Zhou Shuren felt emotional in his heart. The Emperor was really good at calculating. During the palace examination, even if his essay was not good enough to be ranked second, the Emperor would still promote him to second place based on his situation and value. The Emperor really calculated everyone to the point. When he thought of the Emperor’s good health, this time it was not just Zhulan who felt sorry for the princes; he felt sorry too.

Zhou Shuren led Wu Chun back to the group. Wu Chun went to meet the Yang family. Zhou Shuren said to Zhulan, who was sitting in the carriage, “Originally, I had planned to enter the city to notify Wu Chun to come pick you all up to return to the purchased residence. Now that Wu Chun has arrived, you and Wu Chun should go back to the residence first. I need to take the official escorts and the grain to the yamen for handover. I estimate I’ll be back by evening.”

Zhulan finally breathed out a sigh of relief that they had arrived. “Alright, you take care of your work. I’ll make sure everything at home is settled. You don’t need to worry about us.”

Zhou Shuren smiled, “With you here, I have nothing to worry about.”

He gestured to Zhulan to take out his account books and official documents. He handed the items to the officials following behind him and got into another carriage to go into the city first.

Zhulan didn’t need to leave guards behind, as Wuchun had brought a number of them with him.

Wu Chun saw that his yeye and nainai were still in decent health. After seeing his Mother and wife with children, his eyes grew red, but since the place outside wasn’t suitable for talking, he held back his emotions. Knowing that his Father and Second Shu were helping his Gufu with the grain harvest, he felt deeply moved by his Gufu’s hardships.

Wu Chun calmed down for a moment before meeting his aunt. “Gūgu, you’ve had a hard time on the journey,” he sighed. No wonder his mother always said his Gūgu was the most fortunate. It wasn’t just that she was blessed; now she had even been granted an imperial decree.

Zhulan said, “It’s great that you can make it. We don’t have to wait in the city. Take us to the house your Gufu asked you to buy.” Wu Chun thought of his Gufu’s requirements: a large house with at least three entrances, a well, and a garden, ideally as large as the Zheng family’s in Lijia Village. He’d put a lot of effort into finding one, even borrowing a thousand taels of silver.

Wu Chun said, “Gūgu, I’ll lead the way, you guys follow.”

Zhulan said, “Okay.”

Even without the grain escort, the convoy was still quite large. The Zhou and Yang families had quite a bit of money, not to mention the large amounts of grain and other supplies they had purchased.

The convoy entered the city in a grand procession, heading for West City. Many people from Lizhou City had gradually returned, and the city was now a little more populated.

Zhulan opened the carriage curtain and kept looking outside. There were many beggars on the streets of Lizhou City, and not many shops were open. Looking at the houses in the city, many of them had been in disrepair for many years and looked quite dilapidated.

The carriage soon arrived in front of the house that Wuchun had bought for the Zhou family. Zhulan got off the carriage and looked at the gate. It was really magnificent.

Wuchun helped his yeye and nainai get off the carriage, and then came to his Gūgu, “Gūgu, I only did a simple renovation of the house after I bought it. If there is anything you don’t like, I will slowly change it after you move in.”

Zhulan looked at the house, “It has been renovated very well, let’s go in.”

Wu Chun left someone to watch the residence. After knocking on the door, the main gate quickly opened. As he walked, Wu Chun explained, “The residences in Lizhou City are different from those in the Capital. The houses are divided into small courtyards. Upon entering, there is a long corridor with separate courtyard gates on both sides. This residence occupies a large area and includes the garden that my gufu requested. There are six courtyards for the owners to live in, plus two courtyards for servants and stables. Originally, I wanted to buy a larger residence, but no one was selling. Although Lizhou City remains bleak, those with foresight still hold onto their residences.”

Zhulan had anticipated this, having already entered the long corridor. “This house is so nice, why sell it?”

Wuchun said, “The owner of this house has only one daughter, and their son-in-law lost a lot of money in a scam. They had no choice but to sell this house, and with the money from the sale, the family moved to Jiangnan.”

Zhulan thought to herself that gambling really caused harm. “How much silver did this place cost?”

“This residence was more expensive than when I bought it. Including the large area, it cost six hundred liang. The house was too big, so the repairs cost one hundred and fifty liang. Plus, we had to buy new furniture and household items. Altogether, it totaled about one thousand liang.”

Zhulan followed Wu Chun along the long corridor and turned toward the east courtyard gate. Wu Chun explained, “This is the courtyard where the head of the household lives. It’s a small two-section courtyard. On one side of the rear residence, there is a door that leads to the garden. The main entrance to the garden is inside the corridor we just passed.”

Zhulan asked, “I remember you bought a three-story courtyard.”

Wu Chun smiled and said, “The previous owner of the residence I bought came from the Capital City. The house was built according to the Capital City layout, so it’s a three-section residence. Lizhou City also has quite a few buildings in the Capital City style, but none met my gufu’s requirements.”

As they spoke, they had already reached the main house, which was spacious, with a kang in the main room.

Zhulan then visited several smaller courtyards. While the smaller courtyards weren’t as large as the main courtyard and didn’t have as many rooms, having a separate courtyard was a nice touch.

Zhulan calculated the number of rooms in the entire house and was very satisfied. This was well worth the money.

Zhulan and Wuchun returned from a long, tiring journey. By the time they reached the main courtyard, the Zhou family’s luggage and provisions had already been unloaded from the carriages. For this trip to Lizhou City, Zhulan’s family had purchased another carriage, bringing their total to five.

Wu Chun left someone familiar with the courtyard, along with Boss Zhou, to watch the residence. The grain and the granary were all things Zhulan didn’t need to worry about.

Zhulan returned to the main courtyard and took out one thousand liang of silver to hand to Wu Chun. “This is the money you spent.”

Wuchun accepted it. This silver was all borrowed by him. “Gugu, let me send my family’s luggage back to the house first. I will come over when I have arranged everything.”

Zhulan said, “Okay, you can all stay here and rest today. I will personally send your yeye and nainai over tomorrow.”

Wuchun smiled, “Gugu, make something delicious tonight.”

Zhulan smiled, “Okay, we will make something delicious tonight.”

After Wuchun left, Zhulan sent her parents and sisters-in-law to a separate courtyard next to the main courtyard to rest. Wuchun was a careful child. A lot of firewood was piled in each courtyard. Because they knew the news in advance, each courtyard had a fire, and the kang was warm.

Zhulan said to her parents, “Mom and Dad, you guys take a rest first.”

Yang Dayong finally arrived in Lizhou City, feeling relieved. “You go and do your own thing. Your mom and I are resting, don’t worry about us. After we’ve rested, we can go shopping on our own.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “Okay.”

Zhulan arranged for her family to rest, declined the help of her sisters-in-law, and returned to the main courtyard.

Xuehan was already waiting in the main courtyard. “Mom, I’ve counted all the luggage we brought. All the luggage is here, and nothing is lost.”

Zhulan smiled. “My daughter is amazing. She’s helped me a lot.”

Xuehan was a little excited. She could also help her mother. “Mom, do you have any other work for me?”

(End of this chapter)

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