Six years later.
At the beginning of winter, the weather suddenly turned cold. Before daybreak, Cuiyu was looking at the account book and using the abacus, occasionally yawning and exhaling a wisp of cold white mist.
Cui Xingxian came out with a thick coat hanging in his arms. He put the coat on Cuiyu's shoulders. Cuiyu then realized there was someone behind her. She turned around and saw it was her father. Her frowning face immediately smiled and she called him "Dad" affectionately and loudly.
Cui Xingxian smiled with his eyes curved, raised his hand and pointed inside: "Your mother said she was worried that you would be cold, so she asked me to bring you a robe."
Cuiyu chuckled twice and said, "It's not cold, not cold!"
Cui Xingxian glanced at the account book in front of Cui Yu, and hesitated to speak. Cui Yu knew what he wanted to say, and hurriedly said with a smile: "There are only a few accounts left to be checked. I will put it here when I finish it, and wait for Manager Liu to come to work and check the account book to do the work."
Cui Xingxian said "Hey", nodded and urged: "Then you do it, Dad won't disturb you. When you're done, go back to sleep for a while. You don't get enough sleep."
Cuiyu agreed with a smile, turned around and started checking the account book again.
The crisp sound of the abacus began to clatter again.
Cui Xingxian stood aside and watched for a while, then quietly went inside and told the maid Yaya who had just stood up in a low voice: "It's getting cold. When the farmhands come over today, ask them to hang up the thick door curtains."
With the change of dynasties, the old royal family was not only stripped of their noble status, but also had their property confiscated and their mansions confiscated to fill the national treasury. But His Majesty seemed too lazy to care about it, and did not kill them all. The family property of the old royal family was confiscated, but they still had money in private, so they could live a life without worries about food and clothing.
Cuiyu didn't want to live an idle life with the money left by her parents, so she chose to do business. Cuiyu loved to count the accounts, and every penny she received made her very happy. She looked at every number in the account book, as if it were alive.
This Cuiying Restaurant not only grew bigger and bigger, but also had several branches. Although she and Lin Yingying also dabbled in many other businesses and each had their own gains, they always had a special fondness for this first restaurant.
Cui Xingxian returned to the room. Chen Huarong had not yet woken up. He asked sleepily, "Are you still busy?"
"Hey." Cui Xingxian responded, took off his coat and got back on the couch.
It's not daybreak yet, it's still early.
Cui Xingxian lay on the couch for a long time, unable to fall asleep. He tugged at Chen Huarong's sleeve with some worry: "What about Yu'er's marriage? Why doesn't she want to get married at all?"
Chen Huarong had not slept enough to begin with. She shook off his hand irritably, turned her back to him impatiently, and scolded him: "Don't be such a toothless old woman, nagging me. If she wants to marry, she can marry. If she doesn't want to marry, she can't marry! She can do whatever she wants. You haven't taken care of her for more than ten years. It won't be a loss for you to take care of her for a few more decades. Besides, she doesn't need you to take care of her. If you keep urging me with a frown, I'll sew your mouth shut with the needle and thread I use to make shoe soles!"
Cui Xingxian subconsciously closed his mouth and kept it tightly closed.
Chen Huarong fell asleep again while cursing.
While Cui Yu was still hammering on the abacus, Lin Yingying also came out of her house and rushed over here.
The sound of horse hooves and the rumbling of the cart shafts woke up the morning light, and the carriage finally stopped in front of Cuiying Restaurant.
Jiang Yunche turned his head and looked at Lin Yingying who was sleeping on his shoulder. He looked at her quietly for a long time before waking her up.
Lin Yingying opened her eyes dazedly and said softly, "We're here."
"Yeah." Jiang Yunche tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear.
"I'm going down." Lin Yingying glanced at Cuiying Restaurant from the open car door, and seeing that the lights were on, she quickly straightened her clothes, stood up and walked out.
She stepped on the stool provided by the driver and jumped off the carriage. She took two light steps forward and suddenly exclaimed in surprise. She turned her head to look at Jiang Yunche in the carriage and said with squinting eyes, "It's snowing."
It’s only the end of September.
After saying this, she raised her head and looked at the scattered snow falling down.
Jiang Yunche didn't look at the snow. He looked at Lin Yingying's happy face and suddenly asked, "You really don't remember?"
Lin Yingying looked over blankly.
Jiang Yunche smiled and said, "Tianhan, come in quickly. I'll pick you up in the evening."
"Yeah." Lin Yingying smiled at him, turned and walked towards Cuiying Restaurant.
Jiang Yunche stopped smiling and looked at Lin Yingying's back.
My thoughts suddenly went back to twelve years ago.
The cold winter came early that year, and the first snow also fell early.
He was fourteen that year.
His father died early, and he was bullied by his brothers since he was young. When the first snow fell, he went to the Lianshui pleasure boat with his cousins. He was bullied and ridiculed by them as before, and was even stripped of his shirt and pushed out of the warm cabin. Flakes of icy snow fell on him, chilling him to the bone.
Along the lively banks of the Lianshui River, there are laughter and joy everywhere.
Occasionally, there would be looks and words that were either curious or gloating.
He looked expressionlessly at a girl who was walking towards him from the pleasure boat next door, tentatively stepping on the plank. The girl was holding a pink coat. She put the coat on him, and he still looked at her indifferently.
She put her index finger to her lips and lowered her voice: "It's okay to wear clothes secretly if they can't see you. Don't be afraid of them beating you! If you hear footsteps, throw your clothes into the water in advance! I was punished by my sisters before because I was lazy secretly."
The girl had a pair of clear eyes that were like rippling water waves. She suddenly smiled with her eyes curved, and they turned into a pair of crescent-shaped teeth: "No need to return it to me. I have new clothes, I don't want it anymore."
She pointed to her pink skirt, then stood up and walked shakily along the plank as if she were walking on a single-plank bridge back to the barge across the river.
Soon, the graceful singing voice of a girl came from the barge across the wall. He turned his head and looked over. The girl was sitting in front of the window and winked at him.
But she didn't remember.
Six years ago, he met her again on the same Lianshui pleasure boat. He had tried to test her at that time, but she didn't recognize him, closed the window and called him a nerd.
A faint smile with a hint of warmth slowly crept up Jiang Yunche's lips.
Whatever, if she doesn't remember, then forget it. It's fine if she doesn't remember my humble appearance.
"Prime Minister," the driver interrupted Jiang Yunche's thoughts, "are we going back to the mansion or to the palace?"
"Enter the palace." The smile on Jiang Yunche's lips gradually faded, and he returned to his indifferent look.
The higher the official position, the more ruthless he becomes.
When the carriage arrived at the palace gate, the people who had been waiting there saw him get off the carriage and immediately greeted him with smiles.
"Sixth brother! You have to help your brother this time! Something like this happened at home, and your brother has no choice but to come to you for help. You are the most promising one in our family, you can't just stand by and watch me die!" Jiang Yuanda said anxiously.
Jiang Yunche walked forward expressionlessly, and finally stopped when his cousin kept nagging him. He stared straight ahead at the towering palace gate and said calmly, "I also believe in the character of my third uncle and second cousin. The government will clear their name sooner or later after investigating the case."
He continued to walk forward and entered the palace gate. The imperial guards held long wooden cans in their hands to block Jiang Yuanda's steps. Jiang Yuanda said "Pooh" and said, "He is a heartless, unfilial and unkind person. No wonder everyone says that he is a beast in human form who came out of a crack in the stone..."
Jiang Yunche entered the palace, got on a sedan chair, and went to Yongyue Pavilion.
Before he reached such a high position, he was the enlightenment teacher of the two young masters in the palace. Now that his official position is getting higher and higher, there are more and more things to deal with, and the two young masters in the palace have gradually had other teachers, but he still teaches them once every five days.
Today is the day for teaching.
Because he had to send Lin Yingying off, Jiang Yunche left home very early today. When he arrived at Yongyue Pavilion, there was still a lot of free time before the class started. He wanted to flip through the law books first and wait for the class to start, but he didn't expect to see the people around the young prince when he arrived at Yongyue Pavilion.
Jiang Yunche asked unexpectedly: "Your Highness has arrived?"
"Yes." The maid bent her knees and replied, "My Lord, the young prince woke up early and has been here for morning reading for nearly half an hour."
Jiang Yunche walked in and saw Yu Shu's small, tall figure.
Apparently, the little prince was concentrating on his reading and didn't hear the conversation at the door. Jiang Yunche paused and continued to walk forward. When he reached his side, Yu Shu realized.
Yu Shu quickly put down the book in his hand, stood up, and greeted politely: "Sir, you came so early, but it was suddenly cold and you didn't sleep well last night?"
He is a small person, but he stands tall and straight whether he is sitting, walking or lying down.
No matter how cold-blooded he was, Jiang Yunche couldn't help but soften his expression when he saw the beautiful girl asking him questions with such concern, especially since she was his student.
Jiang Yunche cast his eyes on his face. His delicate jade-like features were exactly the same as His Majesty's, but his temperament was nothing like his father's. He had the most gentle eyes, and he always looked at everything in the world with a kind and tolerant gaze.
"It's fine." Jiang Yunche lowered his eyes, looked at the book he was reading, and asked, "What book are you reading?"
"Yesterday, Taifu Chen talked about the severe typhoid fever at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which killed more than ten million people and caused great suffering. I was troubled by it, so I got up earlier than usual and came here to look through the ancient history books." The child's voice was crisp and every word was clear.
Jiang Yunche looked into his eyes, and for the first time he discovered an emotion in his little eyes called compassion.
Jiang Yunche nodded.
Yu Shu pursed his lips and spoke again: "Sir, you came here so early. If you want to study in peace, Yu Shu will go back and come back to ask questions when the time comes."
"Read your book." Jiang Yunche walked to the long desk and sat down.
On a cool winter morning, the huge Yongyue Pavilion was quiet, with only the occasional sound of the master and his apprentice flipping through books.
Jiang Yunche finished reading the official documents, then looked up at the little prince who was sitting and reading, and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
Yu Shu quickly put down the history book in his hand, took out the homework from the desk drawer, held it in both hands and walked towards Jiang Yunche. He handed over the homework Jiang Yunche left for him first, then spread out the book. The pages were densely circled by him, and he wrote down the parts he didn't understand in a very organized manner.
At this time, Que Yuan had just woken up.
"Forget about other classes, today's class is the Prime Minister's. You can't sleep any more, little ancestor." Zhenxu's thin eyebrows were twisted.
"Pillow, hug me." The little princess stretched out her short arms from the quilt and acted coquettishly in a baby voice.
All of Zhuanxu's worries disappeared in the hug from the little princess. She quickly bent down to hug the little princess.
The little princess hugged her neck, hummed softly twice, and rubbed her neck with her soft little face, saying softly: "I don't want Xuxu to be unhappy. Xuxu, hold me for a while and then I will have the strength to get up!"
The pillow's heart melted, and she couldn't help but complain: "The weather is getting colder, it would be better if the class could start later!"
"The teacher is so busy, it's already very hard for him to take time out to read to us. I'll get up now."
Zhenxu looked at the little princess in her arms, feeling dazed. She grew up with You Yuji and knew very well how similar the little princess and You Yuji looked when they were young.
This resemblance made Zhenxu feel even softer. She said softly, "I'll get the hot water bottle for the princess and put it under the quilt. Come back after class and lie down comfortably."
"Okay! Xuxu is the best to me in the world!" Que Yuan raised the corners of her eyes. Although she was too young, she could clearly see You Yuzhi's charm and beauty, which had become another kind of stunning and unique aura.
Zhenxu turned around and went out to get busy, but Queyuan instantly put away the obedient smile on her face. She jumped off the bed barefoot, kicked off her shoes, and murmured in a dilemma: "Who should I make fun of today?"
There was a flash of light, and a copper coin bounced off her tiny fingertips.
The author has something to say: There is no separate story for anyone.
There are a total of six chapters in the extra story, which is a coherent and complete extra story.