Chapter Seventy-One: Undercurrents

  Ye Qinglan smiled and responded, but didn't take it to heart at all.

  Don't think that just because Ye Qingning appears to be generous, if she really dresses up and steals the show, you won't be able to follow her out of the house again. It's better to know your place and keep a low profile, being a small follower and joining in on the fun is good enough.

  What Ye Qinglan did not expect was that Jiang's family also attached great importance to this matter.

  When greeting on the second day, Jiang Shi casually mentioned this matter: "The British Consulate sent a notice over and will hold a flower appreciation banquet in a few days. At that time, you two can take the children together to relax!"

  The two of you referred to are certainly Zheng Shi and Li Shi, your daughters-in-law.

  Zheng and Li smiled in unison. Especially Li, whose smile was particularly radiant.

  Zheng's eyes glanced at Li, and she hummed softly in her heart. The British Gongfu was the maternal grandfather's family of her husband Ye Chengren, so it was natural for her to go. But what right did Li have to follow?

  Chiang's bias is also too obvious!

  It seems that Zheng's face didn't reveal anything, and she even took the initiative to discuss specific matters with Jiang: "The British Consulate's flower appreciation banquet is held very grandly every year, and this year will probably be no exception. Although it's said to be taking the children out for a visit, we can't lose the face of our own household either. Taking advantage of the remaining eight or nine days, why not make some new clothes and prepare some accessories for Ning and her sisters?"

  Although Zheng had already taken over the affairs of the mansion, after all, he hadn't officially presided over the Zhongyin yet. On the surface, he still had to put on a show.

  Chiang nodded with a smile: "You take care of these trivial matters."

  "Previously, Rong'er had taken a liking to a biyu hairpin at Zhenbao Pavilion, and this time we can purchase it together."

  Zhen Bao Ge is not an ordinary gold and silver workshop in the capital, it's very famous. The accessories made are precious and exquisite, with intricate designs, each finished product is unique and never repeated. Most of the accessories worn by the imperial concubines were from Zhen Bao Ge. The ladies of the aristocratic families in the capital also flocked to it.

  Of course. The jewelry prices at Zhen Bao Ge are also astonishingly expensive. An ordinary gold hairpin costs several dozen taels. The biyu hairpin mentioned by Li, which is inlaid with a large Dong pearl, is even more exorbitantly priced.

  Zheng's eyes flashed, and he knowingly asked, "Since you've specifically mentioned this emerald hairpin, I suppose there's something extraordinary about it?"

  Mr. Li coughed and said with a smile, "It's not that unusual, but there is an Eastern pearl inlaid on top, which looks pretty good." After a pause, he added, "The price is also slightly higher."

  A bit expensive? I'm afraid it's not just a little more expensive! Everyone present is a connoisseur, who doesn't know that Dongzhu pearls are rare and expensive?

  Zheng's heart secretly let out a cold hum. Li intentionally said this in front of Jiang, making it impossible for her to refuse. Did she really not have any temper at all, so easy to manipulate?

  "It's what Ruo Jie likes, so it doesn't matter if it's a bit expensive. Just buy it then." Zheng Shi said with a smile. She happened to see Li Shi's eyes light up, and then continued speaking at a moderate pace: "However, the expenses for each courtyard are all fixed. This time, there's this extra unexpected expenditure, how should we account for it? Please instruct me, Mother-in-law."

  Qing floated the difficult problem over to Jiang.

  Jiang said with a smile: "This time's expenses will be accounted for separately and won't be recorded under the various departments' budgets."

  Zheng smiled and nodded in agreement. Since it was a separate account, it would be considered a public expense. It was a good opportunity to buy some expensive jewelry for Ye Qingning anyway.

  The elders came and went, exchanging subtle signals, and Ye Qinglan and others naturally had no chance to interrupt.

  Ye Qinglan was thinking to herself, wondering if she should also prepare some jewelry. Just then, Zheng Shi laughed and said: "Right, Lan sister, how's your body? Can you follow along too?"

  Yè Qīnglán hastily and respectfully replied: "Thank you, Auntie, for your concern. I take my medicine on time every day, and recently my body has shown great improvement. If Auntie doesn't mind, I'd also like to go out and gain some experience!"

  Zheng nodded with a faint smile: "Alright, this afternoon someone from Jinzhi Fang's Zhenbao Pavilion will come over, don't forget to come over."

  Ye Qinglan nodded in surprise.

  Ye Qingning couldn't help but secretly laugh at her appearance. She's really pathetic, getting so excited over a few new clothes and some accessories.

  Jewelry. Probably the temptation that all women cannot resist. When various ornaments shining with gold were placed one by one on black velvet, everyone's eyes were drawn to them.

  The head of the Treasure Pavilion was good at dancing with long sleeves. He had dealt with many ladies from various official residences and was well-versed in sales techniques. With a wave of his hand, he pointed to one of them and explained its characteristics in detail. Even Zheng Shi and Li Shi were somewhat moved, carefully examining these exquisite accessories and secretly calculating which ones would be suitable for them to wear that day.

  Ye Qingning and Ye Qingrou each occupied the best position, selecting their favorite jewelry. Ye Qingrou chose four pieces, while Ye Qingning chose six pieces.

  Ye Qinglan was very aware of the situation, standing quietly to one side until both of her elder sisters had finished selecting theirs, before slowly walking forward and carefully examining them. In her heart, she couldn't help but secretly exclaim in surprise.

  The craftsmanship of these ornaments is indeed exquisite. She had thought that the things in her own jewelry box were also of high quality, but compared to what was in front of her now, they suddenly seemed dull and lacking in luster. Although she wasn't clear about the current prices of jewelry, she could guess that the ones in front of her were not cheap.

  The problem now is which ones should she choose? Should she pick the ones that suit her taste, or pick some valuable ones for private collection, or be low-key and pick a few inconspicuous ones?

  Ye Qinglan's mind was racing with thoughts, and she quickly made a decision. With a bright smile, she pointed to three of them.

  A branch of hibiscus jade hairpin, a pair of agate earrings, and a pair of exquisitely carved crimson gold bangles. Wearing them out would not be impolite, nor would they be too showy, and they wouldn't steal the spotlight from Ye Qingning and Ye Qingrou.

  A young man beside him was busy taking notes.

  Ye Qingning walked over and took a look, teasing: "Tenth sister, your taste is really good." Although the quality was not bad, the style was quite ordinary. It's hard to believe she could pick out these inconspicuous ones from several boxes of exquisite jewelry.

  Ye Qinglan seemed as if she hadn't heard her sarcasm and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Sixth Sister, for your praise."

  Ye Qingning suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Was she really stupid or just pretending to be? Didn't she realize that she was being sarcastic towards her? Never mind, she wouldn't pick anything herself, so Ye Qingning would choose a few good ones for her instead.

  Ye Qingning didn't say much either, lowered her head and took a few glances, then picked out two things.

  The first piece was a delicate golden hairpin, with the head of the pin being a small phoenix, and what's even more amazing is that the phoenix had a tiny pearl in its mouth. It's unknown what material this pearl was made of, but it was exceptionally small and exquisite, shining with a faint glow.

  Another one is a platinum necklace. Shining and colorful, exceptionally beautiful. Indeed more precious and exquisite than the ones Ye Qinglan chose.

  "Also remember these two." Ye Qingning instructed, and the young shopkeeper hastily smiled and responded.

  Ye Qinglan was taken aback and hastily said in a low voice, "Sixth sister, are you picking these two for yourself or for me?"

  Ye Qingning glared at her with a bad temper: "Of course, it's for you. I've already picked them out. Look at your taste, not one of them is worth looking at."

  "These won't be expensive, will they?" Ye Qinglan hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "If the cost is too high, I'm afraid Auntie and Grandmother might not be pleased..."

  Ye Qingning interrupted her with a disbelieving tone: "What's there not to be happy about? 8th sister and I picked more than you!"

  That's not the same! Ye Qingning has Zheng's backing, Ye Qingrou has Jiang and Li as her supporters. No matter how many flowers she picks or how much silver she spends, no one will say anything about it. But she is different...

  "Thank you for your kindness, Sixth Sister." Ye Qinglan smiled politely: "I'll just stick with the original few things." The most important thing in life is to know when to stop. As a dependent and unsupported third daughter of a concubine, it's better to keep a low profile.

  Ye Qingning rarely had a good heart, but unexpectedly Ye Qinglan didn't appreciate it. Suddenly unhappy, she immediately turned sour: "Forget it, do whatever you want, I'm too lazy to care about you."

  Ye Qinglan bumped into a nose full of ash, her expression was quite awkward, but she was actually very happy. Although Ye Qingning's tone was vicious and his attitude was poor, he was really concerned about her after all. These days, he had spent so much thought on her, and finally saw the real effect...

  Zheng had been paying attention to the two of them and saw that Ye Qingning looked displeased, so she hurried over: "Ning'er, what's wrong? Why aren't you happy all of a sudden?"

  Ye Qing Ning hummed softly: "You can ask Shi Mei."

  Zheng's eyes widened in surprise as she looked over. Ye Qinglan was usually clever and quick-witted, and had always gotten along well with Ye Qingning. What was going on today?

  Ye Qinglan smiled slightly awkwardly and explained in a low voice: "I've already picked out the jewelry, Sixth Sister specially chose two more for me, I think it's too much, so I said no. It's no wonder Sixth Sister is angry..."

  Zheng was so astute and experienced that he guessed the whole story as soon as he heard the tone of voice. He casually lowered his head to take a glance, and it all became clear in his mind.

  Ye Qingning has always been self-willed and rarely considers others. Rarely taking the initiative, she chose two expensive and exquisite accessories for Ye Qinglan, but didn't expect Ye Qinglan to politely decline. Only then did she become angry and humiliated!

  It's not entirely Ye Qinglan's fault, she's just a third house concubine-born daughter who is only able to stand here and pick out hair accessories because of Ye Qingning's influence. If she were too greedy, she would inevitably invite criticism from others, so it's better for her to choose some inconspicuous hair accessories. Now that I think about it, this girl is actually quite perceptive...

  "All right, since Ning'er has specially picked it out for you, don't decline it." Zheng Shi said with a smile: "In the future, there will be many opportunities to meet guests outside the mansion, and you must have some decent jewelry."

  These words came from Zheng's mouth, with a completely different tone.

  Ye Qinglan nodded with a surprised and pleased expression, then smiled and apologized to Ye Qingning: "Sixth sister is magnanimous, so let's not bicker with me. On the day of the flower appreciation banquet, I will definitely wear the hair accessories you specially chose for me, and make a good show."

  Ye Qingning burst out laughing. This little sister was really getting a good deal and selling cleverness!