Chapter 1113: Sister-in-law

Mu Bowen and his wife, Madam Fang, rushed back overnight with their eldest son, Mu Feng.

Mu Feng was only five years old this year. His nickname was Yuanyuan, and he was at a most mischievous age. As soon as he got out of the carriage, he rushed into his grandmother’s room and threw himself into her arms. He greeted her happily, “Grandmother, I’m back! I’m back!”

Shu Wanniang hugged him happily and smiled. “You’re back at the right time. I will bring you to see your aunt.”

As Mu Bowen helped his wife into the house, he asked with a smile, “Mother, where’s Sister?”

“Your sister and brother-in-law are exhausted from the journey and are still resting. Take a seat first. I’ll get someone to wake them up for breakfast.” Seeing her grandson looking at her with his round and good-natured eyes, she held his small hand and said, “I’ll bring Yuanyuan to see if Little Bear is awake. You guys rest first.”

Seeing that Madam Fang was still standing with her pregnant belly, she asked, “Considering you rushed back overnight, should we send for a doctor to take a look?”

Madam Fang pursed her lips and smiled. She said shyly, “There was a thick blanket in the carriage, and it wasn’t a bumpy ride, so there’s no need. Mother, I’ll go to the kitchen to check on the breakfast…”

“No need, no need.” Shu Wanniang smiled gently and said, “You should rest well since you’re pregnant. The servants will take care of these things.”

Shu Wanniang asked her son to accompany her daughter-in-law to rest while she happily dragged her grandson to see Little Bear.

Madam Fang had long heard of this eldest sister-in-law. Because she knew that her in-laws respected this eldest sister-in-law very much and that she had a noble status, she could not help but feel a little nervous.

Seeing this, Mu Bowen grabbed her hand and said, “Sister is very kind. You don’t have to be nervous. Let’s go down and rest for a while. You’ll see her at breakfast.”

Madam Fang looked troubled. “We came back in a hurry and didn’t have time to prepare a greeting gift. As for Sister…”

“Sister doesn’t care about these superficial gifts.” Mu Bowen smiled and said, “If you didn’t mention it, I’m afraid she would have forgotten about the greeting gift. These things have always been handled by Sister’s personal servant girl. Now that that girl isn’t around, I’m afraid my brother-in-law will have to help my sister handle this.”

Madam Fang clearly didn’t believe it. No matter what, Mu Yangling was the Princess Consort. How could she not have thought of these things?

Mu Yangling had indeed not thought of this. Along the way, she had been excited about returning to her maternal family. She had indeed prepared many gifts for her parents, siblings, but those gifts were very expensive.

Gifts in pairs or overly expensive ones required a reciprocal gesture, so these were given privately.

As for the greeting gift for Mu Bowen’s child and newly-married wife, it really hadn’t occurred to Mu Yangling to prepare one.

Hence, the moment she woke up, she placed a box in front of her. Qi Haoran opened it for her to see and said, “These are the various greeting gifts I asked Xiao Lou to prepare for you. Since you didn’t bring your servants with you, take this to the servant girl outside and let her sort it out. The names of the recipients are stated. Just browse through the list and have the servants give them out.”

Mu Yangling picked up a golden bracelet and clicked her tongue. “When did you prepare this?”

Qi Haoran tapped her forehead and said, “Long ago. Xiao Lou prepared it while we were on the way. Otherwise, how do you think he could prepare so many items at once?”

Feeling touched, Mu Yangling kissed his cheek and said happily, “Thank you for being so meticulous.”

Qi Haoran snorted happily and went to wash his face with his hands behind his back. “Hurry up and get up. Don’t let Mother-in-law wait too long.”

This was the first time Mu Yangling was meeting Madam Fang, whose maternal family was in Hanzhong Prefecture. The daughter of Mu Bowen’s teacher, she was rather compatible with Mu Bowen. This was the first time Mu Yangling was meeting her. Seeing that she was pregnant, she was delighted. She simply ignored the golden bracelet that Qi Haoran had prepared for her and took off the jade bracelet on her wrist. Beaming, she said, “Jade nurtures people. This pair of bracelets is the best suet jade bracelet I could find in the Central Capital. I’ll gift them to you.”

Madam Fang quickly declined and said, “This is too precious.”

Mu Yangling smiled and said, “Even if it’s precious, it’s meant to be worn. Besides, you’re my sister-in-law. Since I couldn’t attend your wedding, this can be considered my way of making up for it.”

Mu Kejia went to hug Mu Yangling’s arm. “Sister-in-law, since Sister gave it to you, you can keep it. She has a lot of nice things.” Then, she said with a smile, “Sister, since you gave Sister-in-law a greeting gift, you must have prepared something for me too. Hurry up and show me. I’m eager to see what you’ve prepared for me.”

With a smile, Mu Yangling asked, “What do you fancy?”

“I don’t like jade like you guys. Instead, I prefer gold and silver. I’d be thrilled if it’s a filigree bracelet.”

Upon hearing this, Shu Wanniang said to Mu Yangling worriedly, “I don’t know who this child takes after. She’s well-versed in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and her actions are also elegant and dignified. But somehow, she just really likes gold and silver. Look at the bracelets she’s wearing—it’s either made of gold or silver. As for necklaces, it’s either a gold necklace inlaid with jade or a pure gold necklace.”

Mu Bowen almost spat out the tea in his mouth. “Mother, it’s fine if it’s the former. Little Sister is indeed proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but I really don’t see how she’s elegant and dignified. She’s simply a tomboy. Even Big Sister is more elegant and dignified than her.”

Mu Bowen’s words directly offended the three women. Not to mention Shu Wanniang and Mu Kejia, even Mu Yangling, who was praised, glared at him. Qi Haoran carried the tea and left the battle circle, hoping that he would not be implicated.

Seeing that her husband was being attacked from all sides, Madam Fang couldn’t help but purse her lips and smile. She changed the topic to save him. “Actually, the gold and silver jewelry Little Aunt wears is really beautiful. I, too, am highly fond of her jewelry.”

Although Mu Kejia liked gold and silver jewelry, she preferred beautifully crafted pieces, such as the filigree bracelet she wore on her hand, which featured exquisitely intricate patterns that showcased exceptional craftsmanship, making the bracelet far more valuable than the mere price of the gold it contained.

She was wearing a droplet-shaped gold accessory around her neck. It was unknown how the craftsman did it, but the droplet looked like it was about to fall. Finding it pretty, Mu Yangling asked, “Which jewelry shop did you buy these from?”

Mu Kejia answered proudly, “This is our family’s business. Sister, have you forgotten? The Duke of Peaceful State opened a jewelry store in Hanzhong Prefecture, and our family has a share in it. In the past two years, the jewelry store has already been expanded to Xingzhou Prefecture, making it even easier for me to buy jewelry these days. I only have to go there and place an order.”

Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran looked at each other and smiled. “I really didn’t know about that. How did you know that our family has a share in the jewelry business?”

“Every year, Shopkeeper Qian comes over with the account book to distribute the dividends. It’s written on it.”

Mu Yangling nodded and changed the topic. “We’ve decided to go to the experimental farm to take a look. Mother, we might be staying at the old residence tonight and will probably stay there for two more days. I’ll get Little Bear to stay at home to accompany you, okay?”

Shu Wanniang hesitated. If they all went to the old residence, she was afraid that the old residence wasn’t big enough to accommodate all of them. After all, there were only five main rooms that could serve as bedrooms. On the other hand, she really wanted to spend more time with her daughter.

Mu Yangling held her hand and smiled. “Mother, don’t worry. We’ll probably stay at home for ten to 20 days, and will only return to the capital after Haoran’s injuries are completely healed. When I return from the farm, I won’t go anywhere and will just stay at home to accompany you.”

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