diskusbooks Chapter 349 Making a Snowman
Chapter 349 Making a Snowman
When the ministers heard that Her Majesty the Empress had changed her tune and was clearly going to side with the Fourth Prince, they swallowed all the prepared content of their discussion. Wu Chengling simply clenched her hands; it seemed that this opportunist would have to change course.
She also knelt down: "Your subject also feels that Fourth Sister is not wrong. Why not let Fourth Sister be the ancestral lamp for this year?"
Before Wu Ziyan could even stand up, she glanced sideways at her third sister. What kind of strange wind was blowing from all directions? It turned out that she, who had always been in Wu Chengye's faction, was actually speaking up for her.
Now her mind has changed again, and she's thinking that it must be because Wu Chengye has fallen from power that she's leaning more and more towards him.
"Yes, Chengling is right."
The ministers behind her talked about trivial matters, but Wu Ziyan just wanted the court session to end as soon as possible. Her hands and feet were already ice-cold, and she really wanted to pace around to warm herself up.
By the time the court session ended, it was already daylight outside. The sun was no longer visible, but the road was.
Wu Ziyan walked with Wu Chengji. He wanted to walk faster, but he was afraid that she would fall. So he walked slowly and saw the unfamiliar face of her third sister.
"Third sister, thank you for speaking up for me in court today."
"We are all sisters, so there's no need for thanks. I hope you will make a good ancestral lantern this year."
"Of course, you've always helped Second Sister in previous years, right? Now you're helping me. How heartbroken Second Sister must be."
Wu Chengling was a patient person. Even though Wu Ziyan was mocking him like that, she didn't show any impatience. She just smiled at the two of them and walked to the front.
Wu Ziyan was quite afraid of this kind of person. Being able to get along with everyone, leaving no room for error, and being able to bend and stretch are the characteristics of a person who can achieve great things. If she were in a game, she would be a hidden boss!
Wuhu, isn't this just a game?
"Fourth Sister, when did Third Sister become this kind of person? Didn't she always stand on Wu Chengye's side? Why is she turning against us in court today?"
"Even you, eldest sister, saw through her. I don't know what she's up to, but she actually said she'd help us. Did something go wrong with the ancestral lamps this time? Then don't blame me for blaming her!"
"She has always been a person who can get along with everyone, and she would never do anything that would be detrimental to herself."
"Alright, please find me the best lamp-making craftsman, eldest sister. You know, I've never been very popular."
"You're belittling yourself too much. The things you've done are things I could never have accomplished."
"Although the comments about you in the hall are still one-sided, they are gradually coming to accept you."
"Alright, my dear sister, let's go back quickly. It's not good for my nephew and niece to be out in the cold wind."
She genuinely didn't know whether Wu Chengji was pregnant or not, but she gave her all the opportunities to make meritorious contributions, which showed that she intentionally relinquished power and had no interest in that position.
Thinking of her holding Wu Chengji's wrist and gently swaying it like a child, Wu Chengji stroked her hair and got into the carriage.
On the carriage
Wu Ziyan leaned against the wall and shivered. Wu Chengji said, "If you do a good job with the ancestral lamps this time, those ministers should fully approve of you."
Wu Ziyan sometimes really couldn't understand why they seemed to disdain such important things as opening a business newspaper and establishing friendships with foreign countries, but considered ancestor worship a very solemn and important event!
It's not that she disrespects her ancestors, but shouldn't a country prioritize prosperity and strength, rather than resting on its ancestral legacy?
Perhaps knowing what she was thinking, Wu Chengji explained, "They don't want to be stuck in their ways, but expanding outwards requires capital and effort. They'd rather stay in their comfort zone than cross that line. So your actions have undoubtedly taken away a lot of people's livelihoods!"
"To sit idly by and squander one's fortune is tantamount to courting one's own destruction."
"Alright, let's not talk too much, or someone might overhear us."
Wu Ziyan didn't have anyone escort her back to her residence. Instead, she went directly to the lamp-making workshop. If she were to conjure up a lamp stand out of thin air, it would scare them to death.
With the Lantern Festival approaching, they were extremely busy, having received numerous orders from the household. They were so busy they couldn't keep up. Look at this inconspicuous carriage parked outside the shop; even the waiter serving them was treating people differently based on their status.
The driver stopped and went up to ask, but the waiter, though smiling, frowned and was extremely impatient: "Our reservation is already booked until the Lantern Festival. Why don't you try looking elsewhere?"
Wu Ziyan lifted the curtain. She didn't want to come down because it was too cold outside, but when she heard the waiter's impatient tone, she came out and looked at him.
The waiter hadn't yet realized, "Whose young master is this? Oh no, miss!"
"This is the Fourth Prince."
"Fourth...Fourth Prince, Your Highness, please forgive me. I was truly blind and failed to recognize Your Highness's Golden Venerable. I deserve to die."
But in his heart, he was still wondering why the Fourth Prince had come to their lamp-making workshop for no reason!
"I want to make lamps; I've heard you have the best craftsmanship."
When it comes to making lamps, Xiao Er raised his head again. He said that if they were second to none in the capital, no one would dare to claim to be first. However, their orders were already booked until the Lantern Festival, and they simply couldn't spare any more manpower.
"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. You can continue with your normal bookings as usual. You just need to assign me one experienced chef."
"This……"
The shopkeeper was busy inside, while the waiter was still stammering outside. She came out to see what was going on, and she immediately recognized the Fourth Prince.
"I was unaware of Your Highness's presence. Please forgive me."
"No problem."
"I wonder what business the Fourth Prince has with our shop?"
“Give me an empty room and a master craftsman. This year, we need to make ancestral lamps. I will make them myself. You all know how great a contribution and achievement it is to make ancestral lamps. It is a matter of honor and disgrace. If anything goes wrong, we will all be in deep trouble.”
The shopkeeper immediately pushed the waiter aside. In the past, when Wu Chengye made ancestral lamps, he would start ordering them well in advance, about three months beforehand. This time, the Fourth Prince was in a bit too much of a rush.
"Is this even possible?"
"Don't worry, shopkeeper!"
Whether they can do it or not, they have to accept the task, since the Fourth Prince himself is already here, waiting for them.
The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly whispered in the waiter's ear to go and invite their best chef!
Wu Ziyan waved to them: "We don't need the best craftsmen. It would be better to have a retired master craftsman come and supervise the work. I will do everything myself."
"Oh, that's easy, Your Highness!"
"The reward is just one gold coin."
The waiter felt a surge of desire to go for it, and he really wanted to pat his chest and ask Wu Ziyan, "Do you think I'm up to the task?"
"Thank you both for your trouble." She was extremely humble and polite, which made them feel a little embarrassed.
When she gets old and retired, she takes the opportunity to fix her skeletal structure while she's dozing off at night. If people see it in the morning, she says she stayed up all night to get it done. She can always fool them with her fabricated story.
He still had to go back to the mansion first and tell everyone that she would be at the lamp-making workshop that night and wouldn't be going back.
But the men in the manor seemed even busier than she was; when she returned, only Xiaoyun was waiting for her, and the rest of them were gone.
"Little Yun'er, why didn't you go to the Holy Martial Division today?"
"If everyone leaves, who will wait for the master to return to the manor?"
"Strange, where is Chu Qiu? Where did Chu Qiu go?"
"Brother Chu Qiu, you went to the shop with the master and the others."
Their store also holds promotions during holidays. Fang Yuerong is a genius at operations; she even came up with a buy-three-get-one-free offer, which caused a frenzy of buying.
Inside were all the husbands and concubines from various families, and they were too busy to handle everything, so they pulled Chu Qiu along to help.
"Since everyone is out, I'll have to go out too. Tonight I'll be working through the night at the lamp-making shop to finish some lamps."
"Master, you know how to make lamps. Are you going to work through the night to make some?"
"Little Yun'er, I know a lot more. You can discover them slowly in the future. If they ask, just say I'm in the lamp-making shop. But please don't come here. It's too cold at night. What if you catch a cold?"
"Master, I'm a little curious about why you specifically told us not to come."
Wu Ziyan gave him a meaningful look, and Mo Baiyun quickly waved his hand: "Don't worry, he won't come. If anything happens, just have an owl send me a message."
"Good, that's my good Yun'er."
After instructing his family on matters, he went to Zhideng's workshop, where a large, empty house was specially reserved for him.
Wu Ziyan thought the lamp must be at least two meters tall and would need to be in an empty courtyard, but she didn't expect that the house left for her had a peculiar structure with pillars inside, which was actually equivalent to a three-meter-tall empty building. It seemed that someone had used this place before.
They arranged for her to work as a retired lamp maker. The lamp maker had gray hair and his hands were trembling.
"Greetings, Fourth Prince."
"Master, you just need to stand guard at the door and not let anyone in. I will show you the drawings when I finish them."
"Okay." The old master was very obedient to Wu Ziyan. She was paid a gold coin, and she would do whatever he asked.
Seeing the empty house, Wu Ziyan was very satisfied. She closed the door, sat down in the rocking chair with a small stove next to her, casually put her feet on the table next to her, ate the food she had brought in advance, and only needed to pretend that she had been working hard to make lamps.
For the next two days, she left early and returned late, without even going back to the mansion. It wasn't until the evening of the second day that Wu Ziyan pushed open the door and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been careful; she had taken the skeleton out of the room. How would she move it out later?
They conjured the skeleton right there in the open space in the yard. Luckily, the gatekeeper didn't see it. When the gatekeeper rubbed his eyes and came to his senses, he found that the lifelike skeleton had already appeared in the yard.
"Your Highness, this is!"
"This is of course the culmination of our two days' work. Isn't it magnificent and spectacular?"
The old master was simple-minded. She didn't do any work; she just stood at the door every day, sitting on a small stool by the fire, eating sunflower seeds.
Moreover, she didn't hear any loud noises inside. How could it be so quiet, with this lamp stand appearing out of nowhere?
"I will now notify the artisans in my household to paint the dragon and phoenix."
"well."
The experienced worker was quite self-aware; upon hearing this, she knew that her responsibility was over.
Holding the gold coin, she walked away happily, feeling its weight. Wu Ziyan whistled and called the messenger owl. She originally wanted to go back by herself, but she was really worried about leaving the lamp unattended.
The owl was quick; it delivered the letter to them in no time. The men were amazed that the skeleton had been built in just two days.
They all thought it must have taken a lot of manpower and money to build. The carriages set off from several places and arrived at the lamp-making workshop.
Yesterday, I sat idly on the doorstep wearing a bright red cloak. The acrylic paints were already packed into wooden boxes. Surely they wouldn't suspect anything like that?
With her hands supporting her face, Wu Ziyan lifted her head again, as snow began to fall outside, wanting the snowflakes to fall into her mouth.
The group of men eventually met in the alleyway at the entrance. Sima Lingchuan walked in front, and Wu Ziyan found it a delightful sight to see a row of handsome men walking towards them.
She was already drooling inside. She licked her lips, waved to them, and narrowed her eyes into crescent shapes, but they only had eyes for her.
She appears differently to everyone; this is what's known as the "lover's filter."
"You've brought all your tools, right? The experts are all inside, and the oil paper is ready. We'll be relying on you all from now on."
"Ziyan, look at the dark circles under your eyes. Haven't you been resting well these past few days?"
"Boss, look, your nose is all red from the cold."
"Miss, this is a hand warmer."
"Hmph, let's see how your lamp stand turns out later."
"Your Highness, are you eating snow again?"
"Miss, I've never used my skillful brush to draw lamps, only people."
“Master, Xiaoyun’er can’t do these things, so I’ll stay with you.”
She felt like she was surrounded by pink bubbles, every man was so dazzling, and most importantly, they got along so harmoniously.
She wore a lovestruck expression, happily spun around in place, and then walked into the yard, pointing to the completed lamp stand.
"How about it? Spectacular, right? Oh, and I also got a ladder. We might need to hoist people up there for the painting."
As everyone looked at the exquisitely crafted skeleton, every detail was meticulously bound, even the phoenix feathers were made one by one. You are all looking forward to the lamp being lit!
The group adjusted their brushes according to their original roles, and then Wu Ziyan handed them paints. They usually used gouache, and they had hardly ever used oil paints before.
"These are feathers used to decorate the back of the painting. The front is painted with watercolor, otherwise the light wouldn't be able to pass through."
Now she stands in the middle of the yard with her hands on her hips, giving orders, looking a bit like a supervisor.
The men worked diligently and meticulously, even though it was a job where one wrong move could cost them their heads. Wu Ziyan was unaware of the gravity of the situation.
Seeing how tired they were from drawing, she rolled snow in a corner of the yard and made little snowmen. Surprisingly, they looked quite similar to each of them.