"Would the young lady like to buy a sparrow to cheer herself up?" Lingqi asked curiously.
Tianyun stepped inside, looked around, and almost got dizzy from the sight.
The exquisite gold-threaded cages held birds with emerald feathers and red beaks, which looked as beautiful as rainbows, but none of them were what she wanted.
Tianyun said calmly, "What troubles do I have? I'm here to choose a congratulatory gift. The Third Prince's birthday is close to yours, only a few days apart."
"I see," Lingqi chuckled, feeling a pang of sympathy for the Third Prince. "Is the Third Prince going to choose his gift from here? Wouldn't it be... a bit too meager? The necklace you gave me the other day is worth far more!"
The chirping of birds filled the air. Tianyun hurried past, walking further in without interest. Hearing this, she turned around and glared at her irritably: "You little money-grubber, do you think everyone is like you?" She then sighed softly, "The value of a gift lies in the sentiment, not its monetary worth. Everyone has their own needs, and what he lacks... is certainly not something as material as money."
The young lady and the Third Prince didn't interact much, but she seemed to know him quite well. Lingqi seemed to understand but not quite, and could only sigh, "Speaking of which, you've already given the Third Prince three gifts: once ointment, once a portrait, and now you're going to give him a birthday gift. You never put this much effort into the Second Prince before!"
Although the young lady had liked the Second Prince before, she kept her feelings hidden in her heart and never expressed them to him. Now, however, she is so kind to the Third Prince. Could it be that she has fallen in love with the Third Prince instead?
"Why are you bringing up the Second Prince again?" Tianyun answered her absentmindedly, his eyes searching over a row of small fish fry. Suddenly, his eyes lit up when he saw the small koi carp scrambling for food in the fish tank.
"This servant misspoke, Miss... why are you so kind to the Third Prince?" Lingqi called the shopkeeper to scoop up the little koi carp and asked, still unwilling to give up.
The girl tried to be friendly to him several times, but he remained indifferent. Why bother with this situation where she was being ignored?
The shopkeeper was quite sensible and gave him a few seaweed plants as decoration, so the fish tank wouldn't look as empty as his Linhua Palace... Tianyun happily carried out three small koi, his voice as low as dew: "I don't know why, but I just want to be nicer to him, even nicer."
It used to be a responsibility, but now it's also tinged with a few inexplicable emotions.
“Look outside the Fragrant Garden, isn’t that Miss Yu Shanlai?” Lingqi suddenly said.
Xinxiangyuan is a famous pastry shop in Beijing. The pastries inside are exquisitely shaped and pleasing to the eye, with a soft, sweet and glutinous texture. You can smell a sweet milky aroma as you pass by the door, which is really tempting.
At this moment, several women of striking beauty were standing outside the gate of Xinxiang Garden, and Yu Shanlai was among them.
Tianyun glanced at it and then looked away, pretending not to know anything. Unexpectedly, Yu Shanlai seemed to have heard Lingqi's voice and looked over. After seeing Tianyun, she familiarly waved her over.
With a helpless sigh, Tianyun realized there was no way to avoid it and led Lingqi toward her.
"What a coincidence, to run into you here." Yu Shanlai introduced her softly to the others, "This is Shangguan Tianyun, the daughter of Shangguan Siye. She's been quite favored by the Second Prince lately!"
With just one sentence, she drew unfriendly glances from the women. Tianyun was slightly annoyed. She addressed them affectionately on the surface, but secretly she was trying to trip them up at every turn. Was this provocation going to go on forever?
Tianyun handed the little koi fish to Lingqi, adjusted his cloak, and said calmly, "How can it compare to Miss Yu's deep affection and favor from His Highness?"
One of the heavily made-up women sneered, "You treat her like a younger sister? She calls you Miss Yu. Aren't you ashamed?"
Yu Shanlai smiled and didn't care: "My sister is always reserved and obedient. I guess I made her feel embarrassed. Never mind, I won't say anything more. I won't make my sister dislike me any further."
The takeout pastries hadn't arrived yet, and the group stood idly in a circle. At that moment, the girl standing to Yu Shanlai's left looked at Yu Shanlai and exclaimed, "The cloud-shaped gold hairpin inlaid with gemstones that you're wearing today is so beautiful! I've never seen you wear it before."
Finally, someone with discerning eyes pointed it out. Yu Shanlai's gentle face broke into a smug smile as she reached out and touched the gold hairpin on the top of her head. "This was obtained from a Persian merchant. The ruby on it is a special supply and is extremely rare in the world."
——
A few days ago.
Yu Lan, that hussy, boasted that she could get two thousand taels of silver for her to use for disaster relief. That very evening, she came to tell her, looking disheveled, that the silver had been intercepted by villains on the way.
Yu Shanlai immediately sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool? Trying to fool me with this nonsense! If you don't have the ability, don't show off." She then disdainfully looked her up and down, "You've learned your father's habit of boasting to perfection!"
Yu Lan blushed with embarrassment, and when she heard her mother belittle her father as well, she hated the culprit Shangguan Tianyun even more. She struggled for a long time before reluctantly taking out a gold hairpin inlaid with clouds and gemstones from her sleeve: "Cousin, please don't be angry. This hairpin is a fine item from Persia, and it is very precious. Consider it my apology. Please accept it."
Yu Shanlai's eyes lit up, and she snatched it away quickly, examining it closely under the lamp. Then she said happily, "You know what's good for you!"
——
Let's get back to the present.
Lingqi looked in the direction of the woman's voice, and the more she looked, the more familiar the hairpin seemed. It was very similar to the one the young lady had lost recently. Without thinking, she blurted out, "This hairpin belongs to our young lady. How did it end up with you?"
If Lingqi's words are true, then Yu Shanlai should be unaware of it, otherwise she wouldn't have worn it so openly and flaunted it, and wouldn't have called her over without any hesitation. Tianyun's eyes flickered, and after a little thought, she knew that the problem lay with Yu Lan.
It seems that this wasn't the first time Yu Lan had taken something for granted; who knows how many pieces of jewelry she had secretly pilfered.
The heavily made-up woman must be of higher status than Yu Shanlai, and she wasn't afraid of offending her at all. Upon hearing this, she was the first to mock her, "Is what this little maid said true? Shanlai, how did you end up in such a state!"
Yu Shanlai's smug smile froze, and her tone, which had been so intimate just moments before, turned cold as she stared at Ling Qi: "What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I need to take her things?"
Lingqi was so frightened by her sudden, icy gaze that she took several steps back and dared not speak.
Tianyun slowly stepped in front of her, saying, "This little girl is ignorant of etiquette and has offended Miss Yu. Please forgive her. I will take her back now and teach her properly."
It's just a hairpin; there's no need to cause so much trouble.
She knew how difficult Yu Shanlai was to deal with, and didn't want to cause trouble, hoping to resolve the issue peacefully.
Tianyun tried to leave with Lingqi, but Yu Shanlai refused to give up and blocked their way: "If I let her go today, wouldn't I lose face! No one is leaving until we make things clear."
Yu Shanlai values her reputation above all else, as evidenced by her frequent and arduous journeys to disaster areas to provide relief to refugees.
If we let this wretched girl go today, her carefully cultivated reputation will be ruined, and she will be further and further away from becoming the Second Prince's consort!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
