Chapter 42 The Sky-High Tree by the Temples (Bonus Chapter 0924) The main house and the west...
When the girl's older sister heard that someone had offered two taels of silver for their hairpins, and then looked at her own silly younger sister who had left the whole basket of hairpins for the other person and run over alone, she assumed her sister had been swindled. She pinched her ear and hurriedly ran over, panting, "Wife, is it you who wants to buy these hairpins?"
Seeing the two of them, Li Yang squatted down and said with a smile, "Yes, your sister didn't lie to you. Here, this is two taels of silver. Keep it safe so no one can steal it."
The older woman seemed unconvinced and asked again, "You want both baskets of flower hairpins?"
Li Yang grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth, "I want them all! Tomorrow's, and the day after tomorrow's, I want them all too."
Seeing the young woman's surprised expression, she continued, "I'm not lying to you! Do you know the East Market Flower Shop on East Street? I'm the owner there. Quickly put away this money and go get your mother's medicine."
When you get home, tell your mother to recover quickly and come to the flower shop in the east of town to find me. I have business to discuss with her. But there's one condition: if she's not feeling well, I can't talk to her.”
The young lady understood immediately. She and her sister had encountered a great benefactor today. She immediately put down the bamboo basket she was carrying, grabbed her younger sister, and they both knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, crying and laughing, "Thank you, my wife! Thank you, our benefactor!"
Her younger sister, unaware of what was going on, grinned and imitated her older sister's gesture, raising both hands in a deep bow, "Thank you, sister..."
Seeing the two women carefully put away the silver and leave, Xiao Lu leaned close to Li Yang's ear and asked, "Young Madam, why did you buy so many hairpins? Two taels of silver..."
Li Yang turned to her and asked, "Xiao Lu, do you think that even if their father becomes a high-ranking official, he will still come back to take them to the capital?"
Little Deer was speechless, only feeling that her young mistress was being nosy. Were there many families in this town like the two sisters', where everyone had to give two taels of silver? At least the sisters' clothes weren't patched, and their shoes were practically new…
Seeing her standing there in a daze, Li Yang smiled and pinched her cheeks: "Little deer!!! Let's go back, let's go and give some fresh flower hairpins to Miss Ziyan."
A strange thing happened at Lanxin Pavilion today: the servants in the courtyard surrounded the little deer again.
The old woman in blue asked, "Miss Liu, why did the young mistress go straight to the west wing as soon as she returned today? Do you know anything about this?"
The little deer, surrounded by the crowd, pretended to be profound, only smiling and remaining silent.
The gray-clad nanny chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Usually, the young mistress avoids the time when the woman in the west wing comes and goes, so why did she go there on her own initiative today..."
Xiao Lu was indignant. She had been so captivated by the glitz and glamour of the banquet hall that she hadn't paid attention to what the young mistress had said... Now, when questioned, she couldn't answer. So she could only make up a story, "The young mistress is kind-hearted. Today, she even spent two taels of silver to help a pair of sisters on the street. It's nothing like what you're saying. Besides, she is the young mistress of the Chen family. In the Chen family, besides the madam and the young master, who else does she need to avoid?"
His words were half true and half false. Seeing the women nodding repeatedly, he added, "Perhaps he's just going to take a look." With that, he picked up a basin of clothes and walked away.
The maids behind her whispered among themselves, "Hey, did you hear what she said? That's the young mistress, why is she being so disrespectful to anyone? She clearly doesn't respect the woman in the west wing."
"No way, I think it's just a bluff. Didn't you see that she waits until the west wing leaves the house before coming out of the main house?"
With each side holding its own opinion, it became impossible to determine which was superior, the main house or the west house.
Standing in front of the west room, Li Yang glanced down at the gift box in his hand, straightened his clothes, and knocked on the door, saying, "Miss Ziyan, are you there?"
The door opened slightly, and Ziyan saw the person who came in. A hint of joy flashed across her face, and she stepped aside to let them in. "Young Madam, please come in."
As he spoke, he led the person to sit down at the tea table.
While Ziyan was taking out a celadon dish from the cabinet, Liyang quickly looked around at the furnishings in the room.
Between the bed and the hall table, a full-length pink and yellow glass beaded curtain cascaded down. Afternoon sunlight streamed obliquely through the window, its shimmering glow resembling the spring waves under Jiangxian Bridge in March. A gentle breeze filled the room with shimmering light.
The glass incense burner on the flower stand outside the curtain has a faint crimson hue, and wisps of smoke drift out from between the openwork petals, as sweet as jasmine, exuding elegance.
The porcelain vase with a bright yellow glaze and a bird carrying a branch, and the rose-pink porcelain vase with a butterfly and flower design, are both brightly colored and feature delicate floral motifs.
When Ziyan brought over the pastries, she saw Liyang staring at the porcelain vase in a daze, and couldn't help but smile: "Young Madam, try this Osmanthus Stick Cake, it was just made at noon today."
Li Yang snapped out of her daze and said shyly, "Ah, thank you. Your room is so beautifully decorated, I was completely mesmerized."
Hearing her say that, Ziyan couldn't help but smile, "It's just a house full of mundane things. If the young mistress likes anything, she can move it in..."
Are these just a room full of mundane things?
Seeing Li Yang's stunned expression, Zi Yan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, we have to thank General Manager Chen for his generosity in having these items decorated one by one according to the furnishings I had in Ruyi Pavilion back then."
In recent years, I've spent most of my time in the tea mountains. Now, I prefer the tranquility and elegance of a secluded mountain farm. The sight of bees and butterflies flitting about, though so inviting, only serves to evoke memories of bygone days.
Li Yang's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected Zi Yan to tell her so easily about her past as a young prostitute at Ruyi Pavilion.
But hearing her say that, Li Yang felt a faint liking for her. Who wouldn't like such a generous and beautiful woman? Just thinking about it made him feel a mix of emotions, a bittersweet feeling in his heart.
She blurted out, "I've seen your courtyard in the mountains. It's very simple and elegant, unlike this house which is so magnificent. It's much more lively here."
After saying that, she wished she could bite her tongue. What kind of talk was that! But the words were already out, and there was no going back.
To everyone's surprise, Ziyan was not annoyed at all. She smiled and poured tea for her, saying, "Young Madam is truly a wonderful person. No wonder General Manager Chen spoke that way the other day."
"What?" Li Yang was confused.
Ziyan: "At the banquet the other day, someone praised the Chen family's Ruyi Boat for its magnificent splendor, saying it was the most outstanding among the town's many pleasure boats. Guess what General Manager Chen said?"
Li Yang shook his head.
"Mr. Chen said that it is beautiful, but it lacks a bit of spirit... I suppose Mr. Chen's self-contradictory evaluation must have come from the young mistress."
'It's beautiful, but it lacks a certain charm...' Why does this sound so familiar?
Suddenly, the image of returning from the flower shop that day flashed before Li Yang's eyes, and he felt his face burning. Wasn't this his own evaluation of the East Market Flower Shop? How could this person... steal someone else's words...?
Unbeknownst to Li Yang, his thoughts had already drifted off to another path.
Without giving her a chance to feel melancholy, Ziyan looked up at her and smiled steadily, "Young Madam, you didn't come to see Ziyan today just to look at the furnishings in this room, did you?"
Li Yang smiled and placed the items he had brought on the table, unfolding them one by one. "Miss Ziyan, I only found out today when I went to the banquet hall that you helped me clear things up that day. These are some interesting little trinkets I saw on the street just now, and I wanted to give them to you to thank you for all the trouble you went through for me. I came in a hurry, but next time, next time I will prepare a much bigger gift for you."
The table was covered with flower hairpins and earrings. Ziyan gently twirled them with her delicate hand and said, "Then I won't be polite."
She picked up a trumpet vine hairpin, took a bronze mirror, and applied it to her single bun. After comparing it to her hair, she picked up a hydrangea hairpin from the table and placed it behind it. After looking in the mirror, she said to Li Yang, "What do you think, young mistress?"
Li Yang hadn't expected Zi Yan to stick the hairpin into her hair on the spot, and hurriedly said, "Miss Zi Yan is so beautiful that even the trumpet vine in her hair pales in comparison."
With a soft chuckle, Ziyan gently held a handkerchief and touched the back of Liyang's hand, saying, "I really like this gift from the young mistress. The person who made this hairpin must be very skillful. Look at the exquisite craftsmanship, there's not a trace of glue left. It can even rival the hairpins from Baohua Tower."
“Yes.” Ziyan’s words hit the nail on the head. “When I saw this hairpin today, I thought the same thing. If we could get this lady to come to the flower shop in the East Market and have the flowers from the shop used to make the hairpin, we might be able to open up a new sales channel.”
Ziyan found it amusing. "Oh? So the young mistress is now in charge of the East Market Flower Bureau?"
Seeing that Li Yang just smiled, she continued, "This method is excellent. If that lady doesn't mind the hard work, she could sit in the shop and wait for the customers to choose their flowers and styles, and then make them on the spot. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Ever since she met the two sisters, Li Yang had been planning to sell flower hairpins at the flower shop. She had made up her mind and wanted to take the opportunity of thanking Miss Ziyan to hear if she liked the hairpins.
In her heart, every time she saw Ziyan, she was like a fairy descending to earth. She must be skilled in food, clothing and daily necessities. She was just worried that this little thing would not catch her eye. But she did not expect it to go so smoothly. Ziyan took the initiative to put the flower hairpin on her hair bun, and she was very graceful.
"That's a great idea!" Li Yang's eyes lit up. "This way, each customer can customize their own unique flower hairpin, and it also saves us from the problem of pre-made hairpins not being fresh."
Ziyan laughed and said, "Moreover, it's not just hairpins, earrings, flower crowns, and jewelry. If that lady's craftsmanship is good enough to shape flower petals, she can even make rings."
"Oh my god! Sister Ziyan, how could I not have thought of that!" Li Yang was grateful, and his words were full of sweet talk. "I have to write it down quickly. When I finish making the flower crown, I will give you one first. I will give you a hundred flower crown!"
Ziyan covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and chuckled, "Now the young mistress isn't avoiding Ziyan anymore, and she's even willing to call me sister." As she spoke, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she glanced at Liyang's face.
This glance made Li Yang's face burn like fire. He pursed his thin lips and said, "I thought you didn't like me..."
Ziyan: "Why do you say that, young mistress? You are beautiful and kind-hearted; everyone would like you." She then added with a teasing smile, "In this Lanxin Pavilion, isn't there someone who likes you..."
The two chatted for a few more minutes. When Li Yang left the west room, her cheeks were flushed, and she went back to her room with her head down. This behavior gave the cleaning maids more gossip for the next few days.
Why is Sister Ziyan, who is usually so taciturn, so sharp-tongued today? She was completely overwhelmed and almost couldn't keep up. As she spoke, she touched her cheek, which was still burning hot, and quickly poured herself a pot of cold tea and drank it.
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