Favored Concubine

  Yun Shu was put under house arrest for speaking out of turn, and the news spread to the lower classes, adding another topic of conversation after tea and dinner. Lin Niang also suffered the consequences of Yun Shu's actions and was put under house arrest by Mu Rong Jin, who also grew cold towards her.

  You're really asking for it, turning a good kid like that into this, who else should be punished if not you?

  In comparison, Li's family is still more impressive, whether it's managing the household or teaching their children, they're all very capable. Seeing Qi Ge's diligence and intelligence, he has received praise from Nan An Hou many times, and in his house, he's as comfortable as a fish in water, treated no differently than his own grandson. His daughter is also very elegant and refined, gentle and courteous, understanding etiquette and being filial makes people feel extremely at ease. As for Li Ge, there's no need to mention him, now he already has the demeanor of a young master, and has formed his own small circle of friends and connections, which brings him great comfort.

  Looking back, Yun Shu was also spoiled in the northwest. Yuwen Yu would have left a share for Yun Shu, and compared to Yun Qing, she didn't know how much stronger she was. Not letting her return also had the reason of being afraid that Li Shi would be indifferent and cold towards her. But he didn't expect that what he raised was far inferior to Yuwen Yu, differing by more than one level. It really made him extremely disappointed.

  Li didn't say much, the old lady punished Lin Niang to copy Buddhist scriptures, and she herself didn't do anything else, just informed Yaya that the tasks that needed to be done should still be completed as usual, without any slack.

  Early in the morning, Yuwen had her study tidied up, hot tea and snacks prepared, as Yuanyi and Yunqing would be arriving soon. She even asked the housekeeper to prepare two sets of smaller writing equipment, including inkstones and brushes, as well as a large quantity of Xuan paper, both raw and processed. Everything was neatly arranged.

  Jasmine was wiping the desk with a cloth, pouting and muttering: "Miss, it's fine if they come to practice writing, but why do they have to spend their own money buying this and that? It's not only wasting their time, but also losing money. What kind of thing is this?" Jasmine had been running around buying things for the past two days, and seeing the silver box in charge was almost empty, she couldn't help but feel some resentment.

  Wan Yu smiled and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense! After all, they are my sisters. Yun Shu doesn't want to see me, but does that mean I'm not allowed to be close to two of my sisters? Wan Yi is the legitimate daughter, so she doesn't have to worry about these things, but Yun Qing is different. If I don't prepare for her, won't it make things difficult for her? We all have what she doesn't, which would make her even more embarrassed. It's better if I just buy a few more and we can all be happy together! Besides, we can only be happy for these few years. Later on, who knows when we'll meet again?" She lowered her head and let out a soft sigh, thinking about her unpredictable future, feeling a bit lost in her heart.

  Peony walked in with a teapot, her eyes gleaming like knives as she glared at Jasmine, who shrank back and stuck out her tongue. Peony put down the teapot and said with a smile: "Miss, the third and fourth young ladies are coming soon. I've had some small pastries prepared - there's osmanthus cake, date cake, rose bean paste cake, and golden silk sesame balls, as well as four-color dried fruit preserves. Do you need anything else?"

  "What have Tang and Chá prepared?" asked Wǎn Yú.

  "Prepared silver ear soup, baihe porridge and eight-treasure porridge, as well as several dishes of pickled cucumber, accompanied by red date tea and bi luo chun. Peony has prepared everything very thoroughly, just in case the young ladies get hungry and need to fill their stomachs, or maybe they will even stay for lunch."

  Wanyu nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, we'll have lunch together today. I've already told Grandma about it. She's going to be busy with the accountants at noon and won't have time to eat with us. Remember to remind me to make an extra bowl of soup for her at noon."

  "Yes."

  "Miss, Third Miss and Fourth Miss have arrived." Ding Xiang was at the door to give the two misses a curtain, while Furong hurriedly invited them in and busied herself pouring tea.

  "Sisters, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for half a day. Come and take a look, I picked out two calligraphy books for you to see if you like them?" Yuanyu happily pulled the two into the study room to show them.

  The room was tidy and elegant, with a small hall for receiving guests. On either side were placed a pair of yellow rosewood carved armchairs and a tea table, while on the wall opposite the door hung a yellow rosewood desk, upon which stood two Qing dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vases with eight trigrams and a latticework pattern. Next to them leaned four panels of nanmu wood screens painted with scenes of ladies holding flowers in a willow-patterned glaze.

  Behind the screen is a two-room suite, with the left room facing east and separated into a small study. A nanmu wood bookcase holds many books and some decorative items such as jade carvings, porcelain bowls and other fine objects.

  On the right side, facing the window, was a large desk made of nanmu wood, on which stood a pen holder with various wolf-hair brushes arranged in an orderly fashion. In addition to these, there were three sets of inkstones and writing materials laid out, clearly having been prepared long before. Yun Qing felt secretly grateful in her heart, without needing to say more, it was definitely Big Sister who had bought extra to save face for herself, as Wan Yi didn't lack any of these things. The only explanation was that they were prepared for herself.

  On the right side, near the window, there was a kang with a red floral quilt on it. Autumn-colored embroidered silk pillows and several large red "Fu" character cushions were arranged on it, along with a small kang table.

  Next door, a pinkish-purple gauze curtain cleverly blocks the view. When the breeze blows, you can vaguely see a three-section carved bed with peony flowers and a rich, luxurious canopy in yellow rosewood, surrounded by curtains of the same color. On the headboard, there are various ornaments and some girls' playthings. A long table and two chairs are placed near the window, looking elegant and refreshing.

  Yun Qing couldn't help but praise: "Elder sister's collection here is really beautiful, elegant and magnificent."

  Wan Yu smiled and said, "What merit of mine? It was my mother who helped me pick them up. I'm a lazy one, only knowing how to enjoy them. Has the tea with cloves been brewed? The day is still a bit chilly, let's have that red date tea instead."

  Furong and Dingxiang each carried a red lacquer wooden tea tray over, put down the dim sum and teacups, and smiled: "There's no need for Miss to instruct us, we've been prepared long ago. Third Miss, Fourth Miss, come quickly and taste the tea that your servant has brewed. Our miss started buying things excitedly two days ago, just waiting for you all to arrive."

  Wan Yi looked at Wan Yu with a thoughtful expression, her face slightly red. Originally, she had asked her mother to prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone, but her mother was unwilling to spend more money on Yun Qing, so she didn't allow herself to bring anything, saying that Eldest Aunt and Eldest Sister would definitely prepare theirs.

  She didn't expect that it was really her elder sister who paid for it herself, which made her feel a bit embarrassed and secretly resentful of her mother for always taking such small advantages, making people feel uncomfortable.

  Wanyu pulled them to sit on the windowsill kang, smiling and saying: "I'm so glad you're here, every day I practice calligraphy alone, sometimes it's boring. Nanny said that if I stop, I won't want to pick it up again, and it will be a waste of practice. Now that you're here, I have company."

  Yun Qing saw Wan Yi's face turn red and naturally understood what was going on. With a grateful expression, she looked at Wan Yu's shy smile and said: "Thank you, big sister, I didn't practice my handwriting much before, it looks really bad."

  She had to spend money to buy paper for practicing calligraphy, but she used the ones given by Wanyi, so she was very frugal and practiced secretly with water on a wooden board to save some paper money.

  She cherished such a good opportunity and was so excited that she didn't sleep well all night.

  Wan Yu smiled and stuffed the hot tea into Yun Qing's cool hands, "Once you're with me, just focus on having fun, don't worry about anything else. However, you still need to do your homework well, or we'll both get punished." She covered her mouth and giggled.

  Wanyi was also amused by Wanyu, with a hint of guilt and gratitude in her eyes. Wanyu smiled as she took the letter and explained it to them, dissolving the awkwardness between Wanyi and Yunqing, making the two even more fond of her. After all, she was the elder sister, always considerate and thoughtful, going out of her way to save their faces.

  "When I started practicing, I had to hang weights on my wrists, and the effect of writing would be better. Do you want to tie them up? But it will be very hard." Yuwen was a bit worried, frowning, not knowing if her two sisters could bear this hardship, Yunqing was okay, but Yuanyi was young and had been spoiled since childhood.

  Wan Yi smiled and nodded, her eyes firm. "It's not easy to have such an opportunity, I'm not afraid of hardship, I know this is what Wang Nai Nai taught, my sister still has some selfishness, wants to take advantage of her sister's kindness, also good to let Nai Nai point out a few words, then I can enjoy it thoroughly." She lowered her head, slightly blushing.

  Yun Qing also nodded solemnly, and Wan Yu was overjoyed. "That's easy, I've prepared everything for you, just waiting for your word. I'll take out the calligraphy that my grandmother wrote for me before, and you can copy it."

  "Thank you, elder sister, we've troubled you again." The two of them thanked her in unison.

  "Don't be so polite to your own sister, have you had breakfast? If not, eat something here with me, I haven't eaten yet either. Let's keep each other company, Fu Rong is serving the mutton soup." Yuanyu was worried that Yunqing hadn't eaten anything and deliberately waited for them to come together to eat.

  Yun Qing had never eaten before, and Wan Yi had eaten a little. The two of them accompanied Wan Yu to have some breakfast together.

  Recommended books by friends: "Accidental Matchmaking" and "Where Did the Princess Go?"

  "Accidentally in Love" "Where is the Princess?"