The carriage slowly entered the entrance to the Ulanara family mansion. Qingyan froze instantly. What came into view was a familiar street. She had spent her first three years here. Back then, after school, the children would carry Qingyan and stroll around outside, always passing by this side.
"We're almost there!" Qingyan felt a sliver of anticipation, but mostly a heavy heart.
The alleyway was also tinged with autumn colors. A layer of golden leaves was scattered on the road in the middle, which looked like a golden carpet when viewed from the carriage.
In the courtyards of the two mansions, some golden-yellow, ripe persimmons were hanging from the branches, peeking out over the walls.
"Fourth Brother, look at that persimmon tree. When I was little, Ah Hun and the others would take me to climb the tree to pick persimmons. In the end, Ah Hun and the others were punished by Father by being made to stand in the corner." Qingyan said with a slight smile on her lips, in a very good mood.
In fact, although she lived here for a short time, it was filled with her laughter and joy with her two rascals.
"Really?" Yin was a little jealous. During that time, he probably hadn't been by her side.
She nodded quickly. Delicious persimmons! They could be made into frozen persimmons or persimmon cakes. Just thinking about delicious food made her feel better.
"What are you thinking about now?" Yin noticed Qingyan's bright eyes; she must be thinking about something delicious.
"Hmm, the persimmons at the old house are quite good. Let's ask Father to give us some. When we get back, I'll have Sulan prepare some persimmon cakes. By the time of the New Year, these will be a delicious treat." Qingyan pondered the vegetables. The Aisin Gioro family had been living in the pass for many years, and they still had some of the flavors from beyond the pass when it came to food.
"Dried green beans, dried eggplant, all of these need to be dried!" Qingyan roughly calculated that she really needed to prepare quite a lot of things.
Although she prefers to prepare some of these delicious ingredients herself, she feels more at ease eating them.
"Yes, the drying area in the courtyard has been tidied up too!" Yin was eager to try. Last year, the two of them had also participated, and the food tasted as good as ever.
Qingyan smiled, the anxiety she felt when she came to the old house completely gone.
"Master, we've arrived!" Su Peisheng drove the carriage to the second gate, where Fei Yanggu and Jue Luoshi, along with their son and the servants of the mansion, stood on either side of the gate.
After Yin got out of the carriage, he turned around and stretched out his right hand. Qingyan's fair and delicate hand rested on it, helping him down from the horse stool.
Fei Yanggu was in a good mood as he looked at the scene before him. He nodded in satisfaction at Yin's thoughtful actions towards Xiao Guai.
"Greetings to the Fourth Prince, greetings to the Fourth Princess!" Yinhe Qingyan quickly stepped forward to help them up.
"Father-in-law, mother-in-law, no need for such formalities!" Yin said, supporting one of them with each hand, while Qingyan helped the two maids.
Jue Luo felt uncomfortable. Qingyan returned alone. She rarely bowed, and the servants bowed according to the rules, only curtsying.
"Let's begin the kowtow." Yin sent someone from Qingyan's side to inform them in advance.
He looked coldly at the servants, who were basically servants of the Jue Luo clan. They were extremely loyal to their master, and even the orders of Fei Yanggu and his two sons had to be carried out with a discount.
"Fourth Master, please come in first!" Fei Yanggu stepped aside to let him in, and Yin and Qingyan went in one after the other.
Jue Luo's face immediately darkened. This child had no sense at all; the elders were still standing outside, and she went in first.
"Mother, that's Fujin, not Qingyan anymore!" Saito heard Jueluo muttering softly and quickly lowered his voice to warn her.
Yin accompanied Xiao Guai back; he should be preparing to warn his mother.
"Mother, I've brought the headdress you wore when you went to the palace." After everyone was seated, Qingyan quickly had Sulan respectfully carry the tray forward. When she reached Jueluo Shi, she lifted the red cloth covering it, revealing an exquisite headdress in the style of chrysanthemums in autumn. The chrysanthemums were made of gold threads, and a pink pearl adorned the center. Clusters of chrysanthemums surrounded a cluster of delicate pink peonies.
Even the gold hairpin next to it is a chrysanthemum bud, making the Golden Award Festival the perfect occasion to wear it.
"Hmm!" Jue Luo didn't utter a single word of thanks, as if Qing Yan's actions were simply expected.
Looking at the jewelry in front of them, Fei Yanggu and his two sons all thought it was a bit too extravagant.
"Little darling, this... won't it resemble the headdresses worn by nobles?" Fei Yanggu was worried that if they clashed with the imperial concubines, Qingyan would definitely have a difficult time.
“In that case, Linglong Pavilion would have closed down long ago. Such headwear must be extremely rare, as officials’ wives all require unique designs!” Jue Luo said coldly.
Such headdresses were merely more exquisite, not yet of the caliber worn by imperial concubines.
"Moreover, the headdresses and jewelry worn by officials' wives will have more gems and other precious materials than this!" Jue Luo looked around and was very satisfied with the appearance of the headdress, but not so satisfied with the number of gems inlaid on it.
A dark glint flashed in Yin's eyes. Xiao Guai had been deliberating over this headdress for nearly half a month, worried that if there were too many gems or pearls on it, it would cross the line of the palace concubines.
Moreover, the peonies clustered in the center were not for anyone to use; when officials' wives came to the palace to pay their respects, they could only wear pink peonies.
"Mother... if there are any more, it will be the same as the standard for a concubine in the palace," Qingyan said helplessly.
Jue Luo choked for a moment, and her complexion grew increasingly pale.
"Then stay at the mansion. You can prepare another set of jewelry for me!" Jue Luo thought her excuse was perfect. When she went to the palace to pay her respects, Qing Yan would see the jewelry, and Fei Yanggu and his two sons would not know.
“No!” Fei Yanggu refused decisively.
"Why? Little Darling, what trouble could it cause if you prepare an extra set?" Jue Luo Shi didn't take the rumors to heart; these jewelry pieces wouldn't be released to the public anyway.
“Linglong Pavilion has limited orders. I’ll prepare an extra set for you. How will Xiao Guai do business?” Fei Yanggu glared at Jue Luo Shi. For the sake of her maternal family, she would probably destroy Linglong Pavilion.
Instantly, Jue Luo's face turned cold. This set of headdresses couldn't be disassembled, and she couldn't very well give her sister-in-law a set that she hadn't worn before.
"Little darling, does the Jue Luo family place any separate orders for headwear?" Jue Luo hesitated for a moment before asking.
Qingyan shook her head. Jueluo hadn't ordered any jewelry for several years. Usually, Jueluo would send it to her maternal family.
"Then let's send two sets over there." Jue Luo didn't want to give away her own stock and let Qing Yan handle it herself.
What? !
Qingyan's eyes widened in surprise. When the ladies of Linglong Pavilion ordered their headdresses, the officials' wives usually communicated with each other. How could the Jueluo clan suddenly have two more headdresses?
"What are you doing, always causing trouble for Xiao Guai?" Fei Yanggu scolded angrily.
"It was ordered privately, what else can I say?" Jue Luo believed she hadn't done anything wrong; it was just two extra sets of jewelry, what was the big deal? (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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