After receiving the hairpin from Qingyan, Xiaocui smiled all the way back to her room. In the room, all the other servant girls made an envious look when they saw the hairpin in her hand. Originally, she didn't want to tell Chai Yiyun about this, but she knew that in this yard, there were also other spies of hers.
If she didn't tell her, then the one with an unfortunate end would definitely be her. After all, in Chai Yiyun's eyes, she was only a pawn. And a useless pawn would only be discarded.
Xiaocui glanced at the hairpin and quietly said to herself: Miss, you shouldn't blame me, I'm only doing this because I have no other choice.
Just as Xiaocui stored the hairpin into her sleeve, she saw Chai Yiyun's maid, Juyue standing at the door talking to another girl. Soon after, that girl called Xiaocui over.
When Juyue saw Xiaocui, she spoke in a distasteful tone, "Xiaocui, you have to know, your master now isn't the fourth miss."
Listening to Juyue's words, Xiaocui lowered her head and promptly replied, "Yes, Xiaocui's master now is madam. Xiaocui was just about to go report this matter to madam."
Juyue glanced at her in contempt before taking her to leave with her.
When Xiaocui saw Chai Yiyun, Chai Yiyun was in the middle of grooming. Seeing Xiaocui, she smiled, "I heard that girl gave you a hairpin, is this true?"
When Xiaocui heard this, she immediately presented the hairpin to Chai Yiyun, "This is the hairpin the miss gave me."
Chai Yiyun, seeing that the hairpin was made from a material she'd never seen before, picked it up and played with it in her hand, "Xiaocui, what kind of accessory do you think a servant like you should wear?"
Xiaocui understood that this was Chai Yiyun implying that she wanted the hairpin for herself. She promptly replied in a soft voice, "If madam likes it, then madam can have it."
Satisfied with what she heard, Chai Yiyun nodded her head and glanced to Meixue. Meixue brought out a bag of silver shards and handed it to her, "Take this money as payment for the hairpin."
Xiaocui smiled as she received the moneybag from Meixue, "Thank you very much, Madam."
Chai Yiyun asked about a few trivial matters, before letting Juyue send her away.
This whole
her originally cold expression immediately grew a bit kinder, "Yan'er, you've come. Quick, come sit next to grandmother."
Not only did Ning Siyao and Chai Yiyun found it unpleasant when they saw this, even the other children felt extremely irritated.
When Ning Siyao thought of what happened a few days ago, her gaze towards her was terribly vicious, but Qingyan seems to have completely disregarded her gaze.
"Yan'er, why are you wearing such a plain hairpin today?" Su Jiashi worryingly asked as she looked to the hairpin in Qingyan's hair. "Did you not get issued new accessories?"
Qingyan looked to Su Jiashi and said with difficulty, "This morning, Yan'er had planned to wear the hairpin that was mother's dowry, but who would have thought that the hairpin went missing. I have yet to find it all morning."
"How could you be so careless?" Su Jiashi looked to Qingyan and helplessly shook her head. "Did a thief come and steal it?" She nodded as she said this.
Qingyan glanced to Chai Yiyun, before turning her gaze back towards Su Jiashi, "That's right, a thief must have came and stolen Yan'er's hairpin."
"Who is that thief? To dare steal something from our manor. I sure want to know just who in the world would have the nerve to steal something from a General's manor!" Su Jiashi heavily struck her cane as she said this.
Chai Yiyun looked to the hairpin on Qingwen's head, and glanced again at the pitiful looking Qingyan. She quietly thought to herself: not good.