...
The Mansion of Marquis Zhennan.
In two days, the Marquis of Zhennan will marry the Princess of Pingyang County. The servants in the mansion were busy, and festive ribbons were spread all over the courtyard.
Zhao Qing closed the door of Luofangyuan where she was temporarily living, walked to the corner of the wall and took down a brick. In the wall, her "Taihua Notes" was hidden. Zhao Qing flipped through two pages casually and her brows slowly furrowed.
There were many words in this little notebook that she couldn't understand, and there were also some crooked and scribbled symbols. Although there are many weapon drawings, Zhao Qing often needs to spend a lot of time to understand the content of one of the drawings.
Zhao Qing turned to a new page, on which was drawn a strange thing with two wheels and an iron pipe, and the note next to it was "mechanical cannon". The handwriting was sloppy and unrestrained, making it difficult to recognize. Zhao Qing was not very literate to begin with, so he had a headache reading it and simply stuffed "Taihua Notes" back into the wall.
Putting the drawings aside, she now has to prepare for her wedding.
It’s better to wait until after marriage to study the blueprints of new weapons. Zhao Qing returned to the dressing table and began to dress up happily.
There are very few pieces of jewelry on the dressing table, and most of them are not expensive. Only the gold hairpin given to her by Concubine Shen from Prince Yan's Mansion was the most expensive.
But Zhao Qing was not discouraged. When she became the mistress of the Zhennan Marquis' Mansion, her dressing table would naturally be filled with things.
"Miss." The maid who served Zhao Qing knocked on the door and said outside, "Concubine Shen and Young Master Yao from Prince Yan's Mansion are here."
Zhao Qing put down her pearl hairpin and went to the gate of the courtyard to greet him.
The weather was cold in winter, so Shen Wei wore a warm fox fur cloak and held an exquisite copper flower hand warmer in her hands. The red plum blossoms in the Marquis' Mansion were in full bloom. Shen Wei stopped under the red plum tree, admiring the flowers attentively.
Cai Ping served Shen Wei quietly, occasionally helping her to clear away the tangled branches of red plum trees.
Zhao Qing saw Shen Wei under the red plum tree from afar. The flowers were beautiful, and she was even more beautiful. Zhao Qing suppressed the envy in his heart, walked up and asked politely: "Concubine Shen, what do you want to see me for?"
Chen Wei turned around and smiled at Zhao Qing: "The county lady will be getting married in two days. Since ancient times, when a woman gets married, her hair crown must be exquisite. It just so happens that the prince gave me a box of South China Sea pearls, and I specially sent it to the county lady today to add to the wedding hair crown, which will be sparkling and brilliant."
Caiping, who was standing next to her, took out a rosewood box and opened it in front of Zhao Qing.
In the box, there are twelve South Sea pearls, which are round and have almost no flaws. They are obviously top-quality products.
Zhao Qing had never seen such beautiful pearls before, and his eyes were wide open.
"This, this is not good." Zhao Qing wanted to take Zhenzhu into his arms immediately, but he pretended to refuse verbally.
At this time, Cai Lian came back with Li Yao jumping and skipping. Li Yao is only eight years old this year, at the age when she is lively and active. Following Chen Wei to the Marquis' Mansion, Li Yao ran around happily, and Cai Lian stayed behind her to protect her.
"Aunt, look at this plum blossom rabbit." Li Yao held a peculiarly shaped rabbit in her little hand.
The rabbit is made of bamboo strips, and two bright red plum blossoms are inlaid on the rabbit ears, which looks extremely delicate and beautiful.
Li Yao couldn't put it down.
Cai Lian came over and reported the whole story to Shen Wei: "Young Master Yao just went to the Marquis's Garden to pick plum blossoms, and happened to see a maid weaving a rabbit. The maid was very skillful, and she made a rabbit for Young Master Yao in less than a cup of tea."
Li Yao happily raised the little rabbit in her hand and said excitedly: "Auntie, Yaoer wants the maid to make another rabbit. I will take it home for my sister Leyou."
Shen Wei nodded happily, turned around and said to Zhao Qing with a smile: "County Lady. How about this, I will give you this box of pearls, and you give me the maid in the Marquis's Mansion who can make rabbits, just to make the children happy."
It was a great bargain to exchange a lowly maid for a box of precious South Sea pearls.
Zhao Qing knew that Shen Wei was actually looking for an excuse to give the pearl to her in a reasonable way.
There is no reason not to accept a gift that is delivered to your door. Zhao Qing almost didn't hesitate and asked the maid to accept the box of pearls: "I appreciate Concubine Shen's kindness."
Chen Wei casually instructed Cai Lian: "Cai Lian, take the maid who can make rabbit toys to the steward's office of the Marquis' Mansion and take her indenture away."
Cai Lian lowered her eyes and replied calmly, "I will do it right away."
This maid who could act like a rabbit was naturally the one that Shen Wei asked Cai Ping to plant in the Marquis' Mansion to gather information. The maid was clever and found out that Zhao Qing hid the things in the cracks between the bricks in the corner of the wall.
Shen Wei couldn't leave the maid in the Marquis's Mansion, so she had to find a clever excuse to bring her back to Prince Yan's Mansion and keep her under her watch.
"The plum blossoms in the Marquis' Mansion are in full bloom, and they are so beautiful. Could the county lady accompany me to appreciate the flowers?" Shen Wei took the initiative to invite.
Zhao Qing received a generous gift and naturally would not refuse it.
Chen Wei kindly reminded, "These South Sea pearls are easily damaged. Do not place them in the hot sun or in drafty places. Caiping, you personally deliver the pearls to the county lady's boudoir. Then tell the county lady's personal maid in detail how to maintain the pearls."
Cai Ping held the pearl box and said, "I obey your order."
Zhao Qing didn't think much about it and asked the maid to accompany Caiping to her boudoir. Zhao Qing herself, acting as the hostess of the Marquis' Mansion, led Chen Wei to appreciate the red plum blossoms in full bloom in the Marquis' Mansion.
...
Caiping held the pearl box and followed Zhao Qing's personal maid into the boudoir.
Cai Ping was not here to deliver the pearls. She came to the house to search for things in the corners on Chen Wei's orders.
Zhao Qing's boudoir was not too big, and there were some jewellery on the dressing table.
Caiping put the pearl box on the table and pretended that she didn't put it down firmly. The box fell to the ground with a thud and the twelve round pearls rolled everywhere.
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