Early the next morning, servants from Peony Courtyard were sent to each residence to summon everyone.
Sheng Minmin’s reasons for calling them together were perfectly sound, so nobody thought much of it.
As for Concubine Fu, Concubine Hong, and Concubine Bai, none of them had children.
The servants figured that since Madam had been generous recently when Ruan’s personal maid got married, and the other concubines hadn’t really gotten anything out of it, maybe this time Madam wanted to make it up to them a little…
In any case, the young ladies and the concubines all gathered at Peony Courtyard—a lively and rather rare sight.
Sheng Minmin had her own small kitchen, and the table was laden with an incredibly lavish spread.
Chicken noodle soup, crab roe buns, shrimp dumplings…
Steamed, boiled, fried, seared, and roasted—there were over a dozen different kinds of pastries and snacks.
Even a simple bowl of plain congee came with seven or eight different side dishes, both meat and vegetable, to go with it.
There were also several kinds of freshly cut fruit.
At this point, Peony Courtyard was the only place in the household that could afford such extravagant meals.
Sheng Minmin was in a good mood and had a hearty appetite. She added some crispy, spicy, and savory pickled vegetable stems to her congee, which really whetted her appetite—she finished an entire bowl.
She also had a crab roe bun, a piece of fish that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and two wedges of honeydew melon before finally putting down her chopsticks.
Seeing her eat so well, the concubines relaxed, taking it as a sign that she was in good spirits.
“It’s always a bit dull eating alone. Since I have some business today anyway, I figured I’d have you all join me for breakfast,” Sheng Minmin said.
“Auntie, if you don’t mind us being a bit noisy, we’d be happy to come keep you company for meals every day when we’re free,” Huang Xianjing said with a charming smile.
Sheng Minmin chuckled and teased her, “I think it’s not me you want to keep company—it’s my cook!”
“Auntie…” Huang Xianjing’s cheeks flushed slightly.
A few years ago, when Huang Yaning had first returned to the household, she’d come to pay her respects regularly for a while, but Sheng Minmin had hardly seen her. It was only recently that she’d started accepting Huang Yaning’s visits.
But back then, whenever Huang Xianjing came, Sheng Minmin never turned her away.
So the two of them had always been close. Huang Xianjing felt completely at ease here and could naturally banter with Sheng Minmin. Sheng Minmin often teased her just like this.
The atmosphere was warm and harmonious, and everyone at the table laughed.
Huang Yaning wore a smile too.
She didn’t want Sheng Mingzhu to see her make a fool of herself, and she didn’t want Xianjing to overthink things and become afraid to get close to Minmin in the future.
But her mind was churning with thoughts.
She couldn’t help wondering—had she ever joked around with Minmin in her past life?
No…
Had she ever spoken to Minmin with such kindness and warmth in her past life?
No…
Had she ever praised Minmin in her past life? Had she ever looked at Minmin with adoring eyes?
It seemed… no.
She was truly a disastrously failed mother!
Minmin was right not to forgive her…
A sharp, needle-like ache spread through her chest and gut.
She felt like she was about to cry, but what right did she have to tears?
The one who had every right to cry, who had been wronged, was Minmin…
Huang Yaning lowered her head slightly, doing her best to hide her emotions.
By then, everyone had put down their chopsticks and moved to the spacious main hall.
Inside, a long table had been set up, piled high with bolts of fabric.
At a glance, there had to be at least several dozen bolts, all of them top-quality silks and satins.
Even the colors were hard to find on the outside—everyone’s eyes lit up.
“Your brothers aren’t here, and besides, they don’t really care about this kind of thing. You young ladies go ahead and pick first—two bolts each,” Sheng Minmin announced, letting Huang Xianjing and the other two choose before the concubines.
The three young ladies thanked her first.
“Seventh Sister is the youngest—why don’t you go first?” Sheng Mingzhu said gently to Huang Yaning.
Huang Yaning had already composed herself. She smiled and said, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly. How about…”
Seeing Sheng Mingzhu’s eyes light up with anticipation, she smiled even more brightly.
“I’ll graciously accept your offer, then.”
Sheng Mingzhu’s expression froze for a split second. “…Seventh Sister is just adorable.”
Huang Yaning ignored Sheng Mingzhu and walked over to pick her fabrics.
Having lived a full lifetime before, Huang Yaning had seen plenty of fine things and had a sharp eye.
She immediately spotted two familiar bolts of Shu brocade among the pile.
Ten years ago, Shu brocade had been reserved exclusively for the imperial family.
It wasn’t until production increased slightly that it became available to the public—but the price was exorbitant.
Back when she was still the matriarch of the Sheng family, she’d been vain and had gritted her teeth to buy four bolts.
She’d planned to make outfits for Sheng Yong and the children. But then… she’d ended up in Minmin’s body…
Over the past couple of years, she’d seen Minmin wearing clothes made from Shu brocade, and Xianjing had some too—so those four bolts were probably down to these two.
Good!
At least Sheng Yong and those ingrates hadn’t gotten their hands on them.
Besides the Shu brocade, Huang Yaning also spotted two bolts of colorful patterned silk gauze.
If Shu brocade was flashy, ostentatious, and dazzling, this silk gauze was much more understated—yet still very beautiful and elegant.
There were also two bolts of ice silk.
Ice silk felt cool to the touch, was incredibly comfortable, and could even keep mosquitoes away.
All in all, none of these fabrics were cheap.
From what she knew of Sheng Mingzhu, that girl only liked expensive things—from her food to her clothes to her daily necessities.
And since Sheng Mingzhu liked them, Huang Yaning was determined to make sure she didn’t get them.
So Huang Yaning grabbed both bolts of Shu brocade and both bolts of silk gauze.
“Seventh Sister, Mother said each of us could only pick two…” Sheng Mingzhu’s expression wasn’t too pleasant.
Huang Yaning beamed. “I know. I picked the two brightly colored ones for myself—the other two are for my cousin.”
“Thank you, Cousin…” Huang Xianjing said softly.
Between Huang Yaning and Sheng Mingzhu, Huang Xianjing would naturally side with Huang Yaning without a second thought.
Sheng Mingzhu was fuming on the sidelines. She’d just remembered the Shu brocade.
When she was little, her mother had bought several bolts and said she’d make her clothes with them—but she never did…
And now those Shu brocades had been snatched away by that little wretch. Sheng Mingzhu looked up at her mother with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
But her mother just sipped her tea with her head down, completely oblivious to the promise she’d made all those years ago.
Biting her lip, Sheng Mingzhu looked away resentfully, cursing under her breath at how that little wretch had lucked out so perfectly, picking out the most expensive fabrics in one go!
Having to settle for whatever was left after someone else had picked through everything made Sheng Mingzhu so furious she felt like her lungs might burst.
But she couldn’t lose her temper. Her hands, hidden beneath her sleeves, dug her nails into her palms until they ached.
After taking a few deep breaths and staring for a while longer, she finally decided that the ice silk was at least passable.
Huang Yaning had already anticipated Sheng Mingzhu’s choice. At just the right moment, she spoke up again.
“Oh, I just remembered—
“Second Brother and Fourth Brother have been studying hard every night, and it gets so stuffy with all the mosquitoes. This ice silk is both cool and mosquito-repellent—
“Qingtian, take those two bolts and give one each to Concubine Shui and Concubine Ruan.
“The two concubines can take them back and make a couple of new outfits for Second and Fourth Brother, so they can study with a little less discomfort…”
Qingtian was quick as a whip.
At the command, she snatched the fabric right from under Sheng Mingzhu’s nose, chin held high and attitude downright smug—absolutely infuriating.
