Mrs. Song exchanged a few words with Xu Wan before calling Tang Yi and Tang Qin over.
As soon as the two young ladies entered the room, Xu Wan quickly rose to perform courtesies with them.
It wasn’t long before the three girls started addressing each other as sisters.
Xu Wan sat for a while, but feeling that the atmosphere in the room wasn’t great, decided to take a walk. She turned to Mrs. Song, "Grandmother, are my two uncles at ho? I shall go and pay my respects to them first."
Mrs. Song smiled, "That’s fine. Go and pay respects to your uncles first, and we will chat when you get back."
Mrs. Li, who had been sitting quietly without saying much, interjected, "In that case, I’ll take my niece there."
She took Xu Wan by the hand and led her out from the main house, then after walking for a bit, called for two palanquins to take them back.
Xu Wan was observing everything closely.
She noticed that everyone in Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion, not just the masters but also the maids, was dressed rather ostentatiously and acted conspicuously.
Only her Eldest Aunt was dressed in simple attire and seed to conduct herself in a more low-key and steady manner, leading her to wonder what her uncle was like.
When the two arrived at a courtyard in the eastern side, the palanquins stopped, and Mrs. Li got out and waited for Xu Wan.
After stepping off the palanquin, Mrs. Li took Xu Wan by the hand and led her inside, "Your uncle should be at ho; he already told about your visit and reminded to take good care of you."
While they were talking, Tang Bai erged from the house. Upon seeing Xu Wan, his face lit up with a broad smile, "Is that my niece? Co in quickly, co in."
Xu Wan bowed to Tang Bai, "I greet you, Uncle."
"Good, good."
Tang Bai looked Xu Wan up and down, growing more fond of her by the second, "I had no idea my niece had grown so much and turned out to be such a sweet and well-mannered girl. While you’re staying with us, please don’t be shy about anything you want, be it food or toys. Just speak to your Eldest Aunt or your second sister-in-law. If anyone upsets you, just tell and I’ll stand up for you."
Xu Wan responded with a smile.
The three entered the room, and Mrs. Li quickly sent for tea and snacks.
Tang Bai, beaming with joy, brought over a box.
He placed the box on the table, "I don’t know what you kids like these days, so I’ve gathered a few things. Take a look, pick whatever you fancy, or if you like them all, just take everything."
Xu Wan opened the box and saw that the contents were very considerate. There were no flowers or pieces of jewellery, which probably had to do with her mourning period, making such items inappropriate.
The box contained two books, a few walnuts, a small black jade abacus, and a spherical, pierced and openwork carving made of white jade.
These items were all very exquisitely made, and Xu Wan liked them imdiately.
After looking for a while, she picked up the two books, "These are good."
Tang Bai, instead, shut the box and pushed it towards Xu Wan, "Take them all, take them all. You’re not being frank, child. I can see in your eyes that you like everything, yet you hesitate to tell . Alright, no need to be polite with your own uncle."
Mrs. Li smiled at Tang Bai, and then urged Xu Wan, "Your uncle has always been this way. If you need anything, just tell him; don’t be too polite."
Xu Wan quickly agreed.
Then, Tang Bai asked Xu Wan a few questions, such as how Tang Xu fell ill and about sending for doctors and dicines.
After seeing Xu Wan seed about to cry over these questions, he slapped his forehead directly: "Right, it’s the perfect ti for spring now. I was thinking of taking your cousin out for a spring outing. Since you’re here, I’ll take you along. After you’ve settled in, let’s go out and have fun, how about that?"
Xu Wan really wanted to go.
But it was inconvenient for her: "Uncle, with respect, I shouldn’t decline your kind offer, but I am observing mourning for my mother and it’s not appropriate for to partake in leisure activities."
That made sense.
Tang Bai expressed his understanding, but he was still quite disappointed and felt sorry for Xu Wan: "Such a young child should be enjoying herself. It’s a pity you can’t go. Never mind, when we return, I will bring you so tasty treats. The food in the Capital is not the sa as in Yangzhou. If you’re not used to the food at ho, how about I hire a few chefs to cook Yangzhou cuisine for you?"
Xu Wan wanted to decline, but seeing Tang Bai’s concerned expression, she didn’t have the heart to refuse and smiled in agreent.
After sitting for a while longer, Xu Wan wanted to stand up to take her leave.
Yet Tang Bai wanted her to stay for dinner.
Xu Wan smiled: "I haven’t paid a visit to my second uncle yet, and I imagine second uncle and aunt are waiting for . If I don’t go, it wouldn’t be right. I’ll co and bother you another day."
Tang Bai’s face fell: "The second one is not waiting for you. He had his wife send him out to visit friends this morning. You won’t see him even if you go."
Xu Wan was taken aback, sowhat at a loss.
Mrs. Li quickly took her hand to lead her out: "Your uncle wanted to invite you to stay for dinner, but what you said makes sense. Don’t mind him."
After sending off Xu Wan, Mrs. Li ca back, and Tang Bai said to her: "I didn’t expect Wan’er to resemble our grandmother so much. This child looks so much like her; it’s pretty heartbreaking."
Mrs. Li laughed: "Indeed. You didn’t see it. The Old Dowager was stunned for a good while when she saw Wan’er’s appearance. I think she’s sowhat prejudiced against Wan’er."
"Hmph."
Tang Bai snorted coldly: "I don’t care whether she likes her or not, I like the child. From now on, I will cherish her. With here, no one else dare bully Wan’er even a little bit."
Mrs. Li patted Tang Bai and also laughed: "That’s true. The child is indeed lovable, and she has such good looks. I wish I could take her back ho, spend every day with her doing chores and chatting happily. I even wish she were my own daughter – she must not be bullied."
At this point, Mrs. Li brought up another matter with Tang Bai: "The Grand Empress said that since you’re often at ho with nothing much to do, she has found sothing for you. She ntioned that The Wus’ niece wants to settle a marriage soon. Now the Grand Empress doesn’t know much about the families in the Capital, so she handed this task to you. When you have free ti, you should look around properly for a promising Scholar or scholar candidate for her. There’s no requirent for family status; as long as the person is good, that will do."
This reminded Tang Bai of sothing.
Tang Bai stroked his chin: "Speaking of which, isn’t it ti for Yi’er to start considering marriage prospects?"
Although Tang Yi was only around ten years old now, girls were getting married early these days. So were wed by fourteen or fifteen, and families began looking for suitors when their daughters were around ten, securing marriage arrangents and waiting a few years to wed.
Mrs. Li cast her gaze down: "It is ti to consider marriages, but I was thinking of waiting for Pei’er to return. She ought to et her brother first. We’ve been delaying it until now. And since Xu has just passed away not long ago, let’s wait a little longer."
Let’s not talk about Tang Bai; let’s say that when Xu Wan arrived at Tang Zong’s residence, she was led in by several maids and waited for a good while before Ms. Zhang arrived.
Unlike the warm and thorough hospitality of Tang Bai and Mrs. Li, Ms. Zhang’s face was not welcoming. She sat down and said to Xu Wan: "Your second uncle has gone out to visit friends. You should co back another day to et him."
Xu Wan stood up in agreent.
Ms. Zhang continued: "Since you’re here at the ho, you should consider it your own. It would be good for you to study and learn needlework with your sisters. Just don’t agree too much to Rong’s requests..."
Xu Wan hastily said: "That is to be expected. We are growing day by day, and we should indeed get along with our sisters. I imagine, there won’t be many opportunities to et my cousin either."
Ms. Zhang was taken aback for a mont, then added: "Later I’ll have the servants take you to settle in. We prepared the courtyard a few days ago and have been waiting for the lady to co."
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