The maid wrapped the pounded tea cake and brought it over. Yang Jiyan did not touch it and asked the maid to put it on the stone table. She said, "If it is not enough, I will ask the maids to pick some more."
"Don't bother, this is enough." Yu Jiao put down the teacup and looked at the osmanthus tree.
The three of them sat there for a while, unable to find anything to say. Yang Jiyan looked at what Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling were wearing and immediately recognized that they were clothes from the Zhixiu Pavilion in the city. She said, "The embroiderers at the Zhixiu Pavilion have outstanding craftsmanship. The two girls bought clothes from the Zhixiu Pavilion when they first arrived. They have good taste."
Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling had no idea what Zhixiu Pavilion was, but since Miss Yang recognized at a glance that the clothes were made by the embroiderer of the Zhixiu Pavilion, it seemed that Zhixiu Pavilion must be very famous in Qingzhou City.
Yu Fuling tugged at her clothes nervously. She was used to wearing coarse cloth clothes, so now she was not used to wearing such nice clothes. She always felt like she was stealing someone else's clothes.
Yang Jiyan added, "The double-sided embroidery of the Embroidery Pavilion is famous. My mother once asked an embroiderer from the Embroidery Pavilion to teach me needlework. I embroidered this handkerchief myself." She smiled complacently and pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve. One side was embroidered with water lilies about to bloom, and the other side was a lotus with petals spread out. She chuckled and said, "Miss Yu, are you also going for the double-sided embroidery?"
It was the first time for Yu Fuling to see double-sided embroidery. The contours on both sides were exactly the same, and it was so detailed that there was not even a single flaw in the back line. The lotus flowers were vivid and lively. She couldn't help but exclaim, "There is such a craft in the world! This is the first time I've seen it."
As she spoke, she reached out to fiddle with the embroidery on the hem of her skirt, wanting to see if it was double-sided.
Yang Jiyan looked at her unsightly movements, frowned slightly, and a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes. She said with a hint of mockery, "So you don't know about the double-sided embroidery of the Embroidery Pavilion?"
The embroidery on the hem of Yu Fuling's turned-over skirt was not double-sided. She felt a little embarrassed and blushed slightly, then she straightened the hem of her skirt.
Yu Jiao said openly, "We sisters just arrived in Qingzhou the day before yesterday, and we didn't know about the Embroidery Pavilion. The clothes were sent by Madam Mu San. We come from a small place, and we have never heard of double-sided embroidery."
Yang Jiyan remained silent, with a look of natural pride and arrogance on her face. She held the handkerchief with her little finger slightly raised. For a moment, she had no intention of finding anything else to talk about with Yu Jiao and the others.
The two country people from a small place had never even heard of double-sided embroidery, let alone the new rouge, powder, skirt and hairpin ornaments that were available in Qingzhou City. How could they understand if I told them about it?
Her mother really found a good job for her. A person like her could just find a maid to accompany her, but she insisted on having her accompany her. Yang Jiyan didn't believe from the bottom of her heart that Yu Jiao could cure her mother's illness.
There was no female doctor from the countryside in her previous life, and her mother's illness was never cured. After her father was promoted and the family moved to the capital, her mother passed away in the 13th year of Mingzheng.
Thinking of these past events, Yang Jiyan felt a little depressed. She really had no interest in sitting with Yu Jiao and the others any longer. She asked the maid beside her, "Has Brother Xu woken up?"
The personal maid was Yang Jiyan's confidant and understood her young lady's thoughts very well. She said cleverly, "The young master has just woken up. The nurse just sent a message saying that she has been making a fuss to look for you."
Yang Jiyan stood up, her back straight, and looked down at Yu Jiao and the others, smiling apologetically, "I'm really sorry, my little brother is still young and needs someone to be with him. I'm afraid he's crying right now. I'll go over and take a look. Excuse me."
"Miss Yang, please just go about your business. We have been sitting here for such a long time and have already enjoyed the osmanthus flowers, so we won't bother you any more." Yu Jiao stood up.
Yu Fuling also hurriedly stood up.
"In that case, I'll ask someone to take you to my mother's courtyard." Yang Jiyan called a little maid and sent her to lead the way for Yu Jiao and the others.
"Don't forget to bring the osmanthus tea." Yang Jiyan saw the paper bag on the stone table and said to the maid.
The little maid picked up the osmanthus tea and led Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling out.
Yang Jiyan looked at the backs of the two people leaving, her smile faded, her eyes flickered slightly. The Mu family was eager to please them, the Yang family, but they brought two country liars like this. Did they think that all the people in the Yang family were blind?
She waved and whispered a few words to the maid who was close to her. After hearing this, the maid hesitated and said, "Miss, this... is not a good idea, right? There are distinguished guests living in the West Garden, and the master has instructed that no one in the mansion should disturb them. If we offend the distinguished guests, the master will probably be angry."
"What are you afraid of? If anything happens, you can't be blamed on you. Just tell Xiaodie that it was the two of them who insisted on going to West Garden. Just put the blame on them." Yang Jiyan said arrogantly.
The head maid could only respond, "I understand."
"Why don't you go quickly?" Yang Jiyan urged with a stern face.
The head maid hurried out of the courtyard and chased after Yu Jiao and the others.
In front of the East Cross Courtyard, the head maid stopped Yu Jiao and the others and said to Xiaodie, the maid who led Yu Jiao, "Young Miss suddenly wanted to eat the cloud cake outside the mansion. You send Miss Yu off and tell the gatehouse when you come back."
Xiaodie was a little surprised. The young lady never liked to eat cloud cakes. She bowed to Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling, walked towards the head maid, and asked, "Sister Huamei, which cloud cake does the young lady want to eat?"
The head maid looked at Yu Jiao and the other person, whispered in Xiaodie's ear, and conveyed Yang Jiyan's meaning.
After hearing this, Xiaodie subconsciously glanced at Yu Jiao and the others, and said in a low voice with some fear, "Sister Huamei, if the master knew about this, he would beat me to death."
"The young lady will protect you. If you fail to do what the young lady asks you to do, be careful or she will sell you out!" the maidservant said softly.
Xiaodie shuddered. Some time ago, the young lady had a high fever. After she woke up, she sold many maids in the courtyard to brothels and other lowly places. She didn't want to be sold to a brothel, so she had to agree.
Seeing that she agreed, Huamei smiled and said in a fake manner, "Don't buy the wrong one. Miss only likes to eat the cloud cake from Xiangyunzhai."
Xiaodie responded softly and walked back to Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling. The head maid Huamei stood there, watching Xiaodie lead the two from the east courtyard to the west garden, then she turned and left.
Yu Jiao had a very good sense of direction, perhaps because she had lived in the mountains with her grandfather when she was young and often went alone in the mountains to collect herbs. She remembered the way well. Seeing the little maid walking in a hurry and not leading them the previous way, Yu Jiao mistakenly thought that the little maid was in a hurry to find the doorman to buy cloud cakes for Miss Yang, and took a shortcut, so she didn't say anything.
After leaving the alley, there was a courtyard planted with many flowers and plants. The little maid led the two of them through the arched door. Inside the door was a bamboo forest. The remaining cicadas of late summer were attached to the bamboo branches, and the cicadas were chirping intermittently. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the bamboo leaves onto the ground, casting mottled light and shadows.
Yu Jiao was surprised to find that she had not yet reached the courtyard where Madam Yang lived. Why did the shortcut take her further than the original one? She was about to stop the maid in front of her to ask, but she heard a faint voice coming from behind the bamboo forest.
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