Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 321 - 321 322 Luxurious Mansion_1

Chapter 321: Chapter 322: Luxurious Mansion_1 Chapter 321: Chapter 322: Luxurious Mansion_1 This journey, without the pursuit of enemies, was indeed much more leisurely. If it weren’t for Muniang’s worry about Mrs. Lin and her eagerness to return, she might have liked to leisurely travel and enjoy the landscapes for a whole year.

Traveling at a steady pace, the carriage took roughly three months to reach Qinghua City, and by then, winter had set in.

Yu Ze tightened Muniang’s collar and said, “We’ve just made it back in time for the New Year.”

With a smile gracing her lips, Muniang replied, “Yes, indeed.”

“The estate in He’an Mansion has been built already, we don’t have to rush to Chatu Town right away. Let’s rest here for a night.”

Muniang nodded. After all, Qinghua City was Yu Ze’s rightful place to settle down; they naturally couldn’t just pass through. At the very least, they needed to arrange for some dependable servants to guard the Princess Mansion.

“Your Highness—Prince, we have arrived,” called out a young servant from outside.

Just as Muniang was about to crawl out, Yu Ze pulled her back and added a fox fur cloak to her attire, “It’s much colder outside than inside; you have no sense of caution. If you freeze, you’ll suffer.”

Muniang stuck out her tongue, allowing Yu Ze to fit the cloak on her properly before hopping down from the carriage. Stepping out, she shivered; it was indeed very cold. The carriage had been warmed by a furnace, no wonder it had felt so cozy.

After hopping down from the carriage, Yu Ze pulled Muniang’s cloak even tighter, practically wrapping her into a bundle with it before scooping her into his arms to shield her against the cold.

Blinking, Muniang said, “Aren’t you cold?”

“I could dive into ice holes in frozen lands, do you think I’m afraid of a little cold?” boasted Yu Ze in his tone.

Muniang pursed her lips, choosing to ignore his bragging.

Since the estate here had just started to be built, Marquis Chen Mansion had already sent over a highly respected elder steward to manage everything. By now, the arrangements within were perfectly in order, and the elder steward personally came out to greet them, “Your Highness, Prince and Princess, you have arrived.”

Yu Ze led Muniang inside, and the mansion was extravagantly large, surpassing even Marquis Chen Mansion. The Emperor had always adopted a carrot-and-stick approach with Yu Ze; on one hand, fearing his rebellion and usurpation of the throne, and on the other hand, he had to provide well for him. After all, Yu Ze was the War God of a nation, and a decade ago, the Daqian Dynasty was unequivocally defeated by the Qilian Kingdom. If not for Yu Ze, the Daqian Dynasty might have been bowing to the Qilian Kingdom by now.

With Yu Ze settling down in Qinghua City, the Emperor was naturally pleased and had specially allocated a significant amount of money to build Yu Ze his Princess Mansion.

As Muniang walked through the mansion, her eyes almost dazzled by the grandeur, she wondered, “Isn’t this mansion too spacious for just the two of us?”

Yu Ze, with a smile curling up his lips, replied, “Then we’ll have to have more children to fill it up.”

Muniang shot him a glare, “Do you think I’m a breeding sow?”

Leading the way, the elder steward said, “The Lady previously mentioned that the Prince dislikes complications, so she specially instructed me to have the mansion furnished in advance. I have decorated the rooms according to the Prince’s preferences, and as for the servants, I have already purchased them. We only await the Prince and Princess’s approval. If there are any unsuitable ones or others they are uncomfortable with, we can make adjustments accordingly.”

After a quick look around, Yu Ze said, “I trust Steward Chen’s judgment; these are all quite satisfactory. Let’s keep it this way. What do you think, Muniang?”

Muniang, who was easygoing and not particularly concerned with such matters—since she didn’t know much about home décor anyhow, as long as it looked nice to her—also nodded in agreement, “Yes, it’s quite nice indeed.”

The main building of the mansion was Bamboo Jade Terrace, now the courtyard of Yu Ze and Muniang, among the several others, big and small—over a dozen yards in all. Apart from one yard allocated for the servants to live in, the rest remained unoccupied. According to Yu Ze, they would be reserved for their future children.

“Steward Chen, we might not be staying in the mansion much for now,” Yu Ze said, “so I would appreciate it if you could help take care of the place while we’re gone.”

Steward Chen bowed, “Of course, Sir. This is nothing but my duty. If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave.”

No sooner had Steward Chen left than Muniang rolled around on the big bed, “Such a nice place – if it weren’t for the property in Tupo Village I’m concerned about, I would really hate to leave!”

“If you like it, you can always come back to stay,” Yu Ze laughed. “After all, the house isn’t going anywhere.”

Muniang giggled, “It seems the emperor’s money is quite easy to earn. If we really don’t need this house in the future, we could simply sell it!”

Yu Ze was half amused, half exasperated, “Don’t worry, we aren’t at the point where we need to sell the house yet. Let’s keep it.”

Early the next morning, the couple took to their carriage and headed for Tupo Village. The three carts of items prepared by Jian Yue were also meant to be taken along. Since they were not needed here, it was better to have her mother’s thoughtful gifts close at hand.

Upon arriving at Tupo Village, the sight of the grand carriage startled the villagers, not to mention the additional three carts of goods. They all began to whisper and point.

“Hey, isn’t that Qiao Muniang? She went off with Erliang previously, and I thought she wouldn’t return. Why has she come back now?”

Those with sharper tongues commented, “Maybe her husband’s family couldn’t stand her and kicked her out!”

A group of villagers rolled their eyes, “Do you even have any discernment? Erliang returned with her, and there are three whole carts of stuff behind them. Would someone who’s been chased away be this well-off?”

The woman, embarrassed by the retort, fell silent and shrank away.

At their family doorstep, the young servant could hardly believe his eyes. Only after recognizing the visitors did he dash inside, shouting, “Mrs. Lin! Mrs. Lin! The Master and Lady are back!”

Mrs. Lin staggered as she came out, almost at a loss for balance. Muniang, fearing Mrs. Lin might trip from hurrying, quickly went up to support her. Mrs. Lin’s hands trembled as she gripped Muniang’s arm, “Muniang, you’re back, that’s good, that’s good.”

“Mother, let’s go inside,” Muniang said to Mrs. Lin, noticing she was scantily dressed, “Don’t catch a cold.” She shot Yu Ze a look, and he immediately stepped forward to help support Mrs. Lin inside the house alongside Muniang.

With the warmth coming from the stove inside, the house felt cozy. While helping Mrs. Lin to the heated brick bed, Muniang admonished Hong Luo, “How could you let my mother go out like that.”

Hong Luo replied helplessly, “When Mrs. Lin heard that the Lady was coming back, she was so excited that I couldn’t stop her.”

Mrs. Lin smiled, her eyes rimmed with red, “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m so happy to see my girl back.”

Muniang felt a pang in her heart. Mrs. Lin only had her for a daughter, and while Muniang’s world contained many things, Mrs. Lin had only Muniang. During the long months of Muniang’s absence, Mrs. Lin must have missed her terribly.

“Mother,” Muniang hugged Mrs. Lin and acted sweetly.

“You’re already a grown child, not afraid of being laughed at by your husband?” Although Mrs. Lin said this, her heart was overflowing with contentment.