Chapter 40: Who Should Be Worried (Part 2)

  Yan Dai said faintly: "Don't worry about Madam's side, what we should be worried about now is the old lady!"

  Wen Ping heard this, but was greatly perplexed and exclaimed: "Why is that?" In her opinion, Xiao Lao Tai Jun was already the greatest reliance of the entire Ling family, and she really couldn't understand why Yuandai would say such a thing.

  Yan Dai's expression was slightly tired, and her tone also had a hint of fatigue: "Wenping, if you say so, you've been with the old lady for many years, can't you see that she's been treating me too well lately?"

  Wen Ping was taken aback, silently pondering Old Lady Xiao's actions over the past few days, and her heart also became somewhat uncertain.

  Yan Dai coldly said: "As the saying goes, 'when things go wrong, there must be a reason!' In this life, the old lady has nothing else to boast about, but this illegitimate granddaughter is more than enough. When have you seen her treat anyone like she treats me these days? And compared to those illegitimate sisters of mine upstairs, what do I have that's worth her treating me like this? Is it just because I can grow a few fragrant flowers and make some flower tea and decorations?"

  Wen Ping fell silent. She knew that Yuande's words were extremely reasonable. The old lady of Xiao had been born into a noble family and married into another, enjoying wealth and honor her whole life. Since childhood, she had seen many precious things, so now even if someone brought out gold, jewels, or jade, it would be hard to impress her. Yuande's ice-blue rare flower was indeed one of the best in the world, but for the old lady, it didn't count as much. If they only looked at Yuande differently because of this flower, then thinking carefully, there must be some ulterior motive.

  Moreover, the old lady has many children and grandchildren. Among her granddaughters alone, there are ten or more, including both legitimate and illegitimate ones, with some of them being talented and beautiful. However, in her eyes, the old lady treats her legitimate and illegitimate granddaughters very differently.

  However, nowadays the old lady's affection for Yuandai is far greater than that of her former beloved 10th Miss Lingyuanshuang. Wenping knew very well that even Yuanshou, the eldest daughter born to Mrs. Lu in the past, was not as favored by the old lady as the 10th Miss.

  Just thinking of this, Wenjing's heart sank involuntarily, and her face also changed slightly.

  Yan Dai noticed the change in Wen Ping's expression, and when she looked up at her, she comforted her in a warm voice: "Although it is so, you don't have to worry too much! Since Old Lady has taken control of me like this, she must be using me as a pawn to make a bet. If you think about it this way, you will know that the marriage she arranged for me can't be bad!"

  "But Miss doesn't want to in her heart, isn't that right?" Wen Ping asked softly after a long silence.

  Yuandai didn't expect Wenshu would say such a thing, and she stared at her deeply, then smiled: "Silly girl!" Seeing that Wenshu just looked at her with an unyielding expression, Yuandai finally spoke up: "Don't worry, I have my own way of dealing with it!"

  Her tone was flat and calm, but this expression fell into Wenping's eyes, which made her feel inexplicably at ease for a moment. Yuandai unintentionally said no more, just waved his hand to Wenping, saying: "I'm tired, let me take a nap first!"

  Wen Ping responded, and helped her lie down on the kang, then took a brocade quilt to cover Far Dai's body. After seeing off Ling Yuexuan, Wen Ping told Far Dai about their conversation, and Far Dai was indeed tired, she had just lain down before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

  He slept soundly until the sky turned dark. When he woke up, Wenping was already waiting beside him.

  Yan Dai smiled at her and sat up, asking casually, "Is there someone else looking for me?"

  Wenping suddenly heard this and couldn't help but laugh: "Just now, Old Lady sent Yunhua to invite Miss over for dinner, I said Miss wasn't feeling well and was still sleeping, I'm afraid she can't take the wind today. Yunhua didn't say anything after hearing it, turned around and left!" After she finished speaking, she went out to call Cuiyi to bring water in to serve Yuandai in washing up and getting dressed.

  Yan Dai didn't mind, and after rinsing her mouth and washing her face, she lazily instructed Cui Yi: "After all the commotion, I'm really feeling a bit tired! Tonight, don't bother with too much fuss, just stew a bowl of blood swallow's nest, paired with two light dishes will do!"

  Cui Yi smiled and nodded, then took the copper basin down.

  After using the swallow's nest, Yuan Dai was still leaning on the kang, and her hand almost habitually took up a book. This quietness didn't last long, as Xiao Chengxin and Ling Yuanshan came over from Old Lady Xiao's place, accompanied by Du Ruo.

  After Hou Xiao Xian and Ling Yuan Xuan finished talking, Du Ruo stepped forward with a smile and bowed to Yuan Dai, saying: "The old lady heard that the ninth young lady's body is not suitable, and she is very worried in her heart. She asked me to come and see if the ninth young lady needs anything!"

  Yan Dai slightly shook her head, and a smile appeared on her face: "Thanks for the trouble, sister! I'm actually fine, it's just that Wenping is being overly cautious, thinking I'm made of paper and will break with just a blow!"

  She said it was nothing with her mouth, but she herself raised her hand and covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughing lightly twice.

  Wen Ping happened to bring in the tea tray at this time, and seeing the situation, he first took a cup for Yuan Dai, then handed the remaining three cups one by one to Xiao Chengyan and the others: "You've arrived, originally we were going to brew some tea. I thought it was cold outside and the wind was strong, so I just brewed all of you some ginger date tea. This is made with the ginger date paste that our young lady personally simmered before winter arrived, and the flavor is extremely good!"

  Xiao Chengxian took it with a smile and said: "I tried it yesterday, the taste is indeed good!"

  Ling Yu Xuan had only taken a sip when she couldn't help but let out a string of sweet nothings, her face scrunched up in distaste: "So spicy! So spicy!" Yet even as she complained about the spiciness, she still held the teacup and sipped it slowly, saying: "But the flavor is really good, drinking it makes my whole body warm!"

  Yan Dai smiled and glanced at her, saying casually: "If you like it, I'll have Wenping pack some for you to take back later!"

  As soon as the words came out, Xiao Chengying immediately complained: "It's really true that this family is not fake. The tenth sister only praised one sentence, and you hurriedly gave some to her. I also praised good yesterday, but I didn't see you say give me some!"

  Yan Dai couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, and had to say: "It's just some ordinary ginger date paste, it's not worth sister's praise. If sister really likes it, I'll make some more in a few days!"

  Xiao Chengxian smiled and then lowered her head to take a sip of tea. Du Ruo, who was listening to this conversation, couldn't help but follow suit and asked Yuan Dai for some ginger paste, and Yuan Dai readily agreed.

  After drinking ginger date tea, the three of them lingered for a moment, but seeing Far Dai coughing lightly from time to time, they didn't want to disturb her too much. Du Ruo was the first to bid farewell and leave, and Ling Yuanxuan saw Du Ruo off, then couldn't help but pull Xiao Xian along with her as well.

  After seeing the three people leave, Yuandai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Wenping smiled and brought over a bowl of warm water for Yuandai to rinse her mouth with, saying: "Now I know that everything our young mistress has is good stuff, even the ginger date paste becomes a rare treasure when it gets to her hands!"

  After rinsing her mouth, she waved her hand and finally instructed: "Tomorrow, you will divide this year's new ginger date paste into three portions and send one portion each to Miss Shi and Miss Xiao. As for Du Ruo, she was just joining in the fun, so there's no need to send any to her!"

  Wen Ping nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and then asked again: "What if she asks again?"

  Yan Dai raised her hand to cover her mouth with a handkerchief and let out a faint yawn, saying: "Du Ruo Xu is not someone who doesn't know the score. If you don't bring it up with her, she definitely won't ask about it on her own!" Wen Ping heard this and didn't ask any more questions.

  …………

  For several days in a row, the weather was gloomy and overcast. Far from being fond of cold, she dreaded it, and as soon as winter arrived, she didn't want to move around. In this chilly and gloomy weather, she naturally didn't want to go out, so she excused herself every day, refusing to leave her door.

  Xiao Chengxian and Ling Yuexuan would visit Old Lady Xiao every day to pay their respects, then come over to keep her company.

  On this day, the two of them arrived to find Duanxiang sitting on the kang, one hand holding an embroidery hoop and the other hand holding a needle, busily doing some needlework. The two of them suddenly looked at each other in surprise. Xiao Cheng stepped forward with a smile and said: "Ninth sister, it turns out you can do needlework?"

  Yan Dai heard her voice and couldn't help but smile, then casually put the embroidery aside on a nearby table, saying: "I learned some needlework when I was young, but it's just rough. I'm not diligent by nature, and I rarely touch these things normally. Today, I saw Wenping's work and my hands were itching, so I took it up to help her with a few stitches!"

  Xiao Chengxian never liked embroidery since she was a child, and after being forced to learn for a few days, she refused to touch it again. Xiao Canfu and his wife loved their daughter dearly and saw that she didn't want to learn, so they didn't force her too much. Ling Yuexuan would get a headache as soon as she picked up the needle and thread. Although Luo's mother forced her to learn for many days, she only roughly understood it. Now, after hearing Yuexuan's words, the two of them stepped forward, took over the embroidery, and looked at it.

  This crimson jacket is a small garment, and the embroidered things are just ordinary water lilies. But the embroidery work is really extraordinary, the green leaves are bright and vivid, with dew drops visible on them, the red flowers are half-opened and half-blooming, revealing a hint of yellow stamens, the embroidery can be said to be lifelike.

  Xiao Chengxian herself couldn't do it, but she had an eye for it. Seeing this embroidery, she couldn't help but praise: "Ninth sister's embroidery is great!"

  Yan Dai lost her smile and waved her hand repeatedly: "I said it early on, this is not something I did, but rather Wen Ping's!"

  Xiao Cheng smiled and said, "Sister, don't be modest! You dare to wield an axe in front of Lu Ban's gate and play with a knife in front of Guan Gong, so your embroidery skills are naturally not bad. If you don't believe me, give this embroidery to the tenth sister and see if she dares to move her needle!"

  Ling Yuexuan couldn't help but laugh: "Sister Xiao's words are really true, I'm looking at this and I don't dare to make a move!"

  In the past few days, Xiao Chengyan and Ling Yuexuan have also become familiar with each other. One is straightforward and honest, while the other is refreshing and decisive, and they get along quite well. As time passes, their conversations have become more direct and less reserved.

  Three people were talking, Wenping had already brought tea over and heard this conversation, couldn't help but laugh: "Our young lady's needlework is indeed extremely good, even my little skill was mostly learned from her in the past two years!"

  Xiao Chengxian burst out laughing and pointed at Yuan Dai, saying: "How about it? Look at you being modest again, this is a ready-made witness!"