Chapter 131: A Pair of Gossips
The Pingjiang Prefecture in mid-July was still sweltering.
Early in the morning, Li Xiaonan squatted by the kitchen door, looking intently at her face in the washbasin.
This summer, she and her Eldest Sister had been out almost every day. Their only two sun protection items were an ugly hat sewn by Mei Jie, which was useless, and then, a succession of large, all-natural lotus leaves.
Sigh. This summer, she had darkened several shades, and even gotten freckles!
In the rouge and powder shops of Pingjiang Prefecture, there were rows of various face creams, ancient recipes, secret formulas, and imperial specialties, all genuine ancient recipes, but she had no money to buy them, and her Eldest Sister wouldn’t let her buy things that weren’t meant for them.
Third Sister had some, and quite a bit, but Eldest Sister had already decreed that she wasn’t allowed to ask Third Sister for anything.
And Third Sister’s temper was such that if she said one thing, Third Sister would give her a whale’s portion, and even the smallest amount would be a hippopotamus’s mouth. She couldn’t even secretly ask for a little.
Sigh.
As Li Xiaonan sighed while looking at the washbasin, Wan Jing’s voice sounded from outside the courtyard gate, “Is Fourth Mistress at home?”
“Yes!” Li Xiaonan replied, quickly wiping the water from her face.
“You just woke up?” Wan Jing stepped into the courtyard, looking at Li Xiaonan who was still washing her face, and exclaimed.
“No, I just washed my face late. Are you alone?” Li Xiaonan poured out the water and placed the washbasin on the rack.
“How could I come out alone! Do you need to change clothes?” Wan Jing sized up Li Xiaonan.
“Isn’t this outfit okay?” Li Xiaonan looked down at herself.
“It’s fine! The fine cloth skirt.” Wan Jing tugged at Li Xiaonan’s skirt.
“It’s made from three scraps of cloth, sewn by Mei Jie. She sewed the seams into the pleats, so you can’t tell, right?” Li Xiaonan turned around to show Wan Jing.
“How can I not tell? These three pieces have different patterns,” Wan Jing said frankly.
“They’re different, that’s why they look good! Let’s go. Mei Jie, I’ll be back soon.” Li Xiaonan called towards the backyard and pushed Wan Jing out.
“Not soon. Mei Jie, A Nan won’t be eating lunch at home,” Wan Jing called out directly.
“Where are we going?” Li Xiaonan heard Mei Jie’s reply and went out the courtyard gate with Wan Jing.
“Linhai Town!” Wan Jing’s tone was light and excited.
“You haven’t been to Linhai Town either?”
“Have you? Oh! You’re local, have you been?” Wan Jing stopped herself mid-sentence.
“No. I heard Linhai Town is very lively, even more lively than Pingjiang City?”
“Although Linhai Town is called a town, it’s much bigger than a town. Get in the cart.”
When they reached the alley entrance, Wan Jing gestured for Li Xiaonan to get into the cart first, then followed closely and continued speaking.
“Linhai Town is divided into three parts, this part here, a part north of the river, and a large area in the middle of the river, said to be larger than Pingjiang City.”
“Does Linhai Town fall under the jurisdiction of Pingjiang Prefecture?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“No, not even Liangzhe Circuit can control it. It’s directly managed by the Ministry of Revenue, and I think the Ministry of War too, I’m not sure. Let’s not talk about this.” Wan Jing shifted closer to Li Xiaonan, lowered her voice, and with a gossipy expression, said, “Miss Shi is sick!”
“Hmm? Is she really sick, or is there something else causing her to be sick?” Li Xiaonan’s eyes widened.
“I heard,” Wan Jing shifted again, leaning against Li Xiaonan, whispering together.
“Our Young Lord asked our maternal aunt to introduce a marriage for Miss Shi.
“Our maternal aunt specifically came from Hangcheng. She told Madam Pan, who is Miss Shi’s Second Aunt. I heard our maternal aunt went straight to the point, saying that the Young Lord felt it was suitable and asked her to act as a matchmaker!”
“Miss Shi fell ill because of this? That can’t be right?” Li Xiaonan was very surprised.
What was there to fall ill over?
“Why not! Keep your voice down. I heard that Miss Shi always thought our Young Lord breaking off their engagement was just him being sulky, like a couple having a spat. Now, our Young Lord is asking our maternal aunt to arrange a marriage for her, that’s different!”
Wan Jing chuckled.
“Isn’t ‘a couple having a spat’ what you and Shi Gun say? Does Miss Shi herself think that? Also, who did you hear these rumors from? If you pass this on to me and I pass it on to you, after three people, it’ll all change, black will become white,” Li Xiaonan earnestly cautioned Wan Jing.
“When our maternal aunt was talking to Madam Pan, Xiao Yao from the Tea Tray Department told me. Xiao Yao was serving tea nearby that day, heard it with her own ears, and told me herself!” Wan Jing retorted.
“Then what about the second rumor? How did Miss Shi think that, how did others know? How did you hear about it?” Li Xiaonan continued to ask.
“You!” Wan Jing patted Li Xiaonan on the back. “Our Cousin Girl, Fourth Miss Wei, you’ve met her.”
Li Xiaonan nodded.
“Yue Mei serves in Fourth Miss’s courtyard. Yue Mei said that the day after Miss Shi fell ill, Fourth Miss and Yin Xing were gossiping. Yin Xing is Fourth Miss’s Head Maid. They were talking about Miss Shi’s affairs, and it came up that Miss Shi was crying terribly. She said she originally thought it was because she had advised our Young Lord too much and he got angry, but who knew our Young Lord would actually arrange a marriage for her.”
“Yue Mei said there were three or four people on duty in the courtyard at the time, and Fourth Miss’s voice wasn’t low, nor did she ask them to leave, hehe.”
Wan Jing winked at Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways at Wan Jing. “Whether your Young Lord and Miss Shi are having a spat, what business is it of yours? Is it worth being so happy? Look at your gloating expression.”
“Of course, we’re happy. We’re all very happy. We don’t like Miss Shi,” Wan Jing rolled her eyes at Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan let out a long “Oh.”
She remembered that Miss Shi and the Young Lord were both sharp as needles and loved to deduct monthly allowances. If they got together, they would be deducting allowances all year round.
“Is Miss Shi still sick?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“Yes! Our Young Lord told Madam Pan that Miss Shi must have fallen ill due to not being accustomed to the climate.”
Li Xiaonan chuckled, and Wan Jing covered her mouth, laughing heartily with Li Xiaonan.
The two chattered away, and it seemed like only a blink of an eye before the cart stopped.
Wan Jing quickly patted her face, her expression serious. She smoothed her clothing placket, got off the cart properly, and lifted the curtain.
Li Xiaonan jumped off the cart and looked at Gu Yan, who was on horseback watching her, smiling brightly.
Gu Yan’s eyebrows twitched slightly at her smile, and he immediately glanced sideways at Wan Jing.
What had this idiot Wan Jing said to her again? This little girl’s smiling face was clearly not right.
“We’re going to Linhai Town, right? That’s so exciting! How wonderful!” Li Xiaonan followed Gu Yan’s gaze to Wan Jing and quickly explained with hidden meaning.
She had been laughing too hard just now. Before getting off the cart, she should have learned from Wan Jing and patted her face to look serious.
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Disclaimer: Xiao Xian has no book friend groups, has never joined, and will not join any book or anyone’s book friend groups. This is a formal declaration.
