eurekapd Chapter 156 Imperial Inscription Plaque
Chapter 156 Imperial Inscription Plaque
Wen Yuxia traveled at a rapid pace and arrived in Fancheng ten days later. The lecture team had been away from Beijing for more than eight months, and the Muhua Garden in Fancheng had already been completed.
Wen Yuxia returned to Muhua Garden and instructed the steward Zhu Wu to inform Nan San and the others to come to Fancheng. She then asked him to prepare a carriage without a side carriage.
After washing away her fatigue and having lunch, Wen Yuxia, accompanied by Zhu Wu, explored every corner of Muhua Garden, and then went to the neighboring horse farm and town.
Old Wang, who was in charge of building the horse farm and town, was immediately captivated by Wen Yuxia's imagination when he saw the blueprints.
After the horse farm and racetrack were completed, the exquisite combination of red bricks and green tiles during the construction of the town's houses amazed Old Wang. The town's entertainment facilities also left him in awe.
Now that the town is taking shape, Old Wang is eager to gain Wen Yuxia's approval. Upon receiving news that Wen Yuxia had gone to the horse farm, he couldn't wait to drive his mule cart there.
"Greetings, Princess!" Old Wang said respectfully.
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "No need for formalities."
After accompanying Wen Yuxia on a tour of the racetrack, Old Wang pointed towards the town and said to her, "The archway at the town gate was bestowed by the Emperor, the plaque hanging on it was personally inscribed by the Emperor, and the five-hundred-character introductory text on the archway was also written by the Emperor himself..."
From Lao Wang's account, Wen Yuxia learned that half a month ago, the Emperor visited Fancheng to see the town under construction. He liked the town's rich ancient flavor, unique architectural style, and distinctive entertainment facilities.
Based on the town's unique red brick and green tile roofs, maze, climbing room, seesaw, shuttle, miniature train, mahjong, billiards, and park benches, the emperor bestowed upon the town the name "Leisure Town".
Wen Yuxia smiled, "An imperial inscription plaque—the future of this town is promising! By the way, another day I'll ask the Emperor to write a sign for the horse farm and the racetrack, and it would be best if he could also write an imperial inscription for my Muhua Garden."
Upon hearing this, Old Wang was stunned, and so was Zhu Wu. Old Wang stammered:
"Princess, an imperial plaque is unique in the entire Great Xia Dynasty! You want another imperial plaque for the horse farm, the racetrack, and the Muhua Garden? You...you..."
Old Wang wanted to say that she was being too sentimental, but considering that the other party was a princess, he quickly changed his words: "You, you should be content!"
The horse farm and town in Fancheng were originally jointly owned by Wen Yuxia and Xia Yichen. After the Emperor learned of this, he used the pretext of an empty national treasury to forcibly seize 40% of the profits from them, becoming the largest shareholder of the horse farm and town.
Is bestowing plaques upon one's own properties something a major shareholder like the Emperor should do? What's so surprising about that? Wen Yuxia calmly replied, "The plaques for the horse farm and Muhua Garden will be sent to me."
After touring the town, Nan San and the others arrived at Mu Hua Garden from the capital. Wen Yuxia led them away from Mu Hua Garden and found a secluded spot to move the eldest princess's coffin out of her spatial storage and place it on the carriage that Zhu Wu had prepared.
Wen Yuxia calmly instructed, "Nan San, transport the coffin back to the capital and hand it over to An Chiyu, the commander of the Imperial Guards. Remember, it must be delivered to An Chiyu himself. These letters must also be handed to An Chiyu personally."
In order to avoid attracting the attention of Xie Kun, who was ordered to return to the capital to enjoy family time, and other interested parties in the capital, Xia Yichen specifically instructed Wen Yuxia to have others escort the coffin back to the capital and hand it over to An Chiyu after sending it to Fancheng.
Wen Yuxia herself will not return to Beijing for the time being, but will remain in Fancheng to await the return of the lecturer team. They will return to Beijing together after the lecturer team completes its mission.
After seeing Nan San and the others off, Wen Yuxia took Bei San to Gu Family Village. From Zhu Wu, they learned that the houses in Gu Family Village had already been built, and Wen Dashan and the others had moved into their new homes.
Wen Dashan and his wife lived in Wen Yunhong's house. Wen Yuxia's house was uninhabited, unfurnished, and without any household items.
Considering she would be staying in Fancheng for a while, Wen Yuxia instructed Zhu Wu to prepare furniture and daily necessities for her. The reliable Zhu Wu, knowing that Wen Yuxia had installed a preheating furnace in her house in Gujia Village, thoughtfully prepared a thousand honeycomb briquettes for her.
When the house was being built, Wen Yuxia's only request was to have a preheater installed in the kitchen. Wen Dashan and the others listened to her every word, and all the kitchens in the Wen family had preheaters.
Back in Gujia Village, Wen Yuxia didn't go home herself. Instead, she instructed Bei San to go back and clean the house and arrange the furniture, while she drove the carriage to Wen Dashan's house next door.
"Grandpa, I'm back!" Wen Yuxia called out loudly from outside the courtyard.
Wen Linshi, who was sewing shoe soles in the courtyard, excitedly replied, "The princess is back." Opening the courtyard gate, Wen Linshi said in a gentle tone, "The princess is back. Hmm, why didn't Xiao Qi and the others come back with you?"
Her maternal family brought her only hardship; it was her eldest granddaughter who rescued her from suffering and provided her with a wealthy life. Her reliance was never on her maternal family, but on her eldest granddaughter, Wen Yuxia, and the entire Wen family.
Having finally come to terms with life, Wen Linshi now pays close attention to her husband, children, and grandchildren. She warmly welcomes Wen Yuxia into the house, then eagerly runs to the kitchen to make her some brown sugar water, cheerfully bringing out melon seeds and snacks.
"Princess, please rest for a moment. I'll go and call the old man and your second uncle back," Madam Wen Lin said, and had already walked out of the courtyard.
Wen Yuxia shook her head with a wry smile. Wasn't she asking why Wen Yunhong and the other two hadn't returned? They didn't even give her a chance to speak before disappearing without a trace.
When Wen Zibai and his brother, along with Wen Yunjiang and others, learned that Wen Yuxia had returned, they grabbed their hoes and rushed home. Wen Dashan, watching their retreating figures, chuckled, "Old woman, I'm off first."
Wen Dashan jogged back to the yard and saw Wen Yuxia carrying a basin of hot water out of the kitchen. The water in the preheater was scalding hot, and Wen Dashan, afraid that Wen Yuxia would burn herself, quickly stepped forward to take the basin, saying repeatedly, "Let me do it, let me do it."
Wen Yuxia smiled and said, "It's not hot. I added cold water. Grandpa, please wash up." The princess personally brought him water to wash his face. Wen Dashan's eyes reddened with emotion, and he whispered, "Thank you!"
After changing into clean clothes at home, Wen Zibai and the others arrived at Wen Dashan's house one after another. Wen Yunjiang asked, "Princess, why didn't my elder brother come back with you?"
Wen Yuxia glanced at Wen Zihua, who was equally puzzled, and said softly, "They couldn't come because of something, so I came back to check. The carriage contains the gifts we brought back; please distribute them among yourselves."
The gifts were bought during lectures in various places. Most of the gifts were bought by Wen Yuxia, and a few were bought by the three Wen brothers. As usual, each gift was in quadruplicate.
Wen Dashan changed into clean clothes and returned to the courtyard, saying with a smile, "While you were away from the capital, our family has grown a few more people."
Wen Yunbo from the first wife's family, Wen Yunhe from the second wife's family, and Wen Yunchen from the third wife's family have all gotten married.