Unfortunately, this harmonious scene did not last long. A sweet voice called out "Brother Luo Sheng" from the doorway, and Zuo Lanzhi walked in, lifting her skirt.

Xiao Yunying looked up and saw that the girl had changed into a pink dress today, which made her face look rosy and cute.

If he didn't glare at me when we made eye contact.

Xiao Yunying withdrew her gaze and continued to teach Luo Xin how to write.

She didn't like Zuo Lanzhi.

Xiao Yunying didn't consider herself a shallow person. In today's society, it was perfectly normal for daughters of high-ranking officials to be a little spoiled and arrogant.

Zuo Lanzhi's spoiled behavior was at most annoying, but Xiao Yunying felt more than just ordinary dislike towards this girl; she felt an intuitive aversion to her.

Her intuition was pretty accurate, so she genuinely didn't like this girl.

Luo Sheng gave a blank "hmm," but Zuo Lanzhi didn't seem to care and went straight to sit down next to Luo Xin.

"Xin'er".

Although Luo Xin didn't like this person, she remembered her mother's teachings to be polite, so she put down her pen and said, "Hello, Auntie."

Zuo Lanzhi smiled and said, "I was busy decorating the house yesterday and didn't get everything ready. I have some free time today, so I'm bringing you the gift I prepared in advance. See if you like it."

As she spoke, she took two brocade boxes from Yinyu's hands, opened them one by one, and placed them on the table.

Xiao Yunying glanced at it and saw a gold necklace with a gold lock and a small box containing various beaded flowers worn by little girls.

Unfortunately, the beaded flower was still too big for Luo Xin. It was obvious that it was prepared haphazardly by the servants; the size was unsuitable, and no care was put into it.

Zuo Lanzhi also noticed this. She paused for a moment, picked out the largest one, and held it up to Luo Xin's head: "Isn't it a bit too big?"

Luo Sheng suddenly spoke up: "It's gotten too big, the core can't fit."

Zuo Lanzhi's smile froze: "It was my oversight. I had already picked out the smaller one, but it was still too big. Xin'er is so thin and small, she must have suffered a lot."

Luo Xin hurriedly said, "Xin'er is only three and a half years old, she should be that young. Besides, I'm not thin, I'm chubby all over."

Zuo Lanzhi's expression stiffened even more, but she quickly composed herself and put the beaded flower back into the brocade box: "If Xin'er doesn't like it, I'll buy you something else next time."

Luo Xin quickly said, "I like it very much, thank you Auntie."

Even if you can't wear it yourself, you can have your mother sell it for money.

We can't wait until next time; who knows when next time will be?

"I'm glad you like it."

Zuo Lanzhi then took a small brocade box and opened it, inside which was a mutton fat jade bracelet.

"This is a gift I'm giving to Miss Xiao as a token of our meeting. I apologize for the inconvenience caused by my staying here."

Before Xiao Yunying could speak, Zuo Lanzhi continued, "Oh dear, Miss Xiao probably doesn't recognize this mutton-fat jade bracelet. It's much more valuable than a gold bracelet. I was careless. You usually have to do hard work and can't wear this jade bracelet. I should buy more gold and silver jewelry."

Xiao Yunying sighed inwardly. She really wanted to say, "Girl, your personality and emotional intelligence are really not suited to pretending to be a green tea b*tch."

Not only did it fail to achieve the effect he had envisioned, but it also made him seem rather dim-witted.

She didn't voice her true feelings, thinking she should save face for the other person: "It's alright, I can sell it to get money if I can't wear it. Thank you, Miss Zuo."

Luo Xin's eyes lit up. Sure enough, she and her mother had the same idea.

Zuo Lanzhi thought the other party would feel ashamed, but she didn't expect him to bluntly say that he wanted to sell it to get money.

She glanced at Luo Sheng, who was calmly sipping his tea beside her. Seeing no sign of disgust or anything else on his face, she gave an awkward smile and said, "Since I gave it to you, you can do with it as you please."

She placed the last brocade box on the table: "This is a gift for the three young masters; it is a Duan inkstone carved by Master Sun."

Xiao Yunying replied politely, "Miss Zuo, you're very kind."

Yinyu gently tugged at Zuo Lanzhi's sleeve from behind. Zuo Lanzhi felt it, suppressed her displeasure, and said, "Miss Xiao, Yinzhu was rude to you yesterday. It was really my fault as the mistress who failed to train the maid properly. I apologize to you here. Please don't take it to heart."

Xiao Yunying was too lazy to play along with her, so she pretended to argue back and forth: "It's okay, let bygones be bygones, don't bring it up again."

After hearing this, Zuo Lanzhi was at a loss for words, and the living room fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Yunying continued teaching Luo Xin to write as if no one else was around, while Luo Sheng watched the mother and daughter from opposite sides.

Without any interaction, only Zuo Lanzhi felt an awkward sense of not fitting in.

Unable to bear the quiet atmosphere, she spoke up: "Brother Luo Sheng, if you're bored, let's play chess."

Luo Sheng picked up the dessert recipe that Xiao Yunying had just placed aside and looked at it without giving her a single glance, refusing, "I am a martial artist and do not understand these refined matters."

Zuo Lanzhi felt even more embarrassed when she heard Luo Sheng say that.

Luo Sheng carefully examined the recipe and asked, "Did you come up with all these desserts yourself?"

Xiao Yunying looked up at the sound: "Yeah, I was just messing around with things when I had nothing else to do."

"My mother likes to eat desserts, could you make some?"

Although Xiao Yunying didn't feel close to Madam Luo, she didn't dislike her either, and agreed: "Sure, let me see what ingredients we have at home in a bit, and I'll make a few dishes for Madam Luo to try this afternoon."

Zuo Lanzhi also wanted to join their conversation, so she said, "Although the food made by Miss Xiao is not exquisite, it tastes quite good. I wonder if I will have the honor of trying some of your pastries."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!