High-class Spring Joy

Qingyuan returned to her residence, but Hongdou had not yet returned.

She has a lot to do, and unless the maids change shifts in the evening, she usually doesn't have much time to come back.

Hongdou didn't serve in Chu Jingyu's courtyard; she initially served in the old lady's courtyard.

Madam Dou was a noblewoman from a family that had produced three generations of Grand Tutors, so she naturally had more rules and etiquette. Not to mention the older nannies, who could scold anyone who made a mistake until they were dead.

Although Hongdou was simple and straightforward, she was not stupid. She knew that she would be walking on thin ice in the old lady's courtyard. Since she was not cunning, she deliberately made a harmless little mistake early on, and the old lady demoted her to a cleaning maid.

Although I have a lot of things to do and a lot of work to do on weekdays, and I'm busy and tired, at least I won't lose my life because of a casual remark.

In this secluded mansion, for the maids, simply surviving was already a great achievement, and Hongdou didn't ask for anything more.

Qingyuan devoted herself entirely to her nearly finished embroidery of mandarin ducks playing in the water, spending most of the day on it.

Three days later, Qingyuan finally finished embroidering the picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water and was ready to deliver it to Hongxiuzhuang in the afternoon.

She used to have a lot of work to do. She was responsible for Chu Jingyu's daily life and had to take care of everything. Chu Jingyu wouldn't listen to anyone else's arrangements.

Later, Chu Jingyu's attention gradually shifted away from Qingyuan. Occasionally, when Qingyuan was not around, he did not notice. It wasn't until Jiang Qingge broke off her engagement with Chu Jingxian that Chu Jingyu devoted most of his energy to Jiang Qingge and had no time to care about Qingyuan.

With fewer things to do, Qingyuan's usual duties were simply helping him get up, and after breakfast, he would go to find Jiang Qingge.

However, apart from one day off every ten days, they could not easily leave the manor without their master's order.

It just so happens that ten days have passed since her last visit to Hongxiu Manor. Qingyuan can leave the manor today as long as she finishes serving Chu Jingyu.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as she returned to her room after asking the nanny for leave, the embroidered picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water disappeared without a trace!

Qingyuan practically turned the whole room upside down. When she had no other choice, she went to ask the maids and servants outside. She was shocked to find out that only Chu Jingyu's servant had come by!

Then it can only be that Chu Jingyu ordered him to come!

Qingyuan, disregarding the immediate situation, went straight to Chu Jingyu's residence and hastily bowed to him: "Young Master... have you sent someone to my room?"

Chu Jingyu remained the same, not taking the initiative to speak to Qingyuan, but Qingyuan seemed to sense that he had changed in the past three days.

For the past few days, he had been enjoying her service with a blank expression, but in the last three days, his eyes have been filled with smiles, and he seems more relaxed and at ease, as if... he has confirmed something important.

Seeing Qingyuan return with a noticeably changed expression, Chu Jingyu put down his chopsticks: "So what if she did?"

Qingyuan didn't have time to analyze his changes, so she pursed her lips and tentatively asked, "Then... did you let him take anything?"

"No, not at all." Chu Jingyu slowly wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

"That servant girl's drawing..."

Qingyuan didn't believe it, but Chu Jingyu was unpredictable...

"If you are referring to the painting of mandarin ducks playing in the water, then it was indeed brought here on my orders."

Chu Jingyu raised an eyebrow, his expression calm and composed, as if he hadn't realized anything was amiss. Looking at Qing Yuan, he hesitated, then casually retorted, "What's wrong with me ordering my things back? That was originally embroidered for me, and it took you quite a bit of time. I know you were planning to give it to me as a birthday gift. I won't pretend I don't know, nor can I bear to waste your good intentions."

After saying this, Chu Jingyu felt a pang of regret. Why couldn't he wait until his birthday to have her give it to him? Had he been too obvious, making it clear that he was too eager for it?

Won't this make her too smug?

Soon, without giving Qingyuan a chance to speak, Chu Jingyu continued, "Although I like it, Ayuan, embroidering these seems too petty and not presentable. It would be fine for you to give them as a birthday gift, but you must not let others see them. So I instructed my servant to pick them up in advance. You won't feel wronged, and I will have received your good intentions."

Could she kill him with a needle?

Qingyuan was furious. She looked at Chu Jingyu in front of her. She hadn't realized it before because she was caught up in her feelings, but now she saw it clearly. How could there be such a confident person in this world?!

I saw something that I embroidered for him.

Qingyuan mentally complained, but didn't show it on her face. "This is just something I embroidered for fun, not what you mean, young master."

"Heh." Chu Jingyu chuckled, his gaze landing on Qing Yuan with amusement, as if he had seen right through her, his expression filled with disbelief.

"Embroidering for fun... You used to say you embroidered for fun, but which piece of clothing wasn't for me? You used to embroider my clothes for fun too."

Judging from his tone, he was convinced that she had found the picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water in a joyful union. The main thing was that the picture and the pattern were really hard to explain.

Seeing that Qingyuan didn't answer immediately, Chu Jingyu became even more determined in his thoughts. He was happy to coax her, so he stepped forward and reached out to take her hand: "Ayuan, I know you're being temperamental because you've been jealous of Ge'er these past few days, and you want me to pay more attention to you. You even admitted it was my negligence, that I was only thinking about Ge'er and neglecting your feelings. But Ayuan, you should know clearly how much I love you after all these years. Besides, after we get married, Ge'er will be the principal wife, and you will be the concubine. We'll have a long time together in the future, so don't hold grudges over trivial matters. I will still treat you the same way."

Qingyuan took several steps back, cursing inwardly.

What bad luck!

How could there be such a shameless person?

Being good to her? Indeed, the master's power of life and death is a reward to them, the servants.

Therefore, she no longer wanted to be a servant.

She didn't want any of his nonsense anymore; all she wanted was to be redeemed and to keep her embroidery!

If the goods aren't delivered, there's no payment—fifty taels! That's a full fifty taels!!

Qingyuan's heart was bleeding, so she changed her approach: "I know your intentions, young master. I am unworthy to receive your kindness, so I can only repay you with some small trinkets. However, your birthday is not yet here, and my design still has many flaws. Why don't you give it to me first, and I will definitely present it to you before your birthday once I have finished embroidering it?"

Chu Jingyu's expression had turned cold because of Qingyuan's retreat, but now, hearing Qingyuan's words, he was thoroughly pleased and very satisfied: "No need, it's already very good in my opinion, there's no need to change it."

Chu Jingyu made the final decision, giving Qingyuan no chance to come up with another solution.

Qingyuan had no choice but to give up; she couldn't very well just grab the things back.

Without the painting of mandarin ducks playing in the water, not only will we lose fifty taels, but we will also have to return the twenty taels deposit. Originally, we should have been able to raise two hundred taels, but now we will lose seventy taels.

The time she spent was wasted, and thinking about this, Qingyuan was absolutely annoyed with Chu Jingyu.

No, we can't give up so easily.

With five days left, she could finish the job if she worked tirelessly. The only problem was where to get the fabric.

The material specified for the "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water" painting is very precious. The previous piece was provided by Hongxiuzhuang, and the manager said there was only one piece available, so he repeatedly told her to be careful.

After taking her leave, Qingyuan went straight out of the mansion and headed to the largest cloth shop in Bianjing City.

Perhaps we can try our luck there.