Gou hexagram, upper trigram
Chapter 44 Gou Hexagram (Upper Trigram) - Moving a stone only to drop it on one's own foot.
The atmosphere became awkward. Madam Duan glanced at Rong Shu and gave a dry laugh, "With such a good relationship between Third Uncle and my daughter, he just gave away such an expensive gift like that..."
Du Chunhong smiled, but her expression wasn't very happy. "Madam Duan, it's fortunate that these words were spoken among just the few of us. If ordinary people heard them, wouldn't it ruin Madam Duan's reputation? Sometimes you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Everyone knows that we get along well with Yanyan. My husband was worried for a long time, not knowing what little trinkets to give her. He thought this little thing was exquisite, so he just gave it to her casually. Yanyan probably didn't know it was such a valuable thing, so she didn't take it to heart. I saw her playing with it every day, and the beads have become very smooth."
After being subtly provoked by Du Chunhong, Duan felt uncomfortable but dared not show it. She could only nod repeatedly with a polite smile, "Yes, yes, it was my oversight. Please don't take offense, Madam Du and Uncle Xie."
Upon hearing Du's words, Old Lady Xie looked at the string of beads and indeed found them to be very shiny.
Looking at the bracelet inside the brocade box, although equally exquisite, it appears even more lustrous under the candlelight. Upon closer inspection, the jade's translucency is even greater than Rong Yan's bracelet, not to mention the superior carving technique.
The string of beads in Rong Shujin's box, though also perfectly crafted, reveals that Rong Yan's string is superior when compared in the details.
Even with her presbyopia, Grandma Xie could see it, let alone others.
Rong Shu's face turned deathly pale, while Rong Guangmao's face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Duan Shi, no longer able to insist that the string of beads in her hand was genuine, could only retreat to advance, "Oh dear, it seems there's been some misunderstanding. I'm so sorry, Madam Rong, please excuse my misunderstanding. My husband has truly suffered a great loss; he spent a fortune on this string of beads, who would have thought it would be fake! I think there are so many fakes out there, maybe Uncle Xie's is also fake, just with a more sophisticated craftsmanship..."
Du Chunhong: ...
She knew Duan was cunning, but she never imagined she was this cunning!
Just because yours is fake doesn't mean you have to say yours is fake too!
Xie Qisheng remained calm. He picked up the jade walnut string, turned it over, and inside the walnut, a small "Ming" character was clearly engraved!
He looked through what Old Lady Xie was holding again, but there was no such word.
"You may not know this, but Mr. Mingren's mark is present on every item. It's just that the location of the carving varies from item to item. The jade walnut has its mark inside the kernel. This piece is definitely genuine."
Rong Shu: !!
She gritted her teeth inwardly, wanting to stomp her foot but not daring to, truly shooting herself in the foot!
Xie Zhezhi stared at Rong Yan for a long time before looking away. "Madam, what does it matter who is telling the truth and who is lying? They are all sisters, so let's just let this matter pass."
Duan also took the opportunity to back down gracefully, "Oh dear, we've made a fool of ourselves and suffered a great loss. I hope you won't mind, Madam Xie. We'll definitely send you even better little gifts in the future. We've made a fool of ourselves today, and people are laughing at us. We just wanted to use this as a gift to make you happy, but we ended up spending a lot of money and doing something wrong. We really shouldn't have done that."
Rong Guangmao was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say, but fortunately Duan was eloquent, which allowed him to raise his head.
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "Today's meeting has been too polite. I'm in a good mood, so any talk of politeness would be too formal. Rong Shu, you've had to work hard in the inner quarters these days. I didn't want to trouble you, but I'm getting old, and Rong Yan said she's not well-educated enough to handle it, so she asked me to leave it to you. If you get tired in the future, don't blame your sister. Your sister is just lazy."
Rong Yan: ...
It's unclear whether Old Mrs. Xie's words were meant to defend Rong Yan or to slander her.
Rong Shu's face turned extremely pale. She had originally thought that the power to manage the household affairs was given to her because the old lady favored her.
To everyone's surprise, it turned out that the old lady had approached Rong Yan first, but Rong Yan refused to accept it, so she gave it to her instead!
She, Rong Shu, had never received such charity before!
Xie Zhezhi, however, said, "My wife is immature, and I hope you will all take good care of her in the future."
Madam Duan smiled and said, "Changyu, we were wrong today. In the future, you should help your sister take care of the household affairs more, understand?"
Du Chunhong looked at this vicious stepmother. With her biological mother around, what business did this stepmother have?
"Changyu will be taking the exam to become a Daoist official in the future, so I'm afraid she won't be able to help with matters of the inner quarters. If she becomes a Daoist official in the future, the Marquis's mansion will definitely host a banquet for everyone."
Everyone: !!!
The examiner?!
Facing the various expressions on the faces of the crowd, Rong Yan finally spoke up, "I was recommended by the palace; I'm just going through the motions."
Upon hearing this, Duan's expression became somewhat unsteady. "You...you know people in the palace?"
Rong Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled with pursed lips, and said, "I am honored by your kind words."
Rong Shu was even more furious at Rong Yan's nonchalant attitude. Humph, did she think that anyone could take the exam to become a Daoist official?
Moreover, this is in the capacity of a female Taoist priest!
Who does she think she is? A brilliant woman? A great female scholar?
dream!
That's absolutely ridiculous!
She's incompetent, yet she acts like she's doing it all for her grandmother's good, even offering to give it to her?! Hypocritical!
She was so angry that her body was trembling. Xie Zhezhi noticed this and turned his head to ask, "Is Madam feeling unwell?"
"I'm sorry, everyone, I'm not feeling well, so I'll have to say goodbye to my parents first."
Xie Zhezhi helped Rong Shu up, "Sister-in-law, you are very lucky. We believe you will definitely pass the exam and become a Daoist official. If you pass, your elder brother will be very happy."
Rong Yan smiled and glanced at Old Madam Xie.
"Alright, let's all disperse and go rest. Madam, please see the guests out for me."
"yes."
The three of them walked outside the mansion, and Duan Shi, with a dark face, ordered, "Rong Yan, you have to thank your elder sister for your status. You should help her more in the future."
Rong Guangmao remained silent. He had originally thought that the frugal Rong Yan had become vain and deceitful after entering the Marquis's mansion. But it turned out that what he had was a fake, and now he felt a sudden emptiness in his heart.
Although he didn't like this daughter, he could see from Madam Du and Uncle Xie's eyes that they genuinely loved her, which made him feel a little guilty.
So when he heard Duan say that, before Rong Yan could even speak, he sternly shouted, "Enough! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Go back to the manor!!"
Madam Duan was shocked. How dare Rong Guangmao, who was usually henpecked, yell at her? Considering that she had lost face at the Marquis's mansion, she endured it and left in her carriage.
Rong Yan was equally shocked, but her expression remained unchanged; instead, she felt somewhat sorry for the original owner of this body.
A belated conscience is too late.
That night, Rong Yan felt completely comfortable after taking a bath.
Upon entering the room, the fragrance of flowers intensified. Looking up, she saw Xie Chengzhi sitting by the bed, holding the flower bag her grandmother had given her.
Seeing her return, he asked, "Who gave you this?"
"What's wrong? It was a gift from Grandma."
Xie Chengzhi remained silent. "Give it to me."
Rong Yan: ...
"Take it if you like."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw him press the flower sachet under his pillow, indicating that he truly liked it.
"From now on, don't take anything your grandmother gives you."
Even Rong Yan, who was not usually very perceptive, became somewhat alert upon hearing these words.
"What's wrong?"
In the darkness, Xie Chengzhi seemed to be silent for a moment before slowly saying, "This fragrance is the scent of mimosa flowers."
Rong Yan: !
Albizia?
Albizia julibrissin?
No wonder she felt for a moment that Xie Chengzhi was a little embarrassed to talk about it; it wasn't just her imagination!
So that's how it is!
The old lady's sachet was scented and soaked with mimosa flowers. When it comes to enjoying oneself, who can compare to the previous champion?
It seems she was careless.
Thinking of this, Rong Yan felt a chill run down his spine.
The grandmother, who usually seemed completely harmless to him, now appeared profound.
Although the old lady had no intention of harming anyone, if she had, she would definitely have fallen for her trick.
Rong Yan sat up and looked at Xie Chengzhi, whose face was half-hidden in the shadows, and said, "I think some things can be left unsaid. But some things are better left unsaid."
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