34 Gift
◎She is really smart◎
Shu Yao yawned and followed Nanny Wang to Shoukang Pavilion.
The mansion was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns along the way. The festive red plum blossoms were brought out by the flower slaves and placed in the most conspicuous places. The snow on the ground was swept away, and it seemed as if there had never been any snow in the mansion.
In Shoukang Pavilion, maids were coming in and out carrying colorful jewels. No less than ten pieces of clothing that the old lady wanted to wear today had been sent in, with all kinds of silks and satins, which were luxurious and elegant.
As soon as Shu Yao entered the room, she saw the old lady sitting on the bed, surrounded by four pots of burning charcoal. She also held a heater in her arms. The whole room was very warm, not at all like the cold outside.
Seeing Shu Yao come in, the old lady just raised her eyelids. Nanny Wang beside her understood what she meant and picked up a basin of cold water from the ground and handed it to her: "Today is the old lady's birthday. As her granddaughter-in-law, you should serve her well."
Shu Yao didn't say much, just stood quietly by with the water in her hand.
The makeup girl was dressing the old lady. The old lady had a head full of silver hair, with only a few strands of hair remaining. But the makeup girl was still very careful, fearing that she would accidentally anger her.
The makeup lady put on several heavy buns for her, which were covered with hairpins and jewelry, making her look dazzling on her head.
The old lady looked around in the bronze mirror, and touched the jewels on her head with her old and skinny hands, feeling very satisfied.
Shu Yao stood aside and felt her hands getting colder and colder. She looked down and saw that there were a lot of ice cubes in her basin. No wonder it was so cold.
She immediately understood that the old lady was deliberately making fun of her. She put the basin on the table while no one was paying attention, and then put her hands in her pockets to keep warm.
At this time, several makeup girls came in. They half-knelt on the ground to dress up the old lady. The moment they opened the powder box, the smell of powder came out. Shu Yao couldn't help but touch her nose.
The strong fragrance made her very uncomfortable. She used light-smelling powder to make up the girls in Zui Xiang Fang, but this old lady actually used such a strong one. She probably wanted to cover up the old smell on her body.
The moment she covered her nose, Nanny Wang glared at her. Shu Yao had no choice but to pick up the basin of water on the table. The powder in the air was still going into her nose. She couldn't help but sneeze. The basin in her hand fell to the ground with a clang because she didn't hold it firmly, and cold water splashed everywhere.
The unmelted ice hit the old lady on the forehead.
The old lady cried out "Ouch" and covered her forehead with her hands. The maids below fell to their knees on the ground. Nanny Wang hurried forward to check the situation.
Shu Yao stood aside cautiously.
The old lady's eyes widened in anger as she pointed at Shu Yao and said, "You are more likely to cause trouble than to help others."
Nanny Wang, seeing that the old lady was fine, quickly chimed in, "Miss Shu, how come you can't even hold the basin steady? Are you doing this on purpose?"
As soon as these words came out, the old lady asked Shu Yao to kneel down.
Shu Yao stood up and said, "Madam, as soon as I came in, Nanny Wang gave me a basin of ice water. I don't know what this basin of ice water is used for. If you want to hold someone accountable, isn't Nanny Wang more responsible?" She spoke in an orderly manner, with no sign of weakness in her momentum.
Nanny Wang was a little furious: "Miss Shu, but you were the one who poured the water out. The ice cubes in the water splashed on the old lady. Isn't this your fault?"
Shu Yao: "If there were no ice in the water, the old lady wouldn't have been injured, so Nanny Wang, what's your purpose in adding ice to the water?"
She diverted the conflict away.
Nanny Wang glanced at the old lady guiltily and hesitated for a long time without being able to give a reason.
The old lady suppressed her anger. Today was her birthday and she didn't want Shu Yao, the little bitch, to ruin her good mood. So she scolded her a few words and asked Shu Yao to come and help her change clothes.
Shu Yao didn't expect the old lady to be so easy to talk to today. The words she had prepared in her mind were now of no use.
She walked forward and took an extremely luxurious brocade robe from the maid's hand. The robe was inlaid with sparkling pearls. One pearl was probably enough for ordinary people to eat for a year.
As soon as Shu Yao brought the clothes to the old lady, she picked up a cup of hot tea and slowly sipped it, without any intention of asking Shu Yao to help her put on the clothes.
Shu Yao waited like this, her hands almost numb. Just as she was about to give up, she heard the old lady smack her lips: "This dress is not bright enough." She pointed to the gorgeous emerald green dress and said, "Go and get that one."
Shu Yao put down the clothes in her hands, turned around and picked up the green dress. The green dress was made of silk from the Western Regions and felt very comfortable. The jewels hanging on it were rare and unique pieces. It was better to say that it was a rare handicraft than a piece of clothing.
She struggled to help the old lady put on her clothes. The maids beside her stood quietly by, with no intention of coming up to help, obviously at the old lady's instruction.
The old lady sat cross-legged on the bed. Due to her thin figure, her close-fitting silk inner garment hung loosely on her body. Her dry and cracked skin was like dead leaves in winter, and it would hurt if you accidentally touched it.
Shu Yao studied how to wear the green dress, tossing and turning for a long time. The old lady was tired and out of breath, but in the end, she still wore it wrong.
The old lady stood up. Her clothes were of different lengths, loose on one side and tight on the other. She asked the maid to help her put them on again, then looked at Shu Yao with a squint: "What a useless thing."
Shu Yao's face showed no expression. She just wore the wrong clothes on purpose because the old lady was making things difficult for her.
After the old lady put on her clothes, she began to put on all kinds of jewelry. She had two gold collars on her neck alone, which made her body look more hunched.
Next came the bracelets on her hands, three on each hand.
When she was about to go out, the makeup lady put on a lot of powder on her.
Shu Yao covered her nose and took a few steps back.
The old lady stood in front of the mirror, constantly admiring her outfit for the day. She looked at it for half an incense stick of time before she walked out of the door, leaning on her crutches, surrounded by maids and old women.
Like a colorful peacock parading through the streets.
When Shu Yao sneezed twice and was about to leave, Nanny Wang stood in front of her and said, "Miss Shu, please go and invite the Second Young Master. You two must not be absent from the Old Madam's banquet today."
Shu Yao was a little confused. What should she do with her work today?
On the way back, it was already bright. Some guests had come to the house early. They were strolling around the Ji Mansion and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when they saw the courtyard style that was as luxurious as a royal garden.
There were also some people sitting together drinking the good tea prepared by the Ji family and talking about the current affairs in the capital.
Shu Yao hurried through the crowd when she was suddenly stopped. Turning back, she saw that it was Ji Lai, the only person in the mansion who showed kindness to her and Ji Shijing. She smiled gently and asked, "Miss Ji Er, what are you doing?"
Ji Lai pulled her to a secluded place and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you prepared a gift for grandma?"
Shu Yao slapped her forehead and thought, this is really not the case.
Ji Lai's reminder made her realize that if she and Ji Shijing did not prepare a gift for the old lady today, the old lady would definitely make a big fuss about it.
Why didn't she think of that?
Seeing her reaction, Ji Lai knew that she hadn't prepared anything, so he reminded her: "Grandmother values birthday gifts. I'm afraid that she will embarrass you. Sister-in-law, I have a pearl of fairly high quality here. You and second cousin can take it first."
Shu Yao pushed back the box she handed over: "Thank you for your reminder, Miss Ji Er, but this pearl is too valuable. I can't accept it."
Ji Lai: "But you and second cousin..."
Shu Yao smiled and said, "I have my own way. Miss Ji Er, don't worry." After that, she thanked her and trotted back to the North Courtyard.
Ji Shijing was sitting in the house reading a book. When he saw Shu Yao hurried back, he put down the book in his hand that had been read to pieces, stood up and brought the warm rice porridge in the pot to her.
Shu Yao sat opposite him: "Ah Jing, today is the old lady's birthday."
Ji Shijing's face was expressionless. He picked up the book again and turned to the next page: "Hmm."
Shu Yao took a sip of porridge and asked, "Have you prepared any gifts for the old lady's birthday in the past?"
Ji Shijing put the book down, looked at her, and said lightly: "No."
Shu Yao rubbed her head and ran back to her room. She took out two taels of silver from the jar. She put the money in her arms, her heart bleeding.
Before leaving, he told Ji Shijing: "Ah Jing, wait for me to come back and we will go to the old lady together."
She was afraid that the old lady would bully him while she was away.
As usual, she climbed over the low wall and went to Zui Xiang Fang to ask for leave. When she was leaving the Fang, she bumped into Chen Jing'an who had just come in from outside.
Shu Yao staggered a bit after being bumped into. Chen Jing'an supported her with a smile on his face: "Xiao Yao'er, what are you going to do? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Good morning, my lord. I have something to do at home today, so I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, he pulled his hand out of his palm and quickly ran to a gold and silver shop not far away.
Looking at her back, Shen Jingan called his men: "Go and find out what big event happened in the Ji Mansion today."
…
The gold and silver shop was deserted, with only the shopkeeper dozing off on the counter. Shu Yao went over and gently knocked on the table.
The shopkeeper slowly woke up and saw a customer coming. He immediately smiled, but when he looked closely, he saw that the person in front of him was dressed simply. His enthusiasm instantly dropped a little: "What would you like to buy, sir?"
Shu Yao asked directly: "Do you have copper bracelets in your store?"
The shopkeeper nodded, and it turned out that he had no money to buy gold.
Shu Yao asked again: "Give me two pairs of copper bracelets, and cover the surface of the bracelets with a layer of gold."
The shopkeeper was a little bored after hearing the first half of the sentence, but was shocked by the second half. This was the first time he had heard of gold wrapped in copper.
But of course he had to take the job: "Please wait a moment, young lady. I'll ask the craftsman to do it."
Gold-wrapped copper is a rare thing.
The shopkeeper asked again, "How big do you want the girl to be?"
Shu Yao thought of the old lady's wrist, which was like a dry branch, and asked, "How long will it take if we make it according to the smallest specifications?"
"No more than an incense stick." It is relatively easy to wrap a layer of gold on the copper.
Shu Yao asked again: "How much?"
The shopkeeper weighed the two paper-thin pieces of gold in his hand, then placed them on the scale to weigh them. They were so light that they couldn't tell how much they weighed. The shopkeeper estimated and said, "Then give me one or two ounces of silver."
Shu Yao handed the money to the shopkeeper. Fortunately, it did not exceed the budget, but she felt a little sad to spend money on the old lady.
She paced back and forth in the store bored, and after getting the two pairs of bracelets, she walked back quickly.
The shopkeeper, sitting at the counter, stroked his beard and suddenly clapped his hands. He quickly called over his clerk, "Write on the sign at the door: Gold wrapped in silver, gold wrapped in copper."
This way, people who can't afford gold can also carry "gold", which is really a big business opportunity.
…
Shu Yao returned to the North Courtyard and waved two gold bracelets in front of Ji Shijing's eyes. "Guess how much these are worth?"
Ji Shijing frowned slightly: "Is this the gift you mentioned?"
Shu Yao nodded: "These two pairs of bracelets cost one or two taels of silver." Then she added quietly, "Actually, they are covered with copper."
Ji Shijing was slightly surprised. She... was so smart.
This way you can give a decent gift without spending any money.
Not long after, Nanny Wang came to urge again.
Shu Yao and Ji Shijing had no choice but to follow her to the birthday celebration hall in front.
Along the way, Shu Yao's heart was beating fast and her temples were pounding. She always felt that something was going to happen today.
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