After leaving Madam Yu’s residence, Yu Che immediately followed behind. “Luo’er,” he called.
Yu Luo paused mid-step and slowly stopped, turning to look at him. “What is it?”
The autumn morning sunlight was slightly cold, and half of Yu Luo’s face was bathed in the gentle light, her skin so fair it was almost translucent.
Compared to her previous expression of admiration and reverence, she now appeared somewhat cold.
For some reason, Yu Che suddenly felt that his sister seemed a little unfamiliar to him.
His Adam’s apple moved, and then a faint smile appeared on his lips. “Why haven’t you come to visit Big Brother and me these past few days? Our relationship feels a little distant.”
Yu Luo found it amusing.
In the past, the Eldest Miss Yu had eagerly gone over to them, only to be met with their disdain, finding her too annoying.
Now that she didn’t come, he was the one questioning her.
What was she supposed to do?
Act humble?
Or feel ashamed because they embarrassed themselves over Liu Yanran?
To be honest, Yu Luo didn’t care about such familial feelings.
She thought for a moment and said, “Nothing important came up, so I didn’t think of bothering you. Anyway, if you think I’m annoying, now that I’m grown, I have self-awareness. I’m not like those years ago, ignorant of everything.”
At that moment, Liu Yanran also came out.
Seeing Yu Luo speaking with Yu Che, she instinctively felt that Yu Luo was bothering him.
She hurriedly called out, “Second Cousin Brother!”
Yu Che noticed her pale complexion, with no trace of color, and thought she hadn’t eaten breakfast and was feeling dizzy again.
He steadied Liu Yanran. “You got up too early today. Next time, you should have breakfast before coming to pay your respects.”
Liu Yanran knew that the Eldest Miss Yu was most jealous of such scenes.
She deliberately leaned closer to Yu Che. “It’s too late, I’m afraid Aunt and Uncle would scold me. I wonder what fun things Uncle gave Cousin Luo. Yan’er wants to see too.”
Yu Luo: “…”
She really had no interest in watching this couple make a spectacle of themselves here.
Yu Che said, “Luo’er, once Father sends the things over, let Yan’er choose first. After all, she’s a guest; you should give way.”
Yu Luo: “…”
How annoying.
If it had been the Eldest Miss Yu herself here, she might have agreed just to save face and receive a compliment from Yu Che.
Yu Luo didn’t care about Yu Che at all.
She wouldn’t do such a thing.
Yu Luo gave a half-smile. “Is that so? But Father just said these things were for me. If they’re meant for me, why let Cousin Yan choose first? Second Brother, if you and Cousin aren’t satisfied, we can go ask Father ourselves.”
Hearing Yu Luo’s words, Liu Yanran felt uneasy.
In front of elders, her usual image was gentle and virtuous.
If this escalated to the Marquis of Shunning, her image would be ruined.
In the Marquis’s eyes, Liu Yanran would become the greedy one, bullying his daughter.
She quickly held onto Yu Che. “Forget it, Second Cousin Brother. I didn’t want these anyway. Since Father gave them to Luo’er, I won’t take them.”
Yu Che found it hard to believe that Yu Luo truly didn’t care at all and ignored his words completely.
This had been completely impossible in the past.
“Luo’er, you disappoint me so much,” Yu Che said. “I never expected you to be so selfish.”
Yu Luo was secretly delighted.
If this clueless brother called her selfish, did that mean he would ignore her from now on?
He would never morally pressure her again?
Such a perfect situation actually existed in the world!
She silently thanked him, thanking his entire ancestral line.
To avoid breaking character, Yu Luo did not laugh out loud.
Pretending to be angry, she left with her maid.
Liu Yanran pretended not to care, but later secretly inquired about what the Marquis of Shunning had brought for Yu Luo.
The Marquis of Shunning held a high rank and great influence, unlike Yu Yuan and Yu Che, who held no official power.
Everything he handled was valuable and could not be bought outside.
At that moment, Yu Luo lay on the couch, examining each item the Marquis had sent.
An elderly nanny named Zhang, who had served the Marquis for many years, had come with the delivery. Normally, she didn’t do errands like this, leaving it to younger maids. She usually only oversaw the household.
But since the items were valuable, Nanny Zhang personally delivered them.
Yu Luo handed her a handful of silver coins.
Nanny Zhang had little contact with Yu Luo before, having only heard that the Eldest Miss was troublesome while Miss Liu Yanran was always excellent.
Seeing Yu Luo so generous, without a hint of looking down on servants, Nanny Zhang smiled broadly. “You shouldn’t have. Serving the Eldest Miss is what this old servant should do. Receiving a reward from you is too much courtesy.”
Yu Luo smiled faintly. “Nonsense, Nanny. You’re older; it must have been hard to make this trip.”
Nanny Zhang accepted it and kept praising the Eldest Miss for being considerate.
Seeing that Yu Luo held a cloak, she hurriedly explained, “This cloak is made of fox fur, pure white, both light and warm, without a single stray hair. The Marquis said that when he saw this color, it reminded him of the Eldest Miss. When winter comes with snow, wearing it, the Eldest Miss will not feel cold.”
Yu Luo smiled. “Father is really kind to me.”
She examined some other items. There were fabrics with rare colors and patterns. According to Nanny Zhang, these were tribute fabrics, originally meant only for palace ladies.
There were also several pieces of jewelry and headpieces, unlike ordinary styles, exquisitely crafted.
This time, the Marquis had gone to Capital City.
Capital City was the most prosperous place in the Jing Dynasty. Whatever he brought back could not be made by ordinary artisans; they were all treasures fit for palace tribute.
There were also some tea leaves, pastries, fruits, and a few bottles of medicine.
Yu Luo suddenly remembered Madam Yu. She said, “Does Mother have some too? If Father only gave these to me, I’ll first send some to Mother so she can pick first.”
Nanny Zhang nodded repeatedly. “Of course, Madam would have some. Eldest Miss has such filial heart; no wonder the Marquis and Madam cherish you so.”
After all, the Jing Dynasty was ancient. The highest praise was loyalty and filial piety.
A filial person would have a good reputation. A non-filial person would be gossiped about.
Yu Luo, who had been outside the household, was accustomed to luxury brands.
Seeing what the Marquis of Shunning brought, she realized what true luxury was.
She wanted to play with the items a while longer and let Nanny Zhang leave first.
It was actually a good thing that she had torn ties with Liu Yanran in the morning.
If she hadn’t, she would have had to share some of the items with Liu Yanran.
To be honest, Yu Luo didn’t want to share a single piece.