After shopping for a whole morning, Yu Xiaoxiu barely got used to his new clothes. Yu Shu bought him a brand-new set of writing brushes and inkstones, a looper that could be disassembled, an abacus, and a slingshot.
The two of them had lunch at Zuixian Restaurant. They picked a table on the first floor and sat down. Yu Shu called the waiter and ordered the dishes casually. Yu Xiaoxiu carefully put the bags on the table and sat down obediently. His eyes were full of joy and he looked more childish than usual.
The waiter looked at him a few more times and muttered to himself that they were a strong slave but a weak master. A manservant even climbed over the young master's head.
It was the first time for Yu Xiaoxiu to eat in such a place. He was cautious and didn't dare to look around until the waiter served the dishes. He took the opportunity to look around and whispered, "Sister, why is someone looking at us?"
Yu Shu looked at Yu Xiaoxiu who looked like a young master and naturally wouldn't tell him the truth. She touched the neckline of her linen robe, picked up a piece of duck leg with chopsticks and put it in his bowl. She said, "No one is looking at us. Eat quickly. Don't you want to go back to the Ji family to see Aunt Liu later?"
As a result, the two of them almost couldn't hold their belts. Yu Shu called the waiter to pay the bill. She ignored the strange eyes of the next table and pulled Yu Xiaoxiu away. On the way, she bought two catties of streaky pork and sent him to the back door of the Ji family. She adjusted his belt and said, "Go. Send my regards to Aunt Liu. I'll wait for you here."
Yu Shu was a little scared of the back door of the Ji family. She was beaten and thrown out that day, so she was very cautious when it came to the Ji family. She even guarded against the back door and didn't want to sneak in.
"I'll be out in a moment." Yu Xiaoxiu was afraid that the meat would dirty his new clothes, so he raised his hands high and went in through the back door. The guard at the door stared at the siblings as they spoke, then turned his head to watch Yu Xiaoxiu go in and walk away. When he turned his head back, the other person was gone. Yu Shu squatted behind an elm tree on the opposite side of the road, yawned, took out three copper coins from her waist, shook them in the palm of her hand, blew on them, and threw them on the ground. Looking at the diagrams, she raised her head and thought about the sentence taught by Qing Zheng. Her eyelids twitched, she picked up the coins, bowed her head and spat, "You're not allowed again. I'm asking about the road to wealth. What kind of bullshit marriage are you showing me?"
×××
When Aunt Liu saw the brand new Yu Xiaoxiu, she was naturally very happy. She rubbed her hands and circled around him while clicking her tongue. She reached out to touch the material of his clothes and asked in surprise, "Who bought these clothes for Young Master?"
Yu Xiaoxiu nodded his head and felt embarrassed under her gaze, "Elder Sister."
Aunt Liu was stunned, "Miss, where did you get the money?"
"She — —" Yu Xiaoxiu was about to speak, but he remembered that Yu Shu told him not to tell others about her working in the Thai Heng Chamber of Commerce, so he held back and said in Yu Shu's tone, "Anyway, I didn't steal it."
As he said this, he handed a big piece of meat in his hand to Aunt Liu and took out a few pieces of silver from his belt, "This is for you. Elder Sister said that it's not convenient for her to come in and see Aunt Liu, so she told you to eat better. Also, take this money and spend it."
Hearing this, Aunt Liu's eyes became sour and she choked, "It's hard for Miss to still remember this servant, but this servant can't help at all. At that time, I could only watch as she was driven out."
Yu Xiaoxiu didn't know how to coax people, so he anxiously watched her wipe her tears. In the end, he still took the meat money, "Little Young Master, wait a moment. This servant bought two pairs of shoe cushions for Miss when I was free. Her toes are soft, so she always rubbed her feet when she wore shoes. Please take them to her."
Yu Xiaoxiu also knew that Yu Shu had this small problem, so he nodded and waited for her to go into the room to get it.
When she saw the back of Yu Xiaoxiu, she knew that he was the young master of the family at that time. Her footsteps slowed down and she respectfully walked over to see which young master it was before greeting him. However, she didn't expect that she would be dazzled when she went around to the side to take a look. "Yi, Young Master Yu?"
Yu Xiaoxiu turned his head and saw that it was Aunt Cui's maidservant, Qiao Sui. He faintly said, "En." He didn't like her. Previously, when Yu Shu was driven out of the Ji family, she was the one who tricked him into going to Little West Pavilion to be locked up by his mother.
Qiao Sui covered her small mouth and looked up and down at Yu Xiaoxiu. She was surprised for a moment before she remembered what she wanted to do. She reached out to pull his sleeve, "Yiniang is looking for you. Quickly come with me."
Yu Xiaoxiu frowned, "Why is she looking for me?" He and his mother basically only saw each other once every month on the fifteenth day of the family banquet. At other times, she rarely thought of him as her son.
Qiao Sui shook her head, "I don't know. She seems to be in a hurry."
"Young Master, Yiniang is looking for you. You should go and take a look," Aunt Liu came out of the room with a cloth bag in her hand.
Yu Xiaoxiu looked down at the clothes on his body. He was still hesitating when Qiao Sui impatiently pulled him away, "Quickly go. Yiniang is waiting. If we're late, she'll scold this servant again." "Don't pull me. I'll walk by myself," Yu Xiaoxiu shook her off and unhappily pulled at his sleeve that was wrinkled.
×××
Aunt Cui sat on the couch with her legs bent. She fiddled with her handkerchief as she looked at her son, who seemed to have changed into a different person. She pursed her lips and frowned, "Where did you get new clothes?"
Yu Xiaoxiu looked down at his toes, "My older sister bought them for me."
"Your older sister?" Aunt Cui's face was stiff, "Where did she get the money to buy clothes for you?"
Yu Xiaoxiu didn't say anything. He subconsciously didn't want his mother to know that his sister was too troublesome. Anyway, he didn't care about his sister, so there was no point in knowing so much.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Aunt Cui tugged at her handkerchief. After waiting for a long time for Yu Xiaoxiu to speak, she lost her patience, "Forget it. Don't you know where your sister lives now? Go find her now and bring her to me."
Yu Xiaoxiu looked up, his eyes a little guarded, "Why are you looking for her?"
Aunt Cui pursed her lips and thought of something. She couldn't hide the joy in her eyes, and her voice rose a few pitches, "Anyway, it's a good thing. Go find her and bring her back."
Yu Xiaoxiu said, "Didn't the Ji family drive her away? If you let her come back and Third Master finds out …"
"Hehe, what if I find out?"
A low laugh came from behind, and Yu Xiaoxiu's hair stood on end. He turned his head and heard Aunt Cui call out "Master" in a sweet voice. His slightly plump stepfather smiled and walked out from the inner room.
"Third Master."
Yu Xiaoxiu bowed and moved two steps to the wall. He had an instinctive fear of Ji Hyotani, and he also disliked him.
Ji Hyotani looked at Yu Xiaoxiu. Aunt Cui pulled him to sit on the couch and praised, "You look like a different person after changing your clothes. It looks good and you look energetic. Cui Xin, I'll ask someone to send two pieces of good cloth to make two more clothes for this child."
"Yes," Aunt Cui served the tea to him and stood beside him. She turned her head and whispered to Yu Xiaoxiu, "Hurry up and thank him."
Yu Xiaoxiu thanked her reluctantly, but he didn't feel happy at all when he put on the clothes Yu Shu bought for him. It was said in books that those who were unaccountably solicitous were hiding evil intentions. Third Master had always treated him coldly and turned a blind eye to him. Today, he suddenly became friendly to him. It must be something bad.
Ji Hyotani knew how to read people. As a businessman, he was the best at reading people's expressions. He immediately saw that the child was alienating him. Displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he smiled gently, "Is your sister living in someone else's house now?"
When Yu Xiaoxiu heard him ask about Yu Shu, he didn't want to answer, but his mother kept giving him a fierce look and didn't allow him to be stubborn, "Yes, she's living in someone else's house."
"She's doing well. There's nothing wrong with her body, right?" Ji Hyotani sighed and said regretfully, "That day, Matriarch was angry and hit her too hard. After that, we sent people out to look for her, but they couldn't find her."
Yu Xiaoxiu listened to him suspiciously. Why did they send people out to look for his sister? He raised his head to look at Aunt Cui and acutely noticed the uneasiness on her face. He sneered in his heart, knowing that Ji Hyotani was bluffing. If they really wanted to look for his sister, why did they need to send people out? They could just ask his mother. Did they think he was a three-year-old child?
"My sister is doing well now. There's nothing wrong with her body."
"That's good." Ji Hyotani nodded and took a sip of tea. He told Yu Xiaoxiu, "Now that Matriarch's anger has subsided, go find your sister and bring her back. Tell her that the adults don't care about the fish theft. You two are my children after all. In the past, I was too busy to discipline you two and neglected you two. I've prepared a small courtyard for you two in the South Stride Courtyard and assigned a few servants. When your sister comes back, you two can move in."
Yu Xiaoxiu took a long time to realize what Ji Hyotani was talking about. He stared at him in surprise. Aunt Cui covered her mouth and laughed. She said to Ji Hyotani, "Look at this child, he's so happy that he's silly."
Was he silly, or were they silly?
Aunt Cui gave Qiao Sui a look. Qiao Sui was rarely quick-witted. She pulled the dazed Yu Xiaoxiu out and closed the door.
Lady Cui turned around and used her pinky finger to massage Ji Xiaogu's shoulders. The corners of her mouth curled up, and as she thought about it, she couldn't help but become excited again. She leaned over and asked softly, "Old Master, what you told me before was true, right? That Xue family in the capital, is it really willing to let that girl be their young master's concubine?"
Ji Hyotani closed his eyes to rest and hid the sarcasm in his eyes. He said leisurely, "It hasn't been decided yet. It's just a suggestion. The Xue family wants to marry my second brother's daughter, Xingxuan. However, Xingxuan's fate is too high. I'm afraid that it will ruin our precious Young Master Xue. So, Old Master Xue invited the Celestial Commissioner's Left Judge to calculate with us. They came up with an idea. We'll find a girl with a low fate in our Ji family and send her to Xingxuan as a concubine to suppress Xingxuan's fate. The Xue family agreed and sent us a letter a few days ago, asking us to choose a girl from our family."
"Didn't I ask you for Yu Shu's horoscope last time to send to my second sister-in-law? My second brother was responsible for this matter. He calculated all the marriageable girls in our family and she happened to be among them. She was the most suitable one. Old Lady summoned us to discuss it. She has a close relationship with our Ji family and can be regarded as half a member of the Ji family. So, she was chosen. After a while, the Xue family will send someone to Yiyang to see her. Then, we can make a decision. Don't be too happy."
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