Harem Daily Life

When the shopkeeper of the calligraphy and painting shop saw so many young men and women come in, he quickly stepped forward with a smile to attract customers.

To show off her extensive reading, Jing Yuwei said, "I am from the Han Prince's Mansion. Have the poetry manuscripts and paintings I ordered from your shop been prepared?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately sent someone to fetch the items: "Everything is ready. Miss ordered three sets of poetry collections and five paintings at once. She must be a young lady who loves calligraphy and painting. The poetry collections were personally transcribed by Editor Xiao, whose calligraphy is among the best of the literati in the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Hua Yuerong doesn't usually read poetry collections or calligraphy and paintings. She looked around the shop and then went straight to the bookcase with storybooks on it, quietly selecting one.

When Jing Yuwei saw that Hua Yuerong was not presentable and only read vulgar stories, she scoffed and said, "Although this woman does not participate in the imperial examination, she should still read more valuable books. Those stories about talented scholars and beautiful women are all the same, and no matter how many you read, they will not improve your cultivation."

After saying that, she took the poetry collection handed to her by the shopkeeper, flipped through it, and looked at He Jin'an, asking, "Young master, which masters' poems do you usually enjoy reading?"

He Jin'an glanced at her and said indifferently, "I've dabbled in all of them, so I can't say who I like the most."

Jing Yuwei smiled and said, "I love Editor Xiao's 'Ten Songs of Autumn Scenery' the most. That's why I specially ordered three sets. I'll keep one for myself, give one to my future sister-in-law, and the last one... since we're here today, why don't we give it to Miss Hua? Miss Hua can improve her refinement by reading more poetry." As she spoke, she handed the poetry collection to He Qian, and held another one in her hand, looking at Hua Yurong with a playful gaze.

Hua Yurong frowned. She held two easy-to-understand children's storybooks in her hands. If she thought about Jing Yuwei's words now, it would seem that Hua Yurong lacked cultural literacy and could only understand children's stories.

Hua Yurong took a deep breath: "If I want to see it, I will buy it myself. Thank you for your kindness, Miss Jing. You should keep it and give it to someone else."

She bent down to meet He Xiaoliu's gaze: "Sixth Brother, this is our first meeting. How about I give you two children's storybooks?"

He Xiaoliu's chubby face broke into a big smile: "Okay, okay, I love listening to children's stories!"

Upon receiving a gift from his future sister-in-law, He Xiaoliu proudly tilted his head back and tugged at He Jin'an's sleeve: "I have a gift!"

The meaning of "showing off" is obvious.

He Jin'an patted his head, then turned to Hua Yurong and smiled, "Thank you, Yurong."

Hua Yuerong's face quickly turned red.

This person is really pushing their luck! We've only met three times, and they've already held hands and started calling each other by our maiden names!

Jing Yuwei, who was being ignored, was so angry that she wanted to stomp her feet. She just couldn't understand how Hua Yurong, a merchant's daughter, could be so captivating to the dignified Prince Jin. Clearly... clearly she was the one who took the initiative first! The way he looked at her before, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes!

Jing Yuwei bit her lip, glanced at the Fourth Princess beside her, and deliberately said, "Oh, Miss Hua, why are you showing favoritism? It's the first time we've met, yet the Sixth Young Master received a gift while the Fourth Miss didn't? If you want to please your future husband's family, you should at least treat them equally."

These words not only made He Qian feel embarrassed, but even He Jin'an's expression turned ugly, feeling that Jing Yuwei was targeting Hua Yurong too much.

Hua Yurong narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled, "Of course we do, but this is a calligraphy and painting shop, so we don't have any gifts to give to Miss Fourth. The Treasure Shop not far away often has new items for sale, so why don't we go and take a look together, and Miss Fourth can choose for herself?"

“Alright, then I’ll also give my future sister-in-law a gift today. Fourth Miss, please don’t be shy with me. Although the things at Zhenbaozhai may not be as good as yours, it’s still one of the top gold shops in the capital.”

Jing Yuwei took the lead and headed towards the Treasure Shop not far away. Today, she was determined to crush Hua Yurong in every way and make this merchant's daughter lose face in Prince Jin's eyes.

She believed she was far superior to Hua Yuerong in terms of dressing and her eye for jewelry was even better. When she arrived at Zhenbaozhai, it was as if she had entered her own territory. She was very familiar with the place and quickly spotted the most expensive and presentable jewelry cabinet in Zhenbaozhai.

The others entered the store one after another. Hua Yurong glanced around and her gaze fell on the counter where Jing Yuwei was standing.

"Ladies, you have excellent taste. These are the latest jewelry pieces from our Treasure Shop. Their exquisite designs, meticulous craftsmanship, and precious materials are unmatched in the entire capital. Please take a look and see if you like any of them. You can take a couple back to enhance your makeup."

Jing Yuwei spoke first: "I think this gold-inlaid jade hairpin with the 'Toad Palace and Laurel Blossom' design is quite beautiful and would be most suitable for Miss Fourth."

He Qian took one look and indeed liked it very much.

"Wrap it up." Jing Yuwei, being wealthy and generous, paid the money directly and then gave the hairpin to He Qian.

He Qian thanked them and then stepped forward to choose two bracelets, one for Jing Yuwei and one for Hua Yurong, so as not to offend either. She had figured it out today; her future sister-in-law was probably in love with the Second Prince and was currently vying for his affections with her future sister-in-law. She naturally enjoyed watching this kind of show; after all, it was just two bracelets, not much money, one for each of them, which would make her seem very good at handling people.

Hua Yurong looked at He Qian's appearance and exclaimed, "Fourth Miss is truly beautiful. Any jewelry on you can only serve as an embellishment and cannot diminish your brilliance in the slightest. Looking at it from all angles, I think this gold and gemstone hairpin suits your temperament better. It is fresh, refined, and radiant."

The top saleswoman, Hua Yuerong, showered He Qian with compliments, making He Qian overjoyed.

“However, this gold and gemstone hairpin is too expensive. It costs more than three hundred taels more than the two bracelets and hair ornaments I just gave you. Let’s forget about it. I appreciate your kindness, but you can choose something else.”

He Qian wasn't foolish enough to accept such an expensive gift on her first meeting with someone. Although she liked it very much, she didn't want to offend her second brother. After all, he was currently the only person who could take her out of the palace, and offending him would be a huge loss.

Jing Yuwei was furious. She hadn't expected this merchant's daughter to be so generous, willing to spend so much money to buy a gift for Prince Jin's half-sister. But then she thought that it was a good thing for the other party to spend money, so she smiled and said, "Since Miss Hua is willing to give it, Fourth Miss, you can accept it. If you don't accept it, wouldn't Miss Hua's intentions be inadequate?"

He Jin'an frowned. This Treasure Pavilion was part of the imperial property. It was a bit unfair for the future princess to buy such expensive jewelry from her own shop, especially since it was meant to be a gift. He said, "The sentiment is not about the price. Yue Rong, you..."

"Let's choose this one." Hua Yuerong stopped He Jin'an and pointed to the gold and gemstone hairpin.

He Jin'an had no choice but to shut up, thinking that if he bought it, he might as well buy it. As long as the future princess was happy, he could always give her the money later.

Giving something so expensive to the Fourth Princess, with whom he wasn't particularly close, was still a bit painful. He would have been willing to spend any amount of money if it were given to Min'er or Nuo'er.