The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 927 - 925: Sincere Heart

Chapter 927: Chapter 925: Sincere Heart

Wang Yongzhu saw that the matters downstairs no longer needed her attention, so she felt at ease to go upstairs and chat with Imperial Doctor Du and Lady Qi.

Only Old Granny Zhang was accompanying them upstairs, and she was still a bit uneasy.

Unexpectedly, when she went upstairs, she found Lady Qi and Old Granny Zhang having a delightful conversation. Even Imperial Doctor Du, though looking annoyed, didn’t say anything and dutifully kept them company.

Seeing Wang Yongzhu bring up a basket of jasmine flowers and a basket of gardenias, the fragrance filled the air.

Lady Qi stood up first: "Such interesting flowers, where are they from?"

Seeing Lady Qi’s interest, Wang Yongzhu casually handed over the flowers: "Bought from a boy running errands downstairs, not expensive and very fresh."

Lady Qi, upon receiving the flowers, couldn’t put them down. She measured where to place them in the hall and said, "Let’s ask that boy later to buy a few more baskets to take home."

Wang Yongzhu naturally agreed.

She looked towards Old Granny Zhang with concern, afraid she might feel uncomfortable.

Old Granny Zhang was perfectly composed, looking at the flowers while smiling, "Talking about me, this old woman, I used to love flowers when I was young in the countryside. I planted quite a few wild azaleas and wild jasmines from the mountains at home. Now that I’m older, I don’t have the heart for it anymore. But my daughter takes after me; she loves flowers."

"In our hometown yard, my daughter planted a lot, like a big gardenia tree, white and fragrant, the entire yard smells wonderful when it blooms. Coming to the city, the yard isn’t big, and I’ve been ill, so I lack the energy for it. When we have time, planting a gardenia in our yard would be nice."

Wang Yongzhu laughed: "I was thinking the same as mother, just told that boy downstairs to ask if he knows any place that sells flowers, if so, to bring them home tomorrow. Then we’ll pay our respects to the master and madam with a couple of plants! But in Jing County, there probably aren’t any rare flower species, just some wildflowers from the mountains. I hope madam won’t mind."

Lady Qi laughed: "It’s these wildflowers that are good, easy to care for! Our master has a knack for ruining flowers, no matter how precious they are, once in his hands, they’re as good as gone. I don’t know how many pots of flowers he’s killed! I thought maybe raising these wildflowers might give them a chance under our master’s care!"

Wang Yongzhu couldn’t help but stifle her laughter.

Old Granny Zhang, still mindful of her daughter’s mentor, barely held her laughter back.

Imperial Doctor Du couldn’t keep his face straight, turning red as he tried to defend himself, "I was just studying their medicinal properties. How was I to know these flowers were so delicate?"

His defense only made it worse, even Old Granny Zhang couldn’t hold back her laughter. Imperial Doctor Du got up angrily, "I’m going for a walk—"

And with that, he left.

Everyone had a good laugh, then Lady Qi arranged the two baskets of flowers as her maid brought up tea and snacks.

The three of them chatted and laughed for a while.

By this time, people started arriving at the viewing stands, also the neighboring stands were beginning to bustle with activity.

On the grassy banks of the river, on rocks and trees, people were starting to claim positions.

Some families with more propriety brought a piece of oilcloth to spread on the grass or rocks. Mischievous children or men, who felt they couldn’t see far enough from the ground, had already found tree branches, and climbed up in no time, calling to one another, making quite a scene.

Some like-minded families came together, with children playing, and adults sitting together gossiping.

Before long, the riverside was almost packed.

The trees were also full of people, and in the distance, eight dragon boats had already taken their places. Scholars from the eight academies participating were arriving near the dragon boats, starting their warm-ups.

The guests also arrived in sequence; Madam Gu’s family indeed hired a carriage, bringing the whole family to the viewing stand, where Old Granny Wu at the door, sharp-eyed, greeted them and led them upstairs.

Upstairs, half of the seats were already filled with Song Chongjin’s classmates’ family members.

There weren’t many family members, just two or three households, since they were all studying out of town, the families weren’t large.

Some were with their wives and children, and some unmarried ones brought their parents along.

Since Song Chongjin was participating today and couldn’t entertain at the stand, those classmates understood and only sent their female family members and children.

So there were seven or eight people, whom Wang Yongzhu had arranged well, serving them tea and snacks while chatting with them.

The younger women and children sat at one table, having plenty to talk about.

The older women sat at another table.

Originally, Wang Yongzhu planned to arrange a separate seat for Lady Qi, just letting Old Granny Zhang accompany her to avoid any awkwardness with others.

Also, fearing someone might say something offensive to Lady Qi, hurting her feelings, which would be bad.

But Lady Qi didn’t mind, as she had seen all kinds of high-class ladies in the Capital City and found too many rules rather tedious. This county, though a small place, had its own charm.

Especially since she found she could converse well with Old Granny Zhang. The other older women looked like pleasant people, so why separate them and create unnecessary thoughts?

Now coming to the county, she mostly stayed home every day without anyone to talk to. She hoped to find a couple of people to chat with, something to pass the time, right?

Wang Yongzhu saw Lady Qi didn’t mind, so she let it be.

After all, with her own mother present, there shouldn’t be any issues.

At this moment, the dragon boat race hadn’t started, so the women sat, snacking and exchanging a few words.

The children couldn’t sit still, leaning on the viewing stand, standing on tiptoe to look at the river, eager for the race to begin immediately.

However, Imperial Doctor Du had been gone for a long time and hadn’t returned. After a while, a message came back, saying he met Governor Chen and others, was invited to their stand, and told them not to wait for him.

Originally, the reason Imperial Doctor Du came today was out of concern that his apprentice was hosting, but the apprentice’s husband was competing. There wasn’t a man in charge to greet male guests, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for his apprentice to greet them in person.

So he came in person; if male guests came, he would be there, and no one could gossip, nor would anyone dare cause trouble.

This was his heartfelt concern for protecting his apprentice.

But it turned out the apprentice’s husband was somewhat capable, associating with non-impulsive people, so no male guests showed up, only women and children.

He couldn’t return, and coincidentally met Governor Chen, Zhu Haoran, County Magistrate Lv Wenguang, and the academy head coming to this stand, so he went along with them.

Wang Yongzhu understood, feeling grateful, thought for a bit, and seeing the errand boy still downstairs, asked someone to pack a few dishes of the snacks Imperial Doctor Du liked, especially his favorite tea leaves, to have the boy follow the messenger and deliver them to Imperial Doctor Du.