Chapter 881: Hairpin Light Conceals Secret Flirtation

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

When Wang Xifeng heard the Old Matriarch's words, she couldn't help but be slightly stunned. She was born into a prominent family and married into a noble household, having lived a wealthy life for half her life.

Her daily clothing and accessories advocated luxury, and having seen many exquisite and magnificent jewelry, she mostly turned a blind eye to good items in the eyes of ordinary people.

Just now, although Miss Xu was dressed dashingly and her appearance and demeanor were outstanding, she was wearing barbarian robes, which was truly very different from ordinary daughters of wealthy families.

That is why Wang Xifeng concluded that this girl's background was mostly ordinary, and she didn't pay much attention to her clothing and jewelry.

Hearing the Old Matriarch pay attention to a pearl-inlaid gold hairpin, she was somewhat surprised in her heart.

But she knew that the Old Matriarch was born into a prominent family and was well-informed in her youth; the jewelry she paid attention to must be extraordinary.

Although she had seen many things, she was still a bit young, so it was not strange that she had misjudged it for a moment.

Wang Xifeng recalled Miss Xu's gold hairpin and vaguely remembered that the style was simple, but the workmanship seemed very exquisite.

The head of the hairpin was inlaid with a thumb-sized Eastern pearl, which was somewhat eye-catching, but even so, it shouldn't have made the Old Matriarch pay attention?

The Old Matriarch was the eldest daughter of the Lady Bao Ling Marquis in her youth and had been a Duchess for a lifetime; she had seen many top-quality items.

The Old Matriarch said, "That gold hairpin on her head is quite extraordinary; what is inlaid on it is a top-quality Eastern pearl."

"We often see top-quality Eastern pearls, which are usually translucent white, but that one of hers glows with a pale gold, and its color coordinates perfectly with the gold hairpin; it is a very extraordinary good item."

"Just now, I pulled her to my side to talk and looked at it even more carefully; that gold hairpin is hollowed out and exquisitely carved, with golden phoenix patterns engraved on it, and five or six places inlaid with blue."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Since it is such a good thing, it must have been given to her by Brother Cong; he is the best at pleasing girls."

The Old Matriarch smiled and said, "Although Brother Cong has received gifts from the palace, they are all golden imperial wine, the Four Treasures of the Study, and the like."

"Where would he have women's jewelry? Brother Cong couldn't send such items."

"This blue-inlaid gold hairpin is top-tier craftsmanship; it requires taking the blue feathers from a living kingfisher and using a secret method to inlay and heat them onto the gold ornament; folk craftsmen don't have this means."

"Only palace inner-manufacture can produce this item; this kind of hairpin has a name, called the Phoenix-Pattern Blue-Inlaid Pearl-Pointed Hairpin."

"I saw it when I went to the palace to pay respects in my early years; it seems that several concubines of the previous generation used it, but the years are long and I can't remember clearly."

"Although Miss Xu's family background is ordinary now, she can wear a Phoenix-Pattern Blue-Inlaid Pearl-Pointed Hairpin; it must be an item passed down by her elders."

"This doesn't need to be guessed; she must have received gifts from the palace in her ancestors' time, and I think they were once prominent."

"Doesn't the opera sing like this? The swallows that once flew in the halls of Wang and Xie now fly into the homes of ordinary people; which family hasn't had ups and downs? This is not strange."

"This Miss Xu looks like a beautiful girl; I have heard the Second Girl mention her several times; she has martial arts skills and fought alongside Brother Cong in Liaodong."

"Ordinary daughters of wealthy families wouldn't have this foundation and courage, and small households couldn't raise such a person."

"No one in the two prefectures can help Brother Cong in battle; we elders can always help him win people's hearts."

"She accompanies Brother Cong on the expedition, which is also a help and support inside and out; if she can help Brother Cong win merit, the face and wealth she gains will be the Jia family's."

Wang Xifeng suddenly understood in her heart; the Old Matriarch had seen many outstanding girls, and although this Miss Xu was outstanding, she had no name or status with Third Brother Cong.

Yet the Old Matriarch was very affectionate when she saw her, pulling her to her side to talk the first time they met.

She even rewarded her with a top-quality bracelet as a meeting gift; it turns out she had quite a calculation; ginger is still old and spicy.

I even said the Old Matriarch was generous today; it turns out she saw that Miss Xu's background was extraordinary.

This Third Brother Cong is really good at attracting women; where did he dig them all up?

Count's Prefecture, Jia Cong's courtyard.

Through Ai Li returned to the East Prefecture with Jia Cong, then entered the room to change into men's clothing, put on soft armor and riding boots, hung a saber at her waist, and wore a tasseled helmet, looking heroic and dashing.

It is very inconvenient for women to go on expeditions, so changing into men's clothing makes things much more convenient; this attire is the same as a personal guard, and following Jia Cong will not attract attention.

Their luggage was carried out by the old woman, taken over by the young servant in the outer courtyard, and handed over to the personal guards outside the East Corner Gate to load onto the carts.

Yingchun and the other sisters gathered in Jia Cong's courtyard, each with a heavy heart; the joy at the farewell banquet yesterday seemed to fade away instantly and inexplicably.

Daiyu knew that there shouldn't be any sorrowful tears before the expedition; her eyes were a bit red, but she didn't want to show it on her face.

Thinking that Third Brother went to Liaodong last time, he also encountered Jurchen Tatars and went home after a full half year.

This time everyone says that more Mongol Tatars are coming, and they are more powerful than the Jurchen Tatars; Third Brother is going on this expedition, wouldn't it take even longer?

If this takes a year or two, when will we see him again? Thinking of this, her heart ached, and even when Jia Cong spoke to her, she was absent-minded.

Although Yingchun was also reluctant to part with her brother, she knew that Jia Cong was the pillar of the two prefectures; men's achievements in battle are the fate of noble military families.

Even if she was reluctant in her heart, she didn't want to show half of it, lest her brother, who was about to set out on an expedition, wouldn't like it when he saw it, and would have more worries when he was away from home.

Seeing Tan Chun had always had the ambition of a daughter of a wealthy family and yearned for the vastness of the world, while Shi Xiangyun had a heroic and dashing temperament and didn't want to sink into sorrow.

Although they were attached and reluctant in their hearts, they knew that this matter was helpless; Jia Cong was not Baoyu and couldn't be locked up at home for a lifetime; men's achievements are always in the distance.

If there was anything they were unwilling to accept, it was just that as daughters, they would be trapped in deep courtyards for the rest of their lives and couldn't accompany him to gallop in all directions.

So when they saw Through Ai Li, who had changed into men's clothing, wearing a helmet and armor, with a long sword at her waist, looking heroic and dashing, they were very envious in their hearts.

Both of them pulled Through Ai Li to talk, curious about everything about her, and their yearning was overflowing in their words.

Although Baochai's heart was overflowing with sorrow, she was a sister from a maternal family, and with Yingchun, Daiyu, and others present, she naturally found it even harder to express.

Because she was born into a family of imperial merchants, she knew more about the ways of the world than Daiyu and other daughters of official families.

Brother Cong is the Regional Commander of an army, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses going on the expedition with him; as long as nothing major happens, the round trip will definitely be safe, so there is no need to worry too much.

It's just that he went to Liaodong once last time, and when he returned, he was granted the title of Weiyuan Count, and also received the honor of a palace-bestowed marriage.

This time he is going on an expedition to fight again; he is so outstanding, he will likely win merit again, and who knows what kind of atmosphere it will be in the future.

Baochai thought of these things, her heart was half joy and half worry, and her thoughts were like willow catkins without support.

Her own thoughts had always been difficult to speak of; even if her mother knew it well, she had carefully avoided it for the past year, perhaps feeling it was too ethereal...

Among the sisters, only Xing Xiuyan's thoughts were calm; although she was reluctant to part with Jia Cong, she had already made up her mind to wait steadily for him to come home.

She even quietly stuffed the sachet she had just made into Jia Cong's hand...

Everyone was having different farewell feelings when the steward of the outer courtyard sent word that a guest had arrived outside to see the Count off on his expedition.

Jia Cong had entered the palace yesterday according to palace etiquette to bid farewell to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao; at such an age and rank, being appointed to lead an army alone could be considered the Emperor's favor.

So it was no secret that he was leading the army out of the city today, and it spread quickly in official circles, which was within reason, so naturally, colleagues and friends came to see him off.

Jia Cong went to the main hall of the outer courtyard and saw five or six guests sitting there, all relatives, friends, and official colleagues.

Among them was a middle-aged eunuch with a fair and upright face, wearing a blue gold-woven flying fish robe and a black gauze mountain cap, his demeanor steady and calm.

It was Wang Dong, the Director of the Palace of Prince Kangshun; years ago, Jia Cong had made a name for himself at the Nanxi Literary Gathering, and from then on, he had formed a connection with Prince Kangshun.

Over the years, he and Prince Kangshun had dealings, and he was the only person among the royal nobility with whom Jia Cong was on good terms.

Even when he was investigating the major case of the Water Supervision Office in Jin Ling, he had a colleague's friendship with Prince Ning Li Zhongmao, but their friendship was only superficial, far less close than with Prince Kangshun.

Every time he achieved success over the years, Prince Kangshun, hindered by his status and taboos, found it inconvenient to visit in person.

But he always sent his trusted eunuch Wang Dong to come, and their treatment of each other could be considered very sincere.

Wang Dong had come to the Jia household several times over the years, was familiar with both the East and West prefectures, and had no extra pleasantries with Jia Cong, only smiling and saying words of safe passage.

He also sent a gift appropriate for the expedition, a silver-gilt gold-mounted saddle, which was very exquisite and luxurious; sending it to a general on an expedition could be considered very appropriate.

Wang Dong sent the gift on behalf of Prince Kangshun and didn't make extra pleasantries with Jia Cong, then smiled and rose to take his leave; Jia Cong saw him to the outside of the hall and returned.

He saw among the guests two close classmates, Liu Xiaoping, who was now the Registrar of the Court of Ceremonial, and Cui Anzhi, who was waiting for the Spring Examination in the Love Shenjing.

The two smiled and waved at Jia Cong, letting him greet other guests first; they were all classmates and didn't need too many formal pleasantries.

Because Liu Xiaoping was now in official circles, he saw that the two guests who were leaving had quite extraordinary statuses.

One of them had quite a reputation in the scholarly circles of the Love Shenjing, Li Congmian, a Grade 5B Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy, whose official position was second only to Ge Hongzheng and Jia Cong.

The other was wearing a Grade 5 official robe; although he was a new face, he was also a chief official of the Six Ministries, and his background was not small.

Jia Cong knew that this Grade 5 official came from the Ministry of Works and was Hu Tai'an, the Director of the Bureau of Land Reclamation.

He was also a trusted aide of the Minister of Works, Li Dekang, and was Jia Cong's proper colleague in the same ministry.

Li Congmian and Hu Tai'an's intentions were similar; they came to see him off not only because of their private friendship as colleagues, but also representing the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Works. ===== CHAPTER 882 =====