the throne."

"Tsk, how do you know so much? If you ask me, that prince isn't here to seek outside help, he's here to find relatives."

"Looking for relatives? There are only three princes in our Great Chang Dynasty. Only the eldest prince is barely eligible to marry, but he is already betrothed. As for a princess, Princess Ruyi is still too young, it doesn't make sense..."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, all of which were hearsay, and no one could clearly explain the situation.

Only one person, holding a wine jug, said drunkenly, "You're all wrong, you fools are all wrong. The Xifeng Kingdom has come here not to find relatives, but to find someone! The most favored princess of the Xifeng Kingdom has gone missing in Dachang, and they have come to take her away."

Upon hearing this, everyone paused for a moment, and then immediately dispersed.

"Go away, go away, where did this drunkard come from?"

"Who doesn't know that the Western Wind Kingdom has no princess and is the most favored? How come I've never heard of that?"

"Forget it, let whoever wants to deal with the affairs of the Western Wind Kingdom do so. I need to rush home to cook for my wife."

After everyone dispersed, they didn't realize that the drunkard who had been talking was no longer there.

(End of this chapter)