Chapter 6 Letting the wolf into the house?
The last time Du Heng saw Su Ying at the corner gate, he had only glanced at her from afar. At the time, he felt that the girl from his second aunt's family was a little too self-deprecating. Even the most educated and well-mannered should know the difference between high and low, otherwise she would be looked down upon by those who didn't know the rules of etiquette.
Today was his younger sister Du Wanyi's fourteenth birthday, and he had come with his sister to pay his respects to Grandmother. As soon as he sat down behind the screen, he saw his second aunt leading Su Ying in.
Since entering the house, she has been following Second Aunt with her head lowered and in a reserved manner. Although her expression cannot be seen clearly through the screen, one can still glimpse her cautious look through the tiny lattice.
When her second aunt led her to pay her respects to her grandmother, she was slightly startled, then knelt down and kowtowed without even raising her head.
Then, a greeting voice came from the other side of the screen. As expected, her voice was as soft and delicate as her behavior, so weak that it could be bullied.
Du Heng sighed almost inaudibly and looked away, no longer looking over the screen until his grandmother called him out.
After stepping out from behind the screen, he respectfully greeted Second Aunt without looking around. Afterward, Second Aunt asked him to greet Su Ying. However, the way he addressed Su Ying wasn't as simple as with Wanyi, where they could simply call each other sisters. Clearly, there were more considerations to be taken into account.
Therefore, Second Aunt, who always knew how to act, still looked to Grandmother for advice wisely. Du Heng felt that Su Ying should act according to the circumstances like Second Aunt, instead of always showing weakness.
When their grandmother asked them to address each other as cousins, Du Heng deliberately took the initiative and called her by her full name: "Cousin Su Ying."
This kind of address is much more formal and polite than "Sister Ying" or "Cousin Ying'er", and more importantly, it shows more self-respect.
I just don't know if she can understand his intention?
Fortunately, she followed him and called him, "Cousin Du Heng."
Du Heng was satisfied that the boy was teachable, so he raised his head. However, the moment his eyes met hers, he suddenly froze.
He saw Su Ying in front of him, and she was not as weak as he had thought when she sat in front of the screen. Although her figure was like a delicate flower reflecting in the water or a weak willow swaying in the wind, her face was full of brilliance and elegance.
Du Heng was a little confused for a moment.
Su Ying also took the opportunity to look up and secretly glanced at Du Heng.
Honestly, he wasn't much different from her grandfather's students, but she still managed to find another good point about him. Besides his polite manners towards the women, he was also handsome and had a tall, slender figure. However, her grandfather's students were also well-mannered and talented, but she had never seen her grandfather favor a student because of their appearance or knowledge.
As for her aunt's determination to ensure that Du Heng passed the imperial examination, and the importance the entire Du family attached to him, Su Ying could only think that whoever's child is the treasure of the family, and that was the only way she could make sense.
Just as the two of them were looking at each other, each with their own thoughts, the mistress of the house, Madam Cheng, arrived late.
As people often say, what you fear will come to pass. As soon as Cheng stepped into the house, she saw Du Heng greeting a woman.
No one knows a son better than his mother. She noticed at a glance that Du Heng's expression changed slightly when he saw the woman.
Cheng's heart tightened, but she didn't show it on her face. She just smiled and said, "It's really lively in Mother's hall today."
As she spoke, she bowed to her mother-in-law, who was sitting at the main table. "I was just checking the accounts, so I'm a little late. Please forgive me, mother."
The old lady smiled and waved her hand: "You work hard for the family, what's the point of forgiving or not forgiving?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the seat on the lower right and motioned her to sit down.
Cheng didn't sit down immediately, but turned to look at Rong, who was sitting to the left of her mother-in-law. Rong had already stood up and said respectfully to her, "Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law."
Cheng smiled and said, "No matter how hard it is, it's all for this family."
The mother-in-law was truly partial. Though Cheng smiled, she snorted inwardly. Ordinary people say the left is the most honorable, and everyone knew that only she could sit to the mother-in-law's left. Today, with Rong's arrival, the mother-in-law's true feelings were revealed. When the second son was around, she favored him, and now that he's gone, she still favors his widowed daughter-in-law.
She didn't rush to sit down, but quietly walked between Du Heng and Su Ying, slightly sideways, and blocked her son. She looked at Su Ying and asked, "Who is this?"
Cheng was always thoughtful and deep-thinking. Rong understood what she was saying. Seeing her expression turn slightly cold, she took the initiative to speak: "This is my niece Su Ying. Ying'er, quickly pay your respects to the Madam."
From the moment Cheng entered the house, Su Ying sensed the aura of a mistress emanating from her. She couldn't help but recall her grandmother's instructions before her departure, and she understood even more deeply the meaning of her aunt's words yesterday. So she respectfully bowed to the First Madam and greeted her.
Cheng carefully examined Su Ying, who was bowing to her. This girl was indeed as Du Shun's family had said, from her figure to her appearance, even more beautiful than Rong's. Her heart sank, and she was filled with regret. She had been careless and had let a wolf into the house.
"Oh, good, good, very good."
Cheng had long been absent-minded. After a few perfunctory remarks, she decided to take a seat first before discussing anything else. However, as she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a familiar bracelet on her daughter Du Wanyi's wrist.
"Wanyi, what's this in your hand?"
"Mother, this is my birthday gift from my second aunt."
Du Wanyi had no idea what was going on in her mother's mind, and she happily showed her the pair of jade bracelets on her hand.
At this moment, Cheng's heart felt as if it was burned by a raging fire. She felt that the gentle and quiet Rong in front of her was actually a fox waiting for an opportunity. She used her niece to seduce her son, and won over her daughter in the name of birthday. Even her mother-in-law loved Rong but not her. Unknowingly, she had fallen into the trap that Rong had planned for a long time. Rong, you really have a good trick!
Who would have thought that the old lady had already seen Cheng's wonderful expression, which she thought was low-key. She thought that her eldest daughter-in-law was good in every way, but she was suspicious. Looking at her expression, she was probably already acting out a drama in her mind!
The old lady then coughed heavily and said, "What are you all standing there for? Come and take a seat."
Only then did Cheng withdraw her tangled thoughts and smiled, "It's my fault, I haven't prepared a gift for Miss Su yet!"
"Mother, please excuse me. I want to take Miss Su to my room to pick out some jewelry that suits her."
When Rong heard this, she hurriedly stopped him and said, "Sister-in-law, you are too polite. I gave Wanyi that bracelet today for her birthday."
Cheng said calmly, "Today is also the first time I've met Miss Su. How can I be so polite as to ask her to come with me to pick out a nice gift?"
Having said that, he changed the subject and said, "How about my sister-in-law come with me?"
This was said so perfectly that Rong Shi could not say anything more. The old lady saw that no one had taken their seats yet, and she felt a little annoyed. She waved her hand and said, "Ruolan, let Ying'er go with your sister-in-law!"
As she spoke, she called Su Ying over, took off the jade Buddhist beads bracelet on her wrist, and put it on Su Ying's hand herself. Then she waved her hand and said, "Good boy, follow your aunt!"
Cheng and Rong were both shocked when they saw this. The string of emerald jade Buddhist beads was originally a tribute jade awarded by the late empress dowager to the Bodhi Temple in the suburbs of Beijing. Later, the monks in the temple made several pairs of Buddhist beads bracelets by hand. The old lady got one of them by chance and never took it off. Now she gave it to Su Ying.
Rong's heart trembled slightly, knowing that her mother-in-law was trying to save face for her niece. As soon as Cheng entered the room, she called Su Ying "Miss Su," clearly treating her as an outsider and unwilling to get close. Rong knew Cheng's temper, and her mother-in-law knew it even better. Even though Cheng was reluctant, now that she had the Buddhist beads in her hand, she had no choice but to look at Su Ying differently for her mother-in-law's sake.
Rong was moved for a moment and called out softly, "Mother."
The old lady understood Rong's thoughts, smiled and waved at her, asking her to sit down.
Then he instructed Cheng: "Take Ying'er and come back quickly. We will wait for you here."
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