My wife is 52 years old and I want to give her a gift

  This was just an episode, Yang Lan didn't take it to heart. After returning to the mansion, she went to pay her respects to her mother and told her in detail about what had happened in the palace, then handed over the chessboard and returned to her own courtyard.

  As soon as she entered the house, Bi Qinglian smiled and came forward to attend to Yang Lan, helping her wash her face and remove her hairpins and headdress, so that she could relax a bit. At the same time, she softly and quietly briefed her on the matters of the courtyard, "The master came over at noon today, bringing some novels and local gazetteers for the young lady, as well as some pastries and honey candies from outside. He also had someone bring a beautiful set of Russian nesting dolls for the young lady, which I think are exquisite and lovely!"

  Yang Lan changed into a home-worn yellow embroidered green bamboo leaf patterned long-sleeved thin jacket, her hair was let down and braided into a big braid hanging on her waist, sitting on the windowsill kang, she checked one by one the things sent by her elder brother, with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

  "Is your hangover a bit better now? What did you have for breakfast? I asked someone to stew white duck and winter melon soup for you, is it still simmering? It would be good if big brother and second brother could drink a bowl this afternoon, it's soothing and calming, perfect for spring."

  Bilian carefully counted the hairpins that Yang Lan had taken off, making sure not to miss a single one before putting them back in the jewelry box. Only then did she smile and say: "Don't worry, it's already been prepared in the kitchen early this morning, and you'll be able to drink it this afternoon. The double-ren porridge that was made for Master early this morning is good for supplementing qi and blood, as well as benefiting the spleen and kidneys. Master also ate a few corn buns and a big bowl of goat's milk! Master said that the vinegar from last night was great, and after drinking it, his heart and stomach didn't feel burning at all. He even said to use that vinegar again next time to sober up, saying it's much better than the hangover soup! Hehe!"

  Yang Lan took out the set of Russian dolls and placed them on the kang table one by one. The dolls were in the style of Jiangnan, with delicate and lovely paintings, silly and cute expressions, very interesting.

  "What else did Big Brother say?" Yang Lan thought that in a few days, she would follow the nanny to learn cooking skills, and her mind was thinking about how to get good grades and show off in front of them.

  "Tomorrow, Master will take you to ride horses and play cuju! They say that Mingyu County's master and Princess Le'an from the palace are also going. And then after finishing everything, he'll take you to eat duck at Zui Xian Lou and watch acrobatics at Tianqiao." Bilian couldn't help but feel a strong desire to go.

  Yang Lan's mouth curled up, "Alright! You all follow me tomorrow. It's rare for big brother to be so generous, we can have a good time tomorrow! Find my riding gear, I'll wear it tomorrow."

  "Don't worry, master, I've been ready for a long time."

  "You're so clever, by the way, I brought you a pastry from the palace, that crab roe bun you love to eat. Don't eat too much or it'll chill your stomach. Give some to the girls as well." Yang Lan said with a smiling tone, teasing the maids.

  Generally speaking, she is quite good to the maids as long as you do your job well. You can usually get a smile from her. Every now and then, she will give some rewards. It doesn't have to be silver, like these palace pastries or small trinkets from outside are fine too. Slaves serving their masters is not just for the sake of money, but also for face. Everyone wants to gain some prestige and dignity. Usually, Yang Lan is quite respectful to them and won't easily turn her back on them, at most she will scold them if they do a bad job.

  So they still had a lively and cheerful maid in their courtyard, who could chat and laugh with her. In the courtyard, there was also Lin's nanny, who kept everything under control and prevented any big mistakes from happening.

  Bilian smiled and curtsied to thank Yang Lan. "Thank you, Master, for still remembering us! Biyun sister and Biyue sister have also worked hard, go down and rest for a while! I'll take care of this, I've prepared hot water and warm salted towels for you, you can massage your legs too." She said as she went to push Biyun and Biyue.

  Biyun pinched Bi Lian's cheek. Feeling warm in her heart, she couldn't help but tease her, "You little hoof, now that you have something good, you're serving us with enthusiasm! Normally, we don't see you being so proactive about letting us rest!"

  "Yes." Bixue also nodded in agreement.

  They are a group of maids who have been trained together, and they get along well with each other. They often bicker and laugh on a daily basis, but it's not a big deal. Today they fight, tomorrow they make up, just like one person.

  Bilian's neck stretched out, and she said with her chin up, "Sisters know the master's preferences better than I do. As long as I do my job well and don't cause trouble, that's a merit. Sisters who are capable should work harder, after all!" She pulled on Biyun's sleeve, pulling and tugging playfully.

  Bilian was the youngest of the four Bilians, and everyone spoiled her. Although she didn't show her face in public, she would quietly help the other three by keeping their food warm, heating up dishes, serving hot tea, putting a hot water bottle in their sisters' quilts, and so on. Every time they returned from the palace, the two maids would have purple bruises on their legs, and Bilian would prepare hot salt packs for them to apply. She took care of all these behind-the-scenes tasks with great attention to detail.

  The three girls couldn't help but think that they shouldn't be good to her, with such a considerate person in front of them, who knows the rules and is sensible, who wouldn't love her!

  Yang Lan sipped her red date tea, watching them with a smile, but didn't say a word. Although she was the mistress, she also liked to have a lively atmosphere in the house and didn't like it to be too dull. They were all young girls in their teens, and they should be lively and cheerful. As long as they did what they were supposed to do and learned what they were supposed to learn, that was enough.

  Bi Lan lifted the curtain and walked in, "Master, Second Young Master has arrived, and he brought Eighth Brother with him. That Eighth Brother can even speak human language."

  Yang Lan ran into the yard and saw that her second brother was standing under the corridor teasing Eighth Brother, coaxing him to speak.

  "Second brother, where did you get the parrot from? Can it talk?" Yang Lan excitedly ran over to take a look.

  This parrot has bright and beautiful plumage, large and spirited eyes, and is obviously a very good breed at first glance.

  "I've been teasing him for half a day and he still hasn't opened his mouth, just said 'hello' to me!" Yang Mei scratched her head with a puzzled face.

  "This parrot's color is really beautiful, thank you second brother, I like it so much! I want to teach it to recite poems." Yang Lan saw the parrot and suddenly thought of Lin Daiyu's parrot in the Red Chamber that could recite poems, and had a sudden idea that her own parrot could do it too.

  "Haha! That depends on your skills, don't blame me if you can't learn it!" Yang Mei laughed skeptically.

  "How petty!" Yang Lan gave him a cold glance.

  Yang Mai put down the bird feed and patted her hands, asking, "Did you scare the horse when you came back today?" She asked casually.

  "Ah! Yes! I also met the young master Rong Yi of Anning Hou, he helped me stop that kid, otherwise it would have been a mess. He said you know him, so thank him for me another day!" Yang Lan held the millet to tease the parrot, looking quite pleased.

  Yang Mai finally let out a breath of relief, "He is on the side of the Empress, his mother is the Empress's own sister." She said half and left half unsaid.

  "Oh! So that means he's on Liu Biao's side? Does it have anything to do with you and him being close?" Yang Lan raised her head and asked Er Ge.

  Yang Wei saw her sister's first concern was herself, and couldn't help but reveal a big smile. "It's nothing, considering our relationship, how can we keep our distance? Being too careful when going out won't allow us to make friends. In the city of 49, even if a tile falls from the roof, it can hit several royal relatives! I have a plan in mind, don't worry."

  "Oh, that's good! What does Second Brother mean by...?" Yang Lan felt that Second Brother had deliberately mentioned this person and must have had a reason.

  "It's hard to say for now, but Father said it's okay to date, what do you think of Sixth Uncle?" Yang Wei couldn't help but ask her sister's opinion.

  The Sixth Prince is the eldest son of the Empress, and the Empress has given birth to two sons and one daughter. They are the Sixth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Eighth Princess. The Ninth Prince is only nine years old, the Sixth Prince is fourteen this year and will soon be selecting a consort, and the Eighth Princess is ten years old.

  "Does brother think that Sixth Brother has hope?" Yang Lan patted her hand, furrowed her brow and looked at Yang Mei seriously.