The construction of the Bai Mansion was no small feat.
Zhao Luochun was usually carefree, but he was extremely meticulous when it came to building the mansion. It took him a full seven years to complete it.
However, all his hard work paid off. When the Bai Mansion was finally finished, Zhao Luoning and Ji Shisu both felt that the seven - year wait was well worth it!
At the celebration banquet, Zhao Luochun got drunk.
He was at the height of his success.
The completion of the Bai Mansion had become his living advertisement.
Orders for building mansions had piled up for the next five years.
Zhao Luochun was clinking glasses and having a great time at the banquet.
He had built a winding water - flowing wine game area beside the rockery. The sightseeing corridor was like a sleeping dragon coiled on the mountainside. There were pavilions every few steps, making it perfect for entertaining relatives and friends.
Zhao Luochun and his brothers were drinking upstream, while Zhao Luoning and the female relatives were admiring the flowers downstream. Warmed wine would float down with the current, and one could simply reach out to grab a drink when they wanted.
"The design of this winding water - flowing wine game is ingenious. Sister - in - law, big brother is really capable," Zhao Luoyu said to Yarong with a smile.
Yarong, with her slightly protruding belly, smiled and said, "He is capable, but he'll be leaving on a trip again in a few days. I sometimes wish he wasn't so capable."
Yarong and Zhao Luochun had been married for many years without children, which had always been a heartache for Yarong. Now that she was finally pregnant, both she and Zhao Luochun cherished this child very much.
Jian Wen, who was sitting nearby, read Yarong's lips and gestured with his hands.
After spending a long time with him, Zhao Luoning and Zhao Luoyu could understand his sign language.
Jian Wen was saying, "Don't worry, Mother. I'll protect you and the baby brother on behalf of Father."
Jian Wen had been adopted into Zhao Luochun's family and now carried the Zhao surname, named Zhao Jian Wen.
Due to her pregnancy, Yarong had been worried that Jian Wen might feel left out. But seeing her eldest son so sensible, she looked at Zhao Jian Wen with tear - filled eyes and a kind, loving gaze.
"Good boy."
Zhao Luoning watched this heart - warming interaction between them with a full smile.
She said to Yarong with a smile, "Yarong, you'll be blessed."
"You're even more blessed with a daughter and a son. By the way, I haven't seen the four little ones."
"Maybe they've gone somewhere to play."
The big mansion had its drawbacks. There were too many places for the kids to hide. Every time Zhao Luoning had to look for the four of them, it took her a great deal of effort.
Zhao Zhaomo and Zhao Zhaoyan were okay, and little sister was also not much of a problem as she usually followed her big brother around like a little shadow.
The headache was their eldest daughter, little Zhao Zhaoqi.
Little Zhao Zhaoqi was only five years old. As the daughter of a noble lady, everyone had expected her to be a well - behaved and elegant young lady like her mother.
But unexpectedly, when a girl got naughty, there was no room for boys.
She climbed mountains to catch birds and went into rivers to catch fish. She did all the things that boys did and even some that boys dared not do.
Moreover, with Zhaomo protecting her, Zhao Zhaoqi became even more lawless and was already the leader among the kids at a young age.
"Let's not talk about the kids. Come, let's drink," Zhao Luoyu said boldly as she raised her glass. Her bearing was no less than that of the men drinking and shouting in the upper pavilion.
Zhao Luoning smiled and took the glass of wine from Luoyu.
As the sun set in the west, the lights in the mansion were lit.
The guests filed out one by one and bid farewell to go home.
Yarong and Zhao Luochun also packed their things. Yarong was about to give birth soon, so they had to return to the Ye Mansion.
During the years when Zhao Luochun was building the mansion here, Yarong had been living in the Bai Mansion. Over the years, she had developed deep feelings for this place.
Watching them leave, the courtyard suddenly seemed empty, and Zhao Luoning couldn't help feeling a bit sad.
"Is our mansion too big?"
Ji Shisu walked up, put his arm around his wife's shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's because there are too few people."
Zhao Luoning knew exactly what he meant.
Every time she gave birth, Ji Shisu would swear that they would never have another child.
But every night, he was more enthusiastic than anyone else.
"Four little devils at home are enough. I don't want another one."
"Our mother was so amazing. She gave birth to three at once. I think we haven't tried hard enough."
"Hey!"
Zhao Luoning knew that this guy was up to his old tricks again.
...
"Mother, Mother."
Jun Zhaoqi's small figure was scurrying around in the Bai Mansion.
On her way back from playing with mud, she had met her uncle and aunt who were about to leave. Her aunt had stuffed her with a lot of snacks, and she had carefully put them away, planning to bring them back to share with her parents and brothers.
But she had searched every room up and down and still couldn't find her brothers and parents. This little girl, who was usually fearless, was now getting anxious.
A purple figure could be seen scurrying around the entire Bai Mansion.
While running, Zhao Zhaoqi accidentally bumped into someone.
That person didn't care about their own fall and quickly steadied Zhaoqi.
"Qi'er, a girl should be more reserved," said Jun Zhaoyan.
"Second brother?"
Jun Zhaoqi had a special trick for dealing with her brothers: acting coquettishly.
Jun Zhaoyan was quite headache - stricken.
"Alright, alright. I'll take you to find Mother."
Unlike Zhaoqi's random search, Zhaoyan had a clear goal. He directly asked the maid Weisu, who was Zhao Luoning's personal attendant.
"Sister Weisu, have you seen my mother?"
He had missed his mother very much since he hadn't seen her for a whole day.
Weisu was just coming back from the stream with the laundry. How could she know where Zhao Luoning and Ji Shisu were?
This couple, who had been married for so many years and were still as affectionate as ever, finally had some private time.
No one knew which pavilion they were in, enjoying their sweet words.
But seeing Zhaoyan being so polite, Weisu didn't have the heart to disappoint him.
The children of the master and the mistress were all different from one another.
Strangely enough, the eldest and the second young masters looked like they were carved from the same mold, but their temperaments were completely different.
The eldest young master was domineering. It was a blessing from their previous lives if he gave them a good look, let alone call them sister.
Because of the eldest young master's domineering nature, he disliked the life that Ji Shisu had arranged for him. He knew that as a Bai, he would inevitably enter officialdom, but he refused any family support and insisted on going to the private school to study on his own and get in by his own merits.
The second young master was completely different from the eldest.
He was not as impulsive as the eldest. Even at a young age, he could analyze the pros and cons of a matter clearly.
Zhaoyan was also much more amiable. Although he was only seven years old, he was very careful in his words and deeds.
Therefore, Zhao Luoning favored Zhaoyan more.
In Zhaoyan, Zhao Luoning always saw the shadow of Luojing.
Zhaoyan was also very good at talking. He had just come out of Lady Zhao's room.
Lady Zhao was so tickled by his sweet words that she really doted on this grandson.
She would always come up with all kinds of delicious food and fun things for him every few days, and he never kept them to himself. He always shared his gifts with everyone.
All the aunts around liked him.
"Second young master, you can go to the Banjuan Pavilion to look. Maybe the master and the mistress are there," Weisu said.
The Banjuan Pavilion had the best view, and recently Zhao Luoning and Ji Shisu often went there.
After hearing from Weisu that they were in the Banjuan Pavilion, Zhao Zhaoqi tilted her little head and thought for a while. Then she decided to turn around and take little sister back to their room first.