105. Giving gifts

The entire Beiding Marquis's residence was immersed in the joy of receiving the gift.

After the family finished breakfast, the steward came to report: "Lord Xie has arrived at the residence."

The little dumpling jumped up with a shout of "Ah!": "Brother Xie is here! Quickly bring out all of Brother Xie's gifts!"

As soon as Xie Wenling entered, he was stunned by the scene before him—the hall was piled high with brocade boxes and bundles, and the Marquis of Beiding's family was dressed even more elaborately than for the New Year.

Meanwhile, the little dumpling was directing a dozen servants to carry three huge boxes out the door.

"This is..." He looked at Marquis Beiding in confusion.

Marquis Beiding laughed and explained, "Wenling, you've come at the perfect time! Our Yue'er is about to give away the entire jewelry and silk shop!"

The little dumpling had already run up to Xie Wenling, tugging at his sleeve and dragging him toward one of the boxes: "Brother Xie, come and see! These are all for you!"

The box was opened, and the dazzling golden light made it difficult for people to open their eyes for a moment.

Xie Wenling was taken aback.

“Princess…” He squatted down to be at eye level with the little girl, “These are too precious.”

The little dumpling shook her head and said earnestly, "It's not valuable! Brother Xie is good to Yue'er, and Yue'er should be good to Brother Xie too!"

Finally, with the little dumpling's insistence and the persuasion of the Marquis of Beiding's family, Xie Wenling accepted the gift.

However, a small accident still occurred...

When Xie Wenling was preparing to send Xiao Tuanzi and Xie Gege to school, Bei Dinghou unexpectedly discovered that his second brother had not done his homework.

After sternly rejecting his second brother's terrible idea that "if the Grand Tutor asks, just say I left my homework at home, not that I didn't do it, then that's fine," Marquis Beiding, with a long face, kept his second brother at home and decided to personally supervise him to finish his homework. He also asked Xie Wenling to explain the situation to Qu Zijin.

Xie Wenling nodded, happily picked up the little dumpling, and turned to leave.

-

Wenhua Hall.

With Xie Wenling's help, Jin Lanyue, carrying a bulging brocade bundle, jumped off the carriage.

She tilted her little face up and said earnestly to Xie Wenling, "Brother Xie, remember to come and pick up Yue'er!"

Xie Wenling nodded and reached out to tidy up her little bun: "It definitely will."

The little dumpling was relieved and laboriously dragged its heavy bundle into the Wenhua Hall.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw the little princess playing shuttlecock with several palace maids under the eaves.

"Little Cloud!" The little dumpling waved her little hands and ran over, the items in her bundle jingling.

The little princess turned around and saw the little dumpling's exceptionally gorgeous outfit today, its sparkly attire immediately winning her heart: "Little Moon, you look so beautiful today!"

"Hehe, I think so too," the little dumpling smiled happily, revealing her tiny teeth, and mysteriously opened the bundle, "I brought lots of gifts for Little Cloud!"

The gifts for the little princess and her family were chosen with the help of Jiang Xiyue.

The little dumpling first took out a set of embroidered ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), the hem of which was adorned with tiny gold bells.

For adults, the jingling of the little bells would be a bit annoying. Jiang Xiyue thought it was frivolous and extremely impractical, and even tried to dissuade Xiao Tuanzi, but Xiao Tuanzi was quite insistent.

But for children, these jingling little bells are so much fun!

"Wow! So many bells! And they even ring!" The little princess loved them. "I want to put them on right now!"

“And there’s more…” The little dumpling took out a pair of gilded and gem-encrusted armlets, a pearl hairpin, and a pair of soft satin embroidered shoes with butterflies.

"So beautiful! I love it!" The little princess hugged the gift tightly with one hand and the little dumpling with the other, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Then, the little princess thought for a moment, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "I'll give you a gift too! This is a necklace that Mother made for me!"

As she spoke, she reached for the gold necklace around her neck.

"No, no," the little dumpling waved its hands, "I'm giving this to Little Cloud, not exchanging it!"

"Oh, just consider it a gift to you, don't treat it as a replacement."

"Huh?" The little dumpling's head was spinning.

As the two little ones were talking, the young prince and Qu Zijin, having waited for them for a long time, came out to check on them.

When the little prince saw the gorgeous dresses and beautiful jewelry his sister was holding, he immediately felt a little aggrieved: "You two secretly gave each other gifts, but not mine...?"

Upon hearing this, the little dumpling immediately pulled a brocade box from his bundle: "The little prince also has a gift!"

The young prince was taken aback, and subconsciously took the heavy box.

Upon opening it, I found it was filled with gifts.

Even the specifications were the same as those for a little princess: an exquisite dress and several pieces of jewelry.

"Ah...this..." the little prince stammered.

"Doesn't the little prince like it?" The little dumpling asked nervously.

Seeing this, the little princess immediately waved her fist at the little prince: "Little Moon, don't worry, if he dares to say he doesn't like it, I'll beat him up and then snatch the gift away!"

"Who, who said I don't like it!" The little prince hurriedly hugged the box to his arms, his face flushed, and ran away. "I...I'll go try it on!"

Seeing this, Qu Zijin couldn't help but laugh: "Why is the county princess spending so much money today?"

The little dumpling tilted its head back and smiled sweetly: "Because Yue'er likes to see everyone happy!"

As she spoke, she took out a box from her bundle: "This is for the Grand Tutor!"

She took the initiative to open it for Qu Zijin to see, and Qu Zijin was momentarily dazzled by the golden light.

After realizing what he had said, he quickly took a step back: "It's too valuable, I absolutely cannot accept it."

"Huh? Why?" The little dumpling didn't expect the Grand Tutor to react this way. "Grand Tutor, please accept it! Yue'er has been choosing it for a long time!"

“Yes, Grand Tutor,” the little princess chimed in, “Look, I’ve already accepted them all.”

Qu Zijin shook his head firmly: "No. As the Grand Tutor, how can I accept such a valuable gift from my student? This is against the rules."

Qu Zijin came from a humble background, and even though he is now the Grand Tutor, his lifestyle remains as simple as ever.

As a trusted minister of the emperor, he had many people trying to curry favor with him every day.

But Qu Zijin ignored them all, refusing all gifts. He spent his days either attending court or teaching, and would not attend any invitations, banquets, or drinking parties unless required by the emperor.

Some people privately mocked him for being old-fashioned, stubborn, and blockheaded, but he didn't care at all.

He firmly believed he was right and that he would not accept bribes.

For example, right now—

“I appreciate the county magistrate’s kindness,” Qu Zijin said politely and tactfully to his lovely teacher, “but I will not accept bribes. Please take this back.”

...The point of this polite and tactful statement is that it begins with "I appreciate your kind intentions."

"Grand Tutor..." The little dumpling didn't understand, only knowing that she had been coldly and ruthlessly rejected, and tears began to well up in her big eyes.

"Why can't I accept it?" The little princess, full of energy, grabbed the box and shoved it into the Grand Tutor's arms, startling Qu Zijin into retreating.

Just then, the young prince, now dressed in new clothes, strode back with his head held high. He immediately saw the chaotic scene: "What's going on? What happened? Chaoyun, are you going to fight with the Grand Tutor? Wait, Little Moon, why are you crying?"

The little dumpling looked aggrieved, her eyes red-rimmed: "Grand Tutor doesn't want Yue'er's gift, boohoo..."

"Hey, hey, don't cry!" the little prince panicked. "Don't worry, don't worry, Chaoyun and I will think of a way to make the Grand Tutor accept it!"

"Really...?"

"real!"

So the young prince turned around and joined the melee.