When the accessory case was opened, a sleek flash of light shone from within. Immediately after that, the watching noble madams and ladies all gasped in unison.

A set of smooth and bright white pearl accessories was lying within the case, composed of a headdress, a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and rings.

The noble ladies gathered here had seen plenty of pearl accessories, but they had never seen such an elegant and eye-catching set of accessories before.

The pearls weren’t one-of-a-kind, but the designs of the accessories were enough to stun the onlookers.

The pearl necklace was the most impressive. On either side of the thin silver chain, there were white pearls separated by some intricate little golden flowers, while two complicated-looking golden lotus flowers were entwined with each other and dangling at the center of the chain.

Sitting in the center where the lotus flower patterns linked together was a smooth and silky golden pearl about the size of a thumbnail. Despite being surrounded by gold, the golden pearl didn’t lose any bit of its own glow and instead looked even more lustrous, adding an aura of elegant luxury to the necklace.

Actually, in this entire set of pearl accessories, this golden pearl was the main focus. It was also due to this golden pearl that the other normal pearls on the other accessories seemed even more white and ornate.

The ladies were all stunned. They had never seen pearl accessories like these before. Even the accessories from the imperial palace couldn’t match up to this!

In a short moment, all the noble ladies were so entranced by the glowing pearls that they had forgotten to speak.

Madam Zou’s pleased expression had instantly flipped the moment that accessory case had been opened. As much as she was able to keep her rage from showing previously, this time, she couldn’t hold back the anger in her heart.

Irrespective of their ages, the ladies here lived luxurious lives, so they were naturally most interested in accessories and the like. While a rare hundred-year-old ginseng might be able to make them gasp in surprise, a novel set of accessories would be able to make them go crazy.

Countess Jing’an hadn’t looked at the accessory case yet. When she noticed the expressions of the crowd surrounding her didn’t look right, she turned to look at her side.

Now it was her turn to be stunned.

She quickly came up with a light reprimand, “Sanlang’s wife! Dear child, how could you give me something so expensive?”

There weren’t many women who didn’t like dressing up in pretty clothes and jewellery. Everyone liked beautiful things. Even the sickly Countess Jing’an wasn’t an exception.

Countess Jing’an wouldn’t have blamed Chu Lian if her gift had been ordinary. However, if her gift could make others envious, then of course she would be even more pleased with the gift.

Now Countess Jing’an felt that the love and effort she had spent on her youngest daughter-in-law hadn’t been wasted at all. Chu Lian was a good child who knew how to repay kindness.

After getting praised by her mother-in-law in front of a crowd, Chu Lian didn’t reply with some nice-sounding empty words to win even more of her favour like Madam Zou had.

She stood up and curtsied towards Countess Jing’an first before giving an explanation with a smile, “Mother, please rest assured. This accessory set isn’t as expensive as it looks. The pearls used on this set are all easily bought from Jinshi Pavilion. It’s only the designs that were personally drawn by me. I had one of Jinshi Pavilion’s master craftsmen to make it for me.”

Chu Lian really hadn’t spent much on it. For two sets of pearl accessories and a few bracelets, it hadn’t even cost five hundred taels. Not only that, Jinshi Pavilion’s manager had even given her quite a few free gifts in addition.

Jinshi Pavilion’s manager wanted to keep the novel design she had given them and research on it!

After hearing Chu Lian’s explanation, Countess Jing’an’s heart melted. Her eyes were full of affection and helplessness, “You silly child. You’re just too honest.”

The noble madams here weren’t empty-headed. They knew that it was precisely because of the novel design that Jinshi Pavilion would have specially made these accessories just for Honoured Lady Jinyi at such a low price.

They really wanted a set of those accessories for themselves. However, it would probably cost at least a thousand taels at Jinshi Pavilion.

The crowd became even more envious.

One of the madams in the crowd even smiled and said, “Even so, it’s even more rare that Honoured Lady Jinyi could personally draw some new designs for the Countess. Furthermore, pearls aren’t like those precious stones or gold or silver. As we know, pearls are nurturing. I even heard that when worn over a long period of time, they might even have calming and beautifying effects!”

Countess Jing’an felt even more happier and touched after listening to this noble madam’s words. The gaze she sent towards Chu Lian turned even warmer.

The now completely ignored Madam Zou gritted her teeth as the dissatisfaction in her heart grew even more.

Perhaps due to the grudge in her heart, later on, she even made mistakes while making seating arrangements for the banquet later, causing a few jokes at her expense.

In the end, Matriarch He couldn’t continue watching and sent Senior Servant Liu to help her. It was only then that the birthday banquet was completed successfully.

When the guests had left and it was only their family left, the main branch was ordered to stay behind by Matriarch He and Countess Jing’an, right in front of the rest of the family.

Chu Lian returned to Songtao Court with her servants.

On the way back, Fuyan couldn’t resist complaining next to Chu Lian’s side.

“Third Young Madam, Eldest Young Madam went overboard today! Do you think the matriarch kept Eldest Young Madam behind to give her a scolding?”

Chu Lian turned back to look at Fuyan. “What Grandmother wants to say to Eldest Sister-in-Law has nothing to do with our third branch. We just have to keep our own consciences clear in our actions.”

Her expression was indifferent; it was clear that she wasn’t happy with Fuyan for gossiping. Fuyan also knew that Third Young Madam was angry, so she immediately lowered her head and kept silent.

It didn’t matter if Fuyan gossiped about these matters within the confines of Songtao Court. However, if this were to spread out of their courtyard, then others would be able to reprimand her for not managing her servants properly.

Furthermore, careless talk invites disaster. Being talkative wasn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when it was one of her personal handmaids.

Actually, she had already guessed at why Matriarch He and Countess Jing’an had kept the main branch behind just now.

This was something that was supposed to have happened earlier. It was only because she had interfered with Madam Zou’s fate and saved her from that kitchen fire that this matter had been delayed. She had thought that this event wouldn’t happen now that Madam Zou was hale and hearty. However, who could have known that some things would still run their course?

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, the trouble broiling in the main branch hadn’t suddenly come into existence.

Chu Lian sighed. Now that things had progressed to this stage, it was already out of her hands.