When they entered, Mu Guiyi snuggled up to Old Madame Yun with a lovely smile, as if she was her granddaughter. When she saw them coming, she said to Old Madame Yun, "Great-grandmother, these are the two maids who usually serve me, Yan Yan and Jingjing."
Old Madame Yun narrowed her eyes and looked at the two maids carefully, then pointed to Bai Suyan and said, "I seem to have seen you at Empress Dowager Jin Yue's place."
Bai Suyan was surprised. When she was a child, she followed her mother to visit Empress Dowager Jin Yue, and she had met Old Madame Yun once.
Mu Guiyi smiled and said, "Great-grandmother has a good memory. This is Xia Shi, Mammy Xia's youngest daughter."
"Oh, she's from Little Xia's family." Old Madam Yun pointed at Bai Suyan and said, "I was wondering why she looked so familiar. When Little Xia and Little Dong married over with your grandmother, they were only 15 or 16 years old. In the blink of an eye, their youngest daughter is already so big. Come, come, come!"
Bai Suyan raised her head slightly and looked at Mu Guiyi. When she saw her nod, she touched Li Pin carefully and went forward to greet, "This servant, Yan Yan, greets Old Madame Yun."
Mu Guiyi personally opened a long and narrow gift box and took out a folding fan. It was a high-quality red sandalwood fan. The fragrance was not strong, but it was the most primitive fresh smell of trees. The most peculiar thing was that when it was closed, it looked like the character "Fu", and when it was opened, it looked like a picture of a red-crowned crane.
Old Madame Yun was old and couldn't smell too much fragrance. She was also tired of looking at all kinds of gold, silver, and jade. This unique sandalwood fan was just what she liked. She opened and closed it in her hand, and opened and closed it again. She also asked someone to give it to the madams and misses present.
After this round, the other girls also looked forward to their gifts. When they arrived at Lan Shi, Mu Guiyi picked up a box, opened it, and respectfully handed it to her. It was an ordinary-looking stone.
"Isn't … isn't this marble from the roadside?" Mrs. Zhou subconsciously blurted out.
Madam Lan weighed it in her hand and carefully rubbed it along the lines. She suddenly stood up and walked to the window to carefully examine the color and crevices of the stone under the light. Her face also revealed a look of surprise. It could be said that she loved the stone so much that she couldn't put it down.
Madam Su asked curiously, "What is this? Look at how happy eldest sister-in-law is."
Ms. Lan carefully carried the stone back and said, "This is not marble. It's raw stone. In other words, you have to take it to a specialized jewelry shop to cut it open to see the jade inside."
Lan Shi was born in a conflicted family. Her family had been in business for generations, but she grew up in a scholarly environment. She had the elegance of a scholar and the shrewdness of a businessman. Gifts such as raw stones, which were both elegant and vulgar, were exactly what she liked.
Madam Zhou suddenly understood and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder they often say jade, jade."
Madam Su stroked the jade ring on her slender finger and said with a smile, "I didn't know that this thing was so ugly. But how can you tell if the jade inside is good or bad?"
Madam Lan carefully put the raw stone back into the box and told the servant to keep it well. Then she replied, "This thing, I only heard my uncle talk about it. I remember he said that there was a saying, 'Don't be afraid of big cracks, but fear of small grains.' It's better to be beautiful than to gamble on small grains."
Madam Min, who had been quiet and silent, also joked, "I'm afraid that your hands are itchy and want to play cards again."
Madam Lan glanced at her and said angrily, "I think it's you who is itchy. What, do you want to win back the dozen of silver that you lost to me last time?"
Hearing them banter with each other, Madam Su turned her head and asked, "Yaohua, what good thing did you prepare for Second Aunt? If it's not good, Second Aunt has to take back my bracelet!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Đại Việt likes to bicker with the younger generation," Old Madam Yun said happily, "Yaohua, don't be afraid. Old ancestor is here!"
Mu Guiyi lowered his eyes and his face seemed to show a bit of embarrassment, "The gift is simple. I'm afraid that it won't enter Second Aunt's eyes."
Madam Su said, "You haven't shown it to me yet. How do you know that I won't like it?"
Mu Guiyi called for Jing Jing. It was a small diamond-shaped tri-colored glaze box. When the button was unbuttoned, the rouge inside looked red at first glance, but when you looked carefully, it was orange. Madam Su felt it was novel and immediately took some and smeared it on the back of her hand. In the slightly brighter areas, there was some lively orange, and in the slightly darker areas, there was a dignified vermilion.
"This color is really strange!" Madam Su was an exquisite woman who liked to dress up. Collecting all kinds of rouge lips was also her hobby. There were red, vermilion, purple, pink, peach, and even dark red on the market on her dressing table. But this was the first time she saw this kind of color, and it was so strange.
Mu Guiyi said reservedly, "As long as Second Aunt likes it. This was made by Yaohua himself. It can't be compared to the one made by a professional."
"It was made by Yaohua himself. This is clever and skillful." Compared to gold, silver, and jewelry, this small box of rouge was more to Madam Su's liking. She immediately pulled out a carved butterfly hairpin from her hair and stuffed it in Mu Guiyi's hand, "Just the thought of it made Second Aunt very happy. It's much better than any vulgar things!"
Madam Lan and Madam Zhou looked at each other and smiled, "Then we are all vulgar people."
Mu Guiyi then gave Madam Zhou a pair of lantian warm jade bracelets inlaid with rubies, and Madam Min a pair of jadeite bracelets inlaid with gold.
"By the way, here is a sachet. I sewed it for Sister Yaochi." Mu Guiyi took out a lake blue embroidered sachet from her sleeve pocket. She used white thread to embroider silver osmanthus, and used light red thread to embroider a cluster of golden osmanthus.
Yun Yaochi took it with both hands in surprise. Fangzheng sniffed it and found it was the smell of peony. He looked at Mu Guiyi strangely, and she had already returned to Old Madam Yun's side to talk.
The people in the room chatted happily again. Unknowingly, it was evening, and Old Madam Yun also came back. Mu Guiyi naturally paid a visit and gave another gift. She also received a generous gift in return, a set of gold and jade head ornaments inlaid with gold.
She was supposed to leave like this, but Old Madam Yun asked her to stay for dinner, so she met Old Master Yun, several uncles and cousins through the screen. After that, if not for Mu Guiyi's insistence, Old Madam Yun wanted her to stay for one more night.
While Yun Yaochi came out to see them off, Mu Guiyi took out a green satin sachet embroidered with daffodils and asked her to give it to Fourth Miss Yun, but the workmanship and materials were not as good as Yun Yaochi's.
Yun Yaochi took it and held it in her hand. Her expression changed, and it was unknown whether she was happy or angry. Mu Guiyi explained, "Although Fourth Miss Yun's identity is awkward, as a guest, this is the first time I come to visit, so I can't forget her gift. Otherwise, it would be my lack of etiquette."
Yun Yaochi stuffed the sachet into her sleeve pocket and shook her head with a smile, "I understand. You don't have to be too nervous. Fourth Miss Yun is just a concubine's daughter. In the future, when she marries, she will not be as good as me. Why should I care about her?"
Mu Guiyi also smiled. The two talked about the next time they meet. After a while, the carriage arrived at the door. The two said goodbye. Yun Yaochi watched her step on the embroidered stool and get on the carriage. Only then did she go in and order the servants to close the door.
At this time, the sky was gradually darkening. Except for a few stalls that wanted to make a little money, the rest of the people on the road had already packed up and went home. The street was deserted.
When the carriage passed by a pastry stall, Mu Guiyi suddenly said, "Wait."
The carriage driver subconsciously stopped and asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Mu Guiyi lifted the curtain with one hand and half covered her face with the round fan in the other hand, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes as she looked out, "It really is a steamed cake stall. Yan Yan, go buy some for me."
Bai Suyan did not respond and quietly said first, "Miss, the roadside is not clean."
Mu Guiyi put down the curtain and shook the round fan, "It's okay. As the saying goes, eating dirty things will not make you sick."
Bai Suyan took the money, slid down the carriage and trotted to the stall. The boss saw that business had come and asked with a silly smile, "Miss, what do you want? There are jujube cakes, brown sugar cakes. As long as you name it, we have it!"
Bai Suyan said, "Yunpian cakes?"
"Okay — —" The boss dragged out the words, "White sugar cakes, brown sugar cakes, and jujube cakes, one each — —" His hands deftly wrapped the steamed cakes in oil paper and handed them to her.
Between the two of them, the slip of paper containing the message was passed out. Returning to the carriage with the steamed cakes, Bai Suyan watched Mu Guiyi take a bite of the white sugar cake and put it aside without touching it again. Instead, she quietly smelled the fragrance, her mouth watering and her throat moving frequently.
To be honest, Bai Suyan was a little afraid that things would go so smoothly. In this kind of smooth sailing, Mu Guiyi would always intentionally or unintentionally push the boat, as if she knew everything.
Was this Mu Guiyi still the Mu Guiyi she knew in the past?
When they returned to the residence, unexpectedly, Mu Jiahua was sitting in the front hall waiting for them. Mu Guiyi acted as if he did not see him and went straight to the backyard.
"Stop!" Mu Jiahua slammed the table, causing the cups on the table to jump up, "Is this your etiquette? Is this how the teacher usually teaches you the rules?"
Mu Guiyi snorted coldly. When she turned around, her imposing manner was like the peak of a snowy mountain, cold and unapproachable. Seeing it on this young girl who had not yet reached the age of marriageable age, it was really frightening.
"I don't care, but I don't know if father can accept this bow of mine, Yaohua!"
"You!"
Mu Guiyi's pretty face was frosty, "Yaohua knows what you are thinking. I only have one thing to say, if anything happens to mother or grandmother, I can make your more than ten years of hard work go down the drain!"
Mu Jiahua glared, "You dare!"
"Mu Jiahua," Mu Guiyi slowly walked in front of him, her voice gentle, "Do you think I don't dare?" Her words were really disgraceful, but she said it as a matter of course.
"Tomorrow, I will take over the steward's power. I don't need your permission, I just want to inform you!" After saying this, Mu Guiyi flung her sleeves and left.
Jing Jing was still in a daze from the sudden dispute. Bai Suyan pulled her along and quickly followed Mu Guiyi. She felt that Mu Guiyi's words had a hidden meaning. She was afraid that she had inadvertently found out something about herself!
Mu Guiyi did not return to his own small courtyard, but first went to Old Lady Yun's Nanshan courtyard. Mu Province's backyard was just like before, lifeless. Other than the lanterns hanging at the doors of the masters' courtyards, there was not even a maid sweeping the floor on the way.
And it seemed that something was destined to happen today. From afar, they could hear a commotion in Nanshan courtyard, surrounded by many people. Mu Guiyi frowned and angrily said, "What's the commotion? Do you think all the masters in this fu are dead? "
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