On the day when the Liu family opened the ancestral hall and recorded the newly found Miss Liu San in the family tree, Young Marquis Gu presented her with a box of South Pearls and even declared that anyone who bullied Miss Liu San would be punished by him, Gu Yun.
Now, what he said has come true. Prince Qin could have picked a fight with anyone else, but he had the foresight to bully Miss Liu San, who was promised to be protected by Marquis Gu upon her return to the capital. She will be beaten by Marquis Gu until she cannot get out of bed!
The young ladies in the boudoir all envied the third Miss Liu whom they had never met. Although her biological mother was from another family, she was registered under the name of Madam Liu once she returned to the mansion and was raised as a legitimate daughter. She was also favored by the young Marquis Gu. Being protected by such a bold and presumptuous person was a kind of favoritism.
Yu Jiao lived in the inner house and had no idea of the news flying around outside. Neither Liu Ziqi nor Liu Ci Fu told her about Gu Yun's punishment.
The servants in her courtyard were all carefully selected by Liu Ziqi. They all kept their mouths shut and never talked about anything that shouldn't be said.
Yu Jiao was worried about going to see the wife of Marquis Annan, so she asked the servants to prepare a carriage. Madam Liu, who had never been to her courtyard, suddenly came.
"It's cold these days, so you'd better go out less, Third girl." Mrs. Liu said directly without sitting down after entering the room.
Yu Jiao asked Jianjia to serve tea and said, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. When Madam Annan came to the mansion last time, she told me that she was not feeling well and asked me to go to the mansion to check her pulse when I have time."
When Madam Liu heard that she was going to Annan Marquis's mansion, her face changed slightly and she advised, "The end of the year is approaching, and there are many things to do in each mansion, and there are many people outside. If Madam Annan Marquis is ill, her people will go to the palace to ask for the imperial physician. You should stay in the mansion at ease. If you feel bored, you can go to the East Garden to play with Yaoyu."
Madam Liu didn't want Yu Jiao to leave the house for her own good. There were all kinds of rumors out there, saying that the Annan Marquisate had taken a fancy to her, otherwise Gu Yun would not have crippled Qin Guang's hands and feet.
Yu Jiao came from the north and was unaware of the complicated relationships involved. The capital was in a dangerous situation and Gu Yun had been confined in the palace by the emperor. If Yu Jiao went to the Annan Marquis's mansion and was seen by others and the news got out, it would be even more difficult to explain.
"Madam, I have promised to go to the Annan Marquis' Mansion to see Madam Gu. I can't go back on my word." Yu Jiao insisted, not understanding Madam Liu's good intentions.
Madam Liu also used a tone that did not allow for negotiation, "Do you think the incident at Xinglou is not big enough? You should stay in the mansion and don't go anywhere before the end of the year."
Yu Jiao's expression faded. It was indeed she who caused the trouble with Qin Guang, but the trouble came upon herself. She had not mentioned the name of the Liu family that day because she did not want to cause trouble for the Liu family. But she was already a member of the Liu family after all, and this kind of involvement was not something she could avoid and have nothing to do with.
Madam Liu didn't want the already strained relationship between her and Yu Jiao to become even more strained, so she slowed down her tone and continued, "Your birthday is coming up in a few days. I heard from Ziqi that you will be a 15-year-old on your birthday this year. I have asked the weaving craftsman at the city's brocade pavilion to come and take your measurements and make you some new clothes. We will host a banquet for your 15-year-old ceremonies and have a grand ceremony."
Yu Jiao took a long time to say, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. It's just a birthday gift, there's no need to make a big fuss. Madam also said that there are many things to do during the year-end, so you don't need to worry about me."
Madam Liu said, "This is also what your grandmother meant. The coming of age is not an ordinary birthday, so it should be taken seriously. Don't feel wronged if I restrict you from leaving the house. I have also told Yaoyu not to leave the house in the near future."
After Mrs. Liu left, Yu Jiao sat in the room for a long time, inevitably feeling a little depressed.
Although Liu Ziqi had told her before coming to the capital that she could do whatever she wanted without having to abide by the rules of the inner house, and no one would control her.
But if she really returns to the Liu family, she will always be out of control. How can she really do whatever she wants?
Yu Jiao didn't blame Mrs. Liu. Mrs. Liu had her considerations, and Yu Jiao knew that she meant well.
Forget it, if you can't leave the house, then you can't leave the house. Yu Jiao sat quietly for a while, and finally came to her senses. Gu Yun had said that day that his mother didn't have any serious illness, and if she really felt unwell, she would go to see another doctor.
Yu Jiao couldn't leave the house, so she asked Li Jing to go to the clinic to buy some medicinal herbs she often used to replenish her medical box. She also asked Jianjia to talk to the manager in charge of purchasing in the house and ask him to help buy some lamb sausages.
The steward knew that the master, the mistress and the eldest son in the mansion all valued the newly found third young lady. Although he didn't know what the third young lady wanted the lamb sausage to be used for, he was very dedicated and sent a lot of lamb sausage to Yu Jiao's courtyard for several days in a row.
Yu Jiao had nothing to do, so she and Yu Fuling started making lamb intestines in the yard. There was plenty of lamb intestines this time, so Yu Jiao made a lot and kept them for later use.
Liu Yaoyu came over to play and saw Yu Jiao making sheep intestines. She thought it was bloody and dirty at first, but she couldn't help being curious. Later, after learning the uses of sheep intestines, she actually took the initiative to offer to help Yu Jiao make the sheep intestines.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed, and Yu Jiao's yard was filled with goat intestines that had been boiled in the medicine furnace.
The weather was getting colder and there was a floor heating in the house, so Yu Jiao took the catgut back into the house and only took it to the yard to dry in the sun at noon.
The buds of several wintersweets planted in the back garden of the mansion also bloomed. Liu Yaoyu asked someone to pick a few branches of wintersweets early in the morning and brought them to Yu Jiao. Jianjia held up an enameled filigree vase and put the wintersweets in it.
Liu Yaoyu was lying on the soft low table, bored, complaining to Yu Jiao who was reading a medical book, "We agreed to go to the plum garden with Chen Guan and the others, but now we are locked up in the mansion all day, so we can't enjoy the plum blossoms. I'm still thinking about the plum wine Jingrong brewed last year! I originally planned to trick her into bringing the plum wine to the plum garden, and we can enjoy the plum blossoms while brewing wine, how happy it is!"
Yu Jiao smiled faintly, moved her eyes away from the medical book, glanced at Liu Yaoyu, and said, "Madam only said that you and I cannot leave the house, but she didn't say that people cannot come to the house to visit you. Don't we have a few wintersweets in our house?"
Liu Yaoyu glanced at the wintersweets in the vase with little interest, "How can the few wintersweets in our mansion compare with the plum garden in the suburbs of Beijing?"
She seemed to have figured it out, and continued, "But it's better than nothing. I'm really getting bored, so it would be nice to invite them to come to my house and talk to relieve my boredom. I'll write them an invitation right away."
Yu Jiao got up from the couch, took out a piece of red paper from the book on the table, handed it to Liu Yaoyu and said, "Write with this."
Liu Yaoyu took it and looked at the red paper carefully. Her eyes lit up. "This paper is really beautiful. Where did you buy it from?"
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