All Hail Cousin Brother

211 Yun Xiangxiang’s Clothes

Yu Jianjia was stunned for a moment before opening her mouth to explain.

Cao Yingxue giggled and recited a poem, “Her dress is a cloud and her face is a flower. The spring breeze blows on the threshold and the dew is thick. If we hadn’t met on the top of a mountain, we would have met under the moon.”

As a result, Yu Jianjia bit her lip lightly, but it was not appropriate for her to rush to explain. She smiled and said, “Fifth Miss Lu is bright and generous. When we first met, it was as if I had seen a goddess under the moonlight in front of the Jade Terrace Hall. This name can be considered to be like the moon shining on the water and complement each other.”

Although it was a compliment, Fifth Miss Lu was indeed very beautiful. In addition, the Marquis of Weining’s Residence had a Consort Lu with six palaces and colorless makeup, so her words did not seem deliberate.

After being praised for her beauty, who wouldn’t be happy? Even Lu Mingyao couldn’t help but laugh. “The two of you are trying to make me happy.”

Cao Yingxue and Yu Jianjia looked at each other and smiled.

“Which one is your eldest sister?” Lu Mingyao was a little curious. She craned her neck to look, but did not see any outstanding young girl. She only thought that Yu Jianjia’s eldest sister was not that outstanding either.

Yu Jianjia shook her head. “It’s Eldest Sister’s birthday in a few days. Our family has to plan for it, so she’s not free. She didn’t come out today.”

Cao Yingxue was straightforward and naive. “Your mother should be in charge of your eldest sister’s birthday. Why is she the only one who’s not free?”

Yu Jianjia pursed her lips slightly, and there was a hint of embarrassment on her face. She smiled and said, “Grandmother dotes on Eldest Sister, so naturally, she has to manage it herself. Even if Mother doesn’t want Grandmother to tire herself out, it’s not good for her to stop her. Today, we’re going out not only to buy clothes for the Flower Festival at the Marquis of Changxing Residence, but also to find a decent birthday gift for Eldest Sister. Eldest Sister’s tenth birthday is not to be taken lightly.”

Lu Mingyao’s eyes flickered.

Cao Yingxue pursed her lips. She had heard in the past that the eldest daughter of the Yu family, Yu Youyao, had been raised by her grandmother since she was young. Her grandmother doted on her and often bullied her sisters.

Even though Yu Jianjia tried her best to cover up for Big Sister, no one was stupid.

It was Yu Youyao’s birthday, and it was only right and proper for her stepmother to be in charge of it. However, Old Madam Yu did not allow her stepmother to touch it. Not only did her stepmother not dare to stop her, but she even rushed out to the streets to find gifts for her stepdaughter, afraid that she was taking it too easily.

At noon, everyone received an invitation from the Yu Residence.

The Third Miss of the Marquis of Zhen, Song Wanhui, happily received the invitation. When she came out of Old Madam Song’s house, she met her older brother, Song Mingzhao, who was going to greet Old Madam Song.

Song Wanhui did not interact much with her brother, but they were still considered close. “Big Brother, you’re finally willing to come out of the Precious Peace Temple.”

There were many people in the family, and there was no peace every day. Grandmother was worried that she would disturb her eldest brother’s studies, so she donated a small courtyard to the Precious Peace Temple. Her eldest brother often went to the temple to stay for a while.

This time, she had gone for the Buddha Festival and only returned to the residence today.

Song Mingzhao nodded, his gaze landing on the invitation card in his hand. It was a pink and white invitation card with a few strokes that drew spring apricots. It was exquisite. The invitation was red to white, and the plants transitioned from flourishing to withering. It looked rather romantic. “This is?”

Song Wanhui looked down at the invitation in her hand. “Oh, this is an invitation from the Yu Residence. Eldest Miss Yu has invited me to her house for her birthday in a few days. Grandmother has also agreed.”

Song Mingzhao’s expression froze for a moment as he recalled the scene of the little girl wearing a plain wishing silk dress and standing under the green Bodhi tree to make a wish and throw the wishing silk.

The little girl was young, and her figure was also very slender. When she stood on her tiptoes to throw the wishing silk, her willow-like waist was gently bent backward. She was delicate and graceful. Even at such a young age, her eyes were already sparkling with a delicate color.

He lowered his eyes and rubbed the broken jade on the longevity knot. “I remember that Eldest Miss Yu seems to be a year younger than you?”

Song Wanhui did not think too much about it. Her grandmother liked Eldest Miss Yu and often mentioned her. The Song and Yu families were also close, so it was normal for her eldest brother to know. “My birthday is in June, and Eldest Miss Yu’s is in April. Coincidentally, she’s ten months older than her.”

Eldest Miss Yu was also ten years old this year. Song Mingzhao nodded.

Song Wanhui held the invitation and was a little vexed. “Grandmother asked me not to be negligent, but I’m a little vexed. I don’t know what gift to give Eldest Miss Yu.”

She had just said it casually, not expecting her indifferent elder brother to respond.

Unexpectedly, Song Mingzhao really ignored her. “I have a pair of koi jade pendants from Hetian in my house. One is yellow and the other is red. Together, they’re a pair of round fish pendants. When they’re separated, they become two fish pendants. They’re for girls, so it’s not appropriate for me to wear them. It’s suitable for you to give to Eldest Miss Yu.”

Song Wanhui’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Big Brother.”

Song Mingzhao nodded and left.

Song Wanhui looked at her big brother’s indifferent back and shook her head. She thought to herself that she was thinking too much. Why did she think that her big brother would pay too much attention to Eldest Miss Yu?

After the invitation was sent out, Yu Youyao did not care about anything else.

At noon, Yu Youyao practiced calligraphy alone in the study for a while. She couldn’t calm down, so she simply threw her brush aside and took out a copy of Spring and Autumn to read.

This book, Spring and Autumn, had been given to her by her cousin. It was filled with notes that had been personally written by her cousin. The handwriting was extremely neat, and it could not hide the depth of analysis. There were also translations and interpretations at the back. The words were easy to understand, and they explained profound things in a simple way. The sentences were all original and unique. As it was easy to understand, she could still learn it herself.

It was obvious that this book, Spring and Autumn, had taken his cousin a lot of effort to comprehend.

After flipping through two pages, Yu Youyao couldn’t take it anymore. She put down her book, rested her chin on her hand, and sighed.

Seeing that the young lady was listless, Chun Xiao couldn’t help but ask, “Young Miss, why don’t you go to the Green House to look for Young Master? Didn’t you say that you wanted to play chess with Young Master?”

Yu Youyao rolled her eyes and waved her hand weakly. “I won’t go look for Cousin today. I’ll stay alone for a while.”

Chun Xiao was inexplicably confused by his glare.

In the past few days, Young Master hadn’t gone to school, and Young Miss’s birthday was approaching. She hadn’t gone to school either. Every day, she went to the Green House to accompany Young Master, worried that he would be bored alone.

Yu Youyao picked up “Spring and Autumn” at the side to read. She really couldn’t take it in anymore, so she put away the “Spring and Autumn” and picked up the zither on the shelf. “Let’s practice under the Chinese parasol tree.”

Chun Xiao immediately ordered someone to set up a table.

After Yu Youyao finished burning the incense and cleaning her hands, she sat under the Chinese parasol tree. She had only played one note and she didn’t want to play anymore. She barely finished playing “Flat Sand and Wild Geese”, but it was also a mess.

Previously, when she played it for her cousin, he had said that it was not bad, but today, her hands were not listening to her.