The Lucky Heiress

Wei Ruo continued speaking to Xu Zhengyong, “You don’t have to worry about the medicine. If you need anything, just write a letter to me. I will prepare everything.”

“Ruoruo, you’ve been so kind to me! Having you as a sister makes my life worthwhile!” Xu Zhengyong was deeply moved.

“Above all else, guarantee your safety,” Wei Ruo reminded him once more.

Brother Xiaoyong sometimes acts impulsively without considering the consequences, so she had to nag him a bit.

“Hmm, don’t worry, Ruoruo. I have everything under control,” Xu Zhengyong reassured her with a smile.

“Oh, right. Meimei brought quite a few things for you too.” Wei Ruo said pulling Xiumei forward.

Xiumei looked a little shy, hesitated for a moment, then abruptly shoved the bundle she was carrying into Xu Zhengyong’s arms.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to hit me?” Xu Zhengyong asked.

The force with which she tossed the bundle nearly matched the strength of a punch.

“I’m not hitting you! These are all good things to nourish your health,” Xiumei explained.

Upon learning that the bundle was full of health supplements, Xu Zhengyong could not help but grin: “Meimei, you’re so good to me! You could be my wife in future even if you don’t want to be my junior apprentice sister!”

“What are you talking about!” Xiumei immediately raised her fist and went after Xu Zhengyong, who scurried away, tightly clutching the bundle and not letting it go.

“Xu Zhengyong, stop right there!” Xiumei yelled.

Xu Zhengyong ran faster, shouting in response, “I won’t stop! If I do, you’ll beat me to death! I survived the battlefield only to be crippled by you at home. How do I explain this to my comrades when I go back?”

Wei Ruo and their maid could only shake their heads in resignation, accustomed to the playful banter between these two. They knew that, after all, no serious harm would come of it.

Wei Ruo and Xiumei stayed at Xu Family’s house until dusk. It was getting late and they had to leave, said goodbye to the Xu family, hopped onto the carriage and returned to Military Prefecture.

###

After two days, good news arrived at Wei Residence.

Xu Zhengyong’s promotion to Deputy General was finalised.

Wei Ruo had Xiumei deliver the packed medicine to him. She initially planned to prepare more, but time simply did not allow for further delay as Xu Zhengyong might soon return to the barracks.

Simultaneously, the Wei family received good news—that Wei Mingting also received a promotion.

He was promoted from Deputy Battalion Commander to Battalion Commander. His honorary rank of Sixth-rank Colonel was also upgraded to regular status.

The Military Prefecture erupted in celebrating the happy news.

Wei Mingting had held the position of Deputy Battalion Commander for a long time without receiving a promotion.

They had previously feared the possibility of his demotion or dismissal.

Now, the dark clouds had lifted and everyone was jubilant.

“Quick, write a letter to the Capital City to inform the Duke Residence of this good news!”

Madam Yun instructed her eldest son Wei Yichen to write a letter to the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence in the Capital City, reporting this joyous news.

Even though the Residence will probably hear the news before they do, it was the family’s duty to keep them informed.

She also ordered to prepare a celebration feast for her husband. Even though it was just a family meal and not a full-fledged party—as instructed by Wei Mingting to avoid extravagance.

Given the bad crop yield in Xingshan County and the cold weather earlier than usual, there were signs that this year would be challenging.

Under such circumstances, it was not wise to waste extravagantly.

By nightfall, the Wei family had gathered.

Wei Jinyi, who rarely appeared at the dining hall, had surprisingly turned up today.

Seeing Wei Jinyi, Madam Yun paused momentarily.

“Mother,” Wei Jinyi greeted Madam Yun.

“Hmm.” Mrs. Yun responded with a hum, not saying anything.

Thinking more carefully about the unusual circumstances of the day, it was understandable that he was willing to come and join them for dinner. Her surprise was because he hadn’t come to the dining hall to have dinner with everyone for such a long time, making her momentarily taken aback.

Wei Yichen took the initiative to greet Wei Jinyi: “Second brother, are you doing well recently?”

“Not bad.” Wei Jinyi’s answer was as lackluster as always, being consistent with his demeanor.

“When will you be going to Huzhou Prefecture?” Wei Yichen inquired further.

“That will still need some more time.” Wei Jinyi replied.

“If there’s anything you need, just let your big brother know.” Wei Yichen stated.

Wei Jinyi gave a slight nod in response.

Wei Qingwan’s gaze landed on Wei Ruo. Today, Wei Ruo was dressed in a light green satin dress with a simple bun, making her appear lively and bright.

With their father being promoted, the eldest legitimate daughter of the family has gained greater importance. Wei Qingwan understood fully that the more prestigious a family was, the more it values respect for elders and the social ranking of siblings.

In the future, when it came to marriage negotiations, the eldest legitimate daughter would enjoy an advantage.

Thinking of this, Wei Qingwan’s expression became somewhat gloomier.

We Ruo didn’t pay attention to the expressions of the other people. As she stood in a corner of the dining hall, her mind was occupied with other matters.

She had many concerns recently, apart from the sweet potatoes in the north of the city, the wasteland improvement in the south, and the herbal fields with the Xie family, she was also considering using the recently saved 500 taels of silver to buy food and coal from other places.

While Wei Ruo was daydreaming, Wei Mingting, dressed casually, appeared in the dining hall.

“Father.” Wei Yichen stepped forward to greet.

“Hmm.”

Wei Mingting hummed in response, his gaze then falling onto Wei Jinyi who was behind Wei Yichen.

“You’ve decided to venture outside today?”

“Hmm.” Wei Jinyi responded in his characteristically neutral tone.

It seemed no matter who stood in front of him, he would react in the same way.

“That’s very good. You should get out more and shouldn’t always stay cooped up in your courtyard.” Wei Mingting expressed his relief.

Then, Wei Mingting turned his attention to Wei Qingwan and Wei Ruo.

“Father.” Wei Qingwan obediently called out.

Wei Ruo, who was lost in thought, responded much slower. It was only when she noticed Wei Mingting looking at her that she hurriedly called out: “Father.”

“Hmm.” Wei Mingting answered.

“Let’s all take our seats.”

At Wei Mingting’s command, everyone took their seat in order.

Presently, in Xingshan County, the rules were somewhat relaxed. If this had been the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence in the Capital City, considering the ages of the children in the household, the boys and girls would have been seated at different tables.

The large round table was filled with various dishes.

The dishes for tonight’s dinner were especially abundant: home-cooked large yellow croaker, wheat shrimp, salt-roasted pig liver, steam crabs, dough wraps, tofu balls, boiled chicken…

It was clear that there were many more seafood dishes.

This was after the victory, and some fishermen managed to go out to sea and catch it. They took the initiative to deliver the seafood to the Military Prefecture to express their gratitude to Wei Mingting for defeating the Japanese Pirates.

Wei Mingting looked at the spread in front of him with joy, not only because of the good food in front of him, but also because it meant that the townspeople could go back to their fishing livelihood. For an agriculturally poor county like Xingshan, this was excellent news.

At this moment, Wei Jinyi had Xiaobei bring in a pot.

“Jinyi, what good things have you brought?” Wei Mingting curiously asked..