The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 1560 - 1557: Sister-in-Law, What About Ours?
The person being thought of, Wang Yongzhu, sneezed, startling the maids attending her, who quickly gathered around, afraid she might have caught a cold.
Finding the crowd of people annoying, Wang Yongzhu sent them all away.
She looked at the time; a nap now would likely leave her feeling uncomfortable by dinnertime.
It would be better to endure without sleep.
With nothing to do, she decided to sort through the items in the boxes.
The contents of these boxes were extremely valuable and all came from the palace, with several marked as tribute; they required careful handling.
The current maids serving her belonged to Lady Gao; if it were in the past, Wang Yongzhu wouldn’t have thought much of it.
Now, seeing Lady Gao as suspicious, she would not let her maids handle the items since they weren’t her closest confidants.
After several years of experience, Wang Yongzhu knew that today, in front of so many people, the Imperial Noble Consort’s gifts had been seen.
If she kept them all for herself, it would spread a bad reputation.
Aside from Song Hong and Lady Gao, the family’s young masters and two young ladies should also each receive some.
She must also prepare for relatives from the Gu Family, each person getting one.
After looking through the items, she knew what to allocate.
Wang Yongzhu rummaged through the box and found a densely-listed sheet cataloguing the items in each box.
Lastly, a note explained that in the box containing headpieces, a small casket held items specifically prepared for Wang Yongzhu to use as rewards.
Wang Yongzhu found the casket; it was heavy and revealed an array of dazzling treasures upon opening.
Various delicately-crafted golden hairpins and pearl flowers.
Although not as valuable as those specially prepared, they possessed an exquisite charm; such items would be considered rare for the mistress of an ordinary household.
As Wang Yongzhu reviewed the list carefully, it was apparent much thought had gone into it.
It seemed they considered her family needing gifts too, marking some items clearly meant for gifting.
Such as calligraphy, paintings, brushes, and ink, aside from those intended for Song Chongjin, the rest evidently prepared for gifts to the Gu Family.
An agarwood Buddha statue, Buddha beads, and a white jade Guanyin, unmistakably prepared for the elderly matriarchs of the Gu and Song Families.
A set of mutton fat white jade decorations and some medicinal herbs, Wang Yongzhu picked out to give to the Lady of the Gu Family.
For other Gu Family women, each would receive a headpiece.
As for Song Hong, Wang Yongzhu fetched a gold-embedded jade dagger from the bottom of the box.
Lady Gao would receive a set of gemstone headpieces.
With the list, Wang Yongzhu easily picked out the items.
For the Song Family’s concubines, young masters, and young ladies, Wang Yongzhu selected some ordinary ornaments from the small casket, choosing to add a few well-practiced items.
The remaining items she placed within her blood vine bracelet.
The box remained untouched, securely locked and stored in the inner room, where no one dared disturb it without her command.
By the time she finished these tasks, night had fallen.
Lady Gao had sent someone to invite her to the main courtyard, saying the evening banquet was about to begin.
Wang Yongzhu quickly freshened up and changed outfits before instructing the maids to carry the prepared gifts for the Song Family to the main courtyard.
Arriving at the main courtyard, most of the female relatives were already present, only waiting for Wang Yongzhu.
In the past two years, the second and third branches of the family had been away; this year in the mansion, only the female relatives from the Duke Weiguo Residence were present.
Seeing her arrival and noting the maids continually holding various boxes, with some items adorning trays, everyone’s eyes lit up.
Especially Little Lady Hou, whose eyes were practically glued to them.
The concubines exchanged mocking glances upon this sight.
It must be said, the current Little Lady Hou obtained by Maternal Aunt Hou was nothing compared to the previous Lady Ruan.
Raised in a small family, despite the Hou Family’s recent rise, the underlying pettiness was evident.
Though everyone coveted the Imperial Noble Consort’s gifts, such unabashed displays like Little Lady Hou’s were beneath notice.
Maternal Aunt Hou disapproved of Little Lady Hou’s unseemly demeanor, born of a bureaucratic family, raised with independence, how could she behave so inappropriately?
She frantically tugged at Little Lady Hou’s sleeve.
Lady Gao’s gaze flickered as she smiled at Wang Yongzhu, "What are you doing?"
Wang Yongzhu returned a cheerful salute, "During this palace visit, Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort rewarded me with numerous gifts; I can’t possibly keep them all to myself, can I? Let everyone partake in Her Majesty and the Ninth Prince’s luck." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
With that, she signaled the maids to present the gifts.
She personally offered the sapphire headpieces to Lady Gao, the sapphires each the size of a fingertip, deep blue, perfectly polished with six visible starry gleams under the right lighting.
While others simply admired the pure blue gemstones, Lady Gao, experienced, recognized the rarity of the starry gleams, widening her eyes; this was exceptional.
Such pure, starry sapphires were exceedingly rare in the palace.
Even the County Monarch Rongyi, Lady Gao’s mother, once received a prized gift from the Empress Dowager; it wasn’t as colorful, nor as large, nor adorned with starry gleams, yet still valued.
Rumor had it these gemstones were from the Western Region, scarce, difficult to polish, only top artisans from there produce very few annually.
Such a headpiece set wasn’t just priceless; in knowledgeable hands, its value reached thousands of gold.
Though initially intending to refuse, what woman doesn’t love gemstones? Especially these starry sapphires deeply appealed to her, reluctant to reject.
She accepted halfway, commenting, "We really are spoiled by your kind acts! Originally meant exclusively for you by the Imperial Noble Consort, you should save them for yourself; why offer them to us?"
Speaking these polite words came easily to Wang Yongzhu now. She laughed, "Madam has taken good care of me many times; I have little to repay you. Today, receiving the Imperial Noble Consort’s gifts, such treasures naturally should honor Madam; it reflects filial respect from me and Master Heir-Apparent. Madam, please accept these with ease."
Lady Gao’s gaze flickered; seeing Wang Yongzhu’s tender expression softened her demeanor, grasping Wang Yongzhu’s hand, "Good child, I know of your devotion!"
Her eyes seemed to shimmer with tears briefly, yet upon blinking, they disappeared.
At this moment, the affectionate mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged warmth, while Little Lady Hou couldn’t wait; seeing Lady Gao’s headpieces, calculating she was the sister-in-law, hers wouldn’t differ much?
Immediately, her previous resentment towards Wang Yongzhu temporarily cast aside, she sidled up beside Wang Yongzhu, smiling, "Sister-in-law, what about ours?"
