Chapter 20: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law's Private Conversation

  Luoshi walked into Yanhui study and saw Xiao Lao Taijun sitting crookedly on the kang, chatting and laughing with several maids beside her.

  As soon as she heard the sound of the announcement, Old Lady Xiao raised her head and smiled at Luo Shi, beckoning to her with a wave of her hand. "Has San Ye's family arrived? Come, sit here!" She said, pointing to the position beside her.

  Luoshi smiled and stepped forward, after exchanging greetings, she sat down beside Xiao Lao Taikun. A maid had already brought tea over, Luoshi took the tea and sipped it lightly, meanwhile secretly pondering what Xiao Lao Taikun had called her over for, the tea in her mouth was completely tasteless.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun looked at Luo Shi and suddenly smiled, asking: "Is the tea here better than the one at Jiu Ya Tou's place?"

  Lu's eyes widened in surprise, and after a moment, she laughed and said: "Old lady, you must be joking! How can the tea at Ninth Sister's place compare to yours?" As she spoke, she picked up her teacup again, brought it to her lips, and took another sip.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun smiled and waved her hand at the maids in the house, waiting for them to retreat before asking: "You went to Jiu Ya Tou's place today, but I don't know what kind of tea she used to entertain you?"

  Luoshi's heart was increasingly puzzled, but his mouth did not dare to slow down, and he hastily replied: "Returning to the old lady, it is a top-grade Tieguanyin!"

  "Is it just a top-grade Iron Goddess of Mercy?" asked Old Lady Xiao with some surprise.

  Lu Shi hastily added, "It's indeed a top-grade Iron Goddess of Mercy! However, that tea is truly exceptional! At the beginning of this year, Lord Han Zhonghan sent some top-grade Iron Goddess of Mercy to Third Master. The old lady knows about it, and Third Master usually only drinks Rain Before Dragon Well. He gave the tea to his wife, saying it was a rare Anxi Iron Goddess of Mercy, with an annual production of only a few taels. His wife tasted it and indeed found it to be good. But today, after trying Ninth Young Lady's Iron Goddess of Mercy, I feel that its flavor surpasses yet falls short."

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun heard this and her eyebrows and eyes involuntarily moved slightly, for a moment she was speechless.

  This person, she knew him. He was considered a disciple of Old Master Ling and had a very good relationship with the Ling family. During holidays and festivals, he never failed to show his respects. If her memory served her correctly, Han Zhong was currently serving as an official in Fujian Province.

  Luo raised his eyes and saw the expression of Xiao Lao Taikun, thought for a moment, and then added: "Jiuniang said that her Tieguanyin was also given by someone! However, she didn't mention who gave it to her."

  The old lady nodded slightly and said after a while, "Who can she recognize? If this tea wasn't sent by Xiao Jia's servant girl, then it must have been given by Anqin Wang!" The Anqin Wang the old lady mentioned was indeed Baili Yu.

  Luoshi naturally knew Anqin Wang, but when she heard this name, she was greatly shocked: "Anqin Wang?" The distant and elegant face quickly flashed through her mind, Luoshi involuntarily shook her head, feeling that it was highly unlikely.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun nodded: "This Ninth Girl looks quiet and unassuming, but actually has a lot of calculations. To say that if it weren't for the Xiao family's girl coming over to my place a few days ago and talking to me for a while, I really wouldn't have known that this girl had such a mind."

  Luo's wife was stunned for a moment, and finally sighed, saying: "If the old lady didn't say it, I wouldn't have thought of it. Now that I think about it, it really is true!" If she hadn't had that Tianxiang Tangbing that day, she might not have gone to visit Aunt Zhou and Yuandai so soon.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun couldn't help but laugh and said, "Speaking of which, I forgot to ask you, what made you suddenly want to go see her and her mother?" She was very familiar with the temperament of her three daughters-in-law, knowing that they were all kind-hearted and good-natured, but also had their own boundaries when dealing with things. They would never intentionally offend others unless absolutely necessary. Given their temperaments, it was only a matter of time before they went to visit Zhou Niang's mother and son, exchange some pleasantries, but going so soon was somewhat unusual.

  Luo said in front of the old lady, "To answer your question, my wife hadn't planned to go today, but she couldn't resist Xuan's repeated urging. She thought that she would have to go eventually, and since she was free today, she went!"

  She said, without waiting for Old Lady Xiao to ask more questions, "As for Xiang'er, the reason she thought of this matter is because that day Yan Liu sent some local products from Jianghuai, and Jiuniang returned a jar of Tianxiangtang biscuits!" She then went on to describe the events of that day in detail.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun nodded thoughtfully and said: "From what you've just said, it seems that this Ninth Girl is indeed somewhat suspicious!"

  Lu's heart was actually quite puzzled about this, and now that she heard the words, she immediately followed Old Lady Xiao's lead and asked: "I'm foolish and ignorant, having gone through this matter, I only feel that Ninth Miss is erudite and knowledgeable, but I don't think it's suspicious, I hope Old Lady will enlighten me!"

  She initially wanted Ling Yuexuan and Yuandai to get close because of this point.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun shook her head and said, "The matter of the Tian Xiang Tang is not worth making a fuss about. After all, that recipe has been circulating throughout the world with various versions, and even if some good ones have been passed down, they are not worth much. However, there is another kind of tea in Jiu Ya Tou's hands, called 'Sui Han San You', which I also don't have here. But a tea that can make both Xiao Ya Tou and An Qin Wang feel extraordinary, you can imagine its quality."

  Here is the translation:

  "Up to this point, Old Lady Xiao's voice stopped for a moment, and then she said: 'Forget it, I was just thinking of finding someone to discuss the matter of Jiu Yatou with. Now that I think about it, in such a big family like ours, perhaps only discussing it with you would be most suitable!'"

  Luoshi listened and hurriedly shook his hand with a smile: "Old lady, you praise your daughter-in-law so much, how can she dare to be worthy of it? In fact..."

  She was just thinking that it would be more appropriate to discuss this matter with her sister-in-law, when Old Lady Xiao cut her off in one breath: "You don't have to be so modest, just listen to me!" Luo Shi heard the tone and didn't dare to be modest anymore.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun sank into thought for a moment before saying: "If we're going to talk about this, then it's unavoidable that we'll have to bring up Yuan Qing!"

  He then told Ling Yuqing and Xiao Shi's siblings, as well as Bai Liyi, about their trip to Miaofeng Mountain on the Double Ninth Festival.

  Luoshi quietly listened and didn't interrupt. Until Xiao Lao Tai Jun simply finished speaking, Luoshi still didn't utter a word, for quite some time, before softly saying: "Does the old lady think that Ninth Miss's actions are inappropriate?"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun shook her head and said, "This child has some good qualities, in my opinion. In today's world, men can take the imperial examination or join the army, and even if they are not successful, they can still do some small business or farm to make a living. But for women, if they want to live a happy and worry-free life, they must find a good husband. From this perspective, what she is doing is not entirely wrong."

  Lu nodded silently, and finally sighed: "To tell the truth, it's actually been hard on this child!" She didn't want to speak ill of Mrs. Lu directly, so she could only sigh like this, vaguely expressing her attitude.

  "Besides, there's another thing I haven't told you. Ninth Sister has a bit of talent when it comes to flowers and plants. You know the Empress Dowager loves these things, and An Qing Wang is close to her, so he also knows a thing or two about them. He went to Miao Feng Shan twice and took a liking to the flowers Ninth Sister grew, and just the other day, he asked Yan Qing to ask her for some. Ninth Sister was quite generous and gave Yan Qing two pots of moon orchids. Now those flowers have been sent to the palace!"

  Luo suddenly heard the three words "Moon Flower" and was greatly shocked: "Does Ninth Miss have Moon Flower in her hands?"

  The moonflower, produced in the southern state of Yue, is a very precious flower species. The branches and stems are emerald green like jade, the flowers are pure white, and they also have a subtle fragrance that can help people sleep. As soon as it became known to people, it immediately swept the world. The wealthy families of Southern Yue all competed to buy it.

  The moonflower originally grew in a deep mountain in Yue, but after it became famous throughout the land, people from the countryside flocked to the mountain. In just a few years, the mountain was no longer home to the moonflower. At first, no one paid attention to this, but several years later, someone suddenly discovered that the moonflowers transplanted into the gardens of wealthy families could no longer be cultivated. The people of Yue tried every method they could think of, but it was all in vain.

  Helpless, some people suggested that the flower could not be bred or was away from its native place. However, when it was replanted in the deep mountains, the flower remained unchanged. Due to the inability to breed again, the originally rare Moonflower became increasingly scarce with the passage of time, until now, only a few are heard to exist in the South Yue Palace.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun nodded and said: "Do you also feel that this Ninth Girl is quite suspicious now?"

  Luoshi nodded without thinking, if it was just the heavenly fragrance cake, that would be fine, but if you add a rare tea and two pots of exotic flowers that are almost extinct, how can people not think it's strange?

  "Since we all know that Ninth Sister has her eccentricities, why does Old Lady still listen to and indulge her?" asked Luo Shi with some tact.

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun sighed and said slowly, "At the time when Jiu Ya Tou acknowledged her ancestors and returned to her clan, not only did she shed blood to verify her kinship, but I also sent someone to investigate her foster father's household in detail. What she said was consistent with what they found! However, the Xu family is really too ordinary, and Xu Xiu Cai's abilities are only average. If you say that Jiu Ya Tou was taught by him alone, I must admit that I have some doubts."

  Lu nodded silently, and after a while, he said: "Since Ninth Miss is indeed of the Ling family bloodline, why should Old Lady worry excessively? For now, it's just a matter of treating her mother and daughter well, and then discussing with Eldest Sister to ease their relationship!"

  Xiao Lao Tai Jun waved her hand and said, "But now I'm thinking of something else! Now that Jiu Meizi has grown up, I think she's not bad, although her appearance is ordinary and her body isn't good. Her manners and demeanor are still quite good. I intend to help her marry into a good family, what do you think?"

  Luoshi heard this and was shocked at first, after thinking for a long time, he said: "I understand what the old lady means! However, although this high branch is good, it also requires fate! I think that for now, we should just lift her up and take things one step at a time!"

  Mrs. Xiao thought for a moment and nodded, "Your idea is quite good, I suppose it's alright. In a few days, move her to Chunhui Garden to keep Xiang'er company. When you're free, take some time to visit her often!"

  Lu Shi hurriedly smiled and replied.