All Hail Cousin Brother

230 Cousin Knows Me Best!

Yu Youyao pouted and glanced at the gift her cousin had prepared. She was a little unwilling. “Forget it. On account of the birthday gift you’ve prepared for me, I’ll forgive you this time. You can’t do this in the future.”

With that, she couldn’t wait to take the box from her cousin.

Zhou Linghuai smiled. The young lady had forgiven him so quickly because of the birthday gift he had prepared.

Yu Youyao stroked the patterns on the box before slowly opening it. “Cousin, you’re coaxing me again!”

Previously, when her cousin had given her the Golden Steatite Stone pendant in Shoushan Field Field, she had complained that he had wasted it and had not carved a seal for her. What had her cousin said at that time?

“Even if I use the remaining scraps, it won’t be easy to carve a seal for Cousin.” She remembered it clearly.

Unexpectedly, she did not understand what he meant.

It wasn’t easy to give her the remaining scraps, but he could use other good materials!

Wasn’t this a good Longevity peach blossom stone seal?

The Great Zhou Dynasty was known for its precious stones and jade. The Longevity peach blossom stone was also known as the Longevity Stone. It was a top-notch precious material for engraving seals. A thumb-sized peach blossom frozen stone was already rare in the world.

Among the four famous materials, the Longevity Mountain Stone was ranked first before the Lapis Lazuli, the Blood Stone, and the Balin Stone. It enjoyed the reputation of being the “Stone Emperor” and the “Queen of the Stones”.

Cousin was too annoying!

Seeing the joy and frustration on Yu Youyao’s face, Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not good to tell you in advance about the birthday gift.”

Yu Youyao was extremely excited. She carefully held the seal in her hands and leaned closer to take a closer look. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s really beautiful. It’s as smooth as jade, and its color is brilliant. The red dots are fine and thin, but they’re of different depths.” She raised her hand again and raised her eyes to take a closer look. “However, it looks like it’s filled with emotions. It’s thick and faint, and the dots are clear. It’s like peach blossoms falling on a stream of water in March that are not moving. They’re like flowers floating in the still water, beautiful and delicate. It’s also like rain pouring on a peach blossom tree. They’re bright and beautiful, just like what’s written in books.”

However, her cousin’s carving skills were superb. The small pieces of Longevity peach blossom stone were beautifully carved. A cluster of apricot flowers bloomed on the branches, and they were dyed red.

She flipped to the bottom and saw that there were also apricot patterns engraved on it.

Yu Youyao felt that the apricot pattern was complicated and beautiful. Looking at it carefully, she could tell what it was. “Cousin, you actually carved the apricot pattern into words.”

The young ladies of the upper-class society liked to play such tricks. They would carve their names into beautiful flowers and write them in letters with other families, making them look beautiful and elegant. She did not expect her cousin to know such tricks.

Yu Youyao quickly focused her eyes and read. “Yu. You. Yao.” Her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “It’s my name!”

Zhou Linghuai nodded. “Yes, a girl’s name is used to show how much her family values her. From time to time, she would also use her own name to write letters to others.”

It was also because of their scholarly background that they were more particular. Some noble families only gave their women a courtesy name when they reached adulthood, and some did not even give them courtesy names.

He had engraved the little girl’s name on it. The longevity peach blossom stone, which was slightly bigger than his thumb, could not withstand so many inscriptions. It would look stiff and ugly if he kept carving.

Then, he engraved the words.

Yu Youyao was overjoyed. In the middle of the apricot pattern, there were two words. It was “Zhiyao.” These were her words.

She suddenly remembered that her cousin had asked her if she had gotten a courtesy name. At that time, she told him about the courtesy name her mother had given her before she died.

With this in mind, Yu Youyao asked, “Cousin, has this seal been prepared for a long time?”

Zhou Linghuai’s expression paused for a moment before he said, “I’m good at this, so it didn’t take much effort.”

Engraving was much more difficult than carving. Therefore, there were many master sculptors in the world, but there were very few inscribers, and even fewer who had become famous. This longevity peach blossom stone not only had to be carved, but it also had to be chiseled carefully. It was even more difficult. He had spent a long time carving. Almost every step was meticulous. If there was even a millimeter of error, it would be destroyed.

It had taken him a month to carve the cluster of apricot flowers on top. During this time, the apricot flowers were in full bloom. He sat under the apricot tree and observed the shape of the apricot flowers while holding the Kunwu knife and carving them bit by bit…

“Cousin, you’re lying!” Yu Youyao pouted with an expression that said, “I’ve already seen through you. Don’t even think about coaxing me anymore!”

Zhou Linghuai smiled but said nothing.

“I remember that Cousin asked me about my name previously.” At this point, the little girl looked at her cousin with an expression that said, “I remember everything. Don’t even think about denying it.” Then, she said, “It’s just that Cousin wrote that cursive script in my study previously. I thought I liked it, so I asked you for it. I even said that I wanted to embroider a fan for you personally.”

She looked at her cousin triumphantly, with an expression that said, “See, I really remember.”

Zhou Linghuai was amused, and a smile appeared on his pale lips.

Yu Youyao continued, “At that time, Cousin had taken out the private seal made from the Golden Steatite Stone. When I saw it, I liked it immediately. Cousin asked me if I liked it, and I said I did, so he asked me for my name.”

She remembered every big and small thing that had happened with her cousin.

Zhou Linghuai held his breath. He did not expect her to remember it so clearly.

Yu Youyao pouted. “Cousin, you must have been planning to carve seals for me since then. Although it took a long time, I remember it clearly. Cousin, don’t try to fool me.”

This longevity peach blossom stone steal had been slowly carved by his cousin for a long time.

Zhou Linghuai smiled. “I happen to have a rare peach longevity peach blossom stone in my hand. I think that compared to the golden steatite stone, you would prefer the longevity peach blossom stone as it is more beautiful.”

Top-grade longevity peach blossom stone was even rarer than golden steatite stone.

The piece in Mr. Xian Yun’s collection was top-grade. Its texture was like beeswax, and it had the six features of being thin, knotted, moist, greasy, warm, and condensed. It was dazzling and beautiful.

It was unique in this world. It was also rare.

Yu Youyao’s smile was sweet and soft. “Cousin knows me the best!”

Zhou Linghuai’s breathing paused for a moment, then he said, “I also hope that Cousin will be prosperous in the morning and glorious in the evening. I hope that your heart will be filled with the Chinese spirit, and you will be outstanding. Every year, you will grow up well and get closer to the stars.”

Yu Youyao looked at her cousin without blinking. As she listened to her cousin’s birthday speech, she suddenly said, “I only wish that you will be around tomorrow like today.”

She hoped that her cousin would always be by her side on every birthday in the future.