Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

On the very day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the sky was clear and the air was crisp.

The old lady was helped to sit in a wheelchair in the corridor, with a thin brocade blanket covering her knees and legs.

In the open space of the courtyard, the maids lined up neatly, each holding a sachet they had embroidered.

Granny Wu walked up to the group, carrying a tray in her hands.

"Hand over your sachets one by one, don't mess up the order."

The maids lined up in a long queue, each putting a sachet inside.

Different colored silk threads shimmered in the sunlight, and the embroidery patterns were diverse.

After collecting them all, Granny Wu had someone bring a box, poured all the sachets into it, shook it to completely shuffle them, and then placed it back on the small table next to the old lady's wheelchair.

"Madam, please take your time and choose whichever suits your taste."

The old lady smiled and nodded, then went to examine the sachets in the box; the variety was dazzling.

"Grandma, it's so lively here today."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Second Master Pei Zeyu dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, with a jade buckle around his waist. He held a plain jade-ribbed folding fan in his hand and waved it lightly, his clothes fluttering gracefully.

When the old lady saw him, her smile deepened, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out.

"Why are you here so early, child?"

In previous years, family banquets were always held at the Duke's Hechun Hall during festivals.

This year, due to the old lady's mobility issues, the event was moved to Mingxi Hall. All the masters of the household would come, but none of them seemed to arrive as early as he did, just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Pei Zeyu walked to the wheelchair and straightened the thin blanket on the old lady's knees.

"Having heard that there is a sachet appreciation event at Mingxi Hall today, I came early to join in the fun."

"What kind of sachet appreciation is this? You're making it sound so serious."

The old lady gave him a reproachful look, "It's just for them to embroider for fun, to bring good luck for the festival."

Pei Zeyu smiled warmly, "Is my grandson not late?"

Granny Wu hurriedly said, "Second Master, you've arrived just in time. The Old Madam is currently making her selections."

The old lady had already picked out five sachets from the box and lined them up on the small table.

"Those are all ones I think are good, but if I had to choose the best one, I'd be too old and my eyesight wouldn't be good. You've come at the right time, could you give me some advice?"

The five sachets were all exquisite, some with vibrant colors, others with delicate and elegant designs.

Pei Zeyu straightened up, lightly pressed the folding fan against his palm, and looked at each item with serious eyes.

"My grandson believes that to judge the quality of a sachet, one must consider not only the fineness of the stitches and whether the pattern aligns with the meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival, but also the color matching and embroidery skills. One should not be biased."

Granny Wu echoed, "Second Master is absolutely right."

While the Second Master was helping the Old Madam with her diagnosis, Ling'er took advantage of everyone's attention being focused on the front to quietly speak with Liu Wenying beside her.

"Sister Liu, what about the sachet you embroidered? Did the old lady choose one of the five?"

Liu Wenying looked at the five bright and beautiful sachets that had been selected and gently shook her head.

"None of them are mine."

Seeing this, Ling'er quickly grabbed her wrist and whispered words of comfort.

"Don't be discouraged, Sister Liu, your cooking skills are so good."

Liu Wenying gripped her hand back, "Don't worry, I'm not discouraged. I was just joining in for fun."

She's not that competitive.

However, it is only natural to hope that what you do will have a good outcome, be seen, and be recognized.

She stayed up several nights in a row, meticulously embroidering with old silk thread; it would be a lie to say she wasn't looking forward to it.

Xi Chun stood in the front row, his chin held high, his gaze fixed on one of the five sachets.

It seems she saw that she had been selected.

After much deliberation and listening to the Second Master's advice, the old lady finally chose the pomegranate sachet embroidered with lotus blossoms.

The red silk background is adorned with emerald green intertwined branches, the lotus petals are full, the stitches are fine, and the color scheme is bright yet elegant, which suits her eye very well.

"Let's choose this one. It's the most neatly embroidered, with a lively lotus pattern. The reward will be given to the maid who embroidered it."

Xi Chun heard this in the crowd and was overjoyed, straightening his back.

She lowered her eyes respectfully, waiting for Granny Wu to call out her name so she could receive her reward.

Granny Wu responded and was about to take the pomegranate sachet to announce the result.

As she turned around, her elbow bumped against the table, and a sachet that had been pressed at the bottom of a blue cloth box fell to the ground with a thud and rolled to her feet.

"Granny Wu, something was left behind."

She paused for a moment, then bent down to pick it up.

"It was my carelessness. Perhaps there were too many sachets when I was collecting them, and one slipped into a corner without me noticing."

Granny Wu picked it up and was about to put it back in the box.

"Wait a minute."

Granny Wu was stunned. "What are your orders, Second Master?"

"Since we are judging according to the rules today, the most important thing is fairness. The one that was accidentally left out should also be shown to Grandmother."

What he said made perfect sense, and the old lady nodded in agreement.

"Yu'er is right. The rules are clearly stated. Let me take a look."

Granny Wu dared not disobey and presented it to the old lady with both hands.

The sachet was really unremarkable; it was made of ordinary silk, and the embroidery thread wasn't bright new thread.

But the old lady's gaze fell upon it and suddenly froze.

"Who embroidered this?"

Amidst the crowd, Liu Wenying's heart was pounding with anxiety.

The old lady's reaction was unexpected; she couldn't quite tell whether she was pleased or angry.

Perhaps because they found the materials too rough and unsightly, and were afraid of displeasing their master, no one dared to claim the honor.

When no one answered, the old lady asked again, "Who embroidered it?"

Liu Wenying gritted her teeth and finally stepped out of the crowd.

"Reporting to Madam, it was embroidered by this servant."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless eyes in the courtyard turned to him.

Granny Wu's face darkened first.

She was constantly being instigated by Xi Chunri, so she already had a bad impression of Liu Wenying.

"Nanny Liu, the materials distributed throughout the manor are all of good quality. Why did you bring such inferior stuff? What happened to the new silk threads and plain silk fabrics that were prepared in the storeroom?"

Liu Wenying began to explain the origin of the material.

"This is all I received."

"Nonsense, when did the manor..."

"Granny Wu," Xi Chun suddenly interrupted, "When the food was distributed to Nanny Liu that day, one portion was indeed missing. I had someone go to the storeroom to get a new one and send it to her."

She turned to Liu Wenying, seemingly helpless, and said, "Nanny Liu, why didn't you say you took the wrong one? We could have exchanged it for another one."

Liu Wenying sneered inwardly. Xi Chun had deliberately dug a pit; how could she easily exchange it for something better?

Now all she says are nice-sounding words to make amends; she says everything, good and bad.

Just as she was about to retort, Granny Wu suddenly interrupted her.

"Alright."

Pei Zeyu sat beside the old lady, his gaze sweeping over Xi Chun and Liu Wenying.

His eyes darkened, and he tapped his palm lightly with his folding fan, as if deep in thought.

But he ultimately said nothing, and instead bent down to ask the old lady with concern.

"Grandmother, what happened to that sachet?"

The old lady touched the sachet, which was not particularly exquisite, and her eyes slowly welled up with tears, as if she were looking through the rough silk and faded threads at a scene from many years ago.

…………