Chapter 718 You can!
There was silence in the room for a long time before Tang Ning walked up to Zhou Yuchang.
"Sister Yuchang, I brought you to see them not to say that what you've been through is insignificant, nor to mock your previous suicide attempt. I simply wanted to tell you that life presents many different kinds of suffering, but there's no hurdle that you can't overcome."
"Agou and the others can survive and live well, so can you."
Zhou Yuchang looked up at Tang Ning in a daze: "Can I?"
Her eyes were confused, revealing a hint of anxiety and hope, like a drowning person struggling desperately to surface, trying to grab the driftwood that was so close that it could save her life.
Tang Ning placed his hand on her shoulder, gently embraced her and said without hesitation: "You can do it."
"A woman's purity isn't the only measure of her chastity. Take Aunt Rui, for example. Many people consider her past filthy and despised, but do you think she's good? In the eyes of these children, and in the eyes of A'ru and the others, she's the purest, kindest, and most tender-hearted woman."
"She can't decide her own origins, and she can't erase her past, but she can fight to break free and make her future the way she wants it."
Tang Ning looked at the woman in front of him, her eyes were red and watery.
She spoke each word with great seriousness.
"You are Zhou Yuchang. You are not only the daughter of Marquis Wenxin, nor are you just the future wife of He Jia Sanlang. You can have a broader world."
"You should know that I want to open a women's academy. You can come and be a female teacher. With your knowledge and talent, you can educate those women from the lower classes. When you have many students everywhere and countless girls call you sir and come to learn from you, who will care about your past or the suffering you didn't endure voluntarily?"
"Even if they spit on someone, they will only spit on the person who hurt you."
"Sister Yuchang, this mistake has nothing to do with you."
Tang Ning was just like when Xiao Yan stroked her head and told her in a gentle voice that the pain she had experienced and the embarrassment and distress inflicted by others had nothing to do with her.
She stroked Zhou Yuchang's hair and told her that these sufferings were not her fault.
Every word she said carried the power to soothe people, slowly wetting Zhou Yuchang's broken heart.
Zhou Yuchang's eyes were red and tears kept falling.
After a while, she put her arms around Tang Ning's waist and leaned against her, crying softly.
…
"Aunt Rui, why is Sister Achang crying?" Niu Xiaozhou poked his head out curiously.
Aunt Rui held the empty bowl of dumplings and glanced at Zhou Yuchang who was crying in suppressed voice.
Although she didn't know whose daughter this Ah Chang was, her haggard and lifeless appearance when she came earlier, and the white cloth wrapped tightly around her neck with some blood stains, made her guess that this girl must have experienced something bad.
Tang Ning brought her here, probably to cheer her up, so she didn't stop them from coming to see Agou, and also tried her best to make the girl happy.
Aunt Rui used to see young girls trying to commit suicide in brothels, and also saw people who died young from suppressing their pain. People like Zhou Yuchang who had experienced great things would develop serious problems if they kept suppressing their pain in their hearts. It was good to be able to cry, cry and vent, life had to go on.
Seeing the naughty boy next to him peeking over there, he even wanted to sneak over to watch the fun.
Aunt Rui reached out and grabbed his ear: "What are you looking at? Why would a man pry into a girl's affairs?"
"I'm not a man, I'm only five years old..."
As soon as Aunt Rui exerted force, Niu Xiaozhou immediately stood on tiptoe and screamed.
"Ouch, it hurts..."
"It's good that you know it hurts!"
Aunt Rui pulled the person away and didn't let go until they had walked a little further out. "I don't care if you're five or ten, you're not a little girl anymore. Hurry up and eat your dumplings! You're like a little radish now, and if you don't eat properly, you might not grow tall in the future!"
Niu Xiaozhou jumped up and down: "I won't do that! I will be like Sister Aning's husband, taller and more handsome than him!"
Aunt Rui raised her eyebrows when she heard this and glanced up and down at the little carrot-head in front of her. Then she thought of Xiao Yan's tall and handsome figure that stood out from the crowd, and said "tsk" in her mouth: "Just you?"
There are few people in the whole capital who are taller than Xiao Yan. Occasionally, someone taller than him appears but not as handsome as him. That person looks like an immortal walking out of a painting. It would be distracting if you look at him for too long. This boy is short, fat and has a pitted face. How can he think of being taller and more handsome than others?
Forget it, it’s better to dream quickly.
…
After Zhou Yuchang cried bitterly, she became more energetic. Although her face was still pale, there was light in her eyes again.
When Tang Ning brought her back to the kitchen, Aunt Rui seemed not to notice her red eyes. She just knocked on the edge of the pot and said loudly: "You two, come and eat the dumplings quickly, or they will become clumpy if you don't eat them now."
“Here I come!”
The Jishan Hall was small, and almost all of it was converted into living quarters for the children. Only a small room was used as a study, and there was no dedicated place for a dining table. Aunt Rui simply built a small shelf in the kitchen and placed a wooden board on it, which served as a dining table.
Tang Ning pulled Zhou Yuchang over and sat on a small stool.
Aunt Rui scooped a full bowl for the two of them and filled a small basin for herself. After putting it on the table, she said, "Eat more. It's not good-looking for a little girl to be too skinny!"
Zhou Yuchang usually doesn't have a big appetite, and she hasn't been eating well for a while. She originally thought that she couldn't eat so many dumplings.
But when she lowered her head, she was stunned for a moment. The "dumplings" in her bowl had almost been cooked into noodle soup. The dough was cooked soft, the filling inside had spread out, and the soup looked sticky. It didn't look very good, but there were probably only five or six dumplings in the whole bowl.
Zhou Yuchang glanced at Tang Ning's bowl beside her. It was normal dumplings, and so was Aunt Rui's bowl. She turned her head to look at the flames that had not yet gone out in the kitchen, and then looked at the pot that was still boiling. She knew that her bowl of "dumplings" was specially made by Aunt Rui.
Her eyes felt sore and she almost cried, so she quickly lowered her head to hide them.
Aunt Rui knocked on the edge of the basin with her chopsticks: "What are you looking at? Eat quickly, or it will get cold soon."
Zhou Yuchang said with a heavy nasal voice: "Okay."
…
After eating the dumplings, the children in the yard came over to clean up the dishes. Zhou Yuchang felt warm in her stomach and looked at Tang Ning who was talking in a low voice with Aunt Rui not far away.
Tang Ning instructed Aunt Rui on some things and gave her a few banknotes.
Aunt Rui didn't refuse. After putting it away, she said to Tang Ning, "Everything is fine here at Jishantang. A'ru always sends people to take care of it. Madam Qian and Madam Rongguo also come over occasionally. Don't worry about us. Take good care of yourself."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com