radicalducati Chapter 341 Birthday Celebration
Chapter 341 Birthday Celebration
Wen Shuyu's birthday celebration was not planned to be grand; Wen Zongji and others simply sent birthday gifts to the Jiao residence.
Early that morning, Jiao Yansong took a day off. The family sat down together for breakfast, and Jiao Yansong said, "I have already spoken with my aunt. Today, please help us take care of Tong-jie and Sheng-ge."
Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyu and her two children all looked at Jiao Yansong.
Tong'er blinked and asked in her childish voice, "Daddy, are my brother and I going to Grandma's house?"
Jiao Yansong nodded: "Yes, your maternal grandmother will play with you today."
"What about Father and Mother?"
They are both still young and quite attached to Wen Shuyu.
"Father and Mother have other things to do. We'll come pick you up when we're done."
Tongjie pouted, but she still nodded: "Then Daddy should come pick us up early."
Jiao Yansong patted her head and said with a smile, "Definitely."
Sheng-ge'er always listened to his older sister, and seeing that Tong-jie'er had already agreed, he followed suit.
Wen Shuyu had many questions in her mind, but she didn't ask them in front of the child.
After the family finished their breakfast, they took a carriage together to the residence of the Marquis of Zhongyong.
Upon arriving at the Jade Pavilion and seeing Aunt Chen, Tong'er hugged Wen Shuyu's leg and said, "Mother, remember to come and pick up my brother and me."
Wen Shuyu nodded and said softly, "Okay."
Aunt Chen took Tongjie and Shengge from her, holding one in each hand, and said with a smile, "Go and have fun with Yansong. I will take good care of Tongjie and Shengge."
Jiao Yansong cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your trouble, Auntie."
Wen Shuyu glanced at Aunt Chen hesitantly.
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She wasn't worried about her two children, after all, so many people around her were taking college entrance exams. She was just a little puzzled as to why Aunt Chen hadn't asked them anything and had let them have fun, as if she knew Jiao Yansong's plans better than she did.
With these questions in mind, Wen Shuyu followed Jiao Yansong back to the carriage.
Only then did she ask, "Husband, where are we going?"
Jiao Yansong looked at her with a somewhat complicated expression: "I thought Madam wouldn't ask?"
Wen Shuyu frowned: "Tong-jie and Sheng-ge were both here just now, so I didn't dare to ask. What are the plans for today? Why didn't my husband tell me?"
This is unlike Jiao Yansong's usual style. He has always respected Wen Shuyu and would consult her before making any decisions about her. He has never done anything like this before, acting first and asking for her opinion later.
Jiao Yansong said, "I have asked my wife many times how she plans to celebrate her birthday, and she always says that it is enough for the family to sit down and have a meal together, but I think that is too simple. Since my wife has no plans, I will have to make the arrangements."
Wen Shuyu could actually guess that Jiao Yansong planned to celebrate her birthday, after all, today was her birthday, and Jiao Yansong's unusual behavior could only be because of her birthday.
But she still found it strange. It wasn't their first year of marriage, and their child was almost three years old. She didn't know what was wrong with Jiao Yansong, that he suddenly wanted to celebrate her birthday.
Seeing Wen Shuyu's confusion, Jiao Yansong smiled wryly and said, "Madam doesn't have many hobbies, but the only one she has persisted in for a long time is storytelling. I heard that writing storytelling requires field research. We have been married for several years, and I have never accompanied Madam on a trip outside the city. I have not done enough. Today is Madam's birthday, so I thought I would take Madam out of the city to research."
Wen Shuyu was taken aback. She thought that Jiao Yansong's arrangement was simply to take her shopping, stroll around the streets, and find a restaurant to eat when she got tired.
Unexpectedly, he was planning to leave the city and even took her needs into consideration, taking her on a field trip.
Suddenly, Wen Shuyu inexplicably recalled the scene when she first started writing storybooks.
At that time, she was a newcomer who had never written a story before and didn't know how to begin.
She was somewhat frustrated: "Auntie, I have too little experience, it's really too difficult for me to imagine scenes out of thin air."
Aunt Chen comforted her, saying, "You're still young. You'll have plenty of time to see the world in the future."
Wen Shuyu looked up at the sky: "But we're still trapped in the Jade Pavilion. Even if we could leave the manor, the things we'd see would be limited. I've never left the capital before, so I have no idea what the outside world is like."
"Silly girl, you will get married eventually. Once you are married, your husband will accompany you out of the city."
She believed what Aunt Chen said at that time.
But back then, she never imagined she would marry Jiao Yansong, a gentle and polite gentleman. They were married for several years, but their relationship was close yet not intimate. Jiao Yansong never thought of accompanying her out of the city.
Wen Shuyu gradually forgot about the idea of leaving the city.
She was always easily satisfied, and now with her two children tugging at her heartstrings, whether or not she could leave the city seemed to be of little consequence to her.
The capital city is quite large, and she still hasn't finished exploring it.
But now, hearing Jiao Yansong's words, seeing the carriage already entering the outer city, and feeling her heart pounding faster, Wen Shuyu realized—she still longed for it.
She longed to see the world outside the city, the world she had written about countless times in her stories but had never seen with her own eyes.
Wen Shuyu composed herself and looked at Jiao Yansong: "Thank you, husband."
Regardless, she was grateful for Jiao Yansong's thoughtfulness at that moment.
Jiao Yansong breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this and took her hand: "I failed in my duty as a husband before. I'm glad you don't blame me, there's no need to thank me."
Wen Shuyu shook her head: "My husband has done very well."
She genuinely thought Jiao Yansong had done a great job.
Jiao Yansong shook his head and remained silent.
Arguing with Wen Shuyu about these things is pointless; he has always been a man of action rather than words.
Once outside the city, Wen Shuyu asked, "Husband, where are we going?"
Jiao Yansong said, "I don't know either."
Wen Shuyu was stunned: "You don't know?"
You arranged this, didn't you know?
Jiao Yansong looked at her and said, "I don't know where Madam wants to go for field research. Instead of asking me, why don't you think about where you'd like to go?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyu's eyes lit up, and her tone unconsciously became cheerful: "Then let's go see the tenants on the estate. I want to see their lives and daily routines, as well as how they get along with each other."
tenant!
They were a type of people that Wen Shuyu had never encountered before.
She had seen it countless times in storybooks, but had never experienced it in person.
"Okay, let's go then."
The Jiao family's main base was in Yong'an Prefecture, but Jiao Yansong was an official in the capital, so the Jiao family acquired some properties for him in the capital, which naturally included a manor.
Otherwise, Jiao Yansong would really have had a hard time satisfying Wen Shuyu's desire to see the tenant farmers.
When they arrived at the estate, Jiao Yansong began to regret his actions, because Wen Shuyu no longer had time to pay attention to him.
She had many questions for the tenants, including their income, daily life, and annual harvest, as well as where they went to buy things.
Wen Shuyu seemed to transform into a curious child, wanting to ask about everything and understand everything.
Jiao Yansong became a mere decoration, simply following behind her. The paths in the fields were difficult to traverse, and Jiao Yansong's only purpose was to remind Wen Shuyu when she wasn't paying attention.
He felt a little awkward at first because he was being ignored, but when he saw a vibrant Wen Shuyu whom he had never seen before, he felt that everything was fine.
Compared to the gentle and virtuous Madam Jiao, he would much rather see the vibrant and spirited Wen Shuyu.