All Hail Cousin Brother

235 Giving Cousin An Embroidery Sachet

Yu Youyao said, “I want to embroider a sachet for Cousin. I want to pick a Song brocade that’s the same color as mine. Quickly help me find it.”

Dong Mei looked at the girl’s clothes and opened a box. There were a few pieces of clothes of this color inside. “Miss, take a look. Are these useful?”

“This one.” Yu Youyao picked out a piece of moonlight brocade at a glance. It was the same color as the one on her, but the material was more elegant than the Song brocade.

Dong Mei carefully cut the material.

Yu Youyao couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so she asked Xia Tao to bring over an embroidery basket. She used the embroidery shed to fasten the material, then asked her cousin to draw the embroidery pattern in the afternoon.

Her cousin’s drawing was very good. Even with just a few strokes, it still exuded a sense of elegance and beauty.

Yu Youyao took a closer look. The design was very simple, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to embroider. If she put in more effort, it would take at most three to five days!

At that time, her cousin would be able to change out of his ugly sachet.

At this moment, Nanny Xu had finished sorting out the gift list and entered the room. Seeing that Yu Youyao was preparing the brocade, she felt a little confused and turned to look at Dong Mei.

Dong Mei explained, “She feels that Young Master’s sachet is too ugly and can’t afford to lose face. She plans to embroider a better one and replace Young Master’s sachet.”

Nanny Xu smiled when she heard this. She was very concerned about her reputation, so she had to be more proactive when it came to matters related to her reputation. “It’s a little late today, so you should be preparing to rest. Why don’t you embroider it tomorrow?”

Yu Youyao shook her head. “That won’t do. I promised Cousin that I would embroider the sachet as soon as possible. I definitely have to embroider it as soon as possible, lest I make Cousin wait too long.”

Her cousin did not mind that the sachet was too ugly, but she could not afford to embarrass herself as he wore it all day. She definitely had to finish embroidering it early.

Nanny Xu took the embroidery shed from her hand and placed it in the basket. “It’ll hurt your eyes if you embroider at night. If Young Master finds out, his heart will ache. Moreover, it’s not bright in the house, and the embroidery won’t be as good as in the day. We’ll embroider tomorrow.”

Yu Youyao had originally wanted to bring the embroidery shed back, but when she heard that things embroidered at night were not as good as the ones in the day, she gave up.

After getting Nanny Xu to help mold her bones, Yu Youyao practiced the Body Toughening Technique for ten minutes. She was covered in sweat and fell asleep after soaking in the medicinal bath.

A good night’s sleep!

The next morning, Yu Youyao woke up at dawn and put on her nine layers of clothes to learn from Nanny Xu.

The nine layers of clothes she was wearing now were even heavier than when she had just started learning etiquette. Layer by layer, they probably weighed a few kilograms. It was really tiring to wear them.

Not only did she have to walk, but she also had to learn how to sit, greet, serve tea, drink tea, eat, and so on.

The weather was hot, and Yu Youyao’s clothes were drenched in sweat every time she finished her etiquette. Her already heavy clothes felt uncomfortably tight on her body.

In the beginning, she couldn’t stand it and would complain a little.

But she had gotten used to it over time.

She could do it now. Even if she was sweating from the heat, she could still take a handkerchief and wipe her face generously. Even if the clothes inside were wet and uncomfortable to wear, she could still smile.

After learning etiquette for an hour, Yu Youyao hurriedly ran to the bathroom and soaked herself in the medicinal bath.

After the medicinal bath, she changed into a set of dry and thin clothes. Yu Youyao heaved a sigh of relief. After breakfast, she went to the side room with Nanny Liu. There were gifts from yesterday’s birthday.

Nanny Liu showed Yu Youyao the birthday gift list.

Yu Youyao quickly asked, “Which one was the gift from Third Cousin?”

Ever since her third cousin, Xie Jingliu, had entered the capital, he had been very busy. He had gone to the Baoding Residence a few days ago and had yet to return. He still remembered to give her a birthday gift.

Dong Mei picked up a palm-sized yellow rosewood box. “This is it.”

Yu Youyao opened it expectantly and her eyes suddenly widened. The inside of the box was sparkling like jade. Under the light, it looked like a lamp or beeswax. “This is a light pagodite.”

Light pagodite was one of the four famous stones in the world. It was called the Three Great Stones along with golden steatite stone and oriental jasper. In terms of value, it was even rarer and more expensive than longevity peach blossom stone. However, the longevity peach blossom stone that her cousin had given her was beautiful and unique. It was not inferior to this stone.

Yu Youyao carefully picked up the light pagodite and exclaimed, “I’ve heard that there are six associations with the light pagodite. It’s pure and fine with a gentle feeling. It’s clean and free of impurities with a sense of peace. It’s just and not evil. It’s just and elegant. It’s bright and beautiful. It’s transparent and feels like ice. It’s alive. Its meridians are filled with vitality, and it’s dazzling. It’s indeed worthy of its reputation.”

This light pagodite was actually the size of a baby’s palm. It was also rare in the world.

Nanny Xu was also full of praise. “It’s not inferior to the longevity peach blossom stone seal Young Master gave you.” In fact, it was even more expensive. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of size, there was also a difference. However, Young Master’s longevity peach blossom stone was too good. Not to mention that his carving skills were superb.

As a result, there was no difference in their gifts.

Yu Youyao was a little vexed. “But I already have the Peach Blossom Frozen Seal, and Cousin also has the Yellow Field Frozen Seal. It’s such a pity to let such a good light pagodite go to waste!”

Nanny Xu smiled. “Who said that there can only be one seal?”

Yu Youyao immediately smiled. “I’ll keep it first. I’ll see what can be carved on it tomorrow.”

With her cousin, Third Cousin’s gifts paled in comparison.

Yu Youyao looked at them one by one. Her father had given her a square inkstone. It was a blue-and-white inkstone, an expensive stone among inkstones.

Although Yu Youyao did not lack this, she could not help but admire it. “It’s light, hard, and soft. It’s as soft as a child’s skin. It’s soft but not smooth. It’s rare.”

The inkstone was famous for its solid, smooth and delicate quality.

The ink was not stagnant, and it flowed quickly. The ink was smooth, one’s handwriting was smooth and the color did not change.

Whether it was in the hot summer or in the cold winter, high-grade inkstone was azure blue and the ink was black when pressed with one’s hand. The moisture in the inkstone did not dry for a long time, so there was a saying that went like this.

It seemed that her father had indeed put in some effort to give her this gift.

Yu Youyao handed the inkstone to Qiu Xing. “Change the inkstone in my study.”

Every time Second Uncle gave her a gift, he was more meticulous than others.

This time, it was a ivory carving of a monkey holding a peach.

Ivory carving was also one of the three unique skills of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The carving on it was also very good. The monkey was agile, and there was a yellow halo on the peach tip. It looked very pleasing.

Yu Youyao liked it very much. “Put this ivory carving on the top of the Treasure Pavilion.”