“Miss Su has been so kind in inviting me, Caiyun will certainly accept!” Shen Caiyun smiled slightly, neither humble nor overbearing, but modest and cautious.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Shen Caiyun was adept at conversation and her every move was polite and proper, like a natural socialite. It was a waste of her talent to remain silent and invisible.
Sitting in the carriage, Shen Yingxue listened to Dongfang Zhan and Su Yuting's invitation and praise of Shen Caiyun. A surge of anger rose in her chest. "That bitch! She must have used some underhanded means to attract so much attention and dare to steal my thunder. I'll teach her a lesson when I get back to the Prime Minister's residence."
"Sister Lixue!" After exchanging pleasantries with Shen Caiyun, Su Yuting gracefully walked up to Shen Lixue, her radiant smile captivating: "When I came to the banquet, my mother gave me something and specifically instructed me to give it to you personally. It was inconvenient with so many people earlier, but now it's finally quiet!"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow: "What is it?" Why did the Duchess of Wen suddenly have the idea to give her something?
Su Yuting took an exquisite box from the carriage and handed it to Shen Lixue: "This is it!"
The box is made of precious rosewood, with intricately carved vine patterns on it. Three emeralds are set in the center, and many small diamonds are inlaid on both sides. It is very precious and beautiful.
Shen Lixue took it and gently opened it. A complete set of Dongzhu headdress, including hairpins, pearl flowers, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and nail covers, came into view. The large Dongzhu pearls were delicate and round, shining with a charming luster.
"I don't understand what you mean, Madam." Shen Lixue knew that this set of jewelry was very valuable, and the Duchess of Wen would not give her such an expensive thing for no reason.
Su Yuting smiled gently: "Sister, do you know that your mother and my mother are close friends?"
“I know!” Shen Lixue nodded. When they were in Qingzhou, Lin Qingzhu had talked about some things from their youth, and the friend she mentioned most often was the Duchess of Wen.
“This set of jewelry originally belonged to your mother. My mother once visited the Duke of Wu’s mansion and took a fancy to this set of jewelry, so your mother gave it to my mother. Now that my sister has returned, my mother wants me to return it to its rightful owner!”
"Thank you, Madam and Sister Yuting!" Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow and looked at the jewelry in the box: So this was Lin Qingzhu's.
“Sister, you don’t need to be so polite. Returning the item to its rightful owner is only right!” Seeing that Shen Lixue’s gaze remained fixed on the jewelry in the box, Su Yuting didn’t disturb her any further and tactfully took her leave: “The jewelry has been returned to you, sister. I’ll be returning to the Duke of Wen’s mansion to report to my mother!”
"Take care, little sister!" Shen Lixue greeted softly, carefully examining the hairpins and earrings in the box. Each piece was exquisitely crafted, with perfectly sized pearls and beautiful floral designs. This set of jewelry was worth at least ten thousand taels of silver. Lin Qingzhu had casually given it to the Duchess of Wen, which was quite a generous gesture. It also showed how prosperous the Duke of Wu's mansion must have been back then, that even a single pearl hairpin was made so exquisitely...
Suddenly, Shen Lixue's gaze fell on the handle of the hairpin, her clear, cold eyes narrowed slightly, and when she looked at the earrings, the pearl flowers, and the nail covers, her dark pupils deepened: What's going on?
"Li Xue!" A clear voice rang out, and Shen Li Xue glanced to the side. Lin Yan walked over quickly, looking somewhat anxious.
"What happened to Cousin Yan?" Shen Lixue rarely saw Lin Yan looking so anxious, so she frowned. Could something serious have happened?
"You forgot your things!" A round bucket was handed to Shen Lixue, emanating a chill. Shen Lixue suddenly remembered that when she went to say goodbye, she had left the ice bucket outside the study and forgotten to pick it up.
"Thank you, cousin!" Shen Lixue took the ice bucket, revealing the jewelry and box in her hands to Lin Yan.
Looking at the beautiful hairpin and pearl flowers, Lin Yan was slightly taken aback: "This is..."
He had seen many different kinds of jewelry at the border, some beautiful and some valuable. As a man, he was not interested in these things and had not paid much attention to them. However, this set of jewelry gave him a very familiar feeling, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Where exactly had he seen it before?
Lin Yan stared at the jewelry, frowning in thought. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he instantly realized, "This is my aunt's jewelry!"
"How did you know?" Shen Lixue looked at Lin Yan in surprise. According to Su Yuting, this set of jewelry had already been given away before Lin Qingzhu got married. Even if Lin Yan was born, he had just been born. How could he remember this set of jewelry?
“Auntie’s jewelry is unique!” Lin Yan picked up a hairpin and earrings, pointing to the flowing patterns on the hairpin handle and earring pendants: “These may look like patterns at first glance, but look closely, what are they?”
Shen Lixue frowned, staring at the pattern that kept changing shape in her mind, then her eyes suddenly lit up: "It's the mark of the Duke of Wu's mansion!"
“That’s right!” Lin Yan smiled brightly: “The mark of the Duke of Wu’s mansion is derived from the character “Lin” in oracle bone script. When making the jewelry, my aunt specially instructed the goldsmith to engrave the character “Lin” as a pattern on the jewelry. Firstly, it’s beautiful and attractive, and secondly, it can prevent jewelry from being mixed up!”
"So clever!" Shen Lixue's cold eyes were full of admiration. Lin Qingzhu truly deserved to be called the number one talented woman of Qingyan. She actually came up with this way to distinguish jewelry. She was truly intelligent and insightful.
Back in Qingzhou, Lin Qingzhu had told Shen Lixue about the mark of the Duke of Wu's mansion, but it was written on paper in black and white, making it very easy to recognize. Now, the mark was engraved on a hairpin in the shape of a flower, changing its form, and she couldn't see it at first.
“Auntie was the most outstanding, but unfortunately, beauty is often envied by heaven!” Lin Yan’s eyes dimmed when he spoke of Lin Qingzhu, and his gaze towards Chen Lixue held more pity: “Lixue, you and your aunt have suffered so much these years!”
"I'm fine, the one who's suffered the most is my mother!" Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows and smiled awkwardly.
"Sister Lixue!" A gentle call came from behind. Shen Lixue turned her head and looked over. Shen Yingxue lifted the curtain and looked over, her beautiful eyes revealing deep impatience.
"Cousin Yan, I'm going back to the manor now!" Shen Lixue was just about to find an excuse to leave, so she took advantage of Shen Yingxue's impatience to back down.
"Be careful on the road!" Lin Yan nodded and reminded him again.
Shen Lixue agreed and took the ice bucket and jewelry box to the carriage.
Once everyone was present, the driver didn't linger any longer. He cracked his whip and drove the carriage away. Shen Lixue sat at the table looking at the jewelry box and the ice bucket. Shen Yingxue, Shen Caiyun, and Shen Caixuan didn't speak either, their heads lowered, each lost in their own thoughts. The atmosphere in the carriage was somewhat oppressive.
Suddenly, the carriage stumbled, and everyone inside swayed violently. Shen Caiyun swayed the most and bumped into Shen Yingxue's injured arm.
"My arm!" Shen Yingxue exclaimed, her suppressed anger flaring up instantly. She grabbed Shen Caiyun's hair and yanked it hard, slapping her hard across her upturned, fair face. "You slut, not only did you forcibly take Prince Zhan, but you also tried to scheme against me, stealing your own sister's man. You're so proud of yourself..."
"Slap!" Caught off guard, Shen Caiyun was slapped hard by Shen Yingxue. Her ears rang, and a bright red five-fingered mark instantly appeared on her fair face. Her eyes also became slightly dazed...
"You shameless woman, I'll show you again when you try to steal Prince Zhan!" Shen Yingxue was furious. One slap wasn't enough, so she swung her hand again and struck Shen Caiyun. "Competing with your own sister for a man in front of everyone, how splendid! You've completely disgraced the Prime Minister's residence..."
Unexpectedly, the slap didn't land on Shen Caiyun's face. Instead, it was stopped by Shen Yingxue a hand's length away. Her small hand gripped Shen Yingxue's wrist tightly, trembling slightly. Her beautiful eyes were deep and unfathomable, but the words she spoke were cold and angry: "Shen Yingxue, I am your sister, not your servant, whom you can beat and scold at will!"
Shen Yingxue scoffed disdainfully: "Do you think that just because others call you Miss Shen the Fourth, you're really the daughter of the Prime Minister's family? You're just a concubine's daughter, lowly and worthless, not much different from those bought servants. Don't try to show off in front of me just because you're the Fourth Miss..."
"Slap!" A loud slap abruptly interrupted Shen Yingxue's taunts, and her beautiful face was turned to the side.
The carriage fell silent instantly. Shen Caixuan looked at Shen Caiyun and Shen Yingxue in shock, and quietly backed away without leaving a trace. Shen Caiyun was too bold; she actually dared to hit Shen Yingxue.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Shen Caiyun's courage had indeed grown, or perhaps she had reached her breaking point and had no choice but to explode. However, given Shen Yingxue's proud nature, she would definitely not let it go after suffering a loss. A storm was about to break out!
Shen Caiyun looked at her red little hands and felt a moment of regret, but then she calmed down. Everyone's patience has its limits. Shen Yingxue had bullied her more than once or twice, and she couldn't keep enduring it. She had to face everything head-on.
In the boundless silence, Shen Yingxue slowly turned her head, a bright red five-fingered mountain appearing on one side of her beautiful face. She glared fiercely at Shen Caiyun, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger: "Shen Caiyun, how dare you hit me! You bitch, you bitch, you bitch!"
The hand with long fingernails reached out and grabbed Shen Caiyun's beautiful face. Shen Caiyun was not to be outdone. While blocking her wrist, she slapped Shen Yingxue again.
Instantly, screams, scuffles, and the clatter of tables and chairs filled the entire carriage.
The maids and nannies were sitting in the back of the carriage. When they heard noises inside, they knew someone was making a fuss, but they didn't know who was involved. They couldn't pry into their masters' affairs, and besides, since their masters hadn't called out, they pretended not to hear and continued to ride in the carriage at a steady pace.