On the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Tian An woke up early in the morning, he received visiting invitations from the housekeeper from the six families of Gu, Wei, Song, Zuo, Wu, and Qin, saying that they would come to visit at noon.
She thought Zuo Yunshu and the others had made an appointment to come to her house for dinner!
As a result, when she saw Gu Jinyan's mother, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, as well as the mothers of Wei Lingran, Song Zhiyun, and Zuo Yunshu at noon, she was confused.
What's going on? Can someone explain it to her?
Kristy Wu and Qin Yalan also looked confused. Because the mothers of several families were there, they were somewhat restrained in their words and actions, and were not as free and unrestrained as usual.
Mrs. Gu was not surprised to see the other ladies, as they were probably all here for the same purpose. After greeting each other, she started talking to Tian An.
Mrs. Gu smiled and teased, "It's been a while since we last met. Miss An'an has become even more beautiful." She then pretended to be angry and said, "You haven't come to visit your aunt's house since you came to the capital. Jinrui is almost a year old, and he's been waiting at home for his sister An'an, but she can't come."
Thinking of Gu Jinrui's child, Tian An's smile widened. She had delivered him herself. "Actually, An An has been wanting to come and bother you for a long time. I have so much to do! Tomorrow is Jinrui's first birthday. I even remember it! I've already prepared the gifts. Even if Auntie doesn't come today, I will still shamelessly come tomorrow."
"Oh! That's because aunt is anxious."
The other three ladies also started to joke around, and the hall was filled with joy. The girls were also very comfortable.
When it was time for dinner, everyone moved to the flower hall. Fortunately, she had made preparations in advance, otherwise she would have made a fool of herself. Because Tian An wanted to entertain several ladies, the others had their meal in their own courtyard.
Tian Mingwu couldn't bear the loneliness and ran to his son's yard to eat together. While eating, he complained like a nagging woman about those ladies occupying his daughter, forcing him and his daughter to eat in two separate yards on the first day of the new year.
As the host, Tian An said politely, "These are just some home-cooked dishes. Aunts, please bear with me. Please forgive me if there are any shortcomings."
Madam Zuo looked at the delicious dishes on the table and said, "An An, you are too modest. The dishes you prepared are so pleasing to the eyes that I feel satisfied just by looking at them."
Then he looked at the other ladies and said, "If I eat too much today, please don't laugh at me, my sisters."
Mrs. Wei also smiled and said, "You said everything that was in my heart. The green vegetables on the table look very appetizing. I will have to eat more later."
…
After patiently waiting for the ladies to take turns praising her and the dishes, Tian An took over the conversation and said, "I'm glad you like it, aunts. Eat more later. If you like these vegetables, I'll have someone send some to your family tomorrow. If you want to eat vegetables in the future, don't hesitate to let me know. There will be plenty of vegetables."
Anyway, they brought her a lot of good things today, so she didn't lose out at all. For example, she had plenty of vegetables.
The ladies were not polite, "Thank you very much, An An."
There was nothing they could do. The vegetables grown on their farm just weren't as good as those grown on other farms. Ever since they had eaten the vegetables Tian An had sent them, the men in the family had actually started to become picky eaters.
But they also know the principle of reciprocity, and they would never let a little girl suffer any loss.
After talking for a long time, we could finally start eating. Fortunately, Tian An had the foresight to put hot water in containers under the dishes to keep them warm, so they were still warm after such a while.
At the dinner table, because there were several ladies present, the little girls all showed off what they had learned in their daily life, and their table manners were pleasing to the eye.
Tian An even put all the knowledge he had learned from Granny Qin into practice, earning the respect of the ladies. This wasn't some motherless country girl! Her aura was no less than that of a young lady from an aristocratic family!
After dinner and tea, the ladies finally revealed the real purpose of their visit.
Madam Zuo said with a guilty conscience, "An'an! Auntie has an unwelcome request. I wonder if you can agree to it?"
When she arrived, she knew that these ladies would not be so idle as to come and have dinner with a little girl like her for no reason.
Tian Anke didn't dare to be arrogant, and replied with a smile: "I don't know what you are talking about!"
Madam Zuo smiled and said, "It was during the palace banquet yesterday that His Majesty bestowed upon An An the position of a tutor. Auntie Xiao would like to ask her to give some advice to Yun Shu as well. I wonder if An An would agree."
So they were here for Madam Xiao! Zhao Yiming had explained everything to her last night. Madam Xiao was the nanny who fostered his mother, Princess Chaoyang.
She was very capable in teaching, and had always been the most sought-after tutor among the noble ladies of the capital. Unfortunately, since Princess Chaoyang's death, she had been at the Empress's side, making her difficult to retain. They naturally didn't want to miss Madam Xiao's appearance.
They wanted to ask Madam Xiao to teach their daughters, simply because they wanted to add a bright spot to their daughters' resumes to help with their future marriages.
Anyway, her marriage was already set, and the Emperor and Empress had tacitly approved it; this was just the icing on the cake for her. Zuo Yunshu and the others got along well with her and had good personalities, so she would be happy for them if they could marry well.
Then he looked at the other ladies and said, "Aunts, you are all here for the same thing, right?"
The ladies nodded, and Madam Song spoke up, "An'an, we aunts know this is a bit unreasonable, but for the sake of Zhiyun and the others' future, we are shamelessly coming here to make things difficult for you."
Tian An shook his head and said, "Look at what Auntie said. Although I haven't known Zhiyun and the others for a long time, we get along very well. It's not an exaggeration to say that we met too late. If they can study with me, I will have a companion. When they get better in the future, they will definitely remember my kindness today."
Mrs. Song nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course."
Tian An added: "It's just that this matter is nothing to me. But we still have to ask Madam Xiao and get her consent."
Madam Wei quickly said, "Of course, An An, you can just ask for us. Even if it doesn't work out, we can only blame Ling Ran and the others for not having that blessing, and we can't blame you."
Tian An nodded, and then asked Wu Yufei and Qin Yalan, "Sister Yufei and Sister Yalan, do you want to come together? Then ask together!"
Wu Yufei didn't know what happened last night. Her parents were not in the capital, and only her eldest brother had gone to the palace banquet. He didn't understand anything and didn't say anything when he came back. But after staying in the capital for a long time, she still knew about Xiao Ma's affairs. When Tian An asked her, she nodded repeatedly.
Although Qin Yalan knew nothing, seeing that several ladies had come in person, she knew it was a very good thing, so she nodded.
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