Chapter 30: It Is Not Worthy

There were plum blossom shapes, osmanthus shapes, fish shapes, and so on. They looked very beautiful, but there were no melon seed shapes.

Jiaoyue’s large eyes brightened. With a reach of her small hand, she headed straight for the gold nuggets.

Lin Yuntang quickly said, “Yueya, Mother has many things made of gold. These are just for rewarding people. The gold melon seeds that the jade master gave you are specifically used by the royal family for rewards; they are all imperial-made. Mother has some, too. If you like them, I can find them and give them to you. But do you have anything to put them in? How about we keep this box as well?”

Upon hearing this, Jiaoyue didn't stand on ceremony; she slapped her small hand directly onto the box, and the entire box vanished.

She mused to herself: Since gold melon seeds are exclusive to the royal family, and that jade carving master casually produced a handful of them, could it be that he has many? Does he use gold melon seeds to reward people in his daily life? Is he the same as the royals? Is he really that ostentatious?

Although Meng Wenxuan and his wife had already witnessed this, their hearts couldn't help but race a few beats faster.

Meng Wenxuan deliberated for a moment and asked, “Yueya, this ability can only be used in front of your parents. When there are outsiders present, no matter how good or how much you like something, you must not put it away. Do you understand?”

“Ah.” Jiaoyue knew what her parents were worried about. It wasn't that she didn't want to hide it from them—otherwise, she wouldn't be able to hoard wealth.

The couple stopped discussing the matter. Meng Wenxuan picked up his daughter and urged his wife not to overthink things, as they would be there to protect her anyway.

Seeing that his wife’s expression had returned to normal, Meng Wenxuan wrapped his daughter up well, carried her out of their courtyard, and headed toward the residence of the Head of the Meng family.

The Master of the Meng family was in his warm chamber, studying patterns and pondering which one to use. Seeing Meng Wenxuan arrive holding the baby, he immediately complained, “Yueya is very tired today, and she is still so young. Why bring her out? Why not let her sleep well?”

If there hadn't been an irrepressible smile on his face while he spoke, it would have been much more sincere.

The swaddling cloth was opened, and Jiaoyue saw her grandfather’s smiling face. She immediately returned a bright smile.

Meng Wenxuan’s eye twitched as he said, “Father, since you can’t decide on a pattern, let Yueya choose for herself. After all, it is for her to wear.”

Upon hearing this, the Meng Master remembered his little granddaughter’s uniqueness. He reached out, took the child into his arms, and sat on the arhat couch.

“Yueya, come take a look and see which of these patterns you like.” The Meng Master had Meng Wenxuan hold up the drawings he had made so that it would be easier for Jiaoyue to see.

The several patterns were all drawn on the same sheet of paper. Meng Wenxuan sat across from his father, picked up the paper, held it vertically across the small table on the couch, and presented it to his daughter.

Jiaoyue took a look. There were five styles in total, all for a jade pendant, and all the designs were narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

There was a jade gourd with leaves and vines, peach blossoms with both blooming flowers and buds, a lively fish frolicking under lotus leaves, a pomegranate with its mouth open revealing the seeds, and a blooming lotus flower. Each had a unique, auspicious meaning.

Jiaoyue looked from one to the other with her big eyes, feeling that every one of them was very beautiful. Her grandfather’s painting skills were truly exceptional! At this moment, Jiaoyue did not yet know that a single painting by her grandfather, Meng Qingyun, was worth thousands of gold pieces.

Seeing that she was looking intently and had not made a choice immediately, the Meng Master opened a box kept to the side and presented the imperial-bestowed Lantian jade within to Jiaoyue.

“Yueya, this is the jade. Take a look and see which pattern you like for it.”

Only then did Jiaoyue see the legendary Lantian jade bestowed by the founding emperor of the Great Yu dynasty. It was said that the founding emperor had used a flawless piece of Lantian jade to create the imperial seal, and this piece in her grandfather’s hand was a corner cut off from that very same square block. It had been bestowed upon the Meng family by the founding emperor.

It was triangular in shape, which explained why her grandfather’s designs were all narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

Jiaoyue used her spiritual sense to examine the jade and discovered that it carried a trace of purple, but it was mixed with grey. She knew the purple was because the Lantian jade had been intended for the imperial seal, so it naturally possessed the aura of a true dragon. Even though this small piece was a leftover, it was only natural that it retained a trace of that aura. But what was the grey? Was it the fortune of the royal family or the Meng family?

Looking at such an imperial-bestowed Lantian jade, she found she couldn't bring herself to like it. It was a piece of jade the royal family had discarded, yet the Meng family treated it like a treasure and wanted to carve auspicious patterns onto it—it didn't deserve it!

Meng Jiaoyue blinked her large eyes and pointed her tiny finger at the peach blossom pattern, making “ah-ah” sounds.

The Meng Master looked at the pattern his granddaughter was pointing at, squinted his eyes to ponder for a moment, and then let out a hearty laugh. “Yueya is clever! You’ve thought of the same thing as your grandfather. This is the one.”

Meng Wenxuan raised an eyebrow. What kind of riddle were this grandfather and granddaughter playing? Could it be that his daughter liked it not just because it was a flower? Was there some special meaning? After carefully considering the implications of all five patterns, his gaze narrowed, and he glanced at the two of them, keeping his mouth firmly shut.

At this moment, the steward, Meng Zeqiu, arrived. “Master, Master Zhao has rested and is here.”

The Meng Master immediately said, “Please invite Master Zhao to the study. I will be there presently.”

“Yes.” Meng Zeqiu acknowledged and left.

The Meng Master said to Jiaoyue, “Yueya, go back with your father. Grandfather is going to speak with Master Zhao and have him carve this peach blossom, all right?”

The Meng Master thought that since his granddaughter was only three days old, she was too young, and he wanted to hand her over to his son to take back. However, Jiaoyue still wanted to see what was going on with the aura of the jade carving master, Zhao Chengye, so she absolutely could not leave.

Therefore, every time her grandfather tried to put her in her father’s arms, she would refuse with “oh-oh” sounds, tugging at his lapel and refusing to let go. When he brought her back, she would make “ah-ah” sounds and smile at him. After a few attempts, the Meng Master laughed.

“Is my precious girl wanting Grandfather to hold her?”

“Ah.” Jiaoyue responded immediately.

“Haha, good! Then Grandfather will carry you, Yueya.” The Meng Master stood up and walked toward the study while holding her.

Meng Wenxuan was stunned and quickly reminded his father, “Father, isn't your study off-limits to women?”

The Meng Master glared at him. “Is Yueya like those ordinary women?”

Meng Wenxuan was speechless. He really wanted to say that other than his mother, no other woman had ever entered this study; even the mice that got in were probably male. And as for “is Yueya like those ordinary women,” it seemed that in his father’s eyes, only his mother and his daughter were not ordinary women.

However, Meng Wenxuan wisely kept his mouth shut; if he said anything more, he would be scolded. He had at least that much awareness—his mother and his daughter were the two apples of his father’s eye, and he couldn't speak against either of them.

The Meng Master was all smiles. His granddaughter liked to be held by him; how could he not be happy?

Thus, for the sake of Jiaoyue, after having already broken the rule that women could not enter the ancestral hall, the Meng Master now broke his rule that no woman other than his wife could enter his study.

With light steps and a face full of smiles, he carried Jiaoyue off to the study.