Chapter 258

The Gu family carriage stopped directly at the second gate of the Chai residence.

Gu Tingyi walked down from the carriage with the Gu family's maid.

The two young ladies, who hadn't seen each other for some time, hugged affectionately.

After the two separated, Gu Tingyi turned sideways and said:

"Look, I heard you wanted me to bring maids who are good at making tea soup and good at styling hair, so I've already asked for help."

Seeing Gu Tingyi turn sideways, Qingzhi and Qingcao hurriedly performed a salute: "Greetings, Da Niangzi!"

Miss Yun Mu, who was beside Chai Zhengzheng, also returned the salute with a smile.

"Ha! This isn't my first time meeting these two maids! Let's go, let's enter the courtyard!"

Saying this, Chai Zhengzheng held Gu Tingyi's hand and walked toward the courtyard.

By the time Gu Tingyi was sensible, Da Niangzi Bai had already established a firm foothold in the Gu family.

The assets of the Marquis Ningyuan's residence, which had assisted in the founding of the nation, had also been accumulated over many years.

The reason they were forced into a dead end was that the Marquis Ningyuan's residence itself had internal rot and was caused by poor management.

After Da Niangzi Bai married in, mountains of gold and silver entered the public accounts of the Marquis Ningyuan's residence.

After Gu Yandian's parents passed away,

under the influence of Xu Zaijing, Da Niangzi Bai not only did not pass away early but further established a firm foothold in Bianjing.

As the mistress and lady, she quickly took control of the Marquis Ningyuan's residence and managed the Gu family's assets with great success.

Therefore, Gu Tingyi had been well-informed and accustomed to wealth since childhood.

After entering the Chai residence,

Gu Tingyi's eyes couldn't help but estimate the value of the things she saw, and the result was that she was a bit overwhelmed.

After all, the Chai family had been accumulating wealth since the founding of the nation and had never encountered any difficulties.

Moreover, some of the exquisite and incomparably time-consuming decorative objects were rarely seen in the residences of dukes and marquises unless they were imperial gifts.

And in the Chai residence...

Gu Tingyi shook her head slightly beside Chai Zhengzheng,

causing the jewelry on her head to jingle.

After entering the front hall, Gu Tingyi closed her eyes in "pain" and said:

"Zhengzheng, compared to your family, mine is truly a poor household."

Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said: "How could that be?"

Gu Tingyi walked to an ornament and said:

"There is! Just this jade flower censer alone, I'm afraid it took an artisan decades to carve!"

"I don't want to say anything else; Zhengzheng, if I fall into trouble in the future, you must pull me up!"

"Just give me this jade incense burner, and I'll be able to turn things around!"

Hearing Gu Tingyi's playful words, Chai Zhengzheng laughed.

Walking and talking, Gu Tingyi occasionally exclaimed about the wealth of the Chai family.

After sighing at the jade hooks and jade quality of the curtains at the entrance,

the group arrived at Chai Zhengzheng's bedchamber.

Gu Tingyi saw the puppet armor in the corner at a glance.

Walking up to it, Gu Tingyi turned her head and asked Chai Zhengzheng:

"Zhengzheng, is this some kind of precious treasure armor? Look at this style... Hmm?"

As she spoke, Gu Tingyi carefully looked at the texture of the armor and the puppet, shaking her head in confusion:

"This wood is good, but as for the material of this armor, there must be something special about it. I have too little experience to distinguish it."

"Clang, clang!"

As she spoke, Gu Tingyi even knocked on the double maces at the waist of the armor and nodded.

Chai Zhengzheng smiled slightly: "How could that be, it's just..."

Before the words left her mouth, she saw the surprise and shock in Qingcao's eyes behind her.

"... it's just the armor worn when pacifying Yanzhou."

As soon as these words were spoken, Qingcao's expression became awkward, and she lowered her head in shame.

Hearing Gu Tingyi casually say along the way that every piece was a treasure, how could this armor be something her own young master used!

Gu Tingyi beside the armor exclaimed with shining eyes:

"Wow, that's also an antique of many years! The maintenance is actually this good!"

Chai Zhengzheng's eyes were a bit awkward:

"Hmm! Let's go! Let's go turn elsewhere."

Saying this, Gu Tingyi and Chai Zhengzheng walked in front,

and the group followed behind.

Qingzhi looked curiously at Qingcao, who was a bit uncomfortable, and whispered:

"What's wrong?"

"Qingzhi sister, just now when I entered the room, I thought that armor was the young master wearing it for morning practice!"

"The figure and the style are too similar!"

Chai Zhengzheng, who was paying attention to the conversation behind her, praised her own quick wit in her heart after hearing this.

Qingzhi said:

"Perhaps you saw it wrong."

Qingcao nodded, but she always felt something was wrong.

Soon, the group left the hall, but Qingcao's eyes widened, and she suddenly stopped at the entrance.

Qingzhi in front looked over in confusion: "Hmm?"

Qingcao hurriedly scratched her forehead and said: "It's a bit itchy."

Then she lowered her head and followed, but Qingcao felt a bit shocked in her heart, and her heartbeat was still accelerating!

She remembered what was wrong.

The armor was one thing,

but the belt with the double maces inserted at the waist of the armor, she had made it herself!

The mace lanyard tied to the mace handle (like a sword lanyard, a rope used on the wrist when in use) was also woven by her own hands...

At that time, she knew that Xu Zaijing's things had been given away by the mistress:

"So it was given to this young lady! Could it be..."

Qingcao suppressed the stormy waves in her heart, stopped thinking about it, and continued to follow beside Qingzhi.

Chai Zhengzheng, who was walking in front, also suddenly stopped, and a thought flashed through her mind:

"Oh no! Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi! What if she recognizes the style of the armor?"

Subsequently, Chai Zhengzheng summoned Miss Yun Mu and whispered a few words in her ear.

Soon, that armor was moved away, with the excuse that it needed maintenance.

When the Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi came, she didn't have as many exclamations as Tingyi in the Chai residence.

I don't know if it was because she was obsessed with polo and chuiwan and had no heart to pay attention to the value of those inconspicuous things,

or because there were many good things in the Duke of England's residence, or both.

However,

like Tingyi, she was full of praise for that jade incense burner ornament.

The subsequent guests, however, didn't have the opportunity to enter Chai Zhengzheng's bedchamber again, mostly turning around in the front hall before going to the courtyard behind.

At this time, the autumn air was crisp,

under the bright sunshine,

in the corridors and under the tree shade in the courtyard,

the Chai family maids had already prepared the stove for boiling tea, the porcelain vases for flower arranging, the tools for incense, the scrolls for hanging paintings, the combs for tidying hair, and the things for needlework.

The six young ladies of the Lu family's third branch arrived.

Chai Zhengzheng stood at the moon gate, accompanying them for a while, showing concern for whether Lu Zezong had been frightened and how he was recovering, and received the gratitude of the Lu family young ladies.

She even "inadvertently" learned quite a few of this young Duke Lu's preferences.

Just as she was talking, a maid came to Chai Zhengzheng's side:

"Da Niangzi, Rong family's Feiyan young lady has arrived, and she brought some different things."

Hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng was stunned, then smiled and explained to the Lu family young ladies, then went to welcome her.

Sure enough, when she got closer, Chai Zhengzheng saw the maid behind the Rong family young lady holding a soft bow and a quiver of feathered arrows.

"Chai family sister, autumn greetings."

Rong Feiyan performed a very orderly squatting salute to Chai Zhengzheng.

"Feiyan sister, autumn greetings, please come in."

Saying this, Chai Zhengzheng reached out her hand to Rong Feiyan.

Rong Feiyan was stunned, then hurriedly took it, reflecting on herself in her heart.

Arriving at the courtyard for the gathering, there was another round of salutes and greetings.

This gathering,

the first thing to start was tea tasting.

The young ladies let their own maids boil tea; except for not being able to drink their own maid's, everyone else's could be tasted.

After tasting, they wrote down the flavors they liked on paper and gave them to Chai Zhengzheng.

As the host, Chai Zhengzheng would only keep the three maids with the most votes, who would be responsible for tea making today.

Qingzhi lived up to expectations; the fresh fruit tea with cream she made received the most votes.

Then came hair styling; naturally, it wasn't the young ladies being styled, but the maids or Mamas who followed.

Qingcao, who had been constantly learning skills from Fang Mama since Yang Zhou, was very confident because of her hair styling; as soon as she made a move, she attracted everyone's attention.

The hair buns she styled were even more beautiful, and soon noble young ladies wanted to try it themselves.

The first one to have her hair styled by her was the Rong family's Feiyan young lady.

It must be said that Qingcao was not old, but a famous teacher produces excellent students; the hair bun she styled for Rong Feiyan was very beautiful, and her appearance seemed to have been elevated a bit.

The maid beside Rong Feiyan followed Qingcao to ask for some techniques.

After a lively time, most of the noble young ladies changed their hair bun shapes, and some found hair bun shapes that could highlight the advantages of their appearance and were more suitable for them.

Qingcao was also on the side, learning many new hair bun styles, then sighed; who should she style for?

"Right! Huaxiang and Yunxiang!"

The noble young ladies who changed their hairstyles went to study incense together.

The scent of the incense burned by the Lu family young ladies was loved by many noble young ladies, who asked for the ratio of the incense ingredients.

Chai Zhengzheng listened to their words from the side, stunned.

"What? Lychee shells can be used in incense?"

"Is ambergris really that hard to find?"

"This porcelain furnace isn't that precious either!"

However, she didn't say it out loud, just listened more.

Chai Zhengzheng, like the Li family's Fifth Da Niangzi, heard some tips she hadn't heard of before, and occasionally took out her purple-tipped brush to record one or two on paper, looking very eager to learn.

At noon,

everyone had lunch in the hall.

It was the Chai family's kitchen staff who cooked, but they didn't let everyone cook for themselves, just exchanged a few recipes.

In the afternoon, everyone was arranging flowers in the corridor.

After everyone's discussion, they unanimously agreed that the Rong family young lady's flower arrangement was the best looking.

Rong Feiyan bowed to everyone and said:

"I do have a small secret to tell my sisters!"

Looking at Chai Zhengzheng, who also showed curiosity, Rong Feiyan said with a smile:

"If the sum of the height of the flower vase and the diameter of the vase mouth is ten, then the length of the flower branch is best at sixteen."

Hearing this, the other noble young ladies showed curious expressions.

"Let me try it!"

Someone among the Lu family young ladies said.

Soon, a noble young lady exclaimed:

"Wow! Really! With the same flowers and branches, following Feiyan young lady's method, it really looks much better!"

The maids who were listening hurriedly used their own methods to remember this.

Chai Zhengzheng told the noble young ladies about some things to pay attention to when hanging paintings, such as putting away paintings in very cold or very hot weather, and the types of smoky incense that shouldn't be burned, etc.

Amidst the exchange and play, the noble young ladies learned quite a few things.

Finally, Rong Feiyan took out her soft bow.

After glancing shyly at the Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi, Rong Feiyan put on her thumb ring, nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and tilted her head to look at the noble young ladies, saying:

"This is a soft bow I've practiced with for a long time. I find that practicing often can soothe the mind and exercise eyesight! Today, I'll discuss it with my sisters."

Without turning her head to aim, Rong Feiyan released her fingers.

"Thud."

The light white-feathered arrow nailed into the grass target not far away.

The Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi first stared blankly, then her dark eyes turned and she shouted:

"Ah! Your posture! It's very similar to the Xu family's Fifth Brother!"

Chai Zhengzheng looked surprised: "Hmm????"

Gu Tingyi to the side had seen it before; she nodded, expressing agreement.

Chai Zhengzheng to the side hurriedly pulled her a few times, looking at Chai Zhengzheng's appearance,

Tingyi explained in a low voice.

While speaking, the Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi had already walked to Rong Feiyan's side and pulled the soft bow.

Then the Fifth Da Niangzi pinched Rong Feiyan's arm, and let Rong Feiyan feel her own upper arm through her sleeve.

"Feiyan sister, come to my house when you have time, let you see my bow and arrows!"

Rong Feiyan was a bit ashamed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

After coming down, the Fifth Da Niangzi was soon caught by Gu Tingyi and brought before Chai Zhengzheng; the two pinched the Fifth Da Niangzi's arm,

and as a result, one pinch and she didn't make a sound.

And on the other side, Miss Yun Mu was talking to Qingzhi and Qingcao:

"Are you also from Xiaoliangshan? I knew a sister before, she was from Xiaoliangshan, Wushang County, is it the same place as you?"

Hearing this, Qingzhi and Qingcao hurriedly nodded and asked: "What is this sister's name?"

"I heard her say that because it was snowing when she was born, she was called Xiaxue (Falling Snow)."

"Is her surname Wei?"

Miss Yun Mu nodded.

"Wei sister!!! Where is she?"

Looking at Qingcao's happy appearance, Miss Yun Mu said: "Do you know her?"

"Yes, I know her! We were from the same village, brought out by the agency together, but we separated in Bianjing. Miss Yun Mu sister, do you know where she is?"

Thinking of Chai Zhengzheng's instructions, Miss Yun Mu said: "She caught a cold before, and although she received acupuncture and medicine, she didn't make it."

Qingcao and Qingzhi's expressions instantly became dejected.

"Does she... still have family?"

Qingcao and Qingzhi exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Chai residence,

the guests had all left.

Da Niangzi Chai and Chai Zhengzheng finished listening to Miss Yun Mu's account.

"Are you sure she was talking about Qingxue?"

"Yes, Da Niangzi, I even checked the tear mole feature with Qingcao and the others, and it was exactly the same."

"Her family is all gone..."

Miss Yun Mu nodded.

"Mother, is it because she treated me as family that she..."

Da Niangzi Chai patted Chai Zhengzheng's hand and said: "Zhengzheng, don't be sad."

"Don't be sad, our family will inquire again! In the future, we'll adopt a younger brother for Qingxue's family so the incense won't be cut off!"

"Zheng'er, don't cry, Qingxue hates seeing you cry the most!"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

The Gu family carriage sent Qingcao back to Quyuanjie.

After getting off the carriage,

Qingcao hugged the reward given by Tingyi and returned to the courtyard.

Seeing Qingcao looking dejected with red eyes, the Huaxiang sisters hurriedly gathered around.

After some detailed questioning, they finally learned the reason.

Naturally, there was no lack of comfort.

When Xu Zaijing returned, Qingcao was much better, but her nose was still blocked from crying.

Xu Zaijing sighed after hearing Huaxiang finish and said: "Then, do you still remember what this girl looked like?"

Qingcao was stunned, shook her head, and whispered: "Young Master, actually I've almost forgotten what my family looks like."

Xu Zaijing rubbed her hair and didn't speak, just smiled at her.

Huaxiang and Yunxiang to the side held her hands.

For some reason, Qingcao felt a warmth in her heart.

Then some things about the Chai family floated into her mind.

When Xu Zaijing sat on the bed and handed his clothes to Qingcao, Qingcao put them away and stood by the bed:

"Young... Young Master, there's something..."

"Speak!"

"It's just, it's just, Chai family Zhengzheng young lady's room has your double maces, and it seems there's also your armor."

Xu Zaijing raised an eyebrow: "How did you recognize them?"

"The belt wasn't changed."

Xu Zaijing nodded and said:

"Hmm! Understood! Don't spread it!"

"Yes, Young Master! And Feiyan young lady, she..."

Xu Zaijing didn't finish listening and continued: "Don't spread that either!"

"Oh."

Qingcao: Is Feiyan young lady drawing a bow and shooting arrows also something that can't be said?

(End of chapter)