Chapter 113 Sending Flowers Sparks Casual Talk
The four maids, each carrying two vases of flowers, boarded a carriage and returned in just an hour or two.
Daiyu held the ball of yarn that Yuan Hongqu had made for her and teased the Persian cat, watching the kitten pounce around, which she found quite amusing.
Seeing that they had returned so quickly, Daiyu couldn't help but tease them.
"Why don't you sisters play a little longer? There's nothing much to do at home anyway. It's a rare occasion to visit relatives in this cold weather. Why don't you stay for a meal, Sister Feng?"
Zhi Xia smiled and said,
"Young lady, Second Madam just left our house, and we followed her right away. She was worried she might have forgotten something at our house, and she's been racking her brains trying to figure it out!"
Wen Shuang smiled too.
"That's right, girl. We just got home from there yesterday, and today we're going to visit relatives. We're already lucky if they don't look down on us, let alone invite us to stay for a meal."
Tingyue, being the leader of the four, stepped forward first to speak.
"Reporting to Miss, Granny Yuan, we've delivered the things. We went to deliver them to the Old Madam first. She was very pleased and asked if you slept well last night and what you've been busy with at home today. She told you to come over whenever you want to go out when it gets warmer. When I left, Miss Yuanyang gave me a purse with a one-tael silver ingot inside."
When they arrived at Master Bao's place, he hadn't finished school yet. Sister Xiren took the flowers and said that when Master Bao came home last night, he kept thinking about the flowers and plants in the young lady's courtyard, and he kept saying that he wanted to plant a courtyard full of flowers at home. Master Bao heard this and scolded him again, saying that he was not doing his job properly. Sister Xiren said that the flowers were just right, so that Master Bao wouldn't keep talking about going to great lengths to plant flowers.
Next was Wen Shuang. She didn't even deliver her flowers to the intended recipient, especially to Madam Wang, where she was practically turned down.
"Neither the eldest master nor the second master were home. We delivered the flowers to the eldest and second mistresses. The eldest mistress's maid said she wasn't feeling well and was lying down. But she still called us over and asked us some questions. She said she found the flowers quite rare and they made her feel a little better. She asked if there was anything inconvenient for the young lady when she got home, and told her to come back and play whenever she was free. She gave me a lot of money when we left and told us to take good care of the young lady when we got back."
"As for the second wife, we didn't even get to see her. Caixia took the flowers and put them in Rongxi Hall without saying anything."
Wen Shuang felt a bit annoyed. She had delivered the things, but they acted as if she owed them something. Even Cai Xia didn't give her a friendly look. She wondered when she had offended them.
"You don't need to be angry. Second Aunt is a vegetarian and a Buddhist, and she looks down on these flowers and plants. If our gifts don't meet her expectations, we'll surely be blamed. We just won't give them these things next time." Although Daiyu is young, she knows these things very well.
She knew perfectly well what her two uncles' attitudes were towards her, as well as the character of her two aunts. She always kept her distance from her second aunt.
It's also my fault for not mentioning that if my second uncle wasn't around, the flower vase could have been sent directly to his study outside. This has caused Wen Shuang to feel annoyed for no reason.
Daiyu comforted Wenshuang with a few words, but Wenshuang was only puzzled and not really angry. After the young lady comforted her, she would not take such a small matter to heart.
"Zhixia and Wangqiu, you two are going to Second Madam's and the three young ladies' places. Is there anything different about this?"
Wang Qiu replied,
"As for Second Grandma, she didn't go back yesterday and had a lot of things to deal with, so she was very busy and didn't have time to talk to us. Xiao Hong came to pick up the flowers and said that Second Grandma said she was too busy and neglected us."
"As for the three young ladies, the second young lady said she was with the second mistress, but we didn't see her. The third and fourth young ladies were writing together. The fourth young lady said that she was looking at the withered trees and fallen leaves all over the courtyard, which was very disappointing. Seeing these flowers made her feel better. She immediately mixed some colors, laid out some Xuan paper, and wanted to paint these flowers."
Daiyu giggled.
“I knew it! When Fourth Sister sees this vase of flowers, she’ll definitely draw it! I’ll ask her for a couple of paintings when she’s done, so we can hang something fresh up when we get back.”
Everyone laughed at this, and Daiyu waited until they calmed down before continuing,
"Did you see anything on your trip? I vaguely heard this morning that they were looking for Sister Feng to go back home quickly, saying that something urgent had happened at home?"
The four exchanged glances, and this time it was Zhixia who came forward to speak.
“Miss, there really is something. Second Miss was with Second Madam, and we heard from the old women that after Second Miss went home last night, she found that several pieces of jewelry were missing from her dressing case. Because those pieces were all her favorites, she remembered them very clearly. Second Miss was furious and went to find First Madam herself to make a decision.”
Daiyu and Yuan Hongqu exchanged a glance. Madam Xing was someone who didn't care about anything. Even though Yingchun was her illegitimate daughter, she wouldn't interfere in anything and would definitely try to avoid it if possible.
"The First Madam said that she doesn't manage the household, so these things should naturally be handled by the Second Madam. After all, the Second Madam isn't home today, and the Second Madam is in charge of everything at home. So, we shouldn't look for her when something like this happens; we should go to the Second Madam."
"The second young lady is quite tough. This time she didn't just let it go and actually went to find the second madam."
"Did the second wife push it away even more cleanly?" Daiyu hit the nail on the head.
“You guessed it, didn’t you?” Zhixia said.
"The second wife said that since the second daughter is from the eldest branch of the family, it's not appropriate for her, as an aunt, to interfere in her affairs. The affairs of the eldest branch should definitely be handled by the eldest branch. If she were to deal with people she shouldn't have, or offend some people, that wouldn't be appropriate."
"Second Sister is really having a tough time. She has so many difficult subordinates. If she doesn't discipline them properly this time, they'll definitely cause a lot of trouble in the future," Daiyu sighed, then laughed, "Luckily, I have Granny Yuan and all of you. How lucky I am!"
Daiyu's words made everyone laugh again.
Zhixia continued,
"All the old women know that it was the second young lady's wet nurse who lost money gambling. Taking advantage of the second young lady's absence yesterday, she stole her jewelry to pawn, which is why this happened. Usually, the second young lady wouldn't hold it against her for taking small items, but this time she seemed to be bewitched and took several valuable pieces. I heard they're worth several hundred taels of silver! When we came back, the second mistress was sending someone to Shuntian Prefecture to fetch people, saying that this time she would not tolerate it!"
"Has Second Sister finally made up her mind this time and decided to abandon her wet nurse?"
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