The Double-Chapter 519 - 158: Giving Gifts_2

"No need," Jiang Li replied, "There won’t be other ladies or misses at the birthday feast, and if no one sees, dressing up would be a waste of effort."

"That’s not necessarily true," Tonger shook her head, "Even so, Old General Jih and His Highness Duke Su are men, if Miss dresses up prettily, they will surely appreciate it more."

Tonger was innocent, simply believing that as long as Jiang Li dressed up nicely, that was enough. However, this also showed that even Tonger was not on guard against the people from the Duke Residence. To her, Jih Heng and Old General Jih were not enemies to be wary of.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Li smiled, "Then you pick."

Choosing the attire took a lot of time, and it took another while for Tonger to find matching jewelry for Jiang Li. Once everything was ready, it was time to leave. Bai Xue led the Sweat-Blood Horse Colt into the yard from outside.

Jiang Li wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the colt’s coat seemed a lot brighter than when she bought it from the East Market three days ago. It was natural, after all, the one who sold the horse only cared about making the sale and fed it inferior feed. But after coming to the Jiang Family, Jiang Li had instructed the person feeding the horse to pair the feed well and to feed it on time every day. With good nutrition, the horse’s pale golden coat looked even more beautiful. Even without sunlight today, standing in the yard, its whole body was like a pale golden silk satin, shimmering brightly.

What surprised Jiang Li the most was a small red cloth flower pinned by someone at the horse’s ear.

Jiang Li: "...What’s with this flower?"

Bai Xue said, "Since this horse is to be presented as a gift to the old general, I initially wanted to pick a pretty necklace from the storeroom for the colt to wear. But no matter what, it refused to wear it, and kept trying to remove it after it was put on. I had no choice but to take off the necklace and, after thinking it over, decided it might be better to just pin a flower on it, making it look more like a gift."

Jiang Li burst into laughter and tears.

The colt of the Sweat-Blood Precious Horse was naturally haughty and difficult for ordinary people to tame. Even when young, it disliked wearing collars and such fetters. But Bai Xue actually thought of pinning a flower on it; that was truly...

The pale golden colt looked like a defeated rooster, dispirited, resting its head down and not looking at Jiang Li, as if it was sulking over the flower by its ear. Jiang Li wanted to remove it for the colt, but Tonger was already urging her, "Miss, they say the carriage is waiting outside, we should head out quickly."

Jiang Li replied, "Alright, coming," and temporarily forgot about the flower on the horse’s head.

Once they left the yard and walked towards the exit of the residence, they encountered a person whom they rarely met.

Lady Yang of the Third Branch was walking with Jiang Yuyan back to the house, holding a silk handkerchief in her hand. At a glance, Jiang Li noticed the handkerchief seemed to be made of no ordinary fabric and the craftsmanship was unlikely from ordinary embroidery shops. Seeing her from afar, Jiang Yuyan slowed down, and when Jiang Li reached them, she greeted, "Second elder sister."

"It’s Jiang Li," Lady Yang also saw her, with a smile appearing on her face, though not quite warm, "Where are you hurrying off to in such a rush?"

Jiang Li subtly withdrew her gaze from Lady Yang’s silk handkerchief and smilingly said, "Third aunt, fourth sister." She was about to make up an excuse to brush off the question when a thought struck her, and she smilingly responded, "I am preparing to go to the Duke Residence for a feast."

"Duke Residence?" Before Jiang Yuyan could speak, Lady Yang immediately queried with surprise, "Which Duke Residence?"

"Why, Duke Su’s Residence of course."

"Duke Su’s Residence?" Lady Yang was stunned, "The residence hasn’t received any invitations from Duke Su’s Residence." She looked at Jiang Li with a sour tone, "The old madam hasn’t mentioned this to us." Invitations for many banquets from the Duke Residence normally wouldn’t include the Third Branch unless it was unavoidable. Lady Yang had often complained about this; although Jiang Yuanxing was not born of Madam Jiang the Elder, he was still a Jiang. It seemed so alienating for the family to be this distant. Moreover, lifting up one’s own family members was always better than letting outsiders benefit, right? But Madam Jiang the Elder insisted on maintaining a standoffish facade, which also caused the big branch and Second Branch to act superior and look down upon the Third Branch.

"I’ve heard that His Grace Duke Su is not someone easy to get close to," Lady Yang continued casually examining, "When did he get on such good terms with our home? Is it through your elder brother that you’ve become so close?"

Jiang Li quietly observed her. Her lips carried a smile, her gaze gentle, yet she said nothing. As the silence stretched, Lady Yang grew uneasy under those eyes and asked, "Jiang Li, why do you look at people like that?"