Everyone immediately stopped talking and waited with smiles for Gu Xi to come in.

Gu Xi wore a blue and green brocade bodice. Her dark hair was casually tied into a bun and a gilded pearl hairpin was inserted in it. Her cheeks were white with a hint of red, and her eyes were bright and she looked very energetic.

Mr. Pei nodded and said with a smile, "It looks like you are in good health!"

Gu Xi smiled and bowed to Elder Pei and Elder Yi, saying, "Thanks to the two Elders, I am now fine."

Old An Yi also looked very pleased, saying "That's good" repeatedly, and asked Gu Xi to sit down and talk, saying, "Even if you are well again, you can't be careless. You need to rest for a few more days."

Gu Xi thanked Mr. Yi and sat down next to Yu Tang. Then the second wife came over with the second young lady.

The room suddenly became lively.

When the Fourth Miss saw the Second Madam and the Fifth Miss talking in front of Mr. Pei, she quietly waved to Yu Tang.

Yu Tang looked around and saw Gu Xi, the second and third young ladies also gathered in front of Old Man Yi. He listened to the conversation between the second wife and the fifth young lady, and then he quietly walked over and asked the fourth young lady in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

The fourth young lady whispered to her with some pride: "The marriage between the second sister and Mr. Yang is about to be settled - the Yang family will send someone to discuss the engagement with our family tomorrow!"

That ostentatious look made Yu Tang want to pinch her face.

"You are really well-informed!" she said, echoing what the fourth young lady said.

The fourth young lady was even more proud, raised her chin and said, "I heard the second and third sisters whispering yesterday."

Yu Tang pursed his lips and smiled.

The fourth young lady added: "Actually it wasn't the second sister who fell in love with Mr. Yang, it was the third uncle who fell in love with Mr. Yang."

Pei Yan still cares about these things?

How does he know whether Mr. Yang and the second young lady are suitable for each other?

Yu Tang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

The fourth young lady thought she didn't believe it, so she said hurriedly, "It's true! I didn't lie to you. Young Master Yang knew that Third Uncle was also in Ku'an Temple, so he went to see Third Uncle first. Third Uncle talked to him for two quarters of an hour. Later, Third Aunt sent someone to ask Third Uncle about Young Master Yang. Third Uncle said that he was well-educated, so Second Sister agreed."

Isn't this a bit too rash?

Back then, Li Duan was also very good at studying, and he was not a scumbag!

The villain in Yu Tang wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked towards the Second Miss.

The second young lady didn't know when she started talking to Pei Lao'an. Yu Tang only heard her say, "Don't worry, I will definitely help the third sister to make the incense." After that, she pulled Gu Xi and said, "If you don't trust me, don't you still have sister Gu? When the time comes, sister Gu will help us, what else do you have to worry about?"

Pei Laoan laughed and said, "The New Year is coming soon. Can your sister Gu always live in our house? You only know that your father and your mother hold you in the palm of their hands and think about you all the time. Don't your sister Gu's parents think about her?"

The room was silent.

Mr. Pei never mentioned that Gu Xi would go home for the New Year.

This is the first time.

Gu Xi's face was burning. She felt as if Pei Laoan was chasing her away, which made her feel embarrassed and angry, but she couldn't say a word.

She stood there at a loss, stammering, "I, I'm also planning to go back in the next two days. I'm afraid I can't be of much help to the Second Miss..."

The second young lady also felt very embarrassed, and hurriedly took Gu Xi's arm, apologetically saying: "Oh, I forgot about the New Year. Sister Gu is like a sister to us in our home. It would be great if she could come to our home more often in the future."

Gu Xi couldn't help but look at Pei Laoan.

Old Master Pei smiled even more kindly, and said, "It's fate that you two sisters can play together. If Miss Gu is free, just come visit us often. They are all people who like to be lively, and they will definitely welcome Miss Gu."

"That's right, that's right." The second lady said in a loud voice.

Gu Xi managed to control the expression on his face with great difficulty, not showing any shock or disappointment.

In the past, she wanted to be in the order of seniority with Yu Tang, but with just one word, Old Pei made them become "Miss Gu" and "Miss Yu". Now, Old Pei took the initiative to ask her to address the young ladies of the Pei Mansion as sisters. If she were an ordinary person, eight or nine out of ten would think that she had impressed Old Pei, and that Old Pei was showing her kindness. But she was not an ordinary person. She grew up in a complex environment like the Gu family. Some things could be seen without anyone's reminder - openly, she seemed to be closer to the Pei family. Secretly, Old Pei separated her and Pei Yan by generations.

Is this the second time she was kicked out by Pei Laoan after Pei Yan?

But why?

What did she do wrong?

Let both mother and son look down on her?

Gu Xi couldn't figure it out, and his face suddenly turned as pale as a piece of satin.

The second young lady couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Sister Gu, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

Gu Xi shook his head, forced himself to smile, and said softly, "I'm fine!"

The second young lady looked at her face and said hesitantly: "But your complexion..."

Gu Xi knew that she had not been able to keep a straight face after all, so she hurriedly asked, "Do I look bad? Maybe I was too tired yesterday."

Although the Second Miss was suspicious, she was good friends with Gu Xi, so she would not embarrass her in such an occasion. She smiled and changed the subject, teasing the Third Miss: "Third sister made so much noise yesterday that I could hardly sleep all night. She was still writing on the desk in the middle of the night, and I don't know what she wrote. When I asked her, she just said that she wanted to write down the process of making incense so that she could look it up in the book when she got home. But I think she might not be sure. Sister Gu, when are you going back? I want to take advantage of you being at our house these few days, and ask you to help me and Third Sister make some Buddhist incense first, what do you think?"

Gu Xi didn't want to give Yu Tang any advantage at all.

In her opinion, even if the Pei family did not publicize Yu Tang's contribution in this matter, in the minds of the female members of the Pei family, the matter of Ruo'an Temple was Yu Tang's contribution. Anything she did related to Ku'an Temple was to flatter Yu Tang.

"I'm going back in the next two days," she declined politely, "I'm afraid I won't have enough time. Besides, I've seen the recipe that Miss Yu brought out. It requires a lot of spices, and it's hard to gather them all in a short time..."

The second and third young ladies both looked disappointed.

Yu Tang, however, thinks it doesn't matter whether Gu Xi is there or not.

Making Buddhist incense and incense sticks is fun for little girls, but selling them is not an easy task. Just controlling costs is not something that these ladies can do. If, as Mr. Pei said, the nuns and lay people of Ku'an Temple are mainly responsible for making incense sticks, then selling Buddhist incense sticks must be managed by an experienced manager.

She just stood there without saying a word.

But Elder Pei and Elder Yi looked at each other, and then Elder Pei smiled and said to the Second and Third Misses, "There's no rush for this. I've sent someone to talk to your Third Uncle, and he said that this is a good thing, and he will find a way to help you. You also know that your Third Uncle always keeps his word. Since he has agreed, he will definitely make arrangements for this matter. You just need to make incense according to Miss Yu's recipe. If you can make it, it's good, but if you can't, it's just a loss of face in front of your Third Uncle, so you don't have to take it to heart."

Being embarrassed is the most embarrassing thing!

Yu Tang was embarrassed.

The fifth young lady said loudly, "Grandmother, you just said that you would leave the incense making to us, how come you changed your mind so quickly?" As she spoke, she stepped forward and took the hands of the second and third young ladies, and vowed, "We will keep our word and we will definitely make a good-smelling, unique Buddhist incense."

Pei Laoan, Yi Laoan and the second wife all laughed, and Yi Laoan said lovingly, "Good, good, good. You are all good children with great ambitions. If you can really make unique and good-smelling Buddhist incense, I will reward each of you with a bag of silver ingots for good luck."

"Okay!" said the fourth young lady happily, as if the bag of silver had already fallen into her pocket without any suspense.

Everyone burst into laughter again because of her amusement.

Gu Xi, who had been silent, suddenly said, "My two elder Ans, I will not participate in the incense making. I think I will pack my luggage and return to Hangzhou in the next two days. Calculating the date, my brother should have a letter to ask me about the New Year. If I go back late, the letter to my brother will not be delivered to the capital before the New Year."

As December approaches, all the major post stations become overcrowded with people as everyone is busy preparing for the New Year.

Mrs. Pei smiled and said, "You have a point." Then she asked Aunt Chen to get the almanac and said, "It's not suitable to go out tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is a good day. We will be back home soon. Then Aunt Chen can tell the steward to arrange a boat to take Miss Gu back to Hangzhou. As for us..." Mrs. Pei flipped through the almanac again and said, "We will be back home in six days."

Gu Xi felt hopeless.

The Fifth Miss shouted, "Are we going back home so soon? What about our incense sticks? Sister Gu has gone home, and Sister Yu has also gone home..."

Mr. Pei smiled and said, "Miss Yu lives in Lin'an City. If you want to ask Miss Yu about making incense, you can send someone to pick her up and bring her home. There's nothing to be surprised about."

Miss Five blushed and said, "I was just thinking about Sister Yu also wanting to celebrate the New Year."

The fourth young lady said cleverly, "Third uncle didn't say that we need the incense tomorrow, so we can take our time. I heard from my mother's maid that the best time for business is after the Chinese New Year, so we can wait until after the Chinese New Year."

The third young lady retorted, "My aunt's dowry was a silk shop. In spring, everyone wants to make single garments, so of course it is the best time for business. But the best business for Buddhist incense is before the 15th day of the lunar month, when everyone goes to the temple to worship Buddha."

A few of the younger ones started arguing.

Pei Laoan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He said, "You are so cruel. The incense hasn't even been made yet, but you are already thinking about making money. If you were allowed to manage the shop, those big shopkeepers would be forced to jump into the river by you!"

The kids smiled sheepishly.

Yu Tang was thinking in her mind that they would go down the mountain in six days, so she only had to stay in the Pei family villa for one or two days at most and then she should be able to go home, right?

She missed her mother, her father, her brother, her aunt... She even missed Mrs. Chen who cooked in the kitchen every day with an apron on.