Jia Min's Counterattack

The crowd gradually dispersed, Lin Dayong quickly turned around and entered the gate, and ordered the concierge to close the gate, thanking guests behind closed doors today.

Jia Min first met with the steward of the eldest princess's mansion, asked the eldest princess and Princess Jiayue, talked for a while, and asked Lin Dayong to give him a reward of 100 taels, and arranged for them to stay first.

Jia Min was not too surprised that Jia Daishan sent someone to give her a New Year's gift. When she first arrived in Suzhou, Jia Daishan didn't send someone to look at her. She must not be at ease. Presumably they just set off from the capital, and Jia Daishan had already started preparing for her. New Year's gift, before she arrived in Suzhou, the New Year's gift giver in the capital was already on the way. After all, it was freezing cold today, and with so many carts behind her, the road was difficult, and I didn't see the roots of the New Year. Did you just arrive in Suzhou?

"I'm sorry to trouble Housekeeper Lai to make this trip in person! Are father and mother in good health? How is the eldest brother and sister-in-law? Are the nephews and nieces obedient?" Jia Min asked Lai Dao, who brought people here this time.Unexpectedly, Jia Daishan actually sent Lai Da, the housekeeper of the Rongguo Mansion, to Suzhou in person.

"My aunt is being polite. Only when the slaves come to see how my aunt is doing in Suzhou with my own eyes, and go back to report to the Duke, can the Duke be at ease. Don't worry, my aunt, everything is fine at home! It's just that the old lady suffered from the cold, I also missed my aunt and the second master, so I fell ill for a while, but when the servant came, he had already recovered."

"Father still relies heavily on the housekeeper. Mother is getting old, and her body is not as strong as before. I have prepared some good medicinal materials. When you go back, bring them to mother. If there is not enough, or if there is something missing, give me some medicine. Xiner!"

"Grandpa Guo said, so that my aunt doesn't have to worry about the family. Grandpa Guo is very healthy, and now I have to practice kung fu for an hour every day!"

"Father is in good health, and the Duke's Mansion will be safe and sound! You go back and tell your father that I am also fine in Suzhou. I was diagnosed with a happy pulse on the boat when I came here. It has been almost four months now."

"Hey! The slave must first congratulate the uncle and auntie! This is a great joy! The Duke of the country may be so happy when he finds out!"

"I guess my father has received my letter by now!"

"This servant doesn't know. A few days after my aunt set off, this servant took people down the dry road to the south. The snow hasn't stopped much along the way, and this servant is also in a hurry. Fortunately, I made it a year ago. Arrived in Suzhou."

"Didn't you meet people from the Princess' Mansion on the way?"

"Yes, they are two days later than the servant. The servant met the eldest princess's mansion when he was escaping from the heavy snowstorm. After inquiring, they were all giving New Year's gifts to the aunt, so they simply came together. It's just that When they entered the city, they intentionally delayed the time for a plant of incense, so that people could distinguish the visitors from our two prefectures."

"Okay! Butler Lai has worked hard all the way. Let's go down and have a rest first. I'll have someone prepare meals for you to clean up. Now that it's the end of the new year, the road is not easy to walk. Butler Lai can celebrate the New Year with me at ease. Let’s go north when spring begins!”

"Thank you, aunt, for your understanding. It's just that there are still many things in the Rongguo Mansion that I need to take care of. The Duke is still waiting for the servant to go back and report the situation here. Please forgive me for not being able to stay longer! I have discussed with the steward of the Eldest Princess Mansion. Already, we will set off for Beijing tomorrow, and strive to reach the capital by the end of the first month."

"What are you doing in such a hurry? Let's rest for two more days!"

"My aunt really can't do it! The Duke is ordered to let the servant go back as soon as possible!"

Jia Min thought for a while, and stopped pressing, "Then I'll ask someone to prepare some dry food for you quickly, and also pack up the presents that I want to take back to my father and the others."

"Okay! Thank you, Auntie!"

"Butler Lai doesn't need to be so polite, I want to thank you for coming to visit me in the wind and snow! You have to work hard to help me bring gifts to my father and the others!"

"This is the job of a slave! How dare you be an aunt, thank you!"

"Lue, take Butler Lai to dinner, and tell Lin Dayong to let him accompany you."

Lue led the people down, and Jia Min called Wan Momo, "Wan Momo, have you read the gift list sent by the Princess' Palace? Is there anything special about it?"

"After all, it is my wife who is alert! There are two copies of this gift list. One should be prepared by Jiayue County. Tribute to the gods!"

"This is the New Year's present given to us by the Empress in the name of Jiayue!"

"The emperor and the queen really have nothing to say to the master and wife, and they all walk around as their own relatives!"

"Well, you go to open the warehouse, take out two of the lacquerware I bought in Yangzhou, and take out the Suzhou double-sided embroidered screen I received a while ago, and prepare some more. The good materials from our own silk and satin village, the tea leaves from our own tea garden, and the box of lake pens. Can these be returned as gifts to the emperor and queen?"

"Okay! Why not? They are all Jiangnan's unique and self-produced things. The most important thing is the heart of the master and wife. Speaking of which, can those two be the masters who lack good things?"

"So what you said is true! Oh! I remembered, let Hongmei find out that wild duck fur cloak, and let the people from the Princess Palace bring it back to Jiayue. She likes these strange things! "

"Is that set of Yixing teapot still given to Princess Jiayue?"

"That set is a rare Dahongpao made by Shi Dabin. Forget it, let's give it to the emperor. The emperor loves to drink tea. If she gave it to Jiayue, she will either give it away or put it on the shelf. The rest is up to you. Get ready! Remember to give a big red envelope to those people who come to Suzhou, regardless of whether they are from the Changgong Mansion or the Rongguo Mansion. They are born in the New Year, and they have traveled thousands of miles in the wind and snow. We can't treat others badly!"

"Yes! Ma'am, is the old slave going to prepare now?"

In the evening, when Lin Ruhai came back from the yamen, he specially went to see the stewards of Lai Da and the eldest princess's mansion, and had two glasses of wine with them before returning to Zhiyuan Hall.

"The return gifts for the emperor and the empress are very good, but Min'er, don't forget to prepare some things for the eldest princess, even if the things are given by the emperor and empress, after all, people from the eldest princess' mansion came forward to give them. "

"I understand that I have asked Wan Momo to prepare it, but there is not as much as the emperor and queen, and there are no special things. They are all ordinary things from Jiangnan."

"Hey! It's really sending goose feathers from thousands of miles away. The gift is light and affectionate! I didn't even think that the emperor and the queen would give us an annual gift! When the gift giver set off from the capital, the memorial from my side hadn't been handed over. It must be because I have dealt with the matter of the Suzhou field, give me a reward!"

"The emperor really misses your husband very much!"