Chapter 43 Heartbreak
"Third Young Master, these..."
Hongzhu reached out and handed the box over.
Xiao Jin sighed and accepted it anyway.
"Tell your daughters that there's no need to make purses; looking at needles and thread for too long will hurt their eyes."
Mu Jin followed behind the Third Young Master, glancing at Hong Zhu with a hint of envy.
They used to both work at Baozhen Courtyard, but now Hongzhu is serving the Fifth Miss. She has grown taller and her skin has become much fairer.
Most importantly, Hongzhu now has a cheerful and lively temperament that none of the maids in Baozhen Courtyard have ever had, and so does that maid named Bihui. It seems that those who serve the Fifth Miss have much warmer and brighter faces...
Baozhen Courtyard remained as exquisite and luxurious as ever, only with far fewer maids and servants.
Xiao Jin frowned: "Your young lady is sick, where are all the people who are taking care of her?"
In the past, this courtyard was bustling with servants every five steps and maids every ten steps, orderly and full of life. But now, Baozhen Courtyard has only a handful of servants, most of whom look listless.
Mu Jin then briefly explained the matter.
The reduction of servants occurred before the temple fair. Xiao Jin had not visited Baozhen Courtyard since witnessing the incident of the medicine being splashed that day, so he was unaware of it.
"That's outrageous. It's obvious these people aren't serving you properly. How can they still be allowed to stay at Baozhen Courtyard?"
Xiao Jin just wanted to send all these people away, but remembering that she had come to see Yu Yao, she suppressed her anger and continued to the bedroom.
When they arrived at the bedroom door, Caihe was already waiting outside. When she saw Xiao Jin being invited, she pretended to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.
"This servant greets the Third Young Master. Please wait a moment, this servant will go and inform him!"
Looking at Caihe's sorrowful face, Xiao Jin felt somewhat displeased.
What's wrong with Baozhen Courtyard? Everyone looks so dejected.
Not long after, Caihe came out and invited Xiao Jin inside.
Before going inside, she glanced at Hibiscus.
But that brat kept her head down expressionlessly, not even glancing at her.
Alright, if she ruins the girl's plans, she'll be the first to urge the girl to kick Mu Jin out!
When Xiao Jin came in, he saw Xiao Yuyao sitting on the bed, her small face so white it was almost transparent, looking frail and weak.
She looked at him gently, her eyes filled with tears, making her look pitiful and adorable. Any grudges Xiao Jin had in his heart vanished at that moment.
"Yuyao? Why are you dressed so scantily?"
He sat down by her bedside, took her hand, and found it to be ice-cold.
Xiao Yuyao tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a somewhat miserable smile.
"It's alright, Third Brother. There aren't many people in my courtyard now, and things are complicated, so there are bound to be oversights. It's nothing to worry about."
Xiao Jin pursed her lips and said:
“I’ll go talk to Mother right now and ask her to give you more staff. You’ve always been pampered, how can we cut back on you now?”
"No, Third Brother, don't trouble Mother. Let it be. I used to... Never mind, Fifth Sister is right. This is my fate. What is destined to be will be, and what is not destined to be cannot be forced."
"Why are you bringing Yu Xuan into this again? What did you say to her today?"
Thinking of what Hongzhu had just said, Xiao Jin's pity for Yuyao suddenly faded, and her words carried a hint of questioning.
This wasn't a big deal; it was just a trivial matter of jealousy between girls. But for some reason, he kept thinking about that sentence: "The young lady has never seen such fine things before."
Yu Yao grew up in the Xiao family with a life of luxury, while Yu Xuan ate simple meals from childhood to adulthood and had to do embroidery every day to supplement the family income...
He became the fourth prince's study companion at the age of seven, and seven years have passed since then. During these years, he has received many rewards, and most of the treasures, except for gold and silver, have been put into the Treasure Palace.
He knew that Yu Yao had many good things, and apart from the trinkets bestowed upon her by the Fourth Prince, she had given most of them to her servants.
This was the first time today. He had never given these things to Yu Xuan before, so he asked Cheng Bu to handle it, but he didn't expect that Cheng Bu would mess it up.
Xiao Yuyao paused.
She had never heard Xiao Jin speak to her in such a cold tone before.
What happened? Why is it not quite what she expected?
"Third brother, have you heard any exaggerated claims?"
She asked tentatively.
Xiao Jin recalled the little girl who was only ten years old, and sincerely thanked Fourth Miss. After thinking it over, she didn't feel that there was anything exaggerated about it.
"No, don't overthink it. I was just concerned about you two sisters."
Xiao Jin was mature beyond his years. He was used to dealing with nobles in the palace and had excellent self-control. At this moment, he appeared natural and did not show any signs of discomfort.
Xiao Yuyao felt a little relieved, and she lowered her voice and said:
"Third brother, I asked fifth sister to pick out some of the things you gave me today to take home and play with. You won't be angry, will you?"
Xiao Jin was puzzled. Wasn't this a good thing? Why was he angry?
"Third Brother, I... I want to ask you to apologize to Fifth Sister on my behalf..."
"Although those things aren't anything valuable, they were still gifts from my third brother. When she came today, I couldn't bear to give them all to her; I kept some for myself. She seemed a little unhappy when she left..."
Xiao Jin fell silent.
Time passed slowly, and Xiao Yuyao's palms became damp with a thin layer of sweat.
Why isn't Xiao Jin speaking? What did she say wrong?
Just as Xiao Yuyao was pondering whether to change her approach, she heard Xiao Jin call out to the outside:
"Bring in the logbook."
What should I take?
Xiao Yuyao's eyes involuntarily drifted to the box that Cheng Bu was carrying in. When she realized that it was the same new box that had been taken from her not long ago, she bit her lower lip.
"Isn't this what Fifth Sister took? How did it end up with Third Brother?"
She pretended not to know, but countless thoughts were swirling in her mind.
This Xiao Yuxuan!
She wondered why Xiao Yuxuan had become so shameless, taking so many of these worthless trinkets. Turns out, this was what she was waiting for!
She was just assuming things. Xiao Yuxuan is very carefree now, how could she possibly care about these things?
She said she took it because it looked nice, but now that she thinks about it, she doesn't need it, so she asked me to return it to you.
Xiao Jin thought about it for a moment, but still didn't tell the truth. He still wanted to consider his two younger sisters' feelings and didn't want to hurt either of them.
"Tell the servants to keep it safe. Don't let her come here to pick things out again. If there's anything fun or delicious, I'll send you two copies to avoid any more misunderstandings."
Xiao Yuyao swayed, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice, her eyes welling up with tears, and nodded:
"I understand, Third Brother..."
Xiao Jin couldn't bear to see her like this, so he gave her a few more instructions before leaving Baozhen Courtyard.
The bedroom remained quiet for a long time.
Xiao Yuyao opened the box, looked at the contents, suddenly grabbed a handful, and slammed it to the ground.
"ah--"
She let out a short scream of pain, and when she looked at the back of her hand, a little bright red blood had seeped out, from the shards of the carp-shaped jade pendant that had splashed up.
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