Everyone present had different thoughts, but the common point was that they all focused their attention on Xue Huan.
Xue Huan stepped forward and bowed to the old lady, then took the basket from Ah Man who was following behind her, uncovered the red cloth on it, and revealed a basin of peaches inside.
"Old Madam, I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as long as the Southern Mountains. Please accept this basin of peaches."
The peach tree in the pot is only half an arm high. Among the green branches and leaves, there are three bright red and tender pink peaches, emitting the fragrance of ripe peaches.
"Why are there peaches at this time?" Ye Fu, who was sitting below the old lady, looked surprised.
It is already August, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. The osmanthus trees in many people's homes are in bloom, and the fragrance of osmanthus is wafting everywhere in the city. How can there still be peaches?
Xue Huan smiled. "Wasn't there a peach tree in Lingyun Temple that was blessed by Master Zhao? I went to Lingyun Temple a while ago to burn incense and asked for a branch, hoping to share in the Master's blessing. But after I planted it in the pot, the peach branch kept wilting. I was worried it wouldn't survive."
"It just so happened that two days ago I learned that the old lady's sixtieth birthday was approaching. While watering the peach trees, I was thinking about what gift I should prepare for you. So, what do you think happened, old lady?"
Her words had almost revealed the answer, how could the old lady not guess it?
"But are the peach trees bearing fruit?"
Xue Huan clapped her hands together, "Isn't that right? I saw the peach tree sprout branches and leaves, and it grew from a solitary branch into a lush peach tree with three fruits hanging on it. The fruits were so fragrant at that time that I felt my whole body lighten up as if I was ascending to heaven."
As she spoke, she reconstructed the situation at that time, leaving everyone in the hall stunned. They wondered if such a magical thing really existed?
What Xue Huan said was of course false. She used the peach pits grown in the space as seeds for this peach tree and watered it with spiritual spring water to grow it.
However, although her words were false, her intention to give Lingtao to her was genuine.
"Madam, would you like to try one?"
The old lady smiled and nodded: "Okay."
Xue Huan was about to pick a peach and hand it to the old lady when a child in the hall suddenly shouted, "Grandma, I want to eat a peach too!"
The child was the grandson of the second branch of the Ye family. He was spoiled a little too much and thought that at home he could get whatever he wanted just by shouting and crying.
The Second Madam pretended to pat him on the back and said, "What are you eating?! That was a birthday gift given to my great-grandmother. How can a little kid like you eat it?"
While apologizing to the old lady, "Mother, I have spoiled this child. He is really ignorant. I hope you won't mind."
But the child refused to obey and sat down on the ground, rolling around and crying, "I want to eat peaches, I want to eat...waaaa..."
The Second Madam hurried to coax him, "Sheng'er, get up quickly. The ground is cold. I'll buy it for you when we get back, okay?"
"No! I want to eat that peach!" Ye Sheng pointed at the peach hanging on the branch of the peach tree in the basin.
The Second Madam looked at the Old Madam in embarrassment, "Mother, look, why don't you give Sheng'er one? It's just a peach."
Ye Fu, who was sitting below the old lady, couldn't help but say, "Second Aunt, Sheng'er is naive, but aren't you naive too? Is this just about a peach? This is a birthday gift from Xiaoxian to Grandma. How can you just give it to Sheng'er if he asks for it?"
The Second Madam: "How can it not be about peaches? Isn't it just a peach? It's because peaches are out of season now and can't be bought outside. Otherwise, who would want a peach? Sheng'er is crying like this, what's wrong with giving him one?"
The Second Madam's words fully proved one thing: behind every naughty child there is a naughty parent. The Second Madam clearly bore a great deal of responsibility for Ye Sheng's upbringing.
Ye Fu: "Oh, you also know that peaches are out of season now? Then do you think the peaches that Little Fairy Sister gave you can be just ordinary peaches? These are fairy peaches! Eating them can make you live a hundred years! Tell me, can you give Sheng'er a fairy peach like this?"
After hearing what Xue Huan said, Ye Fu was sure that this peach was extraordinary, but her calling it a "fairy peach" was just an exaggeration.
The Second Madam was so angry at Ye Fu that she looked at the First Madam and said, "Sister-in-law, you don't care about Fu'er. Do you think she is talking to an elder like that?"
The eldest lady glanced at her calmly, "Sister-in-law, you know you're the elder, so why don't you behave like an elder and properly discipline your own junior? You actually let Sheng'er throw a tantrum and cry on the ground? It's a good thing that only family members are here. If outsiders saw us, they might think our family is some kind of scoundrel."
The first lady is no pushover either. She won't be polite to someone like the second lady.
"You!" The Second Madam's face was shaking with anger. She pulled Ye Sheng up from the ground and slapped him hard on the butt in front of everyone. "I told you to keep asking for peaches! What good is that? You're so short-sighted! How can you be so greedy for a peach?!"
This is simply a veiled attack.
Everyone present could no longer maintain the smiles on their faces.
"Shut up, all of you!" The old lady slammed the table, obviously angry.
Ye Sheng paused in crying, and there was clearly no tear on his face. The Second Madam did not dare to scold him anymore.
Although Ye Shengxiong was a bitch, he was still her great-grandson. After he had made such a fuss, the old lady was reluctant to give him a peach, so she reached out and picked one and handed it to him.
Xue Huan tugged at the old lady's sleeve and shook her head silently.
Since this peach was a birthday gift for the old lady, Xue Huan shouldn't have any say whether she ate it herself or gave it to someone else. But this wasn't an ordinary peach, it was a spiritual peach. How could it be allowed to be eaten by a naughty child?
Moreover, the fact that the naughty kid ate the spiritual peach would be revealed. When the news got out, that would not be what she wanted to see.
The old lady's heart moved, she withdrew her hand, stood up and said, "It's getting late, it's time to go to the front."
Before leaving, she instructed her personal maid, "Haitang, put this basin of peaches away properly."
The old lady took the lead and walked out. Xue Huan and Ye Fu supported her on the left and right. Everyone else followed. The second lady, who fell behind, felt embarrassed and pulled her grandson to follow at the end.
The banquet was divided into two areas, with male guests in the outer courtyard and female guests in the inner courtyard.
The banquet had not started yet, and the female guests were gathered in Qinghuan Pavilion to listen to the opera.
The Ye family invited a troupe of actors, who were performing "Havoc in Heaven" from "Journey to the West" on the stage. Xue Huan could hear the loud and lively sounds of fighting from a distance.
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