For several days, Luo Lingxiu's attitude towards Mingyu returned to its previous state of being picky. Sima Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the "ally" he had won with great difficulty would be won over by the enemy. Even Mingyu herself felt much more at ease. She herself felt uncomfortable with Luo Lingxiu's previous friendly look towards her.
Two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sima Lian took the initiative to find Mingyu. During this period, Sima Lian often brought small gifts to Yiqing Courtyard to sit for a while, chat with Mingyu, and watch Mingyu practice calligraphy. So Nanny Tan was not surprised why the eldest lady came again. Anyway, the two little girls had nothing to talk about, and they just talked about rouge and powder. Nanny Tan didn't take it to heart and hid away to be lazy.
"Second sister-in-law, I came to ask you for advice." Seeing that Nanny Tan had left, Sima Lian stated her purpose directly, "The old lady's birthday is coming soon. This year is her full birthday. From what the lady said a few days ago, it seems that she wants to have a big celebration. What do you think I should give to the old lady?"
Mingyu was stunned for a moment, she couldn't come up with any good ideas for a moment. Although the old lady lived a simple life, she had seen all kinds of wealth and power. The Marquis's Mansion was not short of money and valuables, so it was really troublesome to give the old lady a gift.
"You are good at craftsmanship. Why don't you make a set of clothes or embroider a headband for the old lady?" Mingyu suggested.
Sima Lian recalled the handkerchief with peony embroidery that he had given to the Madam to show his favor to her, but Miao took the opportunity to step on it, which made him lose face. He still gnashed his teeth in hatred when he thought about it, so Sima Lian was unwilling to give embroidery again. "I did think about giving embroidery, but my embroidery skills are not as good as those of professional embroiderers. On the birthday, the Madam will definitely ask the master to make a lot of clothes for the old lady, and I can't give her clothes well..."
Seeing Sima Lian's anxious expression, Mingyu was slightly surprised. She had never seen Sima Lian so filial to the old lady before. Thinking of Sima Lian now living with Aunt Yu, Mingyu suddenly had an idea and asked, "Have you discussed it with Aunt Yu? What did she say?"
Sima Lian shook her head in disappointment, "Aunt doesn't have any good ideas." Although Aunt Yu had been kept as a concubine by Sima Qing for so many years and had everything she ate, wore and used were all top-quality goods, she had never been in contact with the upper class and didn't know what gift to give to please the old lady. If the gift was inappropriate and offended the old lady, causing her to dislike Sima Lian, then she would be self-defeating.
"Don't be anxious. When we younger generations give gifts to the old lady, what's important is the thought behind it. The old lady will still love us as much as before." Mingyu comforted her.
Sima Lian raised her slightly red face and said hastily, "It's different now, now, now..." After hesitating for a while, facing Mingyu's puzzled eyes, Sima Lian made up her mind and said, "Now I'm old enough, I can't rely on my wife, and Aunt Yu doesn't know anyone. I can't let my father, a man, come forward to propose marriage for me. If the old lady likes the gift this time, she can also help me..."
Mingyu looked at Sima Lian's blushing face and nodded with a smile. Aunt Yu was a smart person and could see the problem very clearly. No wonder she could always make Miao so angry that she wanted to vomit three liters of blood.
"Then I have to think carefully about this gift." Mingyu said with a smile. Although Sima Lian had a little temper, she had a good relationship with her overall. She had even come to visit Mingyu when she was sick. If she could find a good marriage, Mingyu would be happy for her.
As for valuable things like gold, silver, and jewelry, the old lady must be used to seeing wealth and she is not interested in them. Besides, Sima Lian probably cannot afford to give her many valuable things. Moreover, the things in Aunt Yu's possessions were all subsidized by the Marquis. If she gave her valuable things, the old lady might wonder in her heart, "Is he trying to please her by giving her own son's things?"
Seeing that Mingyu didn't have any good ideas, Sima Lian gradually became disappointed and couldn't help complaining, "It's all Madam's fault. I heard that other girls are taken around by their mistresses to visit guests and see the world, but she kept me in the yard and wouldn't let me go out. Now I don't even know what to give as a birthday gift to my grandmother!"
"Okay, okay, it's time to complain." Mingyu glanced at the yard and smiled. Nanny Tan was still lying on a chair in the sun, sleeping. She couldn't hear Sima Lian's words from this distance, otherwise she would have to report to the Miao family and cause endless trouble.
Sima Lian followed Mingyu's gaze and saw Nanny Tan sleeping. She was snoring so loudly that it could be heard in the room. Sima Lian pouted in disgust and approached Mingyu, whispering, "Look, she is such a black-hearted woman. She sent you such a disgusting old woman!"
Mingyu smiled and said evasively: "Madame Tan is okay. Apart from being a bit of a gossip, she is not a bad person." She is just a small-time person who curries favor with the powerful. It is not worth getting angry at her.
Sima Lian hated Mingyu the most because no matter who she said was bad, Mingyu would always smile and never agree with her. She might even defend that person, which made her so angry that she was hurt. At first, Sima Lian thought Mingyu was fake. Wasn't she also bullied by the wife and the eldest sister-in-law? Later, Sima Lian was too lazy to get angry with Mingyu. It was not a big deal anyway.
"Let's not talk about her, it's really a bummer." Sima Lian said unhappily, "Hey, as for the birthday gift, have you come up with anything good?"
Mingyu was about to say no. She was not from this era and did not understand the hidden rules of gift-giving in this era. Moreover, she did not know what Tianshui had to give as a gift. However, she glanced at Nanny Tan who was sleeping in the yard under the sun, and an idea suddenly occurred to her. She said, "How about you go on stage and perform a show for the old lady yourself?"
Mingyu still remembers that when she was a child, she lived with her grandmother for a period of time. Her grandmother was old, and she loved to sit under the shade of a tree with a small radio, hugging the young Mingyu, squinting her eyes to listen to the Huangmei Opera on the radio. When she heard a tune she liked, she would sing along.
Thanks to her grandmother, Mingyu still remembers her grandmother's favorite songs. Not only her grandmother liked them, but it seemed that all old ladies of her grandmother's age liked them. They all loved to listen to the melodious singing and the glamorous appearance of the Huangmei Opera actors.
"Opera? What kind of opera?" Sima Lian asked in surprise, then shook her head. "The mansion invited an opera troupe a few years ago, but the old lady didn't seem to like it much. Every time she ordered a piece of opera, she lost interest after listening for a while."
This is the northwest region, and the style of the troupe must be Qinqiang. Recalling the Qinqiang performances she had seen on TV, the actors sang with their voices open, rough and heroic, Mingyu shook her head secretly. If she was not a native of the northwest, she would definitely not be used to Qinqiang. The old lady followed Sima Chang to garrison here after the founding of the Great Chu, so it was understandable that she did not like to listen to it.
"It's different from the operas you're used to." Mingyu said with a smile. She couldn't think of how to explain Huangmei Opera for a moment. She didn't know if there was such an opera in this era. Looking at Sima Lian's anxious eyes, Mingyu thought for a moment and said, "It's our Jiangnan opera. The actors wear beautiful costumes and sing melodiously. The old ladies in our area like to listen to it. If you're willing, we might as well give it a try. When the old ladies see such a new thing, they might like it."
"Okay, tell me about it." Sima Lian became interested.
In fact, Mingyu had already started to regret it. She almost forgot that in ancient times, if you sang well, you would not be admired as an artist by the public. It seemed that singing opera was a low-class livelihood. Lin Daiyu in Dream of Red Mansions was very angry because she was said to look like an actor. If there was such a rule, how could Sima Lian, a daughter of a marquis, learn to sing opera
However, looking at Sima Lian's reaction, there was no sign of unhappiness at all. Mingyu suspected that she was overthinking it. After all, this era was not the ancient times she knew, and perhaps the rules were different. Besides, didn't the ancients have the saying "entertaining parents with colorful clothes"? People like him were regarded as filial sons and passed down through the ages.
"Give me some time to think about it, and sort out the play I remember. I'll show it to you when it's done." Mingyu said.
Sima Lian nodded, her heart leaping with joy. On the old lady's birthday, all the wives of officials and wealthy merchants in the entire northwest would come to celebrate and curry favor with the Marquis's mansion. If she could show up at the birthday banquet alone and make the old lady happy, with so many noble ladies watching, after the birthday banquet, would she be worried that no one would know that the Marquis's mansion had a talented, beautiful young lady who was well-liked by the old lady? How could she still expect the lady to come forward to propose marriage? She was afraid that by then, the people who came to propose marriage would trample through the door of the Marquis's mansion.
Mingyu looked at Sima Lian's face in surprise, which was both happy and shy, and couldn't help but say, "It's not that easy. We need to hire a troupe. We have to tell the Madam. We can only prepare after she approves."
When the wife was mentioned, Sima Lian's face unconsciously turned cold. He hummed sullenly and said, "I know. When we pay our respects in a couple of days, we'll talk to her about it."
Next, Sima Lian began to discuss with Mingyu how to tell the wife so that Miao would agree with their idea.
Master Bao, who had just returned from school, did not go directly back to his own courtyard. He saw from afar that the gate of Yiqing Courtyard was open. Master Bao thought to himself that it had been several days since they had met the little girl when he delivered something to her. Thinking of the little girl's delicate and lively eyes, Master Bao's legs seemed to be out of control and he walked straight to Yiqing Courtyard.
However, when he looked back and saw Baihao's sly smile, Master Bao's face immediately turned red. In his embarrassment, he suddenly remembered something, cleared his throat twice, and said, "Why are you grinning so shiftily? The carpenter said that the wooden shelf can only be wiped with a dry cloth. I forgot to tell you last time, so this time I just came here to tell Second Madam, so don't let me have any second thoughts!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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