Chapter 810: Spring Outing
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Youyao shook her head. “I’m mourning…”
Xie Jingliu interrupted her. “The customs of the people of the North are not as good as in the capital. Since you’re in Liancheng, you have to do as the Romans do and be more casual. You’ve bought an estate in Fuzhen and Lianzhen, so it’s only right for you to go over and take a look at the resettlement of the refugees. If you still feel that it’s inappropriate, call your Grandfather and the others along tomorrow. It’s just to accompany your elders and relax. It won’t affect anything.”
Yin Huaixi smiled. “At the foot of Tai Mo Shan, there’s a Puming Zen Temple. It’s built according to the mountain’s situation. There’s a winding corridor with flying eaves and wings. It’s a spectacular sight. I’ve booked a room in the temple. We can stay in the temple for a few more days.”
Old Madam Yu bowed to Buddha, so it made more sense for Yu Youyao to go to the temple to offer incense and pray for her.
Yu Youyao had already thought of an excuse. She even mentioned her elders so that it wouldn’t stop her from being filial. Yu Youyao pursed her lips and smiled. “Since it’s already arranged, I’ll accept it respectfully!”
As she was going on a spring outing, Yu Youyao looked very excited for the entire day. She instructed her maidservants to prepare food, incense, tools, and everything else.
Not long after, there were two large carriages.
At night, thinking about the spring outing, Yu Youyao couldn’t help but feel a little excited. She tossed and turned until late at night before closing her eyes.
The next day, Yu Youyao got up at dawn. The sky outside was gray. The world seemed to be dyed with a layer of greenish-black fog, making it look light and spiritual.
Taking a deep breath, she felt a refreshing coldness in her nose. Yu Youyao shuddered, and even her mind cleared up.
Nanny Xu picked out a crepe myrtle flower dress from the box. “You’re mourning, so it’s not appropriate for you to be fancy. However, you can’t be dull when you’re outside. This crepe myrtle flower dress is an old one from last year. There are light purple and silver crepe myrtle flowers piled on the flower dress, diluting the beauty of the dress and making it look elegant and pleasant. It’s suitable for a trip.”
When one was mourning, there would be no new clothes for three years. The people of the North were more open-minded. As long as they did not wear fancy clothes and were not covered in pearls and jade, it was suitable for them to look fresh and elegant.
Yu Youyao nodded. “I’ll take this!”
Nanny Xu combed Yu Youyao’s hair into a single conch and added a light purple headband to hold her hair in place. Yu Youyao also wore a pair of small and exquisite light purple lilac pendants on her ears, and she no longer had any other accessories.
After washing up, Yu Youyao looked at the polished brass mirror. She was reflected in it. Her slightly hazy and beautiful face looked fresh and elegant.
There were two important entrances into the three provinces of Liaodong that were connected to the capital. One was Liancheng, which was connected to water transport, and the other was Longcheng, which was connected to land.
These two places were important places in the three provinces of Liaodong and often had important supplies.
When the Great Zhou Dynasty was strong, the surrounding 100 dynasties came to congratulate it. Small countries like Goguryeo often paid tributes in order to seek protection. Thus, Liancheng became the link between the two countries.
As a result, the scale of the Liancheng courier station was very large.
As a princess, Yu Youyao occupied the best courtyard in the courier station.
The others from the Xie Residence had also been arranged to occupy a small courtyard.
Yu Youyao followed the corridor and arrived at the small courtyard where the Xie family lived. She accompanied her grandmother and her Eldest Aunt for a simple breakfast before going to the front courtyard.
At this moment, it was already halfway through the morning. The sky outside was gray and bright, and the greenish-black color seemed to have been washed.
The carriage was already parked in the front courtyard.
Old Master Xie was old, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to squander his time with his young age, so he didn’t go.
Old Master Xie was also weak and didn’t go.
Meanwhile, Old Madam Xie’s heart ached for her granddaughter. In the past, she had been detained in the capital and had never gone out to play. She was very happy to bring her granddaughter out to play. She didn’t find it troublesome or tiring at all.
Madam Wang completely doted on Yu Youyao as her biological daughter and was happy to bring her along to take care of her.
As a grandson, son, and cousin, Xie Jingliu consciously followed and took on the “heavy responsibility” of taking care of the family.
There was also Yin Huaixi.
As they were out to play, they were not in a hurry to travel. The carriage traveled and stopped. At noon, they simply found a place with good water and scenery and sat on the ground.
The servants helped build a simple stove.
Yu Youyao picked wild vegetables on the spot and took the ingredients. She fried a few simple dishes. They were also fresh and refreshing.
When they arrived at the Puming Zen Temple, the sun was already setting in the west.
It was getting late, so it wasn’t appropriate for them to stroll around the temple. Yu Youyao, Old Madam Xie, and Madam Wang went to the room to settle down.
Yin Huaixi had booked a quiet small courtyard. There was a small pool in the small courtyard, which should have been filled with live water. The water was clear to the bottom, and there were colorful pebbles at the bottom. There were more than ten fishes with beautiful tails, and there was a rockery built in the middle of the pool. It looked quite beautiful.
The courtyard was quite big. There were three main rooms and six side rooms. It was enough for the women to live together.
After resting for the night, the next day, Yu Youyao welcomed the sun and went to the temple with Old Madam Xie and Madam Wang to offer incense to pray for her deceased relatives, elders, and brothers in the family. At the same time, she strolled around the temple.
After returning to the room, Old Madam Xie said, “King Yue Fei wants to bring you to patrol the assets. Bring a few maidservants along. We won’t go with you.” At this point, she was a little hesitant. “I know that you and King Yue Fei used to be ‘cousins’ and have always been close. However, the two of you will be engaged in the future. After all, it’s a little different from before. There’s no need to abide by the rules of men and women. However, you still have to abide by some rules when it comes to love.”
It was common for women to get married at the age of 13 or 14. Empress Zhangsun had married Li Shimin at the age of 13. She should be reminded of this.
Old Madam Xie continued, “You’ve been raised since you were young, so I don’t have to say much about this. However, you’re still young and haven’t experienced this before. It’s inevitable that you’ll be muddle-headed because of your ignorance.”
She was already especially relaxed.
With Yu Youyao’s status as a princess, the restrictions of the worldly etiquette could be relaxed a little.
She and Yin Huaixi had been close in the past. In the past few years in the Yu Residence, it had always been Yin Huaixi who treated her well. As an elder, Old Madam Xie had mixed feelings towards Yin Huaixi. On the one hand, she was grateful to Yin Huaixi for taking good care of her granddaughter and sparing no effort to ensure her safety. On the other hand, she also felt that Yin Huaixi had long had ulterior motives towards her granddaughter and was secretly angry.
However, she was unwilling to be a bad person and did not allow Yu Youyao to get close to Yin Huaixi.
Yu Youyao’s cheeks heated up. She couldn’t help but lower her head and explain softly, “My Nineteenth Brother is a polite person.”
Old Madam Xie gritted her teeth. “Alright, as long as you know what you’re doing.”
He was pretending to be polite and obedient, but he was too scheming. He could always make his rude and unruly behavior sound dignified, making the Old Masters angry, but they couldn’t do anything to him.
She even suspected that Yin Huaixi’s brain had been completely used on Little Yao’er.
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