Even gazing through the crack in the door didn’t reveal what lay outside; she couldn’t care less as she lifted the cover from her head to peer out. The only small window in this room required a stool to see beyond its frame.
Next door, through the window, she saw a large house from which the noise of a celebration drifted; she assumed it was a courtyard within the grand abode.
Feeling somewhat reassured, she began to scour the room for something to eat or drink. Spotting tea and pastries, she didn’t hesitate, even though they were offerings on the table, and began to nibble the pastries greedily.
As she indulged in the treats, she thought gleefully, "Married into wealth, the pastries alone are so delicious. From now on, I won’t have to farm, cook, or launder. I can truly live like a pampered young madam, my hands never soiled by spring water."
Better yet, getting pregnant quickly would be ideal, to firmly secure the family’s wealth in her grasp.
An hour later, a drunken man stumbled in and shut the door.
The woman on the bed immediately sat up, thinking that now she had entered the household, she must seize this chance to conceive a son quickly, or else all her prior schemes would be in vain.
Hongji’s father had the habit of napping at noon. Today, his wedding day, he reveled in the words spoken to him during the toasting with relatives—a moment of male pride.
Emboldened by his thoughts from the past few days, he yearned to father a son of his own as soon as possible.
Drunk though he was, he remembered the bride waiting in this room.
And so, in broad daylight, the newlyweds disregarded both the time and the guests still present outside...
Mrs. Lai bit her already yellow teeth in anger as she watched her husband head to the next room. Surrounded by so many guests and family members, she could only accept this reality and returned to her room feeling dejected.
Shunyan had long planned to visit Bushen Village to pick tangerines before the New Year.
After lunch, he suggested a visit to the Mountain Villa to pick tangerines.
Mrs. Li did not object; she had already heard from Young Master Tang’s housekeeper that Young Master Tang would come to pick tangerines. The estate had plenty left, not all of which had been picked or sold.
Seeing her father-in-law enter that room and not come out for a long time, Mrs. Li felt a bit relieved.
She still couldn’t relax and would only allow her husband to accompany their five daughters and Young Master Tang to the estate. She was uneasy about leaving the house unchecked.
It was also a way to distract her husband and prevent her in-laws from scheming.
Ye Shiqi looked at the happy little boy in front of her, who, though only two years her senior, already carried the demeanor of a scion of a great family.
When Shunyan came to the estate to pick fruit, it wasn’t just talk; he genuinely enjoyed the sweetness of the fruit he picked himself.
As the young master picked fruit, the attending guard wasn’t idle either. With so many people gathering on the hill to pick fruit, they completely cleared the last of the season’s harvest.
Ye Shiqi and her elder sisters had mentioned that after New Year’s, it was already spring, and leaving fruit unpicked could delay the next year’s blossoming.
Ye Shiqi picked a fruit and found it quite tasty. Despite the frost, it retained its fresh sweetness with just a hint of sour, reminding her of a sugar tangerine. The fruit was bright red on the outside.
It was completely free of pesticides, without a single blemish. These fruits had fetched a high price over the New Year, purely because of this boy. Their family left the remaining tangerines unpicked, and now the afternoon’s haul was abundant.
Standing by the fruit trees, Shunyan picked and ate, his hunger satisfied by the long-cherished thought, and his joyful laugh was infectious to those standing around him.
The brilliant smile of the boy beside her made Ye Shiqi smile as well.
This handsome young man was sure to grow into an even more handsome adult and perhaps become the ideal warm-hearted man. What fortune for the girl who wins him over!
Ye Shiqi, while snacking, let her thoughts wander; the handsome young man before her was sure to be a heartbreaker, the kind that causes young girls to fight and get jealous. It was best to keep her distance from him!
From atop the hill, she looked over to the neighboring estate. It was already the eighth day of the first lunar month, and the neighboring estate had resumed work. Even the hills beyond were being cultivated anew.
She gazed towards the area where young plants were nurtured and saw a large, makeshift bamboo and thatch nursery, which seemed sturdy. But she knew it was only a temporary setup.
She wondered if it would hold up against typhoons come April or May, but by then it would be summer, and the nursery wouldn’t be needed for seeds anymore.
Ye Shiqi had pondered whether there were plastics in ancient times?
Glass was possibly imported from neighboring countries overseas, used by the rich for conservatories. However, using it for cultivation would be far too costly.