Just like last time, Aunt Ji met Yu Tang at the second gate and accompanied her all the way to Old An's yard.

On the way, she whispered to Yu Tang, "The first and second wives are here to pay their respects to Old An. Miss Yu will have to wait in the warm room for a while."

The younger generation came to show filial piety, so she certainly shouldn't get involved. It was Aunt Ji who was being polite and said it in such a tactful way.

Yu Tang thought about the time she met the eldest lady when she came to the Pei family, and the rumors when Pei Yan just took over the Pei family. She not only responded with a smile, but also changed the subject to avoid suspicion: "Auntie Ji, tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival, why haven't you put up chrysanthemums in your house yet?"

The Double Ninth Festival is the time when chrysanthemums are in their best bloom. People in the south of the Yangtze River love flowers, and even those who can barely make ends meet will grow a couple of chrysanthemums to display at this time of year. Moreover, a wealthy family like the Pei Mansion would feel embarrassed to say they are celebrating the festival if they don't display a few black chrysanthemums or pile up a few chrysanthemum mountains.

Who knew that this sentence should not be said.

Aunt Ji's expression flashed with embarrassment, and she said, "It's because our Third Master doesn't like these flowers. After the old master passed away, Old Anxin was unhappy and didn't have the mood to appreciate flowers and plant grass. We servants shouldn't make decisions on our own."

Yu Tang wiped the sweat off his face and said hurriedly, "That's true. When my mother was unwell two years ago, we didn't have much mood to celebrate the festival. The snacks such as water chestnut cake and snowflake crisps that we used to entertain guests were all bought from the market."

It was unknown what struck the heart of Aunt Ji. Aunt Ji said with emotion, "Who says it's not true? After our old lady passed away, Mrs. An felt as if the sky had fallen. She used to like beautiful people so much that the master of Jinlou wanted to live at home and make jewelry for Mrs. An all year round. This year, she didn't even make a piece of clothing, let alone jewelry. It was not until the old lady's anniversary a few days ago that the second old master persuaded Mrs. An for a day, and then Mrs. An's spirit gradually improved." At this point, she looked at the little maid leading the way in front, and lowered her voice to remind Yu Tang, "When you meet Mrs. An later, just make her happy. If you can let her make jewelry and clothes, everyone in the mansion will be grateful to you."

Yu Tang blinked.

It's not that they were attracted by the peanut crisps she made, but they were looking for someone to provide some fun and entertaining support for Old An!

It sounds like the second old man is really as filial as the rumors say. But where is Pei Yan? Why doesn't he persuade Old Anren?

The whole family is grateful to her, so will the first wife also be grateful to her?

Yu Tang sat down in the warm pavilion and met another acquaintance - Lei Zhi.

She stood up happily and asked, "Do you still remember me?"

Leizhi smiled at her and said, "I saw you the last time you came, but I was on duty in the tea room that day, so I didn't have the nerve to greet you."

Yu Tang saw her wearing a neat green silk vest and holding a red lacquered silver and gold-painted tray in the shape of a crabapple flower. She looked very energetic and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to come to Old An's place."

Leizhi smiled and said, "I've been here for almost a year, and I'm still learning the rules. So, I saw you coming, so I found an excuse to come over."

The two talked happily, and Yu Tang learned a lot about the Pei Mansion.

For example, Lao An was not a person who liked to set rules for his daughter-in-law. When the old lady was alive, the two wives followed their husbands to work. After the old lady passed away, Lao An exempted the first wife from the morning and evening visits, and the second wife only had to come to pay respects on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. Today, the first and second wives came because the Double Ninth Festival was coming soon, but Lao An suddenly said that he would not celebrate the festival and would stay in the temple for two days. No matter how the second old man persuaded him, he could not persuade him. He asked the second wife to accompany Lao An, but Lao An refused. The first and second wives had no choice but to bring the children in the family to pay respects to Lao An in advance.

Did Mr. An still agree to see her?

Yu Tang was startled and asked hurriedly, "When will Mr. An leave?"

Leizhi said, "We'll leave early tomorrow morning and go to Zhaoming Temple." After that, he pursed his lips and smiled, "Otherwise, how could it be my turn to pour tea for you? The sisters in Old An's room are busy packing up their boxes!"

Yu Tang felt that he came at the wrong time.

Who knew that just as this thought came to her mind, a round-faced, cheerful and well-behaved maid came in through the curtains, bowed to her with a smile, and said, "Miss Yu, Old An knows you're here, and asked me to invite you over!"

Leizhi introduced her to Yutang: "This is Sister Zhenzhu from Old An's house."

This little girl looks younger than Leizhi. Either she has a childish face, or she is a first-class maid serving Old An. Sister is just a respectful title.

However, the name Pearl suits this little girl very well, as she is indeed round-faced and gentle.

Yu Tang followed with a "Sister Pearl".

Zhenzhu was so scared that she took a half step back, saying that she didn't dare, and blushed as she said, "This is just a joke. Miss Yu, please don't take it seriously, or Aunt Chen will punish me."

Yu Tang had no idea about the ins and outs of Old An's house, so he didn't say anything more. He smiled and said a few jokes, then followed Zhenzhu into Old An's house.

Old An looked quite energetic. He sat on the Luohan bed and waved to Yu Tang: "Let me see what silk flowers you brought."

The first and second wives and others had all left, and the teacups and fruit plates in the room had been taken away, but a few embroidered cushions were still placed around Luohan's bed. It was unclear whether they had not been taken away in time or were placed there intentionally.

Yu Tang smiled and walked forward to greet Old Lady An. At the signal of the maid, he sat on the embroidered cushion closest to Old Lady An and handed the box in his hand to Zhenzhu.

Zhenzhu opened the box and showed the silk flowers inside to Old An.

Old An's eyes lit up.

On the bright red carpet there are two camellias, two chrysanthemums, two hostas and two magnolias, each the size of a wine glass. They are made of Zhangzhou velvet, which gives a warm feeling in this season. The petals are stacked one on top of the other and look lifelike. If you don’t know in advance, you could easily mistake them for real flowers.

"This is really..." Old An took a camellia in his hand and looked at it carefully, saying, "I thought the lotus flowers on your head were very good last time, but I didn't expect these flowers to be even better. How did you make them?"

Yu Tang smiled and said, "Actually, the ones sold outside are not worse than what I make. It's just that the ones sold outside are specialized in this, and I use it to kill time. If I can make it as good as others, then Lao An thinks I'm great, but in fact, everyone is about the same."

Old An nodded, but suddenly said "Huh", touched the petals of the camellia for a long time, and then looked at Yu Tang.

This time, she looked at Yu Tang with a more serious look, which frightened Yu Tang so much that he stammered, "What, what's wrong?"

When Old An heard this, he smiled.

That smile was like melting ice and snow, and the atmosphere around her became warm.

"You made this silk flower very well." She smiled, the smile flowing from her eyes, not just lingering on the corners of her mouth like the last time she came. "I thought it looked like real flowers before, but I just found out that the velvet you used to make silk flowers is shorter than ordinary velvet, so it looks denser. The petals look like real flowers, thick, smooth and shiny. How did you do it? Did you trim it with scissors? Or is there any other way?"

She asked with interest.

Yu Tang was suddenly excited, and felt a kind of joy as if "a beauty was given to a beautiful woman".

"You discovered it!" She smiled. "When I was making silk flowers before, I always wanted to make something different. I either made dew drops on the petals or a dragonfly, or nailed glass beads for eyes. But later, I felt more and more that being 'real' was the most difficult. How do flowers bloom in the afternoon, how do flowers bloom in the morning, how do flowers bloom in the evening... When I was making camellia, I bought the best velvet and wanted to You can cut their velvet short... but if you cut it too short, sometimes the fabric will show through... When I went to Suzhou last time, I asked the guys at the silk shop... and ordered a piece of fabric from them... It's a bit expensive, but everyone says the silk flowers are good, just like the real ones... Like the two flowers in your hand, they are camellias that bloom at noon. If they bloom at night, the petals should be curled a little more... I'm also thinking about whether I should wear them in pairs, changing the flowers in the morning, afternoon and evening."

"You're right. To make silk flowers, you need to be able to make them look real without looking fake!" Old An said happily, "Then your lily of the valley blooms at night, and your chrysanthemums bloom in the morning?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Yu Tang's eyes turned into crescents as she smiled. "I think if Old An is meeting guests at night, he can wear them alternately."

Lao An used to be the clan wife, so all the women in the clan would come to her when they had problems, no matter how early or late it was.

"You are really clever, little girl." Old An praised, turned around and told Zhenzhu to put away all the flowers, and said to Yu Tang, "I will stay at Zhaoming Temple for a few days tomorrow. When I come back, I will prepare some winter clothes. You can come and help me then."

Does this mean she's qualified?

Yu Tang found this interesting and said, "I don't know much about tailoring clothes."

Lao An laughed and said: "You can make such silk flowers, which shows that you are a talented person. When the time comes, you can just choose the ones that are beautiful. I will post a post for your family then."

If this can make Old An happy, she is willing to do it.

Yu Tang answered Lao An's questions about some techniques of making silk flowers, and declined Lao An's invitation to stay for dinner on the pretext that he had to go home to prepare a family dinner for the Double Ninth Festival. Then he stood up and said goodbye.

It was still Aunt Ji who sent her out, but they met Ah Ming halfway.

"Miss Yu, I've been waiting for you for a long time." He ran to Yu Tang with a smile, "Our third elder invites you to the pavilion for tea."

The wind is blowing and it feels a bit chilly now. Shouldn't we go to the warm room to have some tea?

Yu Tang complained in his heart but didn't say it out loud, and followed Ah Ming to the pavilion.

The pavilion she visited this time was not the one by the stream she visited last time, but a pavilion built in a small valley, called "Ti Cha".

Yu Tang asked Ah Ming in a low voice: "How many pavilions do you have in your house?"

Ah Ming stretched out his fingers and muttered to himself for a while before counting. He said, "There should be seventeen. But it's not certain. I just counted the ones I remembered, so there might be some I missed."

Well, she doesn't have any.