0p0 Chapter 110 Heading to 5
Chapter 110 Heading to 5
The servants at Lady Yan's residence quickly served a table of steaming hot and delicious food to the family members who had rushed back from their journey. After Lady Yan and Yan Qing took their seats, Wei Chaoyan did not stand on ceremony and led his younger brothers to sit down as well.
Seeing that Lady Yan didn't speak but simply picked up her chopsticks and started eating, Wei Chaoyan quickly and efficiently filled a bowl with food for her three younger brothers and herself, then bent down and devoured the delicious dishes. As for Qingyan, he had a well-trained maidservant watching over and feeding him, so Wei Chaoyan didn't need to take care of him.
The six people at the table remained silent, the only sounds being the clear rustling of food being chewed and swallowed. After a while, these sounds gradually subsided. Those who had finished eating held cups of warm tea, sipping them slowly, while a group of servants swiftly and silently cleared away the leftover food from the table.
"Mmm!" The warm, fragrant tea flowed down her throat and into her stomach, leaving her with the lingering taste of food. It brought a strange sense of comfort and relaxation, sweeping away the fatigue of a morning's journey. Wei Chaoyan squinted her eyes and let out a soft sigh of contentment.
Seeing Wei Chaoyan so relaxed, Madam Yan gently scraped the rim of the teacup with the lid, making a crisp clinking sound, and said softly, "Ayan, you all must be tired. I should have let you go down to rest and recharge, but considering you slept all the way back this morning, you shouldn't sleep again this afternoon, lest you have trouble sleeping at night. So, what are your plans for the rest of the day? Will you be studying in the study? Or perhaps I'll have someone take you out to play while the sun is shining brightly today?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Chaoyan was taken aback, then quickly shook her head and rejected Yan Niangzi's suggestion, saying, "Aunt Yan, there's no need to go to so much trouble! Anyway, there's plenty of open space in your courtyard. I can just take Aying and the others to find an open space to play games and pass the time."
"Hmm, that's excellent!" Lady Yan lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before agreeing with Wei Chaoyan's words. She then said, "Then you can take these boys and have some fun at my house. If you need anything, just let the servants in the courtyard know, and they will take care of everything. As for the matter we agreed on beforehand, we can discuss it tomorrow. I have quite a few things to take care of today. Is that alright?"
Wei Chaoyan was quite disappointed when she first heard Yan Niangzi's refusal, but then she thought about it and realized that what Yan Niangzi said made sense. She was currently holding many positions and had many things that needed her to handle personally. Anyway, it was only a day later and it wasn't like she wasn't going. It wasn't a big deal for her.
Wei Chaoyan readily agreed, and after taking her leave, she left the main hall with her brothers. Seeing Wei Chaoyan and the others leave, Lady Yan put down her teacup and got up to walk towards her office, while Yan Qing silently followed.
Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first light of dawn the next day.
The crisp morning breeze smiled brightly at the drowsy world, blinked its eyes and watched the weary night stagger homeward.
Having made all the preparations, Wei Chaoyan breathed in the crisp air and strolled toward the main hall, knowing that Lady Yan would surely be waiting for her there.
As expected, as soon as Wei Chaoyan stepped into the main hall, she saw Lady Yan, dressed in a tight-fitting indigo robe, sitting upright in the main hall waiting for her. The people sitting on the seats next to her were also old acquaintances of Wei Chaoyan—namely, Yan Qing and several others who had accompanied Wei Chaoyan to explore the outer perimeter of the cursed wall of the mass grave.
"Ah, Aunt Yan, good morning, good morning, uncles. I'm late, sorry to have kept you waiting!" Wei Chaoyan greeted the people sitting in the hall with some embarrassment.
"Yes, it's not much later. Yan girl, have you prepared everything?" Lady Yan asked.
Wei Chaoyan patted the bulging package on her back and said confidently, "Everything is ready. I checked it several times when I got up to make sure there were no omissions!"
"Have you explained everything clearly to your three precious younger brothers?" Lady Yan asked suspiciously.
"Well, Aunt Yan, I already told them yesterday. I told them before that I wanted to do some work for you, so this time I told them that it's almost the end of the year and the shop needs to go to the neighboring prefectural city to get a batch of new goods. Since the journey isn't far, the work is easy and the pay is good, it's just a bit time-consuming. Aunt Yan, to help out, you entrusted me with supervising this job. I don't need to do much, I just need to go with the purchasing team and check if the goods are fashionable when we get to the prefectural city."
"Because I'm in a hurry, I have to leave very early this morning, so I won't wait for them to wake up and say goodbye before I leave. As for the three of them, they'll stay at your house for the next few days while I'm gone, Aunt Yan. I've already discussed it with you, and you can arrange for someone to look after them." After saying that, Wei Chaoyan proudly boasted, "My younger brothers are so considerate and sensible. As soon as I said that, they understood my difficulties and kept saying that I didn't need to wait for them to wake up and say goodbye, and that I could just leave. They'll stay at your house obediently, eat well, sleep well, take good care of their brothers, and wait for me to come back (≧▽≦)!"
Not wanting to see Wei Chaoyan's pathetic "my younger brother is the most sensible and considerate person in the world" face any longer, Lady Yan interrupted, "Alright, since you have no problems, let's set off now." As she spoke, she flicked her fair, smooth, and delicate fingers and added, "As for us, just the few of us sitting in the hall will go together. We don't need breakfast for now; we'll eat dry rations in the carriage later!"
"Is there anything else to add?" Lady Yan asked, looking around at everyone in the hall.
After a long pause and seeing no one respond, Lady Yan made the final decision: "In that case, let's set off!"
After speaking, she clapped her hands twice, and two respectful people immediately entered the hall. One was a man, and the other a woman, both dressed in indigo blue, clearly the people in charge of Lady Yan's residence.
As soon as they entered, they bowed and said, "Master, the carriage and everything else are ready. We can set off immediately."
Another female steward added, "Don't worry, Madam. During the days you're away, please leave all the affairs of the courtyard to me. I will also take good care of those three young masters."
"Then all the affairs of the household are entrusted to you two. We will set off now and return as soon as possible." Lady Yan nodded and, as the two bowed, led Wei Chaoyan and Yan Qing in a hurried manner toward the back gate, where several fine horses had already been prepared.
Yes, for the sake of convenience, they rode horses this time. Lady Yan scooped up Wei Chaoyan and placed her in front of her, then flicked the reins and whipped the horse, which galloped away. The others also spurred their horses and followed closely behind. Before long, they disappeared from sight at the back gate of the Yan residence.