The next morning, the Su sisters indeed came to apologize with thick gifts - there are only four people in the Su family in the Imperial Capital now: Ji Guo Gong and Su Shaoge, Su Shao Mei, and Su Shao Hua. The others have either passed away like Ji Guo Furen or are in Qingzhou's old home like Su Da Gongzi.

  Although Ji Guo Gong was idle, his seniority and age were placed there, it was impossible for him to personally visit the door because of a small mistake made by his daughter.

  "Mrs. Song, I'm really sorry! My sister..."

  "Miss Su Liu didn't do it on purpose!" Song Yi smiled and originally didn't plan to make a fuss about this matter. Now that the Su sisters had come forward, they had saved face for both sides. She naturally wouldn't be stubborn, and with a pleasant expression, she interrupted, "Besides, I've already changed my clothes, and nothing happened. You're being too polite!"

  Su's sisters all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but still sincerely apologized and asked about her health with concern. In the end, they insisted on leaving gifts before bidding farewell.

  "Sujia's sixth young lady is really one of a kind!" After they left, Jin Xun sighed and said, "Having such elegant brothers and sisters, yet still being born with a rough temperament, it's not easy at all!"

  Everyone burst out laughing at this remark - Song Yi rolled her eyes in exasperation: "What's so strange about that? With a mother as strict as Zhao's watching over you, I'm not one to gossip about people behind their backs either, and Cui Xiang is also very reserved. Who would have thought that she was born with such a fondness for talking about others behind their backs?"

  Jin Xun stuck out her tongue: "This slave knows she was wrong!"

  Song Yixiao was about to scold her a few more times, when a little maid from outside came in and reported: "The third master sent someone to the door with an oral message: The road has been ordered to go to Youzhou, but whether it can be achieved is still unknown!"

  "Youzhou?" With the New Year's things going on these past few days, Song Yixiao had almost forgotten about this matter. Upon hearing it, she suddenly remembered that the Princess of Jin State was planning to take a risk and ask for help from Jian Limo for her adopted daughter Pei Youdui - this task was given to Jian Xubai. Song Yixiao hadn't gone with her husband to his uncle's place the day before yesterday, thinking that since her husband didn't say anything after returning, things must have gone smoothly. It turns out that Jian Limo only decided to take care of this matter today?

  She sighed and said, "I know."

  Just as she was about to let the little maid retreat, the little maid said: "Madam's jacket has two broken embroidery patterns, can Yuxiaojie help you mend them?"

  Song Yi Xiao furrowed her brow upon hearing this: "When did she go and take care of the laundry again?"

  When she asked this, she was not very happy in her heart: Did this nun really take her own words to heart?

  Although it's a face-saving measure for Zhao's mother, Song Yi thought that the wet nurse who didn't listen to her should be dismissed early on, not only to avoid disrupting the rules of her own household but also to prevent any rifts from forming between herself and the wet nurse.

  "Madam, it's like this: Sister You hasn't been to the laundry place recently. The person in charge of washing clothes discovered that the embroidery was damaged but couldn't repair it herself. She thought of Sister You who is skilled at embroidery and went to ask for help. That's why Sister You asked me to come and ask you." The little maid heard her displeasure and hastily said, "Sister You says your embroidery skills are unparalleled, so although she wanted to help share your worries, she didn't dare take it upon herself!"

  Song Yi Xiao had just been made the Lady of Yan State for a short time, and she only had one set of ceremonial clothes bestowed upon her along with the imperial edict. She didn't have another set to change into yet - today was January 9th, Princess He Yu Shan's birthday, and she needed to wear it; in a few days, on January 15th, there would be a banquet for the Lantern Festival, and she would need to wear it again.

  So if there is a problem with the clothes, it must be repaired in time.

  It's just that this kind of intricate and exquisite ceremonial attire is very time-consuming to make, and it's also difficult to repair.

  Song Yi laughed, "Two lifetimes as a person, the embroidery skills are seen by many and recognized by the wise and knowledgeable Queen of Hengshan, who is also surprised. It can be done naturally, but I didn't expect You Qingchun to have this confidence too." Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but feel astonished: "She's confident?"

  But before the little maid could answer, Song Yi Xiao had already figured it out: "For two lifetimes, my embroidery skills and those of Zhi Qin were both taught by Zhao Mama. Although Nai Jie didn't spend much time with Zhao Mama, after all, they are biological mother and daughter, how could she not have picked up a thing or two?"

  She suddenly lost interest in this thought, her eyes flickered for a moment, and then she said lightly: "If she's confident, let her help out!"

  After Xiaoyan left, Song Yishang turned her head towards the courtyard where Zhiqin was placed, her expression changing unpredictably, and she remained silent for a long time.

  After the third aunt returned to her residence, she barely composed herself and conveyed Jian Li's message. Then she asked: "Do you think Yiyi will follow Uncle back to the Imperial Capital?"

  "I'm also not sure!" Jian Yu Bai furrowed his brow and said, "After all, I don't see Yiyi often, nor do I know if Pei University Scholar told Yiyi about the friendship between Uncle and Pei's son-in-law before he passed away."

  Song Yi laughed and said, "Since Uncle had set fire to the residence of Princess Nang's husband, Marquis Pei, in the past, shouldn't Yiyi know something about it?"

  "Uncle and Pei's husband had a good relationship, but Pei University Scholar didn't like Uncle very much." Jian Xu Bai pondered for a moment before saying, "So big sister guessed that he would only tell Yi Jie about this matter when he was on his deathbed and handing over the last affairs. If he hadn't said it then, or if there wasn't enough time to say it, Yi Jie probably wouldn't have known!"

  "Isn't there still a steward?" Song Yi smiled to herself, thinking that with Jian Limo's elegant demeanor and speech, there were actually people who didn't like him - this was truly strange! She asked hesitantly, "I see that Steward Pei is quite old, surely he must have seen Marquis Pei?"

  This is the old servant who was entrusted by Lord Pei on his deathbed to take care of the young miss, shouldn't Miss Pei believe what he says?

  Jian Yu Bai pinched her brow, her tone calm: "When Pei's husband fell off his horse and died, the rumors that came out implicated your mother. Do you think the people around him could still be alive? Not only the people around him, but many of the servants in the Pei household were also affected - Pei Da was loyal, but he wasn't serving in the imperial capital's Pei manor before, it was only after that incident that he was transferred back!"

  Song Yi Xiao heard this and was both startled and shocked. After a long while, he muttered: "I really don't know what the outcome of Uncle's dispatched person's trip is!"

  And so this topic came to an end.

  By dusk, Yu Qingchun brought over the repaired cloak for Song Yiliao to inspect.

  Those two damaged embroidery patterns are on the hem, which can be taken to the front, and after Yu Qingchun points out the place, you also need to look carefully to see the clues; if worn on the body, as long as you don't say it, others will definitely not find out, which shows her craftsmanship.

  "Thanks for your trouble!" Song Yi smiled with satisfaction and put down the cloak, ordering Jin Xun to take a pair of crimson gold pendants as a reward - You Qingchun's face turned red as he declined several times, but was finally stuffed into his sleeve by Jin Xun with a smile, and only then did he repeatedly thank him and leave.

  Song Yixiao told Jin Xun to put away the clothes: "It's going to be worn again soon - after the New Year, I have to hurry up and make two more sets of spare clothes. Otherwise, if there is another encounter like today, it will be troublesome if it can't be mended or washed in time! Can't always borrow from elder sister!"

  Those two embroidered patterns today should have been damaged when Su Shaoyang struggled in the snow.

  Although it's rare to encounter such a situation, having only one set of clothes for such an important occasion is really not reliable.

  After the imperial edict was issued, she should have prepared one or two sets of spare clothes. However, at that time, she was busy "resting in bed to recover from her injuries", and for the sake of authenticity, she naturally "didn't have time" to worry about these trivial matters. Later, she was held back by the task of teaching her younger sister-in-law, and didn't think about it again; afterwards, when her younger sister-in-law ran away from home in a huff on her birthday after being neglected, she was taken by her elder sister-in-law to the Spring Pavilion, where she stayed until just before New Year's Eve. By then, everyone was busy celebrating the new year, and where could you still find someone to make clothes?!

  If it weren't for Eldest Sister's help yesterday, Song Yixiao would have had to return to Mingguang Palace in her everyday clothes after finishing up at Pinglan Pavilion.

  Speaking of which, she suddenly remembered and instructed Jin Xun, "You go to the warehouse to fetch some things, and then send the clean clothes to Big Sister's place together with the washed ones. Also, thank Big Sister on my behalf!"

  Jin Xun had just received the order, when Li Yu brought in a letter and said: "Madam, the Wei family has sent an invitation saying that on the 24th of the first month is Old Lady Cao's birthday, please come to their house at that time to drink longevity wine!"

  "There are quite a few people born in the first month!" Song Yi smiled and said to those around her, "Qianqiu Jie and Princess Yushan are already two, my mother is on the 23rd of the first month, plus my grandmother, that's four people now!"

  "Put the letter on the desk," said Li Yu, "it's late today, you two draft a list of gifts for me to review tomorrow morning!"

  It was not the first time for Mrs. Cao to attend her birthday, but it was different from going out of the boudoir and not going out - in the past, she followed her mother to have a drink and brought one or two embroidery products made by herself; now that she has become a wife, she must prepare gifts seriously.

  Fortunately, on the seventh day of the New Year, she went to Wei's house with Jian Xu Bai to pay her respects, and at that time, she also carefully selected gifts - although longevity gifts and New Year's gifts are different, they can be used as a reference in terms of value and quantity. Now there is still nearly half a month left, although she had forgotten about this before, it's not too late to prepare now, and it won't be chaotic.

  After handing over the matter to the servant, Song Yi laughed and took the sugar water handed over by Jin Xun, drinking it slowly.

  In the blink of an eye, two or three days have passed.

  That night, after returning to his room, Jian Yu Bai habitually picked up the tea bowl on the table and lifted the teapot - just pouring out a little, he put it down and looked up at his wife who was sitting in front of the dresser removing her hairpins. His tone couldn't hide his excitement: "Is this tea water?"

  Song Yixiao was combing her hair today, and the spirit snake bun she made was lively and beautiful, but it's also very troublesome to take apart. She had to carefully pull out each golden hairpin one by one, in order to avoid tangling her hair, so she was fully focused on that. When she heard what her husband said, she didn't realize the implication of his words, and casually replied: "Yes!"

  Jian Yu Bai looked at her back and smiled, taking big strides to walk behind her. With a swift motion, he removed the pearl flower and hairpin from his wife's head in an instant!

  His movements were swift and neat, his speed was so fast that he didn't even pull a single hair - he suddenly showed off this skill, leaving Song Yi laughing in amazement!

  But Jian Yu Bai didn't care about his wife's confusion, he looked at her with a head full of black hair flowing down, grasped a handful and put it to his nose to sniff, then burst out laughing, suddenly swept her up in his arms and quickly walked towards the tent!

  "Where's the mischievous energy you had when teasing me two days ago?" By this time, Song Yi Xiao naturally understood. Although she had teased her husband several times in the past two days, she was still inexperienced and couldn't help but feel nervous at the critical moment. She couldn't even say a word of jest, tightly grasping her husband's sleeve, her expression tense with anxiety!

  Jian Yu Bai looked at her and put her on the couch, but he didn't rush to take the next step. Instead, he grasped her arm, pressed it against the pillow on her head, and leaned in, staring intently into her eyes without blinking. After a moment, he noticed that Song Yi Xiao's entire body had stiffened, so he smiled playfully and lightly pecked at her brow, saying with a hint of amusement, "Why are you as still as wood? Hmm?"