freenovelworld Chapter 39 Preparing a Birthday Gift!
Chapter 39 Preparing a Birthday Gift!
"Please come in quickly." After saying this, Madam Li glanced at Mu Qingyuan, who was still focused on practicing calligraphy, and then waved her hand, "A-Yuan, don't practice today! It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it's fine to take a day off. The eldest son of the Chu family is here too, so you can all go and have some fun later."
Mu Qingyuan was delighted. He was happy to be able to play with his older brothers and sisters, and he was even more pleased to have his stepmother's permission to be with people from families much better than his own. This made him feel even more fortunate to have such a mother.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Chu Rong came twice more after that, but each time he came alone, and Madam Chu never showed her face.
"Mother, Aunt Chu, are you ill?"
Madam Li shook her head. "It's not that she's sick. It's that Madam Li's mother is sick, and she went back to take care of her. Chu Rong hasn't come these past few days either, has he? I heard that his illness has gotten worse, so he called all the younger children over."
Mu Xin Nuan nodded, "I see. Luckily I didn't ask Brother Chu Rong."
The two talked as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Rongyuan Hospital.
After paying their respects to the old lady, they were all invited to stay for tea. Although Mu Xinyao was confined to her quarters, she was still permitted to visit the old lady and Madam Li every morning and evening to pay her respects.
Upon closer inspection, Mu Xin Nuan noticed that Mu Xin Yao's complexion was not bad. Moreover, since entering the room, her words and actions had been measured and proper, indicating that she had indeed learned the rules well.
"Daughter-in-law, your mother's birthday is just around the corner, isn't it?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Have you prepared all the gifts for your mother-in-law's birthday?"
"Reporting to Mother, it's not ready yet; we're still figuring it out."
The old lady nodded. "Daughter-in-law, I heard that your mother-in-law loves jade. I remember there is a Bodhisattva statue in this storeroom, which is carved from the finest white jade. Why don't we give it to her as a birthday gift?"
Li seemed somewhat apprehensive. "Well, Mother also really likes that Bodhisattva statue. Let's keep it for Mother."
"Hey, we're all family, no need to be so polite!"
Seeing the old lady's insistence, Madam Li agreed. Only Mu Xin Nuan felt that the old lady was acting strangely today. Then, noticing the hint of joy in Mu Xin Yao's eyes, she immediately understood. It turned out that the old lady was being kind to Mu Xin Yao! Was she planning to bring Mu Xin Yao along to celebrate the birthday as well?
Hmph! They really know how to scheme. Mu Xinyao is nine years old this year. Although she has stayed at home for the past two weeks and no unpleasant things have been said outside, she still can't withstand the bullying from those noble ladies! If she really goes, who knows what trouble she might cause!
Mu Xin Nuan suddenly remembered that Mu Xin Yao had contributed many good ideas to Jin Hui in her previous life! Each one seemed to be extremely unique, yet very effective, which was also an important reason why Jin Hui doted on her in her previous life!
Could it be that she has come up with some brilliant idea this time, one that can both turn her life around and make everyone laugh?
Sure enough, the old lady quickly got to the point, essentially telling Li to take her children and visit her maternal relatives more often. Li understood the implication perfectly. She wanted to refuse, but firstly, she was the legal mother, and these illegitimate children should indeed address her as "mother"; secondly, the old lady was an elder, and she couldn't simply go against her, could she?
Left with no other choice, Li had to agree.
Meanwhile, Mu Xin Nuan had been secretly observing Mu Xin Yao beside her, and sure enough, she saw that Mu Xin Yao's expression was even more delighted than before! Thus, Mu Xin Nuan became even more certain that Mu Xin Yao was definitely up to something again!
Upon returning to Yuexuan, Mu Xinnuan instructed Rongyue to find out what was going on, and soon a reply came back.
"Miss, I heard that the second young lady has been locking herself in her room lately, doing needlework. I heard it's the kind that takes a lot of time."
"Extremely troublesome?" Mu Xin Nuan's eyes showed some curiosity. "What could it be?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Qing volunteered, "Miss, why don't I go and investigate tonight? My lightness skill is quite good, and Mu Xinyao doesn't know martial arts, so she definitely won't find out."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xin Nuan's eyes lit up, and she had no other choice but to agree.
"Alright, be careful. It would be great if you could find out, but it's okay if you can't. Just don't expose yourself."
"Yes, ma'am."
That evening, Mu Xin Nuan dismissed everyone, leaving only Rong Yue to serve her. Soon after, Mu Qing returned.
"how?"
"Reporting to Miss, it turns out that the Second Miss has been doing embroidery in her room. Moreover, I heard her talking to the people around her about what it's called cross-stitch. I've seen it; it has a large character for 'longevity' embroidered on it, and also a pair of cranes."
Cross-stitch? Mu Xin Nuan's expression suddenly changed! She suddenly remembered that among the shops she brought as part of her dowry in her previous life, there were two embroidery shops, but they both changed hands in less than a year! Back then, wasn't it precisely because of cross-stitch that they failed?
Mu Xin Nuan recalled that in her previous life, it was because Mu Xin Yao presented cross-stitch as a birthday gift to the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis, who was also her mother-in-law in her previous life, that she became an overnight sensation. The entire capital was swept up in a craze for this kind of embroidery! If a young lady of any family could not do cross-stitch, she would be ashamed to show her face to others!
Mu Xin Nuan's face was a little pale, which frightened Rong Yue. "Miss, are you alright?"
Mu Xin Nuan shook her head, quickly recovering from her grief and shock. Indeed, many things were different! In her previous life, Mu Xin Yao only brought out this cross-stitch after her marriage. How come it was so early in this life? Was it because her rebirth changed everything, or was it because Mu Xin Yao had been driven to a dead end and had no other choice?
"Miss, have you ever heard of cross-stitch?"
Heard of it? A cold smile appeared on Mu Xin Nuan's lips! He had more than just heard of it. In her previous life, she had been defeated by Mu Xin Yao at that birthday banquet. Afterwards, she devoted herself to studying cross-stitch, just to master it completely!
It took me almost a year to figure out most of the techniques involved in cross-stitch. Of course, I learned all of this from other cross-stitch embroiderers!
Although Mu Xinyao presented her cross-stitch first, she only knew one stitch—the most basic one. In truth, cross-stitch is something any embroiderer can do; it's just a commonly used technique, never something they've specifically chosen to use. Unexpectedly, Mu Xinyao's performance made her famous!
“Rongyue, cross-stitch is actually very simple. Come, I’ll teach you. Once you’ve learned it, go to the embroidery shop under your mother’s name and teach the embroiderers this technique. Also, have them try double-sided embroidery! The sooner the better. I don’t need the patterns to be too complicated, as long as they are usable and small, that’s fine too.”
"Miss, are you also sending this as a birthday gift to Madam Li?"
"How could that be? I already said, I'll only make some small ones, preferably sachets or pouches. They don't need to be too big, and the sooner the better."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hmph! Mu Xinyao, this time, I'd like to see how you plan to break this."