Blessed

Chapter 60
Shen Mei got four bear paws, so the servant happily sent them to the uncle's mansion that day. The newly cut bear paws cannot be eaten immediately, they have to wait for the next year to be completely dry before they can be stewed.The collection of bear paws is also very particular. No water can be seen in the newly cut bear paws. Wipe off the blood, prepare a large porcelain altar, put lime on the bottom, spread a thick layer of fried rice on top, put the bear paws, and seal the surroundings with fried rice. Then seal the top with lime, and put it aside for a year or two before taking it out and washing it for cooking.

The bear paw seller is an old hunter, and every two or three years, he will send a few bear paws to the Duke's mansion. They are all processed dry goods, and they only need to be washed and stewed.

Yuzhu was taken aback when she saw it, "Why did you send this thing here?"

Bear's paw is one of the "Eight Mountain Treasures". Not to mention its nutritional value, its medicinal properties can nourish qi and blood, dispel wind and dampness, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and strengthen the bones and muscles.

Shen Mei held Yuzhu's arm with a smile, "This is delicious, but it's difficult to cook. There is a cook in my house who specializes in cooking bear's paws, and I brought them along. This thing needs to be brushed with honey and simmered for a day or two. Otherwise, it won’t be able to enter, so let’s do it now, the day of the banquet will be just right.”

Yuzhu accepted her kindness, and when it was really stewed, she went to the kitchen to have a look, and she could see the strong fragrance from a long distance.

On the day of the official banquet, Aunt Liu did not come, since she has a mediocre relationship with the uncle's residence, naturally she would not come.

There are quite a lot of children, and I specially set up two tables with the female relatives in the side hall. The oldest person at the children's table is Jiang Heng, who has passed eighteen, and the marriage has been settled. Female.

Because Jiang Heng won Jieyuan for more than three years, Master Jiang Er almost told Jiang Heng a merchant woman who lost her virginity, Tao was furious, and the old lady trapped Master Jiang Er in the mansion for several years and was not allowed to go out. .Since then, Dow has paid more attention to character when he told his son that he is a relative. Doctor Zhongsan is only a fifth-rank official, and he is also a prose official, but his daughter-in-law is a brilliant, virtuous, and about the same age as Jiang Heng. It was also because the old lady of the Sun family passed away suddenly three years ago, and the children and grandchildren of the Sun family had to observe mourning for three years.

Three years later, he was almost eighteen, and Tao immediately came to propose marriage. The Sun family would not marry their daughter at will, and agreed to it after observing Jiang Heng's character. They will get married in the twelfth lunar month.

The younger girl is Shen Mei, she is only nine years old, so it doesn't matter if she sits with everyone.Men and women are also unable to meet in private, and they don't have so many scruples on the surface.

Today, Yuzhu put on newly-cut clothes specially, with moon satin embroidered magnolia flying butterfly beanie, ivory smoke cage plum blossom and white water skirt with floor-length smoke cage, and a pair of filigree plum petal inlaid pearl earrings, which also matched her head. A filigree pearl hairpin, the pearl on the hairpin is bigger than a thumb, it looks extraordinary at first glance.

When Jiang Yulan was having a banquet, her eyes were on the hairpin of the jade beads. Although every girl in the mansion could pick two or three pieces of jewelry to add to her makeup box, and each of them had a few kinds of filigree-studded bottoms of the box, she had eyes on the jade beads. Yes, Yuzhu's is better than hers.

Can it be okay, every month the mansion removes the jewelry specially made for the girls to add makeup boxes, and the Mu family will buy back a lot of high-quality jadeite tourmaline pearls from outside to make jewelry for the jade beads, all of which are piled up from Sanfang’s own money of.

The bear's paws at the banquet were indeed delicious, and Yuzhu took a sip.

The banquet was withdrawn, and the uncle's house also invited a theater troupe to set up a stage in the backyard. The female relatives all went to the theater, and the little girls didn't like these, so they went back to the house to play on their own.The uncle's house invites people to play. Yuzhu doesn't like to write poems and practice calligraphy like other ladies from aristocratic families.

There was only one window sill in the room, and it was a little dark. In the corner was a pot of burning silver frost charcoal. The room was warm, and the little girls sat around and told ghost legends.

Yuzhu has also made many close friends in her boudoir in the past two years. Jiang Yuxi, the daughter of the Zhongshu Shilang's family who went to the Duke's Mansion for the first time, is a little girl who is three years older than Yuzhu. She has a very gentle temperament. They get along very well.

Jiang Yuxi's temperament is too docile, and her voice is soft when speaking. She is most afraid of such ghost legends, so she covers her ears and dare not listen.

Shen Mei also likes to tease her, making funny faces while talking to scare her.

What is rare is this kind of relaxed gathering. The girls obviously prefer this way of getting along, and they didn't go home with the servants until the end of the day.

Yuxiang in the second room was also tired, so she greeted Yuzhu and ran back to Luomeiyuan to rest, but Yulan was the only one who refused to leave, seeing Licorice standing by her side, she said, "Licorice, I'm a little thirsty, please go Bring me a cup of hot tea."

Waiting for the two of them to be left in the room, Yulan held Yuning's arm and acted coquettishly, "Fourth sister, the pearl hairpin on your head is so pretty, I remember that the jewelry distributed by the mansion last month did not have this piece."

Here it comes again, Yuzhu sighed inwardly, it has been three years, Yulan's greedy temperament has not changed, she is almost nine years old, she is still like this, I am afraid it will be difficult to correct it.Tao Shi has been very strict with her concubine daughter in the past few years, controlling her everywhere, and the result is still the same.

Yuzhu said, "This is not from the family, but my mother bought it specially to make hairpins." At this time, there are only natural and wild pearls, and the clam people who live by the sea specialize in pearl picking. Round pearls are even more expensive, and the pearl on her head cost several hundred taels of silver to buy back, but Mrs. Mu paid for it immediately.

Yulan stared at the pearl gold hairpin without blinking, and murmured, "It's so beautiful, can you lend me to carry it for a few days."

Yuzhu couldn't help but rolled her eyes, and didn't like her, "No, Second Aunt will say you when she sees it."

"It's okay, I'll take it secretly, fourth sister, you can lend me to take it for a few days." She was so greedy, she was at the age where she loved to dress up, and she always felt that there were some clothes and jewelry missing in the wardrobe and makeup box. Others think it looks the best.

Yuzhu sighed, "I don't want to borrow this one, if you want something else, you can go to my Xianglian and get one or two others."

But Yulan just likes this one. This hairpin is made of filigree inlay, the latest style.She has been pestering Yuzhu for a long time, but Yuzhu just won't let go. This time, if she lets go, next time she will come and borrow something good. Once borrowed, it's hard to say whether she can get it back. She is not used to her.

In the end, when the licorice came in with the tea, Yulan also had to be shameless, and it was not easy to pester her in front of the servants, so she ran away angrily holding the corner of her skirt.

Seeing this, Licorice asked with a smile, "Girl, what is the third girl looking for you again?"

Yuzhu pointed to the hairpin above her head, "She wants this."

Licorice opened her mouth in surprise, and sighed after a while, "These three girls are really embarrassed to speak. After all these years of quarrelling, they haven't corrected their temperament. In the future, she will be at a disadvantage." After hesitating, she asked Yuzhu, "Miss Si, do you want to tell the second wife about this?"

"There's no need for that." Yuzhu didn't want to make trouble, "I'll be hated by her again, and now that she's gone back to Aunt Hong's side, Second Aunt probably doesn't bother to take care of her." For several years, I have been clamoring to go back to Aunt Hong. Seeing Aunt Hong is so kind. Tao asked himself that he treats his concubine daughter and concubine equally. How can Shi not be chilled, let Yulan go back to her aunt half a year ago, except for the monthly money for clothes and jewelry specially provided to the masters in the mansion every month, nothing more has been given.

What Yuzhu didn't expect was that this incident made Jiang Yulan so aggressive that she did something else.

After a short break at noon that day, Yuzhu sat in front of the desk and practiced calligraphy for half an hour, and Bai Ji outside came in to announce, "Girl, shopkeeper Feng from Zhuyu Pavilion is here, saying that he has something urgent to see you."

Shopkeeper Feng?It could only be that something happened to Zhuyu Pavilion, Yuzhu immediately asked Bai Ji to invite Shopkeeper Feng in, "But what happened to Zhuyu Pavilion?"

Shopkeeper Feng is a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, with a thick face, and his face is full of anxiety at the moment. He stands still and cups his hands and says, "Fourth Miss, Third Miss took the filigree-inlaid nine-piece from Yuzhu Pavilion." A scarlet gold bracelet with double flowers inlaid with green emeralds."

Yuzhu's face changed when she heard that. That bracelet can be regarded as the treasure of the town store. It took Erniang Qiu ten days to make it. I just got a piece of jadeite, which is the top jadeite among jadeites.Since the shop opened a branch more than a year ago, the jewelry of Zhuyu Pavilion has started to go up to the high end, and the materials have also added precious jadeite, tourmaline, pearls, and various gemstones.

This red gold bracelet inlaid with green jadeite is only priced at 1000 taels of silver, and it is designed by Yuning. One of the reasons for its popularity is that the unique piece of jewelry in the entire capital cannot be imitated without the craftsmanship of filigree inlay and imperial green jadeite.

There is only one new item of this kind on the shop every month, and the one with the highest price gets it. The most indispensable thing in the capital is the rich and wealthy family members who spend a lot of money.

Yuzhu asked, "Why did you let her take it?"

Shopkeeper Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead, "At noon today, the third girl brought a girl to Zhuyu Pavilion to choose jewelry. The servant thought they were here to buy it, and finally fell in love with the red gold bracelet inlaid with emeralds. Say no, this belongs to the town shop, and the jewelry that needs to be auctioned next month, the third girl refused, and said that this shop belongs to their uncle's house, so it's nothing for her to take a piece of jewelry."

Yuzhu's face darkened, "Shopkeeper Feng, don't you remember my rules? Did you ask her to take away the jewelry after she said a few words?"

Shopkeeper Feng was about to cry, "Fourth girl, how can you do that? Of course the slaves don't allow it. The third girl even lost her temper. The other girl next to her even taunted her, saying that her master took a piece of paper from the shop. The jewelry is not ready, the servant ignored them, there happened to be something in the backyard, the servant went over, and after a while, the carpenter in front ran to the backyard in panic and told the servant that the third girl wanted to try it on, and the carpenter helped her put it on. Turn around and drag another girl and run away."

Jewelry can be tried on, and no one expects Jiang Yulan to do such a thing in the public hall.

run away?Yuzhu was dumbfounded, this Yulan was so courageous, she thought she had given up trying to borrow her hairpins, but instead turned her idea into the shop.

Shopkeeper Feng saw his master frowning, and asked cautiously, "Miss Si, do you want to report to the government?"

How could it be possible to report to the government? It will damage the reputation of all the girls in the Jiang family. This evil society will not care about the behavior of other girls in your family, and will directly give you a straight seat.

"No need." Yuzhu waved her hand, "Shopkeeper Feng, go back to the shop and watch. In case the third girl passes by, remember to ask for the jewelry back."

Shopkeeper Feng was so anxious that his inner clothes were soaked, and when he went out, he was blown by the wind, and suddenly shivered, thinking about how a transparent person like the fourth girl has such a confused third sister?It is true that the same rice feeds all kinds of people.

After hearing this, Baiji turned around anxiously, "Girl, what should I do?"

Yuzhu got up and took the cloak from the shelf and tied it up, "Let's go to Luomeiyuan, I have to tell Second Aunt and Aunt Hong about this."

Licorice in the Xici room also heard the movement, and was shocked when she came out to ask, and accompanied Yuzhu to Luomeiyuan, and asked Yuzhu, "Can you tell your wife?"

"I want it." Yuzhu sighed, "Bai Ji go and tell my mother that Licorice will accompany me to Luomeiyuan." No matter what, she is still a child of seven or eight years old, so she always wants to tell Mrs. Mu.

In Luomeiyuan, Tao Shi was talking to his daughter Yuxiang, and when she heard the message from the maid, Yuxiang happily welcomed her in, "Fourth sister, come and play with me." The two sisters have a good relationship and often walk around , didn't even think about it.

"Second Sister, I have other business to come here today." Yuzhu also had a headache.

Yuxiang was still smiling and didn't think much, "What's the matter?"

Tao Shi also laughed, "Yuzhu is rare to come here, why don't you stay here for dinner today?"

"Auntie, is Aunt Hong here?" Yuzhu stood under the verandah, frowning, "I want to ask Aunt Hong, is Yulan back? She went to Zhuyu Pavilion today to take a pair of Nine Phoenix Gold Silk Butterflies from the town store. The red gold bracelet inlaid with green jadeite flowers was taken, and she said she wanted to try it on, but she ran away immediately after wearing it, this is the first prize for next month, if you lose it, you will not be able to tell the girls of the family."

This bracelet has been a gimmick for half a month, and most people in the capital know about this treasure in the Zhuyu Pavilion.

Tao Shi was dumbfounded, thinking he heard it wrong, "Yuzhu said, what are you talking about? That girl really ran away with that bracelet?"

"I'm afraid I can't be wrong, shopkeeper Feng has come to tell me."

Yuxiang put it aside and jumped anxiously, "Let me just say, this damn girl will cause a catastrophe sooner or later, if she dares to follow the things of Zhuyu Pavilion now, she will follow other people's things if she doesn't! This aunt Hong taught really well. If you keep someone by your side for half a year, you can steal things!"

Tao's face was also very ugly, and he said to Yuxiang, "Don't make any noise, go outside and ask the maid to call Aunt Hong, and ask her if she knows the whereabouts of Yulan now, and she must recover the bracelet first."

Yuzhu nodded, "Second Aunt is right."

Aunt Hong came over soon, her life was unsatisfactory, her brows were always frowned, her dimples were full of worry, when she heard what Tao said, she burst into tears, "Madam, this is impossible, Yulan is not If you would do such a thing, you have to make the decision for Yulan."

Mrs. Mu just happened to come over, and when she heard this, she opened the curtain and walked in. With a heavy face, she came in and asked Aunt Hong, "If Aunt Hong doesn't believe it, why don't you go to the police to see if you have framed Yulan?" She was just trying to scare Aunt Hong, How could he really report to the official?

Aunt Hong just kept crying, "My son can't do such things..."

Tao Shi patted the table, "Now is not the time to cry, has that girl Yulan come back?"

"No..." Aunt Hong wanted to sob again after she finished speaking.

This is true, tomorrow is the first day of the new year, how should I explain to the guests that the bracelet cannot be retrieved.

Dow raised his head to look at Mu and Yuzhu, with a sour expression, "In the end, it's my fault, I'm Yulan's aunt, I should apologize to you for doing such a wrong thing."

Mrs. Mu said, "You can't blame the second sister-in-law, it's because the child has such a temper." After thinking for a while, he said, "Tomorrow is the first day of the new year, the most urgent thing is to find Yulan and retrieve the bracelet, otherwise the reputation of Zhuyu Pavilion will be destroyed tomorrow." affected."

Right now, we can only let the servants in the mansion put down their work and look for Yulan. This matter can’t be talked about to the outside world. If it spreads out, the girls in the mansion will not get a better reputation. Maybe there will be some good people who say that the uncle’s mansion abused concubine daughters , to force the concubine to do such things.

He told the servants that it was urgent to find the third girl, but he didn't say much else.It was also reported to the old lady, and she ordered Xing'er to come over to ask, and Mrs. Mu followed, sent the servants out, and whispered the matter to the old lady.

The old lady was very angry, she pulled the brass crutch beside her and knocked the ground loudly, "That damn girl is in front of me, I have to beat her to death."

Mrs. Mu persuaded, "Mother, don't get angry, your body is important, I have already sent all the servants in the family to find someone in the whole city, she is a girl, she has no chance to stay out at night, she will definitely come back, it's easy to say when she comes back .”

Mu's guess was right, Jiang Yulan did not dare to spend the night outside, she also knew that she had made a mistake, but she just thought that Yuzhu could have such top-quality jewelry, but she made it out of leftover scraps, how could she Can be reconciled, she is also at the age of love and beauty, she went to see the red gold bracelet inlaid with emeralds a few days ago, she couldn't take her eyes off it, she kept thinking about it in her dreams, and today she was instigated by her friends and made a big mistake.

At sunset, the sky was getting dark and gloomy, as if it was about to rain heavily, so she went back to the uncle's mansion tremblingly.

Unexpectedly, when she went back to Luomei Courtyard, the lights were brightly lit, and the lanterns in the main courtyard were all on. She wanted to sneak back to the room in the dark, but was stopped by two women, "Third Miss, you are back, the wife said that if she sees you come back Just go to the hall."

Knowing that the matter had been revealed, Yulan was terrified and screamed, "I'm not going!"

The two women had already obtained the order, and they couldn't tolerate Yulan not going, so they directly grabbed her and pushed her over.

Yulan was pushed into the main room, the lights were bright inside, several wives were there, the old lady was also there, and Yulan burst into tears in fright, this appearance explained everything.

(End of this chapter)