Chapter 582 Going to the Wang Family
The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Li San Niang, who was woken up early in the morning by Li's mother, yawned as she tied Lu Zhu'er's hair into a bun and also tied a hairband for Lu Zhu'er.
Of course, today Dewdrop isn't wearing the same outfit as yesterday; she's changed into a new one.
Li San Niang has no shortage of money. She only has one young daughter, Lu Zhu'er, so why wouldn't she spend money on dressing Lu Zhu'er up?
At home, Lu Zhu'er probably has the most clothes. Not only are there seasonal clothes made by Sister-in-law Li and Mother Li, but also many fashionable styles that Li San Niang often takes Lu Zhu'er to the tailor shop to have made.
This is also the point that makes Li Ersao secretly complain about Li Sanniang.
According to Li Ersao, "This child grows so fast, he changes every few months. Why dress him so nicely? Just make do with what he has."
When the child grows up, goes out to socialize, and reaches a certain size, then we can make a few nice clothes for them.
Unlike Third Sister, who haphazardly made many clothes for Dewdrop, which could only be worn two or three times before becoming unwearable, it was simply too expensive.
This cannot be attributed to Li Ersao being jealous that Li Sanniang was willing to spend money on Luzhu'er.
Just like the clothes Kogoro is wearing now are the ones Koshiro wore, and the clothes Koshiro wore were taken off from Risaburo.
If it weren't for the fact that all the sons of the Li family were sent to the academy to study from a young age, why would Li Ersao have made long gowns for Li Sanlang and Xiao Silang to wear?
However, people are different. When Li Ersao first said that Li Sanniang shouldn't have spent so much money making clothes and buying jewelry for Luzhu, Li Sanniang just smiled and didn't refute anything.
But whether Li Ersao truly felt that Li Sanniang was spending too much or what, the second time she discovered that Luzhu had changed into new clothes, she directly said to Luzhu, "Your mother is really willing to spend money on you. Look at this outfit of yours, it must have cost five qian of silver."
You've changed your clothes three times this season.
Li Ersao's original intention was probably to tell Luzhu'er that Li Sanniang, as her mother, loved Luzhu'er and was willing to spend money to make clothes for her young daughter, so that Luzhu'er would be grateful for Li Sanniang's kindness.
Just like when Lu Zhu'er turned three, Li Ersao told Lu Zhu'er to be grateful for the suffering that Li Sanniang had endured when she gave birth to her, intending to make Lu Zhu'er filial to Li Sanniang.
(Plot summary of chapters 339-341)
In essence, Li Ersao didn't have bad intentions; she genuinely thought that way. It was just that her upbringing shaped her into having such thoughts.
But Dewdrop was just a little girl under three years old at the time, what could she possibly understand?
In Li San Niang's mind, she naturally didn't want to put any pressure on Lu Zhu'er, who was still a little girl, in this regard. Lu Zhu'er ran up to Li San Niang and said, "Mother, Lu Zhu'er doesn't want new clothes anymore. Lu Zhu'er doesn't cost money, and Lu Zhu'er is easy to raise."
Li San Niang was immediately filled with anger. Suppressing her rage, she took out her private savings, more than a thousand taels of silver, from the locked cabinet and pointed them out to Lu Zhu'er one by one: "Look, Zhu'er, your mother is capable. She can earn money. She spent a little bit on Lu Zhu'er, and there's still a lot left. She's not afraid to make clothes."
Dewdrop couldn't count, but she could still make out the pile of plump, shiny gold ingots on the table. She vaguely understood what Li San Niang meant and figured that Li San Niang could support her and had plenty of money, so she let the matter drop.
After comforting Lu Zhu'er, Li San Niang went directly to Li Er Xiong, who was sitting on the medicine cabinet. With a dark face, she told him about the matter. Ignoring the awkward expression on Li Er Xiong's face, she said directly, "I'll trouble you and your wife to talk this over. I know you mean well, but Lu Zhu'er is my child. I am Lu Zhu'er's biological mother. I don't need you to teach me how to raise a child."
I, Li Mingfang, am capable and have the ability to earn money. I only have one child, Zhu'er, and I am willing to spend money on her. That's my business, and there's no need for my second sister-in-law to worry about it.
I haven't spent anyone's money in this household. I'm saying this right now. If my second sister-in-law or anyone else in the family has any questions, just ask my eldest sister-in-law. She keeps excellent accounts and there are plenty of records to check how much of the allowance I give her each month has been spent.
After saying that, Li San Niang ignored Li Er Xiong's open mouth as if he wanted to say something, and turned around and left.
Later that evening, Li Erxiong spoke to Li Ersao with a dark expression, telling her not to interfere in the affairs of Li Sanniang and Luzhu'er.
It was because of this incident that Li Ersao developed a considerable rift with Li Sanniang, which led to Li Ersao repeatedly eyeing Li Sanniang's money.
Later, Li Ersao's extraordinary jealousy and desire to take advantage of Li Sanniang were discovered by Li Erxiong, who then sent Li Ersao back to Wujia Village to reflect on her actions.
(Plot summary of chapters 482-484)
Today, Li San Niang dressed Lu Zhu'er in a grass-green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a matching hairband. This time, she not only gave her silver bracelets and necklaces, but also a sachet and jade pendant hanging from her waist.
Dewdrop was well-fed and resembled Li San Niang, with fair skin and a childlike plumpness, making her look like an adorable little girl.
"My precious baby is so beautiful!"
Li San Niang hugged Lu Zhu'er and kissed her forehead with a kiss. Lu Zhu'er confidently puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Zhu'er is beautiful, Zhu'er is the most beautiful!"
Before leaving with Li San Niang, Lu Zhu'er made a special trip to Li Da Sao's room to show her around. After gaining Li Da Sao's approval, she followed Li San Niang into the carriage and headed to the Wang family.
As for what should be told to Luzhu about Prince Heng, Li San Niang had already discussed it with Luzhu last night.
In fact, every time the Wang family sent money to raise Lu Zhu'er, Li San Niang would tell Lu Zhu'er as soon as it arrived in the account.
Li San Niang certainly didn't lack the money to raise Lu Zhu'er, but Wang Ziheng, as Lu Zhu'er's biological father, was also willing to contribute money, so it was only right that he should raise Lu Zhu'er. Li San Niang naturally wanted Lu Zhu'er to know that she had a father, and that her father was also contributing money, even though they weren't living together right now.
With the love and care of her male relatives, including her father, elder brother, and second elder brother, as well as her four younger siblings, how could Lu Zhu'er possibly remember her own father who didn't like her?
However, even though she was so small, Lu Zhu'er understood from Li San Niang's explanation that her surname was Wang, which was different from the four little ones.
Aside from the different surnames, the care and love that Lu Zhu'er received in the Li family was no different from that of the four children in the Li family, so Lu Zhu'er naturally did not feel that she was a "poor little child without a father".
So when they arrived at the Wang family today, Li San Niang told Lu Zhu'er to bow to Wang Da Lang and Wang Zi Heng and call out to them. Lu Zhu'er obediently bowed and called out to them.
This time, Wang Ziheng was better than last time; he appeared at the door to greet Li Sanniang and the others, which was much better than not showing up at all last time.
Moreover, when Li San Niang followed Wang Da Lang and Wang Zi Heng to the Wang family home, she discovered that Wang Zi Heng was paying close attention to Lu Zhu Er.
Why are you so good at talking?
Because from the moment Lu Zhu'er bowed to him, Prince Heng kept staring at Lu Zhu'er's face and always tried to get her to talk.
For someone like Wang Ziheng, this is a very abnormal behavior.
Li San Niang always felt that there must be some reason behind Wang Ziheng's behavior.
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