~ SEND A MEETING GIFT ~
“The Old Madam’s mood fluctuated too greatly yesterday, and today she has a slight headache. She told me that if Madam and Young Miss come over, I will ask to return and take a good rest. They are all family members, and the family does not need to be so formal.”
“Mother has a headache. Did you ask the doctor to look at it?” Su Qing asked.
“I’ve already asked a doctor to take a look at it. They say it’s not a big problem, and only need to drink two sets of decoctions to recuperate.” Wen Mama answered respectfully.
Su Qing nodded, “Then I am relieved.”
Although she didn’t receive permission to enter to pay her respects, Mu Yunyao accompanied Su Qing to pay her respects outside the courtyard before returning to Jiyue Pavillion.
Ever since Bu Xian Luo opened, Su Qing also started to like drinking tea. Jiyue Pavilion had a lotus pond in its courtyard, and the scenery was still rather pleasing to the eye. Thus, she asked to set up tea sets in the small pavilion.
After Mu Yunyao finished brewing the tea, she brought the teacup to Su Qing, and then took a thick booklet to look through it carefully, “It was a busy day yesterday, and the luggage carried back a bit slower, so we didn’t send out the meeting gifts. If we continue to delay today, it won’t be justified. Jin Lan, you will go and call Zhou Mama to come over.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Very quickly, Zhou Mama walked over. “Greetings, Madam. Greetings, Young Miss.”
Mu Yunyao raised her head. “Zhou Mama, you know the situation in residence better than my mother and me, so there are some things that still need your guidance. Jin Lan, get someone to bring up the gift that Mother had prepared.”
Soon, a series of boxes were placed in the yard.
Mu Yunyao stood up and gestured for Zhou Mama to come forward. “Mama, take a look. These are all prepared to honor the Old Madam. Is there anything inappropriate about them?”
The jewels were almost dazzling, and Zhou Mama looked stunned. She had seen many good things with the Eldest Madam, but now that she saw these boxes, she felt that she hadn’t seen enough. “Madam and Young Miss have prepared them extremely well, so the Old Madam will definitely like them.”
“Zhou Mama is very knowledgeable. Since you said it’s alright, then it’s natural that it can’t be wrong. Jin Lan arranged for someone to send it to Grandmother.” After she finished speaking, Mu Yunyao pointed to something else. “These are for Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt, and the rest are for the brothers and sisters in residence. What do you think, Zhou Mama?”
Zhou Mama looked carefully at the gifts and couldn’t help but secretly praise them in her heart. She didn’t know how Mu Yunyao’s thoughts had grown, but she couldn’t find any mistakes in these gifts. Moreover, they were really exquisite and precious. “The gift that Madam and Young Miss prepared couldn’t be more complete.”
“Jin Lan and Jin Qiao have gone to deliver some things to Grandmother. As for the rest of the places, I’d like to ask Zhou Mama to call some people to help send the things over.”
The expression in Zhou Mama’s eyes changed as she looked somewhat troubled. “This …”
Mu Yunyao slightly raised her brows, “Could there be something wrong with it?”
“There is nothing wrong with that. It is because the gifts prepared by Madam and Young Miss are too precious. This servant is afraid of any mishaps.”
“What are you saying, Mama? I heard from Qi Mama that you’re also a veteran in residence. Earlier, you also were highly regarded by Eldest Aunt, so what could happen if you gave some gifts?”
Zhou Mama thought for a moment and couldn’t help but nod. “This servant will immediately go and arrange it.”
“Alright.”
After arranging the gifts, Mu Yunyao’s expression became even more relaxed. She sat in the pavilion and accompanied Su Qing to drink her tea, “How does Mother feel about this tea?”
“My mouth doesn’t have your spirit. No matter how subtle the taste is, I can’t taste the difference. I only feel that there is less sweetness when compared to the water in Jingling City.”
“Previously, the water used to brew tea in Bu Xian Luo was all from the mash spring water, so naturally, the water there would be much better than in other places. However, there are a few springs wide renowned in the Capital. I’ll let someone find it and give it to Mother for a taste in a few days.”
Su Qing quickly shook her head, “Why are you so troublesome? Besides, the cost of fetching water from the mash spring was quite high. Everything in the Capital is expensive, so fetching water is naturally not cheap. If you can save some, then save some.”
Previously, Mu Yunyao had given most of the silver taels earned by Bu Xian Lou and Ni YunFang to the people of Jingling City. Those meeting gifts were more precious and had cost an unknown amount of silver, so save some if you can save some silver.
Mu Yunyao naturally guessed what Su Qing was worried about, but she couldn’t say the silver she earned from the salt tax couldn’t be told clearly. Otherwise, she might have to stay awake all night, “Mother, you don’t need to worry too much. Now, Bu Xian Luo is getting more and more widespread, Ni Yun Fang has also started making silver. You can rest assured that you can spend it boldly, but you will never spend all of it.”
“I just feel that it’s a bit of a pity.” Su Qing also knew that she was used to hardships. Now that she had money, she could not bear to waste it. Thus, when she saw so many precious gifts given to people who had harmed her daughter in her previous life, her heart was already in pain.
Mu Yunyao’s face blossomed into a dazzling smile. Smiling, she said in a soft voice, “Mother, don’t worry. Since we’ve already sent the things out, we’ll naturally be able to get them back from other places.”
She hated those people even more than Su Qing. If she wanted to give them gifts, she would have packed some Blood Seal Throat poison, and she won’t waste silver in vain.
Su Qing sighed, “Let’s not talk about these things. If we continue, we won’t even have the mood to drink tea anymore.”
Not long after she finished speaking, Si Qin walked in and reported, “Madam, Miss, just now Eldest Miss sent someone to deliver a message, saying that Miss Meng from the Grand Preceptor’s family would be here as a guest. She has heard so much about you, so she invited you to the east courtyard.”
Mu Yunyao slightly raised her eyes. “The Grand Preceptor’s family’s Miss Meng?” Meng Yanran?
Su Qing was slightly nervous, “Yao’er, do you know who that Miss Meng is?”
“Her name is Meng Yanran, the Eldest’s niece, born in the Grand Preceptor’s family. Her father is the Minister of Rites, her grandfather is a first rank Grand Preceptor of the current Dynasty, and her grandmother is a princess of Qingning. She can be said to be the first-class daughter of the Imperial Capital, and Su Yuyi also must be polite to her by three points.”
Hearing that the other party had such an illustrious identity, Su Qing became even more worried in her heart. “Yao’er, why do I feel that this person has come with ill intentions?”
Of course, it’s the bad ones! However, Mu Yunyao didn’t want to say it out loud, as it’ll make her mother more worried, “Mother, don’t worry. It’s nothing important. It’s just a meeting. Can she eat people? Sooner or later, I will have to come into contact with her. It’s good to see her now.”
When they were in Jingling City, although there were some twists and turns, most of them filled with goodwill. When she suddenly came to the Capital, Su Qing only felt that she had to be careful when she took a step. She also felt uncomfortable as there was a nail pricking her feet.
“That’s true, but you still have to be careful. After all, that Miss Meng has a high status. If you anger her and want to punish you, I’m afraid no one will help us…”
Mu Yunyao could not help but smile. Although their statuses were not worth mentioning in front of the Su Family, in the end, she had received rewards from the Emperor several times, and there are Ni Yunfang and Bu Xian Luo with them. No matter how arrogant and domineering Meng Yanran was, she did not dare to go too far. After all, no matter how illustrious the Meng family was, they would not be able to cover it up with a single move. Moreover, the Meng family and the Su family were different. The most favored young miss of the Su family was Su Yuyi, and her nurturing and care for her had reached the point where f devoting the whole family’s strength. Unlike Meng Yanran, there are quite a few people in the family who are on the same level as her.
“Mother, you can rest assured. I guarantee you that I will return in full.”
As you should, Yaoyao. As you should. 😏
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