Touching the bridge of her nose, Yongying's expression was a little unnatural. "I was just bored and teasing her!"
Yongzhang didn't like hearing that. "Brother! Su Tang is my maternal uncle's daughter. She's my relative. Why are you teasing her? If you make her cry and anger her, I'll get scolded too."
"Brother! Aren't you being a little too nosy? When Yan Zhi came, you wouldn't let me talk to her. Now that Su Tang is here, you won't let me talk to her either. You're so protective of each of them. Who do you actually like?"
Yongzhang immediately retorted, "Who said I like Su Tang? I just didn't want you to tease my relatives, so I reminded you beforehand."
He only clarified this point, and Yongying immediately understood, grinning mischievously, "So that means you like Yanzhi?"
Yonghuang's eyes narrowed, he coughed lightly, and denied it, saying, "I didn't say that, don't make wild guesses!"
He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly heard Yongying call out to Zheng Yanzhi, who was not far away, "Yanzhi!"
Startled, Yonghuang immediately reached out and covered his mouth, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Yan Zhi turned around upon hearing the sound, walked over, blinked her eyelashes, and asked with a puzzled look in her eyes, "What is it?"
Before Yongying could speak, Yongzhang kept giving him meaningful glances, warning him not to talk nonsense!
Seeing how nervous he was, Yongying changed her words and said to Yanzhi, "Your earring is tangled in your hair."
Yan Zhi gave a soft "hmm," smoothed her hair, and then turned and left.
Once she was out of sight, Yongzhang breathed a sigh of relief and gave his cousin an unpleasant glare, "Why did you call her for no reason?"
Yongying crossed her arms and chuckled, "I was just saying a few words to her, and you're going to interfere? Who are you to her?"
"I...I'm her cousin!"
Yongying sighed inwardly at Yongzhang's habit of deceiving himself, "He proclaimed it himself, didn't he? Even Yanzhi doesn't admit it!"
Embarrassed, Yongzhang began to argue illogically, "Anyway, we're cousins. I can talk to her, but you can't."
"I wasn't planning on competing with you, so don't treat me like a rival in love." Yongying put her hand on Yongzhang's shoulder and whispered:
"Next month is Su Tang's birthday, and I wanted to ask you what she likes and what gift I should give her."
Yongzhang didn't even know Su Tang's birthday, but Yongying did? Just how much did he secretly find out about Su Tang?
Shocked, Yongzhang sized him up, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Oh---I told you you liked Su Tang! You wouldn't admit it!"
Yongying calmly put her hands behind her back and retorted, "It's normal for friends to exchange gifts! Don't make a fuss!"
Yongzhang scoffed, "Your self-proclaimed friend title is just that, isn't it? Su Tang doesn't consider you a friend at all."
Yongying, feeling awkward, changed the subject, "If you consider me a good brother, then help me find out."
Since things had come to this point, Yongzhang had no reason to refuse, so he agreed to give it a try.
The three sisters have a good relationship now, but in terms of understanding each other, Yan Zhi understands Su Tang better. After all, the two of them were outside the palace when they were young and could see each other often, so they naturally understand each other's preferences better.
Therefore, Yongzhang decided to inquire with Yanzhi.
Upon hearing this, Su Tang looked at Yongzhang with suspicion, "Why are you asking these questions? You wouldn't happen to like Sister Tang, would you?"
Yongzhang chuckled and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! She's a few years older than me, she's my cousin, how could I like my own cousin?"
He wouldn't like my cousin... Yan Zhi muttered to herself, her fingers clenched tightly, her expression unreadable.
"Okay! I understand." Taking a deep breath, Yan Zhi took two steps back, keeping her distance from him.
“Young ladies generally have a wide range of interests, but what we really like are not things that can be bought with money, but rather things that are carefully prepared and show that a lot of effort has been put into them. Only such gifts can truly move a young lady.”
Yongzhang listened attentively, and after listening, he felt that she had said something, but also seemed to have said nothing. "So what does she actually like?"
Yan Zhi glanced at him, too lazy to say anything more, only leaving behind the words "figure it out yourself," before turning and leaving.
When he told Yongying everything he had said, Yongying couldn't help but facepalm.
"This is way too difficult!"
For him, spending money is easy, but putting his heart into it is difficult. "What does it mean to put your heart into it? What constitutes putting your heart into it?"
Clearly, Yongzhang couldn't answer such a profound question either. "That's up to you. I don't care. Just send any gift you like. You can send anything you like. Su Tang won't mind anyway."
But Yongying cared! He had tried to send her gifts before, but she refused them all. Now that her birthday was approaching, she had no reason not to accept a gift. So Yongying wanted to send her a special gift so that she would remember him and think of him whenever she saw it.
Unfortunately, Yongzhang's mission failed to yield any useful information, and in the end, he had to figure it out on his own.
This was a real problem for Yongying, who was used to spending money on gifts!
But no matter how difficult it was, he wouldn't give up easily! After racking his brains for several days, Yongying finally came up with a good idea...
On the third day of the eighth lunar month, it was Su Tang's birthday. Su Yushan prepared a banquet for her niece and invited the princes, princesses, and their companions to dine together.
Everyone presented their congratulatory gifts, but Su Tang did not open them in front of everyone. It wasn't until the banquet ended and everyone left that the three sisters sat together to open their gifts.
When Yanzhi came across a boxwood pen holder, she took a closer look and discovered that it was a gift from Yongying.
Looking at the inscription at the bottom of the pen holder, Rong Yu exclaimed in surprise, "This was actually carved by Yongying himself! I had no idea he had this skill."
Upon hearing this, Su Tang took the pen holder and examined it closely. She saw that the pen holder, made of boxwood, was carved with plum branches and bamboo leaves. The plum and bamboo were interspersed among each other, exquisite and delicate, with a proper balance of density and sparseness, and a harmonious interplay of solid and void. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into its creation.
Yan Zhi, standing to the side, chuckled and exclaimed, "Yongying is really thoughtful. She actually carved a pen holder for you herself, and it's made of boxwood. This gift is very precious!"
Rong Yu saw through it at a glance, "This Yongying is really cunning. He knows that Su Tang loves reading and writing, and that a pen holder is the most frequently used item, so he gave her a pen holder. As soon as you see the pen holder, you will think of him."
Su Tang thought they were overthinking it. "It's not as complicated as you think. Maybe he just likes carving and has carved many things before giving them away."
Recalling an old incident, Yan Zhi suddenly realized, "Cousin, you don't know, last month he asked the Third Prince to ask me about your preferences. I didn't tell him, thinking he would just give me a random gift to fool me, but I didn't expect him to come up with this trick."
Upon hearing this, Rong Yu became even more certain, "That's it then, he must have feelings for you, otherwise why would he care so much?"
Yan Zhi leaned closer and asked with a grin, "Hey—what's your impression of Yong Ying? Do you have even the slightest bit of a liking for her?"
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