Discipline
Kao Yu-yi was stunned for a moment before smiling and saying:
"Xu'er is still the most sensible and considerate."
Lin Xu maintained a faint smile as he placed the bowl piled high with mutton in front of Yu Mei, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, before sitting down.
"Children are naturally greedy, and they are at the age of growing up. Since Yumei likes mutton so much, let her eat to her heart's content today, until she is satisfied—so that when you leave the manor, you won't say that the Lin family has mistreated you."
Even when making jokes in a lighthearted tone, the faint smile on his face didn't reach his eyes at all.
Yu Mei's face was already red from crying. Upon hearing this, she just stared blankly at Lin Xu, who had a smile on his face.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a little scared. Seeing that everyone at the table was looking at her, Yu Mei couldn't help but lower her sobs. She only dared to sob softly, but she didn't know what to do. She could only look back helplessly at Qi Rou'er, who was holding her.
He's just a child after all; he doesn't know how to adapt to changing circumstances yet.
Qi Rou'er's face flushed red and then paled, and after a long while she managed to force a smile again, saying awkwardly:
"Miss Lin, you're too kind. However, Yu Mei is still quite young and probably can't eat that much..."
She never imagined that Lin Xu would personally serve rice to Yu Mei! She had only taught Yu Mei how to cry whenever she had a chance, but she hadn't taught Yu Mei what to do next!
For a moment, no one spoke. It was Xin Tan who spoke up for Qi Rou'er:
"Since you are a guest, please don't be so polite. Since little sister Yumei has never eaten mutton before, it is only right that she enjoys it today. This was specially served for Yumei by our young lady, which shows her great kindness. Little Yumei, please don't waste it, lest you disappoint our young lady's kind intentions."
Yu Mei was only four or five years old. Although the mutton was stewed until it was very tender, children have small appetites and could not help but hesitate to eat it.
Faced with a bowl full of mutton, Qi Rou'er fed her a piece in front of everyone, but Yu Mei chewed for a long time before barely swallowing it. She simply closed her eyes, and it looked like she was about to sob again.
Gao Youyi put down her chopsticks, took the tea handed to her by a maid, and slowly skimmed off all the floating leaves with the lid. She then glanced at Qi Rou'er, who was trying to soothe Yu Mei and looked rather flustered, quietly sipped her hot tea, and said softly:
"Although children are young, their upbringing must not lose its principles and methods. Otherwise, as they grow up, they may develop a very difficult-to-manage personality, and then it will be impossible to discipline them."
Although her tone was calm, it carried an underlying authority. Her gaze swept over the crying Yu Mei and then fell on Qi Shuang'er, who was sitting beside her, with her now prominently protruding belly.
Lan Yue deeply agreed and nodded in agreement:
“What you say is very true, Madam. Speaking of which, I saw you playing cards with several ladies from noble families the other day. The two children of the young Marquis Zhang’s wife were quite intelligent and behaved well in front of the adults. I liked them very much.”
Kao Yu-yi brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled:
"Madam Zhang came from a distinguished family and was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age. Naturally, all the children she raised were intelligent and knew how to behave properly. Her youngest daughter, who was only three years old, could recite the entire poem 'Jiang Cheng Zi' in her baby voice. Her head-shaking and swaying manner was truly adorable and extremely endearing."
Qi Rou'er was gently soothing Yu Mei in her arms, intending to appear nonchalant. However, Yu Mei's temper was unusually unreasonable today; despite her attempts to calm her, Yu Mei wouldn't stop and started wailing in her arms again. Qi Rou'er felt embarrassed and immediately reprimanded her in a cold voice:
"Shut up!"
However, a low growl was enough to draw everyone's attention back to the mother and daughter.
Since entering the manor, Qi Rou'er had always presented herself as gentle and considerate, speaking softly and tenderly to her children. This was the first time she had shown such a stern expression. Realizing her mistake, she couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed.
Lin Fu sat quietly for a long time during his dinner, and now he couldn't help but feel a headache. He hadn't had much of an appetite due to his recent overwork, and felt full after eating only a few light vegetable dishes. The continuous crying of children made his face darken.
Seeing this, Qi Rou'er felt even more embarrassed. She could only put Yu Mei on the ground and put on a gentle smile as she carefully apologized to Lin Fu.
"Mr. Lin, I'm truly sorry to have disturbed your meal. Yu Mei may have accidentally choked while eating, and she doesn't seem to be feeling well right now. I'd like to take her downstairs to rest."
Lin Fu nodded slightly, expressionless.
Lin Xu glanced at Yu Mei, his face showing deep concern as he said:
"But we've had enough mutton! What should we do?"
After saying this, she hurriedly waved her hand, signaling the two maids standing outside the hall to come forward, and gave them stern instructions.
"We finally have a guest at home, how can we be so negligent? Quickly go and fetch the family physician to examine Yu Mei, and prescribe more medicine to aid digestion and replenish her energy. Prepare her medicine every day, and make sure she drinks it all. If Yu Mei falls ill again, I'll hold you all accountable."
She was always kind and considerate to the servants in the manor, and had never spoken like this before. The two maids dared not be negligent upon hearing this, and hurriedly lowered their heads to fetch the manor doctor.
Qi Rou'er, holding Yu Mei and Hai Ping's hands, looked rather unpleasant and had no choice but to take her leave.
Qi Shuang'er ate her meal without tasting it. Seeing her older sister suffer a humiliation, she couldn't retaliate because Lin Fu was there, so she could only silently drink the old duck soup in front of her.
After this incident, everyone's enthusiasm waned. Dinner was finished shortly afterward. Lin Fu, feeling exhausted, only drank a sip of warm tea before returning to his room to rest. Seeing this, Qi Shi, still pregnant, also returned to Yilan Garden to rest.
.
Xin Tan looked at the semi-circular archway at the entrance of the hall, in the direction where the Qi sisters had just left, and couldn't help but say with disdain:
"What do you mean you want to eat mutton? Only sisters could be so petty and lacking in manners."
Today, Gao Youyi finally witnessed Qi Shi's humiliation, and her mood was undoubtedly very good; she had finally vented her anger. However, having devoted half her life to Buddhism, recalling Yu Mei's incessant sobbing in the hall earlier, she also felt a pang of pity and said:
"Although the child is innocent, who knows what kind of trouble will result from Qi Rou'er raising the child in this way..."
Seeing this, Zhu Ling couldn't help but speak up as well:
"Madam, you are too kind-hearted. Today, this mother and daughter were clearly putting on an act in front of the master, and they still insisted on having that bowl of mutton in front of the young lady. What kind of impoverished family do they come from that they have never even eaten a bowl of mutton before, and they have to go out of their way to beg for it? If the young lady does not give it to them, they will probably cry and make a scene, saying that we are mistreating our guests and that we will not even spare a little child!"
After speaking, she looked at Lin Xu with eyes full of admiration:
"Miss is so clever! Since the little girl wants to eat, our Miss will fill her bowl to the brim and make sure she eats her fill! I'm sure she'll never dare to do such ridiculous tricks in the manor again!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Yue smiled slightly, but after a couple of light laughs, she suddenly coughed. Her personal maid, Hua Mei, couldn't help but look worried and gently patted Lan Yue's back.
She covered her mouth with her embroidered handkerchief, coughed a few times before gradually calming down, and looked up to see Gao Youyi and Lin Xu both looking at her with concern. She couldn't help but smile.
"It's nothing serious, thank you for your concern, Madam and Miss. It's probably just from catching a chill a few nights ago. I should be fine after a few more days of rest."
The thrush glanced reproachfully at its master, seemingly hesitating for a long time before finally speaking:
"...Madam, you don't understand. It's not that our mistress was careless. It's clearly that Qi Shi, ever since she became pregnant, has continued to treat our mistress like before. Even though our mistress is now a person of status, Qi Shi, taking advantage of her pregnancy, often makes our mistress stand by and serve her at night. Even we servants find it extremely inappropriate!"
Gao Youyi had no idea about this matter before. Upon hearing Huamei's words, she looked at Lanyue, who looked sickly. She noticed that Lanyue was unusually thin, and her usually beautiful and quiet face now showed signs of illness.
The thrush then muttered softly:
"But our mistress never complains. Even when she was injured by the Qi family, she just tried to make peace. I see this every day, and even though I feel sorry for her, I don't know where to complain!"
Seeing the resentment on Huamei's face when she mentioned the Qi family, Lanyue couldn't help but speak up to stop her: "Huamei."
She raised her eyes and glanced at Gao Youyi's concerned gaze, her lips curving upwards with a hint of bitterness.
"You are not allowed to complain to the madam and young lady."
She lowered her head, a few strands of hair falling across her cheeks. Under the bright light in the hall, her cheeks appeared slightly sunken. Compared to her former slender and graceful figure, she now looked like nothing more than a frail frame.
The wide sleeves of her cloak slid down further as she raised her hand to cover her mouth, revealing half of her arm. And on that fair wrist, there were clearly faint bluish marks.
"This is......?"
Gao Youyi reacted quickly and grabbed Lan Yue's arm.
However, although the bluish-purple mark was covered with snow-white powder, after Gao Youyi touched it for a moment, an even more horrifying wound was revealed.
His entire arm was covered in bruises and welts, a truly shocking sight. The wounds were even closely connected, as if new injuries had just begun to heal from old ones.
Lan Yue tried to dodge, but Gao Youyi's usually cheerful and dignified face now showed anger. She grabbed Lan Yue's arm and wouldn't let go, asking:
"Tell me honestly, is this all because you suffered so much at the hands of Qi Shi?"
.
Inside the side hall of Yilan Garden, a faint fragrance of blended incense swirled and lingered along with the warm candlelight.
Qi Rou'er took off her outer garment. After a day of exhaustion, she collapsed onto the soft brocade hibiscus couch without even having time to wash up.
Yu Mei, with her hair tied in two pigtails, was lying by the couch, happily playing with a horse head made of bamboo strips.
Qi Rou'er glanced at Hai Ping, who was sitting by the window in the distance, holding a book and carefully reciting his lessons. She couldn't help but sigh.
As if sensing her gaze, Hai Ping, who was muttering to himself while reciting his lessons, turned around and looked at Qi Rou'er, who looked exhausted, and couldn't help but ask:
"Mother, did Ping'er disturb you?"
Qi Rou'er shook her head, but felt extremely bitter inside.
During dinner tonight, she was not unaware of the undisguised disdain on the faces of the others. It was one thing for the masters, but even the maidservants around Madam Gao dared to speak up against her, and even made sarcastic remarks about the lack of manners of the children she had raised.
She wanted nothing more than to slap that girl a few times! If it weren't for important matters requiring her attention, she wouldn't have tolerated it so relentlessly…
Now that she was living under someone else's roof, even if she had unspeakable suffering, Qi Rou'er had no choice but to swallow all her bitterness.
Seeing that she was deep in thought, Haiping spoke up:
"Is Mother uncomfortable here? Actually, Haiping doesn't like it here either. Why don't we say goodbye to Aunt tomorrow and return to Jiangzhou?"
It's just a child's nature after all. Qi Rou'er looked at Haiping's sensible face with pity, gestured for her son to come to her side, and shook her head with a wry smile.
“My son is such a sensible and considerate child. I am so happy to see how filial you are.”
She looked out the window and couldn't help but sigh.
"But I can't leave right now. Your aunt is about to give birth, and I have to stay here to help her. Haiping is also going to have a little nephew soon. Are you happy?"
Qi Rou'er gently stroked her son's nose, but Hai Ping shook his head with a gloomy expression.
How did Mother know that Aunt had given birth to a nephew?
Qi Rou'er smiled without saying a word, glancing at Yu Mei who was having a great time playing nearby.
The little guy had just finished drinking the bowl of dark, simmered medicine right under the maid's nose, and then vomited up all of his meager dinner.
Just moments ago she was in so much pain, but now she's playing around without a care in the world. Seeing her daughter being wronged, her heart ached even more.
Haiping thought for a moment and then asked:
"Then, Mother, can we go back to Jiangzhou after my nephew is born?"
Qi Rou'er looked into her son's eyes, which shone brightly in the candlelight, and was about to speak when she heard hurried, light footsteps rushing towards her from the doorway.
It was the young maidservant who had been temporarily assigned to take care of her. The maidservant was pale, clearly having rushed over in a hurry. She had only just caught her breath, clutching her stomach, when she rushed towards Qi Rou'er in a panic:
"Madam Qi, something terrible has happened!"
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