Chapter 371: Test (1)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling lay on the grass and spat out the grass in her mouth. She turned around and asked Qi Haoran, “Are you sure you heard right? Will those noble ladies really come here?”
Qi Haoran nodded solemnly. “I’ll leave everything to you.”
Fan Zijin looked at Mu Yangling suspiciously. “Can you do it?”
Mu Yangling chuckled. “Just you wait and see.”
As she spoke, she got up and patted the grass off her body. Then, she carried the basket full of apricots and swayed down the mountain. As it was the time of the year when summer flowers were in full bloom, there were wild flowers everywhere—red, pink, and white. When the breeze blew, no one would have thought that there had been a war here a few months ago and many people had died.
Mu Yangling came down from the mountainside and walked around for a long time, but she still did not see the ladies. So, she sat on the ground and rested her chin on her hand. She felt that it was reasonable for the noble ladies to delay for a while.
With this thought in mind, Mu Yangling was no longer anxious. She began to look at her surroundings. Not far away, there were clusters of small yellow flowers.
Spring had always arrived late in Xingzhou Prefecture, and the weather warmed up slowly, too. The flowers in Jiangnan bloomed all over the mountains in February, but Xingzhou Prefecture had to wait until April for the flowers to bloom fully.
Today was the 8th of April, a rare good day. The sun was bright and the breeze was gentle, perfect for going out for an outing and a jaunt. Therefore, the noble ladies of Jingzhao Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture agreed to go out for a jaunt today.
Therefore, today was also a good day for them to help Big Brother Qi find a suitable wife. That’s right, it was better to talk about marriage on such an auspicious day.
Mu Yangling stood up to pluck the small yellow flowers. Then, she picked a lot of flowers of various colors nearby and snapped off some vines and grass before starting to weave a flower basket.
She had learned this from Xiuhong. Her skills weren’t as good as Xiuhong’s, but she felt that the result was quite pretty.
Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin, who were lying on the mountain, were secretly anxious. Had she forgotten their mission?
After Mu Yangling weaved four to five flower baskets, she finally heard the sound of horse hooves. She put down the flower basket and looked in the direction of the horse hooves. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief. They were finally here.
Mu Yangling picked up her things and went to the stream not far away. Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin, who had been watching from the mountain with their telescopes, also heaved a sigh of relief. Qi Haoran complained, “Those noble ladies have no sense of punctuality. They clearly said that they would arrive here at 9 a.m.”
Fan Zijin turned over and lay on the grass. He narrowed his eyes at the blue sky and white clouds as he said nonchalantly, “They’re here to play, not to go to the battlefield. Whether they’re punctual or not depends on their mood.”
Qi Haoran said angrily, “A non-punctual matriarch is not a good matriarch.”
Fan Zijin burst out laughing and reached out to pat him. “It’s not certain if Eldest Cousin will choose from among them. You’re unduly worried.”
By the time the horses appeared in her line of sight, Mu Yangling was already squatting by the stream. When she heard the sound of hooves, she stood up and looked over. She wore a dazed look, as if she was frightened by the sudden sound of hooves.
A group of teenage girls rode their horses and raised their whips, their expressions soaring as they joked wantonly. Even Mu Yangling, who had seen all kinds of television scenes, could not help but narrow her eyes slightly and admire them happily.
Fortunately, she still remembered her mission, so she only looked up for a while before taking a step back in a panic. The stream water soaked her shoes.
The noblewoman in the lead stopped her horse and sized up Mu Yangling. Frowning, she asked, “Where did you come from?”
The people behind her also reined in their horses and looked at the young girl standing by the stream. They saw the slightly pale young girl open her mouth, but she could not speak for a moment. She could only point at the mountain.
“Second Sister Li, don’t scare people.” A girl in a light yellow riding suit took two steps forward and smiled. She said gently to Mu Yangling, “Little girl, don’t panic. We’re just curious as to why you’re here. We don’t have any ill intentions. Seeing as your shoes are wet, you should come up first. Our Second Sister Li is just a little impatient. She’s not picking on you.”
Second Miss Li sneered, jumped off the horse, and threw the rope to the girl who had caught up from behind. She sized up Mu Yangling and was about to say something when a girl in a blue riding suit pressed her shoulder.
The girl only nodded slightly at Mu Yangling before instructing the servant girl beside her to pull Mu Yangling up. With a smile, she said, “Miss, follow my servant girl to change into a pair of shoes. Although the sun is quite bright now, the water is still a little cold.”
The girl in the light yellow riding suit was the eldest daughter of the Jingzhao Prefecture’s Jin family, and this girl in the blue riding suit should be Second Miss Li’s sister, Third Miss Li.
Just as Mu Yangling was pondering, one young lass after another came forward. Mu Yangling’s fingers intertwined. Before that girl touched her, she seemed to have mustered up her courage and said in a low voice, “I… I came here to pick wild fruits… I didn’t know that the ladies would come. No one told me…”
Seeing the nervousness in Mu Yangling’s eyes, Third Miss Li’s expression softened a little. Smiling, she nodded. “We know. We don’t blame you. Hurry up and change your shoes.”
Mu Yangling bent down to pick up her flower basket. Only then did everyone notice the flower basket by her feet. A noble lady exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she asked, “Is this a flower basket? It’s lovely.”
Mu Yangling looked at them in confusion and asked nervously, “This is made up for my younger siblings. If you fancy it, I’ll give it to you.” After saying that, she realized that there seemed to be too many people and too few flower baskets.
The noblewoman who had asked previously had already chosen her favorite when Mu Yangling finished speaking. She admired it happily and turned to Mu Yangling with a smile. “Thank you.”
This girl took a step forward and pulled Mu Yangling up first. She then gave her a pouch. “This is for you from our Miss. Keep it well.”
When Mu Yangling saw that the remaining flower baskets had been picked by the other ladies, and the rest who didn’t get one couldn’t help but pout unhappily.
Seeing this, Miss Jin handed one to a girl in a purple riding suit beside her and said, “Look at your mouth—I can almost hang an oil bottle upon it. Here, have this.”
The girl immediately cheered up.
Seeing this, Second Miss Li snorted coldly. She had already pulled off Third Miss Li’s hand on her shoulder and turned to leave. Third Miss Li’s expression was calm and not angry, but she also turned around and ignored Second Miss Li.
Mu Yangling narrowed her eyes. Third Miss Li summoned her maidservant and whispered a few words.
Hence, after Mu Yangling changed into her shoes, Third Miss Li’s servant girl brought a few other servants over to ask Mu Yangling some trivial questions, such as where she lived and why she was here. Then, she asked about the flower basket. “I think the flower basket you made is really gorgeous. Can you teach us?”
Mu Yangling nodded shyly. “My skills aren’t that good. My cousin is much better than me.”
“It doesn’t matter. We just have to master half of what you taught us. When we get back, we’ll weave it ourselves for fun.”
Mu Yangling used the flowers they picked first to teach them how to weave flower baskets. Then, she received some pouches and snacks in return before being sent away.
When Mu Yangling took a detour and returned to the mountain, she collapsed on the grass. “It’s even more tiring than fighting a war.”
Fan Zijin asked, “What did they say to you just now?”
Mu Yangling described the matter, not even leaving out details about their expressions and actions. Fan Zijin thought for a moment before saying, “Second Miss Li won’t do. She’s too rash and reveals her temper easily. If she marries Eldest Cousin, who knows how much trouble she’ll cause. It’s already hard enough for Eldest Cousin to clean up your mess. It’s better not to add another one.”
Qi Haoran agreed with the first sentence, but he was displeased with the second sentence. However, he did not refute it. Big Brother’s matter was the most urgent now.
“What about the eldest daughter of the Jin family? I think she’s quite kind.”
Fan Zijin and Mu Yangling looked up at Qi Haoran at the same time and said disdainfully, “The eldest daughter of the Jin family can’t even compare to Second Miss Li.”