Jiang Shuyue stared intently at Qiu Ju.
The little girl still looks the same, except that there seems to be something different about her eyebrows and the corners of her eyes.
Seeing that the young lady was in a daze, Qiuju continued, "Young Master Nangong looks tall and thin. He is the kind of person who looks thin when dressed but has muscles when undressed, unlike Gao Mu who is broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. If I slept with Gao Mu, I would be afraid that he would crush me to death."
"Cough cough!"
What insolent and rabid words!
Jiang Shuyue choked on her saliva and coughed, covering her mouth.
Qiuju said earnestly, "Miss, don't disbelieve me. When Gao Mu is asleep, I roll into the bed as far away from him as possible, just in case he accidentally rolls over on me in his sleep. With my small body, I can't withstand that."
Jiang Shuyue's "..." It turned out that she had misunderstood.
"Shh! Don't say anything, or Jin will be embarrassed if she hears us later."
Qiuju picked up another melon seed and put it in her mouth. "Miss, you might want to take a good look at Young Master Nangong. I think he and you are quite a good match."
Jiang Shuyue smiled awkwardly, "I treat him like a buddy, I never thought of him that way. I'll listen to you and observe him carefully."
Now that my career has stabilized and my son has been settled, it's time to plan for myself and make the most of my youth.
As long as she has that feeling of attraction with him, she's not against dating her buddy.
It's said that rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows, but that just means the grass near their burrows isn't good enough.
If the grass near your nest is good enough, then you'll have the advantage of being close to the water tower.
"Yes, Miss, just keep an eye out. I've already found my place, and I hope you'll meet the right person too, get married, and live a happy and fulfilling life."
Seeing the young lady nod, Qiuju breathed a huge sigh of relief.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Su Jin returned with the complaint in his hand.
Jiang Shuyue took it and read it carefully. The time, the event, and the demands were all described clearly.
“Ah Jin wrote very well, it’s easy to understand. After lunch, go to the yamen to submit it.”
Su Jin carefully put away the complaint and evidence, and then instructed the kitchen to serve dinner 15 minutes earlier than usual.
...
In a beautifully decorated courtyard.
A beautiful young woman is holding a paintbrush and concentrating intently on creating a painting.
On one side of the table were cinnabar, rouge, and cinnabar, as well as even the rarely used talc and pine soot.
On the brush holder in front of the desk hung paintbrushes of various sizes.
The woman held her right sleeve with her left hand, and with her right hand moving smoothly, in the blink of an eye, a man's profile appeared on the rice paper.
The woman was dressed in fine clothes and wore a pair of gold and jade butterfly hairpins on her head.
As she moved gently, the butterfly wings on the hairpin trembled slightly, as if they were about to take flight, exceptionally lively.
The maidservant standing nearby glanced at the Xuan paper and her expression changed drastically.
He turned around and hurriedly went to close the door.
The woman was so engrossed in her painting that she paid no attention to the maid's actions.
Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.
The door that the maid was about to close was pushed open forcefully.
"Liu Xu, how do you serve Miss? It's better for Miss to paint in a bright room. Why are you closing the door?"
A graceful and elegant woman entered through the door.
She wore a bright red dress embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns in gold thread, a jade hairpin in her hair, and a fine jade pendant hanging from her belt.
A tourmaline bracelet adorned her snow-white wrist. The woman had fair skin, delicate features, and a resemblance to the woman painting the picture.
The woman had a dignified demeanor and looked to be in her early thirties.
The maid named Liuxu hurriedly stepped back and bowed, "Madam, I didn't know you were here."
The woman didn't have time to investigate the maid's mistake; she walked towards the woman who was painting.
Hearing the noise, the woman put down her pen and turned around. "Didn't Mother make any plans to play mahjong today?"
The woman waved her hand. “Don’t mention those people. As soon as they heard the palace issued a notice, they all went to the streets to read it. Every family is secretly preparing for the selection of concubines. Not a single person has come to talk openly. They are all people you can’t confide in.”
The woman looked at the older woman with a puzzled expression, then her face lit up with joy: "Mother, what do you mean? Does the Emperor want to hold a selection of concubines?"
The woman glanced at the handsome profile on the Xuan paper.
"Butterfly, stop drawing him. You'll be looking at him every day from now on. Isn't that enough for you?"
The woman excitedly stepped forward and snuggled into the woman's arms, saying coquettishly, "Mother, please don't tease your daughter. There are so many noble ladies in the capital; I don't know if I can catch the Emperor's eye."
The woman gently stroked the girl's back and said with pride, "Among the noble ladies of the famous families in the capital, how many can rival my Die'er in terms of looks, virtue, and talent? In music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs, my daughter is second to none."
The maidservant beside her quickly chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Miss's reputation as the most talented woman in the capital is well-deserved. If Miss's paintings were hung in Qingyun Studio, how many scholars would be captivated by them?"
The young lady who was beaming with joy after being praised was none other than Cui Yudie, the legitimate daughter of Right Chancellor Cui Jing.
The elegant woman was Meng, the principal wife of the Right Chancellor.
Cui Yudie is already sixteen years old and should have been engaged long ago, but she has not been able to find a suitable person.
With such outstanding looks, finding a good marriage for their daughter would be a great help to the Cui family in the future.
The Cui couple went to great lengths to find a husband for their daughter.
After coaxing her mother for a while, Cui Yudie straightened up and asked, "Mother, when is the audition scheduled? What do I need to prepare?"
Instead of answering her daughter's question directly, Madam Meng turned her head slightly and instructed the maid in the room, "Take the inkstone out, wash it, and let it dry."
Liu Xu knew perfectly well that the madam was deliberately trying to get rid of her, so she quickly bowed and said, "This servant obeys."
Cui Yudie watched as the maid carried the brush washer and the used brushes out of the room.
She pulled Meng Shi to sit down on the soft couch. "Mother, Liu Zhi has gone out to buy Xuan paper and won't be back for a while. Do you have something to say to your daughter?"
The willow branch that Cui Yudie mentioned was also the head maidservant beside her.
Madam Meng doted on her daughter and assigned four first-class maids to her room, but Cui Yudie only wanted two.
She said she didn't need that many and asked her mother to give the extra maids to her half-sister.
Cui Yudie's actions earned high praise from her grandmother and father.
The elder sister treated her half-sister kindly and with humility and courtesy.
Cui Yudie's good reputation gradually spread.
Madam Meng put away her smile and said seriously, "Die'er, remember, you were born in the Jiazi year, on the Yin month, Yin day, and Yin hour. Do not get it wrong. No matter who asks you in the future, you must say it like this, even if the person asking you is the Empress Dowager. Do you understand?"
"Mother, why change my birth date? I was clearly born at noon, when the sun was high in the sky. The fortune teller said that I was born with a fire element in my birth chart and would bring good fortune to my husband. Why change it to a yin hour? Is a yin hour better than a fire hour?"
Cui Yudie rarely saw her mother speak to her so seriously, and after thinking for a moment, she finally asked the question that had been on her mind.
Once, a wandering monk came to the Cui family to beg for alms. He examined Cui Yudie's fate and said that she was destined to bring good fortune to her husband and that she would be extremely noble in the future.
Cui Yudie couldn't understand why she should change her fate, which was already good enough.
Just as Meng was about to explain, heavy footsteps came from outside the door.
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