Liu Yunyan was accompanied by her adopted cousin.

The child didn't understand the conflicts between adults, and simply asked Liu Yunyan in confusion.

"Sister, you didn't have to kneel before your sister-in-law, so why do you have to kneel now?"

Before she could finish speaking, a scream rang out, and Liu Yunyan slipped, losing her balance and falling straight forward.

Immediately afterwards, she landed on all fours in a very awkward position on the snow.

With a thick layer of snow on the ground, the fall didn't hurt much, but my clothes and hairpins were all dirty, and I looked terribly disheveled.

There were many servants at the gate of the mansion. Upon seeing this scene, many of them hurriedly covered their mouths, but some soft laughter still escaped.

The laughter that slipped through her fingers was more unbearable than loud laughter. Hearing these soft sounds, Liu Yunyan blushed with embarrassment. She didn't care about brushing off the dirt on her body and scurried into the carriage, too ashamed to show herself.

"Hmph, let's see if she dares to show off in front of Miss again, I'll give her a piece of my mind..."

Qingxing stood with her hands on her hips and said smugly. But when she entered the mansion and saw the red and colorful decorations, her face fell again.

"It's just taking a concubine, why wear red..."

"It was the young master's order that said we should give Miss Biao some face."

Hearing what the maid said, Qingxing's chest puffed up with anger.

The young master's gaze is getting really annoying. Of all the people he's interested in, he's set his sights on Miss Cousin, and he even expects her to be respectable...

When Qingxing returned to Jiang Shuwan's courtyard, she immediately saw the palace lantern made by Pei Yanzhi on the antique shelf.

Seeing Jiang Shuwan washing her hands behind her back, the little maid tiptoed and quietly took down the palace lantern.

Anger arises from the heart, and evil thoughts spring from the gall.

She casually grabbed a pair of scissors from the sewing basket, and with a swift motion, stabbed the palace lantern.

What kind of palace lantern can you make if you have poor eyesight?

We don't need this palace lantern.

"what you do?"

Holding a handkerchief soaked in hot water to wash her hands, Jiang Shuwan stared blankly at Qingxing.

Qingxing: "..."

The little girl held a lantern in her left hand and scissors in her right; she was just one centimeter away from piercing the palace lantern.

Blinking her eyes, the little girl stammered, "Um... I saw that the painting on the palace lantern was blurry, so I wanted to peel it off and replace it."

"Is the drawing blurry?"

Jiang Shuwan put down the handkerchief and walked over.

Pei Yanzhi's paintings are not yet at their most valuable, but they have unlimited potential for the future.

When he becomes the Grand Secretary, he'll be worth at least a thousand taels of silver per painting; if he misses it, he'll lose money.

"Let me see."

I took the palace lantern and held it up to look at it under the light. Sure enough, after being soaked by the wind and snow, some of the painted pink and white magnolia flowers were blurred and smudged. However, this did not affect the viewing experience and even gave it a different charm than before, so it still looked quite beautiful.

However, if it continues to be used like this a few more times, it will probably become so blurry that it's unreadable, and its value will drop from four figures to single digits.

She's not short of money now, but even if she has money, she shouldn't waste things like this.

"Turn on a few more lights, and bring over a razor blade."

After giving her instructions, Jiang Shuwan sat down with the palace lantern in her arms. The painting on the lantern was glued on with paste, and it took her almost half an hour to peel it off. She then placed it on the desk and pressed it flat with her hand before she felt that she had saved a thousand taels of silver.

Xiao Tao stood behind her like a curious child, holding the lamp for her while craning her neck to ask, "Miss, you need to paste paper on the lamp. What are you going to paste on it after you peeled it off?"

"...I drew it myself."

Jiang Shuwan casually remarked, but then struggled when she picked up the calligraphy brush.

She has zero artistic talent; she's completely incapable of poetry, calligraphy, or painting.

It would be quite embarrassing to carry around a palace lantern with an ugly painting...

However, having already boasted in front of all the maids, it wasn't appropriate to ask someone else to draw it for him. So he laid out some white paper and, referring to Pei Yanzhi's painting, drew a few magnolia flowers.

"..."

Seeing her masterful painting skills, all the maids in the room fell silent.

Qingxing, in particular, deeply regretted her earlier attempt to tear the drawing paper.

If she hadn't been caught doing something underhanded, there wouldn't be such an ugly painting in their courtyard.

"Miss, why don't we just put up the young master's painting? If it gets damaged, we can always ask him for it back..."

"What kind of looks are you giving me? I think it's pretty good..."

Abstract art is very popular in modern times.

The disappointed maids couldn't stop the enthusiastic Jiang Shuwan. The next day, she asked the kitchen for some paste and slowly pasted her painting onto it.

Then it was dried under a lamp.

And you know what? Her own painting was definitely different. She held up the palace lantern and admired it with great interest.

The more I looked at it, the more comfortable it felt, but I also noticed something was wrong. Some of the palace lantern's frames were a bit loose, and it was very damp to the touch.

Perhaps snow water seeped in during the previous uses, causing the frame to loosen and rot.

"Qingxing, bring some more tools."

Jiang Shuwan called out to Qingxing, who went to the storeroom to find tools. Suddenly, Xiaotao came running in.

"Miss, the young master has arrived."

"Let him come. The Marquis's residence is his home; he can come in whenever he wants."

Seeing that Xiao Tao was standing still, Jiang Shuwan belatedly realized that she was already a county princess.

Despite Pei Yanzhi being the youngest Vice Minister of Revenue in the Great Jing Dynasty, wielding considerable power, to her he was merely a subject.

In the past, when he came to her courtyard, the little maid would come to inform her so that she could prepare.

Now, he can only come in with her permission; otherwise, he can only wait in the yard.

At that moment, Jiang Shuwan was in an extremely good mood.

Just like getting a promotion and a raise.

She even took a few steps outside and stood under the eaves to look out.

The house was built on a raised foundation, and from her position, she could see the gate to the courtyard.

Pei Yanzhi was dressed in a sky-blue, wide-sleeved official robe, with a white jade belt around his waist that accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and tall, well-built physique.

Wearing a white jade crown on his head, he looked extremely majestic and also very imposing.

The official robes of the Vice Minister of Revenue were of excellent quality. Although the color was the same as the previous official robes, the material was several grades higher, and even the patterns embroidered on the chest of the robes were more complex and exquisite.

Li Chengyou was right; she and Pei Yanzhi were indeed experiencing double happiness.

Besides Pei Yanzhi, Jiang Shuwan also saw six palace maids standing behind him, two of whom were dressed as female officials and stood at the front.

"A palace lady-in-waiting?"

With a slight frown, Jiang Shuwan remained silent, only raising her right hand and beckoning to Pei Yanzhi.

Not only Pei Yanzhi saw her action, but the old woman guarding the gate also saw it. The old woman opened the courtyard gate, lifted the corner of her robe, and Pei Yanzhi stepped in.

Holding the palace lantern tightly, Jiang Shuwan instructed her attendants, "From now on, the young master does not need to be announced when he enters."

"Yes." The maids quickly went to relay the order.

In the courtyard.

Pei Yanzhi stood under the eaves, followed by four palace maids and two female officials. They all bowed deeply to Jiang Shuwan.

"Greetings, County Princess," they said with utmost respect.

Raising an eyebrow, Jiang Shuwan asked curiously, "What's this?"