Jiayin frowned slightly and nodded gently.
Shui Ling, with her keen eye, handed over a purse.
The maid accepted it, bowed in thanks, and then quickly withdrew.
Zheng Sanjiang cracked his whip, and the Li family's carriage departed.
The Jia family's carriage remained where it was because Jia Xu was still in the courtyard.
After leaving the street where the Gu family lived, Baozhu patted her chest and complained to Jiayin, "Sister Jiayin, Sister Mei and Sister Xu's mother are too scary."
“We were doing a good deed to save people, and our clothes weren’t completely wet, just half of our skirts and shoes and socks.”
"Their faces looked like they wanted to eat people alive, and they even blamed us for leading Sister Xu and Sister Mei astray..."
Jiayin was actually unhappy, but not to the point of resentment.
Tianwu is not as open-minded as the previous world; women here are severely bound by traditional etiquette.
If anyone were to speak ill of Xu Xi and Mei Lan today, even if it's not true, their reputations would still be damaged.
Xu Xi and Mei Lan are both of marriageable age. If they can't find a good match because of this, they will really regret it.
At that time, the Xu and Mei families wouldn't be able to go around arresting people to clear their daughter's name.
The saying goes, "It takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them," which is just how frustrating it is.
It's understandable that Madam Xu and Madam Mei, in their haste to protect their daughter, might have acted somewhat rudely.
But at this moment, she didn't have time to "teach" Baozhu. She could only instruct her, "I'll take you home in a little while. You can talk to your mother about what happened today. Your mother will explain the reasons behind it to you in detail."
"I have some urgent business to attend to, I'll come visit you again in a few days."
Baozhu nodded quickly; she was just naive, not stupid.
Jiayin is a princess, and she certainly has more responsibilities than a little girl like her.
She readily agreed, "Okay, I'll go home to see my mother first. She's not feeling well today, otherwise it would have been much better if she had come with me to the flower viewing party, and I wouldn't have had to waste my breath explaining it to her."
Soon, the carriage arrived at the Jia family's door.
Jiayin watched as Baozhu brought her maid into the house before she felt relieved and turned the carriage around.
In the Gu family courtyard, the incident of the garden flooding was quickly resolved.
After all, the person who fell into the water was just a young maid, nothing worth paying attention to.
However, Jia Xu and Lu Zong still cared about Baozhu and Jiayin, and frequently sent servants to inquire about them, fearing that their two younger sisters might have suffered a loss or been wronged.
As a result, Jia Xu's servant rushed back.
"Young Master, Young Master Lu, Miss Baozhu and the Princess have already taken their leave."
"When did this happen? Why did you leave so early?" Jia Xu asked in surprise.
Lu Zong also asked, "Yes, the flower viewing banquet was only halfway through, why did they leave?"
The servant shook his head and replied, "The maid that Miss Baozhu brought has also left, and I couldn't get any information from her."
"I only heard that someone fell into the water, but I don't know if it was Miss..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jia Xu and Lu Zong exchanged a glance and stood up together to bid farewell to the eldest son of the Gu family.
Today, the eldest son of the Gu family was entrusted by his aunt to entertain the young masters of various families. Suddenly, he heard that Lu Zong and his companion were leaving. He politely tried to persuade them to stay, but seeing that he could not persuade them to stay, he saw them off.
Jia Xu is the eldest son of the Jia family and holds the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination). It is said that he will participate in the Juren (a higher-level imperial examination) in the autumn and is very confident of passing with flying colors.
Moreover, the Jia family is small and harmonious, making it easy for any family to have a daughter who marries into them.
Lu Zong is also the heir of a prince, of noble status, humble, handsome and dashing.
Whoever marries him will undoubtedly become the Crown Princess, the future Queen.
These two could be considered the primary targets of the noble ladies attending the flower-viewing banquet today.
This sudden departure has truly disappointed many noble ladies.
Zhimin and Xiujie had only exchanged a few words with some familiar friends when they turned around and found that Jia Xu and Lu Zong were nowhere to be seen, leaving them quite puzzled.
At this moment, Guo Wenhao stepped forward and said, "It seems that the princess and Miss Jia took their leave in advance, and Brother Jia and Brother Lu also went back afterward."
Zhimin and Xiujie were even more curious.
Zhimin pressed further, "Does Princess have something urgent to attend to?"
Guo Wenhao shook his head, "I didn't bring my page or servant today, otherwise I would have gone to Broken Gold Beach to ask around, just in case something happens, I might be able to help."
Zhimin immediately said, "I brought a servant!"
After saying that, he called his servant and ordered him to make a trip to Broken Gold Beach.
Of course, he also remembered that he couldn't tell the truth. What if the princess didn't go back? Wouldn't that make the Li family worry?
So, Zhimin instructed his servant to use the excuse that he had lost a bet with a friend to go to the Li family and ask for a jade melon to satisfy his craving.
The servant returned in less than half an hour.
Zhimin and Xiujie quickly found a quiet place to ask questions carefully.
Guo Wenhao also moved closer without making a sound.
The servant wiped his sweat and said, "Young master, the princess has not returned to Broken Gold Beach. I can only say that I want to ask for the Jade Melon."
"Madam Li personally led me to the melon field and picked two melons, which are now in the carriage."
Zhimin frowned. "Where did the princess go? Could she have really run into an emergency?"
Guo Wenhao's head was lowered, and his eyes were filled with anxiety...
Jiayin had no idea that their early departure had caused so many people to worry.
She finally found her second uncle in the Hundred Flowers Garden.
Li Lao Er was watering the flowers, looking very relaxed.
In the past two years, he has also learned some flower-growing skills from Lao Cao.
Although he was still "disliked" by Lao Cao, and every time he tried to prune the branches, Lao Cao would gasp in surprise, but he still enjoyed it.
Upon seeing his niece approaching, he laughed and said, "Wasn't the flower viewing party fun? Why are you back so early?"
"Perfect timing, even if you don't come over, I'd still like to talk to you."
"Business has been very good lately. I've sold out several of my best potted plants that I had stored away, and I'm just waiting for you to restock."
Jiayin didn't rush to talk about anything. She accompanied her second uncle to water the flowers and discussed the potted plants that needed to be added. Then the two of them found a shady spot to sit down.
Sister-in-law Cao was about to serve some herbal tea when Shui Ling and Granny He stopped her.
Inside the carriage was a double-layered insulated container made in Zhengjiazhuang, filled with plenty of ice and chilled fruit.
Now, crush the ice, add diced fruit, and a spoonful of honey, and two bowls of cool and sweet shaved ice are ready.
After serving it to the master, the remaining ice can make seven or eight more bowls.
As a result, the Cao family of four and several veterans also benefited and enjoyed the pleasure of eating cold drinks in the middle of summer.
Li Lao Er ate half a bowl of shaved ice in a few bites, let out a long, comfortable sigh, and then fanned his niece, asking, "Tell me, naughty girl, did you get into trouble today?"
"Your father and the Marquis aren't home, and you have no one to back you up, so you came to find your second uncle?"
Jiayin couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, and shook her head in denial.
"My second uncle still treats me like a child. Now that I've gotten into trouble, I can handle it myself!"
Seeing that his niece didn't seem to be in a hurry, Li Lao Er became even more curious.
"What happened? Just tell me, your second uncle was just joking."
Jiayin ate her shaved ice in small bites, recounted what happened at the flower-viewing banquet, and added a few more words at the end.
"Originally, I felt uncomfortable when I heard people praising me so enthusiastically for being lucky."
"Unexpectedly, when I was saying goodbye, Dean Gu sent someone to tell me that she had someone scare the two maids and found out something unusual."
"Both girls were bribed so that I would fall into the water and be lured to rescue them, and then they would say that I snatched a half-dead person back from the clutches of the King of Hell, and that I was very lucky."
Li Lao Er frowned upon hearing this and put down the bowl of shaved ice in his hand.
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