The next day after lunch, Luo Yihui was accompanying her sister in the courtyard, drawing patterns.
The elder sister was skilled and creative. She drew a pair of lifelike butterflies chasing and playing. When it was Yining’s turn, her paper showed a pair of chubby butterflies flying listlessly.
Xuezhi, Nanny Xu, and the others laughed when they saw it, but Yining was quite satisfied. It wasn’t bad for a child to draw chubby butterflies.
She decided to use this pattern to embroider a handkerchief for herself.
A maid came to say that the Third Young Master had returned and was heading towards the main room.
Upon hearing this, Yining put down her brush and had Xuezhi carry her down. Luo Shenyuan had gone to Dingzhou for the pawnshop that Old Madam Luo had left for her. He went there to check the accounts for her. She should welcome him properly upon his return. Moreover, her elder sister was here watching.
Just as Luo Shenyuan reached the side room, he saw the little girl jump down from the round stool and run towards him, extending her small hands expectantly.
He looked down at her, seemingly not having reacted yet.
Yining blinked and called out “Third Brother”.
Did she want him to carry her?
Although he had carried her before, it was rare to see this little girl ask to be carried herself.
Luo Shenyuan bent down to pick her up, and Yining indicated for him to carry her to Luo Yihui.
Luo Yihui had great authority in the household when she was there. When she married, there was a grand procession for ten miles, and the Luo family held three days and nights of continuous feasts. What Luo Shenyuan saw most was how she protected Yining. Whether Yining broke something, scolded a maid, or quarreled with other girls… as long as Luo Yihui was there, no one dared say a word against her sister.
Yining, however, leaned on his shoulder and asked, “Third Brother, how is the pawnshop in Dingzhou?”
Her small hands were around his neck, and when she spoke, there were waves of warm breath, very intimate.
But it was probably because her elder sister had returned that she was so happy.
Luo Shenyuan said flatly, “The pawnshop is managed by the Zhou family that came as part of Grandmother’s dowry. Business is flourishing now.” His arms holding Yining tightened slightly as he walked up to Luo Yihui, calmly calling her “Elder Sister”.
Luo Yihui stirred the tea leaves with her cup lid, looking up at Luo Shenyuan.
The last time she saw him, he was still a taciturn eldest son of a concubine. Now when she saw him again, he was already the Provincial Graduate with Distinction of North Zhili. He no longer had any of his former humility. He wore a deep blue straight robe with a piece of mutton-fat jade hanging at his waist. His posture was like a pine tree, steady and with a kind of transcendent aura.
His expression towards Yining was also very calm, but when Yining turned her head to speak to her, his arm protected her small body, preventing her from accidentally falling.
Luo Yihui pointed to a nearby round stool, asking Luo Shenyuan to sit down.
Yining knew that Luo Shenyuan always brought her something when he returned from a trip, so she reached into his sleeve and started rummaging.
Luo Shenyuan looked at her with slightly furrowed brows. He paused and asked, “Yining, what are you doing?”
Yining had already felt something and pulled out a small box about the size of a palm. It was a lacquered box carved with auspicious clouds and beasts. When opened, inside was a beautiful jade lock.
The style was different from before, so it might not be for her.
Yining remembered that Luo Shenyuan often brought her various snacks, and felt a bit embarrassed. What if this was something her Third Brother was giving to someone else? Wouldn’t it be awkward if she took it? She smiled and said, “Third Brother, what is this?”
“Since you’ve found it, naturally it’s something I brought for you,” Luo Shenyuan adjusted his sleeve, saying somewhat helplessly, “Don’t rummage through my sleeves next time.”
This little girl seemed to have grown a dog’s nose, able to find things even without smelling them.
Yining hugged the box and finally got down from Luo Shenyuan’s arms, lest she anger her Third Brother. Seeing the maids around trying to hold back their laughter, she showed the jade lock to Luo Yihui: “Elder Sister, look at this jade lock. Isn’t it nice?”
Luo Yihui glanced at it and said coolly, “You have so much jade in your room, can’t you wear any of them? Though the carving of this jade is ordinary, the quality of the jade is not bad. You can keep it to play with.”
Yining’s heart tightened when she heard this. Luo Yihui was still wary of Luo Shenyuan. To say a piece of jade was just for playing with, wasn’t that saying it wasn’t valuable…
She looked at Luo Shenyuan, who had only taken a sip of tea and hadn’t said anything.
“Nanny Xu, it’s getting windy. Take Yining inside to put on a jacket,” Luo Yihui said. “I brought back a few jackets for her. Let her try on the water-blue one.”
Luo Yihui wanted to speak with Third Brother alone.
Yining didn’t linger either, following Nanny Xu into the warm room to change clothes. In a battle between experts, victory is decided in an instant. Both Luo Shenyuan and Luo Yihui were extremely clever people. She had done what she could; the rest depended on whether they could get along.
Nanny Xu found the water-blue jacket in the trunk and helped her change. Songzhi came over with the box and asked her, “Miss, should this be put in the storeroom?”
Yining was about to nod when she suddenly thought and said, “Let me look at it again first.”
Songzhi opened the box and handed the jade lock to her. Yining played with it for a moment before noticing a character ‘Mei’ (眉) carved in seal script at the bottom of the jade lock. The handwriting was her Third Brother’s… No wonder the carving seemed so poor, it was carved by him.
He didn’t even mention it. If she hadn’t noticed today, it probably would have already been stored away in the storeroom.
Yining had Songzhi put the item in the drawer of her dressing table. When she finished changing and walked out, she surprisingly heard her elder sister discussing tea with Third Brother. What kind of tea leaves, and how many times do pour water for the best taste? It seemed Luo Shenyuan was quite knowledgeable about poetry and tea. Luo Yihui liked Jun Mountain Silver Needle tea, so she asked Luo Shenyuan how best to store it, as the flavor always changed when she stored it.
Had they finished talking so quickly?
Yining walked over and found that Third Brother was holding the paper with her chubby butterfly drawing. But he calmly said, “It’s better to use a bamboo tube that has been sweated to store it. Ordinary wooden containers probably won’t keep the fragrance.”
Luo Yihui’s expression was thoughtful, and the two siblings fell silent for a long time. Yining looked towards Xuezhi, who nodded to her indicating everything was fine.
Luo Yihui also saw her come out and beckoned Yining to her side, saying, “I’m going to Mother’s place in a while. You stay in the room for a nap. In the evening, we’ll go to the main hall together to keep vigil, alright?”
Yining nodded in agreement, and Luo Yihui had a maid help her stand up. Seeing her elder sister’s now clumsy figure, thinking of how she still had to worry about this large family of the Second Branch, Yining felt a bit sad. But there were many things she couldn’t do in place of her elder sister.
Yining watched her elder sister walk out of the corridor. When she turned back, Luo Shenyuan was looking at that drawing.
“Yining, did you draw this?” he asked.
Yining said yes.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he muttered as if wanting to say something but holding back: “It’s one thing that her writing is ordinary, but even her drawing…” He had always found it strange how she didn’t seem to have any of the talents of a Luo family young lady, but now he wasn’t surprised anymore.
Yining didn’t hear clearly and asked, “Third Brother, what did you say?”
“After the mourning period, I’ll find a teacher to continue teaching you calligraphy,” Luo Shenyuan put down the drawing paper, deciding not to expect too much from her in the future.
Yining still needed her afternoon nap, so he didn’t stay long before leaving.
Yining tossed and turned in bed, falling asleep shortly after. Nanny Xu saw that Yining had fallen asleep and added a quilt for her. With winter approaching, the wind blowing in was still very cold. She said to Songzhi, “I think it will get colder soon. Please trouble Miss Songzhi to find a few hand warmers from Miss’s storeroom. Miss’s body is sensitive to cold and can’t bear it.”
Songzhi acknowledged Nanny Xu’s words and quickly went out. Yining’s things were still in the main hall and hadn’t been moved over, so she needed to find a few maids and servants to help her move things from the main hall.
When Yining woke up, she saw that the light coming through the window was already a bit dim. She had slept too deeply. She felt a bit cold, her hands and feet were icy.
She sat up and heard people talking outside: “…This little bit is nothing. When I was in the countryside, I could carry wheat and sorghum from the fields.”
Yining opened the window and saw Qingqu taking a box from a maid’s hands.
The maid behind her watched nervously: “There are Seventh Miss’s plum vases and jade items inside. Don’t drop them!”
But Qingqu carried the things easily towards the back house.
Songzhi came in from outside. She brought Yining a copper hand warmer filled with hot water and placed it in her quilt. Her feet quickly warmed up, and Yining pressed her entire foot against the copper hand warmer. She heard Songzhi say with a smile: “You know, Miss Qingqu is strong. When we were clearing your storeroom earlier, she was worth more than two manservants put together.”
After Nanny Zheng left, Qingqu had stayed behind. A girl like her seemed to thrive wherever she was placed. She was strong and capable, spoke straightforwardly, and the maids and servants in Yining’s room quite liked her. Qingqu felt that she stayed to take care of Yining. Anyway, Nanny Zheng had said so and she stubbornly believed it. When Songzhi asked her to go back, she wouldn’t, hugging her bundle and saying: “I’ll just eat with Seventh Miss. Anyway, Nanny Zheng doesn’t want me anymore. If I go back, I’ll just be kicked out.” She was tall, but when she crouched there, her expression was a bit pitiful.
Seeing this, Yining let her stay and work in her room.
“She has a kind nature,” Yining just said, hugging the hand warmer and asking Songzhi: “Have all the things from the storeroom been moved over?”
Songzhi nodded, loosening Yining’s hair to comb it again. As she combed, she said: “This servant happened to meet Xique, the head maid of the First Madam. I heard that the First Madam wants to invite the Master over to discuss Old Madam’s funeral matters. Now the First Madam has become estranged from us, and even Xique was cautious when speaking to this servant…”
Yining was still a bit drowsy, but hearing this, she suddenly opened her eyes.
“You said First Aunt invited Father over to discuss funeral matters?”
Songzhi nodded. Yining sat up straight. Even if they were to discuss the funeral, it should be after the religious ceremonies were completed and the Taoist priests had calculated an auspicious date for burial. What was there to discuss at this time? Moreover, this matter should naturally be brought up by Father and First Uncle. How did it come to be Chen Shi bringing it up…
Yining had a bad feeling. Remembering that her elder sister was still with Lin Hairu, she had Songzhi put on her shoes. She wanted to go to Lin Hairu’s place.
The corridor wasn’t far. Yining brought Songzhi over and only had Songzhi repeat the matter, without saying anything herself. After hearing Songzhi’s words, Luo Yihui just smiled and said: “You’re quite astute, girl.”
She didn’t seem very surprised and turned to Lin Hairu saying: “Mother, get ready. Let’s go to the main hall together.”
Lin Hairu didn’t quite understand: “Hui’er, what’s going on? Why are we going to the main hall?”
Luo Yihui’s maid helped her stand up: “The main hall must be lively now. We should go and take a look.” She stroked Yining’s hair and asked her, “Does Meimei want to go too?”
Yining looked at Luo Yihui’s expression and suddenly felt that her elder sister understood everything. She was just waiting.
She wanted to wait for Chen Shi to propose the family division first. This way, the Second Branch wouldn’t have issues with filial piety.
If they didn’t divide the family, the First Branch would surely suppress the Second Branch. After all, the Zhonggong’s property belonged to everyone, but all these years it had been managed by Chen Shi. Chen Shi was the eldest daughter-in-law; if she wanted to continue managing it, it would be reasonable. However, she originally wasn’t in favor of dividing the family. Why would she suddenly propose it?
Yining suddenly also felt like going to the main hall to see. The person who proposed dividing the family first might not pass in terms of filial piety, but taking the initiative should be advantageous.
At this moment, Luo Yihui’s head maid entered and curtseyed to Luo Yihui, saying: “Madam, the Third Young Master is already in the main hall.”
“I see. Light the lanterns,” Luo Yihui said.