Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Xiaxia, we should go back now. We have to go to the Scholar's Mansion with our teacher for a banquet tonight, so we need to get ready." As they came out of the restaurant, Changyun looked at the blazing sun outside and reminded Xia Yu.

"Hmm, it's time to go back. It's too hot right now, we can't shop around anymore." Xia Yu wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief, feeling hot just looking at the glaring sunlight outside. The coolness from the bayberry drink she had with dinner had completely disappeared.

The group found a tea stall to sit and drink some cold tea, while Uncle Hu went to retrieve the carriage. Fortunately, their location wasn't far from the shop where the carriage was stored; it was only a ten-minute walk away.

"Grandma, your herbal tea is really delicious." Xia Yu took a sip of the herbal tea that the tea-selling grandma brought her. It tasted much better than the herbal tea from a certain brand that we drink nowadays.

"Of course it tastes good! This is a family recipe passed down for over a hundred years. It clears heat and detoxifies, making it perfect for this season." As she spoke, another woman led a child in and said to the old woman.

"Grandma Hai, bring me two bowls of herbal tea."

"Okay, find a seat first, and I'll serve you some."

"Are you getting ready to go back from the shop?" Granny Hai asked the woman.

"Yes, we're about to go home. We just got to your tea stall when the child started complaining of being thirsty and insisted on coming in for a bowl of cool tea."

"Hehe, this is tea for my old lady." Granny Hai smiled and placed two bowls of tea on the table in front of the mother and son.

After drinking a bowl of cool tea, Xia Yu felt completely refreshed, and the summer heat dissipated.

"Sister Xiaxia, this is delicious, I want to have another bowl." Shen Luo put down the bowl, smacked her lips, and seemed to want more.

"Drink if you want, everyone have another bowl, and if you're still hungry, ask for more." Xia Yu said, noticing that Xiao Shitou's bowl was empty.

"Grandma, give each of us another bowl," Changyun said to Grandma Hai.

"Okay, I'll be here soon."

By the time Uncle Hu returned in his car, the group had already drunk two or three bowls of cold tea.

"Uncle Hu, come in and have a bowl of herbal tea. This herbal tea is very good," Changyun said, inviting Uncle Hu in.

"Hey, let me tie the carriage up first, so as not to startle passersby."

Uncle Hu drank two bowls of tea in the shed, and after the sweat on his body dried, the group drove the carriage back to the Li residence.

This time, it was Aunt Hu who opened the door. Seeing the group alighting from the carriage, Aunt Hu warmly greeted them. She placed the stools down and helped Xia Yu and Shen Luo down from the carriage.

“Miss, young master, you’re finally back. Not long after you left today, Madam Shen from the Scholar’s ​​Residence sent you gifts. However, the gifts were all in boxes, and we couldn’t open them, so we delivered them all to the master’s courtyard. Also, the master just returned and said that after you return, you should go directly to his courtyard. He has something to say to you.”

"Thank you for informing us, Aunt Hu. We'll head over now. Aunt Hu, please go ahead with your business. We'll go on our own." Xia Yu said this, assuming that Aunt Hu was the only one at the gatehouse and would have to stay there to keep watch.

"Miss, young masters, please take your time. This old servant still needs to watch the gate, so I won't see you off." Xia Yu's words were exactly what Granny Hu wanted to hear. At this moment, with no one at the gate, it was really inconvenient for her to leave.

When Chang Yun, Xia Yu, Shen Luo, and their maids and servants arrived at the main courtyard of the third courtyard, Grand Tutor Li was drinking tea under the flowering trees in the courtyard. When he saw them coming, he hurriedly waved to them.

"Come and sit down!"

"teacher"

"teacher"

"Grandpa Li"

The group bowed to Grand Tutor Li in unison.

"Please sit down," said Grand Tutor Li, gesturing towards the other stone benches.

"There's a banquet at the Imperial Academy tonight. The three of you will come with me. The guests will be members of the delegation and their families. Changyun, just come with me. Shenluo, you're still young, so it's fine for you to go with the female guests. I'm entrusting Xiaxia to you; please take good care of her. Also, if anyone asks you anything, just say she's my granddaughter; you don't need to say anything else." Grand Tutor Li instructed the group on what to be careful about at the banquet that evening.

Xia Yu was touched by his words. He was probably worried that she would be questioned and wronged by others at the banquet.

"Grandpa Li, don't worry, I've remembered everything you said."

"Well, that's all. Go back and rest for a while. Oh no, I forgot to prepare your clothes and accessories for the banquet." As he was speaking, Grand Tutor Li suddenly clapped his hands, realizing that he had forgotten such an important thing. Shen Luo was fine, being a boy, after all. But for the female guests, every banquet was a competition of gorgeous attire, and if Xia Xia went without any jewelry, she would inevitably be looked down upon.

"Let's go to the jewelry store now and buy Xiaxia a set of headdress and jewelry for the banquet." He said, standing up to walk out.

"Grandpa Li, please wait a moment. I have some clothes and jewelry in my luggage, and I just heard from Aunt Hu that Madam Shen sent gifts for my brother and me. Why don't we take a look at those gifts and see if there's anything we can use?"

"Yes, yes, let's see what's in the box first. If it's not enough, hurry out and buy some more. There's still time." It was only after Xia Yu reminded him that Li Taifu remembered about the gift.

There were two boxes and two chests in total. Changyun and Shenlu opened the boxes first and took out their contents. Each box contained two sets of clothing, including matching boots. The chests contained jewelry that Xia Yu could wear. It wasn't a complete set of headdress, but there were beads, hairpins, earrings, bracelets, and rings—all carefully selected and suitable for Xia Yu's age.

Seeing the ornaments in the box, Grand Tutor Li nodded in satisfaction. Although he didn't understand these things, he had seen daughters of officials wearing them before.

"Grandpa Li, these are enough for the banquet."

"Hmm, Lord Shen's young mistress is quite thoughtful. Since you've already taken care of things, you two should go back and rest. Around 5 PM, go directly to the mansion gate, and we'll take a carriage to the Scholar's Residence." Grand Tutor Li instructed the two, now somewhat regretting not accepting the maids and servants that Shen Jingheng had sent. At home, it was fine, but going out to a banquet without an older, experienced servant to attend to Xia Yu made him somewhat uneasy.

However, it was too late to say anything at this point. All they could do was ask Shen Jingheng to arrange for someone to take special care of Xia Yu once they arrived at the scholar's residence.

Xia Yu has maintained the habit of taking a midday nap for many years. Today, she walked too much, so when she returned to her room, she simply took a quick shower in the bathroom, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed.

Before going to sleep, he instructed Da Niu and Shi Jiu to wake her up at the beginning of the Shen hour (3-5 PM) to prevent her from oversleeping and delaying Li Taifu's important business.

After she fell asleep, Nineteen and Dani tiptoed to their room with the clothes and jewelry Xia Yu had brought from home. Some of the clothes needed ironing. They also considered what outfit to wear that evening and how to coordinate the jewelry. These were things they, as maids, had to prepare in advance.