The next day, Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun personally went to the Ten Mile Pavilion in the southern suburbs of the capital to welcome Mr. Gu and his wife back to the city.
The four had not seen each other for a long time, although they had exchanged letters incessantly.
Upon meeting, they were overjoyed.
On the way back to the city, Su Xiaoqi and Yu Wan chatted non-stop in the carriage.
Su Xiaoqi recounted her initial unsuitability upon arriving in the capital, meeting the Eldest Princess at Gan Quan Temple, entering the Duke of Yu's mansion, and even going to the imperial palace to treat the late emperor.
Yu Wan listened quietly, smiling gently at Su Xiaoqi's narration.
However, when Su Xiaoqi mentioned entering the imperial palace and seeing the late emperor, Yu Wan became visibly nervous.
"Child, why didn't you tell me about such a major event?"
Su Xiaoqi resembled her third sister so much that the old emperor would surely go mad upon seeing her.
As she spoke, Yu Wan examined Su Xiaoqi from head to toe, left and right.
She was terrified that something might happen to her.
Su Xiaoqi knew she bore a strong resemblance to the late emperor's favorite, her third aunt.
Seeing her godmother's concern, Su Xiaoqi hugged her to reassure her.
"It's alright, it's alright. That's all in the past. The late emperor is already in his coffin... ugh.
I didn't mention it because I was afraid you'd worry, godmother."
She had spoken too quickly just now, not thinking before she spoke.
Their carriage slowly proceeded.
As they passed through Vermilion Bird Avenue, they saw a carriage speeding from the direction of the Northern Gate.
"Quick, quick, quick, move aside. There's a clinic up ahead."
The carriage rushed past at breakneck speed. As the two carriages crossed paths, a gust of wind billowed the curtains. Su Xiaoqi glanced in.
A middle-aged woman was seated in the carriage, seemingly holding a child.
She let out an "eih." Zhang Yu, who was on the carriage shaft, heard this, lifted the curtain, and poked his head in to explain, "I heard a young master from some family fell ill, and they're urgently looking for a doctor."
Su Xiaoqi said nothing upon hearing this.
It was normal for parents to be anxious when their child was ill.
However, after recalling the fleeting glimpse of the carriage, she felt something was amiss.
"Why does that carriage not look like a carriage belonging to the capital's nobility?"
She said this because the curtain of the carriage was embroidered with a wolf totem, which was only found in border regions.
Wolves were not revered in the Great Liang.
Furthermore, the decorations on the carriage were also of foreign styles.
Coupled with the arrival of foreign envoys in the past couple of days, Su Xiaoqi had formed a guess.
"Northern Chu people," Shen Yun, who was riding beside her, remarked.
He had recognized the Northern Chu carriage earlier and explained,
"They are here to offer condolences to the late emperor and to attend the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor. Being new to the capital, some of the envoys might be suffering from acclimatization and are rushing to find a doctor."
"Northern Chu?" Yu Wan murmured, then suddenly began to sigh.
Now that the old emperor was dead, could her third sister, who had disappeared for many years, finally return?
Encountering the carriage on the road was a minor interlude. Although it drew everyone's attention, it quickly passed.
Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun directly led Mr. Gu and his wife Yu Wan to Mao'er Hutong.
That's right, when Su Xiaoqi had discussed with Shen Yun about Mr. Gu and Yu Wan returning to the capital, the couple had quietly debated where to buy their residence.
After some deliberation, Shen Yun made the final decision.
He said that Mr. Gu was a scholar and would likely prefer a quiet environment.
Mao'er Hutong was a good choice, as it was where they had lived before.
Moreover, there were three bookstores just a couple of streets away from the alley, making it convenient to buy books and stationery.
Once the decision was made, Su Xiaoqi immediately contacted Meng Yaren, a realtor, to purchase the property.
The renovation and preparation had been completed early.
It was finished before the New Year.
Now, Mr. Gu and his wife could move in directly without needing to do anything.
Yu Wan was thoroughly pleased after seeing the residence.
She held Su Xiaoqi's hand and expressed her gratitude.
"Xiaoqi, your taste is truly excellent. Look at this residence, the rock garden and the flowers are simply perfect."
The residence was not large, only a three-courtyard layout.
The central courtyard contained the main building, with three main rooms.
The front courtyard was for receiving guests, the back courtyard had a small garden and servants' quarters.
The layout was excellent.
Yu Wan genuinely liked it. Mr. Gu, however, only cared about the study.
Shen Yun, being intelligent and having been his student for so long, understood him perfectly.
He had the two adjacent rooms in the east wing of the central courtyard knocked into one.
Bookshelves were installed, and a whole wall received sunlight.
Through the windows, one could see lush greenery and flourishing bamboo leaves.
It was ideal.
He had also gone to find several rare books to place there.
Now, after showing Mr. Gu around and seeing the arrangements, he was overjoyed.
Su Xiaoqi had also purchased servants for general labor and nannies.
Of course, personal maids and attendants would have to be arranged by themselves.
Yu Wan already had her own maid, so this was not an issue.
Su Xiaoqi and her husband accompanied Mr. Gu and his wife into the house, just as the banquet ordered from Zui Feng Lou arrived.
The four ate together at one table, and then they accompanied them to the Duke of Yu's mansion to pay their respects to the Old Madam.
Mother and daughter, having not seen each other for a long time, wept profusely.
Madam Wen, fearing that the Old Madam would be harmed, kept giving Su Xiaoqi signals to try and console her.
"Mother only likes to listen to you. Xiaoqi, quickly come and help me persuade her."
Su Xiaoqi, of course, complied, doing her best to persuade them and telling many jokes to cheer them up.
As they were chatting happily, someone walked up to the entrance. Seeing the two of them pulling at each other outside the door, they asked in confusion:
"Eh, why are Auntie and Sister Xiaoqi standing here?
Is my maternal aunt back? Where is she?"
The person was Du Yiyi.
She was always so straightforward and radiant.
Her words dispelled the faint melancholy that had begun to well up in Su Xiaoqi's heart.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and stepped forward to greet her.
It turned out that Yu Rong had heard of Yu Wan and Mr. Gu's arrival at the Duke of Yu's mansion and had brought Du Yiyi to visit.
Su Xiaoqi quickly bowed to Yu Rong and escorted her into the Old Madam's main chamber.
She and Du Yiyi attended to the Old Madam from either side.
With the two of them chatting and joking, the somber atmosphere in the room improved considerably.
The Old Madam was not an ordinary elderly woman to begin with.
She had simply not seen her eldest daughter for a long time and was reminded of her third daughter, whom she hadn't seen in over a decade.
This caused her mood to become low.
With Su Xiaoqi and Du Yiyi accompanying her with cheerful banter and playful antics, she quickly recovered.
She even told them about the letter she had received that morning from Northern Chu.
"Oh, is it from my third sister?" Yu Rong asked eagerly.
The Old Madam replied, "That's right. Your third sister did not dare to correspond with us before due to the late emperor.
Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, she received the news and immediately wrote a letter.
She also sent your young nephew, accompanied by Xiuzhu, to visit us with the Northern Chu envoys."
As she spoke, the Old Madam involuntarily leaned out to look, saying with some puzzlement, "But they were supposed to arrive at noon today, and it's already afternoon, yet they are still not here.
Did they get lost, or did something happen to them on the road?"