Mother Zhou's words struck a chord with Consort Chen; the position of principal wife seemed like a sure thing. However, there was another troublesome person in the household…
"Jinrong Courtyard is nothing to worry about, but that vixen Xu..." Aunt Chen revealed a hint of ruthlessness, "She will definitely try to obstruct things!"
"You don't need to worry..."
Aunt Chen had the maid bring her hot tea and then inquired in detail about what was happening in Aunt Xu's courtyard.
After the 49th day memorial service for Lady Luo, the mansion gradually became quiet again.
The white veil covering the sky was removed, and Xiao Jin and Xiao Ye settled down in Jinrong Courtyard to observe mourning for Luo Shi. On the surface, neither Consort Chen nor Consort Xu made any moves, and the mansion remained peaceful for a time.
"Miss, Mama Lu sent a message!" Zisu lifted the curtain and came in, her face beaming. "She'll be back in less than half a month!"
Xiao Jin also showed a rare smile, "That's good." Seeing Huan Yue's visibly relieved expression, she couldn't help but chuckle, "Why are you all so happy?"
“That’s right,” Huan Yue was used to being casual in front of Xiao Jin and always said what she thought. “This servant and Zi Su are both relieved. In terms of wisdom, we are no match for Mama Lu. We were worried every day that the people from those two courtyards would cause trouble!”
“Huanyue is right!” Zisu nodded repeatedly. “We can’t help Miss much, but when Mama Lu comes back, she can come up with some ideas for you!”
Hearing their heartfelt words, Xiao Jin chuckled and shook her head. It seemed that the two girls had been even more nervous than they appeared these past few days. After all, they were just teenage girls.
Xiao Jin smiled and lowered her head to continue flipping through Xiao Ye's primer. Her cheapskate father naturally wouldn't think of finding a tutor for Xiao Ye, and Aunt Xu, Aunt Chen, and the others would rather the master forget about this son altogether, so why would they mention it?
Given Xiao Jin's former personality, she naturally wouldn't have spoken up in front of Xiao Ji.
Looking at the thin booklet in front of her, Xiao Jin was still confident that she could teach Xiao Ye well. After all, she had passed the teacher qualification exam, so teaching Xiao Ye his basic education should be...no problem?
Go for it, even if it's tough!
Just as she was about to call Xiao Ye, who was playing shuttlecock with the maids in the west wing, she heard a soft, bell-like laugh coming from the courtyard, "Is Second Sister home?"
The voice was very pleasant to hear, clear and melodious; it belonged to Yingniang, the third daughter of Xiao Ji, born to Aunt Chen!
Xiao Jin frowned. What was she doing here at this time?
Just then, Cuizhu at the door raised her voice and said with a smile, "Third Miss, you've arrived!"
Ignoring the displeased expressions of Huan Yue and Zi Su, Xiao Jin calmly put away the primer and stood up gracefully.
"Miss, why don't you feign illness and not see her?" Huan Yue's voice was deliberately lowered, her words light and quick. "She's never coming here with good news!"
"Yes, Miss, the Third Miss is so sarcastic and unpleasant even at such a young age!" Zisu also disliked Yingniang and whispered, "Should I go and tell her?"
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Jin remained unmoved, a faint smile on her face. "It's alright, you can come with me to see her!"
Xiao Jincai led Huanyue and Zisu to the west side room, where Yingniang was already walking over with Xiao Ye by the hand, smiling. To Xiao Jincai's surprise, Xiao Ye also obediently stayed by Yingniang's side!
It seems that Yingniang is quite skilled at dealing with people.
"Second Sister!" Yingniang smiled and bowed to Xiao Jin.
"Yingniang." Xiao Jin helped Yingniang sit down, a gentle smile on his face. "Zisu, go pour some tea."
"I thought my sister must be heartbroken these days and not eating or sleeping well." Yingniang said with concern and tenderness, "I specially asked Zhou Mama to make some snacks for my sister and Ye'er, which are quite light and delicious."
Xiao Jin realized Yingniang's intentions: to test her. Thinking this, she almost rolled her eyes—Yingniang, so young, was incredibly cunning! If it weren't for her lingering memories telling her that Yingniang was naturally like this, she would almost believe that Yingniang was also a transmigrator!
Then I will grant your wish...
“How can I trouble Mother Zhou? —” A hint of fear flashed in Xiao Jin’s eyes, but it was fleeting and was still noticed by Yingniang, who was watching her closely.
Yingniang was very satisfied with Xiao Jin's performance. She reached out her soft little hands and grasped Xiao Jin's hand, "Sister, that's not very polite of you! I've never forgotten how good you and Mother have been to me!"
If it were the Xiao Jin of the past, she would have been moved long ago. But now, she only felt a chill run down her spine; this Yingniang was truly extraordinary!
As they were talking, Yingniang's two head maids, named Hongxing and Shaoyao, each carried a black lacquered food box and placed it on the small table set up in the middle of the kang (heated brick bed) by the window.
"My dear sister, you're so kind." Xiao Jin glanced gratefully at Yingniang, then lowered her head and urged Xiao Ye, "Ye'er, hurry up and thank your third sister!"
Xiao Ye seemed to have a good impression of Yingniang. Unlike usual, he didn't cling to Xiao Jin shyly with his head down. Instead, he smiled broadly and said, "Thank you, Third Sister."
"Ye'er is such a good boy!" Yingniang smiled and patted his head, and for a moment the atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.
"Miss, Third Miss, the tea is here." Zisu carried a small black lacquered tea tray with two old kiln teacups on it, which had been dried after the rain.
Xiao Jin personally picked up one of the cups and handed it to Yingniang.
Yingniang smiled and took the teacup, taking a small sip. She exclaimed "Eh!" and then examined the teacup closely for a while before hesitatingly asking, "Second Sister, is this Tieguanyin tea a gift from Steward Song?"
“That’s right.” Xiao Jin asked in confusion, “But what’s wrong with that? Two months ago, my eldest sister gave it to me herself!”
"This..." Yingniang's expression turned strange, and she stammered, "The three of us sisters have all this tea... Sister, have you had any?"
Xiao Jin feigned ignorance and shook her head. "Not yet, this is the first time." As she spoke, she took a sip, and her previously relaxed brows suddenly furrowed, her expression not looking good.
“Sister,” Yingniang noticed Xiao Jin’s unpleasant expression and immediately stood up, quite angry, and said aggressively, “I’m going to talk to eldest sister! Why is it that the second sister gets the worst one? We are all sisters. You are the eldest daughter and you never put on airs, but she is only three years older than you and yet she is so arrogant!”
Xiao Yingniang is quite adept at shifting the blame! Regardless of the quality of the tea Yao Niang brought, if Xiao Jin were confused and followed Yingniang's words, he could naturally amplify Yao Niang's three-point malice to ten points.
Yingniang was only eleven years old, and her methods of sowing discord might not have been particularly sophisticated, but for twelve-year-old Xiao Jin, it was already enough...
At this point, having enemies on all sides would bring no benefit to Xiao Jin and her brother.
"Yingniang! Sit down quickly!" Xiao Jin, as if afraid of trouble, grabbed Yingniang and advised, "Eldest sister may not have meant it! We are sisters, and we have so much tea at home that it's just waiting to rot. Eldest sister would deliberately pick out the bad tea for me! At most, it's just that the servants made a mistake."
Hearing Xiao Jin's words, Yingniang was still furious and said angrily, "That's because Eldest Sister deliberately indulged the servants, that's why they dared to do that! Mother was ill at the time, so naturally she couldn't take care of these things. Eldest Sister is too good at playing favorites!"
At this point, Yingniang seemed to remember something, covered her mouth, and said apologetically, "Sister, I didn't mean it! I was so angry that I spoke without thinking..."