Wealth and glory seek stability

"You are getting bolder and bolder, little girl. You scared me."

"Sister hasn't told me yet, what were you thinking about just now?"

"Didn't you say that your master said you are gifted and far superior to your senior brother Mo Chuan? I won't tell you yet. Just guess. If you guess right, I will ask the kitchen to make your favorite milk puff pastry tonight."

"Really?!" Lingbao has fallen in love with all kinds of sweets since he came to Huashui Pavilion. Jian Xi usually doesn't eat those pastries. Mother Gui rarely sees someone so supportive, so she makes different kinds of pastries every day.

Milk pastry is Lingbao's favorite pastry. It is rich in milk flavor and sweet and delicious. However, Jian Xi is afraid that Lingbao will damage his teeth, so she doesn't let him eat too much.

Jian Xi covered her mouth and laughed, "How can I lie to a little kid like you? I thought you were shy, but I didn't expect you to be a foodie, just like your senior brother. I'm afraid your master is talking about your talent as a foodie."

It was almost the end of the year, and Jian Xi no longer restricted the maids under her, and everyone gathered together to have fun. Hearing this, the maids in the room all laughed.

Ever since Mo Chuan arrived at Lengbixuan, he has been working very efficiently, but his appetite for every meal is astonishingly large. A Qing reported that Mo Chuan has to eat a whole bucket of rice every day to feel full. Fortunately, the thing that the general's mansion has no shortage of is food.

Lingbao doesn't eat much, but he especially likes sweets and snacks.

"But what if I'm right, but my sister says I'm wrong?" When the little girl encountered something about food, her mind instantly became bright.

Jian Xi pretended to think, "This is a good question. How about this? I'll write down what I'm thinking on a piece of paper. If you guess it right, I'll ask Mother Gui to make you some milk pastry."

Lingbao's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Okay." Then he thought of something, "Which sister can lend me six copper coins?"

"I have it, give it to you." Su Jie took out the purse from her waist and poured out the copper coins.

Lingbao took it with his little hands.

There happened to be a desk next to the cubicle where the few people were playing. Su Lian walked over to grind the ink, "Miss, the ink is already ground."

Everyone was curious about Lingbao's abilities, so they simply started a gambling game on the Eight Immortals Table in the middle, with Jian Xi as the banker.

There are two large bowls on both sides.

The maids knew that Jian Xi was the banker, and they all rushed to join in the fun. In Huashui Pavilion, whether they were the rough maids or the close servants, they all took out silver to place bets. Jian Xi instructed Zi Cui, "Zicui, you must remember them one by one. If it weren't for this time, I wouldn't know that you little girls have such bulging pockets."

Zi Cui raised her head and smiled, "It's because the young lady is used to it. She usually gives a lot of tips, so there is no shortage of food and clothing in the mansion. Isn't it because she has saved money?"

To prevent cheating, Su Lian lowered the curtain of the compartment to isolate everyone, and then walked out herself.

Jian Xi walked to the desk, wrote a piece of paper, folded it into a square shape, and put it in a kraft paper envelope.

Seeing that the money in the two large bowls was about to overflow, Jian Xi hurriedly stopped them, "But a little gambling is just for fun. Each person's bet should not exceed their monthly allowance. If it's more, I'm afraid you'll feel bad during the New Year. Buy it now and put it away."

In the two basins, the majority of people who bet on the spiritual treasure failed to guess correctly, as the bowls were full of money. Jian Xi set the odds at one to one. On the other side, the odds for guessing the spiritual treasure correctly were five to one, but there were only a few people who bet.

Mother Gui has no children, and Lingbao goes to the kitchen to make noise every day, which adds a lot of fun to her. She was happy today and directly pressed a gold ingot to show her support for Lingbao. Although Jian Xi had given the order before, Zi Cui still gave face to Mother Gui and took note of it.

Lingbao was lying on the edge of the table, staring at the money in the basin. He wanted to place a bet but had no money in his pocket.

"Sister Zi Cui, can you lend me some money? I'll pay you back when I win."

"Puchi." Jian Xi laughed out loud.

"I didn't expect you to be such a money-grubber."

"Xiao Lingbao, you don't need to borrow it. Today is New Year's Eve. I was going to give you some lucky money. Zi Cui, put one or two taels of silver on her record. If she loses, it will be mine."

Lingbao raised his little face, "Tsk, I won't lose."

Jian Xi placed the envelope in the middle of the table and sat down.

Lingbao sat across the table, the two of them, one big and one small, sitting opposite each other, looking extremely harmonious.

Everyone in Huashui Pavilion gathered around, wanting to see Lingbao's abilities. Even Mother Gui, who was usually taciturn, showed up.

Jian Xi pointed with her bare hand. "Please."

Lingbao raised the six borrowed copper coins with his two little hands and threw them upwards. The copper coins fell on the table with a clinking sound.

She arranged the order, put on an unfathomable expression, and stroked her chin.

Jian Xi suppressed the smile in her eyes and asked, "What are you touching?"

Lingbao put his index finger in front of his mouth, "Shh! I see that's what Master does. You have to keep quiet when you're fortune-telling."

The little guy looked childish and pretended to be mature, which earned him many stares.

But it’s not worship, it’s women’s natural liking for cute things.

Sudden--

"I figured it out."

"My sister wrote people's names."

"One word."

"It's Ping!"

"Am I right?"

Jian Xi said nothing, opened the envelope, and handed it to Zi Cui to show everyone.

There is a word "Ping" clearly written on the rice paper.

"It's amazing."

"This little girl is really capable."

"What's wrong? I can't read. Did she guess right or wrong?"

"She guessed right. The girl wrote the word 'ping'."

"Ah? Then I'll put down another five hundred coins, my silver!"

"You deserve it. Luckily the girl said not to exceed one month's allotment. Who can you blame for being greedy?"

"If I bet on the right guess, the odds are 50-1, which is a full six months' monthly salary."

Mother Gui was the only one who was generous in the whole place, and she made a fortune in no time.

Jian Xi raised her hand and comforted everyone, "Okay, the winners can sleep well today, and the losers should not be discouraged, you also got good things."

A maid in the courtyard asked curiously, "What good things did you get?"

Jian Xi coughed lightly, "Of course it's a lesson!"

"Hahaha."

The crowd roared with laughter.

Lingbao was grinning foolishly as he held the five taels of silver.

She is rich!

There is still so much money, I must show it to my senior brother.

"Sister Sujie, I'll return it to you." Six copper coins were placed in Sujie's hand.

Seeing that Lingbao didn't have a purse to hold silver, Su Jie took out a newly made purse from the sewing basket and said, "This purse is for you." There were two lifelike gold ingots embroidered on it with silk thread.

Lingbao loved it so much that he put the silver in his hand into it and said in a soft voice, "Thank you, Sister Sujie."

Su Jie patted Ling Bao's head and tied the purse carefully to her belt, "Now that Ling Bao has the money, what do you want to do?"

"I want to save it to make wine for Master."

"So filial."

Thinking of his master, Lingbao felt a little more melancholy.

I don’t know how my master is doing now.

The maid outside came to pass on the message, "Young lady, the New Year's Eve dinner is already in the hall. Someone has been sent to invite the general. Everyone is clamoring to come and kowtow to you."

Jian Xi straightened her clothes and couldn't help laughing: "They don't want to come and wish me a happy new year. I'm afraid they are eager to ask for rewards."

"Miss, you are so kind. Everyone said they came here to thank you for the New Year's Day reward you gave them a few days ago. They came to express their gratitude."