Shangguan Tianlin casually pointed to a servant and sat down in the armchair with an air of authority: "Go to the storeroom and get a few plasters to give to Miss Qin."
Sister-in-law Liu's mood brightened, and she smiled broadly, saying, "As expected, Brother Tianlin is the most sensible. My sister is just a woman who can't see into the inner workings of the family, so it's no wonder she's a bit clueless. It's only because men are more magnanimous!"
Although Qin was still somewhat displeased, she ultimately said nothing. It was just a few plasters; there was no need to offend Lin'er.
Qin Yuwei bit her lower lip shyly and said, "Thank you, Brother Tianlin." With his support, she felt more confident.
Sister-in-law Liu winked at her. "I told you so! Once he sees you and spends a few more hours with you, he'll definitely be completely captivated by you!"
Now, isn't it all for your sake that he dares to go against his mother's wishes?
Satisfied, Sister Liu returned to the hall and sat down, waiting for the servant who had brought the medicine to come back.
She glanced at Tianyun, who was standing obediently, and suppressed her disdain, saying leisurely, "Sister, it's time to start planning for Tianyun's marriage. In a few months, she'll be of marriageable age and a young lady! There's a time and place for this kind of complacency. I think you should let her go to the Hundred Flowers Banquet to gain experience, show her face, and broaden her horizons. How long can she rely solely on her looks to please others?"
Even courtesans can play the zither and dance; are the daughters of the Siye Mansion destined to be decadent?
The hall was very quiet, and no one paid any attention to her except for the crackling and sputtering of sparks from the charcoal stove in the center. Not minding that she was making a fool of herself, Sister Liu continued.
"Tianyun, I will not take back the promise my aunt made. As long as you make it to the semi-finals, I will present you with the Phoenix Tail Zither with both hands. I mean what I say."
This is just a small token of my aunt's affection. I only hope that you can be more ambitious and not be outdone by that brat from Wei County. That would be a huge embarrassment!" After saying this, Sister-in-law Liu covered her mouth and laughed sarcastically.
His words were sincere, but it would have been even better if his eyes hadn't revealed the deep sarcasm hidden beneath.
Qin Yuwei only got sixteenth place, and she could brag about it for half a year! Now she's urging Yun'er to go to the banquet, not to see Yun'er fail, but to pretend to give her a broken zither? Qin Shi's forehead twitched with suppressed anger, and she didn't yell at her.
"Sister-in-law, you should take care of your own family matters first. My Yun'er doesn't need your concern."
Sister-in-law Liu's lips twitched a few times, and she said without any guilt, "I meant well, sister, there's no need to be so harsh with me."
Qin was furious, but she couldn't find a way to refute Qin Yuwei, since Qin Yuwei was indeed very outstanding and Qin couldn't find anything to criticize.
Tianyun looked at his mother's flushed face and patted her on the back reassuringly: "It's so kind of you, Aunt. Since you're so considerate of me, I'll do as you say and attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet."
It would be wrong of her as a daughter to make her mother swallow her anger, so there's nothing wrong with her going to the banquet.
Sister-in-law Liu smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits: "That's right! What does ranking matter? The important thing is to take this step. If you don't understand anything, just ask your sister Yuwei. Given the friendship between your brother and our Yuwei, our two families don't need to be so formal."
"..." Shangguan Tianlin straightened his legs and sat up straight: "Please don't! Aunt's words have really defined me, it's too much for me. I've barely spoken to Miss Qin, how could we have any relationship?"
Don't try to push your daughter into my arms, I can't handle it.
Qin Yuwei's smile faded slightly, puzzled by his sudden change in attitude: "Brother Tianlin... what does this mean?" Just now, Shangguan Tianlin was perfectly fine, but as soon as Pu appeared, he immediately sent a servant to fetch medicine for her. Isn't this a sign that he cares about her?
“The literal meaning.” Shangguan Tianlin flicked the charcoal dust off his clothes, narrowed his eyes and stared at her, saying, “Isn’t that right? Putting aside our childhood games, I’ve only met you twice. In the middle of that time, I was tied up and we didn’t even exchange more than a few words.”
With a pale face, Sister Liu twisted her embroidered handkerchief in her hands and said urgently, "Then why were you in such a hurry to send the servant to fetch medicine? Do you dare to say that you have no selfish motives towards my Yuwei?"
Shangguan Tianlin chuckled dismissively.
“Aunt, you misunderstand. Miss Qin gave me a painting of eight horses. As the saying goes, it is only right to reciprocate. I should give something in return. Although it is just some cheap plasters, it cannot compare to the sentiment of Miss Qin’s hand-painted gift. But it is still a fashionable item that is hard to buy with a lot of money these days.”
He paused for a moment, then said, “If Miss Qin feels she has been cheated, then name your price. I will make up the difference with the money. We will not be greedy for such a small advantage. The price will be whatever amount of money is due. I will pay it.”
How dare you come to my house and mock my sister? Are you out of your mind?
Qin Yuwei's face turned ashen, and the joy in her eyes gradually disappeared. These were the words she had just spoken to Shangguan Tianyun, and now Shangguan Tianlin was returning them to her verbatim.
He showed no pity for himself whatsoever.
With tears in her eyes and feeling utterly ashamed and indignant, Qin Yuwei said, "I don't care about your money. Give me the ointment, and we'll leave right now!"
Just then, the servant who had gone to fetch the medicine returned and handed over the plaster with both hands.
Aunt Liu snatched the ointment from her hand and glared at Shangguan Tianlin fiercely: "What do you mean?! We just want a few patches of ointment, we don't need to be treated like this by you. Yuwei, let's go. I was blind to bring you to such a petty family. We dare not visit again!"
After saying that, he grabbed Qin Yuwei and started to leave.
"That's great! I've been wanting to stop serving them for ages. Who do they think they are, coming here to point fingers at me like distant relatives they haven't seen in ages!" This time, Madam Qin was furious. She chased them to the gate and ordered the servants to close it, out of sight, out of mind: "If they come again, don't open the door. Otherwise, they'll receive twenty lashes as punishment. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Madam." The servants, like weak, pitiful, and helpless quails, huddled to the side, not daring to provoke their master's bad luck.
The two adults argued until their faces turned red, completely breaking off all pretense of civility.
Qin was so angry that her chest heaved. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she managed a smile: "If we don't want to go, we don't have to. There's no need to be provoked by her. Anyway, she has no good intentions. It's not worth arguing with her."
"Don't worry, Mother, I didn't mean to make things difficult for myself. I know what I'm doing." Even though she was furious, she didn't forget to reassure herself first. Tianyun was enveloped in a warm current and said, "I won't let Mother down."
Shangguan Tianlin is practically a hidden sister-complex!
Upon hearing this, he frowned and said, "You just need to stand on the stage. Leave the voting to me. I will never let you lose face."
Such domineering and childish words made Tianyun laugh uncontrollably.
"Okay, with you saying that, I'm not afraid of anything!"
Madam Qin couldn't help but chuckle. Her two children were her pride and she wouldn't tolerate any slander from others.
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