Chapter 13 New Clothes
When Yang Qing went to find Rong Yue, she chatted for a while, praising Rong Yue's handwriting and her clothes. When she felt she had laid enough groundwork, she finally revealed her true purpose, "Sister... I have something to tell you, but please don't be angry."
Rongyue had long since realized that her true intentions were not what they seemed, but she hadn't called her out on it. Only when Rongyue took the initiative to speak did she follow up, saying, "What is it? Speak."
Several maids were in the outer room, while the two sisters were in the inner room. But Yang Qing was still hesitant and said, "When I came last time, I actually saw a few words in the book you were looking at."
Rongyue had an "I knew it" look on her face, but said nothing.
Yang Qing asked again, "Why did you write Yun Xiao's name, sister?"
She recognized Rongyue's handwriting; it was definitely written by her.
Unless, like Yang Qing, Rong Yue has several "disciples".
Rongyue smiled slightly, a genuine smile unlike her usual perfectly masked one. "How do you know him?"
Yang Qing, of course, would not tell her about her past life, so she chose to tell a little lie, "I didn't know him before, but I caught a glimpse of him at your place, and I also happened to see him giving you flowers during the Flower Festival. Someone else mentioned his name, and that's how I remembered him."
Rongyue said, "What do you want to ask? Do you want to know if I have an affair with him?"
She was completely open and honest, which made Yang Qing even more embarrassed. "I was just curious, you know?"
Rongyue wasn't angry. She picked up the book again from the bookshelf. "I didn't want to tell you, but now that you've found out, there's no need for me to hide it from you. Aren't you curious? Then take a look for yourself."
Yang Qing paused for a moment before reaching out to look. As soon as she opened the first page, the name Si Jiamu immediately caught her eye.
This person is absolutely a household name in the Xia Kingdom. He was the top scholar at the age of sixteen, having achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations. He was also a young master from a prestigious family, so he was naturally a legendary figure in other people's minds.
Rongyue's book is more like a notebook; the first page reads:
Si Jiamu
Appearance: A
Talent and Learning: A
Character: Unknown
Family background: B (A prominent family with many rules and a large population, which can be troublesome)
Age: A
Based on the above, it is determined that: A
What is this? Yang Qing was stunned for a moment.
Rongyue kindly reminded her, "What you want to know should be on page thirty-two."
Yang Qing followed her suggestion and indeed saw Yun Xiao's name on that page.
Yun Xiao
Appearance: B
Talent and Learning: B
Character: B
Family background: B
Age: A
Okay, okay, except for one age group, they're all B's.
After reading it, Yang Qing still didn't quite understand, and looked at Rong Yue with a puzzled expression, "Fifth Sister, what does this mean?"
Rongyue smiled and explained, "What else could it mean? I can't achieve anything great, so I can only work hard on getting married. This booklet is my assessment of the unmarried men in the capital."
Yang Qing clicked her tongue in surprise, then casually turned to another page, only to find that the next page featured Yun Xiao's younger brother.
Yunlang
Appearance: B
Talent and Learning: B
Character: B
Family background: B
Age: B
Well, even the age is B.
Yang Qing couldn't help but laugh. She had long known that Rong Yue wasn't as dignified and proper as she appeared, but she never expected her to do something like this.
Keep turning to the last page, which is the page of the Duke of Lin, whom I met a few days ago.
Name
Appearance: C
Talent and Learning: A
Character: Unknown
Family background: B
Age: C
All things considered, she seemed inferior to the two Yun brothers, so Yangqing couldn't help but ask, "Sister, has she not taken a liking to the Duke of Lin?"
Rongyue said, "Should I be interested in him? He's already twenty-seven years old, while I'm only nineteen. He's so much older than me, and his appearance is just average."
Yang Qing felt it was polite to close the booklet. "So, Fifth Sister, what are your plans?"
She said shyly, "I thought you liked that Young Master Yun."
Rongyue shook her head: "A person who has no strengths and no weaknesses is not worth my concern. If it weren't for the Li Hebi incident a while ago, I wouldn't even give him a second glance."
Yang Qing continued, "Now that the troublemakers are gone, which of these people do you like, sister?"
Rongyue said, "If I have to choose, I will naturally choose the best."
Yang Qing was taken aback: "Si Jiamu?"
Rongyue nodded, but Yangqing hesitated, "Although I've never met him, I've heard others mention him. He seems to be very popular."
Rongyue gave her a light glare, which had no real impact. "Do you think I'm not good enough for him?"
Yang Qing immediately shook her head: "No way! You're more than good enough for him!"
Although this Si Jiamu sounds very impressive and seems to have no bad qualities, Rong Yue is just as good.
In every aspect, Yang Qing didn't think Rong Yue was inferior to anyone else.
Rongyue was satisfied: "I think so too. As long as I know him, he will come to propose marriage sooner or later."
Yang Qing was dumbfounded. So you guys don't even know each other yet?
For the next few days, the second madam continued to take Rongyue out to look at potential partners every day. Although Rongyue already had someone in mind, she did not refuse.
Yangqing and Liantang would often be dragged along to go out, and after a few days, Chuying reverted to her spoiled nature and started going out to play again. The Third Madam, who loved socializing, naturally didn't restrict her.
Before leaving that day, the second madam looked at Rongyue's clothes with dissatisfaction, "Didn't you just wear this the other day?"
Rongyue said, "You can't wear clothes only once."
The second wife said, "That's not right either. If someone with ulterior motives sees that, they'll laugh at us."
Rongyue said, "I only have a few sets of clothes for the whole season."
The second wife asked, "Didn't I give you several bolts of the fine fabric your uncle sent before? Give them to the sewing team, pay them some money, and have them quickly make a few decent clothes."
Rongyue said, "Don't you know, Mother? A few days ago, my aunt laid off half of the sewing team. The summer clothes haven't been finished yet. Even if we send them over now, they'll just be wasting good materials in their haste."
The second wife was speechless for a moment before saying, "How could I not know that our family is so poor? How could Yuan Qiurou be so short-sighted? How much money can she spend on a sewing team? Doesn't she care about being known for mistreating her servants?"
She criticized the elders, and Rongyue and Yangqing didn't know how to respond.
After a moment, the Second Madam said again, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to talk to her about this. She thinks she's some kind of heroine or a literary genius just because she's a steward. When we get back, I'll take you to the tailor shop. I heard there's a new seamstress there, and she's very skilled. It just so happens that the Crown Prince's birthday is in half a month, and Ah Xun should get some new clothes too."
Before Rongyue could speak, Yangqing muttered, "Why am I included? It's his birthday, he'll definitely be at the East Palace, how am I supposed to get in?"
She really wanted new clothes, but if it was to please Li Shangxuan, then she'd better not.
The second wife glared at her, clearly disappointed in her, but ultimately said nothing.
The last dish served at today's banquet was a whole roasted suckling pig, which looked quite appealing, as it was displayed there in a bright red color.
Yang Qing couldn't help but think that in the Second Madam's eyes, she was probably also a little suckling pig? Dressed up nicely and then presented to Li Shangxuan for him to eat.
No way, Yangqing doesn't want to be roast suckling pig and end up in someone else's stomach!
On the way back, because I had eaten too much, the carriage bumped around and my stomach felt a little uncomfortable.
Yangqing ate quite a bit of the last dish, roast suckling pig. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender, both fragrant and delicious. She enjoyed it while eating, but now it feels very greasy.
Fortunately, the second madam did not ride in the same carriage as her. Rongyue did not like to scold people, so it was fine for her to just tell the carriage to go slower.
When they arrived at the tailor shop, the second madam couldn't resist buying a few bolts of fabric because she found them attractive. While she took Rongyue to get her measurements taken, Yangqing also couldn't stay idle and wandered around the shop. The fabrics were dazzling and just looking at them was a form of entertainment.
Suddenly, a piece of black fabric came into her view. At first glance, it was just an ordinary piece of black cloth, but if you looked at it from a different angle, you could see a shimmering bamboo pattern.
Yang Qing stared intently, thinking that Li Shangxuan had a similar outfit in his previous life.
The Xia Kingdom revered black, and after Li Shangxuan ascended the throne as emperor, he almost always wore black.
Unexpectedly, a voice rang out from behind, "What a coincidence, I never expected to run into Miss Chi here."
Yang Qing turned around and met a pair of captivating, amorous peach blossom eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, not out of shyness, but out of anger.
She learned everything from Li Shangxuan. This Li Heyun had ill intentions. She never expected him to be so shameless as to say "what a coincidence" here!
The tailor shop was so big that Yangqing said she just wanted to take a look around, so the female shop assistant tactfully went to do her own thing and stopped following her.
Now, with only Liu Ye'er by her side, she no longer needs to hide from people and can speak freely.
Yang Qing's tone turned unpleasant. This person dared to use her as a pawn. "They say that those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles. Second Young Master is indeed more shameless than most. I just wonder who will ultimately win the position of Heir Apparent?"
Even after all this time, there's still no movement from the Prince Ning's residence.
In his previous life, Li Heyun seemed to have obtained the title of heir apparent seven or eight years later, just before the death of Prince Ning. Then, less than two years after inheriting the throne, a rebellion broke out in Yunzhou. Li Shangxuan personally led the expedition, but unexpectedly perished there.
Yang Qing was startled. Could it be... that this was too much of a coincidence?
Her tone was sarcastic, but Li Heyun wasn't annoyed at all. His handsome face was still all smiles. "Miss Chi seems to have a lot of opinions about me?"
Yang Qing was too lazy to play along with him: "Don't you think about what you've done? Shouldn't I have a lot of opinions about you?"
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