The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

After listening to Xie Jin's words, Huanhuan's heart began to beat fast, and she had a bad feeling. She was a little worried and thought: Could this jade bracelet be related to Xu Qu?

But she didn't have time to think deeply, because Xiangyue held her hand even tighter, and she almost made a sound in pain.

The eldest aunt laughed out loud and said, "Since Madam Cao loves jewelry, she must know that jewelry, like people, is a matter of fate and cannot be forced."

Mrs. Cao remained silent and looked extremely disappointed.

Shopkeeper Cao comforted Madam Cao by patting her arm on the table. Then he spoke to everyone with a Lingnan accent, very proudly: "A gentleman does not take away what others love. In this case, let's not talk about it again, so as not to hurt the harmony."

Although Mrs. Xie's smile was a little forced, she still tried her best to be a good host and said, "Yes, let's eat. Shopkeeper Cao, Mrs. Cao, look, these are our Shanghuai crabs. They will be out of season soon. You are lucky to have come here in time. You must taste them."

Shopkeeper Cao said in a very flattering manner: "I had it once at the Commander's wife's banquet two days ago. I still remember it vividly. I really want to thank Madam Xu for letting me taste it again this time."

Mrs. Xie guessed the general idea and said with a smile, "It's great that Manager Cao likes it. Let's stop talking and enjoy it."

Then there was another round of drinking and chatting, and both the host and the guests were very happy.

After the banquet, those who were not staying at Jingyuan said goodbye to Madam Xie and Shopkeeper Cao and his wife. Madam Xie stopped Xie Jin and said, "Bihua, wait a moment, help me and Shopkeeper Cao and his wife translate some more."

So Xie Jin stayed, but Mrs. Xie just said some polite words, asking Manager Cao and his wife to go to Yongshengfang tomorrow, and then asked the servants to take them to rest.

When the guests left and only Mrs. Xie and Xie Jin were left in the room, Mrs. Xie asked sternly, "Bihua, why are you wearing this jade bracelet today?"

Xie Jin lowered his head and said in a calm tone: "I just found it in the jewelry box. I thought it matched my clothes today, so I just wore it casually."

Mrs. Xie had a serious expression and said in a stern tone: "It'd better be true. Since you chose it yourself, you should know now what you should and should not wear. Okay, you can go back." After saying that, Mrs. Xie turned away, leaving the silent Xie Jin standing alone in the room.

Xie Jin did not intend to leave with Madam Xie, but sat down again and lowered her head in silence. After a moment, she raised her head and stared out the window with her deep eyes. The night was quiet and vast...

There was a large group of people returning to the residence outside. There were two servants holding lanterns at the front and on both sides of the team. In the middle was Xu Qu supporting his aunt, while Xiangyue and Huanhuan were walking at the end, discussing in a low voice about the birthday party for Miss Shen San.

Suddenly, the eldest aunt smiled and said to Xu Qu: "I'm going to go talk to Xiangyue and the others."

So the eldest aunt turned around and walked towards Xiangyue and the others, but she ended up standing next to Huanhuan, which made Huanhuan feel very uncomfortable. She intuitively felt that the eldest aunt was going to do something weird again.

I just heard my aunt ask with a smile: "What birthday party did you talk about?"

Xiangyue replied, "It's Miss Shen San's birthday party, and we want to use Shishi's rouge as a lucky charm."

The eldest aunt chuckled and said, "Oh, it seems that business is not good. Why do you need Xiangyue's help? You even use the connections of your youngest daughter."

Xiangyue explained seriously: "It's not a favor, I also have some to apply rouge on."

The eldest aunt said in an elder's unquestionable tone: "Xiangyue, it's good to learn how to run a business, but you don't have to go to a rouge shop. Look at your sister Bihua, she is so young but she has managed Qingcha Garden successfully. Why don't you go and learn from her one day?"

Upon hearing this, Xiangyue's mouth corners, which were originally curved upwards, instantly drooped down. Not knowing how to respond, she looked at Huanhuan.

Huanhuan knew that her aunt would not say anything nice. Although she was a little annoyed, she still said calmly, "Shishi Yanzhi has just started. It cannot compare with Qingchayuan, which has been run and accumulated for generations and has a favorable geographical location."

"Yes," the eldest aunt nodded with satisfaction, and said with a chuckle, "I'm glad to know. It's just like the mutton-fat white Hetian jade twisted wire bracelet that my imperial concubine gave to Qu'er's mother. Later, Qu'er gave it to Bihua. Only superior people are worthy of such superior pearls and jade, don't you think?" After the eldest aunt finished speaking, she narrowed her eyes and stared at Huanhuan with a smile.

When Huanhuan heard this, she felt her blood boiling and stopped walking. Her displeasure was evident in her words. She thought to herself: The twisted jade bracelet is indeed related to Xu Qu, and the eldest aunt came here with bad intentions.

Xiangyue also stopped, turned around and took Huanhuan's hand, not knowing what to say.

The eldest aunt snorted and laughed, then quickly walked to Xu Qu and said, "Okay, I should go to the right now. I'm going back first."

Xu Qu bowed and said goodbye to his aunt, then turned to look at Huanhuan and Xiangyue. Seeing that they were some distance away from him, Xu Qu walked back to greet them.

When Xu Qu walked in front of Huanhuan and Xiangyue, Huanhuan had already calmed down. Without waiting for Xu Qu to speak, Huanhuan grabbed Xiangyue and said to Xu Qu calmly, "It's getting late. Let's go back quickly."

So they walked forward again, with Xu Qu in front and Huanhuan and Xiangyue following behind.

On the way, Xiangyue comforted him softly and said slowly: "Sister-in-law, don't worry about the jade bracelet. We in the Xu family have plenty of good things. You are the young lady of the Xu Mansion, and everything will be yours in the future."

She smiled slowly at Xiangyue and said cheerfully, "Good sister, thank you!" Then she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, Xiangyue, I saw that you were fine when you first entered the Jingyuan wing room, but then your expression suddenly changed. Why is that?"

Xiangyue recalled and said, "At that time? As soon as Sister Bihua waved at me, I recognized the jade bracelet. I felt that no matter how much she liked it, she shouldn't wear it again. We all knew what my brother meant by giving it to her, but she married someone else, which hurt my brother. Now my brother already has you, my sister-in-law. What's the point of wearing it again today? It will only cause trouble. That's why I'm unhappy."

Huanhuan smiled and touched Xiangyue's head. She said nothing, but she was thinking along the way: What does it mean that Xie Jin wears that jade bracelet now? Huanhuan thought of what she had said to Jiang Liwan, and she couldn't help but guess about her aunt's bold ideas.

After returning to Xinyuan, Huanhuan finished washing and stared at Xu Qu who was packing up. Finally, Xu Qu finished packing and sat at the round table to drink water. Huanhuan simply sat in front of Xu Qu and asked in a probing tone: "I heard that the jade bracelet Xie Jin wore at the dinner today was given by you? Or was it given to my mother-in-law by the emperor's biological mother?"

Xu Qu did not answer immediately but stared at her for a long time with a calm expression, and finally said calmly: "Yes."

Although she already knew the answer, she still felt a little jealous when she heard Xu Qu say it himself. She tried hard to hide the jealousy in her heart, pretended to be calm and lowered her eyes and said "Oh".

Then Xu Qu and Huanhuan each fell into endless silence, each thinking about their own things.

Finally, it was Xu Qu who broke the silence, stood up and walked towards the bedroom.

Seeing this, Huanhuan suddenly reached out and grabbed Xu Qu's sleeve. She looked up and stared at Xu Qu, and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time: "Back then, when you heard that she married into the palace, were you sad?"

The look in his eyes as he slowly looked towards Xu Qu was filled with sincerity and care, as well as worry and melancholy.

Xu Qu was speechless for a moment, just staring at Huan Huan. Although his face was calm, his complicated eyes revealed his turbulent thoughts at the moment.

After a short pause, Xu Qu sat back down and said slowly, "It's all in the past. It's not important."

Huanhuan suddenly found that she couldn't tell whether the flash in Xu Qu's eyes when he said this was sincerity or perfunctory, and she couldn't tell how she felt after hearing this answer. She just felt that there seemed to be no reason to hold Xu Qu anymore, so she slowly let go of his hand.

Xu Qu looked at him and said slowly, "It's getting late. Didn't you say you should have a good rest? Go to sleep."

He nodded slowly and got up to wash up. Tonight was destined to be a night with heavy thoughts for both of them.