Qiu Residence.
Inside Nian Jiaojiao's room.
Nian Jiaojiao did not fall asleep until very late last night, so she was still in bed when the sun was high in the sky.
Finally, close to noon, Nian Jiaojiao woke up.
After tidying herself up and tucking her fan into her waist, she pushed open the door.
At this moment, servants holding washbasins and other necessities were waiting. Seeing Nian Jiaojiao come out, they bowed respectfully:
"Miss."
After washing her face, Nian Jiaojiao said in a delicate voice:
"Where is our Family Head~"
The servants trembled all over, clearly not expecting the guest they were supposed to serve to have such a "special" voice.
However, they were professionally trained, and they quickly composed their expressions.
Among them, the servant holding the washbasin replied:
"That Lord is waiting for you in his room and said he wants to have lunch with you."
Nian Jiaojiao nodded, swayed her hips charmingly, and walked in small steps towards Qiu Shu's room.
The servants were all men. As they watched Nian Jiaojiao's retreating back, they all thought in unison:
Truly... when women become charming, there's no room for men...
...
After Nian Jiaojiao found Qiu Shu, they went to the side hall to dine.
The place where they ate was the place specially prepared by the Qiu family for guests.
Because they arrived late, they did not encounter anyone else.
Nian Jiaojiao first scooped a bowl of fish soup to satisfy her hunger. Then, while eating rice, she said:
"Family Head, tell me what you need to say, Yu'er is listening~"
Qiu Shu couldn't help but smile wryly.
She didn't need to worry about the other party being discovered at all, because this Aunt Nian had acting ingrained in her bones at all times.
She waved her hand, signaling the servants to leave.
After the servants had all withdrawn, only the two of them were left in the side hall.
Qiu Shu said:
"We need to gather tomorrow. I will give you a general overview. Ask me any questions you have after you've heard it."
Nian Jiaojiao nodded without looking up.
Unexpectedly.
The chefs in this royal city's Qiu family were truly skilled.
She had eaten at several banquets since coming to the Great Yue Dynasty, but none were comparable to the Qiu family's.
This showed that the Qiu family being a large family was one reason, and the abundance of gourmet food in the royal city was another.
If only her husbands could have come with her.
Especially Xingyun, he loved gourmet food the most.
Nian Jiaojiao paused her hand as she ate.
Then, she thought again.
It's fine, she could bring them here again in her identity as Nian Jiaojiao later.
Yes, she would scout the place for them first.
Thinking this, Nian Jiaojiao's hand sped up as she ate.
Half an hour later, the Qiu family head took a sip of water and said:
"That's generally the situation."
In fact, Qiu Shu also sensed the other party's inattentiveness, so she began to doubt if the other party had actually been listening to her.
However, she had misunderstood.
Although Nian Jiaojiao was distracted, she was now capable of multitasking.
After listening to Qiu Shu's words, she fell into thought.
The Qiu family had a main lineage and eight branch lineages.
These eight branch lineages were distributed in various prefectures.
Of course, not all of them were in the prefectural cities.
These prefectures included Qingzhou, Xiangzhou, Shizhou, Sanzhou, Mingzhou, Jinzhou, and Wudingzhou.
Among them, Xiangzhou had two branch lineages, one in the prefectural city and the other in an ordinary city.
In terms of strength, the main lineage naturally crushed all branch lineages.
But if we compared the branch lineages amongst themselves, it was roughly:
Shizhou >> Jinzhou > Wudingzhou > Xiangzhou > Qingzhou > Sanzhou.
Nian Jiaojiao picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped her mouth.
Hmm... Qingzhou was at a disadvantage, no wonder they sent her.
Nian Jiaojiao asked:
"What is the relationship between the branch lineages?"
Qiu Shu did not hide anything and spoke truthfully:
"There is competition between the branch lineages, but they are all family. They are not enemies, but their relationship is not particularly close. However, this time we are facing the outside world together, so we must unite."
Nian Jiaojiao nodded.
Indeed, this was a matter of shared glory and shared ruin.
They were all scholars, so they wouldn't be so unreasonable.
As they were talking and walking out not far, they ran into several people.
"Oh, why is the Family Head of Qingzhou leading the team personally this time? It seems you've put in a lot of effort."
The woman speaking had more than half her hair white, and clear crow's feet were visible at the corners of her eyes.
Beside her stood two young girls.
Qiu Shu walked up and nodded:
"I knew who it was, it turns out to be the Third Elder of Xiangzhou. I was wondering why you all insisted on crowding into Xiangzhou. Look, none of you can live in the prefectural city and have been squeezed into a small city to establish yourselves."
Xiangzhou?
Nian Jiaojiao thought for a moment. Xiangzhou was ranked ahead of Qingzhou, wasn't it?
Their competitive relationship was the most obvious, no wonder they started clashing as soon as they met.
The Third Elder narrowed her eyes and shifted her attention back to Nian Jiaojiao.
She said with some surprise:
"Each branch lineage has two spots, Qiu Shu, and you only brought one. It seems this young one has some extraordinary qualities."
Nian Jiaojiao smiled shyly at the Third Elder, then swayed her body shyly and lowered her head.
The Third Elder's expression became somewhat strange.
"I didn't expect the young one sent by your Qingzhou this time to be so 'unique'. You will surely open everyone's eyes then, haha!"
After saying that, she led the two girls away.
Qiu Shu said awkwardly:
"Although most of the relationships are okay, except for Xiangzhou, hehe."
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
...
The next day.
Early morning.
The weather had changed since last night, and the temperature dropped sharply.
However, this kind of weather had no effect on Nian Jiaojiao, except for her reluctance to get out of bed...
Nian Jiaojiao pushed the door open and looked out.
The biting cold wind was blowing outside, forcefully shaking branches of varying thickness, emitting a beast-like roar that made one feel stifled.
"Miss Qiu Yu, these are the clothes you asked for."
A servant holding clothes was already waiting outside the door. Even in the cold, they endured without shivering.
"Hmm, I see. You can go ahead now. No need to wait for me outside."
Nian Jiaojiao picked up the clothes and instructed them.
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The servants bowed and retreated.
After changing into the clothes again, Nian Jiaojiao went out.
She was now wearing a specially made scholar robe from the Qiu residence. This robe was very thick and could completely resist the cold. The blue "Qiu" character embroidered on the chest indicated her affiliation.
By the time Nian Jiaojiao arrived at the assembly point, most of the people from the main and branch lineages had arrived.
There were about twenty young girls on the field, all wearing the same style of scholar robes.
The five girls standing at the very front were the representatives of the main lineage and the leaders of all of them. (The main lineage sent five people)
Since Nian Jiaojiao, the representative of the Qingzhou lineage, had come alone, she appeared somewhat "lonely" compared to the other girls who were chatting enthusiastically.