Chapter 291 August Autumn Outing

Chapter 291 August Autumn Outing

Chapter 291 August Autumn Outing
Within a few days, everything in the mansion returned to normal. Xiaoqing's father officially became the owner of the Xihai Cloth Shop, and her brother also became Sun Lei's disciple to learn martial arts.

Achu's mother, Chen, received an investment of 2,000 strings of cash from Xiao Xia and rented a shop covering two acres in the Qinrenfang commercial district. She named it Tianxianglou Steamed Bun Shop and recruited a dozen clever young ladies to learn how to make steamed buns from her. She also hired three strong women to be responsible for kneading the dough.

A few days later, the first batch of buns were delivered to the major restaurants of Xihai Trading Company. As a result, their scallion mutton buns and stuffed meat buns were very popular and became famous overnight. There was a long queue in front of Tianxianglou bun shop every day, from morning to night. In just over ten days, they made a net profit of 900 strings of cash.

At the same time, Xiao Xia's mansion had a new steward named Liu Kan. He was actually the second steward of Yang Zhao's mansion. He was recommended to Xiao Xia by Yang Zhao. He was kind, capable and loyal.

At the same time, he recruited more than twenty servants and five maids for the inner house, all of whom were twelve or thirteen years old. Achu became the housekeeper of the inner house.

The relationship between Xiao Xia and Cui Yu continued to heat up, and Xiao Xia would invite the two sisters out for dinner every now and then, but Cui Mei was most looking forward to going hunting at Shenmu Villa.

Soon, her wish came true.

It was mid-August. That afternoon, a large group of autumn outings came to Shenmu Manor in Liquan County. There were more than a hundred people, and this time even Princess Xiao came.

Of course, if Yang Ling didn't come, Xiao Xia wouldn't invite him no matter how generous she was.

Yang Zhao's manor remains the same, but Xiao Xia's Shenmu Manor has completely changed.

Xihai Trading Company invested tens of thousands of strings of money in building the villa. The first thing was the walls. The walls around the manor were renovated, and the high walls separating the manor area and the agricultural area were also re-erected.

Secondly, in terms of buildings, dozens of wooden houses were built on the east and west sides of the lake. The road leading up the mountain was renovated, and a villa covering an area of ​​20 acres was built on the mountain.

Eventually the lake and river were dredged, and the water became clearer and bluer.

There are also more than a dozen horses on the manor.

In addition, the manor also hired a steward and twenty servants, all of whom were the wives and children of the farm tenants. They were responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the manor and protecting its integrity.

The accompanying warriors and maids lived in a wooden house at the foot of the mountain, while the master and his personal maid lived in a villa on the mountain.

Xiao Xia brought Cui Yu to the observation deck, which was built on the cliff and made of pine wood. It was surrounded by fences and was part of the house, connected to the main hall of the house.

The lake can be clearly seen from the observation deck. Xiao Xia's thirty warriors are fishing by the lake. It seems that Li Luming caught a big black carp, which caused laughter.

Laughter could also be heard from the grass on the east side of the lake, where a group of young ladies were playing with pot arrows.

Cui Mei, Xiao Qing, A Chu, the eldest brother's concubine Xiao Liu, and Xiao Zhurong's sister Xiao Qiao'er.

Seeing that there was no one in the hall behind him, Cui Yu gently rested his head on his lover's shoulder and sighed, "Last time I came here, it was still full of wildness, but now it's completely different. I still like it like this, very elegant, very comfortable, and very human."

Xiao Xia put his arm around her waist, bent down and kissed her pretty face, and said with a smile: "I would rather it was just the two of us!"

Cui Yu laughed softly and said, "Next time I go to your mansion, if Xiaomei wants to play with dates, won't she have a chance?"

"That'll take another month!"

"Be patient and you will have a chance."

At this time, footsteps were heard in the lobby, and Cui Yu hurriedly separated from Xiao Xia. It turned out that it was Princess Xiao and her daughter Yang Feiyan who came.

"Xia'er, your villa is really nice!"

Princess Xiao walked up to the observation deck and said with a smile, "Is it possible to escape the heat here in the summer?"

"Of course you can. The mountain breeze here is very cool in summer, and the climate is comfortable. There is no feeling of summer heat at all. You can come here to escape the heat in summer."

"I do want to, but your father can't leave Chang'an. He's been very nervous recently and often can't sleep at night. He feels that he is becoming more and more hopeless. Xia'er, do you think there is still hope for your father?"

"I'll go get the tea!" Cui Yu pulled away.

Xiao Xia looked at Cui Yu's graceful figure and smiled: "If my father has no hope, then there will be no hope for my marriage either. I will never accept such a result, so don't worry, Auntie, just wait patiently for the opportunity."

Princess Xiao sighed, "If your father had half of your confidence, I wouldn't have to worry so much. I'm worried about your elder brother getting into trouble, and I'm also worried about your sister. I'm also afraid of death, and I often can't sleep well at night."

Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "Auntie, do you know why I became the general of the Right Wuhou Guard?" Princess Xiao's eyes lit up and she quickly said, "Tell me about it!"

"Think about it, Auntie. The Crown Prince has no military power. Even the military power of the Crown Prince's Sixth Commandery is not in his hands. Even if the Emperor dies, he cannot get the military power. Only after he ascends the throne can he truly get the military power. But will we just sit there and wait for death?

Once the emperor is critically ill, I will immediately send troops to send my family to Jiangnan. What can the prince do to stop him? Moreover, I suspect that at that time, the King of Han will even launch a coup. Who will finally ascend the throne is still unknown! "

Princess Xiao thought for a moment and said, "But the King of Han is even worse and more vicious. If he gains control of the world, he will never let your father go?"

"So the question is, who will recognize this thief who stole the country? Will the army in Jiangnan support my father or the thief who stole the country?"

Princess Xiao smiled and said, "I am getting nervous when you say that."

Xiao Xia smiled slightly, took out the emperor's gold medal and said, "My grandfather gave me this gold medal, and I never asked for it back. I know what my grandfather meant. This is the way out he left for us, so don't worry, Auntie. I know it clearly. In the end, it will be my father who will get the world."

Princess Xiao finally relaxed her worries. She sighed and said, "It seems that my autumn outing was not in vain!"

..........
The next morning, the hunting activity began. All the participants in the hunting wore warrior clothes, held bows and arrows in their hands, wore long swords on their waists, and rode war horses to gather on the grass.

In addition to the eight female warriors, there were three other women, the Cui sisters and Yang Feiyan, who participated. Other women, including Princess Xiao, did not participate. They were fishing and resting by the lake, waiting for everyone to return from hunting.

Xiao Xia blew the horn "Woo--" and everyone shouted at their horses and galloped into the forest in the northeast direction.

Sun Lei whispered to Xiao Xia, "Farmers said that a very ferocious leopard appeared in this area recently and has killed three villagers. We must be careful."

Xiao Xia nodded, "Tell the warriors to be alert and don't be left alone!"

After entering the forest, everyone started to act separately. The team was divided into three groups. Xiao Xia led the Cui sisters and ten warriors as one group, Yang Zhao led Yang Feiyan, Xiao Zhurong and ten warriors as another group, and Sun Lei led a dozen warriors as the third group. Their task was to drive the deer into the hunting ground and guard the periphery to prevent the appearance of large beasts.

Xiao Xia led everyone to walk slowly in the forest. The forest was very quiet, with only the rustling sound of horse hooves on the leaves.

Xiao Xia suddenly raised his hand and asked everyone to stop. He looked toward the northwest for a moment, then turned back and said to everyone, "The deer are coming, everyone get ready!"

Everyone drew their bows and arrows, staring nervously at the west. Then, the sound of hurried running came from the northwest. Soon, a large group of sika deer rushed towards this side and appeared in front of everyone in an instant.

"Archery!"

Xiao Xia shouted and shot the first arrow. A fat deer king with horns on its head fell down. The warriors shot arrows one after another, and the sika deer fell down while running.

Xiao Xia shot only one arrow and stopped shooting. Instead, he turned his attention to the Cui sisters' archery. His emotional intelligence was not that low. He would just play by himself.

To put it bluntly, today's hunting is to make up for the regret of last time, and the Cui sisters are the protagonists of today.

Cui Yu and Cui Mei were both extremely nervous. They drew their bows and shot arrows together, but unfortunately the arrows flew away.

When I looked at the deer again, they had already run far away.

Cui Yu secretly stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously at Xiao Xia. She was laughing at her own poor archery skills as she shot the arrows into the sky.

Cui Mei lowered her head sadly. She had almost hit the target, but unfortunately her hand shook at the last moment.

The warriors cheered and rushed forward to collect the prey.

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, there is still a chance!"

He turned his horse around and prepared to go see the deer king with long horns.

Suddenly, Cui Yu let out a horrible scream.

"what--"

(End of this chapter)