Chapter 59: It turns out that the front is all paved, and the latter sentence is the comment
It was several days ago that Cheng excitedly went to see the old lady.
Although the old lady had forbidden Chaoxia from inquiring about what had happened, Cheng had just said she was afraid of a bad illness, and then she came to her with a letter, full of energy and pleading. The old lady had already understood something. She thought to herself that moving Songying to the east courtyard was a wise move.
Cheng did her utmost to praise her niece, whom she hadn't seen in years, from head to toe. "Mother, do you remember? Many years ago, my cousin came back to Beijing to visit relatives and brought Jinniang with her. Back then, Jinniang was already as exquisite as a carved jade. After all these years, she must have become even more outstanding."
The old lady just looked at the letter handed to her by Cheng and turned a deaf ear to her words.
Only when Cheng finally stopped talking did the old lady take her eyes off the letter. Her gaze was as sharp as a torch as she asked, "The meaning of your cousin's letter is clear as day. Have you really made up your mind?"
Cheng hadn't expected her mother-in-law to reveal her true feelings. She smiled wryly and said, "The letter said that if she wasn't interested, she could stay for a year and then return. After all, she was educated in the capital, which is better than staying in western Fujian forever."
"Aren't you worried that having more people at home will affect Heng'er's exam preparation?"
The old lady's voice deepened, her eyes stern. When Ying'er first arrived, Cheng had been complaining to her, intentionally or unintentionally. Now her niece had arrived, and it was clear she was coming for Heng'er. Wasn't she worried that Heng'er would be affected this time?
This question touched upon a sore spot for Cheng, and her own son turned away. With a tone of anger and resentment, and a hint of sarcasm, she replied, "Brother Heng said long ago that having another relative living in the mansion wouldn't distract him. To do so would be to underestimate his ten years of hard study."
As she spoke, Cheng muttered, "There's already one in the mansion, what's the harm in having another one?"
It's just that her voice was so soft that the old lady didn't hear it clearly.
The old lady sighed and said, "You, as a mother, have no objections, so I, as a grandmother, have even less to say. But I still say that if you are truly satisfied with Jinniang in the future, everything will be clarified after Heng'er's Spring Examination."
Seeing her mother-in-law relent, Cheng readily agreed, "Of course, don't worry, mother-in-law. I'm Heng'er's mother. How could I, knowing he's so diligently preparing for the exam, do something that would distract him?"
"Besides, no matter how good Jinniang is, she's not the best choice. Mother, do you remember Madam Xu, whom we met outside the Bodhi Temple that day?"
Cheng didn't want her mother-in-law to think she was just protecting her niece, so she told her what she was thinking: "Heng'er will have great ambitions in the future, and having a Yue family who can help him is the most important thing."
What Jinniang? She was just a tool to deal with Rong's niece. Heng'er hadn't seen much, but when Jinniang arrived, he knew that Su Ying wasn't the only one in the world who possessed both beauty and talent. Heng'er was intelligent, but the three years of mourning had limited his perspective. He would see more in the future, and it wouldn't be so strange anymore.
After hearing this, the old lady finally looked Cheng in the eye and nodded, saying, "That's true. You're really smart when you're smart, and really stupid when you're stupid. Now that you know what's going on, you should be even more cautious about your niece's affairs. If you neglect Miss Xu and neglect one thing for the other, it will be more trouble than it's worth."
Hearing her mother-in-law agree with her, Cheng couldn't help but feel a little proud. She said, "Don't worry, daughter-in-law. To be honest, they are picking on us too. Anyway, Jinniang is staying here for a year under the pretext of taking care of me. Whether she stays or leaves in the future, there will be no reason for criticism."
"Okay, let's do as you say. In that case, let Jinniang spend the next year with you, and leave the trivial matters in the mansion to Ruolan."
The old lady's tactic of equivalent exchange made Cheng's words stuck in her throat.
Her mother-in-law had already agreed to her request. However, she had not expected that her original plan to take charge of the household affairs once Xue Yuan and the others' lawsuit was settled would be rejected by her mother-in-law.
Who would have thought that she gained sesame seeds and lost watermelon at the same time.
No, Jinniang is not a sesame seed, she is her future weapon to deal with Su Ying and Rong family. As long as Jinniang can surpass Su Ying, Heng Ge'er will know that there is always someone better than you.
When he passed the imperial examination and married his new wife, Rong would eventually return to her side courtyard. By then, even if Heng Ge'er stood in her way, she would still be the legitimate mother-in-law. With her daughter-in-law's support, she would still have the final say in the future.
Cheng looked at her mother-in-law who had the final say, and it seemed as if she saw herself a year later. She no longer felt any resentment in her heart. Instead, to the old lady's surprise, she bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, I will obey you in everything."
By the time Wanyi handed Du Heng's comments to Su Ying, it was already after the New Year.
These days, Su Ying wanted to take advantage of her free time to quickly check all the books so she could start categorizing them after the New Year. So she stayed in the library.
Wanyi couldn't see her, so she had no choice but to personally deliver the comments to the library. But she felt a little guilty. Even though she thought her brother's handwriting was a perfect imitation of her own, she still had to give it some time. Otherwise, if she finished the comments in just a few days, wouldn't Sister Ying'er be suspicious? How could she, who always needed to spend time on her homework, have such divine help this time?
Finally, after Su Ying finished her initial review, she remembered the critique and called Wanyi over. Since Mr. Bai hadn't specified a length limit, she avoided her usual lengthy discussion. Instead, she briefly pointed out the text's strengths and offered a few contrasting perspectives. In short, to her, this was just a clichéd response.
She originally thought Wanyi was just treating the comments as part of her homework, but who knew that she was so attentive that she even used a new notebook to write them down.
She kept praising Wanyi for her thoughtfulness, but Wanyi blushed and shook her head modestly, saying, "No, no! Yes, brother, oh no, I just happened to have a new booklet, so I picked it up and used it."
Normally, Wanyi would always chat with her for a while before reluctantly leaving, but today, she just put down the booklet and the article and was about to leave. She was so anxious that she even forgot to take the review written by Su Ying.
"Sister Ying'er, I still have some embroidery work that my mother asked me to do, so I'll be leaving now. Um, the review, I did write it myself. It's not good, you can revise it."
So you were hesitant and shy because you were afraid that your writing was not good?
Su Ying smiled and said, "Comments, comments, are all about expressing one's own opinions. There is no right or wrong, and it has nothing to do with good or bad."
She did not force Wanyi to stay. If there was needlework to be done, it would be better to let Wanyi go. Although she was not good at embroidery, she knew the hardship of needlework.
After watching Wanyi leave, she sat down at the desk and opened the booklet.
The first page was Wanyi's comments, which showed that she had read her vulgar essay carefully. Her comments were well-organized and even a little too complimentary, which made Su Ying laugh.
She didn't know why Wanyi was shy. In her opinion, this comment was excellent according to Mr. Bai's requirements.
It seemed that the comments only lasted for this page. She was about to close the book when she found some ink marks on the back of the page. She turned the page to check and found that there were indeed a few unfinished words.
"Unfortunately, the author's own ideas are not reflected in the article. It is like a parrot imitating others. Although the writing is well-organized, it seems a bit fake and lacks sincerity."
Su Ying suddenly laughed. It turned out that the previous part was just the preparation, and the latter part was the review.
When did Wanyi become so naughty?
So, she was embarrassed and anxious to leave?
Su Ying didn't feel annoyed, nor did she find Wanyi's parrot-like and slightly hypocritical words offensive. The article she had written was just to get the job done, and the pedantic tone of the whole article even made her feel a little uncomfortable.
But she didn't expect that Wanyi actually held the same idea as her. She thought that they had been together for a long time and had the same thoughts as sisters, so she was in a good mood and started to grind ink and write, not wanting to let Wanyi down.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
