Qiu Lingyan lay face down on the table, burying her head even deeper.
She never expected that the shameful things she thought she had covered up so well would become public knowledge without her knowledge.
"So what's wrong with you today?" Zhu sat down beside her and gently patted her back.
Qiu Lingyan pouted: "I just saw Jia Yu get off Song Jiangmei's carriage, and the two of them were chatting happily..."
It was one thing for Liu Yasheng to be snatched away by Song Jiangmei, but now that Song Jiangmei was going to snatch Zhu Jiayu away too, Qiu Lingyan felt really wronged.
Madam Zhu frowned. She knew her daughter was spoiled, but she hadn't expected her to be so clueless at such an advanced age. She couldn't help but reach out and poke her forehead again: "How could I have given birth to such a stupid daughter?"
“I didn’t approve of you two when you were together before. After I found out that he was a bad person, I tried every means to break you up, but I didn’t dare to go too far, for fear that you would cry and make a scene with me and your brother later. If it weren’t for Song Jiangmei, I really wouldn’t know what to do with you.”
"It takes two to tango. You blame Song Jiangmei for stealing your sweetheart, but why don't you think about what kind of person your sweetheart is, and why Song Jiangmei could just snatch him away with a flick of her wrist?"
"It's no use blaming yourself or the person who interfered in your relationship. You need to understand that it's because you have poor judgment in judging people that you gave him the opportunity to hurt you. Even without Song Jiangmei, there might have been other women in the future."
“I…I know,” Qiu Lingyan murmured.
Ever since Jia Yu threw down that teacup at the Golden Pavilion, she realized that Liu Yasheng didn't like anyone else; he only liked himself.
Therefore, when faced with greater temptations, he could abandon himself, and when his life was threatened, he could abandon Song Jiangmei.
Later, when she saw him down and out, and repeatedly tried to apologize and beg Song Jiangmei to make amends, but Song Jiangmei always looked at him with that contemptuous and mean gaze, she admitted that she felt a sense of vengeful pleasure.
She no longer hated Song Jiangmei; on the contrary, she was grateful to her for letting her see Liu Yasheng's true colors early on.
"If Jia Yu hadn't intervened, would you have known?"
After all, she was the daughter she had raised herself. Zhu Shi could see right through her with just a glance. She gently stroked her daughter's hair and said earnestly:
"Instead of feeling wronged, why don't you think about why Jia Yu should associate with Song Jiangmei? It's always better to have more friends than more enemies, don't you think?"
Qiu Lingyan looked at her mother in confusion. She had never thought of this possibility. In her mind, Song Jiangmei had done something to wrong her. Although she would not confront her directly, she was destined not to be friends with her.
"Still too young," Zhu thought to herself, and said gently, "There are no eternal enemies, but there are eternal interests. Ling'er, you should grow up. I know you may be very sad, but ultimately, Jia Yu is not wrong in this matter."
"You and she are just cousins, and your relationship isn't even that close. It hasn't been built up over time, so you can't interfere in her life or restrict her friendships. Be sad for one more night, and remember to apologize to Jia Yu when you wake up tomorrow morning. She has a good temper and won't hold it against you."
"You don't want to lose her either, right?"
Qiu Lingyan nodded and held her mother's hand: "It's all my fault, making you come all this way so late."
"What are you saying? As long as you are safe and happy, your mother is willing to do anything." Madam Zhu covered her hand and patted it. "Alright, since everything is alright, I should go back and rest now. After you go to see Jia Yu tomorrow, remember to carefully review the account books. I will be testing you at the beginning of the month."
Qiu Lingyan reluctantly agreed, escorted her to the courtyard, and then turned back into the house.
The next day, Zhu Jiayu received Qiu Lingyan's apology as expected: "I didn't mean to be so mean to you yesterday. I just found it hard to accept how close you two were. I'm so sorry. Are you angry with me?"
Zhu Jiayu was embroidering when she heard this. Without looking up, she said, "You don't seem like the type to figure things out so quickly."
Qiu Lingyan's cheeks flushed: "It was yesterday... my mother talked to me attentively for a long time..."
Zhu Jiayu nodded knowingly: "I wouldn't be angry. I know what you're thinking, but cousin, it's good to live life to the fullest, but making too many enemies isn't a good thing either. Besides, it's always better to be on good terms with someone like Song Jiangmei than to be enemies, right?"
“You are intolerant of any flaws and are upright, but too much rigidity leads to breakage. I can’t stay in Heling forever. After I’m gone, Song Jiangmei will help you out, which is a good thing.”
Qiu Lingyan looked at her with emotion: "So you were thinking of me all along. How foolish I was to almost let you down."
Zhu Jiayu: ...?
Although Zhu Jiayu didn't know how she was thinking of her, since she had said so, she would just take it as such.
"My second brother and fourth brother are going to the academy soon. Although Mother specifically told me yesterday to stay home and keep an eye on the accounts, if you want to go out and have fun, we can use the excuse of sending them to the academy to go for a stroll in the streets," Qiu Lingyan suggested, her eyes darting around.
Zhu Jiayu has been in Heling for so long, but they haven't had a proper chance to explore. There's always something going on, and Qiu Lingyan has been bothered by this for a long time.
So now that she has a chance, she wants to persuade Zhu Jiayu to go out with him.
Zhu Jiayu shook her head, put down the embroidery hoop in her hand, and straightened Qiu Lingyan's slightly crooked collar: "Since your aunt asked you to look at the account book, you should take a good look at it. There will always be time when you go out for a stroll, there is no need to rush. But if you don't take a good look at the account book, and your aunt gets angry, I'm afraid it won't be a short time."
Five parts of her words were genuine. The remaining five parts weren't because she didn't want to go out with Qiu Lingyan, but because just before Qiu Lingyan arrived, Qiu Weiming's servant had invited her, saying that Qiu Weiming was painting and wanted her to come and appraise it after it was finished.
But if they really wanted her to appreciate it, why make her come all this way? It's more likely that under the guise of appreciation, they're actually trying to give her a test. Zhu Jiayu thought that Qiu Zhuqing had probably already told Qiu Weiming about their conversation yesterday, and Qiu Weiming's reason for asking her to come today was to test her.
Although she told Song Jiangmei that intelligent people don't need to test each other, that was because she was confident she could win Song Jiangmei over. But now, with Qiu Weiming, she didn't know each other's true strength, so naturally, a lot of testing was needed.
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