On New Year's Eve, Lin Siyao did not show up.
Su Shuiyin already knew what to do.
However, there was still no news of him on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Su Shuiche could not wait any longer.
"You know how to contact your master, right?" He asked Situ Yun, who was playing with the twins, without rhyme or reason.
She believed that Situ Yun could understand.
Because the spies of the Guang Ci Tower were said to be all over the country.
Situ Yun paused and then said slowly, "Five days ago, there was news that Martial Uncle Sirou was seriously injured and could not travel."
He did not mention the other half of the reason. Martial Uncle Si Ling was being harassed by the remnants of the Blood Sect. He did not dare to go home before the Blood Sect was cleaned up.
He was afraid that the followers of the Blood Sect who heard the news would hurt his beautiful sister, Xiao 'er, and Long' er.
Therefore, he pretended not to know before Su Shuiche asked.
It was better to not report than to lie.
Su Shuiche nodded.
It was good as long as there was news of them.
After knowing that Sirou was the one who was injured, her worries were reduced by half.
Was she too selfish?
She held Lin Xiao's chubby little hand and reflected on herself.
"Miss, the masters in charge of planning the courtyard have arrived.
I asked them to wait in the hall of the Bamboo Garden. "Mama Liang came in to report.
Yes, after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the renovation of the courtyard would start.
She was no longer in the mood to think about anything else because of Ah Yao.
Su Shuiche lowered her head and tidied her clothes. She looked up and ordered Mama Liang, "I'll go.
You stay here.
Tell Chun Lan to come to the hall as soon as she comes back. "
Chun Lan and Bodyguard Xiao got married on the twelfth day of the first lunar month. At the beginning of the year, Chun Lan's parents sent a letter to them. The general idea was that Chun Lan was not young anymore. They had saved some money over the years and wanted to redeem Chun Lan.
Unexpectedly, according to the news from Guang Ci Tower that Situ Yun conveyed, Chunlan's younger brother fought with the landlord's son and almost hurt the other party's family jewels. Not only did he lose all of his family's savings, he was also dragged by the landlord to report to the government.
After much persuasion, the landlord finally agreed to let Chun Lan marry the landlord as his concubine.
He was willing to pay the money to redeem Chun Lan.
Chunlan had seen the landlord once. He was a fat man in his forties. He already had six or seven concubines at home. The son left behind by his wife was his treasure. If his son quarreled with his concubine, the one who would suffer would be the concubine.
His son had been raised crooked by him.
However, Chun Lan entered the residence as a maidservant. She didn't sign a death contract. If her family came to redeem her, unless Chun Lan herself was unwilling, the residence couldn't stop her.
Because of this, Chun Lan cried for the whole night.
The next day, she came to bid farewell to Su Shuiche with red and swollen eyes. But because of Su Shuiche's words, her life changed.
"You can choose not to go." Su Shuiche seriously suggested, "If you don't want to go, you can choose not to go.
I will help you solve your brother's problem. "
"Miss …" Chun Lan shouted. Of course, she didn't want to go back. She liked Xiao Heng. But her parents and brother were in trouble, she had to help them.
Even if it meant pushing herself into a fire pit.
"Think about it.
Being the landlord's concubine sounds good, but it can't beat the fate of fighting for a husband.
A couple for a lifetime, you can do it. "Su Shuiche held the cup, her thoughts drifting far away.
She thought of her mother who was far away in another time and space. She thought of Ah Yao who was separated from her.
"I don't want to go.
But … "Chun Lan lowered her head and softly said her true wish.
"That's good.
You can stay here with peace of mind. I will help you solve the rest. "He was just a landlord in a small town. The Prince Jing Palace should have enough face.
She immediately wrote a letter and asked the "Guang Ci Tower" to pass it to her eldest brother in name, Liang Enzai in the imperial capital.
His little sister was separated from him since birth. This was the first time she had something to ask of him. As her eldest brother, how could he disappoint her?
Moreover, her own husband was still trying to lighten the burden for her.
Thus, four days later, news came from the imperial capital. Not only did they solve the problem of Chun Lan and her brother, they also gave Chun Lan's parents 30 taels of silver to let them go back to their hometown and settle down. They could be considered to have escaped the fate of renting a landlord's land for a living.
After this, Su Shuiche made the decision to hold the marriage between Chun Lan and Xiao Heng.
She also asked someone to pass a message to Chun Lan's parents, telling them not to have any more ideas about Chun Lan.
A daughter should be cherished, not used to repay a debt.
Chun Lan and Xiao Heng's wedding room was set up in the Gu Residence, which had already moved away.
It was very close to the Lao Residence.
It was a small house that was less than one mu in size. There were three bungalows and two side rooms. In the future, even if there were more people, it would be enough to live in.
As for the three mu of land, it would all be taken by the side courtyard.
In the future, all the land that didn't belong to the aborigines in Flowering Town would be sown and cultivated by the side courtyard.
After the harvest, according to the harvest and rank, they would receive their own share.
On the first three days of the wedding, Su Shuiche specially told Chun Lan and Xiao Heng that they didn't need to come to the house to work.
Because she thought of the first three days of her wedding, because of the matter between Aunt Lao and Xi Cui, which ruined Ah Yao's mood.
On the fifteenth day of the first month, Chun Lan and Xiao Heng officially took over the title of Housekeeper and Nanny of Flowering Yard.
Mama Liang was happy to retire to the second line.
Chun Lan wasn't like Mama Liang, who had to wear her husband's surname after marriage. Therefore, from then on, Chun Lan was Nanny Xiao, in charge of the internal affairs of the side courtyard.
Xiao Heng was also no longer the head of the guards, but Nanny Xiao, in charge of all the miscellaneous matters of the side courtyard.
In fact, after this, there were no more guards in Flowering Yard.
This was because the guards were all martial arts masters from the "Guang Ci Tower".
The seven guards who were originally sent to the "Guang Ci Tower" for training had now become the "Guang Ci Tower"'s mouthpieces.
Who asked them to come here the most?
This place had become their maiden home.
Even if they came back just to pass on a message and drink a cup of tea, they were also happy.
Chun Lan's original work was divided into some of the easier ones, which were given to Mama Liang. The rest, such as Su Shuiche's personal life, were taken over by Bai He.
She also assigned a little maid named Xueqin to serve the soup and water in the house.
…
It seemed to have returned to the days when the maids in the Su family's courtyard never left her side.
Su Shuiche sighed softly and then walked to the Bamboo Garden next door.
In order to avoid disturbing the twins, the Bamboo Garden was now used to entertain and deal with foreign and unfamiliar personnel.
The planners who came today were specially chosen by Liang Enzai from the imperial capital.
They were responsible for the initial planning of the yard, the repairs during construction, and the greening after completion.
Therefore, they would be staying here for more than half a year.
Therefore, Su Shuiche decided to let them stay in the Wang family's courtyard that had been moved away.
The Wang family's residence was much bigger than the Gu family's, with an area of two and a half mu.
The location was also very convenient, on the west side of the large pond in the center of Flowering Town.
There were two rows of three main rooms on the north and south sides, and there were vegetable fields in front and behind the rooms.
After the Wang family moved away, Mama Liang had already brought the maids and servants to clean and tidy up the place, making up for the missing daily necessities and adding three more beds and four more chairs.
As a result, the six main rooms were temporarily single rooms.
As for the kitchen, it became a decoration.
These planners, as well as the small craftsmen who came to work in the future, would temporarily have their meals in the Orchid Garden until Su Shuiche's old residence that had been destroyed by Feng Qingya was completely renovated.
The old residence was decided to be the first to be renovated, and it was planned to be converted into an ancestral hall style courtyard.
The reference blueprint had already been made, and it was drawn by Su Shuiche in order to shift her unstable mood.
Now, she had rolled it up in her hand and brought it to the Bamboo Garden for the planners to use as reference.
In her opinion, the three rooms in the middle of the courtyard were divided into the north and south sides, and there was originally a half-sized room with a large kitchen.
The two rooms in the east were well-lit, and one of them was used as a classroom.
It could easily accommodate more than ten people at the same time.
The room in the middle was divided into two, and the small room in the south was the resting area for the teachers.
There was a desk, a chair, and two rows of bookshelves for the students to borrow.
The small room in the north was the activity room for the students.
On rainy days or during the afternoon break, they could play chess, play the zither, and compose songs there …
The large kitchen was set up in the west, with a large stove with three holes, a small stove with a belly hole, a row of cupboards, a row of storage cabinets, and a shelf.
The room next to the large kitchen was planned to be a large dining room.
In the future, whether it was the workers in the yard or the students in the classroom, they could all eat in the large dining room for free.
… …
"Fourth Young Miss, I'm afraid this design will disturb your room.
The kitchen is very smoky.
Moreover, it's set up in the west, so it's easy for the wind to blow here. "One of the planners, Liang Youan, shook his head and rejected the idea after looking at the picture scroll that Su Shuiche had unrolled.
Su Shuiche had naturally considered this problem.
However, the east side had good lighting and was suitable for the students to study.
"I think it's better to do this. Take out the kitchen and dining room and set them up here.
Since it's independent, it won't be too far away from the classroom. "Another planner, Ding Shi, muttered to himself for a moment and pointed to the wasteland east of the old residence.
"If you're worried that it'll be inconvenient for the students to study on rainy days, you can build a long corridor that connects to the classroom's main building."
"Good idea.
Stone benches can be set up on both sides of the corridor, so the students can sit and admire the scenery and recite a few poems.
Moreover, this way, they won't come to the west side to play and disturb Fourth Young Miss's courtyard. "Liang Youan added in agreement.
When Su Shuiche heard this, her eyes lit up. This was a good suggestion.
"When the time comes, the surrounding empty space will be planted with pine, bamboo, and begonia, and then we'll build a koi pond. Don't even mention how artistic it would be." The other planners nodded in agreement.
"Alright, then we'll do as you wish.
As long as there's a classroom, kitchen, and dining room, it'll be fine. "Su Shuiche nodded with a smile.
After all, they were professional planners. With just a few words, they settled the idea that she had been racking her brains for the past few days.
However, speaking of which, how would she have thought that these planners wanted to completely break up the current layout of Blossom Town to make an overall plan?
Previously, she had thought that they were going to build a separate courtyard for Duke Jing and Princess Consort Jing, and at the same time build a few residences that she needed.
From the looks of it now, they were going to do a large scale construction.
She didn't know how much money it would cost.
How long would it drag on?
"Fourth Young Miss, let's take a look around. We need someone who is familiar with the layout of the residences in town to give us directions, I wonder …" Liang Youan scratched his head awkwardly. He didn't think that the Fourth Young Miss of the Prince Jing Palace wouldn't bring a single servant girl with her.
"Young Miss, let me go." Chun Lan, who had just rushed over from the new residence, spoke up at the right time.
Su Shuiche nodded, "Nurse Xiao is the steward nurse of the other courtyard. If there's anything, just tell her."
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