The head of the Mu family

Chapter 172 Planning the Garden

After hearing this, all four were deeply moved:

No wonder the servants in this family look different. They've worked for the Mu family for over ten years and they don't even earn two taels of silver a month.

What shocked the four people even more was:

They had meat to eat every day, were given clothes, and everyone had a place to live.

The servants were given a room to live in, and there was heating when they returned to their rooms at night. The servants' quarters also had side rooms, water rooms, bath rooms, and heated rooms.

The head of the family was a perfect couple, who were not picky about each other.

In particular, the servants in the mansion were dressed almost the same as the masters and ladies seen in the county.

No one looked at them with ill intent, and the head of the family even arranged for Miss Qingchen to treat their illnesses.

For the first few nights, none of the four dared to fall asleep, fearing that they would wake up to find it was all a dream.

In the winter, Qingchen took in two more apprentices, children she had found on the street who were on the verge of freezing to death.

One leg was broken, one arm was snapped off, and they were turned in another direction.

When they brought him back to Huaisheng for help, everyone was furious:

Utterly depraved! You beast!

The bones had already grown together, so the two children needed to have the crooked bones broken again and realigned.

That night, the child's painful cries echoed throughout the entire Mu residence, causing everyone great distress.

During the day, when people went to the shops, they would leave their children in the room next to the gatehouse, where the people on duty at home would take turns looking after them.

Now let's talk about Qianyan.

The two beautiful princesses of the Western Hu and the Tartars stayed behind, and within a few months they gained the emperor's favor.

At the end of the year, a rumor inexplicably began to circulate in the high-class mansions of the capital:

The Grand Secretary's home was nowhere to be found, but a renowned physician who traveled the world was found and cured the woman in the inner quarters of her home of her long-standing ailment.

The old lady of General Huo's mansion was on good terms with the Grand Secretary's wife, and they both benefited from the consultation.

Her young master, who was on the verge of death, was seen by some people a few days ago to be able to get up early and practice boxing.

This news reached the ears of the Regent and the Queen.

The more mysterious a person is, the more curious people will be.

Huai Sheng: Um, isn't this wind blowing a bit late? I've been away from the capital for quite some time now.

The Regent's wife inquired around and found that, apart from the Wang and Huo families, no one had ever seen this mysterious doctor.

Those two families are not on good terms. You definitely won't get any information from the Wang family, and the Huo family is both poor and arrogant.

As for Qianyan, she quit before the twelfth lunar month even started, packed up her things, and left a note for the Regent asking for leave in advance.

He only took the three captains of the Xuanbu—Water, Fire, and Earth—and set off under cover of night, having Xuanjin deliver the note the next day.

First, they traveled by water to Pengcheng, then crossed the border at breakneck speed, arriving home on the evening of the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Grandpa Huang was about to lock the gate when he heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance. When he got closer and saw what was going on, he was startled and quickly called for someone to go and meet them.

Qianyan handed the horsewhip to Xuantu and, while quickly walking inside, gave the instructions:

"Please trouble Uncle Huang to arrange a meal for them."

"Yes, Master!"

Qianyan ran towards the main courtyard, only to find it empty, and bumped into Qingchen who was passing by.

When Qingchen saw the master of the family return, she was surprised and immediately smiled and pointed to the study in the main courtyard.

Qianyan went to the study again. The study was warm and cozy with the floor heating on, and a clean, faint, warm fragrance wafted out.

Qingyue, Musu, Uncle Li, and Aunt Wu were all there. Everyone was startled to see Qianyan and quickly stood up to greet her.

Huai Sheng was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up with surprise, and he quickly got up to greet him.

When Qianyan saw someone approaching, her eyes welled up with longing, and she quickly stopped her:

"I'm cold, wait a minute~"

Huai Sheng quickly turned around and grabbed his own cup. Qing Yue picked up the kettle and poured a cup of hot water. Huai Sheng told Qian Yan to drink it first to warm up.

He turned and ordered someone to get a hand warmer, then reached out to warm his hands.

Qianyan was not about to let her get cold, so she quickly distanced herself from her. Qingyue hurriedly ordered people to prepare dinner.

Qianyan took off her cloak, walked to the floor heater, and waited until she was warm before taking Huaisheng's hand.

A little while later, Qingchen came to say that dinner was ready. Huaisheng told them to discuss it and go back to rest on their own, and then accompanied Qianyan to the dining hall.

As he left the study, Huaisheng slipped into Qianyan's cloak, hugged him tightly, and snuggled against him.

Qianyan's usually composed and dignified face suddenly broke into a smile that she couldn't suppress.

After dinner, Qianyan went to bathe and change clothes, and Huaisheng also went to wash up.

Qianyan, feeling refreshed, went to the greenhouse to dry her hair. Huaisheng had already changed into his nightgown and was waiting for her there.

The two smiled at each other, and Qianyan and Huaisheng embraced and lay down on a deck chair.

Huai Sheng lay in Qian Yan's arms reading a book, and Qian Yan turned her head to look at her, gently stroking the person in her arms.

Soon after, Qianyan's hair dried, and she picked him up and carried him to the bedroom.

Huai Sheng wrapped his arms around his neck, and the two rolled onto the bed, whispering in his ear:

"My husband must be exhausted from his long journey. Today, I'll come to help you."

"After you've rested for a couple of days, I'll do whatever you say..."

The goddess sits shyly on the ripples, while King Xiang joyfully roams the heavens.

A brief comment: The palace of Ruizhu is more like a fairyland!

The next day, Huaisheng got up first and instructed the people who stayed at home not to disturb the three people who had returned the day before.

Huaisheng went to inspect the shop first, and then returned home for lunch instead of staying at the shop.

At noon, the three who had been running around woke up. After having lunch to digest their food, Huaisheng pulled Qianyan to the study in the main courtyard.

"In the winter month, I bought the garden belonging to the Shen family next door."

His family built a shrine for the Empress's visit to her family about ten years ago, but it hasn't been used much in recent years.

He originally had a back garden, but later expanded it. He thought that maintaining both the mansion and the garden would be too expensive and time-consuming.

Knowing that my house doesn't have a garden, and that the adjacent garden has been neglected for years, they offered to sell it to us cheaply when they came to us before.

"That's great~ It just so happens that we don't have a garden. Have you thought about how you plan to renovate it after you take over?"

"I'm thinking about it now~ Shen Shaofu said that when he built his garden, it cost nearly 200,000 taels of silver."

These past few years have been neglected, and only occasionally someone is sent to clean them up; basically, everything needs repair.

We took a look, and the garden wasn't very big, but it was clearly quite exquisite.

The figure of nearly 200,000 taels is definitely a bit exaggerated. It should have cost around 100,000 taels back then. Although the five or six courtyards inside are dilapidated, they still have some charm.

They're selling it to us for 50,000 taels now, and I didn't even haggle. I guess they need the money.

"But even if we take over the garden and renovate it, it will cost fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver."

"Since you're in charge of the household, Yinzi and I will do whatever you say~"

"Ugh~ You're so irresponsible. The money has already been paid, and the land deeds and documents have been completed long ago."

Look at the blueprints we came up with. There's a back gate at the back of the garden, and the outer wall extends all the way to the river.

Some waterside pavilions have been built, and the trees along the river have grown too tall and need to be pruned.

It's connected to their own dock...

"Buy a pleasure boat!"

Qianyan suddenly spoke, her gaze fixed intently on Huaisheng. Huaisheng immediately understood, his face turning as red as the clouds at the edge of the sky.

Huai Sheng playfully punched him, and said shyly:

"Hey~ I'm being serious with you~"

Qianyan immediately grabbed Yu's hand, stole a kiss, and said in a serious tone.

"My lady, when it comes to renovating the garden, there's nothing more serious than this."

Huai Sheng smiled and glanced at him sideways.

A brief comment: My wife is so lovable! This is my wife, I'm so happy~