Chapter 34: The mistress waited quietly for her in the carriage for a long time.

Li Yue'er knew that the mistress had asked Dansha to prepare some gifts for her to take home, but she didn't know exactly what was prepared or how much. It wasn't until she stood in front of the carriage in the afternoon that she saw that it was almost half full of things!

Li Yue'er thought that her mistress had been generous enough to her, giving her a new cloak to wear, secretly doubling her monthly allowance to avoid making her suspicious, and even allowing her to go out and go home.

But seeing all the gifts in the car, Li Yue'er realized that she had thought too much about the mistress of the house, being stingy and narrow-minded.

“These three bolts of cloth!” Li Yue’er reached out and touched them.

"The Qu family is in this business; they have plenty of fabric. Why would you need to buy it from elsewhere?"

Li Yue'er originally intended to give her mother money so that she could buy cloth from the street to make new clothes.

Now the mistress has bestowed three bolts of cloth upon them, perhaps out of consideration for their situation. The material is ordinary and not top-grade, but for Li Yue'er, it is both thoughtful and economical!

Since the mistress had considered everything so thoroughly, she could only accept it with a slight smile.

"This ginseng box?" Li Yue'er opened it only a crack before quickly closing it again, afraid that the ginseng might escape if it wasn't tied with a red string.

"With the year-end approaching, the mistress has received too many gifts, and she can't finish them all. The old lady doesn't need them either. Usually, she gives them away as gifts, so it's normal for her to bring them to you."

Teng Huang reminded her, "Your sister was sick before, and your mother is also very thin. This is a good opportunity to nourish her."

Li Yue'er held the ginseng box in her arms, feeling that it was more precious than gold.

Indeed, the ginseng that the mistress received must have been of the highest quality; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was more valuable than gold.

Li Yue'er looked at each item one by one, "There's rice, flour, oil, and eggs."

A smile appeared in her eyes as she placed her hand on a white porcelain jar, which she opened to find contained refined salt.

For a moment, Li Yue'er didn't know whether it was the mistress who had thoughtfully given these instructions, or Dansha who had carefully selected a practical gift for her.

These are so good that they could be called New Year's goods, because half a fresh pig's leg was wrapped in oil paper.

Li Yue'er turned her head to look at Teng Huang.

Gamboge: "When it's cold, you should eat more meat."

That makes sense!

She accepted the pig's leg on behalf of her mother and sister!

Li Yue'er sighed softly, "I'm afraid I'll have to repay the mistress's kindness with my life."

Unfortunately, she was only worth five taels of silver, so she should honestly serve her mistress well and learn how to manage the household and accounts from Sister Su. Only in the future, when she could stand on her own and do things for her mistress, could she live up to her mistress's kindness.

Teng Huang smiled and stood beside her, comforting her, "Don't overthink it. The mistress has given it to you, so just accept it and be happy."

She understood Li Yue'er; she felt anxious and unsure how to repay even the smallest kindness from others, making it difficult for her to enjoy the good things others did for her with a clear conscience. She lived cautiously and prudently.

Therefore, Teng Huang deliberately spoke in a light tone, making these good things sound ordinary and casual, in order to ease Li Yue'er's burden.

Li Yue'er was more than happy; she was overjoyed. She could imagine the expressions on her mother's and sister's faces when they saw the carload of stuff.

Mother must be more worried, fearing that she has received the Qu family's kindness and will have to suffer a lot in secret to repay it. My younger sister is young, and she will definitely wag her tail and run around her like a puppy, excitedly telling her all sorts of things and asking all sorts of questions.

Li Yue'er sat in the carriage and placed the ginseng box on her lap. Teng Huang sat beside her, just like last time, with his back pressed against the curtain to prevent any draft from getting in through the gaps.

It snowed lightly all morning, and although the ground was slightly damp, there was still no snow accumulation.

Lin Mu drove the carriage very steadily. On the way, Li Yue'er chatted with Teng Huang, planning to take a walk in the street when they returned. She wanted to use her monthly allowance to pick out some sweet pastries for the mistress and some candied meat for Meng Xiaoxiao.

Last time, Li Yue'er was a bit reserved while the two were in the car and didn't talk much to Teng Huang, but this time they were able to chat about all sorts of things.

Teng Huang even recommended several shops to her, such as which shop's candied fruit was sweet but not greasy, and which shop's dried meat was fragrant but not dry; she knew them all very well.

Li Yue'er memorized them one by one, and when she saw Teng Huang's lips curving into the most obvious smile when she picked up the dried meat, she knew that Teng Huang liked it.

Then let's buy some dried meat from this shop for Fujiwara!

Eight taels of silver is a considerable sum, but Li Yue'er would be extremely stingy when it came to spending it on herself. She would split every penny in half, at most buying thread that was almost used up for embroidery, and refusing to buy any other food.

But Li Yue'er was very generous when it came to spending money on them; in a short time, she even figured out what she wanted to buy on her way back.

Today is only the Minor Snow solar term, but she already feels like it's Chinese New Year.

I suppose that when a woman returns to her parents' home after getting married, the gifts she gives are nothing more than this.

"Little Yue'er is back?"

The carriage stopped beside the door, and the neighbor who had gone out and returned home stopped opening the door and turned to look in the direction of the carriage.

Supported by rattan, Li Yue'er bent down as she stepped out of the carriage, draped in a cloak. Upon seeing the other woman, she immediately greeted her with a beaming smile, "Aunt Li, it's me."

Aunt Li looked her up and down, then smiled kindly, "You don't seem as thin as before; I didn't recognize you at first glance."

She said, "You used to be so thin you were just skin and bones, you didn't look as good as you do now."

At least I can eat my fill at the Qu family's house, especially during these past two weeks when I've been eating with the mistress of the house. Every meal has been excellent, and there might even be sweet soup as a late-night snack.

Li Yue'er smiled shyly, "Maybe it's because I've grown up a bit."

She'll be a year older after the New Year.

Aunt Li nodded seriously, "She's grown up and looks even better now."

Teng Huang turned to look at Li Yue'er. She thought that Yue'er had always been pretty, and recently she just looked better.

Li Yue'er looked towards her own wooden door. "I came back to see my mother and Xing'er."

Aunt Li then suddenly remembered what she was talking about. She raised her hand and slapped her forehead, her face showing worry. She whispered to Li Yue'er, "I was just about to talk to you about this, but I got distracted and forgot."

The smile on Li Yue'er's face slowly froze, and a chill suddenly ran through her heart. "He's back?"

Aunt Li naturally knew that the "he" Li Yue'er was referring to was her father, Li Juren. She sighed and nodded, "He came back yesterday and stayed for most of the day. I stood by the wall and listened, but since there wasn't much noise coming from your house, I didn't want to knock on the door to check."

Li Yue'er's face darkened.

Aunt Li said, “I went to check on her after he left this evening. He slapped your mother, and your sister was badly frightened. Now that you’re back, Xiaoyue, go check on your sister first, so she doesn’t get too frightened and develop a high fever again.”

He developed a high fever again.

Li Yue'er swayed slightly, as if she had understood something.

She hurriedly thanked Aunt Li and ran to the door to knock. Afraid that her mother and sister would be frightened by the knocking, she called out before even knocking, "Mom, I'm back."

Aunt Li didn't even look at the things on the Qu family's carriage. She just shook her head and sighed with pity, then pushed open the door to the courtyard, saying, "What a tragedy."

The mother and her two daughters were a perfectly happy family, not afraid of hardship or setbacks, but unfortunately, they had a man like that in their household.

In her opinion, it would have been better if Li Juren had died of syphilis outside, so that the Ming family mother and daughters could live a more peaceful and secure life.

What kind of scholar or academy teacher was he? He was nothing but a beast in human form, a hypocrite, and didn't even deserve a coffin after he died.

No matter how angry Aunt Li was, it was no use. Even the government couldn't easily handle the Li family's affairs, let alone her, a neighbor.

Footsteps could be heard coming from inside the tightly closed wooden door.

Li Yue'er's hands were trembling. Teng Huang was originally going to stay outside, but seeing her like this, he had no choice but to stay close by her side.

The wooden door slowly opened from the inside. "Yue'er?"

Li Yue'er stared intently at her mother.

My mother seems to have lost weight again. In just half a month, she has become nothing but skin and bones, and her back is slightly hunched.

But she's only thirty-three years old.

When he saw her, he didn't smile and look up at her like last time. Instead, he turned his head away, lowered his eyes, and stepped aside to let her into the courtyard.

Li Yue'er's eyes were red, but her voice was normal, "I just ran into Aunt Li at the door."

Upon hearing this, Madam Ming raised her hand and rubbed the corner of her eye with the heel of her palm. When she looked up again, she was already smiling. "It's nothing serious. Your Aunt Li is just too nervous."

Li Yue'er's gaze fell on her mother's left cheek, where the redness and swelling of her five fingers were still obvious, and even the corner of her mouth was cut by her teeth.

She was trembling with anger.

Ming covered her face with her hair and asked softly, "Why did you come back in such cold weather? You look so pale, you must be on your period. Luckily we still have some brown sugar at home, I'll make you a bowl of egg and brown sugar water."

She then noticed the girl in the orange dress next to Li Yue'er and generously invited her in, saying, "It's cold, come and have a cup of hot water."

Lin Mu is a man and it's not appropriate for him to enter the courtyard, so she will bring him a bowl of hot tea separately later.

Even Teng Huang felt a lump in his throat and his eyes welled up with tears just looking at Ming Shi like this, let alone Ming Shi's own daughter, Li Yue'er.

The Ming family is now like a lifeless, withered tree. If things continue like this, it may not survive until next spring to regain its vitality.

Li Yue'er reached out and hugged Ming Shi, gently patting her thin shoulders and back. She took a deep breath to suppress all her emotions and said softly, "Mother, I'll take care of things. You sit down and rest."

She took her mother's hand and entered the courtyard, while her younger sister, Li Xing'er, hid behind the wooden door of the main hall and peeked out.

When she realized it was her, Li Xing'er came out of the house, her eyes shining as she looked at her, but she didn't run over and jump into her arms.

It must have been because her mother had a big argument with that beast last time because she was sold into the Qu family, which scared her sister so much that she developed a high fever. After all, although beatings and scoldings don't happen every day, Li Xing'er has seen plenty of them since she was born and raised, so she shouldn't have been so scared that she got sick.

Such a big thing, yet when her mother went to find her to bring her home, she didn't mention it at all.

If it hadn't been for the coincidence of me coming back today, when I saw my mother again, she certainly wouldn't have told me these upsetting things. She would have just smiled gently and told me that things had been going quite well lately.

Li Yue'er squatted down, waved to her younger sister, and smiled gently.

Li Xing'er then cautiously walked over, reached out and threw herself into her sister's arms. Before she could even open her mouth, large tears began to fall in strings.

She knew to only report good news and not bad, so she only said she missed her sister, and the more she talked, the harder she cried.

Ming looked away, sniffed, and went into the kitchen to boil water. Teng Huang quickly followed to help.

Li Yue'er stopped Teng Huang and gestured for her to have Lin Mu move the things from the back of the carriage into the yard, while she led her younger sister into the kitchen.

Li Yue'er, with her younger sister in her arms, squatted down beside her mother's legs and asked softly, "What happened this time?"

Ming remained silent for a while. Seeing that Li Yue'er insisted on asking for a reason, she said softly, "He said that even if you live a good life, you won't forget me and Xing'er. He asked me if you gave me money when you came back last time. I said no, so he told me to ask you for it."

Ming was so angry she wanted to kill him, how could she possibly ask someone else's daughter, who was a concubine, for money!

Li, the scholar, then hit her.

Li Yue'er lowered her head, her eyes falling on her mother's patched and worn-out cloth shoes. She had just walked around the yard, and the uppers of her shoes were covered in snow and mud.

Li Yue'er tugged at her sleeve, lowered her eyes, and gently wiped her mother's shoes. "I understand."

She thought that selling Li Juren would bring her some peace, but it seems she was being far too naive.

As long as she lives, Li the Scholar will not give up on making her mother ask her for money. Even if she dies, Li the Scholar will use the same methods on her sister.

She couldn't die, of course. What had her mother and sister done wrong? The only one who deserved to die was himself.

His death will put an end to his family's troubles.

Tears streamed down Ming's face as she reached out and hugged her two daughters tightly, sobbing, "It's all my fault, I've ruined you two sisters."

It's her fault for misjudging people, for she's never experienced hardship since childhood, which is why she easily believed that person's sweet words and was tricked into doing everything that led to the current situation. It's all her fault.

Li Xing'er then burst into tears, sobbing as she recounted yesterday's events to Li Yue'er, "He said if Mother doesn't go, next time, next time he'll beat me to death."

She used this to force Ming to bow down and compromise.

Fearing that Li Yue'er would worry, Madam Ming wiped away her own tears and then wiped Li Yue'er and Li Xing'er's tears, saying, "It's alright, Mother has a way. Mother won't let him threaten you."

She would rather die than let him leech off her daughter.

Li Yue'er wasn't afraid. She gripped her mother's hand tightly, pulled the purse from her waist, and placed it in her palm. "If he comes again, give him the money. Listen to him and say you'll ask me for the money, but only if he doesn't hit you and your sister again. Otherwise, he won't get a single penny."

Ming didn't understand, and instead looked up at her.

Li Yue'er took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mother's aging eyes. "Just trust me."

Since she grew up, she has been the one in the family who has ideas and can stand up for herself.

Since Li Yue'er said so, Ming Shi decided to do as she said.

The items from the car were slowly moved to the clean open space in the yard.

Ming made egg and brown sugar water for Li Yue'er. Li Yue'er held the bowl and blew on it to cool it down. As before, she gestured to her younger sister to get an empty bowl and a spoon.

Li Xing'er frowned and pursed her lips, unwilling.

Li Yue'er squinted at her, and Li Xing'er then lowered her head to take it.

Li Yue'er scooped out the eggs and gave them to her younger sister, who only drank the sugar water.

Li Xing'er, "Mother said you're feeling unwell, so you should eat something good."

Li Yue'er gestured for her to look into the courtyard, "Isn't your food good enough, sister?"

Li Xing'er turned her head to look over, her eyes slowly widening, her mouth opening wide as well, her face full of joy.

She looked up at her sister and exclaimed, "This food is amazing!"

Li Yue'er smiled and squatted down beside her, "So, can we eat this egg without worry now?"

Li Xing'er nodded emphatically, "Yes!"

Her mother felt indebted to her and her younger sister, while she felt she owed her younger sister even more. At least when she was her younger sister's age, she had a good life, while her younger sister had suffered from birth.

Li Yue'er slowly blew on the hot air from the rim of the bowl, letting the heat blur her vision.

The hotter the soup, the colder her heart became.

Yesterday, my house was ransacked, and one of the four legs of the table was broken.

The severed leg was placed in the kitchen mixed with firewood, clearly to prevent Li, the scholar, from seeing it in the open and grabbing it to beat someone.

Lin Mu silently found the table leg, borrowed tools from Aunt Li's house, and helped fix the table.

Li Yue'er took off her cloak, rolled up her sleeves, and cleaned and tidied up the still somewhat messy room again.

Li Xing'er followed her around busily, wagging her tail happily like a puppy. She had forgotten her fear from yesterday and only had the joy of her sister's return in her eyes.

Looking at all the nice things in the courtyard, Madam Ming pulled Li Yue'er aside and whispered, "Does the master dote on you a lot?"

Li Yue'er lowered her eyes, "It's the mistress who loves me."

Madam Ming clearly didn't think of anything else, and only sincerely sighed, "The mistress is a good person, she will surely live to be a hundred years old."

Li Yue'er nodded, "She can, and so can you."

Hide what needs to be hidden and put what needs to be put away; it's getting dark outside.

Upon hearing that Li Yue'er was going back, Li Xing'er burst into tears. She held her sister's finger with her little hand, raised her face, pursed her lips, and kept her eyes red without saying a word, but she stubbornly refused to let her sister leave.

No matter how much Ming tried to coax or deceive her, Li Xing'er just shook her head.

Li Yue'er squatted down and hugged her, "Are you reluctant to part with your sister, or are you afraid?"

Li Xing'er then said in a low voice, "Yes, I have them all."

She clutched her sister's clothes and cried softly, "Sister, I'm scared."

Li Yue'er hugged Li Xing'er tightly, and the two sisters hugged for a while in the courtyard before Li Xing'er let go of Li Yue'er. She took two steps back and stood next to Ming Shi, being sensible and obedient. "I'm not afraid anymore, sister, go back."

She was afraid that her sister would be beaten and punished if she was late in returning home.

Li Yue'er slowly stood up, supporting herself on her knees with both hands.

Li Xing'er held Ming Shi's finger as the mother and daughter stood in the courtyard seeing her off.

Li Yue'er walked out, smiling as she reminded her mother to close the door quickly to prevent the dog and cat from sneaking in and stealing the meat.

As soon as Ming Shi's voice rang out, the smile on Li Yue'er's face vanished.

With the expensive silver-red cloak draped over his arm, Teng Huang stepped forward, unfolded it, and draped it over Li Yue'er's shoulders.

Li Yue'er was trembling.

Unable to distinguish between coldness and anger, he muttered in a trembling voice, "Beast!"

Teng Huang felt extremely distressed, but still told her, "Miss Yue'er, the mistress has arrived."

Seeing that she hadn't gone back yet, the mistress made a special detour to pick her up after leaving home in the afternoon.

Li Yue'er turned around to look at her in surprise, still recovering from the emotions in the courtyard, and asked in a hoarse voice, "When did you arrive?"

Gambo: “An hour ago, I saw Cinnabar. She said that the mistress was sitting in the carriage and did not want us to disturb you.”

Li Yue'er was stunned.

So, despite the cold weather, the mistress waited quietly for her in the carriage for a long time.

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Garcinia: Your face has arrived!

End of bonus chapter~