Chapter 19: A day of leisure

Yun Ye returned home from the academy early in the morning to rest. He had not had a single day of peace in the past few days, and all he had done was deal with annoying problems. The academy was always building, and Yun Ye’s design for the stadium had not been completed due to a lack of manpower.

Today, he handed the building work over to Zhao Yanling, the teacher from Shu. He is the only one who is relatively free, while the others are busy moving. He is a loner, so he can make good use of him.

Li Tai still has to do his math problems every day, and I don’t know if there will be a correct result.

Grandma and Auntie took out all the brocade at home to dry in the sun today. First, it was to prevent mildew, and second, to see if it had been bitten by bugs. So they took advantage of the good weather today to dry the colorful brocade in the courtyard.

The eldest aunt touched this one, then that one, and from time to time draped the material over her body to let the maidservants around her give her some advice. The eldest aunt is forty years old, but she still has the temperament of a young girl. She likes bright and colorful clothes, and she is covered in the finest brocade, some of which is even embroidered with gold thread. Needless to say, they are all expensive.

It’s not that it’s not okay to be fashionable in old age, but it’s too much to have your head full of hairpins. It’s not that you’re not allowed to wear them, but standing in the sun with your head full of light, like a Buddha, and also liking to go to temples, with your head full of Buddha light, when you go to the temple, are you worshiping the Buddha or is the Buddha worshiping you?

The Yun family has plenty of that stuff. Since the last time Master Bo Yixuan took a few patterns from Yun Ye, he sent a lot of them over. Without mentioning money, Yun Ye naturally forgot about paying for them.

Grandma said that she would save it for Yun Ye to use when he married a wife in the future, and also encouraged her grandson to go to the homes of various princes and participate in gatherings from time to time, and to give a few to the girls he liked.

What he didn’t know was that every time Yun Ye went to a house, he was always treated by the head of the family, a man of the same age as his uncles, even if there were two older brothers, they were also played by bearded uncles. How could Yun Ye spy on the women of the family while sitting upright? And give back the hairpin? It would be strange if they didn’t beat this rogue to death.

As for what is pleasing to the eye, Yun Ye finds his own family the most pleasing to the eye.

Seeing Yun Ye’s mother blush and blush as she poured tea for her family like a married woman was the most pleasing sight. No doubt about it, two of them, pick them yourself.

The handkerchief embroidered by Runniang looks good, although the mandarin ducks are a bit fat and the lotus flowers are a bit deformed. You don’t allow Runniang to exaggerate? I like fat ducks the most. How does the little girl know my preferences? Good, keep it for wiping sweat. Pick a hairpin from the box and stick it in. The little girl has to dress up beautifully to look good.

The little girl kept pulling at her brother’s leg. What? You want one too? Touch the little girl’s thin yellow hair. Can this hold a hairpin? Is it to be kept as a dowry? A child with foresight. This has to be supported. Take one.

Once the ball gets rolling, it’s hard to stop. It wasn’t until Xiao Xi was holding an empty box and crying that she realized that they were all gone. There was not a single hairpin left. She had to take one from the head of the housekeeper and give it to Xiao Xi.

The old lady was furious, chasing her aunt and sister around the yard with a feather duster in her hand. The aunt and sister were very agile, and the feathers were flying all over the place.

Every time he saw this, Yun Ye liked it in his heart, and felt that it was only right to be cheated or to cheat others.

“Yi, look at this material that Auntie is using to make a skirt. Does it look good?” Auntie interrupted Yun Ye’s silly laughter and opened a red silk with a maid. It was embroidered with huge peonies and was a good material for a wedding dress.

“If you plan to get married again, this material is perfect.” Yun Ye teased his aunt with a smile.

The aunt was a little embarrassed by the remark, blushed, and spat at Yun Ye, then went back to her room with her maid, who kept laughing.

Since giving the hairpin to the family, Grandma absolutely forbade Yun Ye to wear anything valuable, except for a few jade pendants that men wear and a few incense beads to ward off evil spirits. Yun Ye had absolutely nothing, and even the hairpin brought from the future was hidden by Grandma in the eyes of the family’s extreme desire, and they were not even allowed to see it.

After re-examining her family, Yun Ye thanked the heavens in her heart. They were all kind people, and the family had never had any disgusting thoughts about distribution. The happy life after the great sorrow made them extremely satisfied.

As long as people know how to be content, they will be open-minded. A life of abundance allows them to put minor things like needles and thread out of their minds. And they don’t have to worry about major things, they are all enjoying their lives, which is also what Yun Ye hoped for.

Walking around the house, from one courtyard to another, I don’t know how many moon gates there are. This is the first time Yun Ye has fully explored the house.

The garden was full of roses, which were in full bloom at the moment. The fragrance of the flowers in the garden attracted countless butterflies and bees. Several kinds of butterflies were actually ones that Yun Ye had never seen before, flapping their wings and flying all over the sky.

He told the maid to take a pair of scissors and cut off the over-dense flowers, put them in a basket to dry, so as to remove excess moisture. When the flowers were a little wilted, he collected them. He was about to ask the maid to bring the basket to the place where he made wine at home, but he found that it was his aunt who was carrying the basket. His grandmother was standing nearby in a bad mood, and there was also a crying maid kneeling on the ground.

“How much have you learned?” Grandma’s tone was a bit stern, and my aunt was still scolding me on the side.

“Okay, okay, it’s just something that I made out of boredom. It’s okay, she just helped me pick flowers. What can she learn?” For her wife to play with something in the afterlife, as if killing a person.

Grandma’s face changed very quickly. Just now, she was full of sternness, but in an instant, she became full of pride: “What my grandson plays with is a treasure that everyone wants to break their heads for when it is put outside. The servants dare not touch it. In the future, if you want to play with it, ask your aunt to accompany you. Don’t let irrelevant people find it.”

There was nothing to say. The old lady was now very strict with the family, especially with the servants who had contact with Yun Ye, for fear that her grandson’s good things would be taken away by other families. Her old lady was now sad to see the farm tools used in the fields, and when she was sad, she scolded Niu Jinda.

The Yun family’s wine-making stove never stops, and Cheng Yaojin, who is still in Guyuan, never forgets to write back and ask for wine. Besides, the wine-making stove is so small, and it has to supply the four wine-drinkers in the academy. Li Chengqian sometimes steals some, and the Yuchi family often brings some treasures to exchange. Qin Qiong’s family says it is for medicinal purposes, but I don’t know what medicine it is. It takes 20 jars, which is enough for a bath. In short, Yun’s fine wine has a good reputation in Chang’an, and it is not easy to taste it.

Grandma kicked out the manager of the wine cellar, who had signed a contract to sell his soul. He was a member of the Yun family, and when he died, he became a ghost of the Yun family. However, he was well treated and was considered a wealthy family in the village. It was common to see his wife and children carrying a pig’s hind leg around the village to show off.

Change to a small pot, fill it with boiling water, add all the flowers and cook them. Cover the pot with a lid with a pipe and cook over high heat.

Yun Ye said he needed to sleep for a while, and it would take more than two hours to cook. His aunt ran out and called two maids to bring Yun Ye’s recliner. Yun Ye asked his grandmother to lie down for a while, but she was pushed over and lay down. She sat in the chair and guarded the door, while her aunt burned the fire in the room.

The pot was dry and Yun Ye was awake. She rushed into the kitchen and then hurriedly ran out again, forgetting to wear a mask. The kitchen smelled like raw grass, which was extremely unpleasant. She poured the condensed distillate in the jar into another clean pot. A thin layer of something like oil floated on the surface of the distillate, and she covered it with a lid and continued to steam.

After repeating the process three times, Yun Ye got a bowl of sticky, smelly liquid at the bottom.

“Ye’er, is this the perfume you were talking about? Is something wrong? Did that bitch move the flowers? Did the heavens get angry and not allow our family to steam perfume?” Grandma thought her grandson could not be wrong, and if there was a mistake, it was the maid’s fault for picking the flowers.

“You sit down, it’s not over yet. The perfume just came out like this. The grandson still needs to add some things to make it fragrant. It’s not the maid’s fault. Watch the grandson do a magic trick and turn the stink into a fragrance.”

Using a small bamboo tube with a leather bag at the end, he sucked in a few drops and dropped them into a small porcelain bottle filled with strong spirits. He wrapped the stopper in silk and tightened it, then shook it vigorously. As Yun Ye’s arm swung, a faint fragrance of rose blossoms spread throughout the room.

Grandma and Auntie stood up in amazement, intoxicated by the enchanting fragrance.