All Hail Cousin Brother

284 Not Just To Thank You But To Cherish Goodwill

Yu Youyao turned around and went to the incense room.

After dinner yesterday, she spent another four hours polishing the wooden osmanthus incense beads.

More than 50 incense beads were made by Yu Youyao and had longevity and blessing patterns.

The longevity patterns were the size of longans. She had only made ten of them to give to her grandmother. When her grandmother twirled the prayer beads, her hands were filled with incense.

She made 40 of them, which were only the size of peanuts.

Yu Youyao took out a red string and threaded 28 wooden osmanthus incense beads onto it. In the middle of each four wooden osmanthus incense beads, there was a light yellow greenish blue field jade bead. The jade beads were slightly larger than the incense beads.

Nanny Xu smiled and said, “The Lantian Jade has the effect of regulating the qi and blood of Yin and Yang, preventing illnesses, and benefiting the divine. It’s also known as the longevity and peace jade. It has the three characteristics of divinity, spirituality, and human nature. It’s secretly fused with the three tenants of the life: heaven, earth, and humankind. The wooden osmanthus incense bead is made of flowers and wood, and the wood is the main vitality. The two complement each other and secretly complement the nature of the Heavenly Dao. It uses the fragrance of the pearl to nourish the jade, and the jade enhances the pearl’s nature. After wearing it for a year and a half, the pearl can enhance the jade’s nature. The texture will be dense and warm. The jade is stained with the fragrance of the pearl, and the beautiful jade is fragrant. It’s rare and elegant, but it complements each other.”

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened. “Nanny, you actually know the passage method too?”

Nanny Xu smiled. “It’s not surprising that I know these things now that I’m obsessed with dao techniques. When you’re a few years older, Ms. Ye will teach you the Book of Changes. This is the first of all scriptures, the source of the Great Dao. Although the Book of Changes is a Daoist scripture, it’s much sought after by the Confucians. It’s learned by both Confucianism and Daoism. Master Hui Neng of the Precious Peace Temple was deeply influenced by the Book of Changes in his early years. He once used the Book of Changes to verify Buddhism and called it the integration of Heaven and man. He admires the Book of Changes very much. Therefore, in addition to the Four Books, the Book of Changes is also a must for the imperial examination.”

After putting on the last Lantian Jade Bead, Yu Youyao knitted a knot at both ends and tied it up. A string of wooden osmanthus incense beads was done.

There were 28 Wood Osmanthus Incense Beads, eight Blue Field Jade Beads, and 36 beads in total. On the other two ends of the string, there was a Blue Field Jade Bead and a Wood Rhino Incense Bead each.

In total, she used a total of 29 incense beads and nine Lantian Jade Beads.

Eight was the extreme number of Yin, and nine was the extreme number of Yang. Whether it was eight or nine, it was excellent.

“This is for Young Master!” Nanny Xu smiled when she saw it.

This girl thought about her cousin in her heart. No matter what good things she made, her cousin would always have them. The relationship between the cousins was so good that there was no other in the world.

Yu Youyao stuck out her tongue. “Cousin gave me Zizhi Tongjian yesterday.”

Nanny Xu had also read Zizhi Tongjing. It was more interesting than the printed versions on the market now. Yu Youyao liked it very much and read it for two hours in a row yesterday afternoon.

For the sake of his cousin, Young Master Zhou had exhausted all his efforts. Every day, he would teach her studies and guide her in practicing her calligraphy. Not only did he teach her zither skills, but in order to prevent her from having a hard time learning, he even gave her the Four Books and Five Classics that she had to learn every day.

As her cousin, it was to his credit that Yu Youyao could learn so quickly.

Yu Youyao smiled. “This is called giving me a gift and we’ll be friends forever. I’ll always think that it’s good.”

You gave me a gift, and I’ll give you one in return.

Not just to thank you.

I treasure our friendship and will always think it’s good.

Nanny Xu felt a little strange. She looked at Yu Youyao again with a smile on her face and clear eyes. She felt that she was thinking too much.

The poem “Papaya” also praised the true feelings between people. Different people would have different interpretations when reciting it.

Yu Youyao took out twelve more wooden osmanthus beads, four blue field jade beads, and one each on the tassel knot to make a string of smaller incense beads.

She put the small string of incense beads on her wrist. It still felt a little big, but it wasn’t to the extent that it was too heavy for her hand. The freshly made incense beads weren’t as exquisite and smooth in color and appearance, nor were they as stunning as she had imagined.

However, when the incense beads were around her wrist, they were strong, light, and did not press her wrist, let alone hurt her. They were lighter than jewelry. There was a layer of thin sleeves between them, and there was a faint fragrance. It was very elegant.

“It’s really beautiful.” Yu Youyao smiled and raised her eyebrows. She picked up another slightly larger incense bead bracelet and wrapped it around her right wrist. It was a little too big for her.

She wondered if it would be big for her cousin.

Yu Youyao remembered that the sachet that she had said she would give to her cousin had only been embroidered for a few days. It would take a few more days to finish.

Why don’t I give the Wood Osmanthus Incense Pearl to Cousin first?!

At the thought of this, Yu Youyao couldn’t sit still anymore. She quickly called Dong Mei over and found a small box the size of her palm. She carefully placed the incense beads in it and turned around. “I’ll go to the Green House to look for Cousin.”

Zhou Linghuai was painting in the study. It was still the “Bodhisattva” from yesterday.

The snow-white rice paper covered the entire desk. On the wide surface, the Bodhi tree was full of old branches and intertwined roots. The green tree towered into the sky, and the green cover was like a cloud. It was so big that the patterns and roots on the old branches were so small that the veins, light, and shadows on every Bodhi leaf were vivid and exquisite.

At first glance, it was dense and dignified.

Under the Bodhi tree!

The little girl raised her slender neck slightly and raised her smooth chin. She revealed half of her jade face, but it was as innocent as the moon. The brightness of the sun made her face look breathtaking.

She held the wishing silk and weighed it on the tip of her foot. Her slender figure moved forward slightly, and the belt at her waist fluttered. Her figure was as graceful as a thousand flowers, as gentle as the breeze, as graceful as a fairy’s shadow, and as if she was about to ride the wind.

Her agility was vivid.

There was a pile of strange stones beside the Bodhi tree, and there were many strange barriers.

The entire scene was elegant and beautiful. Even the small person under the tree already had the words “a man is bigger than the tree, a man is heavier than the mountain.” At first glance, the trees, mountains, light, and shadows all accompanied the “man.”

Zhou Linghuai was good at landscapes, but he had never drawn such a large painting.

From yesterday to today, from late at night to dawn, he did not stop painting. His brush fell like rain, but it was like the wind chasing lightning. His intentions were there first, and he drew with all his heart.

After spending a day and night, it was already preliminarily completed.

After that, the outline, light, darkness, texture, meteorology, color, and so on on the scene needed to be carefully decorated and modified. The technique used was a larger and more detailed. It was not something that could be completed in a short period of time. It could take three to five days if he was faster, three to five months if he was slower, and even three to five years.

Zhou Linghuai stopped drawing and immediately felt his mouth go dry and his arms go numb.

When Chang An heard the commotion, he quickly brought some tea over from the inner room.

Zhou Linghuai picked up the teacup. The tea was warm and suitable for drinking. After drinking it in a few mouthfuls, he also felt unhappy, so he picked up the teapot and poured it into his mouth.