Chapter 41 The Uninvited Guest Chu Yanluo
"Your Highness, I'm new here. Do I also have a gift?"
"Yes, we have them all. Dujuan, bring out the rouge and face powder from Yongchuntang and distribute them to everyone."
"My goodness, the Crown Princess actually gifted us Yongchun Hall's rouge! This rouge costs five taels of silver a box, and many young ladies from wealthy families are reluctant to use it. The Crown Princess actually gave us so much!"
"The Crown Princess is a living Bodhisattva. I will do anything for her from now on!"
"Serving the Crown Princess is truly our blessing. She has a kind nature and never makes things difficult for the servants. She is also so generous. Everyone in the manor is vying to come and serve us at Wutong Courtyard!"
Xiao Qingyuan was very surprised. He did not expect Shen Wantang to be so popular, and he did not expect that the atmosphere in her Wutong Courtyard was so good. It seemed that she was happy every day, and the maids and servants were all in harmony.
Even Granny Chai, who used to always have a stern face, started smiling after coming to her side.
As he was thinking, Mo Ji couldn't help but sigh, "The Crown Princess is so good to the servants. She even brings back gifts for them when she goes out. Qin Xin said that in just a few days, they have been captivated by the Crown Princess's charm and have all devoted themselves to following her."
Xiao Qingyuan turned his head and saw Mo Ji's envious look. He couldn't help but frown: "Since you like this place so much, why don't you come and serve here too?"
Mo Ji almost blurted out "good", but seeing his master's expression, he knew that his master was unhappy, so he quickly shook his head: "No, no, this servant only wants to serve the young master. Although the young master's wife is good, she is far from being as good as the young master!"
Xiao Qingyuan snorted coldly, knowing that the servant was saying something against his conscience. These days, life in his Xinghe Courtyard had not been good. Mo Ji had to do the work of ten people and was almost exhausted.
Even so, Yanlu was still not satisfied. One moment she complained that Moji was not careful in his work, and the next she complained that the way Moji looked at her was too wicked.
However, there are indeed too few people serving him in his courtyard now, and it is very inconvenient not having maids to serve Yanluo. He really should buy a few maids and servants to come in.
As he pondered this, he entered the Wutong Garden.
The laughter and chatter in the courtyard immediately ceased. Granny Chai led everyone in a respectful curtsy, then stepped aside to make way for him to enter the house.
When Shen Wantang saw Xiao Qingyuan, she frowned almost imperceptibly. Why was he here again? Couldn't he come less often?
She thought to herself, but didn't show it on her face. As always, she spoke calmly, "The young master has arrived."
Xiao Qingyuan nodded: "My mother sent me. She picked out a few things from my storeroom and asked me to bring them to you. She said she really liked the fabric you gave her."
"As long as Mother is happy."
Shen Wantang didn't even look at what was in the box. He told Qin Xin to take the box from Mo Ji's hand, and then remained silent.
Firstly, she really didn't want to say much to Xiao Qingyuan, and secondly, she was afraid that if she said too much, Xiao Qingyuan would misunderstand that she liked him, which could easily cause unnecessary trouble.
Xiao Qingyuan didn't want to talk to her any more, lest Yan Luo misunderstand and get jealous. He had stayed a little longer when she came to borrow money before, and Yan Luo cried when she got back, so this time he was determined not to stay any longer.
So after delivering the items and completing his task, he turned around and left.
After he left, the courtyard became lively again.
Everyone was curious about what the prince had sent, and Shen Wantang was not stingy, so he directly asked Qin Xin to open the box for everyone to see.
"Oh my, these are all treasures! The Princess truly dotes on our Crown Princess from the bottom of her heart, giving away priceless treasures with just a few words!"
"Who says otherwise? The Princess Consort treats our Crown Princess like her own daughter. I've only ever seen the Princess Consort give gifts to the Princess like this before, but I've never seen her give gifts to anyone else like this."
"Not only does the Princess dote on the Crown Princess, but it seems the Crown Prince also dotes on her. He just doesn't say it. Otherwise, why would he let the Princess pick things from his private treasury to give to our Crown Princess?"
"That's right, the young master still has the princess in his heart!"
No, he didn't.
Shen Wantang replied in her heart.
Xiao Qingyuan only has Chu Yanluo in his heart. The extent to which he likes Chu Yanluo is much deeper than he currently shows, but these maids are unaware of it.
He must have been forced to come by the princess to deliver the gifts. As for the treasures in his storeroom, he didn't really care about them. If the princess wanted to take them, he would naturally agree and not object.
However, Shen Wantang didn't care who Xiao Qingyuan liked. As long as the item was in her hands and she got the benefits, that was enough.
She only wanted gold and silver jewelry; as for Xiao Qingyuan's love, she could give it to Chu Yanluo.
The bracelet sent by the princess was truly beautiful, and Shen Wantang was quite pleased with it. In both her lives, this was the first time she had received a jade bracelet with such fine texture, its green color resembling a clear lake.
She took it and put it on her wrist. Her past life's experience told her that if you get something good, you should wear it and use it; if you earn money, you should spend it. If you don't wear your treasures or use your money, it's like wearing fine clothes in the dark—you'll experience far less joy and satisfaction. You might even end up with these treasures and money in someone else's hands. If you don't spend it yourself, someone else will.
Shen Wantang raised her wrist, looked at the beautiful bracelet for a while, and then smiled. She would wear this bracelet when she went to pay her respects tomorrow. Her mother-in-law would surely be very happy to see her wearing it.
Not long after Shen Wantang wore the bracelet, an uninvited guest arrived at her Wutong Courtyard—Chu Yanluo.
She wore a pale yellow dress, her long hair loosely tied up with a single wooden hairpin, with a few wisps of hair deliberately left in front of her forehead and around her ears.
Shen Wantang glanced at her. Her clothes were obviously ill-fitting, clearly not tailor-made, but rather ready-made from a clothing store. The color was also not Chu Yanluo's favorite. She always wore white clothes. Even when she was a nun in Jixin Nunnery, she was different from the other nuns. While the other nuns wore gray clothes, she insisted on wearing white.
As for why Xiao Qingyuan didn't buy white clothes for Chu Yanluo even though he knew she liked them, it's most likely because those clothing shops simply didn't sell white clothes. To buy a white outfit, you'd have to go to a shop that specializes in funeral supplies.
Chu Yanluo's hairstyle was also very unconventional for women from respectable families; only women in brothels would style their hair like that and leave loose strands at their temples.
However, Chu Yanluo was indeed beautiful, and not in a gaudy or seductive way, but in a refined and serene way.
With her outstanding beauty, unique style of dress, and proud and unconventional personality, she was indeed very different from the conventional young ladies in the capital. It was perfectly normal for Xiao Qingyuan to fall in love with her at first sight and then fall madly in love with her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
