All Hail Cousin Brother

177 Tacit Agreement

Yu Youyao came to a realization. “Don’t take on the job of making structures if you don’t have diamonds.”

Xie Jingliu smiled. “Yes, it’s a diamond.” With that, he pointed at two needles, one long and one short. “Wherever the short needles are, it’s when…”

“It’s so magical.” Yu Youyao was smart. She had already understood after just a few words. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s more accurate than a funnel or a drip, and you can even wear it on you. In the future, you don’t have to worry about missing the time. Third Cousin, how many of these clocks do you have?”

Xie Jingliu’s hand, which was holding the fan, felt a little itchy again. “Why? Did you see something good and want to send it to your cousin?”

Yu Youyao’s thoughts were exposed. She argued, “Why don’t you say that I want to give it to Grandmother?”

Xie Jingliu said unhappily, “Although this thing is novel, Old Madam is old, so she might not really like it. She’ll just take a look.”

Yu Youyao pouted and stopped talking.

Xie Jingliu smiled. “This is an expensive item. I only brought five this time, so I’ll give two to you. The remaining three have to be sent to the palace. You can use them in your room for a while. Soon, the other families in the capital will have them too. When the time comes, it won’t be eye-catching anymore.”

Yu Youyao hugged her third cousin’s arm. “Thank you, Third Cousin.”

Xie Jingliu picked another box. “This is a kaleidoscope. It’s nothing special. It’s just a novelty.”

Yu Youyao thought of the kaleidoscope that Yu Shanxin had given to Yu Shuangbai earlier. She couldn’t help but smile and ask, “Third Cousin, I wrote previously and asked Grandfather to help inquire about a strange insect. Is there any news?”

Xie Jingliu felt a little stifled. He couldn’t help but knock his little cousin’s head again. “You’re always thinking about your cousin. Could it be that I’ve become someone else’s cousin?”

Yu Youyao pouted unhappily. “If Third Cousin says that, then you won’t have a share of the medicinal tea and medicinal fragrance I’ve prepared. I’ve been preparing for a month.”

Xie Jingliu was speechless for a long time. “I only said a few words to you, but you’ve already lost your temper.”

Yu Youyao giggled, her eyes sparkling.

Seeing such a gaze, Xie Jingliu’s heart softened. He felt that even the stars in the sky could be picked for her. No wonder Zhou Linghuai did not hesitate to cut the wood and personally create a zither for her.

Hence, he called the servant beside him and instructed him.

The servant ran away and disappeared.

Only then did Xie Jingliu say, “The Xie family’s ancestors passed down medicinal artifacts. Later on, after a few wars, most of the family’s inheritance was lost, causing the inheritance to fall. The Rhinoceros Bug you wanted was one of the few artifacts that had been passed down. There was none outside, but our ancestors had once offered one to Emperor Taizong of the previous dynasty. It was probably because of this that there were also records in the ancient books. The medicinal dew that you usually used for bathing was added with the medicinal liquid of the Rhinoceros Bug.”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened in shock and joy. “What a coincidence.”

The servant returned with a bamboo tube in his hand. There were only a few simple but elegant bamboo patterns carved on it, and the tube was covered with small holes that were larger than needles.

“The Rhinoceros Bugs aren’t easy to raise, and there aren’t many in the Xie Residence. I only have two for you. One is enough for your cousin, so you can use the other one yourself.” Xie Jingliu reached out to take the bamboo tube and handed it to Yu Youyao.

The two rhinoceros bugs. They were smaller than cicadas, but looked like cicadas. They were brownish-black and had no cicada wings. They were generally similar to what Uncle Sun had said and were still alive.

Yu Youyao was a little vexed and couldn’t help but ask, “How do I raise this thing? I’ve never raised it before. If it dies, wouldn’t it be a waste?”

Xie Jingliu smiled. “Don’t worry about that. Feed it some expensive herbs. I also made a medicinal liquid for you. Before you feed it, soak it in the medicinal liquid for two hours. This medicinal liquid is a secret of the Xie family. It’s not that I can’t tell you, but it’s also troublesome to refine. It requires many extremely poisonous items. You don’t know how to use these herbs, and it’s not convenient for you to deal with these poisonous creatures in the Yu Residence. Grandfather asked me to bring some prepared ones for you. In the future, I’ll bring some over every season.”

Yu Youyao was relieved.

At noon, Yang Shuwan sent Mu Jin over. “First Madam has announced that the banquet is ready. Young Master Xie, please move to the banquet hall.”

The small banquet at noon was also sumptuous. There were two tables, one for men and one for women. Yu Qingning and Concubine He did not come. No one asked much, as if these two people were not in the residence.

Eldest Master and Second Master were not in the residence, but there had to be elders at the banquet. Old Madam Yu sat down.

Xie Jingliu sat beside Old Madam Yu on the left while Zhou Linghuai sat on Old Madam Yu’s right. On the other hand, the eldest son, Yu Shanyan, was arranged to sit next to Zhou Linghuai.

Although this was her cousin, his grandmother did not treat him as an outsider. She allowed him to bypass his big brother and accompany her on behalf of the eldest son.

During the banquet, there were no mistakes.

Yang Shuwan, who was holding the banquet, also looked proud. The smugness in her eyes could not be concealed.

After everyone gathered and chatted for a while, Old Madam Yu felt tired. She turned to Zhou Linghuai and said, “Treat Young Master well.” With that, she turned to look at Yu Shanyan and Yu Shanxin. “You too.”

Seeing that they had agreed, Old Madam Yu asked Nanny Liu to help them back to An Shou Hall.

Zhou Linghuai invited Xie Jingliu to the Green House. Yu Shanyan and Yu Shanxin were accompanied by Yu Shanli.

Yu Youyao returned to the Jade Courtyard and asked someone to bring the medicinal cuisine over.

After that, Yu Youyao asked Chun Xiao to prepare gifts for everyone in the Xie Residence.

She had personally made two medicinal pillows for her maternal grandfather and grandmother to calm their minds. She had also prepared all kinds of medicinal tea and medicinal fragrance. She had also added some spiritual dew, so the effects were obvious.

In addition, there were also some popular items in the capital, dried goods from the farmstead, some good medicinal herbs, supplements, local specialties, and so on.

Although the Xie Residence did not lack these, she had carefully prepared them. There was a pile of them.

Yu Youyao took the gift list and checked them one by one. After confirming that there were no mistakes, she called a few old maids over and carried the gifts to the Xie family’s carriage.

It was a large carriage.

At this moment, Qing Xiu came over. “First Madam is preparing a gift for the Xie Residence. Old Madam has asked Eldest Miss to come along to help.”

Yu Youyao chuckled. Madam Yang liked to do things on the surface. Her grandmother was worried that she would be rude, so she did not decline.

When they arrived at the main courtyard, Yang Shuwan was discussing the gift list with Nanny Liu.

Seeing Yu Youyao walk over, Yang Shuwan’s expression immediately darkened. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Qing Xiu following behind Yu Youyao. How could she not know what Old Madam meant? She was so angry that her head hurt.

Yu Youyao smiled and said, “Grandmother said that this gift is very important, so she asked me to come over and learn from Mother. Mother, you have to teach me well.”