Chapter 44: Camellia

Meinang followed Xu Jun Ying in silence all the way to Jinhua tang. Inside the old lady’s room, there was laughter and chatter, probably many grandchildren were gathered around. The servant outside the room raised the warm curtain and announced loudly:

“Master, Lady Grandma is here.”

The room fell quiet for a moment. After the two entered, laughter resumed. The old lady was wearing a ginger-colored padded cotton robe with a floral pattern and a neatly arranged hairpin. She had a golden hairpin with a sway and wore a cashmere headband with gems to cover her forehead. She was smiling while leaning against the couch, surrounded by the three daughters of the Xu family and cousin Zhuang Yu Lan. They were using the old lady’s legs as a test subject, competing to see who could massage them better to make her more comfortable.

When Xu Jun Ying and Meinang entered, everyone except the old lady stood up, their faces like sunflowers, turning toward them. Zhuang Yu Lan, radiant, glanced over Meinang and directed her gaze straight at Xu Jun Ying behind her. Meinang didn’t dare turn around, thinking Xu Jun Ying must have taken the bait.

Ning Rulan and the third young master Xu Jun Ya had arrived earlier. They stood together with wide smiles, watching them. The fourth young master, Xu Jun Ting, arrived with his wife, Madam Gan, to greet the old lady. She invited them to stay for dinner. The couple sat at the lower end of the table, and when Xu Jun Ying entered, Xu Jun Ting immediately stood, pulling his wife to rise with him and stood respectfully.

Meinang rubbed her hands together and exaggeratedly called out, “Grandmother, your room is so warm and comfortable! Tonight, I’ll just stay here with you, even if you try to drive me out. It’s so cold outside, I might just turn into a popsicle!”

The old lady tapped Meinang with her hand, laughing so hard that her golden hairpin swayed. “Look at her talking nonsense! She must dislike staying with me, the old woman, and says I’m trying to chase her away. You two, come over here. The fire brazier has just been replenished with charcoal. It’s nice and warm!”

A copper hand-warmer was handed to Meinang by Xu Xiao Rong, the shy and gentle third daughter of the Xu family. Meinang smiled and thanked her before turning around and offering the hand-warmer to Xu Jun Ying.

“Warm your hands too?”

Everyone in the room laughed. Xu Jun Ying felt a bit awkward and pushed the hand-warmer away, taking a few steps back.

“You keep it.”

Meinang snorted in her heart: Just putting on a show, as if I’d really give it to you.

In her previous life, she had been very skilled at pleasing younger girlfriends. The three unmarried young ladies of the Xu family had different personalities but all liked Meinang. Xu Xiao Min hooked her arm and said to Xu Jun Ying:

“Big Brother, let’s sit together. I want to talk to Big Sister.”

Xu Jun Ying smiled. “Sure, whatever you want. But we should pay our respects to Grandmother first, right?”

Xu Xiao Min quickly released Meinang’s arm and made space for Xiao Rong and Xiao Wan to sit. Xu Jun Ying and Meinang went to the old lady to respectfully bow. The old lady smiled and said:

“We were just waiting for you. Who was saying they were hungry earlier? Come, come, we can sit and eat now. Rui Xue, help me over.”

Meinang saw Zhuang Yu Lan with her hands crossed on her belly and, without hesitation, placed the hand-warmer into her hands. Zhuang Yu Lan had no choice but to accept it. Meinang walked up and gently pushed away Rui Xue, supporting the old lady’s left hand, only to find that Xu Jun Ying had already taken her right hand. The two of them assisted the old lady to the table, with everyone else following behind to find their seats. Zhuang Yu Lan, holding the hand-warmer, bit her lip and placed it on the golden stool before walking to the table. The old lady was seated with Xu Jun Ying to her left and Meinang to her right.

The seating arrangement was a bit disordered. On Xu Jun Ying’s side, there was Xu Jun Ya and his wife. On Meinang’s side, Xu Xiao Min sat closely beside her, followed by Xu Xiao Rong and Xu Xiao Wan. Zhuang Yu Lan wanted to sit at the table but could only sit at the very end, a position she was unhappy with. Previously, she often sat next to the old lady, but that seat was now occupied, and she had to settle for the furthest spot, which she disliked.

Ever since the old lady had developed a fondness for the hot pot that Meinang introduced, she even began to believe that the more people there were, the better the food tasted. The most fun part was the fact that everyone had to participate in making it themselves, as they were all family. As long as respect was paid to the elders, there were no issues with who sat where among the peers, creating a lively and fun atmosphere.

Zhuang Yu Lan was standing, lost in thought, when Xu Jun Ying looked up at her and asked with concern, “Why is Lan’er not sitting down?”

Meinang felt Xu Jun Ying’s eyes on her and deliberately ignored him, focusing instead on the old lady, who was engrossed in the bubbling hot pot. Clearly, she hadn’t heard Xu Jun Ying’s question. Meinang leaned closer to the old lady, pretending to make a dipping sauce for her and started a very interesting conversation to draw the old lady’s attention away from Xu Jun Ying’s unspoken request.