Chapter Eighty-Five: Lu Xiang Garden's Honey Peach

  All these doubts, the servant who sent the message couldn't be sure, but one thing he did know was that Zhang and Zhao Wei brought back many things from their hometown in Beijing, including books, decorations, fabrics, and even brought back a few servants who were left to guard the house. The house in Beijing was directly entrusted to Lu Yunpeng and Qiuye couple to take care of.

  Zhao Xuan couldn't help but mutter to herself, "At this rate, could it be that the second son of the Zhao family really won't return to Beijing?" At least not in the short term, otherwise why would they have brought back all the things from the house in Beijing? She had often heard Qing Jie, the wife of her uncle Zhao Yun, mention how her father Zhao Yun and mother Shen Shi had discussed it privately, thinking that Zhao Wei had never inherited the title of Duke of Jianan because he was too young. Once he grew up, the emperor would naturally issue an edict. Sometimes when listening to her grandmother Zhang Shi and Lu Ma talk, she felt this speculation wasn't unfounded. This time, her grandmother returned to Beijing to visit the King of Guangping, bringing along her younger brother Zhao Wei, probably to test the waters and remind the emperor: "The males of the second branch of the Zhao family are almost twelve years old, when will the edict for succession come?"

  Now that the Guangping King's injury has stabilized, Zhang and Zhao Wei set off to return south. The male servant who sent the message didn't mention anything about the title, and they brought back so many pieces of luggage from the capital... In her heart, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but curse the emperor for being ruthless and unrighteous, and she had nothing else to say.

  At that time, the grandfather cheaply dissuaded the previous emperor from changing the heir, and with great effort, he helped the current emperor ascend to the throne. As a result, after the grandfather died just a few months later, the second son was killed by the eldest son. The emperor was indifferent and only knew how to get angry, stripping him of his title, but what's the use? The person didn't even receive punishment. Zhao Jiong himself fell off his horse and became paralyzed, and on the way back to the capital, he also died himself. The emperor first said it was exile, but later dropped the matter. If it weren't for the Prince of Guangping sending someone to guard him, perhaps Zhao Jiong could still have lived a life of luxury, with servants and fine clothes. Jiang's crime was clear, with both human and material evidence, yet he is still alive today. Even Xiaolongfang Zhao Yue didn't divorce his wife, and the emperor didn't say a word. If it weren't for the Prince of Guangping repeatedly speaking out for Xia'erfang, perhaps Xiaolongfang would still be enjoying his glory as the Marquis of Jian'an.

  Zhao Xun did not trust the current emperor and thought that the title of Duke of Jianan was unlikely to be bestowed upon him. He casually filled in a melodramatic plot, thinking "Perhaps it's because the old general's reputation in the military is too great, and the emperor fears that he will overshadow him, so he intentionally suppresses his descendants." However, after some thought, Zhao Xun realized that the old general had passed away many years ago. Although he still had many former subordinates in the military, "people die, and their influence fades." The Zhao family's heir was not even a grown man yet, how much influence could he possibly have? It would be more reasonable for the emperor to worry about the powerful ministers in the court rather than Zhao Wei, a mere child. This melodramatic reasoning was unrealistic, so what was the real reason behind the emperor's refusal to let the old general's descendants inherit the dukedom?

  Forget it, without a title, the three generations of ancestors have come through all these years smoothly. It's better to thoroughly give up from now on and focus on living a good life. Younger brother Zhao Wei's academic performance is not bad. Maybe he can still take an imperial examination and get a degree, become an official, govern a region, isn't that much stronger than being a Duke of Jianan with only a nominal title under the emperor's nose?

  But that Zhao Yue, who was far away in Jinzhou, still couldn't be let his guard down. After Grandma came back, they would discuss it and find an excuse to expel them from the clan, as they were no longer descendants of the Zhao family. The title of Duke of Jian Nan would never fall on Zhao Yue's head, lest the East Wing rise again and harm the Second Wing. As for whether Zhao Yue himself would be promoted or become wealthy in the future by rendering meritorious service or currying favor with his superiors, that had nothing to do with the Second Wing.

  Zhao Xuan made up her mind and put this matter aside, then started to busy herself again.

  Since Grandma and Brother said they would return before Mid-Autumn Festival, she had to make preparations. Their room needed to be thoroughly cleaned and tidied - although someone cleaned it every day, that was a spring thing, now that autumn has arrived, the bedding and furniture should also be adjusted. There were also new clothes for Grandma and Brother to wear when they returned, what food to eat to nourish their bodies, whether Brother had finished his homework or not, and he would probably return for only one or two days before going back to school, so books and book bags needed to be taken out and prepared, new pens, ink, paper, and inkstones also needed to be prepared, and greetings should be sent to the teacher and classmates.

  She managed the household for several months, and all accounts had to be handed over to her grandmother for review. She had to instruct the accountant to prepare everything in advance and check it repeatedly to avoid any problems at the last minute.

  Since Grandma brought back the things from the house in Beijing and the servants who stayed behind, she had to have someone clean out a few larger empty rooms to put things in and prepare living quarters for these servants. This wasn't a big problem, as there had been some rain damage earlier and several families' houses were damaged, so she had already had people tidy up the empty courtyards in the old house and taken in these families temporarily until they could move back home, and now the houses were still in good condition, without needing too much thought.

  Zhao Xuan had a small thought in her mind, when grandma comes back, seeing that she has managed the house properly, would she praise her? She had many things to tell grandma.

  As soon as she thought of this, Zhao Xuan felt a little pleased in her heart, and she was stunned for a while before coming to herself. She turned her head and found that Lu Ma was somewhat absent-minded beside her, and couldn't help but wonder: "What's wrong with Lu Ma?"

  Lu Mama snapped out of it and hastily smiled: "Nothing, I was just thinking, who would Old Lady bring back?"

  Zhao Xun's mind turned and she knew what was on her mind: "It might be Lu Ge. The house over there originally had only your family, but later some people were bought one after another. Whether these people are brought back or not is secondary, but Lu Ge has been separated from his parents and siblings for several years, and it's time for your family to reunite. Since Grandma brought someone, she probably brought him."

  Lu's mother also hoped so in her heart, but she still had to mutter a few words: "I naturally want him to come back, but there is no reliable person watching the house in Beijing. Even if Old Lady took back those valuable things, there are still many pieces of furniture and miscellaneous items that aren't worth much money, but they're all old things. If someone were to ruin them, it would be a pity. With Big Uncle watching over us here at home, we can rest assured. But if Old Lady brings him along for our sake, who will take care of the house in Beijing?"

  Zhao Xuan disagreed: "Didn't you say that Mr. Lu and Autumn Leaf would help take care of things? Grandma has a plan in mind, if she really brings back Brother Lu, then don't worry about it anymore. Just focus on enjoying the joy of family reunion."

  Lu's mother couldn't help but reveal a joyful expression and bowed to Zhao Xun: "In that case, I will accept your auspicious words."

  After a few days, Lu Changxiu returned from Jiading. This time he stayed outside for many days, not only to send gifts but also to take a detour around Songjiang to help Zhao Xiu investigate the matter of the water honey peach in Lvxiang Garden. He reported back to Zhao Xiu: "Miss, that Lvxiang Garden was already divided and sold during the late Ming dynasty, and later it was occupied by the Chongming Water Master. Now it has an owner, but the surname is not Gu, and the garden has become much smaller. The peach garden has also disappeared without a trace. As for the water honey peach, there is a place called Huangni Wall with several peach gardens. The peaches produced are very famous, and many people go there to buy peaches. It just so happens that it's the time when the peaches are ripe, so I bought a basket back, Miss, you can taste it and see if it's the one you mentioned?"

  Zhaoxuan only knew that the water peaches in Luxiang Garden were famous and the origin of Shanghai's water peaches, but didn't know that Luxiang Garden had declined in this era. However, as long as there was a place to cultivate them, it wouldn't be hard to find water peaches. Since Luchangxiu bought some back, they naturally wanted to have a taste.

  Bilian washed and dried several peaches, peeled and cut them into small pieces, and brought them up in a plate. Zhao Xuan looked at them and felt that the flesh of the peaches still had a layer of red glow on top, with very beautiful colors. She tasted one piece and it was sweet and juicy, indeed the taste of honey peaches. She then asked Bilian to bring over two unpeeled peaches for her to see, each about the size of an adult's fist, already ripe to the point of being slightly cracked open, emitting a refreshing sweet fragrance.

  She had Lu Ma, Lu Changxiu and Bi Lian all try one, and Lu Ma laughed: "This fruit is strangely sweet, in previous years we didn't know about it, otherwise we would have bought some earlier to give to Old Lady and Wei Ge'er to try, isn't it far better than other fruits?" And then complained to her husband: "Why did you only buy one basket? You should have bought more."

  "This year has been rainy, and the peach trees on the other side of the yellow mud wall haven't produced much either. Many fruit trees have rotted away, and it was hard to get this one basket."

  Speaking of this, Zhao Xuan also found it strange. Both her grandmother and Lu Ma were from Songjiang, they should know about water peaches. Since people have been cultivating them for sale all along, how could they not have eaten one before?

  Is it because the yield is too small, and Grandma went to Beijing with her father and brother early on, so she doesn't know? However, both uncles have now moved back to their hometown, I suppose they've had some, but this thing isn't easy to preserve, in less than two days the fruit has already become overripe, so my uncles haven't sent any over here either.

  Zhao Xun instructed Lu Changxiu: "Think of a way to ask around and see if there are any fruit tree saplings for sale on the other side of the yellow mud wall. If you can find someone who knows how to take care of this kind of fruit tree, that would be even better. It's okay to spend more money, just make sure to invite them over."

  "Miss, have you decided to plant this fruit? Is it on the 30 acres of land that Xiao Ye sells? That piece of land is not small, if you want to fill it up, at least a thousand trees will be needed, I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money."

  Lu Changxiu also said: "Miss, you should think thrice before making a decision. The peach trees on the other side of the yellow mud wall, adding up all the gardens, are only over a thousand mu. This year, due to more rainfall, several gardens have suffered significant losses. Miss, if you suddenly want to plant peach trees now, what if next year's rainfall is also this heavy?"

  "Who knows what the weather will be like next year? I just want to make preparations first, know where to buy fruit seedlings and have someone who understands this on hand. As for when to start planting, of course we'll wait until grandma comes back."

  Lu Changxiu couldn't help but say, "If that's really the case, it would be best to dig tree holes on those thirty mu of land first, and then dig many drainage ditches. The soil there should also be raised a bit to prevent the peach trees from being flooded easily."

  Zhao Xun saw that he was reasonable, so she let him rest at home for two days before hurrying to handle the matter. She still had confidence in planting peaches, as long as she could grow good water peaches, there would be no problem selling them, and maybe it could even become a source of income for Xiao Er Fang.

  Lu Changxiu had finished the preparatory work on the thirty mu of land, and the person who went to Songjiang to inquire about the sale of water peach tree saplings also returned. They knew which peach garden was willing to sell saplings, and it was already August.

  Zhao Xun finally received the second letter sent back by her grandmother Zhang's family servant, she and Zhao Wei had taken a boat to Suzhou and would be home in two or three days at most.