Chapter 51 The Voyeur

Xiao Xi overheard the news about the young lady's marriage to Young Master He by chance. She dared not tell anyone in the mansion for fear of being informed, and she was so uncomfortable that she could only turn to Lin Yuesha, the new gossip.

"Young Master He is gentle and patient. Our young lady will surely be happy if she marries him."

Despite her young age, Xiao Xi is quite knowledgeable. She muttered to herself for a while, then, noticing only a few melon seeds left, sighed, "What a pity. There's a hierarchy of people: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Young Master He, though poor, is a scholar. I just don't know..."

I just don't know what the future holds.

Xiao Xi didn't say this. Her family often talked about trivial matters, and there were countless examples of in-laws who helped their sons rise to high positions, only to turn out to be ungrateful bastards in the end.

Lin Yuesha: "..."

Xiao Xi is so precocious. She thought about what she was doing when she was ten years old. It seems like she was still playing in the mud!

When the sun was high in the sky, Jiang Baozhu got up on time, and Xiao Xi helped her wash up.

Jiang Baozhu didn't mention a word about what happened last night, because she simply wouldn't speak.

“Miss, I was sent by Master Jiang to keep you company. My name is Lin Yuesha.”

Lin Yuesha took the initiative to introduce herself.

After a long while, Jiang Baozhu finally reacted, raising her head to look at her before lowering it again.

The scene became quite awkward, but Xiao Xi was used to it and could even act as a translator, saying, "What Miss means is that she understands and tells you not to be shy."

"good."

Lin Yuesha smiled slightly. Being new to the place, she really didn't know what to do.

Jiang Baozhu had been immersed in her own world for half an hour, and was in a daze.

Xiao Xi was getting restless and kept giving Lin Yuesha meaningful glances.

"The weather is nice, why don't we go out into the yard and soak up some sun?"

Lin Yuesha refused Xiaoxi's suggestion to play the beanbag toss game, because she wasn't actually twelve years old!

Both of her visits to town have been rushed, and so far, Lin Yuesha hasn't had a chance to go out for a stroll.

If he could persuade Jiang Baozhu to go out for a walk, he could take the opportunity to learn about local prices and people's lives, and do a preliminary market survey.

Another thing is, it would be great if I could run into my uncle's family.

Jiang Baozhu nodded and stood up.

"The young lady said, 'Let's go then, let's take a look around the main kitchen.'"

Xiao Xi continued translating, her voice loud and clear.

Lin Yuesha hesitated for a moment. Jiang Baozhu stood up, intending to go out, but how did Xiaoxi figure out that her young lady wanted to go to the main kitchen?

Xiao Xi blushed under Lin Yuesha's questioning gaze.

"This little girl clearly wants to go to the kitchen to find something to eat, and she's using Jiang Baozhu's name!"

Lin Yuesha thought to herself, "This girl, Xiao Xi, is both gossipy and a foodie. She clearly wants to go to the main kitchen to see if there's anything delicious to eat."

The three of them hadn't even left the courtyard when Madam Xu sent over a servant.

"Miss Lin, these are new clothes that our madam sent for you to change into."

It's not that the servants in the Jiang household don't fawn over the powerful and bully the weak; it's just that Jiang Huai emphasized yesterday when he brought Lin Yuesha back that she wasn't a servant of the Jiang family.

The servants pondered for a moment and realized that it was probably a poor relative who was extremely far away and trying to freeload. After all, the lady was from the south and had a cousin in the north who had married far away years ago.

"How could I possibly accept this?"

Lin Yuesha took the small package and found it to be quite heavy. She immediately smiled and said to the old woman, "Please thank Madam for me."

In any unfamiliar place, being sweet-talking is always a good idea.

Before leaving the house, Lin Yuesha quickly went back inside to change her clothes. The new clothes included a pure white inner garment and an outer jacket with white rabbit fur trim on the back, collar, and front. The fur was not only smooth to the touch but also very warm.

Clothes make the man, and Lin Yuesha was already beautiful. When her almond-shaped eyes glistened with tears, she was truly a sight to behold. She was twelve years old now, not yet fully grown, with red lips and white teeth, making her appear a little childish.

Just as Lin Yuesha finished changing her clothes, she turned around and found a shadowy figure behind the screen. Jiang Baozhu was standing there, watching for who knows how long.

Good heavens, even if she herself is flat-chested, even if Jiang Baozhu is a woman like her, it doesn't mean she wants to be spied on!

Lin Yuesha rubbed her temples, pulled out her inner notebook, and made a note of Jiang Baozhu: she liked to dress up as a ghost to scare people, she was elusive, and, to make matters worse, she was a voyeur!

"Miss, you're here."

Lin Yuesha gave a polite but awkward smile, which she herself felt was very fake.

Jiang Baozhu glanced at her indifferently, then turned and left.

Lin Yuesha: "..."

"Miss, did you come in to get a drink of water?"

Xiao Xi was still chattering away. Seeing that her young mistress didn't object to going to the main kitchen, she was overjoyed. She had heard her mother say that they were going to fry melon seeds today.

Xiao Xi loves to eat sunflower seeds, but her mother forbids it and often conducts surprise inspections.

Her mother said that people who love to eat melon seeds will have a small gap in their teeth, which will make them look ugly when they smile.

Xiao Xi loves snacks the most, but unfortunately Jiang Baozhu rarely eats them, so she doesn't get much benefit from them.

Now that she's stormed into the main kitchen, humph, does she think her mother can hide the melon seeds and not take them out?

Xiao Xi is such a shrewd girl. The kitchen is busy roasting melon seeds, and to ensure even heating, they've added some fine sand.

Xiao Xi's mother, Aunt Wang, was helping out in the kitchen.

"Xiao Xi, why did you bring Miss here?"

When Aunt Wang saw her daughter's expression, she wanted to pinch her cheeks. The kitchen was smoky and smelled terrible.

"Mother, I brought Miss and Sister Lin here for a stroll."

Xiao Xi's eyes darted around, and she ran ahead of Jiang Baozhu, making faces at her mother.

The servants felt very uncomfortable when Jiang Baozhu arrived. She didn't say anything, but took the small spatula from the stir-fryer and tried it herself.

Lin Yuesha clicked her tongue in surprise. She hadn't expected this older woman to have such a practical spirit! However, although the roasted melon seeds were fragrant, they always tasted the same. She casually asked, "Aunt Wang, has the kitchen made spiced melon seeds yet?"

Aunt Wang was stunned. She had limited knowledge and had never heard of spiced melon seeds.

"Sister Lin, can melon seeds be made into spiced ones?"

Xiao Xi tilted her head, showing great interest. She had only heard of spiced braised pork and spiced boiled peanuts, but she didn't know that melon seeds could also be spiced.

If you eat some spiced melon seeds with some tea, it would be the perfect way to enjoy the flavor!

Lin Yuesha's words immediately drew a response from Xiao Xi, and even Jiang Baozhu turned to look at her.

"Sister Lin, what Miss means is, if you know how to make it, you might as well make some."

Xiao Xi was addicted to forging imperial edicts, but Jiang Baozhu nodded in agreement, which was quite unusual, and even Aunt Wang had nothing to say.

Spiced melon seeds are something you can't find anywhere else in the town or county.

"This is a secret family technique passed down through my family!"

Although the process is simple, since there are no such places in the town or county, she can make a fortune during the Chinese New Year!