Chapter 10: Unfortunate Consumption (Part 1)

  Guo and the others had seen almond jelly before, so they couldn't help but praise it. Yan Dai smiled slightly and said, "To be honest, this almond jelly is just an ordinary snack. Making it like this, apart from being convenient, doesn't have any other special qualities!" As she spoke, she signaled to Wen Ping to go out and brew some tea.

  Wen Ping responded and took out the crystal basin.

  Guo looked at Yu Dai and smiled: "Ninth sister's ingenuity is truly rare in the world! Whoever marries Ninth sister in the future will be a fortunate person of the highest order!" These words were spoken with genuine sincerity.

  Ling Yuexuan stood beside, occasionally glancing at Lu Weiyin, but at this moment, Lu Weiyin had long forgotten about her and was only stealing glances at Xiao Chengyan from time to time. This made Ling Yuexuan feel extremely annoyed in her heart. At this moment, after hearing Guo's words, she finally came back to herself, looked sideways at Yuan Dai, and after a while, couldn't help but ask: "I heard that on that day, Ninth Sister had a private conversation with the wise prince for several sentences, but I don't know what they said?"

  She was originally gentle and timid, and her heart couldn't hide the words, at this moment she didn't care that Lu Weiying was by her side, and asked out this sentence.

  Yan Dai heard this and was taken aback, a hint of embarrassment appearing on her face. She was thinking about how to respond to Ling Yuanxuan's words when Xiao Chengyan suddenly laughed and said: "What is this flavor? It's so fragrant! Ah! It seems to have a hint of almond flavor!"

  This sentence, however, immediately shifted everyone's attention away.

  Yuan Dai let out a subtle sigh of relief and said: "I suppose Wen Ping is brewing apricot kernel tea!"

  Xiao Chengyan heard this and hurriedly smiled as she went over, pulling Far Dai along the way: "Sister's house has the most of these rare delicacies, this apricot kernel paste recipe, sister must copy a copy for me when you have time. Don't be stingy anymore!"

  As they spoke, the laughter and conversation continued, but Lu Weiying's eyes went wide again. Ling Yuexuan had been paying attention to him all along, and now she saw him like this. She was both disappointed and annoyed, and turned her head away in disgust, no longer looking at him.

  She knew she was diverting the conversation on her own behalf. Without realizing it, he looked at her with gratitude and said, "Look at what you're saying, sister! If others didn't know better, they'd think I'm a stingy person who treats these snacks as treasures!"

  Ling Yuexuan was about to speak when the curtain on the other side moved, and Wenping had already brought in a black lacquer tray. Seeing her enter, Yuandai hurriedly got up and called her over. Then she personally handed a cup of apricot kernel tea to Guoshi. Smiling, she said: "Elder sister, please try it and see if it's to your liking!" Guoshi didn't expect her to be so attentive, and hastily smiled as she accepted the cup, repeatedly saying that younger sister was being too polite.

  Yan Dai smiled and picked up another cup, gently placing it in front of Lu Weiying: "Yesterday, I was fortunate to have Brother Lu's kindness, but I haven't thanked you yet. Now, I'll use tea instead of wine to thank you, Brother!"

  Lu Weiying was so surprised and delighted that she couldn't help feeling a little guilty, got up and bowed slightly, seeing that it was just Faraday who had come to thank her.

  Yuan Dai turned back, took the apricot kernel tea and handed it to Xiao Chengyan and Ling Yuanshuang. The two of them each took a cup without saying anything. Yuan Dai picked up the last cup of apricot kernel tea on the tray. She seemed to have thought of something again and looked at Wen Ping. Wen Ping had been with her for a long time, so she naturally knew what she was thinking about. He smiled and said: "Just now there were two more cups, I've already asked someone to send them to Young Master and Miss!"

  Yan Dai finally understood, and at this time everyone raised their cups and took a sip.

  As soon as the tea entered her mouth, a look of surprise appeared on Guo's face: "Sister, this almond tea is quite different from the one made in our mansion. Apart from the clear and fragrant flavor of almonds, it seems to have some floral scent, but for now, I couldn't tell which flower it is!"

  Ling Yuexuan nodded frequently as she listened on the side, while Lu Weiying savored the tea and also thought it was extremely good, leaning in to listen for Yu Dai's explanation.

  Yan Dai just smiled and turned her head to look at Xiao Chengyan: "I wonder if Sister Xiao can tell the name of this flower?"

  After savoring it for a long time, Xiao Xian finally said uncertainly: "This flower... could it be jasmine?"

  Yan Dai couldn't help but laugh: "I didn't expect that in the end, it was still my sister who had the sweetest tooth!" As soon as she said this, everyone understood, and it turned out that the almond tea actually contained jasmine flowers.

  Although she had obtained Yuande's approval, Xiao Chengyan was still surprised: "To say that jasmine is not uncommon in Pingjing, but it's rare to have such a good taste. And the flavor is so wonderful, it's even more unexpected!"

  Yuandai smiled and said, "Jasmine is not just delicious! If sister is interested, next year when jasmine flowers bloom, try making jasmine tea with jasmine flowers, the taste is even more excellent!"

  Xiao Chengyan smiled and said: "Since sister has said so, I will definitely try it out when I get back!"

  After drinking apricot kernel tea, everyone chatted again. When it was almost noon, Xiao Chengyan finally sent someone to find Lu Weiyin in the front yard. Although Lu Weiyin still had some reluctance to leave, he couldn't stay any longer and got up to go.

  It was already noon, so Xiao Chengyan had someone set up lunch at the Guo residence. After lunch, she finally left with Yuan Dai. The two didn't say much on the way, until they entered Yuan Dai's west wing quarters. Xiao Chengyan dismissed everyone around her and looked at Yuan Dai with a hint of a smile: "Elder sister personally brewed apricot kernel tea, I'm afraid that Lu Weiying won't be able to handle it!"

  She had been with Yuandai for quite some time and was familiar with her temperament. She also knew that Yuandai was not the kind of person who liked to show off. Therefore, Xiao Xianying clearly knew that Yuandai would never suddenly have the idea of letting everyone try her almond ice cream.

  And the only reason she did this today is naturally also on Lu Weiying's body.

  Seeing that she had already seen through her, Yuandai herself did not intend to clear up the misunderstanding. After a smile, she said: "Speaking of this matter, in fact, sister should thank me!"

  Xiao Chengxian was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and laughed: "To say that, Lu Weiyang was originally your sister's business, how did you suddenly thank me? This is really a case of wind and horse not matching!"

  With a faint smile, Yuandai asked: "Sister, have you ever thought about why Lü Weiying would suddenly come up with the idea of visiting my sister-in-law today?"

  Xiao Chengxian was taken aback, her slender eyebrows furrowed. After a while, she hesitated and said: "You're saying..."

  The corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up into a cold smile, and Yuandai said: "He came to see me that time only because he wanted to ask about some things concerning me! Although he has someone backing him and isn't afraid of the Ling family's retaliation, but as for Prince Rui, he still doesn't dare offend him!"

  Xiao Chengxian heard this, but couldn't help sighing. However, after sighing, she thought again and turned to look at Duan Yu with a hint of annoyance: "You already knew that, so why are you still asking me to thank you? This is really illogical!"

  Yan Dai had never taken Lu Weiying to heart, and upon hearing this, she immediately laughed and said: "Sister, didn't you notice the way Lu Weiying looked at you? My elder sister-in-law, although she is obedient to her mother-in-law in words and deeds every day, but when it comes to doing things, I'm afraid there are many instances of hypocrisy. I think she will secretly warn Lu Weiying to make him hurry down the mountain."

  Xiao Chengxian listened to this and felt that it made a lot of sense, so she nodded in agreement. Yuan Dai then gave her a playful glance with a hint of teasing in her eyes, and said: "But at this very moment, sister has unintentionally flirted with him once, I'm afraid he won't be willing to leave now!"

  Xiao Cheng let out a soft snort and said, "However, it's a pity that he will soon be too ashamed to show his face. Whether he leaves or not is of no consequence!"

  In the Guo family's house, that one smile from Xiao Chengyan was indeed intentional. Ling Yuexuan had grown up under the protection of the Luo family since childhood, making her naive and not understanding worldly affairs. However, Xiao Chengyan, due to being the daughter of Empress Xiao, had often walked in the imperial harem since she was young. The imperial harem was not lacking in deceitful schemes and struggles for favor, although Xiao Chengyan looked down on these things in her heart, but when it came to it, she still handled them with ease.

  Yan Dai smiled slightly and sincerely said: "No matter what, I still want to thank Sister for today's affairs on behalf of my tenth sister!"

  Xiao Chengxian thought of Ling Yuexian's expression just now, but couldn't help shaking her head slightly: "Jiumei thanked me here, but I don't know if Shimei is scolding me in her own room right now!"

  Yan Dai replied indifferently, "Sister is like this today, she wouldn't be grateful anyway, would she?"

  Xiao Chengyan nodded, but suddenly asked: "Speaking of this matter, now that I think about it, I find it somewhat strange. My sister and Third Aunt are not exactly kindred spirits, so why did my sister get along with them so well?"

  She didn't expect her to suddenly ask about this, and after a moment of silence, she finally sighed and said slowly: "I went to great lengths to get close to Third Aunt, originally for Mother's sake, but now it's actually no longer necessary!" When she first returned to the Ling manor, apart from Ling Yuanqing who was willing to take care of her mother and daughter, there was no one else. And at this time, the two women from the third branch of the family had just sent someone to deliver goods to her and Zhou Yiniang.

  At this thought, Yan Dai finally returned the Tianxiang Tangbing that she had secretly made with a secret recipe.

  All women in the boudoir have a thousand hobbies and ten thousand differences, but they all revolve around one thing: their love for their own beauty. This is the root of it all - women's fondness for themselves. Tianxiang Tangbing can nourish the skin and make the body fragrant, making it the best gift in return.

  In fact, even if Luo's mother and daughter were unmoved by the Tianxiang Tangbing, Yuandai had many other things that could move them.

  As expected, Luo and Ling Yuexuan soon came to visit her and her mother, which saved her a lot of worry.

  Making friends with the three ladies of the Luo family was originally an arrangement made by Lady Wang for Daiyu. She would eventually have to get married, and her original intention was to choose a scholar who participated in the spring examination, whose appearance and talent were only average, not particularly outstanding but also not inferior to others. However, such a person, although meeting her expectations, temporarily speaking, would be difficult to protect Lady Wang's interests completely.

  In such a situation, Luo's proper care and Ling Yuqing's attention can make Zhou Yiniang much better.

  Years later, when the man she chose gradually rose in officialdom, Madam Zhou's situation would slowly improve.

  But now, on the day she has decided to marry Rui, all her previous arrangements have become meaningless.

  As for what's going on in the future, it can only be taken one step at a time. After all, heaven will not cut off all roads for people. (This station... Your support is my greatest motivation.)