"The clothes Sister Qingmei is wearing have a minty scent, which smells very refreshing. What kind of incense is she using?"

Qingmei giggled, "We didn't use incense. We just used the mint and camphor balls that were distributed in our yard. I just added more camphor balls because I like the smell of mint."

Chunlu also asked, "Mint-flavored mothballs? We never received mothballs with mint added when we were in the outer courtyard."

When will the produce be available in the yard? My sister likes this flavor too, so I'll get some for her when it's ready.

As soon as she said that, the chattering girls fell silent instantly, exchanging knowing glances.

Chunlu pretended not to know. "Besides mint, are there any other flavors? I like jasmine, though. Do you add some floral scent to the mothballs?"

Qingmei glared at Chunlan, but before she could speak, Chunlan hurriedly stood up.

"Yes, it's been sent. I was just busy the past few days and haven't had a chance to give it to you yet."

After saying that, she felt embarrassed and indignant, muttering to herself, "It's just a few mint balls, is it really that big of a deal?"

"Come to my room and get them after you finish making the silk flowers. I'll give you mine too!"

His sarcastic tone displeased the Chunlu sisters. "You still have the nerve to get angry? What gives you the right!"

Chun Chao replied indifferently, "Indeed, it's just a few camphor balls. If you like them, take them, sister. From now on, you can have all the camphor balls as your share!"

Upon hearing this, the little girls next to Chunyu couldn't help but giggle. Chunlu also covered her mouth with her handkerchief.

It's shameful to manipulate people over such a trivial matter.

Seeing the contempt in everyone's eyes, Chunlan lost her mind for a moment.

He stood up, ready to yell, "A bunch of shallow-minded little hussies, what are you laughing at? It's just a small matter, I forgot!"

Qingmei couldn't stand her swaggering around like that. With a cold glare, Chunlan disappeared without a trace.

"Since you like the taste, you two can come over later. I happen to have a big bag of these in my room that I didn't get to distribute last time."

Chun Chao and Chun Lu quickly thanked Qingmei. Afterwards, everyone changed the subject and continued making silk flowers happily.

Wang Yan mainly made red ones, and after finishing them, she exchanged them with Chunyu and the others, exchanging several different colors.

After this incident, all the maids in the courtyard realized that these two sisters were unruly and should not be provoked lightly.

This was exactly the result Chun Chao Chun Lu wanted, and she smiled as she helped everyone cut and pass the beads.

………………

For the flower viewing banquet in February, the Anbo Mansion sent out invitations, not only to the Marquis's wife but also to the second wife.

Zheng found it strange; this flower-viewing banquet was a matchmaking banquet, so why was she given a separate ticket?

She didn't think the Anbo family would even look at his illegitimate daughters.

Let alone a concubine's daughter, even a legitimate daughter would probably be looked down upon by the family. The second master of the Marquis's mansion has neither official rank nor a reputation for virtue.

Even if someone is an illegitimate son in his family, he would still choose a wife whose family holds an official position. There's no need for him to marry into a family like his, which is full of idle and unruly people.

But deep down, I still held a sliver of hope, just in case.

The two girls in the family are both fifteen or sixteen this year, and they've reached the appropriate age.

He happily got into the sedan chair, but returned in a rage in the evening, having reportedly smashed a set of dishes in the house.

The eldest and second young ladies also kept quiet, their mouths tightly shut. Upon returning to the manor, they went straight into their rooms and courtyards, leaving no trace of their whereabouts.

Lady Hou remained silent, feigning ignorance when questioned by the Old Madam. When asked about the Second Madam, she smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling.

"Which ignorant brat dared to gossip to the old lady like this? She only accidentally broke a teacup set, and she dared to bother the old lady like this?"

Such nonsense! See if my daughter-in-law doesn't give them a good beating!

The old lady raised her hand to interrupt her, "Alright, alright, don't scare them. Is it related to Brother Ting's marriage?"

The second wife adopted a conciliatory attitude, but she wouldn't mention or agree to the matter verbally.

"Why is that the case? Let's wait until after the autumn imperial examinations for Ting-ge'er to get married."

After finishing, she sighed with regret, "Our Ting-ge'er is talented and handsome, but now is not a good time to arrange a marriage."

Upon hearing this, the old lady naturally understood her unspoken meaning: they didn't have a good family background. Although they claimed to be related to the Marquis's mansion, everyone could see what was really going on inside.

He's an illegitimate son; if he doesn't earn a decent future for himself, who will respect him?

The second wife's jokes and banter left the old lady completely bewildered, and she even managed to get a free meal from the old lady before going home.

Upon arriving at her own courtyard and entering the house, her smile vanished. She called over the old nanny beside her, "Go and investigate, see which traitor is spreading rumors everywhere!"

I was filled with anger again, and on such a cold day, I drank two cups of cold tea.

She could almost hear again the words spoken in a low voice by the First Madam of the Anbo Mansion when they went to the banquet.

Every word was a gem, a veiled satire, each stab at the heart.

"This marriage is about the union of two people. For families like ours with daughters, when choosing a husband, good character is of utmost importance."

Even choosing a son from a poor family is the best option, as long as he is polite and reasonable.

I've heard that some rich young master does such shameless things? He flirts with maids and tries to get close to young ladies from wealthy families.

If that's the case, why not be a respectable son-in-law who lives with his wife's family? At least that would be honest and respectable.

He secretly tried to incite someone's daughter to disown her family. Such dissolute behavior—if it weren't for the sake of their noble family, our master would have gone to their door and beaten him to death!

At first, the second wife was completely confused, but the more the person explained, the clearer it became, and she finally understood.

It was inappropriate to cause a scene at the banquet, but after returning and understanding the situation, he felt he could beat Gu Ting to death!

It turned out that the two families met during the New Year's celebrations to ward off illness, and that's when this rude and dissolute fellow came to visit!

In front of his own sisters and the servants, he gave the third young lady of the Anbo Mansion a lantern with an ambiguous expression.

After returning home, Xu Shaoqing shyly and timidly spoke highly of the second branch of the Marquis's family to her mother.

The servants around her dared not hide anything and told the First Madam of the Anbo Mansion the truth about what happened that day.

Moreover, the second master was no reasonable person; he actually invited Xu Shaoqing's father to a banquet and brazenly said that he wanted to marry the third young lady.

This shameless practice of privately arranging matchmaking is extremely disrespectful in this era.

The old man's face darkened immediately, but out of consideration for the reputation of the Marquis and his daughter, he didn't smash the man's face to pieces.

That's why later on, an invitation was sent to the second wife, who was then subjected to a thorough humiliation.

Take this matter for example. The second wife was completely unaware of what was happening and suffered injustice, yet she still had to cover it up for these shameless people. It wasn't that she was targeting them.

If even the slightest word gets out, the Anbo family won't take it lying down.