Chapter 483: Your name is Mingzhu, so we can’t even wear pearl jewelry?

For a moment, many people were still not able to react, but they followed Yu Mingzhu's words and carefully looked at the tree in the courtyard that had sprouted new buds.

“Is it an apricot tree?”

"How did Mingzhu recognize that this was an apricot tree? It doesn't look like one to me."

"Why don't you just ask A Ke and find out?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Nie Yuke again.

Nie Yuke said "Huh", tilted her head and asked the maidservant beside her: "Shuilu, is this an apricot tree?"

The maid named Shuilu smiled and said, "Fourth Miss, have you forgotten? Last year, the crabapple tree in your yard was sick and attracted many insects, so it was moved out. This is the new tree that the gardener moved in. It is indeed an apricot tree."

"It really is an apricot tree." Nie Yuke exclaimed "Ah" again, looking a little guilty, and said to Xingxing: "Don't be offended, my lord."

Most of the ladies had no idea what Nie Yuke meant by this.

Someone reacted faster and also said "Ah", and whispered to the people around him: "...I remember Fusui Xiangjun, his maiden name was Xingxing."

Many people heard it and then reacted, looking at each other in confusion.

This... seems a little inappropriate, but it seems... I can't blame others.

After all, the name of this Fusui Xiangjun was too casual.

Apricots and pears, which noble lady would name her child after these fruit-like foods?

The maidservant beside Yu Mingzhu, who was called Jinshu, said with a smile, "I just remembered something. It's a saying in my hometown that giving a child a bad name is easier to keep."

This makes it even more difficult to respond.

Yu Mingzhu frowned slightly and gently scolded the maid: "You are talking nonsense."

She looked somewhat apologetic and said to Xing Xing, "Don't be offended, my dear. I am just a maid who doesn't think straight."

Xing Xing said "Oh" slowly, not looking surprised. Instead, she smiled with red lips and white teeth, looking lovely and bright. She tilted her head and asked Yu Mingzhu, "What does Miss Yu think?"

Yu Mingzhu didn't expect Xingxing to ask her back. She paused for a moment and replied very smartly, "The name of the village lord is naturally simple and lovely..."

Xing Xing interrupted her, clapped her hands and laughed: "Ms. Yu is right. I think so too. So don't mind it. Just because my name is Xing Xing, does that mean you are not allowed to eat apricots? How can I be so overbearing?"

Xing Xing smiled sweetly as she stroked the pearl hairpin in her hair. It swayed slightly, just in time to meet the sunlight behind her. The pearls on the hairpin shone beautifully. "It's the same reason. Just like Miss Yu's nickname is Mingzhu, can't we even wear pearl jewelry?"

Everyone laughed, except Yu Mingzhu, who forced a smile with a hint of gloom in her eyes.

Xingxing's response was very appropriate. With just a few words, she dispelled the slight embarrassment caused by the name.

Some people even noticed the pearl hairpin on Xing Xing's head. Since they were all related to the royal family, they naturally recognized it and said in surprise: "Xiang Jun, the style of your pearl hairpin... looks like it was made in the palace."

Xing Xing nodded and said, "It was gifted by the Empress Dowager."

When everyone heard that it was a gift from the Empress, they all gathered around:

"It was actually awarded by the Empress?"

"Wow, I was just thinking that this hairpin of yours doesn't look like an ordinary item. It turns out it was given to you by the Empress."

"The Queen really loves you. She is so enviable."

You and I were talking at the same time, not caring about the apricot tree or something else.

One of the ladies said casually, "I remember that A Ke also has a pearl hairpin that was gifted by the Empress."

Nie Yuke bit her lip lightly.

She did have one, but that was before her tenth birthday, when she accompanied her father into the palace to see the Empress Dowager. The hairpin was placed on a small table next to the Empress Dowager, so it seemed that the Empress Dowager was playing with it.

She fell in love with it at first sight, and her eyes were glued to the hairpin. The Empress smiled and shook her head, saying that the hairpin was not suitable for a little girl.

She was young at the time, and relying on the fact that her aunt, the Empress, liked her, she was stubborn and didn't say a word, neither saying yes nor no.

The Queen smiled and asked the nanny to wrap up the pearl hairpin and give it to her, saying that it was a gift for her tenth birthday.

It was a pure gold pearl hairpin made in the shape of a plum branch, with pearls adorning the plum pistil and the handle of the hairpin transformed into a slanting plum branch, which had its own elegance.

When Nie Yuke happily returned to the Duke of Enguo's Mansion with the pearl hairpin, she found that what the Empress said was right. Although the pearl hairpin was beautiful, it was not suitable for a little girl.

But it's too late to regret.

Nie Yuke seldom wore that pearl hairpin on her head.

Now look at the pearl hairpin on Xingxing's head. It is cute and lovely, just right for their age.

Nie Yuke just felt his eyes getting hot.

She certainly didn't care about a pearl hairpin, but this pearl hairpin represented the love of the Queen Aunt...

"Ake? Where's your hairpin?"

The voice of others calling him brought Nie Yuke back to his senses.

Nie Yuke smiled and said, "It's in my dressing table, but it was given to me by my aunt, so I can't wear it all the time."

The person who asked the question nodded: "That's right."

The matter was thus passed over.

But Nie Yuke's eyes would always be attracted by the gorgeous and cute pearl hairpin on Xingxing's head from time to time.

She pursed her lips and changed the topic to the talents everyone had prepared.

Soon, a noble lady recited a poem she had written on the theme of "Tree" for everyone.

When the poem was finished, everyone applauded enthusiastically.

"You are indeed a talented woman."

"Both talented and pretty!"

The noblewoman smiled reservedly and looked at Yu Mingzhu, with a hint of provocation in her attitude: "Mingzhu, you have always been famous for your literary talent. When people mention talented women in the capital, they always think of you. Why don't you write a poem too?"

In fact, this is somewhat unfair, after all, one is carefully prepared while the other is left to perform on the spot.

Yu Mingzhu politely declined: "You have done such a great job, so I won't teach you how to do it, right?"

The noblewoman smiled more reservedly: "Are you scared? I heard that your third brother will also take the imperial examination this year, aiming for the top three. You can't lose face for your third brother, right?"

Yu Mingzhu's expression faded, and she smiled helplessly: "Since you mentioned my third brother, I can't avoid him anymore."

She pondered for a moment, then borrowed brush and ink from the noble lady who wanted to paint, and with a flourish of ink, she wrote the poem.

Everyone came over to take a look and applauded.

The noblewoman who had prepared a poem before saw that she was indeed no match for Yu Mingzhu, so she sat back and curled her lips: "As expected of you, the shining pearl of the Xin Guo Mansion, I lost. I knew that you were actually making fun of me when you said you were showing off your skills in front of an expert."

Yu Mingzhu washed her hands in the clear water prepared by the maid next to her and smiled helplessly: "You have such a big mouth. It's not right for me to write poetry or not. Anyway, you will always say something to me."

Everyone laughed.

Nie Yuke also admires Yu Mingzhu, who was able to make up for this.

The ingenuity revealed in that poem was so great that she would never believe that Yu Mingzhu had written it on the spot.

This must have been prepared at home, but she just kept it secret, waiting for that fool to provoke her, which would have shown her talent.