Chapter 70
The next morning, Mother Xu helped Yining comb her hair into a bun.
It's not good to say that Yi Ning's hair is beautiful. Lin Hairu's hair is beautiful, thick and black, and easy to style in a bun. Yi Ning's hair is fine and soft. It feels soft as a cloud in my hands, but when it's down, it's smooth as silk and a bit lighter in the light. Although it looks good, it's not easy to style in a bun.
After combing her hair, Mother Xu combed it carefully with a comb and asked her, "Sister, do you think this looks good?"
Yi Ning looked at herself in the mirror. The bun that Mama Xu had styled for her was light and graceful, and quite pretty. She knew her hair was difficult to comb, being too fine and soft. She smiled and said, "It looks good when you style it."
The maid brought up red date porridge and crispy pastries. Although Yining's pain was gone, her waist and knees still felt sore. She leaned against the pillow, sipping her porridge, and asked, "Did Third Brother send any message after he went back last night?"
Xuezhi shook her head and said, "No one from the Third Young Master has been here."
Yi Ning was a little confused after hearing this. She put the bowl down, and kept thinking about the look on her third brother's face when he looked at her yesterday. It was an unfamiliar pity.
She ate a few pastries and couldn't eat anymore, so she asked the maid to clear the food away. At this time, Songzhi led a maid in. The maid bowed to her and said with a smile, "It's what Miss Seven ordered. I have prepared it. I just need to measure the height of the Third Young Master before I can start cooking."
This woman worked in the sewing room, where all the clothes in the mansion were made. Yi Ning was preparing clothes for Luo Shenyuan's trip to Beijing. She could make winter socks for fun, but tailoring was beyond her ability. So she found a woman with good sewing skills in the sewing room to make a few winter clothes for her third brother. Yi Ning asked, "Can't a maid help measure?"
The old woman shook her head and said, "Winter clothes need to fit closely to keep you warm. I have to measure them myself to make sure they fit you properly. You girls don't know how to measure properly."
Yi Ning thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll take you there. After you measure Third Brother, you can measure Xue Zhi." Yi Ning pointed at Xue Zhi and said, "We have to make new clothes for her too."
Xuezhi was past the age of being released from the palace. She was the most prominent maidservant around Yining, and when she was younger, Yining hadn't dared to let her leave the house. But it wasn't good to be older, so Yining asked Luo Shenyuan to find her a marriage partner. He was from a modest family in Xushui, and the man was a scholar. When they heard she was the Luo family's maidservant, the family was delighted. Maids like these, who were married off to official families, were often better off than ordinary girls.
Xuezhi had served Yining for many years, and although Yining was reluctant to part with her, she was even more reluctant to delay her. Besides, Xuezhi was also satisfied with the family, and she was already thinking about how much silver to give Xuezhi as an additional box.
Xuezhi blushed slightly at what she said, and was about to refuse immediately. How could a servant like her use clothes made in the mansion's sewing room? But Yining held her hand, stopping her from saying anything, and said with a smile, "From now on, new clothes will be made in the mansion. When you marry in a red wedding gown and a bridal gown, you'll have to carry more than ten loads of dowry!"
The maids in the room all smiled. Xuezhi was both angry and amused, but her eyes were very gentle when she looked at Yining.
Yi Ning brought the maid from the sewing room to look for Luo Shenyuan. He was a little surprised to see her coming with someone else. He put down his book and walked towards her, his heavy brows slightly furrowed, and whispered, "Aren't you feeling unwell? Why are you running around?"
Yi Ning said with a smile, "You said you'd treat me to lunch yesterday, but I didn't get to eat, so I came here today to eat for free." Seeing that he didn't seem to agree, Yi Ning took the sewing room's tape measure and shook it in her hand twice to show him, "I asked the sewing room to make you some winter clothes. I heard it's even colder in the capital, so you'll have something to wear when you get there. Third brother, raise your hand so I can measure your length."
Luo Shenyuan looked at her helplessly: "Yining, if you have nothing to do, I will find you a piano teacher."
Yi Ning just urged him to raise his hand, and the maid came forward to measure his body. Luo Shenyuan could only raise his hand. He was tall, so the maid had to stand on tiptoe when measuring him. Yi Ning saw that he was not standing straight, so she stepped forward and stretched out her hand to pull his waist: "Third brother, you need to stand up straight so that the measurement can be accurate."
Her hand just touched his waist, but she felt his body seemed to stiffen.
After the maid finished measuring and left, Luo Shenyuan sighed, asked the maid to bring her a cup of hot tea, and asked her, "Is this what you do here with Third Brother?"
Yi Ning smiled and said, "Didn't I say I'd come to your place for a free meal?" Feeling that Luo Shenyuan was sitting too far away from her to talk, Yi Ning sat down next to him, grabbed his hand, and said, "But there's one more thing. I want Xuezhi to marry in style. I heard you have a house in Xushui County. Could you lend it to me?"
Luo Shenyuan could feel the soft touch of the hand on his, and his whole body tensed up. His tone was somewhat restrained: "Yining, sit up straight."
Yi Ning didn't know what was wrong with him, so she looked up at him, but Luo Shenyuan didn't meet her eyes. He pulled his hand away and said, "I can lend it to you."
Yining's eyes were moist, like an innocent animal that was bullied. No one could be cruel to her eyes.
When Yi Ning heard that he agreed, she didn't think much about it and said with a smile, "Then I won't pay the money!"
Luo Shenyuan said with a slight twitch of his lips: "Of course you don't have to pay."
Yi Ning waited for dinner in his study while he wrote. She sat on a recliner in his study, reading, her slender legs curled up. She wore a blue jacket, her white skirt drooping. The sunlight from the lattice window caught her skirt. Yi Ning's expression was focused, as it always was when she was working hard. Her long eyelashes framed her clear, limpid eyes, as if nothing outside could disturb her. As if she had noticed something puzzling, her brows furrowed slightly, and she bit her lip unconsciously.
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