ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 54

“G.o.d…” Grandma w.a.n.g was also shocked, saying, “This, this must be at least half a catty of gold?”

She dared not even touch the bottle, afraid of breaking it. After a moment of shock, Li Zhizhi carefully reached out and picked up the crystal bottle, weighed it, quite substantial. Inside was indeed real gold. Yulan admired, “Princess Yongning is so good to Miss, so much gold. I’ve never seen so much money in my life.”

“Look at you, so impressed,” scolded Old Lady w.a.n.g. “Our Miss will only get better in the future. Forget about half a catty of gold, she’ll have one or two stones.”

Yulan and Haitang laughed and echoed each other. However, Li Zhizhi put the crystal bottle back, frowning, “This is really too valuable.”

She remembered something, hastily opened the gift list and looked it over several times. Surprisingly, the golden melon seeds were not recorded on the list. Li Zhizhi raised her eyebrows and said to Old Lady w.a.n.g, “Mother, these golden melon seeds are not listed in the gift list. Perhaps someone from the eldest princess’s mansion made a mistake. Wrap it up, I’ll return it to the eldest princess’s mansion later.”

At that moment, Yulan suddenly said, “Oh, Miss, there’s a piece of paper in this bottle.”

Li Zhizhi stared at it and indeed found a note sticking out among the golden melon seeds. Yulan suggested, “Maybe this is the gift list?”

After hesitating for a moment, Li Zhizhi still opened the crystal bottle. However, the neck of the bottle was quite slender, and to take out the note, she had to pour out all the golden melon seeds.

Haitang found an empty large silk box, while Yulan nervously watched Li Zhizhi’s movements and whispered, “This is the first time I’ve seen such a scene.”

Not only her, but also Li Zhizhi is doing this for the first time. Everyone held their breath, watching as the golden melon seeds poured down from the bottle mouth, drawing a golden arc, falling into the bottom of the brocade box with a crisp and cute sound, making people unable to resist reaching out to catch them.

This is real gold!

Even though Li Zhizhi appeared calm, at this moment, she couldn’t help but reach out, burying her hand in the golden melon seeds, scooping up a handful, watching the golden shimmer flowing between her fingers, almost dazzling.

Then she touched that piece of paper, and reason finally returned. Li Zhizhi stabilized her emotions and calmly opened it. The note only had a few lines of small characters: “May you have a peaceful heart and a joyful face every day. This is a token of my appreciation.”

At the end, there was only a signature with a character “Chuan.” Li Zhizhi had never seen this handwriting before, and for a moment, she couldn’t figure out who would send such a precious gift to her. But these golden melon seeds…

She picked up one, examined it closely against the light, and it did seem somewhat familiar. She remembered the day she first entered Mingyuan, when she met Xiao Yan. He wanted to thank her for saving Xiao Rulei, and he presented a handful of golden melon seeds that seemed identical to these.

…

Li Zhizhi had the old woman check all the gift lists. The bottle of golden melon seeds was wrapped up, and she planned to go to the eldest princess’s mansion to inform the Grand Princess, asking who exactly sent this or if there was a mistake. In any case, this thing was too valuable, and she dared not accept it.

Carrying the brocade box, Li Zhizhi left Shuyue Pavilion and headed outside. Just as she reached the Drooping Flower Gate, she heard someone calling her, “Zhizhi.”

She paused for a moment, turned around, and saw a figure emerging from behind the corridor pillar—it was Li Xingzhi. As he approached, Li Zhizhi noticed that his emotions seemed complex, with a hesitant expression on his face.

Having her own concerns, Li Zhizhi wasn’t too keen on getting involved with him. However, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure behind Li Xingzhi. Suddenly, she raised her eyebrows and smiled, saying, “Did Brother Xingzhi call me for something?”

“Today…” Li Xingzhi carefully chose his words and said, “Regarding today’s events, were you aware of them?”

Li Zhizhi raised her eyebrows slightly and replied, “Brother, do you want me to be informed, or would you prefer me not to know?”

Li Xingzhi felt conflicted. The sudden turn of events today caught everyone off guard, tarnishing the reputation of the Li family. And there was also the matter with Wan’er…

Recalling the shocked expressions on his parents’ faces, he felt that things had gone too far. On the one hand, he thought Li Zhizhi wasn’t entirely wrong, as she deserved to know about it.

“Looks like Brother thinks I was wrong too,” Li Zhizhi sighed softly, disappointment evident on her face. “I thought Brother could understand me, but it seems not. Brother also believes that today’s adult ceremony should have been for Wan’er, not Li Zhizhi.”

She spoke with a hint of sadness, and her smile became tinged with sorrow. Li Xingzhi hurriedly said, “That’s not what I meant!”

But Li Zhizhi seemed to ignore him, continuing, “Is Brother also like Madam, thinking that it would have been better if I hadn’t returned to the Li family? That way, your sister would only be Wan’er, and no one would come to contend with her. The Li family wouldn’t lose face.”

“I didn’t think that way,” Li Xingzhi explained, “Regardless, you are still my sister.”

Li Zhizhi smiled, looking at him with sincere and eager eyes, filled with joy. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly stopped and hesitated, “Brother, saying this, wouldn’t Sister Wan’er be unhappy?”

Li Xingzhi said, “Wan’er just likes to act a little spoiled, a little pampering will be enough to appease her.”

Li Zhizhi tilted her head in surprise, looking behind him, and asked, “Sister Wan’er, what happened to your face?”

Li Xingzhi immediately turned around, only to see Li Suwan being supported by a maid, her eyes moist and red, teary-eyed, staring at her in disbelief. What did she just hear?

She had been confined for a whole morning, missed the coming-of-age ceremony, endured Li Zhizhi’s mockery, got slapped by her, hurt her foot, and no one came to comfort her. And now, her brother, who had always cherished and doted on her, was standing with the person she hated the most, saying bad things about her!

Li Suwan was so angry that her whole body trembled. She forcefully pushed away the maid and limped away. Li Zhizhi immediately said, “Brother, go and see, it seems that Sister Wan’er is very angry.”

Li Xingzhi sighed and followed. He hadn’t had the chance to ask Li Zhizhi’s questions when she happily escaped. She continued walking with her embroidered box.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the entrance of the flower hall, they heard a dispute inside, accompanied by the sound of things being thrown around. Soon after, Li Yan’s scolding voice came, “You foolish woman! How dare you raise your voice at me now? It was your obstinacy that led to the current situation. Short-sighted and ignorant! Why did I marry such a foolish person like you?!”

Madam Li choked, “Back then, the master tacitly agreed too, didn’t he? Now everything is blamed on me alone. If the master had firmly opposed it back then, how could I have succeeded? Can I say one word in my defense?”

Li Cen angrily said, “Isn’t it because you keep talking about it all the time, annoying everyone around you?!”

Madam Li sneered again, “The master himself is soft-hearted, and I should be blamed for that? It’s truly a joke. You, with your clever tricks, take credit for all the good things and put the blame on others. Official Li, if you had this skill in the official circles, you would have become a prime minister by now! Being a third-rank attendant is really beneath your talents!”

“You, sharp-tongued shrew! I’ll have someone shut your mouth sooner or later!”

One enraged, the other retorted, and the two quarreled incessantly, resulting in a tumultuous scene. Li Zhizhi outside listened with relish, feeling much better.

It wasn’t until a servant hurriedly came out, with a swollen red mark on their forehead, probably caught in the crossfire. Seeing Li Zhizhi, they exclaimed, “Miss?”

The people in the flower hall probably heard, and it quieted down for a moment. Soon after, Li Cen came out, still with lingering anger on his face. Upon seeing Li Zhizhi, he quickly forced a smile, appearing somewhat insincere, and asked, “Zhizhi, what brings you here? Is there something wrong?”

Li Zhizhi smiled slightly and said, “I was just about to visit Mother.”

When she mentioned her mother, Li Cen’s expression distorted for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. He said, “It’s time for lunch. Why don’t you wait until after lunch to go?”

“No need. I’ll have lunch at the Eldest Princess’s residence,” Li Zhizhi replied. She looked past him, and Madam Li emerged from the flower hall. She seemed somewhat disheveled, her hair even a bit messy. Did these two really have a physical fight?

While pondering, Li Zhizhi showed a shy smile and said, “Mother said I should move to the Eldest Princess’s residence for a while. Sir, Madam, it’s getting late. I’ll take my leave.”

Having said that, without looking at the two, she walked away with a decorative box in her arms. She was going to visit the Eldest Princess; there was no time to listen to these two quarreling.