151: The Three Winter Months When One Cannot Wake
Mu Yunyao looked toward Su Qing. Seeing her mother nod slightly, the last trace of hesitation in her heart disappeared. She rose, picked up an untouched cup of tea from the table, stepped forward to stand before Madam Jin, and knelt.
Holding the teacup above her head, she said in a clear voice, “Yunyao greets Adoptive Mother. Please drink this tea.”
Madam Jin hurriedly accepted the teacup and took a sip. The smile on her face could not be restrained. “Good. Yao’er, quickly get up.”
As she spoke, she helped Mu Yunyao to her feet with both hands. Then she removed a pair of jade bangles from her wrist and took a gold hairpin from her hair, carefully placing them on Mu Yunyao.
Mu Yunyao accepted them with a smile and said no word of refusal. Now that she had acknowledged this kinship, she naturally could not remain as distant as before.
“Thank you, Adoptive Mother.”
Madam Jin affectionately held her hand, her eyes filled with sincere joy. “Now I can be considered to have both son and daughter.”
Mu Yunyao looked toward Madam Jin’s rounded belly and deliberately put on a worried expression. “Earlier, I even joked with Madam that when your child was born, I would ask you for a large red envelope. Now it seems I not only cannot ask for one, but must instead prepare one myself as a first-meeting gift for my younger brother.”
“Do not worry. That red envelope will naturally still be given to you. In the future, when your younger brother grows up, he can listen to your orders and run errands for you.”
Mu Yunyao could not help smiling with delight. “That sounds wonderful. In that case, I shall prepare an especially generous first-meeting red envelope.”
Su Qing, sitting to one side, smiled warmly. “Since you are acknowledging each other as kin, Yao’er should also offer a cup of tea to Lord Cao. Why not set up a table at Buxian Tower tomorrow? We can treat it as a small celebration.”
Madam Jin quickly shook her head. “I intend to treat Yao’er as my own daughter. Naturally, we cannot settle this so casually. Today, I only came to discuss the matter with Younger Sister Su. Since Yao’er is willing to call me Adoptive Mother, I must make this status proper and secure. Once I return, I will ask someone to choose an auspicious date, then send out invitations to all the important families in Jingling City. Only after we formally perform the rites and hold a banquet will it be considered proper.”
“This… would that not be too ostentatious?”
“How could that be considered ostentatious? I am only afraid the occasion will be too small and wrong Yao’er. She is my adopted daughter. It is only right that she receive such treatment.”
Hearing Madam Jin say this, warmth rose in Mu Yunyao’s heart. She truly accepted this adoptive mother. “Then everything will be arranged according to Adoptive Mother’s wishes.”
“Good. Rest assured, Adoptive Mother will not let you suffer any grievance.”
Mu Yunyao smiled brightly. Taking Madam Jin’s hand in one of hers and Su Qing’s hand in the other, she said, “Then should I start preparing my clothes now? When the day comes, I must dress beautifully.”
“Our Yao’er is so lovely that she looks beautiful in anything.”
Mu Yunyao shook their hands lightly. “Both my mothers only know how to tease me. I will not talk to you anymore. I am going to the kitchen to see what they have prepared, then show off a few dishes myself to properly show filial respect to my two mothers.”
“In that case, we are blessed today.”
Mu Yunyao personally cooked a full table of dishes, and the meal was especially lively and comfortable.
When Madam Jin was about to leave, Mu Yunyao had charcoal braziers and fox-fur robes placed in her carriage, then repeatedly instructed Yin Hong to take careful care of her. Only then did she watch the carriage depart.
In neighboring Jinxiu Garden, Steward Qin heard about the matter and could not help curling his lips. “That Cao Yunnian truly struck great fortune.”
Yu Yi had just finished a bowl of ginger tea. His lips and teeth were still filled with its lingering fragrance, and his heart was full of aftertaste. Hearing this, he could not help feeling curious. “Steward Qin, what do you mean?”
“Cao Yunnian relied on Madam Jin to rise smoothly through the ranks. In the future, perhaps even Yue Wang will have to show him some respect. If that is not striking great fortune, what is?”
Yu Yi became even more confused. “Even if Cao Yunnian becomes powerful—even if he rises to the first rank—before Yue Wang, he is still an official. How could Yue Wang have to respect him?”
“Madam Jin has acknowledged Miss Mu as her adopted daughter. That means Cao Yunnian is Miss Mu’s adoptive father. Is that clear enough?”
“Adopted daughter, adoptive father, Miss Mu, Yue Wang…” Yu Yi grew even more muddled the more he listened. “The more you explain, the more confused I become.”
Anger flared in Steward Qin. He picked up an account book and threw it at him. “Get out. Just looking at you annoys me.”
Yu Yi caught the account book in one hand and casually flipped through it. Seeing the figures recorded inside, he could not help clicking his tongue in amazement. “Steward Qin, your hands are so full these days. When New Year comes, shouldn’t you prepare a red envelope for me too? This past half year, I have run back and forth between Beijiang (the Northern Frontier) and Jingling City countless times.”
“If you say one more useless word, I will give you a slap instead.”
“You are already so old. Why is your temper still so fierce? Can you not speak properly?”
As soon as Yu Yi finished speaking, he hurried out of the room, leaving Steward Qin to snort coldly for a long while.
Considering how thorough Madam Jin was in handling matters, as well as the affection between her and Miss Mu, the ceremony for acknowledging Miss Mu as her adopted daughter would surely be held with great fanfare. The gift had to be carefully considered.
Madam Jin ultimately chose the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Laba Festival. She also decided to draw on her own savings and distribute porridge throughout Jingling City to accumulate blessings for Mu Yunyao.
When Mu Yunyao heard about this, she specially took out eight thousand taels of silver to buy rice and prepare porridge, so that on Laba day, she could cooperate with Madam Jin in giving alms throughout Jingling City.
With rice being bought and people being hired in advance, the news that Madam Jin intended to acknowledge Mu Yunyao as her adopted daughter quickly spread through Jingling City. Many people were not surprised when they heard it. Madam Jin and Mu Yunyao had always been close. Acknowledging her as an adopted daughter merely made their relationship more stable.
After hearing the news, the ladies from the various residences sighed for a while, then turned their thoughts to what congratulatory gifts to send.
Cao Yunnian had outstanding political achievements and was clearly on the verge of promotion. Madam Jin held a ninth-rank imperial title, and Mu Yunyao had also received rewards from the Emperor. None of the three could be regarded lightly. Before sending gifts, people naturally had to seek advice from many sources. If they could send something suited to their tastes, that would be best.
On Laba day, the Cao residence was cleaned until everything looked completely renewed. Madam Jin rose early to begin preparing. Seeing her place such importance on the matter, Cao Yunnian, who had not taken it quite so seriously at first, also grew a little nervous. He carefully trimmed his beard before the mirror and even brought over two new outfits for Madam Jin to help him choose from.
Only then did Madam Jin become pleased. As she personally helped him change, she said softly, “This is my fault. These past two days, I only thought about how to arrange the banquet and actually forgot to instruct someone to prepare a few new sets of clothes for you, my lord.”
“Madam is carrying a child and your body is heavy now. You and the child are the most important. These two sets of clothes are also newly made, so there is no problem.”
Madam Jin smiled as she smoothed his clothes, then replaced his pouch with one she had sewn herself. Only then was she satisfied. “Since my lord places such importance on Yao’er, this adopted daughter, once our child is born, he will surely enjoy endless blessings.”
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Man… I hope Junyue will have some peace of mind after finding out the truth of what happened to his mother. 😔
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