However, Cai Die still stubbornly insisted, "That's because I didn't want to disturb Fourth Sister's good deeds. You and I both heard what the Master said."
"Can we go back now?" Wei Shuwan didn't bother to expose her, and simply asked in a calm voice.
Cai Die pursed her lips: "Let's go back."
No one had paid much attention to what happened that day, including Wei Shuyao, who was only concerned about the five taels of silver she had given away. It wasn't until two days later, around noon, when someone came to the Wei family's door with a thank-you gift, claiming to be there to repay a debt on behalf of their young master, that Wei Shuwan remembered the matter again.
Looking at the several brocade boxes of various sizes on the table, Wei Shuwan was also a little curious: "Did they report which prefecture they came from?"
Zi Qiao shook her head: "They only explained their purpose, handed the things to the gatekeeper, and left without saying a word more."
With a sigh, Wei Shuwan pondered for a moment before deciding, "Since they are for Wei Shuyao, let's have them delivered to their new house."
"Young lady, I've heard that no one lives there now."
"No one lives here?" Wei Shuwan asked in surprise. "Where do the people from the eldest branch of the family live now?"
"The master once sent someone to deliver a message to the old lady, saying that she was temporarily staying at an inn, but he did not know which one."
Just as Wei Shuwan was hesitating, a cheerful voice floated in from outside the door: "I know!"
Looking up, she saw Cai Die approaching. The mother and daughter now lived in Songhe Residence, spending all their time eating and drinking with their grandmother, so naturally, no news could escape their notice.
Wei Shuwan breathed a sigh of relief, happy to pass the matter on: "Since you know, that's all the better. Please pass these things on to Fourth Sister."
From the moment she entered, Cai Die's gleaming eyes were fixed on the brocade boxes on the table; she had come specifically for these items. Having already guessed what was going on when she heard someone had come to give Wei Shuyao a thank-you gift, she was eager to join in the fun.
So he readily agreed: "Okay, I'll take care of it!"
Although she came for these things, she couldn't just take them and leave too obviously, so Cai Die stayed to chat with Wei Shuwan for a bit.
"Third sister, I've noticed you leaving early every morning and not returning until lunchtime these past few days. What exactly are you busy with outside?"
Wei Shuwan felt bitter. She had been working at Shenyuan for the past two days, blending perfumes for Li Qingchen. Since she had promised him, she should keep her word. She should have known better than to impulsively throw away the box of perfumes she had blended. Now she had a double workload.
Fortunately, Li Qingchen was not in the mansion yesterday or today. When she arrived, Yuan Que led her to Chen Garden, where she went to the incense room, which was comparable to a secret chamber, to mix perfumes.
But it wouldn't be good for others to know this, so she didn't tell Cai Die the truth. She only said, "A new incense shop recently opened in the West Market, and the proprietress is very skilled at blending incense. She has many incense recipes that I have never seen before, so I always go to ask her for advice."
After saying that, he yawned and said lazily, "But smelling those fragrances too much always makes me tired. These past two days, I've been taking a longer nap than usual, about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
Seeing this, Cai Die got up to say goodbye, "Then Third Sister, you should go and rest for lunch. I'll go to the inn now."
After seeing Cai Die off, Wei Shuwan was indeed tired and went back to her bed for a short rest. Cai Die left Fuquxuan and took the brocade boxes to the inn where Wei Shuyao was staying.
The eldest branch of the family had two superior rooms at the inn: one for Wei Hai and Meng Shi, and the other for Wei Shuyao and her maid. Therefore, when Cai Die went to see Wei Shuyao, she didn't disturb Wei Hai and Meng Shi, but quietly handed the items over to Wei Shuyao.
Looking at the several exquisite brocade boxes in front of her, Wei Shuyao was slightly taken aback: "These are all... for me?"
"Otherwise what? Fourth Sister saved the noble young master from his predicament that day, so of course he's going to repay your great kindness!"
Cai Die's words, tinged with a hint of sourness, left Wei Shuyao puzzled: "How does elder sister know these things?"
Cai Die made no attempt to hide anything, and said with a smile, "Actually, my third sister and I both saw you at Luoyun Temple that day. But when we called you from behind the wall, you didn't respond, so we followed you out of the temple. But when we got out, we couldn't find you anymore. We only stumbled upon you helping those in distress at the market."
As she spoke, Cai Die lowered her gaze to the brocade boxes, a hint of shrewdness in her smile: "See? You bet right this time!"
These things are worth far more than five taels of silver.
Wei Shuyao suppressed her joy and forced a look of indifference on her face: "What are you saying, elder sister? How can I ask for such things after saving someone from danger? May I ask which family this young master belongs to? I will have Caizhu return the things to him in a while."
"Tsk tsk tsk, Fourth Sister is truly noble and virtuous. But if you really want to back out, I'm afraid there's no way. She didn't even introduce herself; she just entrusted her things to the gatekeeper and left."
A hint of disappointment slipped through Wei Shuyao's forced calm eyes. It seemed that the other party really was just returning a gift and did not want to have any further involvement with her.
"Then I'll just have to leave the things here for now, and return them when I find out where they came from."
"Then why don't you open it and take a look?" Cai Die asked tentatively, suppressing a laugh.
Wei Shuyao said seriously, "Since it's something that has to be returned sooner or later, how can you open it without permission?"
Cai Die inwardly scoffed, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then left. As soon as she was gone, Wei Shuyao impatiently told Cai Zhu to close the doors and windows and opened each of the brocade boxes to inspect them.
"Oh, young lady, this one purple jade hairpin with gold inlay alone is worth more than five taels of silver!" Caizhu's eyes gleamed with excitement. You see, since the eldest son's family fell into misfortune, she had never seen such fine things again.
She opened four brocade boxes in a row, each containing jewelry used by young ladies. Wei Shuyao was thrilled. She then opened the last brocade box, which contained a blood jade bracelet that looked quite valuable, as well as a piece of floral paper.
Wei Shuyao's heart skipped a beat; it seemed he was still willing to leave a few words with her.
Unfolding the letter, it not only solemnly thanked Wei Shuyao, but also explained that because he was injured and unable to go out, he had his servant deliver the small gift first, and that he would personally visit to express his gratitude once he recovered.
Finally, he also introduced his family name—Du Shao, from the Du family residence in Qiqin Lane.
"His surname really is Du..." Wei Shuyao had this suspicion that day; two people with such similar features might be related. In this light, it's quite possible that he is related to Du Xun.
Caizhu's attention, however, was on another front: "The Du family residence in Qiqin Lane, isn't that the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites? That young master is indeed the son of a third-rank official... Why didn't he just say so that day? If he had seriously reported his family background, even if the tavern owner had doubts, he might not have dared to bully him."
Wei Shuyao, however, had his own opinion: "When he said that his father was a third-rank official, it was probably just a drunken lie. But after being ridiculed, he probably didn't want to tarnish his family's reputation, which is why he didn't dare to reveal his family's specific background."
The reason for this judgment is that Wei Shuyao knows Du Xun to some extent. If Du Shaozhen is related to him, they would probably have similar character traits as children raised in the same family.
Caizhu thought the analysis made sense. Now that it was explained, she was overjoyed. "Miss, what that master said was really accurate. You did good deeds as he said, and you really did create good karma!"
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