"Big brother, big brother, I want a scorpion too!"
"What’s so great about scorpions? Centipedes are much prettier."
Gu Youyou shivered in disgust. What’s this about scorpions and centipedes?
"Big brother, I want a scorpion too." The fourth young mistress pleaded, tugging on Yue Rujing’s sleeve with her large, watery eyes.
Yue Rujing gently tousled the fourth young mistress’s bun, speaking softly, "Didn’t Fourth Sister say she liked snakes? Why do you want a scorpion now?"
"Because Second Sister said scorpions are pretty."
"Young master, young master, this maid also wants a scorpion."
"We want scorpions too..."
"Young master, this maid doesn’t want a scorpion, this maid wants a toad."
Gu Youyou: "..." What on earth is happening?
She had intended to just take a look from afar and then leave, but this chilling conversation also piqued her curiosity.
Snakes, centipedes, scorpions, toads—where do these come from in the dead of winter?
Gu Youyou had just lifted her foot when a sharp-eyed maid spotted her.
"Eh, that’s Doctor Gu."
Once she shouted out, a group of ladies at the Octagonal Pavilion all turned to look at her.
Nowhere to hide, well, she was actually curious to see what was odd, so she might as well go over.
Gu Youyou smiled and raised her hand to greet them, "Ladies and young masters, what are you all playing with?"
"Of course, we’re welcoming the Five Poisons to ward off evil. Doctor Gu, you’re a foreigner, so you probably don’t understand, right?" Yue Ruxue said sarcastically.
Seeing her always made Gu Youyou want to laugh, especially since she won yesterday. She didn’t hold grudges with the little girl.
As she got closer, Gu Youyou realized that what they had been talking about all this time was painting.
Moreover, these paintings weren’t on paper, but on the fair arms of the young ladies and maids, and the one holding the brush and painting was the radiant Yue Rujing, the only male presence there.
I’m going, the guy is so lucky. Apart from him, only Jia Baoyu would be treated this way.
Go on, Yue Rujing’s days were indeed like those of Jia Baoyu.
The eldest young mistress signaled the maid to bring over a stool and said to Gu Youyou, "Doctor Gu, have you had your painting done this year? If not..."
She was interrupted by the second young mistress before she could finish, "Eldest sister, why do you care if she has had her painting done? Her painting skills last night were top-notch; she doesn’t need your needless worry."
Gu Youyou was slightly startled. From the sound of it, was painting the Five Poisons on their arms a local custom for the New Year?
It was a bit odd, though. Aren’t the Five Poisons typically used as charms against evil around the Dragon Boat Festival, not now?
Well, different places have different customs.
Gu Youyou nonchalantly sat down and said, "I’m a foreigner, I won’t paint. I’ll watch you paint."
"Doctor Gu, do you think the snake Big Brother painted for me looks nice?" The fourth young mistress raised her arm to show Gu Youyou.
This fourth young mistress was about the same age as Sanya, and Gu Youyou felt an inexplicable affection for her. Holding the little arm extended to her, she praised, "It looks good, the fourth young mistress’s snake..." She glanced at the scorpion being painted on the second young mistress and said, "Is prettier than that scorpion."
The second young mistress trembled with anger. A shudder of her arm caused Yue Rujing’s brushstroke to mess up, drawing a long line across.
Gu Youyou quickly shifted her gaze away, adopting a ’none of my business’ demeanor.
Yue Rujing complained, "Ah,, Second Sister, didn’t I tell you not to move around?"
"Big brother, she said my scorpion was ugly."
Gu Youyou immediately said, "I never said your scorpion was ugly; I just said that scorpions aren’t as pretty as snakes."
"Why aren’t they as pretty as snakes? If you’re so capable, paint a snake to compare with my scorpion."
Gu Youyou: "..." Childish.