Full House Spring

Chapter 11 Eye-catching
Nanny Xie couldn't let go of the headband. Although it was not embellished with pearls and jade, it was eye-catching.

She thought that Xia Li's skill in embroidery meant that she was just slightly better than the other maids, but she didn't expect her to be so outstanding.

Nanny Xie did not doubt the truthfulness of her words. With so many little maids watching her in the courtyard, she had no ability to hide the truth.

Nanny Xie put the headband back on the kang table and picked up the snow-blue undershirt to look at it. Although the fabric was not the best, the stitching was fine and the tailoring was very careful, which made her feel very happy.

Xia Li was not in a hurry, so she just stood there and waited quietly. After a while, Nanny Xie looked up at her and said calmly, "You have to work every day. It must take a lot of energy to make these things."

Xia Li smiled and said, "As long as grandma likes it, it's worth the effort. This is all I can offer."

Madam Xie lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. She said bluntly, "I am a solitary person, and I don't care about using the little power in my hands to benefit others. Even if you are my granddaughter, I will not immediately promote you and bring you to show your face in front of the old lady. Aren't you afraid that you will work in vain?"

Xia Li looked calm upon hearing this, and she said frankly:
"I do want to serve the old lady, and I also want to be the head maid of Le Shou Tang, but those who rely on nepotism to get to the top are mostly good-looking but useless, and may cause a lot of trouble to others, so I don't have this plan."

Aunt Xie's eyes were deep, and Xia Li continued:
"I was kind to Grandma because I simply wanted to respect you as my grandmother. I was alone and helpless, and seeing you was so kind to me, as if you were my grandmother in my previous life. I couldn't help but want to get closer..."

Xia Li's words were sincere and heartfelt, and Aunt Xie was not unmoved. She had seen countless people and rarely made mistakes. Fang Xia Li's attitude was sincere, and at least at this moment she did not lie at all.

The older you get, the lonelier you feel. It was the same for Aunt Xie. Sometimes, when she looked at the old lady enjoying family life with her children and grandchildren around her, she felt extremely envious. But subconsciously, she still felt that she was of humble status and did not deserve such blessings.

Looking at Fang Xiali, she couldn't say anything excessive, so she pursed her lips and changed the subject:
"How did you make this toothbrush?"

Xia Li did not expect a few small gifts to impress her, so she did not feel disappointed. She smiled and said:

"This toothbrush is made of cow leg bones and pig bristles. Don't worry, I boiled it with wood ash water to degrease it, so there won't be any dirt. I've tried it several times and it's much easier to clean teeth than using your fingers."

Aunt Xie played with her toothbrush and said in a gentle tone:

"Your wonderful ideas are still useful, but since you have great embroidery skills, you must not waste them in the future. The old lady has very high standards, and most of the clothes are made by Bai Shao. There are also second-class maids who can embroider, but they are not up to the standard. Bai Shao is getting older, and sooner or later she will be sent out to marry, and then..."

Although Aunt Xie didn't finish her words, Xia Li understood immediately and bowed respectfully to Aunt Xie.

"Thank you for your advice, Grandma. I will never let you down. No matter what my future holds, I will always take care of you until the end of your life."

Madam Xie's breathing stagnated slightly. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "When Aunt Wu tortured you that day... I didn't intervene to stop her. Do you feel resentful?"

Xia Li was stunned for a moment, then a smile spread across her eyes and eyebrows, and she said in a brisk voice:

"How could I think so? Grandma has her own standpoint. Mrs. Wu still has some weight in the old lady's heart. She will never give up. She suffered a great loss from me. If I don't retaliate, it will be more difficult to deal with her in the future. I just suffered a little, but my life is not in danger. What's wrong with letting her do what she wants?"

Madam Xie nodded unconsciously, "You are right to think so. Mrs. Wu will sooner or later exhaust her favor with the old lady, but a little girl like you can't bring her down. She has vented her anger, and for my sake, she will not go too far in the future, and this matter will be over."

Xia Li also thought so. She would not put someone to death for such a small matter. Aunt Xie stood up and said:

"I still have some good fabrics and embroidery threads here. My eyesight is not as good as before, so you will be the one making the underwear in the future. If you don't have enough fabrics, you can come to me for more."

Her attitude became much more friendly, and Xia Li was very happy to hear that. She smiled and said, "Can I use the material you gave me to make myself a dress?"

Madam Xie opened the box and said calmly, "I have a lot of fabrics here. Come and pick them out. You can take the brightly colored ones back home to make your own clothes. You had nothing when you came here, so you should buy more."

Xia Li felt warm in her heart and approached her without any hesitation. The old and the young squatted there, talking and picking things like ordinary grandparents and grandchildren. She brought a lot of things when she came, and brought back a big pile when she went back. Aunt Xie did not let her suffer any loss.

After Fang Xiali left, Aunt Xie sat on the bed quietly for a while. She stroked the headband, tried it on first, and then put the undershirt on to try the size. Every one of these things touched her heart.

Although what she said before was unkind, she would not really do it. Xia Li was the only girl that caught her eye in all these years, so she had to protect her.

Guessing that the old lady was about to wake up, Nanny Xie took the things Xia Li had sent and went to the main room again. As soon as she entered, she saw Bai Shao and Shi Mi helping the old lady rinse her mouth. Nanny Xie's mouth corners unconsciously rose.

The old lady saw this and joked, "You seem to have found gold when you went out. It's rare that you smile."

Madam Xie handed the headband to the old lady and said without hiding anything, "Master, look at my girl's craftsmanship. She is so clever and skillful at such a young age. I am amazed by her."

The old lady took the headband and looked at it carefully, and said with approval: "This embroidery pattern is really vivid. I am afraid that even white peony cannot match its vividness."

Bai Shao hurriedly stopped what she was doing and leaned over to take a look. She thought that Aunt Xie was exaggerating, but when she took a closer look, she exclaimed in amazement, "What a skillful girl! We actually have such a talented girl hidden in our courtyard. The old lady is so lucky."

Shi Mi couldn't take her eyes off, and she sighed, "You really can't judge a person by appearance. Such a little girl is so capable."

Although Aunt Xie was happy, she knew that it was not wrong to be modest and prudent. She said in a gentle voice, "Now she seems to be doing well in every way, but she still needs to control her temper. I also told her not to neglect her embroidery skills, so that she can serve the old lady when she grows up."

The old lady smiled and asked, "Are you planning to choose her to take care of you in your old age?"

Aunt Xie rubbed the old lady's shoulders and said frankly: "This girl and I get along well. Let's wait and see. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be her."

Shi Mi and Bai Shao smiled at each other when they heard this. They both had reliable parents behind them and were a few years older than Xia Li, so they didn't have much conflict with her.

Aunt Xie almost forgot. She quickly took out a toothbrush from her bosom and said with a smile, "This is a toothbrush. It was also made by that girl. They said it is made of cow leg bones and pig bristles. It is very convenient to clean teeth with fine salt."

Although the old lady was old, she was very easy to accept new things. She took it in her hand and said excitedly: "This is a new thing. Do you have any extra ones? Let me try this one first." Xia Li sent two toothbrushes for her to replace. Aunt Xie had one left. She hesitated and said: "After all, it is not a presentable item. How can you use it casually..."

The old lady waved her hand indifferently. She smiled and said, "When did you become so pedantic? Why can't I use something that you can use? Don't be so pretentious. Bai Shao, go get some fine salt."

Bai Shao sighed and hurried to get it. Aunt Xie was helpless. The old lady dipped some fine salt and brushed her front teeth first. She felt it was good, so she brushed her inner teeth. After she spit out the mouthwash, she said with a smile:

"This thing is good. Tell your girl to make more for me and send some to the masters and wives in the mansion."

Madam Xie subconsciously defended her, "Master, please don't flatter her like that. The girl is still young, so don't make a big fuss about it. Let her write a recipe and find a craftsman to make it more exquisite. I'm afraid that if she becomes too popular, it will be bad."

The old lady smiled and said to Shi Mi, "Look at your Aunt Xie. This time she knows how to care for others. It's true that it's different when you care about something. Let's do as you say. First call the girl over so I can take a look."

It was a good thing that Xia Li caught the old lady's eye. Aunt Xie was not worried that she would show her weakness. Shi Mi smiled and said, "Aunt, let me go and call her. I also want a toothbrush from her. If the old lady says it's good, it must be good."

Bai Shao also joined in the fun, "Then you have to help me get one. You can't have white teeth while mine are the only ones that are dirty."

The old lady was amused by her words, and the whole room was filled with laughter. Shi Mi readily agreed, took good care of the old lady, and then turned and left.

Over in the servants' room, the maids stared at Xia Li when they saw her bringing back so many cloths. Some of them, who just wanted to watch the fun, even opened their mouths to ask about it. Xia Li did not shy away from asking and just said that it was Grandma Xie who asked her to help make clothes. When the maids heard it was Grandma Xie, they dared not say anything.

Xiangru and Maidong were out on errands and were not in the room at the moment. Only Manqing was sitting in front of the window. When she saw Xia Li coming back, she immediately looked gloomy.

Zi Fu was forced by Xia Li to drink some dirty water and fell ill when she got home. She had a high fever overnight. Her mother was terrified and couldn't find anyone to vent her anger on, so she scolded her.

Zi Fu had taken leave to recuperate at home these days, and she was the only one who came back to work. She had seen Xia Li doing embroidery before, but she didn't pay much attention to it. But when she saw her bringing back so much cloth, she couldn't help but ask, "You didn't cheat so much cloth from Madam Xie with those worthless things, did you?"

Xia Li walked such a long way with the cloth in her arms, and was panting with exhaustion. She went into the house, put down the cloth, and drank a few gulps of water before she said with a half-smile, "Do you think grandma is stupid? She's so easy to fool, how could you not fool her?"

Manqing felt like she was stabbed in the lungs. When the two sisters first entered the mansion, they tried to persuade Madam Xie a lot, but the old lady refused to listen, so they had to give up in the end.

Manqing didn't dare to go against Xia Li anymore. Her mother told her that no matter how glorious her father, the big manager, was outside, he was just a servant in this mansion and they could not influence the affairs of the courtyard. Therefore, she asked her to take the initiative to make peace with Xia Li.

Man Qing suppressed the grievance in her heart and said calmly, "Fang Xiali, we sisters were wrong before, can you please not go against us in the future?"

Xia Li was sorting the fabrics, turned around and said with a smile: "If you sisters don't take the initiative to provoke me, will I do it?"

Man Qing pursed her lips and said directly: "We sisters are just staying here for a while. We won't get in your way. You don't have to be on guard against us."

Xia Li looked at her suspiciously and asked, "What do you mean?"

Man Qing puffed out his chest and said complacently: "Zi Fu and I will be the masters in the future, unlike you."

Xia Li understood immediately, and she said sarcastically:
"This is the residence of a super first-class duke. Even if your father is the chief shopkeeper, you cannot become the master's first wife. So you want to be a concubine?"

Man Qing still felt a little ashamed, her face flushed as she said:

"Why are you asking when you already know the answer? My father has already reached a consensus with the old lady. If you want to be the head maid, just work your way up and don't bother us in the future. Xiangru is not a pushover. She is your competitor."

Xia Li looked at her with a hint of contempt. Not to mention the young master of the Duke's Mansion, even if he was a royal family, she would not lower herself to be a concubine. A concubine who signed a contract to sell herself was just a plaything to be dealt with by her mistress. I really didn't know what she was so proud of.

"What happens between you two sisters has nothing to do with me. As long as you don't take the initiative to cause trouble, I will never find fault with you. Don't try to sow discord between us. I know everything about Xiangru."

Man Qing said unhappily, "I reminded you kindly, but you didn't appreciate it. Wait until she steps on you to climb up, and then I'll see what you'll do."

Xia Li sneered and said, "No matter who you are, don't think of stepping on me to climb up. I would rather die in glory than live in disgrace."

Man Qing was shocked by her aura and was speechless. You could hear a pin drop in the room until Shi Mi shouted outside the room, "Is Sister Xia Li in the room?"

Xia Li recognized that it was Shi Mi, and hurriedly raised his voice and said, "Sister, I'm here, please come in."

She went forward to open the door enthusiastically, and Manqing quickly restrained her expression. Shi Mi came into the room and saw Xia Li smiling, and took her hand affectionately and said:
"I never knew you could make such a beautiful headband. Your hands are so delicate. You should not do too much rough work in the future."

Xia Li didn't know what she was here for, so she said modestly, "My embroidery skills are nothing, I just made it for grandma to wear for fun. I wonder why you came to see me, sister?"

Shi Mi said softly, "It was the old lady who wanted to see you. The toothbrush you made was very much in her heart. She originally wanted you to make a few for the masters of each courtyard, but Aunt Xie said that you are young and have limited energy. It would be better to hand over the recipe and order the craftsman to make it. The old lady couldn't make up her mind for the time being and wanted to hear your opinion."

Xia Li immediately knew what was going on. She smiled and said sincerely:
"Grandma loves me, so it's best to follow her way. I can't be careless when honoring my master."

Shi Mi was very pleased to hear this, and patted her hand and said:
"I knew you were smart. Your sister Bai Shao and I also want that toothbrush. Do you have one here?"

Xia Li smiled and said, "Of course there is more. I'll go get it right away. Please wait for a moment, sister."

She made most of them just for backup, and this time it came in handy. Shi Mi was very happy to get the toothbrush, and couldn't help but give a few more suggestions.

(End of this chapter)