Chapter 560 Putting the Cart Before the Horse
Speaking of her time in the North, Bai Youran had something to say. When she first met Lin Yuesha, she had heard Lin Yuesha mention Chenjia Village, saying that people were starving and cold.
In her view, it was nothing more than Lin Yuesha's usual trick of feigning helplessness.
“Sister Yue Sha, although the North is not as desolate and backward as you might imagine, it is not far from the Prefect’s residence, which is a good location.”
Saying you're unsophisticated and don't know the rules is just an excuse.
Bai Youran couldn't help but expose Lin Yuesha. If she weren't so cunning, she wouldn't have been able to fool that idiot Li Ruoxue like that. But she wasn't Li Ruoxue and would never fall for it.
"Yes, it's all thanks to my godfather, godmother, and sister Qing'er."
Lin Yuesha nodded in agreement. Because she was familiar with the Zhang family, she had benefited greatly from their connections. Before her godfather left, he was still worried about her enrollment in the girls' school. Even after she went to take up her post in the south, the two families never stopped exchanging letters.
Compared to the scheming and treacherous daughters of officials, Zhang Qing'er's pure heart is all the more precious.
"The Zhang family is nothing more than a minor official in the capital, and even in the inner city they belong to the lowest class. Sister, you don't need to take it to heart."
Lin Yue'e curled the corners of her lips, thinking that Lin Yuesha had boarded a big ship, but was just a nobody.
To be honest, the Zhang family still had to curry favor with her father. Besides, a minor prefect who was exiled to the frontier was only a fourth-rank official, but he was a low-ranking official and could not compare to a seventh or eighth-rank official in the capital. This was why people were so eager to pull strings to get a government position in the capital.
"Yeah?"
Lin Yuesha looked at Lin Yue'e in surprise and asked, "Sister, are you telling the truth?"
"Of course, everyone in the capital knows it."
Lin Yue'e curled her lip in mockery. Is a nobody like him worth the Lin family currying favor with? That's putting the cart before the horse.
Beside him, Bai Youran looked rather unwell. The Bai family, like the Zhang family, was a low-ranking family in the inner city, and his father was a minor prefect who had been exiled to the frontier and was trying hard to curry favor with the locals.
Bai Youran knew Lin Yue'e's personality well and dared not say much about it. The reason why she was able to move freely in the Bai family and even received a lot of new clothes and jewelry was because she deceived the Bai family and said that she was very useful.
Although Madam Bai had sided with the Qin and Lin families, who were rivals, she wanted to have a backup plan. She instructed Bai Youran to befriend Lin Yue'e, just in case.
“Sister Yue’e, the North has its advantages. It’s right next to the barbarians, and the furs there are all top-quality, no worse than those in the capital.”
Bai Youran changed the subject, talking about her experiences in the North.
Winters in the capital are often rainy, damp and cold. Ladies and young ladies from wealthy families like to wear cloaks made of fur, and they also like to embellish the cuffs and collars with fox fur and rabbit fur, which are not only beautiful but also warm.
"Wait a few days, I'll write to my mother and ask her to send someone to bring over some good furs from the north, so you can choose whatever you like."
It's just some scraps; the Bai family's warehouse is already overflowing with high-quality goods. Bai Youran casually promised that if they couldn't produce any more, they would have her wealthy sister-in-law, Li Ruoxue.
"Thank you in advance, Sister Bai."
Lin Yue'e and Bai Youran were talking intimately, deliberately leaving Lin Yuesha aside to observe her reaction.
Most people would feel very embarrassed to be ostracized, but Lin Yuesha was different. With her small scissors in hand, she would snip two bunches of grapes whenever she saw a good one.
There are many people in my family, and one bunch of grapes isn't enough to share. Each person only eats a few grapes before they're gone.
Lin Yuesha herself was not allowed to leave the Lin residence, but the servants could come and go freely. She planned to select the best string of flowers to give to Madam Xu.
"Sister, come sit here, let's have a chat."
Lin Yue'e glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and her eyelids twitched. If she didn't stop him, this simpleton would definitely have finished cutting all the grapes in no time.
This grape trellis was planted in the inner courtyard by her father on the day he took office as the Prefect of the Capital. In just a few years, after careful tending, it would produce more than twenty bunches of grapes every year, all of which went into her and her mother's bellies. Now, when Lin Yuesha cut the grapes, it felt like cutting a piece of her heart.
"Sister Yue Sha, I still miss our days at the girls' school. If it weren't for the unexpected events..."
Bai Youran hesitated, deliberately trying to lure Lin Yuesha into a trap.
Later, she and Li Ruoxue carefully recalled what happened back then, and it was very strange. Bai Youran suspected that Lin Yuesha was the mastermind behind this matter, or at least she couldn't escape the involvement.
"Sister Bai, I don't miss it."
Lin Yuesha interrupted Bai Youran, then sat down with a cold expression.
It's best to stop with the intimate scenes between sisters. Although she has the acting skills, it's still quite difficult to go against her own intentions.
"Yes, you spent a lot of money to get rid of Granny Fang, so of course you don't miss her, because you have the prescription."
Both the Li family and the Bai family spent a lot of money to hire Granny Fang, but the old woman was unmoved by money and ended up with Lin Yuesha. Bai Youran still can't figure it out; perhaps they couldn't agree on the price.
"What prescription?"
Bai Youran's words were loaded with meaning. Lin Yue'e hated her for being mysterious, so was there something she didn't know?
"A recipe to make your figure more curvaceous."
Bai Youran glanced at Lin Yue'e with envy, and then said, "You two are sisters, so I imagine Sister Yue Sha wouldn't be secretive. We even had to spend money to buy her back then."
Li Ruoxue was interested in the herbal decoction and mentioned it to Bai Youran, expressing her willingness to pay for it. Granny Fang certainly wouldn't sell the recipe; she'd be keeping it hidden. She'd prefer to buy pre-cooked decoction instead.
Bai Youran looked down at her chest and said wistfully, "Alas, if only I had this prescription."
Lin Yue'e was just twelve years old at the beginning of the year. She resembled Qin Shi in appearance and looked somewhat mean. She was very hesitant when she heard that Granny Fang had some excellent medicine. If someone tampered with it, it would be no joke.
“Sister Yue’e, you have no idea how much effort we put into getting girls into schools in the North. Anyone can teach etiquette, but only Granny Fang has the recipes.”
Bai Youran boasted for a while and hinted at the benefits of drinking the herbal soup to Lin Yue'e, which made Lin Yue'e very tempted.
"Sister, we are sisters, such a good prescription should be shared, right?"
Lin Yue'e looked at Lin Yuesha and directly presented her with a difficult problem.
"Of course, we are half-sisters, no different from biological sisters. What's mine is yours too. I'll have Granny Fang bring you your medicine later."
Lin Yuesha smiled broadly. She knew that Lin Yue'e was suspicious by nature, and even if she brought the medicine, Lin Yue'e might not drink it.
The prescription for a woman's curvaceous figure was extremely rare, and countless people were scrambling to get it, yet Lin Yuesha gave it away so easily.
Lin Yue'e glanced at Bai Youran, then gestured towards Lin Yuesha's chest. If the formula were truly effective, who would be so generous? Looking at Lin Yuesha's flat figure, it was clear she was just bragging.
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