Eleventh Lady glanced at the pearl bracelet on Zhen Jie'er's hand and felt sad. Then she looked at Zhen Jie'er, who was blushing and looking at her with a little timidity in her eyes. She was so cute that it made her feel distressed. She felt soft in her heart and hurried forward to hold Zhen Jie'er's hand: "Very beautiful!"

Sister Zhen smiled with her lips pursed, and her expression was much more relaxed than before.

"However, this pearl flower is a little ordinary to wear. I have a red gold hairpin, I will find it and let you wear it later."

Sister Zhen looked at the lady.

The lady nodded slightly and said, "Since it is a reward from your mother, just keep it."

Zhen Jie'er thanked Shiyi Niang in a low voice, looking as if she was unworthy of the favor.

Zhun Ge looked at her and called Zhen Jie'er: "...Where are you going?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and bent down to touch his head: "My sister and I have something to do, you stay with grandma."

Zhun Ge pouted and said, "I want to go too!"

"I'll take you there next time." Eleventh Lady smiled and saluted the lady-in-waiting, then took Zhen Jie'er to her room, found the pair of red gold hairpins the size of wine glasses and put them on her. She looked much brighter.

Shiyi Niang then realized that Zhen Jie'er didn't have her ears pierced. She smiled and said, "Let's get your ears pierced during Laba Festival!" She also took out a small red gold earring and said, "It will be healed in a month at most. When we go outing in the spring, we can wear earrings."

Sister Zhen blushed and murmured, not knowing what to say.

Eleventh Lady pulled her to the east room.

"We will entertain Madam Lin here later. Just stay beside me and watch us adults talking. When Hui Jieer is bored, smile at her. You can say a few words when you have the chance, but don't interrupt when the adults are talking."

Sister Zhen nodded solemnly: "I remember it!"

"When you talk, you should pick up the words that the other person is interested in. Don't just talk about yourself. This way, others will be interested in continuing to talk..." Eleventh Lady explained some small details in bits and pieces, and Xiulan came in: "Madam, the carriage of the Lin Mansion has arrived at the gate."

Eleventh Lady brought Zhen Jie'er to the main hall to greet them.

Mrs. Lin and Grandmother Lin brought a little girl who was about the same age as Zhen Jie'er. She was wearing a bright red silk jacket and a royal blue skirt. Her snow-white face was tense and her eyes and eyebrows were solemn. It was obvious that she was not very happy.

I think it must be Sister Hui from the Lin family.

Eleventh Lady glanced at Zhen Jie'er.

Sister Zhen looked shocked, as if she was frightened by Sister Hui's appearance.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile slightly.

The women around her all lowered their heads and looked submissive. They probably had never thought that someone would have such an expression!

Eleventh Lady greeted Madam Lin and Grandma Lin with a smile, and introduced Zhen Jie'er and Hui Jie'er to each other.

Huijie'er's face brightened up and she greeted Zhenjie'er in a graceful and generous manner.

Although Zhen Jie'er looks a little shy, she behaves elegantly and knows when to act.

Mrs. Lin and Grandmother Lin both liked it very much. One gave Zhenjie a jade pendant as a gift, and the other gave a pair of South Pearl flowers as a gift. Eleventh Lady couldn't be stingy, of course, and gave Huijie a jade cicada.

Everyone moved to the side room next to the main hall to drink tea, and then went to the old lady to greet her. Mrs. Lin stayed with the old lady, while the eldest lady and Hui Jie'er went to the upper room where Eleventh Lady lived and sat on the big kang by the window in the east room. Hui Jie'er and Zhen Jie'er each sat on a brocade stool next to their mother.

The maids brought tea and snacks. Grandma Lin chatted with Shiyi Niang for a while, then got to the point: "...I want you to help me with embroidery." She then said to Hui Jie'er, "The wife of the Marquis of Yongping has inherited the true teachings of the Fairy Silk Pavilion, you should learn from her carefully."

While Grandma Lin was talking, Shiyi Niang had been observing Hui Jie'er's expression. Seeing the impatience flashing in her eyes, she knew that she didn't care about it. She smiled at Hui Jie'er and said, "It's a small matter to say that you want to learn embroidery. The main thing is that our two families live next door to each other, and you and our sister Zhen don't know each other... I just want to find an opportunity for you to meet."

Hui Jie'er was startled when she heard this and turned to look at Zhen Jie'er.

Sister Zhen blushed slightly and smiled at her.

Hui Jie'er's expression became much more relaxed.

When Grandma Lin heard what Shiyi Niang said, anxiety flashed across her face. Shiyi Niang took advantage of the moment when Hui Jie'er looked at Zhen Jie'er to wink at Grandma Lin.

Grandma Lin knew exactly what her daughter was thinking. But she had no say in this matter. She had to learn how to beat and scold her. Otherwise, she would be looked down upon by her husband's family. All the grandmas who could become the head of the family were very smart. Seeing that Shiyi Niang winked at her, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She also saw that her daughter's attitude was not as stiff as before, and knew that Shiyi Niang's words had worked, so she nodded slightly to Shiyi Niang and said nothing more.

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked, "What do you do for fun, Sister Hui?"

Hui Jie'er's eyes showed a wary look. She stood up politely and said respectfully, "I like reading the most, especially the Records of the Grand Historian."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised and curious, so she asked with a smile, "Which ones impressed you the most?"

"The Comprehensive Mirror." Hui Jie'er's eyes suddenly brightened. "What happened thousands of years ago is right before our eyes. It's such an interesting thing..."

Grandma Lin coughed softly after hearing this. Hui Jie'er suddenly felt bored, but she still changed the subject and asked Zhen Jie'er with a smile: "What do you do for fun, sister?"

Zhen Jieer glanced at Shiyi Niang quickly, and seeing that she was looking at her with a smile, she smiled and said, "I like playing the piano."

Hui Jieer immediately smiled and said, "It's a pity that there is no zither, otherwise I could listen to my sister's elegant music." She added, "I like the pipa and the flute. Both instruments can be carried with you, which is convenient. If I had known that my sister liked to play the zither, I should have brought the flute to play a song with her."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Sister Hui will come back some other day with Xiao!"

Hui Jieer said generously: "I will definitely come again!"

Shiyi Niang chatted with her for a while, without mentioning embroidery, and she gradually relaxed. After talking for a long time, Shiyi Niang took a sip of the tea at hand, then took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the corner of her mouth.

Hui Jie'er couldn't help but glance at her handkerchief.

The white silk base is embroidered with green vines around it, and the vines are dotted with blooming peonies. This peony is different from the general embroidery method. It only embroiders the outline, and then cuts the petals into hollows, which looks unique.

This was something that Eleventh Lady had specially found from the bottom of the box to seduce Hui Jie'er.

But she only took a glance and immediately looked away, as if the handkerchief was something poisonous and she wanted to avoid it.

Eleventh Lady secretly found it funny.

Huijie is really a very smart girl.

After a few more words, Mother Du arrived and invited everyone to have dinner with the Lady Dowager.

Grandma Lin and Shiyi Niang walked in front, while Huijie and Zhenjie walked side by side, and the group went to the lady dowager's place.

Eleventh Lady took Grandma Lin's hand and walked forward quickly, leaving the two little ones some distance away. Then she whispered, "We can't rush this, we can only do it slowly."

Grandma Lin smiled bitterly: "I know that too. But she does everything well, but she can never get started with needlework. I get annoyed with it and have no patience to learn. As time goes by, it's natural that I get a headache just watching her."

This is like a student who is good at all subjects but can't cook. It's not like they don't have food, but they think it's a waste of energy and are even more unwilling to spend energy on it. It's not that they really can't do it well.

Eleventh Lady whispered, "Grandma should be even more patient."

Zhen Jieer and Hui Jieer in the back were talking: "Do you usually spend a lot of energy studying?"

Hui Jieer nodded: "Of course. There is nothing more interesting than reading."

Zhen Jieer smiled and said, "I used to spend a lot of energy on playing the piano. I used to practice in Shaohua Courtyard where my second aunt lived, in the back garden, so I wouldn't disturb others. Later, my fifth aunt went to the back garden to take care of her pregnancy, so I didn't play much."

"Is your second aunt the one who wrote 'Essentials of Eight-legged Essays'?" Hui Jie asked curiously, "Everyone says that she is a beautiful woman with a tragic fate, and became a widow at a young age. I think it's good for her to be like this, she can concentrate on her studies."

Zhen Jieer interrupted her and said, "Second Aunt is an elder, and we, as younger generations, are not in a position to discuss her affairs."

Seeing that she was frank and unpretentious, Hui Jieer felt more comfortable with her than with her aunts at home, so she wanted to make friends with her. She immediately apologized, "I was inconsiderate."

Seeing that she was generous and open-minded, Zhen Jieer liked her very much. She smiled at her, as if to forgive her unintentional words.

Hui Jieer smiled and said, "Your backyard is so big. If you want to practice piano, if she is in the east, you can go to the west. If she is in the west, you can go to the east. If you do that, you won't be able to practice. You are being too cautious."

Zhen Jie thought about it and said with a smile, "Sister, you are right. I have never thought about it." In fact, because Zhun Ge was with her, she did not dare to go to the garden. If something happened, she and Madam Wen would not survive!

Hui Jieer smiled and said, "How about you come to our house tomorrow to play? I live alone in a yard, and it's quite spacious. You can come and practice the piano."

Sister Zhen was quite moved.

In her entire life, she could only remember going out once - when she was nine years old, she followed her ladyship to the Huguo Temple to burn incense.

But when she thought of Zhun Ge... her heart turned cold again. She politely refused, "This requires mother's consent!"

Hui Jieer winked at her and said, "Just look at me!"

Zhen Jie'er was shocked, afraid that she would say something that would cause Shiyi Niang to misunderstand. Just as she was about to say something, Hui Jie'er said, "Don't worry, I know she is your stepmother and will not embarrass you. I will send you an invitation tomorrow, and for the sake of her reputation, she will definitely agree to let you come to our house to play."

"She's very good to me." Zhen Jie'er said hurriedly, "Don't make things difficult for her."

Hui Jie'er opened her eyes wide when she heard this. She felt that Zhen Jie'er was kind-hearted and very pitiful - no matter how good her stepmother was, she was not her biological mother after all. Although she was straightforward, she was born in a noble family and knew the importance of things.

"Don't worry!" Hui Jie'er said with a smile, "I won't make things difficult for you." But in her heart, she felt that Zhen Jie'er was a truly honest person, much better than the people around her.

The adults and children each said their own things and went to the lady's place.

Zhun Ge saw Hui Jie’er opened her eyes wide and looked at her curiously.

After everyone exchanged greetings and had their meal, the lady invited Mrs. Lin to rest in her warm room. Eleventh Lady and Mrs. Lin took the two little girls to Eleventh Lady's residence.

Zhun Ge held on to Zhen Jie Er's clothes and refused to let go. The lady tried to persuade him with kind words, but it was of no use. It was not easy to scold the child in front of the Lin family. Shiyi Niang smiled and said, "Let him go with us. You can take a good rest."

The lady agreed reluctantly, but asked all those serving Zhun Ge to follow and serve her.

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Being debt-free is a relief! (*^__^*) Hehehe…