Two sandalwood boxes (below)

  The family was chatting and laughing when, after a while, Wang Degui, the steward, sent someone over to say that the Fourth Prince had sent someone with gifts for Ninth Master.

  Everyone looked at each other in shock, the fourth prince didn't have to rush to send Chunhe gifts at this moment, they had just met yesterday and would have plenty of opportunities to meet again tomorrow or the day after...

  Li Rongbao listened and cast a faint glance at Fu Heng, whose face was strange. Fu Heng hastily said: "Maybe it's something important, I'll go take a look first."

  What's with giving things to oneself... Fu Heng thought about it and felt a pang in his heart, thinking that the Fourth Brother had been trying every means to get things from him that were meant for his sister. Could it be that he was using his own hands to give gifts to his sister? It was frustrating because there was no way to refuse or accept... since nobody had explicitly said anything about it.

  "Go ahead, don't keep people waiting." Li Rongbao picked up a piece of pastry and slowly ate it, thinking to himself that he had been hearing a lot about the Fourth Young Master lately, which was very abnormal. Could it be that this kid was having designs on his precious daughter?! Humph, when he got back, he would have to warn Chunhe and that kid not to get too close...

  "Master Fu Heng." Wu Shu came forward as soon as he saw Fu Heng enter the hall, immediately standing up and bowing to pay his respects.

  "Lord Wu." Fu Heng returned a serious bow.

  Wu Shulai had a good impression of Fu Heng, which was based on the fact that from the beginning when Fu Heng served as a companion reader beside Emperor Qianlong, he never looked down on any servant, especially Wu Shulai himself. His attitude towards him was like that towards an ordinary friend, neither looking down on him because he was a eunuch nor fawning over him because he was a favorite of the emperor's son.

  "Master Fu, the Fourth Prince has ordered me to deliver a few new books to you." Wu Shu came carefully placed the books on the desk, and Fu Heng glanced at the large characters "Imperially Endorsed Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books". The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as expected, this was clearly an attempt to curry favor with his sister through him!

  "Thanks for your trouble, Mr. Wu."

  "Over there." Wu Shu came with a smile, he was very clear about the thoughts of his own master, and he didn't dare to be slow with the rich Fu family either. "Now that the book has been delivered, I'll take my leave."

  "I'll see Wu Gonggong off." Fu Heng personally escorted Wu Shu out of the mansion and also gave him a can of lavender tea to help with sleep. Wu Shu didn't decline, as eunuchs like him who served by their master's side worked hard every day and it wasn't as easy as ordinary people thought; being able to get a good night's sleep was very important.

  When Yunzhu received those new volumes of "Complete Collection of Books and Pictures from Past to Present", she felt very complicated in her heart. With her intelligence, she naturally also thought that this was Hongli borrowing Fu Heng's hands to send her gifts. She smiled lightly and handed the books to Suwen: "Put them away."

  "Yes." The girl had already collected many volumes of this set of books. Su Yu naturally took them to the study and placed them together with other books.

  The Complete Collection of Books and Illustrations Ancient and Modern was originally a large-scale leishu compiled by Yinzhi, the third son of Emperor Kangxi, and his attendants Chen Menglei et al. under the order of Emperor Kangxi. It started in 1701 and was completed in 1728, spanning two dynasties and twenty-eight years. The collection is vast and rich in content, with a total of 10,000 volumes of main text, 40 volumes of catalogues, divided into 5,020 books, 520 boxes, over 420,000 pages, and 160 million characters. The contents are divided into six compilations, 32 categories, and 6,117 sections. The entire book is arranged in the order of heaven, earth, man, things, and events, with a grand scale, meticulous classification, and comprehensive coverage of various subjects including astronomy, geography, human relationships, moral standards, literature, history, philosophy, natural science, art, economy, politics, education, civil service examination, agriculture, medicine, and many others. The book is illustrated with pictures and texts, making it an extremely important encyclopedia for searching ancient materials and documents.

  Due to various political reasons, Yongzheng negated Chen Menglei as a person, but he did not negate the "Complete Collection of Books and Illustrations from Ancient to Modern Times". Instead, he appointed Jiang Tingxi, who excelled in both scholarship and character, to recompile and edit this book. The printing of this book using copper movable type began in the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign... Looking at the entire Qing dynasty, or even the entire feudal monarchy of China, it is unprecedented and hard to match that such a monumental work was carefully printed with copper movable type without sparing any labor or expense, and was completed within less than three years. Only Emperor Yongzheng had such courage and achievement.

  "The Complete Collection of Books and Illustrations from Ancient to Modern Times" is listed alongside "Yongle Encyclopedia", "Siku Quanshu" as one of the three great imperial works of ancient China. Compared with "The Complete Collection of Books and Illustrations from Ancient to Modern Times", "Yongle Encyclopedia" which was compiled in the Ming Dynasty belongs to a type of book, while "Siku Quanshu" is a collection of books. Due to the literary inquisition during the Qianlong period, many books were banned and destroyed or altered, resulting in incomplete collections with numerous errors, making it inferior to "The Complete Collection of Books and Illustrations from Ancient to Modern Times" which was compiled earlier.

  In fact, the value of collecting this book lies not in its rarity as a first edition, but in that it indeed encompasses much valuable knowledge. As a means of disseminating knowledge was difficult in ancient times, having a complete copy of this book is far more convenient and efficient than searching for and compiling relevant information from various sources.

  "Miss, there are still some longevity gifts, do you want to take a look?" Guo's aunt had already registered everything and made a list, and also moved some brocades, silks and satins into Xinyi's warehouse. The remaining stationery and inkstones were all packed up, but the more important jewelry and items still needed to be consulted with Yunzhu.

  "Uh-huh." Yunzhu walked closer to the Huang Huali inlaid mother-of-pearl and lacquerware table, and took a look. On top of it was placed a black sandalwood jewelry box about one foot long, wide, and high, along with two purple sandalwood boxes as big as a palm. She knew that the two purple sandalwood boxes were sent from her elder sister's place, but this black sandalwood jewelry box... she immediately thought of the small key Guo'erjia had given her during the day, and smiled to ask Guo Mama: "Was this sent by Mother?"

  "Yes, the mistress ordered Cai to deliver it personally. It's said that it was a treasured item left by the wife of General Wei to the mistress." Gu said with a delighted expression, from this you can see the position of the young lady in the mistress' heart, otherwise why would she not leave it to her son or grandson but give it to the young lady.

  "It's just an idea." I believe the significance of commemoration is greater than its value. Good things are left to the end, Yunzhu paused for a moment and still picked up a small box made of purple sandalwood, opened it gently, and saw that on the red satin lay a white jade carved with a dragon pattern, strung together with a yellow silk cord...

  "Snap." Yunzhu opened the box, thinking to herself that it was no wonder they weren't included on the gift list. She suspected someone had asked her cousin to pass them along, but she didn't know who. She opened another box and found a red satin interior with a jade pendant inside. The color of the jade was well chosen, and the craftsmanship was smooth, carving a half-opened jasmine flower that seemed lifelike even from afar. Yunzhu liked it very much. A green cord was used to hang the pendant...

  Yunzhu picked up the pendant, but felt that there was something under the satin. She turned it over and found a small note. She unfolded it and saw that it was her elder sister's handwriting, which read: "Yu Lan Hong Jin, Yu Bi Hong Li."

  The corners of her mouth twitched, when did Hong Zhen have such thoughts about her? He's only thirteen years old, and yet... Alright, she still needs to get used to the precocity of ancient people. But what's going on with these two people, they're so tacitly sending things to her older sister and asking her to pass them on.

  The elder sister must be in a difficult position, right? Not yet selected for the imperial harem, and already two brothers (cousins) are competing to show their favor... If this gets out, can she still marry?

  She quietly folded the letter, put it on the candle flame to ignite, and threw it into the basin. As she saw it turn to ashes, Yunzhu finally let out a soft sigh. If she hadn't experienced the apocalypse and directly traveled from modern times, she would probably have been suffocated to death. The fate of ancient women being unable to control their own destiny could really make people who had received modern education feel breathless.

  It's just that she is now living a precious life, with loved ones and friends by her side, and children in the future... She doesn't have to worry about food or clothing, and has a comfortable bed. What could be better than this?! In this world, there is no absolute freedom. If you want something, you always have to pay some price.

  Hong Kan

  In her mind's eye, the image of that cunning boy appeared, and she slightly curled up her lips, hoping that in his heart, she was just an insignificant first love.

  She quietly ended it, not responding or doing anything extra to leave a handle for others. She got up and personally locked the two sandalwood boxes into the box, then returned to the table to look at the jewelry box sent by Madame Gualga.

  Guo's aunt, who was standing aside, saw everything and admired Yunzhu's calm demeanor. She thought proudly that if a noble lady from another family were to encounter such an event, she would probably be unable to conceal her agitation.