Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Return to the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence_1

The day after delivering the medicine to the Emperor, Wei Ruo began to arrange for the servants of the Wang Residence to revamp the backyard.

After all, she couldn’t be much help in political struggles, so she stayed busy with what she needed to do, handling whatever came her way.

“Plant radishes in Mingxiang Pavilion, plant Swiss chard there, and rapeseed on that side. These veggies are frost-resistant – perfect for winter consumption if we plant them now.”

“Clear Liufang Pavilion for raising chickens.”

“Use that room on the far west side for storing coal.”

“…”

Lin Fang returned from an errand to find Wei Ruo had turned the backyard of the Wang Residence upside down.

“Miss, what are you doing?” asked Lin Fang, puzzled.

Wei Ruo explained, “These rooms were just lying vacant anyway. It’s great to store stuff in there. And the things I store won’t spoil in a short period, so don’t worry. I’ve already had the valuable furniture packed away. The main rooms are untouched.”

Wei Ruo didn’t explicitly mention that she was storing up grain because she anticipated a widespread disaster this year.

The court hadn’t publicized the situation yet, and she didn’t dare to be the one to break the news.

“I see. How Miss handles things is up to her,” Lin Fang agreed, nodding.

Wei Ruo continued, “As for planting vegetables, I only changed a few remote courtyards on the side. The courtyards didn’t have any plants before. The buildings there are old as well, so why not use these places for planting vegetables? It’s just three courtyards, I kept the rest for your Master, Prince Wang.”

After all, it was the Wang Residence. Wei Ruo was still mindful of keeping up appearances – turning the entire residence’s courtyards into vegetable gardens seemed excessive. Still, the residence was vast with many empty courtyards. As only a few people were now living in the backyard, it was fine to repurpose a few out-of-the-way courtyards.

Firstly, it satisfied Wei Ruo’s yearning for gardening. Secondly, in case of extreme weather when fresh vegetable supply ran short, having a vegetable garden in the residence could provide for everyone.

“As long as Miss is happy, you can even change all of the backyards.”

Her happiness was priceless. If it pleased Miss to turn the entire backyard into vegetable gardens, then it was alright.

“Oh, also, clear out the warm pavilion for me. I want to cultivate mushrooms.”

“Ah?” Lin Fang was slightly startled. The idea of growing mushrooms took him by surprise, but then he agreed, “Alright, alright, I’ll handle this right away.”

“Besides, I had someone buy a cart of sheep manure. Later, could you help me transport it to those courtyards in the far west?” said Wei Ruo.

“Sure.” Lin Fang agreed.

Over the next two days, Wei Ruo was kept on her toes, handling both the poultry farm outside the city and the revamp in the backyard.

But the outcome was rewarding. Seeing the piled-up supplies and the cultivated lands, Wei Ruo was overjoyed.

All these actions of King Rui Residence were far from discreet, whether it concerned the poultry farm outside the city or the supplies transported into the residence, which Wei Ruo did boldly.

And thus, it earned people’s attention.

However, most people merely chuckled and moved on.

Compared to the intense rivalry between Prince Yu and King Jing, the activities of the Rui Residence seemed more like child’s play, barely worth discussing.

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October 8.

Wei Ruo refreshed herself a bit, ready to visit the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence.

Today was Grandfather Wei’s 70th birthday.

The invitation had been sent to her half a month earlier from the Duke Residence.

For Grandfather Wei’s 70th birthday, the Residence was not planning a grand celebration, but a simple family dinner.

Specially, they delivered notes to both Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan, asking them, together with their husbands, to attend.

However, Grandfather Wei added that he would be delighted if both sons-in-law could attend, but if not, it would be perfectly understandable and they should not worry about it too much.

Perhaps Grandfather Wei knew deep down that the chances of his sons-in-law attending were quite low.

King Rui was severely sick and hardly left home. He didn’t even show up for the three obligatory visits, let alone on ordinary days?

As for Wei Qingwan, she was only a concubine. It wasn’t proper for Prince Yu, a brother-in-law, to come. Add the fact that Prince Yu had been incredibly busy lately, he wouldn’t bother himself with such a trivial event as Grandfather Wei’s birthday.

###

Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence.

The people in the Residence had heard about the recent activities of King Rui and his wife.

It seemed absurd that royal couple had turned to building poultry farms and hoarding large quantities of grains, fruits, and vegetables in the Residence.

It seemed like neither of them had any interest in political matters.

Certainly, anyone with the potential to become the Crown Prince would not waste their effort on such things.

Whoever aspired to become the emperor wouldn’t care about a small poultry farm. Only those who knew they could not ascend to the imperial position would squabble over a piece of land or a store.

Yet these activities of King Rui and his wife seemed totally reasonable considering King Rui’s poor health and his uncertain lifespan. After all, it wouldn’t hurt for them to grow some crops and raise some poultry to live a leisurely life.

Their behavior can be seen as knowing their place and maintaining happiness in it.

From the moment they woke up, Grandfather Wei and Madam Wei summoned their two sons, three daughters-in-law, and all their grandchildren to remind them:

“The current political situation is tense, and the struggle between Prince Yu and King Jing is heating up. Given this trend, King Jing will be defeated soon. As I celebrate my birthday today, I want to remind you to be careful in your conduct outside. Don’t provoke any trouble at this critical moment.”

“Yes,” they all replied at once.

Grandfather Wei nodded with satisfaction and continued.

“Today, both the wife of King Rui and the concubine of Prince Yu are coming. We cannot count on King Rui now, our only hope is Prince Yu. Therefore, treat Prince Yu’s concubine properly. Don’t neglect her due to her status as a concubine.”

“Father, you can rest assured. We would never mishandle such a thing. We have always been close to Wanwan!” Bai Family quickly voiced their stance.

“Father, don’t worry, we know what to do.” Wei Mingyong added.

Wei Mingyong seemed unusually jolly these days. He felt his backbone was straighter than ever before.

Because Wei Mingyong had recently obtained a position, although it was a low-ranking job, it was an official role nonetheless.

Moreover, he owed this position to Qi Yansong. During a casual conversation, Qi Yansong had mentioned that Wei Family’s second master was a promising talent. The lower officials got his hint and arranged this minor job for Wei Mingyong.

For Wei Mingyong, this carried extraordinary significance. It was a sign of favor from Master Qi! Bright future was ahead of him!