"......His ears are red?"
After saying that, he turned around and walked away at his usual unhurried pace.
But the moment he turned his back on Cui Jintang, the muscles on the side of the man's neck suddenly tightened and then quickly relaxed.
It was as if a string that had been plucked to its limit in secret finally made a sound.
Pei Ying, who didn't notice any abnormality in her elder brother, craned her neck, extremely curious about the contents of the document.
Getting closer, she seemed to hear Cui Jintang murmur, "......His ears are red?"
Pei Ying stared at her with a pair of big, clear eyes. "Huh?"
What's red?
Whose ears?
Cui Jintang lowered her head and opened the document. It was full of the gambling debts that Cui Chunniang had incurred in various gambling houses in recent days.
All of them had been paid off by Cui Chunniang in one go just yesterday.
If it weren't for avenging A Xun, she would have killed Cui Chunniang on the spot when she saw her yesterday.
How dare she come and cause trouble in front of her instead of continuing to hide properly?
Cui Jintang summoned Ying Lan. "I heard that Chaihengfeng recently got a whole piece of mutton-fat jade. Go and buy it for me. Tell them I'm making a birthday gift for the old lady."
"Yes."
---
On the day of the birthday banquet.
The sky was still dim, but the side door of the Pei Mansion creaked open.
Servants carried hot water, wooden buckets, and red silk in a rush, their footsteps noisy and chaotic.
As soon as the time came, the pre - arranged opera troupe lined up in front of the screen wall and struck the first gong and drum of the day.
There were a lot of things to do in the front yard today, so even Ying Lan was grabbed to help.
Cui Chunniang was hiding in the porter's lodge, munching on a plate of pumpkin seeds. She surrounded Ying Lan and chattered non - stop.
"I'm doing this for your young lady's own good. If she accidentally calls a lady by the wrong name, won't it be your young lady who will end up looking bad?"
"Moreover, she's living under someone else's roof. It's okay that she doesn't usually try to curry favor with the old lady. But on such an important occasion today, the birthday gift she gives must not be sloppy!"
Ying Lan was holding a bunch of red silk in her hands. Impatiently, she said, "Our young lady has already thought of these things. You don't need to worry about them!"
After saying that, she turned around and was about to go and hang the red silk on the stone lions.
"Hey, wait!"
Cui Chunniang threw away the pumpkin seeds and stepped forward with a smile to help Ying Lan carry the red silk.
Her eagerness was almost written all over her face. "What birthday gift has Jintang prepared? I've been in Qiushuiyuan for so many days, but I haven't even seen a glimpse of it."
Ying Lan sneered. "Aunt Cui only cares about which item is valuable and which one isn't. How could she have the extra energy to care about where the young lady goes on a daily basis?"
Cui Chunniang felt a twinge of guilt when she heard this, but then she straightened her back and assumed the airs of an elder.
"I'm Jintang's own aunt! Everything I do is for her own good!"
"If you don't tell me where she put the birthday gift today, I'll have Jintang drive you out of Qiushuiyuan later."
"You're just a servant of the Pei family. Do you think you can outrank me, her blood - related aunt, in front of Jintang?!"
Ying Lan's eyes turned red when she heard this. Flustered, she called out to her, "Wait! I'll tell you."
Cui Chunniang immediately showed a smug smile. "Well, this is being sensible!"
Fu Li, who was helping Ying Lan hang the red silk on the stone lions, watched their departing backs and was at a loss. "Hey? Are you still going to hang this red silk or not?"
---
At the beginning of the si hour, guests began to arrive one after another.
The sound of horse bells rang out first on the street corner, followed by several tall horses slowly approaching.
The porters announced the names of the guests one after another, and the servants shouted, "The Duke of Anguo's Mansion has arrived ---" "The Ministry of Rites' Vice - Minister's Mansion has arrived ---"
In the back yard, the sun was so bright that it was almost blinding.
Maids carried ice - chilled honey bowls and shuttled through the sound of drums, music, firecrackers. For a moment, the Pei Mansion was bustling with activity.
Old Lady Pei was supported out by two big maids. Her purple dress was embroidered with hundreds of bats, and her golden shawl glistened in the sunlight.
It was a birthday gift that Pei Ying had personally drawn the pattern for and had the embroiderer rush to make.
Listening to the continuous congratulations around her, Old Lady Pei's smile grew even wider.
The opera on the stage had started. It was the story of the Goddess Magu presenting birthday greetings.
"Miss Pei is truly intelligent and talented. She can draw such beautiful patterns," said the elegant Lady Wu Hou. Looking at Pei Ying with great satisfaction, she suddenly asked, "I remember she's fifteen this year, right?"
"Is she already engaged?"
Pei Ying, who was sitting primly beside Old Lady Pei, almost jumped up in surprise.
She half - rose from her seat, but then her hand was gently patted by Old Lady Pei.
Old Lady Pei laughed heartily. "This child is naughty. If it weren't for Tang'er constantly reminding her, she would have been unable to sit still and gone off to play by now."
Cui Jintang, who had been mentioned, had just ordered the servants to bring two buckets of crushed ice.
The cold air seeped out in wisps along the lotus petals, making people feel comfortably cool on this scorching afternoon.
Cui Jintang respectfully presented a cup of warm tea to the old lady, then leaned over and said something to Pei Ying.
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those around her to hear.
"It's busy today, but younger sister mustn't forget to copy the Wanshou Yaohan. This was pre - faced by the imperial concubine herself, so we mustn't be careless."
Pei Ying immediately understood and pouted in response. "I've only copied up to the third volume so far. It'll take at least a year or two to finish copying."
Hearing this, Old Lady Pei pretended to be dissatisfied. "I just praised you, and now your true nature is showing?"
Cui Jintang smiled slightly.
Sure enough, Lady Wu Hou beside them just nodded with a smile. "One should indeed prioritize the imperial concubine's grace."
This undercurrent of a marriage probe was thus gently defused.
For some reason, Cui Jintang always felt as if there were many eyes staring at her from behind.
But when she turned around, there was nothing.
"Bang!" A loud drumbeat caught everyone's attention.
A golden - embroidered lion's head flipped into the arena. With a flick of the flag's tail, the young Pei Su leaped out from behind the human wall.
He was only seventeen, dressed in a bright red short - sleeved shirt, showing off his youthful charm.
Following the rhythm of the drums, Pei Su and the golden lion kept flipping and performing various moves.
When the drums stopped, the lion crouched on the ground, and Pei Su knelt on one knee in front of the steps of the birthday hall.
The golden lion behind him opened its mouth slightly, and a jade - embroidered ball rolled out. It turned out to be a palm - sized gilded box.
The lid of the box popped open, revealing nine southern pearls inside. The surface of the pearls reflected the lights, showing nine "longevity" characters.
Pei Su wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled simply. "Grandmother, today your grandson has come to offer good luck with a lion dance. I wish you a long and healthy life!"
Old Lady Pei was so happy that she stood up quickly, took a few steps forward, and reached out to touch his sweaty temples, constantly calling him a good boy.
Just as everyone was clapping, a loud female voice suddenly came from behind.
"Old Lady!"
Luo Xiang walked in gracefully.
She had spent a lot of time carefully dressing herself up today.
She was wearing a rouge - colored sheer dress with dark flower patterns. Silver threads were secretly woven into a pattern of intertwined begonia flowers. When the sunlight slanted, the petals seemed to float and sink on the surface of the dress, looking vivid and charming.
She held her shoulders and back extremely straight, with a long and slender neck that revealed a patch of snow - white skin.
Luo Xiang held a small sandalwood - carved box high in both hands. The surface of the box was gilded.
From a distance, Cui Jintang could clearly see that it was the box she had specially made for the birthday gift.