Chapter 324 Li Rong
Lin Yuesha sighed. Just from what Bai Youran said, she realized that the future would not be easy and that she would definitely have a hard time in the Lin family.
After washing up, an old woman brought breakfast, and Lin Yuesha felt terrible upon seeing it.
"This little bit of food isn't enough to eat!"
The three-colored steamed buns look very delicate. Each bun is smaller than an egg. The porridge, side dishes, and the decorations on the plate are more numerous than the dishes themselves.
Lin Yuesha ate three small steamed buns in one bite each, and then stared blankly at the empty plate.
"There's only a small bowl of eight-treasure porridge, barely bigger than my teacup. They gave me a lot of eight-treasure porridge, so at least I can fill my stomach."
Lin Yuesha stared intently at the tray. She closed her eyes and made a wish, hoping that when she opened her eyes she would see a plate full of steamed buns.
Bai Youran smiled at Lin Yuesha's childish behavior. She did eat like this in Kyoto, but her appetite increased after arriving in the north, and this was only enough to fill her teeth.
"Sister Bai, I have a question."
Lin Yuesha opened her eyes, and after seeing the empty plate again, she was completely disheartened. "Are all the young ladies from high-ranking families in the capital short?"
Eating like this all day long will probably prevent you from growing taller, and the nutritional balance is not good enough.
"You think we'll really only eat this much? Nobody's stupid. We might eat this much openly, but we can also secretly eat more behind your back."
Bai Youran was both amused and exasperated. In the girls' school, they learned etiquette and could only eat these kinds of food. If they ate too much, their bellies would bulge out, and they wouldn't look good in dresses.
Lin Yuesha nodded. As long as she could eat secretly, it was fine. She still needed to develop and didn't want to become an even more withered bean sprout after leaving the girls' school.
After breakfast, all the young ladies gathered in the front yard as usual. In addition to Granny Fang, another nanny with a dark face also came.
"I am Granny Kang, and I will be in charge of your walking, sitting and lying etiquette from now on."
Kang Mama was a governess. She spoke in a very formal and meticulous manner, and her hair was combed very carefully and covered with a layer of osmanthus-scented hair oil.
She always had a long face, with deep nasolabial folds, making her look older than she was.
“A woman’s manners and etiquette can be most clearly seen in her walking, sitting and lying down.”
Granny Kang first glanced around, and then focused on the key points.
Bai Youran and the others had been accompanied by governesses and knew a little about this, but Lin Yuesha was completely clueless.
"Miss Lin, could you please come out for a moment and give the ladies a demonstration?"
Granny Kang waved to Lin Yuesha and politely called her out.
Beside her, Granny Fang watched Lin Yuesha with a slight smile. Lin Yuesha's legs trembled with nervousness. She steeled herself and stepped forward with composure.
"No manners! How can a woman take such big strides? Do you think you're some kind of peasant?"
Seeing the way Lin Yuesha walked, Granny Fang immediately scolded her.
"But……"
Granny Kang had only just started teaching Li Rong, and hadn't even mentioned how to walk yet. Asking Lin Yuesha to take tiny, inching steps was unbearable for her. The Great Qi Dynasty didn't have the custom of women binding their feet, so walking slowly didn't suit her energetic and impulsive nature.
Lin Yuesha remembered Bai Youran's words: if the nanny is wrong, then she is wrong, and there is no point in arguing.
"Today we'll talk about standing posture. When standing, stand upright with your eyes looking straight ahead, hands clasped together and tucked into your sleeves. Your hands can be placed anywhere from your chest to your lower abdomen, even holding or leaning on something; but your upper body must be upright."
As she spoke, Granny Kang took out a ruler and gestured on Lin Yuesha's body, while explaining to the young ladies.
Everyone had a solid foundation and did very well, except for Lin Yuesha, who was not up to standard.
"You will stand here for half an hour while Granny Fang instructs you."
Kang Mama handed the person over to Fang Mama and focused her attention on Lin Yuesha.
"Stand up straight and tuck in your stomach!"
The ruler struck Lin Yuesha without making much noise, but it hurt so much that Lin Yuesha grimaced in pain.
"Granny Kang, I have no foundation, so I learn slowly."
Lin Yuesha explained that she hoped Granny Kang would go easy on her, as her arms were already covered in bruises.
Learning the rules is torture, so Lin Yuesha gave up. Being born is hard enough; why force herself?
"That's why I called you out for training alone and took special care of you."
Granny Kang looked at Lin Yuesha with an air of self-righteousness, saying, "You look very clever and will have a good life in the future, but I never expected you to be so stupid."
Lin Yuesha: ...She hadn't even learned half a quarter of an hour before Kang Mama had already defined her.
"Stand still!"
After finishing her explanation, Granny Kang went over it again and casually placed a feather duster in Lin Yuesha's hand.
"You hold this feather duster, inhale, yes, stand up straight."
Before Granny Kang could finish speaking, the ruler struck Lin Yuesha again, and she angrily said, "I told you to stand up straight, why are you crooked!"
"Granny Kang, am I crooked?"
Lin Yuesha was on the verge of tears. She said that she is a diligent person and would want to clean the house if she had a feather duster in her hand.
Granny Kang: ...
"I'm giving you a feather duster so you have something in your hand, such as a tray, a handkerchief, or a purse. Whatever you're holding shouldn't affect your appearance."
A woman's walking and standing postures are the first impressions she gives.
Only by making a good impression and impressing those ladies from high-ranking families can one secure a good marriage.
"Think about it, among all the young ladies, you are the most well-behaved, so you will definitely be noticed by others."
Granny Kang used the promise of a good marriage to seduce Lin Yuesha, tailoring her teachings to her individual needs, hoping for some success.
Lin Yuesha didn't take it to heart. It felt like being in a pigsty, where the pig buyer selects a plump pig that looks good and waits to be slaughtered. Why should she show off to make herself stand out?
"Granny Kang, isn't the ideal marriage between two families based on social standing and family background?"
Lin Yuesha couldn't help but ask a question.
"Marrying someone of equal social standing is a good thing, but there's another saying: 'A woman from a high-class family should marry a man from a lower-class family.'"
A woman can marry into a higher social class, as long as the difference in social status is not too great. Everyone will say that she has married into a good family. On the contrary, if she marries someone of a lower social class, she will be laughed at.
"All these young ladies are racking their brains to try and climb the social ladder. Otherwise, why would anyone come to the girls' school? It's all to learn proper manners!"
Granny Kang looked at Lin Yuesha and asked, "Didn't you come to the girls' school to marry into a good family?"
"Granny Kang, getting married is not my goal. I just want to learn proper etiquette so that people will look at me with new respect."
No, that's just talk. Lin Yuesha wasn't being sincere; she was forced into it. If it weren't for her father, she wouldn't have cared so much about the rules.
He was waiting to make a name for himself in the capital, to humiliate the Lin family, and to avenge his mother, Madam Chen.
"She's good; very few women are this clear-headed."
Granny Kang praised Lin Yuesha for her talent. Marriage is a major life event, and it is also about the parents' decision and the matchmaker's words. It is also about fate. Being too concerned about it will only make people think that you have too much ulterior motive.
Marriage is not everything for a woman; those who think things through are always the ones who go the furthest. Even if a woman marries into a wealthy family, fighting off concubines is not her only path to success.
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