Madam Cao glanced at everyone present, and then said to Old Lady Dou, "Your daughters are all very pretty, and I am happy to see them all."

Old Lady Dou smiled and said to Luo Shilan, "Why don't you take your sisters to pay respects to Madam Cao?"

Yao Niang also followed Shi Fang, and the sisters bowed together. The three girls from the eldest house all wore skirts with a white background and a pattern of red bamboo leaves and plum blossoms. They had their hair in a hanging bun and pink and white silk flowers on both sides. The girls from the second house wore bright red jackets with ruyi patterns. Only the eldest girl, Shi Lan, had already reached the age of marriage, which made her look different from the others.

It was obvious that Mrs. Cao was familiar with Luo Shilan and Luo Jingrou, and they were more intimate with each other, but when listening to Luo Shilan and Luo Jingrou introducing several little sisters, Mrs. Cao was also impartial.

"This is my third sister Shi Zhen, my fourth sister Shi Fang, my fifth sister Shi Wei, and my sixth sister Shi Yu."

Mrs. Cao was fine when she saw Shi Zhen and Shi Fang, but her eyes lit up when she saw Yao Niang. Then she looked at Shi Yu and felt that the girl from the Luo family was very pretty.

After the ceremony, the girls stood aside and listened to everyone's talk. Mrs. Cao came to add makeup, and asked about the children of the Luo family. Yu said, "My second child just passed the exam and entered the middle school. He is still studying in the academy. Only my youngest has just started to learn."

"This kid in our family is just getting started. He doesn't like studying and prefers to play with guns and sticks. I have no choice but to let his father take care of him." Mrs. Cao was helpless.

Then, Yu asked someone to call Hao Ge'er over. When Mrs. Cao saw Hao Ge'er, she was overjoyed: "This child is so handsome. I have never seen a child with such long eyelashes before."

Old Lady Dou pointed at Cao Wanxuan and Jinghao and said, "Let the two brothers play together, and we will just watch."

Everybody laughed, but Ren thought to herself, no one mentioned bringing my little grandson. She felt very aggrieved for the moment, but she didn't dare show it on her face.

The little boys played together. Jinghao would take out the grasshoppers and dragonflies given by his sister to play with at any time. He also picked up the small whistle given to him by Yao Niang. He thought these were treasures.

Cao Wanxuan naturally had some toys to play with as well, as their Dongyang Marquis Mansion had no shortage of them. But when they saw Jinghao's treasures, the two of them actually had a lot of fun playing with them.

He especially loved the little grasshopper, which he couldn't let go of. Jinghao, however, stood by and said, "You need to play with it for a while before giving it to me. My sister only makes one for me every month."

"I know, who is your sister? She is so awesome." Cao Wanxuan couldn't help but admire.

Jinghao smiled and said, "My sister is the fifth child in my family. She is amazing. She can jump the rope all day without getting tired. She can even catch my second brother while playing as an eagle catching chickens."

Cao Wanxuan was extremely jealous.

Yao Niang never expected that her brother would brag about her so much. She had just heard Madam Cao say that her niece had hired a famous needlework artist from Jiangnan to teach her needlework, but now that her niece had reached the age of marriage, she naturally no longer needed the help.

Mrs. Cao said it without meaning it, but Mrs. Yu listened with interest. She didn't have much time to teach her daughter needlework. Most of her daughters can do needlework, but they are not proficient in it.

Therefore, Yu said, "If possible, can Madam Cao introduce one to us? The older girls in our family are easy to deal with, but my fifth and sixth daughters are young and have just learned needlework. They need someone to teach them."

Madam Cao agreed repeatedly. She had heard that the wife of the eldest branch of the Luo family was a kind person. Now she saw that she treated both legitimate and illegitimate children equally, and that even her stepdaughter Luo Jingrou treated her warmly, she couldn't help but nod in her heart.

From the beginning to the end, Yao Niang felt very strange. Not only did Mrs. Cao not look at Shi Fang differently, but even Cao Wanxuan only played with her brother.

Even at the end, Jinghao still said to Yao Niang in grievance: "Cao Sanlang took my grasshopper back."

Seeing that he was crying, Yao Niang comforted him quickly, "Wait for sister to braid one for you next time, okay? Don't cry."

At the same time, at the dinner table, Yu also mentioned to Luo Zhizheng that they wanted to invite a needlework teacher: "As we were talking, I wanted to invite one. First, needlework is the foundation of us girls. If needlework, weaving and tailoring are done with great care, our girls will be respected by others. Second, Yao Niang is a little girl who only wants to play all day long. Doing needlework will calm her down."

Luo Zhizheng did not comment, but Yu felt that he would definitely not object.

Even Aunt Qin was very happy when she heard what Shi Yu said: "That's great. Madam is a woman after all, and she is very considerate. Miss Three will be thirteen soon, and this embroiderer is for you and Miss Five. You must learn well."

Shi Yu nodded: "My daughter knows. Then do you think that Fourth Sister will come over too? I don't want her to come again. When we were in school, she always dozed off, gossiped, and splashed ink on me and Fifth Sister. She was really annoying."

"That won't happen. Although our first and second branches now live together in Beijing, it's because this is the house that the two old ladies bought together. Moreover, everyone lives in the same place and can take care of each other, but after all, the family has been separated. In the past, the old master and his wife didn't care about the second branch's visit, but now that things have become so chaotic, they will definitely not let her come." Being an official in Beijing, you may be transferred again in three to five years. It's better to live in the same place so that both sides can take care of each other. But the two families have been separated for a long time, and there is no need to look to the second branch for everything.

In fact, it was true. Yu was quick to consult Mrs. Cao and it was settled in about three days. The female teacher would come to the Luo family to teach after the Chinese New Year.

Besides, the Luo family has been full of guests recently. Yu Yan is at Yao Niang's place. Yao Niang and Shi Yu both received gifts from their cousin Chen Ziheng, including two boxes of pearls, a pair of red lychee bracelets, and a pair of jade ruyi. He was very generous.

Yinrong put the items away and said with a smile, "The Chen family is indeed a maritime merchant family. Everyone in our family has gained a lot of good things."

Yao Niang nodded: "Cousin Chen's family has been sea merchants for generations. When my grandfather went to Fuzhou to serve as an official, we had the honor of meeting each other and the two families became relatives. I heard that this cousin has a very good relationship with my eldest brother, is that true, sister-in-law?"

Mrs. Fan, who was teaching her sisters-in-law needlework, nodded and said, "Yes, your eldest brother said that they used to study together. Later, your brother came back to continue his studies, and he started to manage the family business. I heard that he even went to Lu Song's place in recent years."

So that's how it is. Yao Niang just asked and that was it.

Only Yu Yan's heart was moved. She heard her aunt and grandmother mention this Mr. Chen, who had just lost his wife last year and asked her aunt to find a wife for her. If that person was her, then it would not be impossible.

Yu Yan had met many people in the upper room these days. She was a guest and ultimately not as good as the real lady of the Luo family. She did not have such a generous gift.

Others gave her some face because of Yu's relationship with her, and it seemed that she was no different from Yao Niang and the others, but in fact there was a huge difference.

Another month passed, and it was the day for Luo Shilan to get married. The Luo sisters all looked brand new, and Yao Niang was handed a rolling pin. It was said that when the groom came to pick up the bride, they would beat him with the stick. It was just a custom.

Although Yao Niang knew that her brother would get into trouble because of her eldest sister-in-law's funeral next year, she still had to be on guard now, and it was best to keep him by her side.

"Mom, you guys won't be busy later anyway, why don't you leave your little brother to me? He's only four years old anyway, so he doesn't have to go out to socialize, and I can take him out to play."

When Mrs. Yu saw Yao Niang holding Jing Hao, she agreed: "I was worried about him. He is young and there are people everywhere today. I was going to let him stay at home. Now that you are taking him, I feel relieved."

She is still young, and although Yu will bring them along when entertaining guests, the ones who need to socialize the most in the family are the two older sisters, Luo Jingrou and Luo Shizhen, who are already thirteen years old, and even Yu Yan, who is about the same age.

Therefore, Yao Niang went to Luo Shilan first. At this time, Luo Shilan was being combed and dressed by a hairdresser. This transformation was magical, as if a person had grown up in an instant, from a woman to a woman. It seemed that the face had not changed, but the hair was all combed up.

When Luo Shilan saw her and Jinghao coming in, he kindly asked someone to bring some snacks over. Yao Niang saw that there were people coming and going here and it was not good to make trouble here, so she put Jinghao's hat on and took him out.

"Sister, it's been more than a month since my grasshopper was taken by Cao Wanxuan last time. When will you make another one for me?" Jinghao was very dissatisfied.

"Look, there are dead branches all around. Where can you find leaves? Besides, there's a strong wind blowing." Yao Niang poked her brother's forehead.

Jinghao pouted. He was always a well-behaved person, but he regarded the grasshopper given by his sister as a treasure and put it next to his pillow every night before going to bed. The grass dragonfly was also hung on the bed. Now it was taken away by Cao Wanxuan, and he missed it very much.

Yao Niang was with Jing Hao every day, so how could she not know what he was thinking? So she said, "Okay, I'll take you to the garden now. I remember there is a greenhouse in Tianshuizhai. Let's go there and play. Sister will weave one for you. How about that?"

Even the most well-behaved boy would want to go in when he sees the hustle and bustle outside, but the people who came today were a mixed bunch, and he was too young, so Yao Niang was worried, so she asked his wet nurse to wear the hat, and the two of them went to Tianshui Zhai.

When I was halfway there, I met a lady with a child who was very anxious.

"Girl, how do I get to the front yard?"

Seeing her anxious, Yao Niang smiled and said, "Walk three miles east from here, cross an arch bridge, and then go west and pass two intersections and you will arrive."

The lady asked again, "But I don't remember the way. What should I do?"

Although the visitors today are guests, there are always some good and bad people. Yao Niang saw that although she looked anxious, her actions were not. She said cautiously: "In this case, I will let someone take you there."

"No, no, no, girl, please take me there." The woman said bluntly.

Yao Niang knew very well that the kidnappers outside always appeared with children, and some were even pregnant women, in order to lower other people's vigilance. The real bad guys would never show it on their faces, but instead appear as good people.

Seeing that Yao Niang is young, the woman might be more willing to talk to her.

Who knew that she refused outright: "I still have things to do. Go twenty steps forward, there are servants there, just ask them to lead the way for you."

The woman was furious, but luckily she walked a few steps forward and ran into a little girl who looked like a pink ball. The girl kindly took her over, and the woman was very grateful.

It turned out that the little girl was Shi Fang. She couldn't help but ask who the woman was?

The woman said with some pride: "I am Jiang Caiping, known as 'the best needle in Jiangbei'. Little girl, I see that you have a very good understanding. If possible, I can take you as my apprentice."

Shi Fang had never thought that she would receive advice from a master needleworker. She was overjoyed and took Mrs. Jiang to see Ren. Ren heard that Jiang Caiping was a master of embroidery needlework and that her sister-in-law Jiang had specially invited her from Jiangnan to sew wedding dresses for her eldest daughter. She was originally planning to open a shop in Beijing and take in a disciple.

Ren was already angry because the eldest son's family hired an embroiderer from the Dongyang Marquis's Mansion. Now that there was an embroiderer delivered to her doorstep, she was very happy, but she still had a bit of airs on her face.

Madam Jiang immediately said, "Originally, I was considering which disciple has the best heart. To learn needlework, besides being clever and dexterous, the most important thing is to be calm and kind. I met the fifth young lady on the road, and she looked too much like a young lady. On the contrary, your fourth young lady is the kind of disciple I want. If you agree, Madam Luo, I will teach her for free."

"Speaking of which, if it weren't for the fourth lady, my grandson would have died a long time ago. He has always suffered from vertigo. It's really a blessing in disguise."

Ren was already very happy. It was great that she could let the "best needleman in Jiangbei" teach her daughter without spending a penny. She used to think that other people's daughters were smart and her own daughter was too simple. She never thought that this person was better off being kind.

Shi Fang also had a beaming look on her face.

Although Mrs. Jiang looked indifferent, she was very happy in her heart. She was an orphan and a widow, and she thought it was not easy to open a shop in Beijing. Her son had offended someone in her hometown, and she finally found someone to settle the matter. If not for this, she would not have traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to take this job.

I was originally thinking of seeking protection from the Luo family, but without any fate or reason, who would protect you?

Originally, she had her sights on Miss Luo Wu, the legitimate daughter of a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel, whose mother was the mistress of the household. But who knew that the girl was so arrogant? Fortunately, she had this girl from the Luo family. This way, when she did business in Beijing, with the support of the Luo family, no villain would dare to plot against her.