...
After lunch, most of the young ladies moved to the back garden of the General's Mansion, while the ladies of each family left first.
Only those who were on good terms with the Chu family remained with them, chatting about everyday matters...
The general's mansion has a large back garden with pavilions, terraces, covered walkways, waterside pavilions, artificial hills and flowing water, and everything else imaginable.
The Chu family loved flowers, so after buying the house, they planted many precious flowers and plants in the garden.
In the back garden of the General's Mansion, flowers bloom in different seasons, no matter the time of year.
It was early autumn, and Sheng Moshi led the ladies directly to the chrysanthemum planting area, which was the most beautiful place at this time of year.
As soon as the young ladies arrived at the chrysanthemum planting area, they were dazzled by the variety of chrysanthemums inside.
Chrysanthemums of various colors and varieties, such as black chrysanthemum, purple chrysanthemum, golden-backed red chrysanthemum, swan dance chrysanthemum, gaillardia, groundcover chrysanthemum, strawflower, etc.
At first glance, the flowers are in full bloom, a breathtaking sight.
"Miss Sheng, your garden is truly beautiful."
Because my name contains the character for chrysanthemum, I also really like chrysanthemums.
I also know a little about chrysanthemums.
Many of these chrysanthemums are rare and precious varieties. For example, each of these black chrysanthemums costs twenty taels of silver.
Ten taels of purple chrysanthemums.
The Swan Dance costs thirty taels.
These chrysanthemums I see are already worth over a thousand taels of silver!
The general's mansion is truly incredibly wealthy.
Gao Yueju exclaimed in admiration.
"What? These flowers are actually worth so much?"
Sheng Moshi was so shocked that her voice rose several decibels...
"What? Miss Sheng doesn't know?"
Gao Yueju asked in confusion.
"Um... these were all arranged by my mother, I really didn't know about them!"
Sheng Moshi answered verbally, but secretly grumbled in his heart.
This Chu family member would spend thousands of taels of silver to buy just a few flowers, but she wouldn't spend a penny on the Sheng family.
The current prosperity of the General's Mansion is entirely due to the several thousand taels of silver provided by Consort Jin and the meager monthly salary of just over one hundred taels of silver for my father.
This amount of silver would be an enormous sum that an ordinary family could never spend in a lifetime, but the general's mansion had to maintain its dignity.
To maintain guards and servants, one also needs to buy clothes every month to save face.
So this amount of silver is simply not enough to cover expenses.
Her mother is indeed in charge of the household now, but they live a very frugal life.
This Chu woman, as the legitimate daughter-in-law of the Sheng family, completely disregards the well-being of the Sheng household. She herself lives a very comfortable life; it's infuriating…
When Gao Yueju heard Sheng Moshi say this and saw her shocked expression, she immediately understood.
Sheng Moshi was born to a concubine of lowly status, and thus her knowledge and experience were limited.
Seeing that a single flower could be worth several months' worth of her monthly salary, she couldn't help but be shocked...
Gao Yueju didn't show it on her face, but inwardly she felt a surge of contempt.
Seeing Sheng Moshi's demeanor, the other young ladies were no longer as enthusiastic as before.
Sheng Moshi is currently enjoying great popularity, which inevitably makes some people jealous and dislike her.
However, because she had won the favor of the Empress Dowager and had the hope of becoming the Crown Princess, she endured her disgust and came to befriend her.
But this incident reminded them that Sheng Moshi was just a lowly concubine's daughter, so why should they, the noble legitimate daughters, lower themselves to curry favor with her?
As a result, the enthusiasm of the young ladies who had just been surrounding Sheng Moshi vanished instantly.
Sheng Wanwan smiled, her eyes crinkling at the sight before her.
She was being held by Chu Xinyuan, and said with a smile:
"Sister Xinyuan, do you like chrysanthemums?"
Chu Xinyuan liked her intelligent and beautiful cousin very much, and upon hearing her say this, she quickly smiled and replied:
“I love it! My grandmother always says that my personality is most like my aunt’s, even in my love for chrysanthemums.”
"If Sister Xinyuan likes it, how about we give her that Jade Phoenix Tree?"
Sheng Wanwan pointed with her small hand to a pot of flowers in the distance.
Upon hearing this, Chu Xinyuan followed Sheng Wanwan's small hand and looked over.
Sure enough, among the thousands of beautiful chrysanthemums, there was a pot of white chrysanthemums.
The chrysanthemum petals were pure white, and the center of the flower was pale yellow.
It is the most precious variety of chrysanthemum – Yaotai Yufeng.
"Wow! It really is the Jade Phoenix of the Jade Terrace! How beautiful! No wonder it's worth a thousand taels of silver!"
Before Chu Xinyuan could answer, Gao Yueju couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Sheng Moshi's smile froze instantly, her eyes fixed on the pot of white flowers.
These flowers are beautiful, but isn't it too exaggerated to be worth a thousand taels of silver?
And what did that brat say?
Why would you give away something so valuable?
Doesn't she know these belong to the General's Mansion? The General's Mansion is desperately poor, and not only does the East Garden not help them, but they also want to give away such precious flowers?
She's so angry! What should she do if she really wants to give this brat a good beating?
...
"Yes! Sister Gao, I heard from my mother that this Jade Phoenix Pot was something she went through a lot of trouble to acquire, and it's worth 1,300 taels of silver!"
Sheng Wan blinked her big eyes, her tone innocent and pure.
Upon hearing this, Gao Yueju immediately felt envious, jealous, and resentful again:
"Chu Xinyuan, you're really getting off easy!"
Gao Yueju forced herself to look away from the "Jade Phoenix on the Jade Terrace." She wanted that flower too! Why did Chu Xinyuan always get all the good things? Why didn't she have such a wonderful little cousin?
Seeing that her younger sister was really going to give her such expensive chrysanthemums, Chu Xinyuan shook her head and smiled:
“I appreciate your kind offer, but these flowers are too precious! I can’t accept them! Besides, this flower is surely something your aunt would love; how can you just give it away like that?”
"Is this flower expensive? It's alright! Even if it is expensive, I'll still give it to my cousin Xinyuan. If necessary, I'll sell the white jade that Aunt Mu gave me and buy another one for my mother!"
Cousin, please accept this!
Let me tell you, I'm very rich, and my mother is very rich too..."
Sheng Wan whispered in Chu Xinyuan's ear.
The sound was soft, but loud enough for everyone present to hear.
Sheng Moshi's face turned green.
That brat not only gave away the Sheng family's precious flowers and plants, but she also wanted to use the jade pendant her mother gave her to buy another one.
Isn't this just like using her mother's flowers to offer to the dead girl's Buddha?
She's so angry!
If she doesn't like the jade pendant, can't I just give it to her? That's really siding with outsiders!
Thinking of this, Sheng Moshi frowned and said:
"Little sister, that jade pendant was a gift from your aunt. How can you just sell it like that?"
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