Huo Yuan said, "Auntie, before this matter is resolved, you and your family shall temporarily reside here. Please, make yourselves at home, and if there are any inconveniences, feel free to discuss them with the housekeeper, Mr. Qian!"
Having said this, he glanced at the people kneeling and continued with a polished, yet authoritative tone: "If any servant dares to disrespect Auntie’s family while you reside in the manor, they shall not go unpunished!"
Huo Yuan was generally lenient with his servants and rarely spoke in such a severe tone, thus, after his command, they all responded loudly: "We will follow the young master’s instructions and ensure we respect Madam and her family."
Seeing everyone still kneeling, Lady Du hurriedly said: "Please, everyone, get up. There’s no need for such fuss. We have a manor near the royal hunting ground, we could stay there."
Zhao Yun whispered, "Madam, our dessert shop and cloth store have been sealed by the government. I’m afraid the manor will not escape the same fate..."
Lady Du disagreed, "Although they sealed our dessert shop and cloth store, they didn’t seal our Bafu Winery, did they? To take action against a winery within their sight is unlikely. The manor, despite being tens of miles away, will be no different."
Huo Yuan knew full well that the Bafu Winery was spared because it had initially been given to the Mu Family by the State Duke An’s mansion. The Duke’s mansion may be greedy and shameless, but they would not have the audacity to seize the properties of the Huo Family!
In terms of the other properties of the Mu Family, the Duke’s mansion had likely had their eyes on them for a long time. How could they resist the tempting value of a manor?
Although Huo Yuan fully understood the situation, he did not break the news. Instead, he ordered a servant to check up on Mu Family’s manor in the southern suburbs. He wanted a report regardless of whether something had happened.
The servant, having received the order, galloped away on horseback.
At this moment, a young servant arrived to report that Yao Yuanpan, a judge in the Imperial Hospital, had arrived near Jinshui Street and would soon arrive. Upon hearing this, Huo Yuan quickly ordered the housekeeper’s wife to bring Lady Du’s family inside, while he stayed outside the front door to greet Judge Yao.
Here, the Bishui Villa was busy seeking a medical examination for Wen’er from an imperial doctor. There, many miles away in Qingyun Town, Cai Wei, had no knowledge of what had happened. She was busy writing a letter for Huo Yuan, entrusting him to take care of her family.
After finishing the letter, Cai Wei tied it to Brother Parrot’s leg, intending for Brother Parrot to deliver the letter to Huo Yuan. However, saving the disrupted power of the space, Cai Wei could no longer communicate with Brother Parrot mentally. In her struggle to communicate her intentions, she resorted to drawing a picture of Huo Yuan.
She used the photorealistic drawing style that she had learned in her past life for the portrait, which bore a striking resemblance to Huo Yuan. Upon seeing the portrait, Brother Parrot understood immediately, nodding its head and squawking a few times to show that it was ready. After that, it flapped its wings and flew away.
After Brother Parrot had left, Cai Wei washed the white cotton cloth she had bought that day, and planned to make several menstrual bands once the cloth was dry. She also took off the trousers stained the previous night and washed them as well.
After washing them, she went out to the courtyard to air dry them, when she saw Yuan’er, the little girl from Aunt Zhou’s house, coming over with lunch that Aunt Zhou had prepared for her.
Her lunch was quite hearty, a bowl of steamed ribs, a bowl of mushroom and pigeon soup, a dish of braised rapeseed, a crispy grilled fish, and a generous serving of fragrant, soft rice. As soon as she saw the food, it whet her appetite.
Cai Wei had been shopping all morning and was feeling hungry. Seeing such a lavish meal, she immediately felt her mouth watering. She excitedly took the tray from Yuan’er and was about to turn back into her house when she heard a ’gulp’ sound from behind. It sounded like someone swallowing. She turned around to see Yuan’er shyly avoiding her gaze, her big round eyes fixed on her toes, a blush spreading across her face.