Temporary Residence

As Xiang Yunjin jumped off the horse, Gulan also got off the carriage. She looked at Xiang Yunjin in confusion while pulling the horse.

"This is my private residence. You can stay here temporarily. I will send someone to take care of the settlement and land. It won't take too long, three days at most. You can take this time to stroll around the city and get familiar with it. I will go back to the palace first. If you have any questions, you can come to the palace to find me, or find Liu Lin or Wang Yun."

"Brother Jin, how can this be so embarrassing? We can stay at an inn."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Just listen to me and stay here first." Having said that, he knocked on the door of the house without waiting for Gulan to say anything. The servant who opened the door saw that it was the prince and kowtowed hurriedly, then went to call the housekeeper.

"Your Highness, I'm here to greet you." The housekeeper, who came hurriedly, bowed quickly.

"Okay, get up. These are my guests. They will stay here temporarily. Please arrange them well and remember not to neglect them." Xiang Yunjin looked at the people in the convoy and said to the housekeeper, telling on them in a cold voice.

"I would never dare to neglect" the housekeeper answered fearfully with his head down. He would not dare to neglect the prince's guest even if he had the courage.

Then the stern expression quickly melted away when he looked at Gulan, "I will send two guards here. They know where the palace is. You can tell them directly if you need anything."

The arrangements are so thoughtful, it seems like we have to stay here, Gulan nodded.

"It's very thoughtful. Thank you, Brother Jin."

"I've told you, there's no need to be polite between us." Xiang Yunjin glanced at Gulan.

"This is not called politeness," Gulan raised her eyebrows and smiled.

In fact, she was not polite. If she was really polite, why would she live in this house

Hearing this, a smile flashed across Xiang Yunjin's eyes. Without saying anything more, he nodded slightly at Gulan, glanced at everyone in the convoy, and rode away in everyone's eyes.

"Gulan, are we really going to live here?" Village chief Li looked at the tall courtyard and was a little hesitant to go in.

Gulan: "Everything has been arranged, why don't you stay here? Village chief, do you want to stay at an inn?"

When he heard the word "inn", Village Chief Li shook his head quickly. The price of an inn in the county town was very high for a night, let alone here. Their money has great uses, so they dare not spend it indiscriminately.

Seeing this, Gulan turned her head with a smile and nodded gently to the housekeeper, "Sorry to trouble you, housekeeper."

"No trouble, no trouble," the housekeeper shook his head and nodded.

Although this person was dressed in ordinary clothes, he had seen the prince's attitude just now. This person was the real distinguished guest, and he dared not offend or neglect him. He quickly ordered the servants to lower the threshold of the door, and personally led Gulan's horse towards the house, with the carriage following closely behind.

After entering, Gulan found that the house was as big as she had imagined and could really accommodate so many of them. After entering the gate and passing the back house, there is a well-maintained courtyard.

I vaguely remember a saying, 'The courtyard is deep, how deep is it?'

Looking at the courtyard in front of me, it seems quite appropriate, and I can't see the end at a glance. There are pavilions, rockery, bamboo gardens and water buildings, as well as a garden that is still fragrant and pleasant even in winter. It's obvious that a lot of effort has been put into maintaining this garden, it's really nice.

The courtyard was big enough and there were enough rooms. The butler brought them to the second plum courtyard, which was divided into four courtyards: east, west, south and north. Everyone was assigned to the West Courtyard and the North Courtyard respectively. The west courtyard alone can accommodate a lot of people. It has many rooms and is like a large courtyard house, even with a gate. They could indeed sleep so many people by squeezing together a bed on the floor between two courtyards.

When Gulan was about to choose a room, the butler who arranged for everyone came over with a smile and pulled his horse again, "Sir, your room is on the other side."

"No need to bother, housekeeper. It's fine here." Although Gulan didn't like to squeeze together with others, this was someone else's yard after all, so she could just make do with it.

"It's not a problem, and I've already asked the servants to clean the room. Please don't make things difficult for me, sir. Just follow me." The housekeeper looked at Gulan with a bitter face. The prince had given special instructions, so as a small housekeeper he dared not neglect them.

Seeing the housekeeper's embarrassment, Gulan nodded. Since the housekeeper didn't mind the trouble, there would certainly be no problem for her.

"Wait a moment, I'll tell him something." Gulan said as he walked towards Li Da in the crowd. After a moment, Gulan nodded to the housekeeper, and then followed to the easternmost courtyard.

Their bedroom was the largest guest room in the east courtyard. It had just been cleaned and was spotlessly clean. The windows were open all around and a faint scent of incense was burning in the room. There is a hall as soon as you enter, with bedrooms on both sides. The space is very large and the furnishings in the room are very comfortable, exuding elegance in a low-key manner.

"Sir, do you think this house is okay? If not, I can find you another one." The housekeeper asked carefully.

"Very good, thank you for your trouble, housekeeper," Gulan nodded.

"You are too polite, sir. This is what I should do. You must be tired from the journey, so I will not disturb you. I will leave someone outside the yard to guard you. If you need anything, just tell me or send someone to call me. There is also lunch. Sir, would you like to eat in your own courtyard or..."

"Is there a kitchen here?" Gulan thought for a moment and said. It's already embarrassing to have so many people staying here temporarily, and I don't want to trouble others with food.

The housekeeper looked at the thin young man in front of him in embarrassment, "Yes, yes, young master, do you want to start a fire yourself?"

"Yes, we all brought food with us, so we won't bother the housekeeper with food. Besides, there are so many of us, and the housekeeper won't be able to handle it if he's too busy."

"Can..."

"If your prince asks, just tell him it was my idea and he won't make things difficult for you." Gulan interrupted the housekeeper.

Seeing the determination in the young man's eyes, the housekeeper did not insist and nodded. He was thinking of having someone prepare some good things for the kitchen in the east courtyard, and also for the other two courtyards.

"Just as you wish, sir. However, the kitchen has not been used for a long time and needs to be cleaned up. You may have to wait a while."

"It's okay, I just need to trouble the housekeeper."

"You are too polite, sir. I will take my leave now." The housekeeper bowed to Gulan and turned to leave.

In less than a moment, he personally brought a few servants to watch them clean the kitchen. I thought it was over, but in less than two quarters of an hour, the housekeeper came again with people. This time the commotion was a bit louder as a horse-drawn carriage was being pulled and baskets of things were being moved into the kitchen.

After the housekeeper left, Gulan went in to check and found that the kitchen was full and everything had been put away and placed in its proper place. The rice and noodle buckets are filled with top-quality glutinous rice and fine noodles, as well as various vegetables and meats, as if they were worried that they would become unfresh if left for too long. The varieties are complete but the quantities are not large, including chicken, duck, fish, pork, mutton and seafood, and the preparations are very complete.

Looking at these things, Gulan really didn't know what to say. It seems that she arranged the food herself, but in fact it was the housekeeper who arranged it. But the things have already been delivered, and the housekeeper will definitely not take them away. Forget it, Xiang Yunjin has eaten a lot of her food along the way, so it doesn't seem too much for her to eat a little.

Gulan's eyes were on the seafood, she really couldn't bear to give these things away. There are not only shrimps, but also turtles, sea cucumbers and octopuses, which are all her favorite foods.