green fruit
Fortunately, no one made things difficult for her. The old lady even ordered a servant to bring her a brocade box containing an exquisite pearl and silver hairpin.
The silver hairpin is butterfly-shaped, with a small, finger-sized pearl set in the center. The pearl is round and lustrous, surrounded by smaller pearls. It would make a young lady look delicate and refined. This gift is neither outstanding nor inferior.
Jingwan carefully accepted the gift with both hands and then bowed to the old lady in thanks.
At this moment, Gao Yun, who was standing next to the old lady, suddenly asked with a smile, "Hey, what is my cousin carrying on her back?" As she spoke, she winked at Gao Shijun triumphantly.
It turns out that Jingwan had been carrying a bundle on her back. When she came in this morning, Gao Yun mocked her and Tong Shijun laughed at her for her rustic appearance, saying that she was indeed a country bumpkin from the Northwest.
Hearing Gao Yun's reminder, Jing Wan hurriedly took off her bundle, blushing as she said, "I brought some local specialties from the Northwest and wanted to give them to everyone."
After saying that, she took out a piece of red cloth wrapped in her bundle. Gao Yun looked at it with disdain, thinking that this country bumpkin was going to bring some kind of dry Northwest flatbread or other local specialty. Unexpectedly, as she peeled back the layers of red cloth, she found two white jade bracelets.
The jade is pure, smooth and delicate. In order not to destroy the luster of the jade, there is not a single carving. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a fine piece made of top-grade seed jade.
Jingwan handed the two bracelets to the servant, who then presented them to the old lady.
Although it was fine jade, it was, after all, the Duke's mansion. The old lady had lived a life of wealth and honor and had seen all kinds of fine things. She only glanced at it briefly and then instructed someone to put it away safely.
The old lady remained calm, but Gao Yun's eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets.
My mother came from a merchant family and managed the household affairs like a greedy mythical creature, only taking in and never giving out. As her children, we had to beg her several times before she would buy more good things. Although our parents had plenty of fine jade like this, seeing this village girl from the Northwest so generously bring out a pair made us grit our teeth in frustration.
Gao Yun immediately asked, "Where did you get this jade bracelet? We are an honest family and we don't accept things of dubious origin!"
Jingwan's face turned even redder, and even her ears couldn't escape the flush. She had a peculiar quirk that no one knew about: the more anxious she was, the slower she spoke.
At that moment, he slowly said, "Sister Yun, you misunderstand. I make a living by mining jade in the Northwest. This year, there has been a lot of rain, and there is a lot of white jade in the river below Fengyin Mountain, resulting in a bountiful harvest. The government asked me to keep a piece of jade, so I carved it into these two bracelets. The jade is also registered by the government and has no unknown origin."
Her words were well-reasoned and her slow, deliberate tone immediately told the listener that she wasn't lying, leaving Gao Yun speechless with anger.
Seeing that the new sister was angry, Jingwan hurriedly took more things out of her bundle, but only handed Gao Yun a delicate jade rabbit pendant.
The little jade rabbit is about the size of a thumb, with two tiny rubies set in its eyes. The rabbit is in a crouching position, looking extremely cute.
This jade pendant can be hung on the fan handle or worn on the body, which is really pleasing to young ladies. However, Gao Yun was born in the Year of the Rabbit, and she couldn't hide her joy when she first saw the pendant. Seeing that Gao Shijun was also staring at it, she gladly accepted the gift, ignoring her mother's glaring eyes.
Because of Gao Yun's provocation earlier, Gao Yun retorted sarcastically, "You should check the official records, lest you feel uncomfortable wearing something of dubious origin."
Gao Yun pouted and snorted, ignoring her father.
In this house, she and her brother weren't afraid of their father at all!
Seeing her happily playing with the little item, Jingwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then presented the gifts she had brought one by one.
Although they were just small jade ornaments, they were exquisite and unique in their design, so this meeting was a complete success.
Seeing that the hostility on everyone's faces had lessened a bit, Jingwan's panicked mood finally calmed down a little. But just then, Gao Bojun laughed loudly, "Cousin, you're back."
Jingwan had no idea how a cousin had suddenly appeared in her family. She quickly turned her head and saw a handsome young man lightly lifting his long robe as he stepped across the threshold.
She turned around and her unfamiliar cousin's eyes met hers.
Not daring to look any longer, she quickly turned her head away and lowered it.
The young man walked in front of her and bowed to the old lady. Even with his head bowed, Jingwan only reached his back. When he stood up straight, the young girl was completely covered.
Bo Jun joked, "Cousin must be late. I wonder if my cousin brought you a gift."
His reminder made Jingwan anxious. Before coming from the Northwest, she had inquired about how many people were in the Gao family and prepared them one by one according to their numbers. But she had never heard of having a cousin!
Now look what's happened, where are the gifts?
Upon hearing Bo Jun's words, the cousin turned around and smiled, "Oh, I wonder if I have a gift to take?"
His voice was pleasant, gentle and warm like jade. Even at this moment, Jingwan could still spare a little attention to appreciate it. But now that her cousin was asking her for a gift, Jingwan was really embarrassed. She couldn't just say she didn't have one and embarrass her cousin in front of everyone!
She reached into her bundle and finally said slowly, "Yes, yes." As she spoke, she took out an oil paper package from the bundle and handed it to her cousin with both hands.
Compared to the jade ornaments from before, this oil paper package was really shabby, and the younger ones covered their mouths and kept laughing.
Jingwan didn't dare to look up at her cousin's expression. She simply unfolded the oil paper layer by layer, revealing what was wrapped inside.
They were green dried fruits, like snacks to please children, and even Bo Jun couldn't help but chuckle.
Jingwan quickly explained that these were dried green fruits from the Northwest, which are made into candied fruit. They are good for clearing the lungs and soothing the throat. You can eat a few in your mouth or soak them in water when you have nothing to do. They are quite delicious.
Southerners had never seen or eaten green fruit before. The Gao family children, accustomed to delicacies, didn't think much of this small piece of dried fruit.
Jingwan was still holding the fruit in both hands, feeling so embarrassed that she wanted to take the fruit and apologize to her cousin, but then she saw her cousin take a green fruit and put it in his mouth.
"I'm afraid it's been six years since I last ate this fruit!"
Jingwan slowly raised her head and looked at her cousin.
Gao Yun, who was standing nearby, also sighed, "It has been six years. The green fruit trees at the foot of Hulao Mountain have grown six batches."
Bo Jun was very curious and wanted to taste the green fruit, but as soon as he reached out, he saw his cousin neatly rewrap it in oil paper, hold it tightly, and without even looking at him, say to Jing Wan, "Thank you, cousin."
Jingwan blushed and her little ears turned red, too shy to look at him.
I thought my friend Azhiqi from the Northwest was already one of the most handsome men, but I never expected there to be others like him in Pingdu.
If she ever saw Azhiqi again, she would definitely tell him that there was a man whose looks were even better than his!
Seeing that her cousin kept her head down, Bo Jun kindly came to her rescue: "This is your cousin, his name is Lu Chang, you can call him cousin from now on."
Jingwan quickly bowed to the man and called him "cousin," to which Lu Chang replied, "Greetings, cousin."
She didn't look at him, but she could hear the faint laughter in his voice.
This back-and-forth caught Shi Jun's attention. The girl played with the pendant in her hand, but her gaze toward Jing Wan was extremely cold.
The meeting went fairly well; the old lady said she was tired and sent everyone away.
Gao Yun affectionately took Shi Jun's hand and left, seemingly to have a private conversation.
The two seemed to be deliberately ostracizing the new girl, and Bo Jun smiled at Jing Wan somewhat embarrassedly.
To be honest, when he met his cousin today, he thought she had a good personality and was simple-minded, but her status was really not presentable. Besides, he was a boy, so even if he wanted to get close to her, he couldn't. He just smiled at Jingwan and left.
Jingwan smiled back at him, and inadvertently glanced back, she saw that her cousin was still standing in the hall. When he saw her looking over, he smiled slightly at her and nodded.
Good-looking people always make people want to get closer to them, let alone someone who is so kind. Jingwan felt that Lu Chang's smile was familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Seeing his friendly gesture, she squinted her round eyes and smiled back at him.
Later, Jingwan learned about Cousin Lu's identity from the servants who were serving in the courtyard.
My cousin's mother was the old lady's daughter. She married Lu Zhi, the general who guarded the northwest, at a young age. When my cousin was ten years old, General Lu Zhi died in battle against the Rong people. His wife left Lu Chang behind and committed suicide by hitting his coffin.
Unable to bear seeing his cousin alone in the Northwest, Gao Yun, the uncle, was entrusted by the matriarch of his family to go to the Northwest to bring back his nephew, who was then raised in the Gao family.
I heard that he is extremely talented in literature and will take the imperial examination next year. If he becomes the top scholar, it will bring glory to his ancestors.
When Jingwan first heard that Lu Chang was being fostered by the Gao family, she was secretly pleased.
She felt inferior living in the Gao family. Even though she had Gao family blood, she wasn't raised by their side. She asked herself if calling Gao Yun "father" was just to make herself feel more comfortable living under someone else's roof. It didn't have the sincerity of calling him her own father.
Compared to her biological father, Gao Yun is more like her adoptive father now. She is not his biological daughter, but an adopted daughter whom Gao Yun has to give up in order to fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
Now that she knows there's another person in the household in the same situation, she secretly feels a sense of sympathy for him. She thinks that in the future, when she talks to this cousin, she can treat him as "one of her own".
But when the maids told her that her cousin would be taking the imperial examination in the future, Jingwan's once-warm heart finally calmed down.
Looking at the current state of the Gao family, what they need most now is a capable man to uphold their reputation.
Bo Jun is too young, and Gao Yun is born out of wedlock. The old lady is unlikely to allow this son to surpass her grandson, lest her own son's title fall into the hands of someone else.
My cousin is just right. He's in the prime of his life. Although he's not a member of the Gao family, both his parents have passed away, and he's wholeheartedly devoted himself to the Gao family. So he's practically a member of the Gao family now. If he's properly nurtured, he'll definitely be someone who can support the Gao family in the future.
This guy is clearly a hot commodity! How can she, a freeloader, compare to her cousin!
Jingwan leaned against the door and sighed.
A cough was heard, and the maids hurriedly got up and left. Jingwan looked in the direction of the sound and realized that it was Mama Shen who had come.
My mother didn't look well; it seems she couldn't stay here comfortably, as there was really no money to be made.
Not wanting to offend her, Jingwan turned around and went back to lie down on her own small bed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
