"Okay, Mother," Jiayin quickly replied.
The mother and daughter were very tacit and neither told the old lady or their family the inside story.
Although Old Lady Li knew that the Princess was not very friendly to her family, with Baozhu accompanying her granddaughter and so many noble ladies going to admire the flowers, she guessed that the Princess wouldn't dare to harm her granddaughter.
So, aside from giving a few more instructions, she didn't stop her.
The next day was the Lantern Festival. Early in the morning, the family ate glutinous rice balls and then went out shopping.
I visited the Liu family at noon, had a meal, and then invited them to watch the lanterns together.
Because Cyclamen is located on the commercial street, in the most bustling part of the lantern market.
Li Zhensheng had already reserved the best private room for his family.
The Liu family happily agreed, and before it got dark, Mrs. Liu took her two sons and went out with the Li family.
As for Old Master Liu and Liu Zhiheng, they both had drinking engagements and went to meet their friends.
Even if they lost half of their country, even if they were confined to a corner and barely survived, it still couldn't stop the nobles and common people of Tianwu from singing and dancing in peace and prosperity.
The entire commercial street was decorated with lanterns from beginning to end, making it as bright as day.
Countless men, women, and children gather here to guess riddles, win lanterns, eat snacks, buy trinkets, and play and laugh.
Needless to say, many romantic encounters and serendipitous meetings have also occurred among young men and women.
But more often than not, someone lost their purse, or someone lost their shoes.
Fortunately, no children were lost, and no lantern tower was knocked down, causing a fire or riot...
Jiaren and Jiahuan, along with Zhimin and Xiujie, went downstairs for a walk on the street.
Old Mrs. Li, along with her daughter-in-law and Mrs. Liu, simply looked around upstairs and that was it.
Especially Jiayin, who was kept close by Grandma Li and not allowed to move an inch.
Before Jiayin was born, there had been kidnappings in her hometown in northern China during the Lantern Festival, with several beautiful girls going missing.
The villagers spread rumors that the girls might have been sold to the south, raised as "skinny horses," and given to the powerful and wealthy to be defiled.
Old Mrs. Li dared not take that risk.
If her beloved granddaughter were taken away, she wouldn't be able to live!
Jiayin was too lazy to go downstairs and walk around, so she sat next to her grandmother and quietly ate her snacks and fruit.
Tao Hongying glanced back occasionally and saw that the snack plate was more than half empty. Then she saw her mother-in-law tucking her chubby daughter under her "wings" like a mother hen. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry...
The next day, everyone locked up the courtyard and returned to Broken Gold Beach.
Luo'an Academy will start on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, and Jiaren, Lige'er, and Maoge'er will all be packing their luggage.
Li Laosan and Zhao Yuru had to go back a day early to clean the canteen and prepare ingredients.
The villagers also ended their hibernation and gradually got busy under the assignments of the village chief and Liu the镖头 (bodyguard).
Because Jiayin was wary of any conspiracy at the flower viewing banquet, she stayed in her space, tinkering with various medicinal powders and self-defense tools such as daggers and crossbows.
If she were alone, things would be easier. She could simply hide in the space and wait for her family to notice something was wrong and come to rescue her before coming out.
But this time, with the precious pearl in hand, I absolutely cannot use the spatial ability unless it's a matter of life and death.
She has a lot more to prepare!
Before we knew it, it was the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. We saw off the three brothers, Li Laosan, Zhao Yuru, and Jiaren, as well as their servants and several families, including Aunt Wu.
The Li family and the village suddenly became deserted.
Jiayin made an excuse that she was going to a banquet the next day and didn't know what clothes or jewelry to wear. She dragged her grandmother to open her wardrobe and jewelry stash and spent most of the day picking and playing with the jewelry.
The old lady only knew that her granddaughter was a little money-grubber; she never imagined that in just one year, she had secretly amassed so much wealth and accumulated such a substantial fortune!
All her attention immediately shifted to keeping it a secret for her granddaughter, and she completely forgot about her grandsons' frustration at leaving home...
The next day, Ye Shan asked Lao Hei for help. The two of them, one driving the carriage and the other escorting it, carried the elegantly dressed Jia Yin, Granny He, Dong Mei, and Shui Ling into the city.
They stopped by the Jia family to pick up Baozhu before heading to the Princess's residence.
Jiayin deliberately dawdled for a while, so that most of the guests had already arrived by the time they entered.
The default rule for a flower-viewing banquet is simply to appreciate and "admire" the flowers.
The first flower is a real flower, while the second flower refers to a young and beautiful girl.
Therefore, those sitting in the flower hall of the princess's residence were mostly noble ladies over ten years old.
If you really think about it, Jiayin and Baozhu are the youngest.
Clearly, the noble ladies hadn't expected the Princess's residence to invite Princess Kang Le over.
After all, everyone knows that the eldest princess doesn't like Princess Kangle.
Bao Lei, the princess's granddaughter who greeted them today, is very close to the Third Princess, who dislikes Princess Kangle the most...
Regardless of the surprise of others, Jiayin led Baozhu through the door and found a sunny and spacious seat to sit down.
Whether it was because they didn't want to offend the Third Princess, or because they remembered the incident of burying people alive, the noble ladies all got up and sat far away.
After greeting all the guests, Bao Lei entered the house and saw this scene, her eyes filled with mockery.
But she still stepped forward and said, "Does the princess not know anyone? Would you like me to introduce you to a few people?"
Jiayin glanced at her, arrogantly raising her chin, "You forgot to bow!"
Bao Lei's smile froze on her face, feeling extremely embarrassed and frustrated.
She was indeed the hostess of today's banquet, but in terms of status, she was just a young lady from the Bao family, far inferior to Jiayin, a princess.
But no matter how distinguished Jiayin's status is, she is still a guest.
She never expected that Jiayin would show her no respect whatsoever!
Bao Lei glanced around, but none of the noble ladies around her seemed inclined to speak up, so she could only grit her teeth and squat down to bow to Jia Yin.
Jiayin simply raised her hand, which was her response.
Bao Lei, however, was flexible and adaptable, and she bowed to the many noble ladies.
The ladies nodded in return.
They smiled and appeared humble and polite, but in reality, they didn't take Bao Lei seriously at all.
Despite her noble status, the eldest princess received little imperial favor.
Moreover, in the two years since the capital was moved here, for some reason, the eldest princess has become increasingly shameless, focusing all her attention on business and becoming even more shrewd than merchants.
It has a strong sense of self-degradation and lowering one's status.
Now, Bao Lei, the eldest princess's direct granddaughter, is still incredibly noble even without a title or honor, yet she's gone and become the manager of a shop for the third princess.
How can anyone respect or think highly of her?!
Bao Lei wasn't stupid; she naturally understood what everyone was thinking. She secretly bit her lip, feeling wronged.
Fortunately, there were two elegant ladies who were adept at social maneuvering and were shrewd and tactful. They quickly invited Bao Lei to sit down and have tea together.
They talked about flower viewing and recent events, finally bringing the house to life.
The day before yesterday, Jiayin had someone buy some pastries from Jiulianzhai and stored them in her space. Now, she quietly replaced the pastries on the table, and then listened and ate with Baozhu without saying a word or intending to participate.
As for Baozhu, all she could remember was her mother's instructions before she left home—follow Sister Jiayin, don't walk too far or talk too much!
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