Gu Yanran naturally agreed immediately, making Old Madam Xu laugh so hard that she couldn't stop.
She saw Shen Qingqiu wanted to eat a piece of mung bean cake, so she reached out her hand, but missed it. In the eyes of Old Lady Xu, this scene was regarded as Shen Qingqiu being ignorant and stealing Gu Yanran's mung bean cake.
He immediately scolded her, "Qiu'er, do you usually eat like this? There are plenty of mung bean cakes, why don't you ask someone to bring another plate? Why are you so rude?"
Liu scolded Shen Qingqiu, picked up a piece of mung bean cake and stuffed it into Shen Qingqiu's mouth. Shen Qingqiu's cheeks immediately bulged with the cake still in his mouth.
"Why do you look like a starving ghost today?"
Shen Qingqiu chewed the cake in his mouth carefully, touched his stomach, and had a bit of grievance in his eyes.
"Mom, I haven't eaten anything yet. My stomach can't stand this injustice and keeps making trouble for me!"
As if in response to Shen Qingqiu's words, her stomach rumbled a few times.
Shen Qingqiu looked at Old Lady Xu somewhat embarrassedly, and then said: "Old Lady, I was rude just now, but considering that my stomach is still empty, can you let me eat a few more bites of cakes?"
“You, you, want to eat a few more bites?” Old Lady Xu didn’t mean to blame him at all this time. She just thought Shen Qingqiu was likable. “Eating too much of these cakes won’t make you full. You have to eat well.”
Gu Yanran saw how Shen Qingqiu could coax people into a frenzy with just a few words, and she just felt that this person was an eyesore, but she didn't show it and still took the candied fruit and put it in her mouth.
Watching Shen Qingqiu smile, she felt that the candied fruit was a little bitter.
Seeing Jin Cai coming back with several strings of candied haws in her hand, Shen Qingqiu took them and handed them to Old Lady Xu first.
"Old lady, please try it. It's so sweet and delicious."
That look made Old Lady Xu laugh. She took it and took a sip, feeling warm in her heart.
Shen Qingqiu gave another string to Liu, and then gave Gu Yanran a string of candied haws. He smiled innocently, but she felt very uncomfortable seeing it.
"You just came back from the temple, there must be a lot of new things you haven't seen. I will definitely take you to the street market when I have time. You will definitely like it!"
Ever since Gu Yanran pinched her secretly just now, Shen Qingqiu knew that she was better at pretending than anyone else, saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs.
To deal with this kind of person, you naturally have to be more pretentious than her.
Gu Yanran smiled and thanked her, but in her heart she was already cursing Shen Qingqiu's ancestors for eighteen generations. It really made her sick! "Yanran has finally come back, go to the main hall first, I'll have someone prepare the food." Old Madam Xu stood up, and Gu Yanran immediately helped her over, looking very filial.
Shen Qingqiu only took a glance, then followed Liu, and they went to the main hall together.
After sitting down, the uncles and aunts from other rooms naturally praised Gu Yanran, and Gu Yanran spoke appropriately, showing the demeanor of a lady from a noble family.
At this time, a relative asked, "Yanran, when you come back this time, do you plan to ask your mother to come back home?"
Talking about Gu Yanran's mother, except for a few necessary times when she came back over the years, she had been worshiping Buddha and praying in the Buddhist temple.
Gu Yanran paused for a moment before saying, "My mother only prays for the old lady's health and that she only thinks about the good of the Gu family. She doesn't dare to ask for anything else."
Hearing this, Old Lady Xu sighed.
When her fourth son died on the battlefield, the fourth daughter-in-law went to the Buddhist temple to pray for blessings not long afterward. She saw it all and felt even more sorry for Gu Yanran.
"I came back this time because I heard that Uncle Nine had married Sister Nine, so I came back to greet him." Gu Yanran smiled harmlessly, "Besides, there was news that the palace was going to select tutors for the princesses, and Yanran was thinking about entering the palace."
At this time, Shen Qingqiu looked over and asked with great interest: "Does choosing a tutor require reading and literacy? Then can I also enter the palace to choose a tutor?"
Liu put a piece of meat in her bowl and looked at her and said, "Qiu'er, do you want to learn to read and write?"
Hearing this, Old Lady Xu also looked over, and actually looked at Shen Qingqiu a few more times, then asked her with a smile: "Qiu'er, tell Old Lady Xu why you also want to go to the palace to choose a companion?"
Shen Qingqiu felt a little embarrassed under so many gazes, and looked at Gu Yanran again before saying, "I asked Yanran before, but she said that I had never read a book or learned to read, and I didn't understand anything. So I thought about reading more books and learning to read, and Yanran wouldn't say that to me anymore."
Old Lady Xu looked at Gu Yanran and said, "Yanran, when you go to the palace tomorrow, take Qiu'er with you. It's always a good thing that she wants to learn to read and write."
Gu Yanran was really confused by this. She had never expected Shen Qingqiu to be so good at pretending. He could win the sympathy of Old Lady Xu with just a few words. She had no choice but to agree.
But in her heart, she was secretly planning to make Shen Qingqiu look bad in front of the Empress tomorrow! "Thank you, old lady! You are always so good to me!" Shen Qingqiu took advantage of the situation and acted like a good kid, like a kitten, making people want to touch her head.
Gu Yanran did not enjoy the meal. At night, she asked someone to bring the prepared items. She wanted to start with Old Madam Xu. As long as she could please her, her life would be comfortable in the future.
"Old lady, this is what my mother asked me to bring back. They are used to hang lanterns in the Buddhist temple to pray for blessings. We can go to the backyard and hang a lantern to pray for good luck."
There is a custom of hanging lanterns to pray for blessings during festivals, but when Old Lady Xu heard that Gu Yanran and her mother brought them back from the Buddhist temple, she also became interested in finding a good omen.
"Then I'll listen to you and go to the bridge in the backyard to light the lanterns!" Old Lady Xu said.
Then the group moved to the bridge in the backyard, which was built over the lake, reflecting a bright moon in the night sky.
"Old lady, you have to put up the first lantern, so that it will be a good start." Gu Yanran brought up a lantern with a long red paper strip underneath, which was used to write prayers.
Old Lady Xu took it in her hands, wrote some words of blessing on the paper with a smile, and then lit the first lamp in Gu Yanran's words.
"My mother kneels in front of the temple day and night, praying for these lights in the hope of keeping the old lady safe, keeping the Gu family safe, and praying for peace in the world."
As she said these words, she had brought over another lamp and quickly wrote a prayer message on it. When the old lady read the words, she felt a little sad.
In the end, he was touched and couldn't help but raise his hand and touch Gu Yanran's head.
"Your mother is very thoughtful. It is such a blessing to have raised such a good daughter like you!"
After Gu Yanran finished hanging her lantern, she handed one to Shen Qingqiu and said, "Qingqiu, you can write down whatever wishes you have. It will be a good start and give you something to look forward to in the future."
Shen Qingqiu remained expressionless, just looking at her and smiling.
She pretended to be annoyed and said, "Look at my memory! Qingqiu has not read much and has not learned to read, so I am afraid it will be difficult for you to write a prayer."
Shen Qingqiu didn't respond to her words. He took the red note, thought for a moment, and wrote a word on it.
Gu Yanran was a little embarrassed. She relaxed her expression for a while, then leaned over to take a look. She had to pretend nothing had happened and said, "Qingqiu, did you write the word 'An'?"
Shen Qingqiu's handwriting was neat and straight, not crooked or twisted. Old Madam Xu and Madam Liu also came to take a look.
She said aloud: "It's just writing a word. It's not difficult for me."
She has never believed in supernatural things, but she still has some respect for them and just wants the people around her to be safe and sound.
She didn't care what others thought of her. Liu touched Shen Qingqiu's head, nodded and smiled: "Qiu'er, it's also pretty nice to write like this."
Then, Liu also wrote down a prayer message, and she hung her own lamp together with Shen Qingqiu's.
After hanging the lanterns, Gu Yanran took out a lottery stick from somewhere and said to Old Lady Xu with a smile, "Old Lady, after hanging the lanterns, let's draw the lots. These are what my mother and I got from the Buddhist temple. They have very good meanings. Come and try them, Old Lady!"
Shen Qingqiu wanted to know what Gu Yanran wanted to do, and was not very interested in drawing lots. However, when he saw Old Lady Xu put her hand into the lot holder, before she could read the lot clearly, he heard Gu Yanran congratulating him loudly: "Old Lady Xu is so lucky! The blessing you prayed for is a peace amulet that was personally blessed by the abbot of the Buddhist temple!"
The abbot of that Buddhist temple passed away a few years ago. Since the amulet was blessed by him during his lifetime, it is naturally extremely precious. Many people want it but cannot.
Old Madam Xu placed the amulet that Gu Yanran brought over in her palm and only praised Gu Yanran for being well-educated, well-mannered, and sensible.
Shen Qingqiu watched Gu Yanran put so much effort into coming up with all these tricks. Whether it was hanging lanterns to pray for blessings, or drawing lots to get a blessed amulet, it was nothing more than trying to please Old Lady Xu.
"Yanran, it's getting late. I've asked someone to arrange a yard for you. You can rest early if you're tired." After hanging up the lanterns and taking out the amulets, Old Madam Xu felt more fond of Gu Yanran.
"Yanran was thinking about spending more time with the old lady, but she didn't expect time to pass so quickly!" Gu Yanran smiled.
"You have to go to the palace tomorrow, so take Qiu'er with you. It would be great if she could be a reading companion for the princess."
Since Old Madam Xu had spoken, Gu Yanran had nothing more to say. Her face froze, and she was led by the maid to her room to rest.
After Shen Qingqiu returned to her room, Liu gave her a look of rebuke.
"Why are you so sweet today?"
She and Gu Yanran seemed to be competing for favor in front of Old Lady Xu. Liu didn't point it out, but just asked, "Are you really planning to go to the palace to choose a study partner?"
"Can what I say be false?" Shen Qingqiu smiled, "Don't worry! I will perform well."
After seeing Liu off, Shen Qingqiu slept comfortably, and followed Gu Yanran into the palace the next day.
Before leaving the house, Liu gave Shen Qingqiu many instructions, and Shen Qingqiu complied with them one by one.
After entering the palace, Shen Qingqiu followed behind Gu Yanran, looking around from time to time.
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