Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

Yu Miaoqi had some guesses: "Perhaps we should ask the old lady about that."

Zhan Zheng nodded: "Mother guessed right, the letter was sent out with the help of the old lady."

"After all, she's the granddaughter the old lady has doted on for so many years," Yin Yin sighed, just about to put the matter aside, when she heard Yu Miaoqi scoff.

"It's true that she's the granddaughter she's doted on for so many years, but to ask her to disregard the old master's wishes because of this, the granddaughter's weight is not enough."

After a moment's thought, Yin Yin understood: "Zhan Shu'er alone might not be enough, but with the Second Master, it would be enough. After all, the Third Master is not the Old Madam's son, so she can't just watch the Third Branch become so arrogant that it tramples the Second Branch underfoot."

Yu Miaoqi nodded: "That makes sense. Normally, the old lady can turn a blind eye to the old master's favoritism, but if the balance is lost and the third branch of the family truly threatens the second branch's position, she will no longer be able to sit back and relax as before."

Taking this opportunity, Yu Miaoqi couldn't help but say a few more words to Yinyin: "If you really want to talk about it, I hope you can learn more from the old lady. She is the smart one who can live a peaceful old age in this inner courtyard."

“I won’t follow her example,” Yin Yin said to Yu Miaoqi. “Putting everything else aside, I just can’t do what the old lady does and obey the old master in everything.”

“If I’m going to learn something, I’ll learn from my mother. Isn’t it better to be so close to your children than to be like her?”

Yu Miaoqi couldn't help but smile: "You silly child."

The three of them stopped there and didn't mention the matter at the other mansion again, enjoying their meal in a warm atmosphere.

Ten days later, it was another day off. Zhan Zheng went out early in the morning and returned just after noon, carrying a box in his hand.

After having eaten and digesting their food, Yu Miaoqi and Yinyin were doing embroidery and playing the zither, respectively.

Seeing him enter, Yinyin stopped plucking the strings of her zither: "Brother, you're back so early today? Mother and I thought you wouldn't be back until just before dinner again."

"Wouldn't it be better to come back sooner?" Zhan Zheng bowed to his mother first, and then praised her, "Yinyin's piano skills have improved more and more."

“With such a good teacher as my elder brother, if I still can’t play well, what’s the difference between me and a piece of elm wood?” Yinyin glanced curiously at the box in his hand. “Did elder brother bring back gifts for Mother and me?”

Zhan Zheng nodded, but first took out a hairpin from his pocket and presented it to Yu Miaoqi before handing the whole box to Yin Yin.

The box is inlaid with mother-of-pearl and other precious materials, making it look dazzling and exquisite.

Yinyin accepted the box, then hefted it in a daze; it was quite heavy. "Is all of this mine?"

“Of course,” Zhan Zheng sat down next to Yu Miaoqi. “Didn’t I say I would use your tea to earn you a reward? This is it.”

"A reward?" Yu Miaoqi wasn't there at the time and didn't know what had happened.

Zhan Zheng explained to her, "Didn't Yin Yin use plum blossoms to scent some new tea? I tasted it and it was quite good. I used it today when I accompanied His Highness to admire the plum blossoms. It just so happened that the Sixth Prince and the Tenth Princess were both there. They liked it very much after tasting it and gave her quite a few gifts."

"No wonder Yinyin said she wanted to make new tea. I even told her that we didn't have many plum blossoms at home and that she should wait until after we'd enjoyed them for a few days before making any. I didn't expect that you had taken them all."

Zhan Zheng felt a little guilty after hearing what she said, and couldn't help but glance at Yin Yin.

Yinyin raised an eyebrow, reached out and opened the box in her hand. Inside were several silver notes and some loose gold and silver coins. She fiddled with them for a moment and roughly estimated that there were about a hundred taels of silver.

However, the amount of money was rather small compared to the box outside. But overall, the haul was quite substantial.

After looking at the contents, Yin Yin pushed the box in front of Yu Miaoqi: "Give half to Mother."

"What do I need your money for? You can keep it yourself."

Yu Miaoqi refused to accept it, so Yinyin closed the box and handed it to Dongxin, saying she would put it in the account later when they returned to the house.

Just as Zhan Zheng was thinking of asking Yin Yin to make some more tea, he heard that Old Master Zhan had come to the mansion again.

"What a coincidence," Yin Yin whispered, "Big Brother just came in and we hadn't even exchanged a few words when she came over. It's clear she's keeping an eye on his every move."

Yu Miaoqi patted her hand: "Let's go, let's go greet them."

The family got up together and went outside, soon meeting Old Master Zhan. This time, aside from greeting him, he focused his attention on Zhan Zheng.

Since they had all come to his home, Zhan Zheng didn't try to avoid them anymore and invited them directly to his study.

Watching the two leave, Yin Yin didn't follow Yu Miaoqi back to the main courtyard. Instead, she told her about picking plum blossoms to make tea again before returning to Youhuang Pavilion to make arrangements.

"Miss, do you intend to put this silver into the treasury or in the box for daily expenses?"

Yinyin thought for a moment and said, "Keep one or two silver notes in the box, and put the rest in the storeroom. As for the gold and silver pastries... let's put them away for now. We've already received the New Year's rewards for this year, and if we need more, we can take more from here."

Dongxin followed instructions to first register the silver notes separately, and then sorted and counted the gold and silver pastries, intending to put them in a purse.

“Miss, look, these gold and silver cakes are quite unique,” ​​Dongxin picked up a few and held them in front of Yinyin. “They have all twelve Kui Xing (a mythical creature), and some other different kinds. If you put them together, you can make a complete set.”

Yinyin glanced at them and thought they were quite well-made, no wonder they were made in the interior: "Then let's put them all in the warehouse as souvenirs."

After Dongxin finished tidying up, Yinyin asked her to select a few people to go out and pick flowers: "Pick them the way I showed you before. Don't pick any that have lost their fragrance after being rained on."

“Go pick the plums yourself from the plum tree in the small garden,” Yin Yin whispered to her. “Also, keep an eye on him and see if he’s happy when he leaves.”

After Dongxin left, Yinyin was also a little sleepy. She took a short nap and just happened to catch Dongxin's return.

“Miss, the old master just left. He didn’t seem angry, but he wasn’t happy either. However, when he saw us picking flowers, he asked us a couple of questions about what we were doing.”

Did you tell him?

“If you didn’t give the order, how could I dare to tell him the details?” Dongxin said. “I only said that you told me to pick them.”

Yin Yin nodded. It seemed that she couldn't guess Old Master Zhan's purpose on her own; she would have to ask Zhan Zheng directly.

She tidied up a bit and then hurried off to call someone to set up the stove.

After she had dried all the flowers she had picked, she finally had a chance to go to the main courtyard.

At this moment, Zhan Zheng was already sitting inside with Yu Miaoqi.

"Big brother, I've been working so hard until now, how are you going to reward me?"

Zhan Zheng thought for a moment: "How about I take you horseback riding at the estate when the weather gets warmer?"

Among young ladies from prominent families, few actually enjoy horseback riding, but Yin Yin is particularly fond of it. Zhan Zheng and Yu Miaoqi also felt that there was no harm in her getting more exercise, so they let her have her way.

Yin Yin's eyes lit up: "Well... it's alright, but I still want to hear your story."

"How could I possibly tell any stories?" Zhan Zheng was about to refuse when he suddenly realized, "You didn't happen to be listening to stories about what happened in the other mansion, did you?"

Yinyin felt guilty for a moment, but quickly retorted confidently, "Even storybooks can't describe such bizarre things. Is it wrong for me to listen to them as stories?"