Leng Ruo Li returned to the General’s Mansion directly after leaving the palace.
A young servant informed her that Leng Jin Yu had gone to the army camp outside the city, and Madam Liu and her daughters had also gone shopping, leaving the mansion very quiet.
Just as she was about to return to her own Qingfeng Courtyard, a young maid stopped her.
“Eldest Miss, two days ago the Grand General instructed the servants to move your belongings back to Mingyue Courtyard. Qingfeng Courtyard has already been dismantled by the Grand General’s men. The Grand General said that Eldest Miss must move back to her original courtyard (Mingyue Courtyard).”
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruo Li was stunned.
She hadn’t expected Leng Jin Yu to act so quickly. After only being back for two days, he had made her move back to Mingyue Courtyard, where the original owner used to live. This was truly a doting father.
In the original owner’s memories, her Mingyue Courtyard was the largest courtyard in the entire General’s Mansion. It was a courtyard that Leng Jin Yu had personally designed and built for his daughter, at least three times larger than Qingfeng Courtyard. It had a rockery, a fish pond, and a swing, and was filled with many rare flowers and exotic plants.
After Leng Ruo Shuang had driven the original owner out of Mingyue Courtyard, Leng Ruo Li had occupied Mingyue Courtyard for a period, but strange things happened every night.
It was said that on the very first night Leng Ruo Shuang moved into Mingyue Courtyard, she was sleeping in the master bedroom, but the next day she woke up frozen by the cold. When she opened her eyes, the sight before her greatly shocked her. She remembered very clearly that she had been sleeping in her bed, so how could she wake up in the courtyard? The first time, she thought she had sleepwalked.
But the next morning, she found herself sleeping outside again. She then suspected someone was deliberately playing tricks on her.
Therefore, she asked Aunt Liu to arrange over a dozen guards for Mingyue Courtyard, stationed not far from her room, and ordered them not to doze off at night. However, upon waking up in the morning, she found herself still sleeping in the courtyard, awakened by the cold.
What puzzled her was that all the dozen guards had fallen asleep in her room, lying sprawled on the floor, sleeping soundly. Seeing this almost made Leng Ruo Shuang furious.
She immediately ordered the dozen guards to be beaten with a hundred boards.
Then…
Even more bizarre occurrences happened in Mingyue Courtyard every night.
It was said that on a stormy night, as Leng Ruo Shuang was preparing to rest, she saw a skeletal hand with long black fingernails reaching in through her window, grabbing at things. That night, Leng Ruo Shuang was so terrified that she fainted on the spot.
After that, Leng Ruo Shuang no longer dared to live in Mingyue Courtyard. She moved back to her original courtyard, but she also prevented the original owner from moving back into Mingyue Courtyard.
From then on, the original owner’s Mingyue Courtyard was left abandoned for several years. The flowers and trees in the courtyard grew wild. Especially the rose bush that the original owner had personally planted by the surrounding wall, within a few years, it had climbed all over the wall, extending from one end of the wall to the other.
In the original owner’s memories, almost every year, when the roses bloomed, she would often go to the wall of Mingyue Courtyard to admire the flowers. She would look at the small, pale pink flowers and always smile happily.
Today was the first time she had stepped into Mingyue Courtyard since she transmigrated. As soon as she walked in, she saw Xing Er and Ling Er weeding in the courtyard.
When the two girls turned and saw Leng Ruo Li return, they were overjoyed and rushed towards her.
“Miss, you’re finally back,” Xing Er and Ling Er asked in unison.
Leng Ruo Li reached out and tapped the tip of their little noses with her index finger, saying, “In the days I was away, has anyone bullied you?”
“Eldest Miss, how would they dare? Ever since the Grand General returned to the mansion, he discovered we were sent to live in Qingfeng Courtyard with poor food and lodging. He flew into a rage on the spot and severely reprimanded Aunt Liu. As for those servants who had bullied you, they were all sold off by the Grand General. As for those who were fortunate enough not to be sold off, they were all rushing to curry favor with us, so how would they dare to bully us?” Xing Er said with pride and a hint of schadenfreude.
Ling Er, however, was not yet very familiar with Leng Ruo Li and spoke with some reservation.
After hearing Xing Er’s words, Leng Ruo Li raised her eyebrows and smiled, saying, “Look how happy you are. Come, let’s go inside and let me see our new courtyard.”
Then, the three of them swaggered into Leng Ruo Li’s new master bedroom.
Her master bedroom had been completely renovated. The original bed had been replaced with a large, ancient, red lacquered carved wooden bed, which was even more beautiful than the large wooden bed in Leng Ruo Shuang’s room. They had also thoughtfully hung up pink gauze curtains, though she guessed Xing Er had helped hang them.
The quilt on the bed had also been replaced with a new one. She walked to the bed and touched her new quilt with her hand. It felt excellent, light, soft, and warm. Upon closer inspection, she was surprised to find that this new quilt was made of golden silkworm silk.
Heh heh, her cheap father really knew how to spoil his daughter. Golden silkworms were extremely difficult to raise. They were mainly produced in the Southern Zhao Kingdom, and could only produce two catties of golden silkworm silk per year, with only one catty being sold each year. It went without saying that this stuff was extremely precious. She heard that in the palace, only the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress could use such golden silkworm silk quilts.
As for Leng Jin Yu’s golden silkworm silk quilt, it was a reward from the Emperor. She hadn’t expected him to be willing to give such a good quilt for her to use.
Leng Ruo Li carefully scanned her entire bedroom. Her dressing table, wardrobe, small round table, small stool, and the changing screen in her room had all been replaced with new ones. Even the wooden floorboards had been re-laid.
“Miss, the Grand General truly dotes on you. Not only has he replaced all the furniture in your room with new ones, but he has also helped replace the furniture in the rooms of us maids and Ling Er,” Xing Er said happily, feeling that her young lady had finally come into her own.
“Rumble…”
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li’s stomach rumbled inopportunely.
“Miss, you’re hungry,” the two young maids said in unison.
Leng Ruo Li smiled awkwardly and nodded. She had been in a hurry to leave the Renzhou Palace that morning and had only hastily eaten two buns. After packing her medical kit, she rushed to report the Empress Dowager’s condition to the Emperor. After reporting, the Emperor instructed Eunuch Li to arrange a carriage for her and send her directly back to the General’s Mansion.
It was now noon, and her stomach was already famished.
“Miss, I’ll go to the kitchen right away to get you some food. Ling Er will stay here to serve you,” Xing Er said anxiously, turning to head for the kitchen.
Leng Ruo Li immediately stopped her. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Let’s all go together.”
“At noon, I’ll cook for you myself. I’ll make a type of noodle you’ve never eaten before. Let’s celebrate moving into a new courtyard together,” Leng Ruo Li said with a smile and a mysterious expression.
Xing Er, however, looked skeptical. She had never seen her young lady cook before. Could the noodles she made be edible?
“Miss, what kind of noodles are you going to make for us?”
“Come, you’ll find out soon enough.”
A moment later, in the large kitchen.
The entire kitchen was filled with a fragrance, immediately attracting the servants near the kitchen.
Xing Er looked at the noodles in the pot and swallowed her saliva, “Wow, it smells so good!”
Ling Er was also salivating with desire, “Miss, what kind of noodles are you cooking? They smell so good!”
“These are called instant noodles.”
“Haha… Are you all hungry?”
The two maids nodded vigorously. How could the noodles their young lady cooked smell so good?
Leng Ruo Li served a bowl of noodles for each of them and ate with great relish in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, a crowd of people, drawn by the aroma, was gathered at the kitchen door. Everyone watched the mistress and her maids enjoy the delicious food, almost drooling on the spot.