An hour later, Yu Zhi, her face pale from losing so much, walked back listlessly, looking weak and exhausted.
She looked like she was about to cry, and Wei Ping chuckled at her cuteness, asking the waiter, "How many games has she lost?"
The waiter hurriedly flipped through the notebook: "Forty-eight performances in total."
"How many games did you win?"
Two games.
The fourth young lady smiled, her eyes crinkling, and reached out to hug the defeated beauty: "You lost, so what? Are you happy or not?"
Yu Zhi's droopy eyebrows lifted, infusing her with vibrant energy: "It was fun. Although I didn't win much, it's enough for me to remember for a lifetime."
"Why hold onto such trivial matters for a lifetime? Being happy is enough. You'll be even happier in the future."
"Yeah?"
Wei Ping smiled without saying a word, and finally let go of her: "Let's go, it's getting late, we should go home."
The waiter prepared the ledgers early and settled the accounts after Miss Four had won or lost.
The wooden tray held one tael of silver, which was the sum of Wei Pingxi's winnings minus the final amount of silver lost by Yu Zhi.
The silver tael stood there all alone, as if mocking the 'good fortune' of a certain beauty.
Yu Zhi lowered her head in embarrassment, not daring to look at anyone.
"One tael."
Having earned so much money, even Wei Pingxi was taken aback when he saw this one or two taels of silver.
Is this concubine's ability to squander money rather impressive?
"Not bad!" She picked up the silver ingot: "There's still a profit to be made, it wasn't a wasted trip."
A silver ingot was placed into Yu Zhi's palm. The Fourth Miss's expression was clear: "Here, this is for you. Thank you for your mercy, Miss Zhi."
Holding the silver was like holding a hot potato; Yu Zhi was filled with shame.
"As long as you're happy, let's go. Let's go home!"
Yu Zhi was stunned for a moment, then put away the silver and caught up with her, taking that jade-like hand in hers again.
She was quite happy. It was just a bit expensive, she thought.
Chapter 34 Her Tenderness
In winter, with wind and snow, white plum blossoms bloom in the courtyard.
As darkness fell, Yu Zhi broke off a slender plum branch and placed it in a white porcelain vase, gazing at the plum blossoms with a good mood as she admired them repeatedly.
The fourth young lady is not here.
After the fourth young lady brought her back and they had dinner, she was called to the old lady's residence in the backyard. She hasn't returned yet, and the grandmother and granddaughter probably have a lot to talk about.
Yu Zhi took out a tael of silver from her sleeve pocket and placed it together with her 'little treasury' that she had brought with her—dozens of gold beans and a dozen gold leaves. The fourth young lady was so rich that she rarely gave her silver.
The silver tael placed inside seemed particularly out of place, and Yu Zhi smiled gently.
Ming Shuyuan.
After listening to their granddaughter/daughter's report on the day's itinerary, including how they managed to shake off the four Yan brothers in detail, the old lady and Madam Wei felt as if they were following their grandchildren to ski, shoot arrows, and experience all sorts of fun activities, including the 'Flaming Mountain'.
"Young people are energetic, and there are many fun places in Beijing. Take the opportunity to visit them more often, and tell your wife about it after you're done."
At her age, she loves spending time with younger generations, especially her outstanding granddaughter.
The Yan family had many sons. The old lady had two sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter was the empress, who gave birth to a princess and a crown prince for His Majesty. The youngest daughter married the Marquis of Yiyang. The family had the most offspring, with three sons and one daughter.
Unfortunately, the three grandsons were not close to the old lady, and the old lady disliked their character even more.
When her son's generation and his wife only have sons, even if she dotes on her grandsons and spoils them one after another, to be honest, it gets a bit tiresome.
Grandsons are never as pleasing to the eye as granddaughters.
Among her granddaughters, Xi Xi, who lives far away, is more favored by the old lady than the princess who lives deep in the palace.
People are drawn to each other based on first impressions; even among granddaughters, there can be degrees of closeness or distance.
This is because people's hearts are biased, and very few can truly be impartial.
"Go on, and call Zhizhi over to keep this old woman company."
"Yes, maternal grandmother."
Wei Pingxi lifted her skirt and stood up: "Mother, I will go down first."
Yan Qing thought she was perfect in every way, her gaze warm: "Go then."
"I don't know if Xi Xi takes after you or the Marquis," the old lady said with a smile. "Outsiders might find her appearance and temperament jarring and rebellious, but I think she's quite good."
"What we say is good is truly good. Why should we care what outsiders say?" Madam Wei lowered her eyes, gently blew out a breath of tea, and slowly sipped her Biluochun tea.
...
The sky was dim, and the ground was covered with snow. As they passed through the plum grove, Jade and Agate carried lanterns on either side to light the way for the young lady.
“The snow in the north is thick and heavy, and its intensity is different from that in our Lingnan Prefecture.” Wei Pingxi stretched out her hand, and snowflakes melted in her palm.
"Who says otherwise? Miss, please slow down."
After leaving Mingshu Courtyard, passing Dianjiang Pond, through the plum grove, and through a series of hanging flower archways, Wei Pingxi walked more than a hundred steps forward before returning to Qinghui Courtyard, which her maternal grandfather had arranged for her.
In Qinghui Courtyard, Yuzhi cupped her face to admire the plum blossoms' cool elegance, their whiteness and purity.
"Auntie, Miss is back!" Jinshi ran to report.
Upon learning that the Fourth Miss had returned, Yu Zhi's eyebrows twitched with delight, and she stood up, lifting the hem of her skirt, to greet her at the door.
The wind blew through her soft, black hair, and her brocade dress clung to her graceful figure.
The courtyard was brightly lit, with lights that were not visible during the day, even though it was night.
The sound of cheerful footsteps approached, and Wei Pingxi looked up to see a beautiful woman walking happily toward her in the warm lamplight.
The beauty initially walked, then jogged, while Jinshi and Yinding carefully warned her from behind, "The road is slippery."
Yu Zhi ran into the Fourth Miss's arms, and Wei Pingxi subconsciously opened his arms to embrace her. The soft fragrance made him momentarily lose his senses.
The wind and snow started again.
Extinguish that stunning beauty of "where the lights are dim".
"Aren't you afraid of falling? It's cold, why don't you wait inside?" Wei Pingxi half-embraced her as they entered the room.
Seeing this, Jinshi and Yinding couldn't help but feel happy for their aunt—they had never seen the Fourth Miss treat any other woman so well!
"It's alright, the road isn't too slippery, and I'm not standing in the courtyard the whole time, so I'm not cold."
Her clothes were chilled by the wind and snow, but her heart was warmer than usual.
Upon entering, a warm wave of heat greets you, and Jinshi and Yinding serve tea to their master.
The aroma of tea filled the air, and the fourth young lady chuckled, "So enthusiastic tonight? You never used to come running to greet me like that."
She said indirectly that Yu Zhi was usually lazy and didn't treat her like a master, which sounded a bit like flirting, and also had a hint of reproach.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Yu Zhi told the truth: "I lost a lot of money today..."
Looking back, she felt increasingly guilty for being a spendthrift. She was lucky she was with someone who was rich; if she had been with someone less wealthy, she would have been tempted to sell her to make amends.
She was unlucky; she lost all that money in a moment of madness.
It can't be said "all"; there was a tael left over.
She felt heartbroken and pained for the fourth young lady.
Since the Fourth Miss has lost money, it's only natural for her to greet her warmly and smile at her more often.
Wei Pingxi had anticipated this, and hearing her response, he felt a slight discomfort—he had wasted her money, yet as her concubine, he couldn't even get up to greet her more.
She suddenly became irrational: "Grandma wants you to talk to her. Pack your things and go to Mingshu Courtyard."
"Huh?" Yu Zhi was stunned.
Jinshi Yinding was taken aback and quickly prepared the fur coat and hand warmer that his aunt would wear when she went out.
She had just returned when Yu Zhi 'kicked' her out after only a few words. She felt down as she walked toward Ming Shu Yuan.
Seeing that she was holding the small hand warmer and not saying a word, Yin Ding assumed that she was nervous about meeting the old lady and comforted her, "Auntie is loved by everyone, and the old lady will definitely like her too."
Yu Zhi didn't want anyone to worry about her, so she forced herself to cheer up.
"Aunt Yu, please come in."
The old lady's personal maid came to greet her, and Yu Zhi was flattered and overwhelmed.
"This humble servant greets the old lady. May the old lady be well."
She bowed gracefully, dressed in a snow-white fur coat with a crimson fur collar around her neck, and her small, delicate face was exceptionally beautiful.
"Don't call me 'Old Madam.' Just say what you called me when you came in. There's no need to change it."
Yu Zhi's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her voice was sweet and clear: "Thank you, Grandmother."
"sit."
"Yes, maternal grandmother."
"Since you call me maternal grandmother, we're family. Don't be shy. Did Xixi take you out to play during the day? Did you have fun?"
“Very good.” Yu Zhi blushed: “It’s just that I lost a lot of money.”
The old lady knew everything about this from her granddaughter. Even her granddaughter didn't think the concubine was a spendthrift, so she had no reason to go out of her way to make her unhappy.
She looked closely at Yu Zhi's face and her eyes.
Do you know the Liu family of Jinghe?
The same question was raised by the grandfather and grandson within just a few days, and Yu Zhi shook her head.
She was unaware of the Liu family of Jinghe. The old lady couldn't tell whether she was happy or worried: "The Liu family of Jinghe was a prestigious family in our Great Yan Dynasty a few decades ago. Unfortunately, they offended the Empress Dowager and the whole family was destroyed."
"Imperial power is a sharp sword. If this sword were to strike the Liu family, the Liu family would truly fall like a willow tree whose fate is sealed."