Chapter 125 More Beautiful Than Flowers
Of course, the General's Mansion couldn't come up with the 30,000 taels of silver notes; they could only spare 3,500 taels in cash. The remaining 10,000 taels would come from her dowry, and they would distribute the profits proportionally later.
The accountant was handpicked by Steward Lu. Seeing that the young mistress had taken almost all the money from the account, she became very uneasy and quietly mentioned it to Steward Lu.
Butler Lu was a rough man who didn't understand business. After thinking it over, he decided to trust the young mistress. So he told the accountant to listen to his master, but not to spread the word.
The General's Mansion is much quieter now, and Yu Qingci, as the mistress of the house, is naturally busier than others. Old Madam Ning, understanding Yu Qingci's hard work managing the household, specifically instructed her to only pay her respects every few days, and not to come and serve her every day.
Qingci was naturally happy to accept her mother-in-law's kind suggestion, as this made her life much easier. After handling matters at home each day, she would also inquire about the business at the shops outside.
In his spare time, he would read books, practice calligraphy, or chat and laugh with Lu Yun Chu, making his days much more comfortable.
Guanlan Pavilion.
Lianqiao stepped forward and asked, "Young Madam, the embroidery workshop staff came and said that the new winter clothes for the Seventh Miss are finished. Should we send them over for you to see first, or should we send them directly to the Seventh Miss's courtyard?"
Yu Qingci: "Now that we have separated our families, Yun Chu will be the only girl in our household from now on. You can call her Miss directly from now on, instead of Seventh Miss."
"Yes, I addressed you incorrectly, you should be addressed as Miss."
Lianqiao quickly changed her tune.
Yu Qingci said with satisfaction, "No need to ask me to check, just send it over to Miss to try."
Lianqiao responded and went out.
A short while later, Lu Yun Chu brought Dong Yue to find Yu Qing Ci. As soon as she entered, she couldn't wait to say:
"Sister-in-law, the embroidery workshop staff just brought me the newly made winter clothes. Do you think they look good?"
After saying that, he took off the gray silver fur coat he was wearing, revealing the exquisite winter clothes underneath.
The Suzhou-style embroidered brocade jacket with a fitted waist features a circle of soft white rabbit fur trim around the collar and cuffs. The floral pattern is elegant and refined, yet the colors are quite understated. It is paired with a pleated skirt made of thick turquoise satin, with a dark green tassel hanging from the waist.
The hair accessory she chose was a set of pearl hair ornaments the size of soybeans, paired with delicate earrings, making her look fresh, elegant, and charming.
Yu Qingci admired the scene with satisfaction. Who said that women in mourning must wear simple clothes and hairpins? As long as they don't go too far, they can dress up in a pleasing way.
Although she was in mourning, she didn't want to wrong her sister-in-law, so she specially selected several sets of jewelry and clothing with suitable colors and styles for her sister-in-law and gave them to the embroidery workshop to make according to the styles popular among noble ladies in the capital this year. Now, wearing them on the little girl, she truly lived up to the saying that she was more beautiful than the flowers.
Lu Yun Chu lifted her skirt and twirled around happily, then muttered to herself, looking down:
"But isn't this going a bit too far? My mother warned me not to be too ostentatious."
Yu Qingci smiled gently: "How could that be? I think it's just right. Do you like it?"
Yun Chu nodded vigorously, unable to hide the smile on her face:
"Of course I like it. There are two other styles, and I've tried them on and I like them both. I'm just afraid my mother will be unhappy if she sees them."
Yu Qingci: "I'm glad you like it. Don't worry, the colors and styles of these clothes aren't particularly outstanding, and the accessories are all in accordance with the rules. Mother will only be happy when she sees them, not dislike them. My aunt is more beautiful than flowers, and she looks good in anything."
Seeing her sister-in-law praise her, Lu Yun Chu smiled shyly, but also breathed a sigh of relief.
If my sister-in-law says it's good, then it really is good. If my mother criticizes me later, my sister-in-law will always be there to support me.
"My sister-in-law is so good to me, I like her the most."
Lu Yunchu grabbed Yu Qingci's arm and spoke in a slightly coquettish tone.
Yu Qingci looked at her younger sister-in-law with satisfaction, who seemed like a completely different person. Since the family split up, the girl's smiles had increased significantly, and she had become much more talkative. Yu Qingci had the illusion that her daughter had finally grown up.
They didn't realize that the two were only a few months apart in age.
After chatting for a while, Lu Yun Chu suggested going for a walk in the garden.
In the past, when I wanted to stroll in the park, I would always run into people I didn't want to see. Now, no one bothers me anymore, and even if the weather is cold, the little girl is in the mood to go wherever she wants.
Yu Qingci thought it would be good to go out for a stroll, so the two of them put their cloaks back on and walked into the garden with a few maids.
There wasn't much to see in the garden at this time of year, except for the plum grove where the flowers were in full bloom, which was worth lingering over. So the two of them naturally headed towards the plum grove.
The garden has also been given new gardeners and cleaning staff, who keep the entire garden exceptionally clean every day. The snow and fallen leaves swept down are piled up under the lawn and plants as fertilizer.
The gardener also cleverly inserted a few small flowers picked from the greenhouse into the bushes around the garden, adding fresh color to the otherwise monotonous garden and making it very pleasing to the eye.
The two walked to the edge of the pond, which was quite large, covering several acres. It was connected to an artificial lake and surrounded by willows. There were also artificial hills and rocks, as well as pavilions for resting.
The two walked to an octagonal pavilion and decided to rest there.
Now that it's winter, the pavilion is well-sealed with doors and windows on all four sides. There's no charcoal brazier on ordinary days, but when the host family comes to visit, the maids responsible for cleaning the place will prepare a blazing charcoal brazier in advance.
When the two entered, the charcoal brazier in the pavilion had already been set up. Once the doors and windows were closed, the inside was instantly warm and cozy, completely separating it from the icy and snowy landscape outside.
"It's a bit stuffy in here, why don't we open the window?"
As Lu Yun Chu spoke, she reached out and pushed open a window, which faced a frozen pond.
Lu Yunchu turned around and called to Yu Qingci: "Sister-in-law, could we plant lotus roots in this pond when spring comes? That way, when the lotus leaves are covered in lotus leaves and the lotus flowers are in full bloom in summer, we can go boating on the lotus pond, pick lotus pods, and admire the lotus flowers. The lotus seeds we pick can be used to make lotus seed and white fungus soup. If we add a layer of crushed ice, the taste will be extremely refreshing and thirst-quenching."
The lotus roots we picked can also be used to make rock sugar glutinous rice lotus root slices for us, drizzled with honey syrup, which makes for an incredibly delicious drink.
Lu Yun Chu tilted her head, imagining the delicious food she had made before, and her mouth was practically watering.
Yu Qingci listened patiently to her chatter, placed the blue-and-white plum blossom and sparrow patterned hand warmer on the central table, and asked:
"This pond is indeed suitable for growing lotus roots. Why haven't we grown them before?"
Lu Yun Chu seemed to have thought of something bad; her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after a while, she whispered:
“I planted it a few times in the past few years, but then a few things happened, so my mother forbade me to plant it anymore.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com