Manxi glanced at Baotang and said helplessly, "It's not that I was frightened by the Second Miss, but by His Royal Highness Prince Yu. You have been staying in the courtyard and have never been out, so you don't know. When you have some free time after dinner, go outside and ask around. See how many people in our mansion are not frightened by Prince Yu's mansion."
After she said that, Bao Tang no longer doubted it. He hadn't had a full meal since he came to Liuyuan. Looking at these delicious foods, Bao Tang's mouth was watering. However, he was still thinking about how to report to the eldest lady what happened in Liuyuan today. Although the eldest lady gave this task to Li Mama, since she was also sent here, she also had this obligation. The master didn't have to ask, but it was wrong for her not to say it.
In the afternoon, Yao coaxed Zirui to sleep, while Huang Quan followed Nanny Sun in the yard to count and organize the betrothal gifts.
Feng Yuheng didn't sleep last night and felt a little sleepy. She wanted to take a nap, but just as she was about to lie down, she saw Wang Chuan walk into the room and came to her side and said softly: "Second Miss, the third concubine of the mansion is here with the third lady."
When Feng Yuheng and Yao came out to greet them, An and Feng Xiangrong had already been led into the outer hall of the main house by Nanny Sun.
In fact, the relationship between Yao and An was harmonious. When An came in right after Shen, she was really bullied by Shen. But An was not a person who liked to fight. She would endure it if she could. Fortunately, Shen was just a concubine at the time. With Yao, the mistress of the house, above her, she did not dare to do anything too much.
Seeing Feng Yuheng and Yao come into the room, An and Xiangrong quickly stood up. An bowed to Yao and called her "sister". When she looked up again, her eyes were red.
Yao also expressed her deep emotion and held An's hand for a long time without being able to speak.
Feng Yuheng didn't want to see such a crying scene, so she advised Yao: "Hurry up and let Aunt An and Third Sister sit down. There are still many days to talk in the future."
An came back to her senses, turned around and bowed to Feng Yuheng, "Hello, Second Miss."
She quickly supported him and said, "Aunt, please stop doing this. There are no such rules here. You are the elder, so you don't have to bow to the younger generation."
An smiled bitterly, "I am a concubine, how can I be worthy of the word elder? Second Miss is too flattering to me. Logically, I should call myself a slave in front of Second Miss."
"Aunt, please don't do this." Feng Yuheng waved her hand to stop them, motioning for them to sit down.
Nanny Sun had already brewed some tea and brought it over. The fragrance of the tea instantly filled the entire small hall. Xiangrong couldn't help but exclaim, "What kind of tea is this? It smells so good!"
An smiled and said, "It must be something good given by His Royal Highness the Prince. We don't have such good tea in our mansion."
Feng Yuheng shrugged, "Even if there is, it's not the turn of the people in Liuyuan to drink it."
An sighed softly, "Speaking of which, the Feng family did too much. But the second young lady just returned home, so it's better not to make too many enemies, okay?"
Feng Yuheng knew that An was doing this for her own good, so she nodded to thank An, but then shook her head and said, "Ever since we knocked on the Feng family's door, the enemies have been rushing here one after another, so why should we deliberately provoke them?"
An agreed with this. "During the years you were not in the mansion, Shen had almost replaced all the old people in the mansion. Even Nanny Sun was sent to the outer courtyard to do rough work for more than two years. She was not sent to pick you up until the news came that the Ninth Prince was going back to the capital."
Yao felt sorry for Nanny Sun and felt uncomfortable again.
Feng Yuheng didn't want to talk about these sentimental things anymore, so she stood up and went back to the inner room. She had already moved a few jewelry boxes to her boudoir. She opened one of them, picked out a pair of peach blossom earrings, and when she returned to the outer hall, she stuffed the item into Xiangrong's hand: "Second sister just returned home, and she didn't have any good things on her. Fortunately, the Prince Yu's Mansion sent some over today. This will be a gift for the third sister!"
I was stunned by the pair of earrings. They were pink and delicate, with two delicate peach blossoms carved into them. I didn't know what the material was. It looked like jade, but it didn't feel like jade. I couldn't tell. I just felt that everything I had seen before was not as beautiful as this.
The little girl stared blankly with her mouth open. After a long while she exclaimed, "It's so beautiful!"
An also came over and was shocked after taking a look. "Silly girl, why are you still standing there? Why don't you thank your second sister! This is a rare pink crystal in the world!"
In this era, crystals were not mined in large quantities, but the value of crystals was recognized by the royal family and nobles. White crystals were the most common, followed by citrine, rose quartz and amethyst. I am afraid that there were only a few pieces of this stuff in the entire royal family, let alone craftsmen who could use crystals for carving. Only masters dared to use such materials.
When Xiangrong heard that it was crystal, and pink crystal, he immediately understood how precious it was, and hurriedly bowed to Feng Yuheng solemnly: "Xiangrong thanks Second Sister."
Feng Yuheng smiled and helped the girl up, patting her arm gently: "Sisters don't need to bow to each other like this. Don't worry, I said before that I would give Fendai a handkerchief, and naturally I won't leave you out. When I use the cloth to make clothes, I will keep some extra and secretly make a pair of embroidered shoes for Xiangrong, so that you can wear them when you get married, okay?"
Before Xiangrong could react, An was the first to get excited, "Second Miss!" Even the calmest person didn't know what to say at this moment. Earlier in the main courtyard, Feng Yuheng said that he would leave a treasure for Xiangrong and Fendai to make a handkerchief, which was already something that everyone in Dashun envied. If Xiangrong could wear a pair of embroidered shoes made of five treasures when she got married, then no matter what kind of family Xiangrong married into, her husband's family would look up to her.
"Madam An, you don't have to be like this." Feng Yuheng smiled lightly, "Although Ah Heng has been away from the mansion for many years, he still remembers some things from his childhood. When mother was pregnant with Zirui, Shen secretly replaced the precious medicinal materials in the tonic. It was Aunt An who saw it and told the old lady, so that mother could take the tonic smoothly. Ah Heng holds a grudge, but he will also not forget his gratitude."
An sighed again, she didn't expect that her actions back then would have such a reward today. She was a concubine, she didn't want anything, all her hopes were pinned on Xiangrong. But a daughter born out of wedlock would either marry the legitimate son of a wealthy family as a concubine, or marry the illegitimate son as the principal wife, no matter what, she couldn't compare with the legitimate daughter. She thought that although her status was not as good as others, at least she had a shop as a dowry from her parents, and she could save more money over the years to add to Xiangrong's dowry in the future. But no matter how much more money she had, how could it be as good as the pair of embroidered shoes made of five treasures promised by Feng Yuheng!
"Thank you, Second Miss." An was sincerely grateful. Suddenly she thought of something and quickly turned around to ask Yao: "Have you been to Baicaotang since you returned to Beijing?"
Yao was startled and shook her head: "No. After returning to Beijing, I went straight to the mansion and have not been out yet."
"Then sister, you'd better take some time to go and have a look. When I went out to take care of the shop a few days ago, I saw that the owner of Baicaotang seemed to have changed."
Yao frowned, "Is Tian Bo gone?"
An nodded and said, "I went in specially for a look, but I didn't see Tian Bo. The current shopkeeper is a young man."
Seeing Feng Yuheng was confused, Yao explained to her, "The Baicaotang in Beijing was the dowry shop my parents gave me when I married into the Feng family. You were young at that time and didn't care much about these things. And..." Yao shook her head helplessly, "You said it was my dowry, but since I married into the Feng family, I no longer have a say."
An continued the conversation for her: "More than that, you have no right to speak. If I remember correctly, my sister once said that the shop that came with the Yao family as a dowry was taken away by the old lady the day you got married?"
"Yes." Yao nodded. "On the day of my marriage, all my belongings were carried to the old lady. When they were sent back to my yard the next day, the deeds to the shops were missing. I went to ask the old lady, and she said that since I was married into the Feng Mansion, these things would be kept by the public servants, and that the Feng family would not treat me unfairly."
Feng Yuheng laughed, "Mom, you believe it?"
"What if I don't believe it?"
"Yes!" Mrs. An replied, "Once a daughter-in-law marries into the family, she belongs to her husband's family."
"Has the Feng family ever given mother any of the profits from the shop?"
Yao shook her head, "No, they never gave it to me. They just said that they have been losing money all the time, and the Feng family has also invested a lot of money."
Feng Yuheng thought about what An said before, and then asked: "I heard Auntie just say that she was going out to take care of the shop, but is it Auntie's own?"
An nodded, "Yes, my mother's family also brought two shops here, but my shop is nothing compared to the Yao family's. The Feng family didn't like it, so they kept it."
"Auntie An, is this the system of our Dashun Dynasty?"
An shook her head. "Where is such a system? Not only does it not exist, the Dashun government also allows married women to manage their own dowry shops, and if a woman wants to go out and manage the shop, her husband's family cannot stop her without reason."
"That means the Feng family is going against the imperial system?" She put such a accusation on the Feng family without hesitation.
An curled her lips and said nothing. After all these years, how could she not know what the Feng family was like?
Feng Yuheng comforted Yao: "Don't worry, mother, it's ours, and we will return it to me sooner or later."
An also agreed with this, "Today I saw that Prince Yu's Mansion didn't seem to be putting on a show, they really wanted to support the second young lady. I believe that with Prince Yu's Mansion here, no one will mess around with you." Then she changed the subject, "Yesterday, he wanted to run over by himself and told me about the situation here. I had prepared some loose silver and thought I would send it to you today, no matter how much it was, at least it could help you in an emergency. I didn't expect that Prince Yu's side got it first before I could give it to him." As An spoke, she took out a small silver bag from her sleeve, "Compared with what Prince Yu gave me, I don't even have the face to take it out. But I thought that what Prince Yu gave was all silver notes, and your courtyard is going to start construction soon, so you will definitely need some loose silver to reward the servants, so use it first!"
Feng Yuheng saw that An was sincere, so he didn't bother to be polite with her. He simply reached out to take the small silver bag: "Thank you, Aunt An. I was just thinking about finding a way to go out of the house to exchange some small change, and Aunt An sent it here right away. It's really timely."
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