Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Otti/Kindness is precious, it is not...

Audrey, who stayed where she was, was still digesting her happiness.

She packed the models carefully, confident that they would fetch a good price at tomorrow's charity auction!

After all, it is something that even Hermann approves of!

With an extremely excited mood, Audrey spent a sleepless night.

The next day, Mrs. Moore came to visit on time, preparing to go to the charity auction with Audrey.

Audrey instructed the servants to carry them carefully. These models were very fragile and must not be broken during the bumpy ride in the carriage.

Mrs. Moore looked at her busy back, worry flashing in her eyes.

Hermann was coming down the stairs, and Charles was reporting on the city council's approval.

Mrs. Moore saw him and hurried forward: "Mr. White."

She hesitated, glancing at Audrey outside the door. "Should I warn Miss Norman in advance? To prevent her from feeling too disappointed?"

Outside the door, Audrey carefully instructed the driver to be careful to avoid stones on the road and to drive as slowly as possible.

Recalling the serious look on her face when she was making the model last night, Herman knew that she took this auction very seriously.

Herman's eyes flickered as he turned to look at Charles. "The city government won't wait any longer. Instruct Nicholas to buy up all the stocks and put pressure on the market. Tomorrow afternoon, I want to see Brousson begging for mercy."

Charles' eyes widened. "Tomorrow...tomorrow? My lord, you're too hasty. We can finish this the day after tomorrow after the normal procedures. Why bother..."

"I said tomorrow," Herman said calmly. "Don't make me repeat myself, Charles."

"Okay," Charles shrugged, unable to say no to the person who paid his salary.

It was only a matter of time before Bruson surrendered. It was only a day in advance, so it wasn't difficult at all.

Charles just complained out of habit.

Passing by the door and about to get on the carriage, Charles saw Audrey who was about to leave for the charity auction, and he suddenly understood something.

He glanced at his employer, who was still silent, and then at Miss Norman, who was happily talking to Mrs. Moore in the carriage next door. He whistled softly, "Oh, it's always difficult for a young and wealthy bachelor to say 'no' to a beautiful fiancée."

Herman slowly turned his head and stared at Charles.

Charles immediately looked out the window and raised his hands in surrender: "I understand, I understand, it's human nature."

"Put aside your speculation. I just don't want anything to go wrong," Herman said. "If I don't see a passed bill on my desk this afternoon, it's hard for me to say 'yes' to your request for a raise."

Charles exclaimed, "Oh! My Lord, you are so cruel to me."

-

The charity auction was held at the Blossom family estate.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the carriages of the ladies of each family arrived outside the manor one after another. Gorgeous skirts were everywhere, and the air around them was filled with rich fragrance.

Lisa Blossom was dressed up and stood at the door greeting guests. When she saw ladies she knew, she nodded and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

"Lisa, what treasure are you, the Countess, going to bring out to overwhelm us?" Mrs. Beach, a loyal supporter of the Blossom family, asked half-jokingly.

"Oh, don't joke, dear." Lisa waved her fan gracefully and glanced casually out the door. "The protagonist today is the Baroness."

The ladies exchanged glances with each other and smiled knowingly.

At this time, another luxurious carriage stopped at the door, and a lady wearing a black crinoline skirt and a wide-brimmed hat with feathers came slowly.

Lisa quickly stepped forward, smiled, and nodded, "Mrs. Jeshia, you are a very busy person. How come you have time to honor me today?"

The woman in the black dress looked arrogant and glanced at Lisa indifferently, as if she didn't take the Countess, who had some prestige in the local area, seriously at all.

"Since the Charity Association has posted me, whether I come or not is my business. Is that a problem, Ms. Blossom?"

Lisa's face darkened, but she quickly smiled again: "No problem, this way please."

She smiled as she watched the maid lead Jeshia to the VIP seat, and her smile gradually disappeared.

Mrs. Beech, who had spoken first, snorted coldly, "She's just a widow of Hersland whose husband has died. Lisa, I don't think you need to be nice to her."

"No, she's a wealthy woman who inherited a large fortune from her husband, the Marquis." Another lady added with a sarcastic smile.

"I suggest you keep your voice down. If she hears, she won't give you face." Lisa glanced at Jeshia sarcastically. "After her husband died, this is all she has left of her feigned self-respect. Why expose her?"

"You are always kind-hearted, Liza," the ladies echoed.

Lisa Blossom sneered in her heart but looked friendly on the surface.

Today is not the time to deal with Jeshia, but that... Miss Norman.

Lisa's eyes fell on the newly arrived carriage outside the door, and she saw a familiar blonde figure getting out of the carriage, holding up her skirt, and smiling at her.

"Hello again, Miss Blossom." Audrey walked forward excitedly and greeted her, nodding politely.

Behind her, Mrs. Moore looked around the room with a wary look on her face and her chin raised.

The wives of the old Qian family were very good at putting on a good show, and they all greeted her warmly: "Miss Norman, nice to meet you."

"Long time no see, Miss Norman." Lisa smiled and kissed her cheek. "The auction is about to start. I'm waiting for you."

"I'm so sorry, I brought too much stuff and I'm afraid of the bumpy road, so I'm walking slowly." Audrey explained seriously.

"It's okay, dear." Lisa smiled and responded. She looked at the butler who was carrying things in and suddenly said in surprise, "Oh, Miss Norman, I forgot to tell you that large artworks have to go through the side door. Please take the butler with you."

Mrs. Moore snorted coldly: "Miss Blossom, is this how you entertain guests? Don't you have servants? Why does Miss Norman lead the footman through the side door?"

"Mrs. Moore, don't be angry. You've never been to an auction before, so you don't know the rules." Lisa smiled good-naturedly, "Everyone has to carry their own items to the backstage. We all do that."

She looked back and saw the ladies behind her nodding.

Mrs. Beach sneered, "Mrs. Moore, if you don't have any sense, just follow behind and learn from her instead of being so self-righteous as to stand up for your master."

"You!" Mrs. Moore's face flushed and she pointed at Mrs. Beach who was speaking.

"Mrs. Moore, forget it." Audrey persuaded her and said to Lisa, "Miss Blossom, please show me the way."

Lisa raised her fan and pointed outside. "Go to the right and there's a staircase going down. Just go through the corridor and you'll be there."

"Okay." Audrey didn't say much and told the butler to pick up the things and follow.

Mrs. Moore glared at everyone angrily, snorted coldly, turned around and followed.

After they walked away, the group of people looked at each other and laughed.

"This Miss Norman is truly..." Mrs. Beach covered her lips with a fan and smiled obscurely, "innocent."

Lisa said sarcastically, "So what if she's a Baroness? You can't just enter this circle if you want to."

-

On the other side, Audrey and Mrs. Moore walked down the narrow stairs, passing the laundry area and kitchen area of ​​the manor.

The hem of her lace satin skirt swept across the damp and sticky ground. The servants of the manor stopped their work and cast strange glances at her.

Mrs. Moore covered her nose and endured the unpleasant smell: "Miss Norman, Lisa Blossom is deliberately teasing you!"

Audrey lowered her head and told the butler to be careful with her feet, while holding up the hem of her skirt to avoid the dripping clothesline and the blood splattered from killing fish.

"I know, Mrs. Moore."

"Since you know this, why..."

"It's okay," Audrey interrupted, smiling. "Mr. Blossom resisted Hermann replacing him, and Lisa certainly resisted my easy entry into their circle."

"Oh! Shit!" A footman rushed over with a tray. His footing slipped, but luckily a white, tender hand grabbed hold of his shirt hem, helping him maintain his balance. "Oh God, thank you, ma'am! The price of this bottle of wine could buy my life! You saved it and me!"

The butler thanked him repeatedly while holding the brandy on the tray.

"Go!" Audrey laughed and waved her hands, continuing to say to Mrs. Moore, "So, she just wanted to warn Herman in this way."

Mrs. Moore's expression was complicated: "So you're just going to let them bully you?"

"I wasn't bullied." Audrey smiled and looked at Mrs. Moore with a sincere look in her eyes. She said, "She wanted to see me dejected, but I wasn't, so her bullying didn't hold true."

"Isn't this just self-consolation, Miss Norman?" Mrs. Moore chuckled. "Weakness will only attract more bullying."

Audrey was stunned and suddenly shook her head. "What you said makes sense, but... not entirely correct."

She thought that someone had said this when she was a child.

"There's still some way to go. Let me tell you a story."

She held up her skirt and walked forward happily. "When I was very little, my neighbor Miss Lucas always teased me. When we played house, we agreed to take turns playing Snow White, but she always broke her promise. After I finished playing the dwarf, she said she was tired and didn't want to play anymore!"

"Once, I was so sad that I cried. My aunt told me to break up with Miss Lucas, or to reject her firmly next time and have a big fight with her." Audrey paused and smiled helplessly, "But I couldn't do it. At that time, my aunt said the same thing as you."

As her memory went back to the old days, Audrey could still remember the dejected little Otti.

Aunt Anna was very disappointed with her and kept urging her to be tougher.

Tears welled up in little Otti's eyes, but he didn't dare wipe them for fear of being called weak again.

Since she was five years old, she vaguely understood that she was a weak child, and the world seemed to have no room for introverted and gentle "weaklings".

She clearly wanted to change, but she just couldn't do it.

For example, little Otti naturally dislikes arguing with others. Once she does, she will burst into tears and feel very uncomfortable even if she wins. She is also often soft-hearted and only sees the good side of things. She doesn't know how to refuse others.

She wanted to learn the boldness from Aunt Anna and the calm wisdom from Aunt Mary and her sister, but she just couldn't grasp them.

"What happened next? How did you deal with that little neighbor?" Mrs. Moore's voice softened.

Audrey smiled and said, "Later, I..."

She almost blurted out "sister" and wanted to change it to "sister", but when she thought of Isabel's penetrating eyes, she couldn't bring herself to call her that, so she just made up something.

"...I told my teacher, but she didn't ask me to argue or break up with her. She just bought me a new dress and asked the maid to play with me. The next day, she asked me, 'Are you still sad?' I'd been playing Snow White all day, so of course I wasn't sad! I told her I forgave Miss Lucas and planned to continue playing with her."

"And then, what did your teacher say?" Mrs. Moore listened intently.

Audrey smiled, her eyes and eyebrows smiling as she recalled the scene at that time.

At that time, the thirteen-year-old girl Isabel said, "Before you go find her, answer me first, why do you feel sad?"

Little Otti stood in the corner with her hands behind her back as punishment: "Because she wanted me to be a dwarf and wouldn't let me be Snow White."

"If you weren't a dwarf, could she still be Snow White?"

Little Otti was silent: "...I can't."

"So you made the deal, but Ms. Lucas unilaterally broke it to exploit you. That's why you feel sad."

Little Otti thought about it and said, "Yes!"

"Okay, let's think about it the other way around. Why did she know she could exploit you and not someone else?"

Little Otti lowered his head, holding back tears: "...because I am weak."

She knew the answer very well.

"No, Otti, look up and look at me." Isabel squatted down and looked directly at little Otti with a gentle gaze. "On the contrary, she bullies you because you are strong and tolerant and have more than her."

"Sister, Miss Lucas has more dolls than me." Little Otti scratched his head in confusion.

"But you're generous, kind, and willing to share. You always generously give dolls to your friends. That's what you have more of than her," Isabel said calmly. "You have to understand that all bullying is plundering. No one would plunder barren land."

Little Otti was stunned and thought for a long time: "So, if someone bullies me, it's because I'm rich."

"Yes, you are a very rich little lady."

Little Otti lowered his head again: "But she will ask me to play the dwarf next time, and I don't know how to refuse..."

"That brings us to the second question." Isabel smiled and stroked her curly hair. "Without Miss Lucas, did you and Emily have fun?"

Little Otti smiled and nodded: "Happy!"

Isabel: "Do you still want to play with Miss Lucas?"

Little Otti hesitated for a moment: "No need, but... I mean, if she is willing to treat me fairly, I will still play with her."

"Congratulations, Miss Audrey. You've fully understood the relationship between balancing needs, so you can end an unfair transaction without having to refuse."

Little Otti: "Balancing needs?"

Isabel explained gently, "The way people get along is like a balance. Only when there's balance can things continue. Any time you feel wronged, it's because the balance is tilted. The other person wants to plunder your wealth."

"Lucas wants you to be a dwarf, the kids in the village want to cheat you out of your pocket money, and when you grow up, maybe someone who has everything they need just wants to see you humiliated." Isabel looked at little Otti and asked seriously, "Do you know what to do?"

Little Otti fell into thought, his eyes lighting up. "I understand. What they want to plunder is exactly what I have. I can play house with anyone. If Lucas wants to play with me, he has to be fair to me. I hold the pocket money in my hands, and I can give it to whoever I want."

Isabel looked at her encouragingly.

"If someone wants nothing but to see me bow my head and be humiliated, I won't do it. Their so-called 'bullying' doesn't apply." Little Otti puffed out his chest, then quickly became frustrated. "But... this is just my self-consolation. In reality, the bully didn't suffer any punishment."

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly choked up, looking at Isabel with her aqua-blue eyes: "Sister, I'm useless. I can't fight back."

Isabel held her little head and let her cry.

Ice-blue eyes reflected her tear-stained face, and a smile played on her lips. "Otti, the word 'self-consolation' sounds harsh. It sounds like the cowardice of a loser, right?"

Little Otti choked and nodded: "Yeah!"

"But I want to tell you that this is very gentle protection," Isabel said. "In this world, some people are spears, sharp and edged, good at attacking. Some people are shields, soft and tough, preferring defense."

"Most of the time, we all wish we were armed, because that would give us a sense of security. But even if you try, you can't do it. When you pierce someone with a spear, you also feel pain. But the world tells you that if you put down your weapons, you are weak, and the weak will be pierced by the spears of others, so you feel afraid. But is this really the case?"

Little Otti sobbed, but his crying stopped.

Isabel wiped her tears and said, "Oti, think about it carefully. In the Colosseum, if there is a man with only a spear and a man with only a shield, who will get hurt?"

"A spear can only attack, but a shield can defend against everything." Oti replied softly.

"Yes." Isabel chuckled. "Do you understand now? You don't have to blame yourself. It doesn't matter if you don't want to fight back, don't want to refuse, don't want to argue. You don't have to turn yourself into a spear. You just need to use the method I taught you to be a shield that is not good at attacking but can protect yourself."

The haze that had been shrouding my heart seemed to be gently blown away by my sister.

Little Otti wiped away his tears and forced a smile: "So, all I have to do is thicken my shield!"

"Smart little lady!" Isabel stood up and took her out. "Kindness is precious. It doesn't mean weakness. So you must use rational thinking to protect it and protect yourself."

Little Otti lifted the tray on the table and smiled, "Like holding up a shield!"

"That's right."

A big one and a small one walked hand in hand into the garden, where the summer marigolds swayed in the wind.

…

Mrs. Moore was silent for a long time after listening to this. Then she smiled and said, "You have a great teacher."

"Yes, because of those words, I've been happy since I was a child," Audrey said. "Lisa wants to see me angry and sad, but I'm here to do charity work. Why should I be angry?"

Afraid that Mrs. Moore wouldn't believe her, she smiled and repeated, "I really don't mind that."

Audrey held up her skirt and lightly crossed over puddles. "You see, if we go through the main entrance, we won't be able to play such an interesting game."

In the kitchen, the chef in the top hat is making cookies, and the aroma is everywhere.

Audrey ate a piece, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "I've never tasted such delicious cookies before!"

"Thank you for the compliment, my dear lady!" The chef laughed heartily, took off his hat and saluted, looking at Mrs. Moore. "Would you like some too?"

The biscuit was handed to Mrs. Moore, and she took it hesitantly. The sweetness spread on the tip of her tongue, leaving a fragrant taste in her mouth.

For a moment, the dust on her skirt didn't seem so unbearable.

-----------------------

Author's words: After a few chapters of the auction, it's time to go to the Duke's Mansion [dog head holding a rose]

Audrey: If you make me angry, I will walk away in a furry manner.

Zongbao's Draft Box: My new book will be on the 1,000-word list on July 21st. Because of the special list, the update from 00:05 that day will be moved to 23:50. After that, it will still be updated at the usual time! That means I can expect two chapters that night! The draft box will automatically post! Love you all!