Chapter 77: The Stormy Night

  On the second day, Xuan Yuan Jinglin had Yu Ru, the little maid she was going to give to Xu Mingjin, sent over early in the morning.

  Xu Mingjin had originally agreed with Yu Zhu the day before to send Yu Ru to Ming Xuan, but when it came down to it, Xu Mingjin changed her mind. She was afraid that in the future, when she saw Xuan Yuan Jinglin, she would still be accompanied by Yu Zhu, who had sent her maid to someone else's use, even if it was her own brother. At that time, Xuan Yuan Jinglin would get angry.

  Jade Bamboo was very puzzled as to why Xu Mingjin suddenly changed his mind, and after hearing the reason, he couldn't help but sigh and say: "Miss, I've already sent a letter to the princess explaining why I sent Yu Ru to Ming Xuan's place. The princess said she doesn't mind you giving her people to Young Master to use, she just said that she was able to help you and she's very happy."

  Xu Mingjin heard this and finally put his mind at ease.

  Yu Ru is very high-profile when coming to Xu's house.

  Less than a minute after she entered the Emerald Garden, everyone in the Xu family, from top to bottom, old and young, knew that Yu Ru was a gift from the princess to Sixth Miss. Each person had feelings of jealousy, admiration, or apprehension towards Xu Mingjin. But everyone knew that Yu Ru was not someone who could be compared to any servant in the Xu family. Even the highest leaders of the Xu family, Xu Shangshu and Old Lady Xu, were extremely polite when they saw Yu Ru.

  Xu Mingjin met with Yu Ru in the East Warm Pavilion of Feicui Garden.

  As the weather turned cold today, all parts of the Xu family have begun to tidy up their warm pavilions and move in. Xuming Jin was one of the first people to move into the warm pavilion, who made her afraid of the cold?

  Yu Ru entered the warm pavilion, her eyes cast downward, and knelt down to kowtow, saying: "Slave Yu Ru pays respects to Master."

  Xu Mingjin had been quietly sizing her up since Yu Ruo entered, this little girl was not tall, thin and weak, but looked pretty with a clear brow and bright eyes, looking like a country girl who had just arrived in the city, with a rustic flavor. But who would have thought that this little girl actually grew up in the palace where it was dark and gloomy? Looking at her respectful demeanor, elegant posture, not having the shy appearance of a country girl seeing people for the first time, Xu Mingjin almost doubted whether he had just seen things wrongly. Overall, Xu Mingjin's impression of Yu Ruo was still quite good.

  Xu Mingjin explained to her that the master she would follow later was not her, but Ming Xuan. Yu Ru didn't ask much and calmly said: "Miss, before I came, the princess had already instructed me, but what the princess told me was that both Miss and Young Master are my masters."

  Xu Mingjin listened and imagined Xuan Yuan Jinglin's expression when she said this, definitely smiling on one side while saying it, and after finishing, she would repeat it again to make sure the servant remembered it deeply. Thinking of this, Xu Mingjin burst out laughing.

  Yu Ruo still remained there, observing with her eyes and nose, not looking at anything she shouldn't. Yu Zhu was fine, but only glanced up to look at Xu Mingjin for a moment. Chun Xing couldn't help it, chattering away: "Miss, what are you smiling about? Tell us." Qiu Yun, being closest to Yu Zhu, quickly sent over a warning glance. Only then did Chun Xing quiet down.

  Xu Mingjin now firmly believed that Yu Ruo was a person who grew up in the imperial palace. The momentum of being pressed by Mount Tai and not changing color is not something that can be cultivated overnight. As for other aspects, Xu Mingjin already believed her without Yu Ruo showing it, so he personally took her over and handed her over to Madam Xi, telling Madam Xi to listen more to Yu Ruo in the future.

  As soon as she heard this, Xu Mingjin knew that the princess had sent her maid to take care of him. She felt only gratitude and no jealousy in her heart. Having one more person to take care of the young master was always a good thing, especially now that the mistress was pregnant and the young master's situation was precarious. This maid sent by the princess was indeed a timely help! Who in this mansion dared to give her a hard time? Those people with ulterior motives would surely have some reservations when dealing with the young master. Thinking of this, Xu Mingjin hastily pulled Yu Ruo over and warmly asked about her well-being. At first, Yu Ruo felt a bit uncomfortable, but soon she reacted and also became affectionate towards Xu Mingjin.

  Xu Mingjin looked at the two getting along harmoniously and smiled, although she still couldn't put her mind at ease without any worries. However, she felt very happy, at least for now it was safe. Mrs. Xu was currently less than three months pregnant and hadn't passed the critical period yet, so she was busy taking care of herself and didn't have time to find fault with others. Even if she wanted to, it would be after giving birth to the child. For now, she only needed to worry about Ye Niang and Xu Mingxia. As for other people like Xu Mingying, they had already made up their minds to wait and see what happened, and once Xu Mingjin and Ye Niang's side emerged victorious, they would pounce on whoever was left. But all of that was very far away, and Xu Mingjin didn't have the energy to worry about those things now. She could only focus on the present and try not to let anything go wrong.

  Let them, brother and sister, live a stable life in the Xu family. At least wait until Xu Mingxuan can protect himself, at least until he grows up, gets married and has children, and moves out of the house.

  So she doesn't have to worry at all? Xu Mingjin counted with his fingers: "One year, two years, three years... and at least six more years are waiting for her to worry. Otherwise, by the time Little Xu Mingxuan grows up, she will be old from overthinking!

  Maybe she can think of another way, so she won't worry.

  Xu Mingjin's days are now filled to the brim. Every day, she gets up early and goes to pay her respects to Old Lady Xu, who always greets her with a long, sour face and urges her to leave quickly. But Xu Mingjin doesn't mind, she just takes a stroll around and leaves. Xu Mingjin self-deprecatingly says: "I guess this is what they mean by 'I came quietly, just like I left quietly, I waved goodbye, without taking away a single cloud.'?"

  After returning from the old lady's house, she had breakfast and started practicing calligraphy. Autumn Cloud was in charge of checking the account books sent by Wang San Niang every time. Later on, this matter was simply handed over to her to handle, and Xu Mingjin only needed to draw a style of clothes every half month. Autumn Cloud was also a meticulous person, and after several times, Xu Mingjin found that she handled things very steadily, without any flaws, and couldn't help but praise her.

  Xu Mingjin persisted in practicing calligraphy every day, and now her brushwork has undergone a tremendous change compared to when she first started learning. Moreover, she discovered many albums of paintings by past masters in Xu Ruoyi's study and borrowed them to copy. Now, without even needing to copy, she can paint water-ink landscape and flower-and-bird pictures that are almost indistinguishable from the originals, thanks to her foundation in sketching.

  She also bought many books from the outside bookstore through Yu Zhu and secretly brought them in. Now that she has some free time, Xu Mingjin is curled up on the kang in the warm pavilion, reading with great relish.

  In modern times, Xu Mingjin only loved to read books of this kind, but in ancient times, she never looked at this type of book. However, from poetry and songs to astronomy and geography, as well as agriculture, miscellaneous studies, acupuncture, and medical techniques... She had read some books on each of these subjects, giving her a somewhat deeper understanding of the country's dynasties.

  Now Xu Mingjin doesn't have to be afraid of attending flower appreciation parties or birthday parties, she has mastered three of the four arts of qin, qi, shu and hua, except for not knowing how to play chess, the others can be considered as having some achievements.

  As the New Year approached, Xu Mingjin became increasingly lazy and didn't want to move. She wrote a letter to Xuan Yuan Jinglin, telling her that she planned to hibernate for the winter and would look for her again when spring arrived and flowers bloomed.

  When Xu Mingjin was craving something, he would order Yuzhu to go to the kitchen and make some apple pancakes for him to eat. Occasionally, he would drink a little of Yuzhu's homemade apple cider, and their daily life was rich and flavorful.

  Madam Xu's pregnancy is getting more and more stable, after passing the New Year it will be exactly three months.

  Xu Mingjin looked at Mrs. Xu's calm and peaceful belly, and knew that Ye Niang wouldn't make a move before Mrs. Xu gave birth. If she were to make a move, it would be after Mrs. Xu had given birth. Xu Mingjin didn't believe Ye Niang would remain silent forever. She wouldn't be willing to let someone else occupy her position as the mistress of the house for long. However, she also wouldn't let go of her own interests easily. The most likely scenario was that Ye Niang wanted to kill two birds with one stone - get rid of Mrs. Xu, who had been occupying her position, and also eliminate the thorns in her side, namely herself and Mingxuan. Xu Mingjin thought to herself, if she were Ye Niang, she would definitely do something like this.

  Despite such speculation, Xu Mingjin did not relax at all, but instead strengthened his guard, because her enemy was not just one.

  Until New Year's Eve dinner, all parties in the Xu family were at a standstill.

  New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family had dinner together in the largest living room of Xu Lao Furen's Chunhuiyuan.

  This is the first New Year Xu Mingjin spent in ancient times, without Spring Festival Gala, without Zhao Benshan. The year passed so dull and tasteless. Although in modern times, Zhao Benshan hasn't been on Spring Festival Gala for many years, but every year during the Spring Festival, Xu Mingjin would dig out Zhao Benshan's old sketches to watch. This year, however, there was nothing at all.

  On New Year's Eve, it was still snowing heavily.