Upon seeing Cai Wei, Fei’er quickly stood up and greeted her with a beaming smile.
Cai Wei glanced at the dressing table full of jewelry and laughed, "Look, our Fei’er has become a little tycoon herself! With these items, no matter which family you marry into in the future, they will surely hold you in higher regard and wouldn’t dare upset us.
Fei’er blushed and lowered her head, "Listen to what Older Sister is saying. There is an order of seniority, and if someone in our family were to get married, it should be you first. These items, I’m just holding on to them temporarily. When Older Sister gets married, I’ll take them out to add to your bridal gifts!"
Cai Wei smiled, and magically produced a gold-inlaid hairpin with gemstones and a phoenix head from her bosom, "Since these were given to you, they are yours now. Take this one as well!"
Fei’er accepted the delicately crafted phoenix hairpin, "Older sister just gave me a set of expensive diamond headpiece. Why give me this too? It’s too much; you should keep this for yourself."
Cai Wei laughed, "Just take it; it’s not worth much."
Fei’er took the hairpin and examined it closely, "The craftsmanship of this hairpin is very precise, and its rubies are clear. One can tell it’s an expensive item. Why would you say it’s not valuable, sister?"
Cai Wei said, "This hairpin is second-hand. It was previously worn by a lady from a marquis’s house. The lady’s parents’ house was affluent and provided her with a lot of bridal gifts. Unfortunately, her husband favored the concubine over the wife, took all of the lady’s head jewelry, and gave it to his own concubine who then gave it to her old mother. The old mother felt she was not fit to wear such expensive items and hurriedly pawned it. Just then, I saw it and redeemed it, saving it for my younger sister to wear."
Upon hearing this, Fei’er’s smile stiffened a bit. Holding the phoenix hairpin, she sighed deeply, "Since ancient times, affectionate women and heartless men. It’s pitiful for the lady, she prepared so much bridal gifts joyfully only to end up in such a plight..."
While speaking, she casually placed the hairpin on the side of the dressing table, seemingly having lost interest in the exquisitely crafted gold hairpin.
Cai Wei picked up the gold hairpin, fiddled with it in her hands, and laughed, "There’s no need to pity her; what happened was expected. Thinking that a rich merchant’s daughter, just because her family had some silver, could absurdly dream of marrying into a noble house. Although she luckily achieved her wish, is it easy to stay in a noble house? Not only did her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law despise her origin, but even the concubines looked down on her. Over time, her husband naturally grew to dislike her as well. It’s just unfortunate that her parents worked so hard to save her bridal gifts, only to end up benefiting those concubines’ parents’ houses!"
Finishing, she laughed again, "It benefitted you and me as well. Such a nice hairpin only pawned for one hundred and eighty taels of silver, hehe...."
Fei’er also smiled along, though her smile was a bit strained. After a few more words with Cai Wei, she went back to her own room.
Fei’er is clever; with what has been said, she must be able to understand...
After returning to her room, Cai Wei entered her space and continued her research on her glass burning technique. Indeed, the glass she was now producing was already very impressive, and any random piece was enough to shock the world.
But, she was a perfectionist; the glass pieces with a few bubbles always bothered her. Therefore, without resolving the bubble issue, she did not consider herself successful!
These past few days, it had all been her working alone. Today, Chang Mei had returned, which was perfect for lending a hand. With one responsible for lighting the fire and the other for crafting, their collaboration made the process much easier!