Chapter Fourteen
After finishing the roasted rabbit, Mr. Du drank a few sips of tea with satisfaction and said, "Today's question is, why do those men divorce their wives and marry women from prominent families?"
Actually, this question was a bit of a mystery to Yan Shujin and Yan Qiyu, because they had no idea about the situation outside. Yan Shujin glanced at Mr. Du, who was making tea, and she felt that there seemed to be something else behind the question he asked.
Yan Qiyu asked, "Sir, which families have divorced their wives and remarried?"
This question made Yan Shujin sit up straight. She realized that the key to Mr. Du's question was to give them a way to know about the outside world, but what was the question?
After Mr. Du finished answering Yan Qiyu's question, Yan Shujin asked, "Why don't you become an official, sir?"
Mr. Du was surprised that Yan Shujin would ask this question, and laughed, "I am not learned enough."
Yan Shujin felt that Mr. Du was lying to her. She puffed out her cheeks but didn't ask any more questions. Since Mr. Du didn't want to talk about it, there would be no point in asking. Mr. Du was very smart and had no ill intentions towards them. He was also trying his best to teach them.
Mr. Du said, "The daily calligraphy practice cannot be interrupted."
Yan Shujin and Yan Qiyu both agreed.
Mr. Du waved his hand and said, "Alright, go back and rest."
Yan Shujin and Yan Qiyu then left together.
Yan Qiyu asked, "Sister, do you think I'm too... too weak?"
Yan Shujin was taken aback and asked, "Why do you think that?"
Yan Qiyu was actually feeling a little sad. Even though his mother and sister hadn't told him, he still sensed something was wrong. Before seeing his father, he had expectations, but he wasn't expecting his father to have another child with another woman.
Although Grandma said she would make Father take good care of them, Grandma... Grandma hoped Father would have more children, even those children who weren't born to Mother. Although he felt that Grandma would still make Father take good care of them, and that Grandma loved them too, it was still different. Grandma would also love the children born to Father by other women.
Take my aunt, for example. She lost her own child and had to take care of her husband and another man's child. How heartbroken she must be! But my grandmother didn't object to my uncle having another woman have a child.
Yan Qiyu was somewhat confused, yet felt that he had figured out a lot.
Before he had a father, his mother and sister took care of him and treated him the best. Now that he has a father, it's still the same because his father has other women and children.
His mother, sister, and he only had each other left.
However, Yan Qiyu would not say these things, nor could he say them, because there were many other people around him. Those people were arranged by his father to take care of him. They took care of him and listened to him, but they listened to their father even more.
Yan Qiyu sighed like a little adult: "If we let those refugees into the town, even if I send people to patrol, wouldn't that put the town in a dangerous position?"
“Yes.” Yan Shujin did not comfort Yan Qiyu just because he was young. “The people in the town listen to you. When you make a decision, you have to be responsible for all of them. Little brother, you need to be able to tell who is the most important. Then you won’t do it again next time.”
Yan Qiyu walked along, thinking about Yan Shujin's words.
Yan Shujin pinched her younger brother's cheek and said, "In my heart, the most important thing is my family, followed by the people in the town, and lastly those who are suffering. So my first thought was to escape with my family, then how to get rid of the town's defenses, and finally the situation of the refugees."
Yan Qiyu seemed to understand.
Yan Shujin thought for a moment and said, "It's about drawing the place of everyone in your heart."
As she spoke, Yan Shujin asked Yan Qiyu to extend her hand. She drew a small circle on Yan Qiyu's palm: "This is the most important person to you." She drew a slightly larger circle outside the small one, "These are the people you consider to be relatively important. The rest are others."
"Always keep the most important people in your heart." Yan Shujin instructed, "The stupidest thing is to make your own family suffer for the sake of outsiders. If you dare to do it, I'll beat you up."
Yan Qiyu nodded vigorously, remembering Yan Shujin's words. Yan Shujin said that if she hit him, she really would hit him, and it would hurt a lot.
Yan Shujin then smiled and led Yan Qiyu back.
Yan Qiyu looked at her sister and sighed, "Sis, when will I grow taller?"
"Eat more," Yan Shujin said. "Now that we have money at home, we can have the kitchen make chicken soup for us. It will help us grow taller."
Yan Qiyu nodded: "Okay."
When Yan Shujin and Yan Qiyu arrived at the main courtyard, Yan Zhili had already returned and was talking to Liu Qin.
Madam Yan had a lot of bird's nest and similar things sent over. She didn't really know much about them, but after learning that her daughter-in-law was taking medicine to improve her health and give birth to a grandson, she specifically asked the imperial physician what kind of food would be good for Liu Qin. Then she asked Chen Qiu to pack it up and send it to Liu Qin.
These things were left in the palace for the women to eat. Chen Qiu packed up almost all the good ones and gave them to Liu Qin, since the two of them were closer. In addition, knowing that Yan Shujin and Yan Qiyu were studying with their teacher, she also had a lot of fine writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and calligraphy by famous calligraphers prepared. Whether they were useful or not, anything precious enough was sent over.
When Yan Zhili saw his two children, he smiled and waved, saying, "Slow down, don't run and fall."
Yan Qiyu called out "Dad" and then stood obediently to the side.
Yan Shujin looked at Yan Zhili with sparkling eyes and asked, "Dad, are you tired today?"
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