Chapter 9 The Duke's Wife Rewards Her with a Hairpin
The Sixth Miss took Qin Xiaoning with her, and before they even entered the pavilion, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Mother, Second Aunt, what are you doing here?"

The Duke's wife was tall and slender, wearing a tight outfit, with her thick hair tied up with a large golden hairpin. She was neat and capable, and spoke quickly and cheerfully: "I was bored in the house, so I came out to practice with my knife skills. I was sweating all over. I'm sitting here to sweat."

As he spoke, he wiped the hot sweat that had not yet dried on his forehead with his hand.

This uncouth little action caught the Second Lady's eye, who immediately revealed a look of disgust and gently shook her handkerchief.

"Second Aunt, how come you are so free today?" The Sixth Miss smiled and greeted the Second Madam, speaking casually.

Hearing this, the Second Lady looked at the Sixth Miss with a loving look in her eyes: "The spring sun is so beautiful, and Auntie saw that many flowers in the garden have bloomed, so she came out to enjoy the flowers. She is tired from walking, so she hides here to enjoy a moment of leisure."

As she spoke, she waved at Sixth Miss and Qin Xiaoning and said with a smile, "The maids have just prepared some plum frost tea. Come over here and have a taste."

The Duke's wife glared at the Second Lady and snorted coldly: "Why do you need frost, snow, dew, etc. to make tea? Oh, it should be the frost collected last year. Don't drink it and get an upset stomach."

Faced with the Duke's wife's lack of understanding of the situation, the Second Lady was about to open her mouth to refute, but she heard the Duke's wife raise her voice in surprise: "Qing'er, who is this girl you are leading? She is so pretty, and she seems a little familiar."

The last time I saw the Duke’s wife was two years ago when I was choosing a concubine for Lu Ji.

The wife of the Duke is different from those women in the inner house who always like to keep an eye on what goes on in their son's room. Plus, Lu Ji is also a person who is easy to take care of. Therefore, the wife of the Duke would not do things like punishing or torturing her son's concubine.

Look, now I don’t even recognize her.

After hearing what the Duke's wife said, the Second Madam was so amused that she almost spit out her tea. She wiped her mouth with a golden handkerchief and said with a wry smile, "I've really seen something. There are actually people who don't recognize their own daughter-in-law?"

Upon hearing this, the Duke's wife blinked twice, clapped her hands, and smiled cheerfully: "I was wondering why he looked so familiar, it turns out he is someone from my son's room."

As he said that, he waved at Qin Xiaoning: "Come on, come here quickly, girl. I haven't seen you for a while. Look at my memory. I have almost forgotten about this."

Qin Xiaoning walked forward slowly and politely greeted the two ladies. The Duke's wife pulled her to her side, looked her up and down, and praised: "Look at this girl, she is so beautiful."

"Thank you for the compliment, ma'am." Qin Xiaoning bowed slightly again, thanked softly, and stood aside. She looked so gentle and well-behaved, as if even her breathing was light.

"What's your name?" asked the Duchess's wife.

The Second Lady covered her handkerchief and laughed secretly. The Fifth Miss tried hard to hold back her laughter. The Sixth Miss couldn't stand it any longer and sighed, "Sister Qin's given name is 'Xiao Ning'." Then she said angrily, "Mother, you have a really good memory."

"You are making up stories about me." The Duke's wife rolled her eyes at her daughter, then turned to look at Qin Xiaoning, and deliberately lowered her voice, as if she was afraid that a big breath would blow this delicate little beauty away: "How old are you this year?"

"In another three months, I will be seventeen." Qin Xiaoning replied politely.

The mistresses in wealthy families hate concubines with seductive looks the most, but Qin Xiaoning is different. Although she is beautiful, she is pure and bright, with a pair of eyes like autumn water, and her every move is gentle and soft, like a little white rabbit. She looks like the type who will never bring harm to the harem.

The Duke's wife smiled as she looked at Qin Xiaoning, nodded, and said to herself, "You look good, you're gentle, and you're a good child." As she spoke, she took off the big golden hairpin from her head and generously stuffed it into Qin Xiaoning's hand, "Last time you left with Ji'er in a hurry, I didn't have time to prepare a gift for you. This is a gift from your mother."

Qin Xiaoning secretly thought that the Duke's wife had most likely forgotten that she had deserted the army, and she subconsciously felt guilty.

Since the Duke's wife called herself her mother in front of her, it was obvious that she was not being polite to her, so Qin Xiaoning would naturally not pretend to be polite. "A Ning, I don't like to be treated as a mother." She declined, her tone gentle and generous.

"Why are you being so polite to mother?" As she said that, the Duke's wife took the golden hairpin and inserted it into Qin Xiaoning's bun without hesitation, saying, "Your headdress is too plain. Wear this and it will look good."

Qin Xiaoning was about to refuse again, but the second wife beside her joked, "A Ning, keep it for now. When you see your mother-in-law next time, remember to bring this hairpin with you so that she won't forget you again."

The Duke's wife rolled her eyes at the Second Madam, who seemed too lazy to argue with her anymore and stood up to leave: "Forget it, I've rested enough, I'm going to the front yard to see the old lady."

Seeing the Second Madam was about to leave, the Fifth Girl also stood up. The Duke's wife did not keep the Second Madam, but said to the Fifth Girl warmly: "I have a new chef from outside the vassal state. I will make roasted whole lamb tonight. Fifth Girl, come to my place and eat together."

The fifth girl said, "Thank you, auntie, but I have been away for a while, and now I have to go back to practice the piano."

The fifth girl is the daughter of the second wife, and naturally has her mother's temperament. She has dignified manners and is a typical lady from a noble family. She is also hardworking and is proficient in everything from playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.

The Duke's wife said, "It doesn't take too long to study hard."

The fifth girl replied, "Tomorrow there will be a new teacher of zither art in the private school. I heard that he was a zither master in the palace. I have to hurry up."

Having said this, he said goodbye to the Duke's wife politely and left with the Second Lady.

It was getting late, so Qin Xiaoning didn't want to stay any longer. After the Second Madam and the Fifth Miss left, she also said goodbye and left. Before leaving, the Sixth Miss pulled her aside and invited her, "I know you like to listen to the piano. Why don't you come with me to the private school tomorrow to listen to Mr. Xin's music?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Six." Qin Xiaoning smiled and said, "I won't go. It's not appropriate."

Qin Xiaoning returned to Qingsong Garden and as soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Lu Ji standing in the corridor, with his hands behind his back looking at the little rabbit in the cage that he had caught two days ago.

I came back early today.

Qin Xiaoning smiled unconsciously and walked forward quietly without disturbing him. She stood quietly behind him, looking at the man and the rabbit.

As the sun sets, the golden afterglow shines on the man's angular face, adding a touch of softness to that cold and stern man.

He didn't notice her, and she didn't make a sound, waiting for him to notice her.

The man stood there straight, as if he was thinking about something, but also seemed bored. After a while, he took out an oil-paper bag from his arms, picked out a small fruit from it and threw it to the little animal in the cage.

The rabbit went forward, sniffed it, and then began to eat greedily.

Then he started throwing again. The round little fruits, wrapped in golden honey, looked very tempting.

Qin Xiaoning couldn't bear it any longer, so she went up to him and snatched the oil paper bag from him, humming, "My favorite honey chestnuts, but you fed them to it."

(End of this chapter)