Another round ended, and Baozhu took the slip of paper, gestured at it for a long time, but couldn't find a place on Xu Xi's face.
The girls looked at Xu Xi, the paper-note expert, and then at Baozhu, who had nowhere to start, and they all burst into laughter!
The garden was bustling with activity for a while.
The commotion caused the young masters on the opposite bank of the river to peek out from behind their hooves.
Lu Zong was also curious, so he sent his servant to inquire.
When Lu Zong heard that Jiayin had brought a group of girls to play games with their faces covered in sticky notes, he couldn't help but laugh.
Jia Xu wasn't surprised either, and laughed, "Only a princess could come up with such a strange way to play!"
Zhimin and Xiujie heard this and were eager to try it out. They thought they would ask their sister how to play it another day and take her to the academy, where it would surely be a lot of fun.
Some of the other young men, out of curiosity, came to inquire.
Lu Zong and the others, of course, couldn't say anything, so they quickly changed the subject.
After the girls had finished laughing and joking in the garden, Gu Qingqing led Xu Xi and the others to wash their faces and redo their makeup.
Jiayin was also dragged along, and they insisted that she help carry the rouge box, as if she, the "culprit," was apologizing to her sisters.
Such flower-viewing banquets are mostly attended by young gentlemen and noble ladies, so the pavilion next to the garden has long been prepared with toiletries, just in case someone gets their clothes dirty or their makeup ruined.
The girls got together, washed up, tidied their clothes, and even ate some snacks and drank some tea, and they were all a bit lazy.
As the hostess, Gu Qingqing couldn't leave for too long, so she quickly greeted everyone and hurried back to entertain the other girls.
Xu Xi rarely gets to come out, so she teased everyone, saying, "I've been cooped up at home for a month. My mom finally let me out for once, and I'm going to have a blast."
"I just saw a small pond in the garden with koi fish. Let's go feed them."
Baozhu was the first to clap her hands in response, "Great! Great! We have a few cookies left over, let's crush them into crumbs, Little Fish loves that."
Mei Lan is gentle and steady, but her family is very strict. Opportunities like today, when she can get together with a few like-minded girlfriends to play and have fun, are rare.
So she nodded.
Before Jiayin could speak, Baozhu pulled her away...
The Gu family is a true scholarly family with a profound cultural heritage; even their garden is very elegantly built.
Especially in the garden, you could say there's a beautiful view every few steps.
The small pond for raising fish is located at a corner near the entrance of the garden, offering a quiet retreat amidst the hustle and bustle.
The pool was actually paved with jade and carved with lotus flowers.
I don't know what technique the craftsman used, but the sunlight refracted through the pool water onto the lotus flowers, making them seem to come alive, swaying gracefully with the ripples.
Various koi carp are kept there, swimming freely, which is both beautiful and fun.
Several girls scattered biscuit crumbs to feed the fish and then playfully counted them, which made them quite happy.
Jiayin, who was sitting to one side, was affected and her skirt got wet in one spot, so Shuiling ran outside to find a spare dress.
After playing for a while, Baozhu leaned against the edge of the pond and sighed, "It's a pity we can't start a fire, otherwise we could grill a fish, sprinkle it with seasonings, and that would be so delicious!"
Jiayin is already used to this foodie's thought process. In Baozhu's eyes, everything is edible.
But Xu Xi and Mei Lan didn't know that. When they heard Baozhu's remark, they laughed so hard they were shaking.
Mei Lan even pinched Baozhu's little hand, which was chubby and resembled a fat pig's trotter.
She said, "Baozhu, you can't be greedy anymore, otherwise it will hinder your growth and you won't grow tall."
Xu Xi also wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "Of course! Koi fish are so beautiful, and you actually want to grill them to eat!"
Baozhu disagreed, wrinkling her little nose and shaking her head.
“My mother said that I’m not ten years old yet, so I’m not afraid of these things. When I’m twelve or thirteen, I might be able to catch up to your height in a year.”
"Then, hmph, I'll be a grown woman, I can go wherever I want, and eat whatever I want!"
Mei Lan and Xu Xi laughed even harder as they listened.
Xu Xi said, "So you were looking forward to growing up so you could eat whatever you wanted? Well, you're going to be disappointed!"
"You'll see when the time comes; the older you get, the less free you are."
"Just take eating as an example. You can't eat cold food, or you'll get a stomachache; you can't eat spicy food, or it will hurt your throat; you can't eat dark-colored foods like soy sauce, or you'll get freckles on your face..."
"Oh, so troublesome?!" Baozhu seemed unable to believe it, resting her double chin on her hand and staring wide-eyed.
She quickly said, "Then I'd rather not grow up. It's fine as it is now. Even if my mom keeps an eye on me at home, I can still eat my fill at Sister Jiayin's place."
Meilan envied her innocent nature; it was clear she was pampered at home and had no worries.
She couldn't help but let a hint of melancholy creep into her eyes as she echoed, "Yes, growing up isn't all that great. There are more and more rules, and you're afraid of making a mistake every step you take."
"Even if we find a good husband, get married, and leave home, it's just like moving from one courtyard to another."
Xu Xi seemed to recall something, and her face also darkened. "Yes, even today when we came out to admire the flowers, we were just being looked after and chosen by others, like cattle and horses being bought and sold."
Jiayin realized that things were not going well. If they continued talking, it would turn into a venting session.
So she quickly joked, "Don't worry, Sister Xi, anyone else might be chosen. It's just that you've made a wasted trip today!"
"After all, your face is covered in notes, so other people don't even know what you look like!"
Mei Lan and Bao Zhu were stunned for a moment, then remembered Xu Xi's earlier embarrassment, and they both laughed so hard they almost cried.
Xu Xi blushed, lifted her skirt, and started chasing after Jia Yin, playfully threatening to pinch her twice.
Jiayin got up and ran, and the two of them laughed and joked around the pond.
Baozhu and Meilan maliciously sabotaged Jiayin and helped Xu Xi capture people.
Just as things were getting lively, a sudden thud came from not far away.
Then someone shouted, "Help! Help!"
Jiayin and the others quickly looked over and saw a little maid in green clothes holding tea and snacks, jumping up and down anxiously on the small bridge a dozen steps away.
Meanwhile, in the water beneath the bridge, a young maid in blue was struggling desperately!
Actually, the stream that flows through the Gu family garden is very shallow.
Only in this area under the bridge, in order not to expose too many bridge piers, was the water deliberately held back, and the water depth exceeded five feet.
If the man is tall, he can simply stand up and escape danger.
Unfortunately, the maid in blue was young and short, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't surface.
Jiayin and the other three were startled and quickly ran over.
The maid in green threw down the tray, knelt down crying, and pleaded with Jiayin and the others.
"Waaaaah, Miss, help me! Waaaaah, my sister fell down! Help!"
Jiayin has never been able to swim in either her past or present life, so even if she wanted to save people, she couldn't.
Baozhu, Xuxi, and Meilan are all typical young ladies from well-to-do families, so it's even less likely that they would hire someone to teach them to swim.
All four of them were anxious, but there was nothing they could do.
Jiayin happened to see a bush by the bridge with vines as thick as fingers wrapped around it, so she ran over, picked two vines, and threw them into the water.
The little maid in blue also had a strong will to survive, and with her last breath, she grabbed onto the vine.
Without thinking too much, Baozhu and the other three stepped onto the water's edge and hurriedly pulled the little maid in blue out of the deep water.
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