But Nguyen Xuan's mother was content, because she had given birth to a daughter, and in the Nguyen family, only the other masters of the family would occasionally bully her and her daughter.
But in the eyes of the servants, Nguyen Xuan was still a young lady of high status. Outside the Nguyen family, people would call her and her daughter Madam and Miss.
Ruan Xuan's mother felt that Ruan Xuan's life was much better than when she was a child. Her child didn't have to suffer the hardships she had endured, there was no endless work, she could go to school and learn to read, she had new clothes every season, and there were no sisters fighting over her. She was truly happy.
But Ruan Xuan saw things differently. Because her mother was not favored, she didn't have much money to buy anything and was always bullied by her older brothers and sisters.
When I was young, I didn't think much of it. I felt happy and joyful just following my mother outside to find food to fill our stomachs.
After starting school and learning to read, Ruan Chun had playmates and developed a sense of self-respect. Seeing the extravagance of her other siblings, Ruan Chun, who only had a small fixed allowance each month, gradually began to resent her mother's lack of ambition.
It's a contradiction. Nguyen Xuan clearly hates her mother for not knowing how to use her beauty to gain resources for herself in the Nguyen family, but when she sees her mother bravely serving her father, she feels humiliated and heartbroken.
She looks down on women like her mother, but she can easily fall in love with women like her mother.
Ruan Chun rested her chin on her hand, then suddenly tilted her head and asked Li Ke, "Do you think I'm beautiful?"
Li Ke was listening intently when she saw Ruan Chun's face. Although one of her eyes was damaged, she still blurted out, "Of course she's beautiful."
Li Ke has never defined a woman's appearance. In her eyes, no woman is ugly. When she thinks a woman is ugly, it must be because she has seen the vicious and treacherous side of her.
Of course, this doesn't mean Li Ke lacks aesthetic sense; Ruan Chun's beauty is undeniable.
Ruan Chun laughed happily when she heard Li Ke's answer: "I was only beautiful when I was fifteen. It's a pity that I didn't keep any photos from that time, otherwise I would really like to show them to you."
"Fifteen years old, I both miss it and hate it!" After laughing, Ruan Chun spoke again, her voice carrying a strange sadness.
On her fifteenth birthday, only her mother was with her. She was used to this kind of day. The only thing that made her happy was that the young masters and ladies here would receive an extra gift and pocket money on their birthdays. This was what she needed most at the age of fifteen.
Nguyen Xuan's mother had been working hard to save up a dowry for her, but after Nguyen Xuan went to school and learned to read, she became more aware of money and material possessions and no longer valued the small amount of money her mother had saved.
The Ruan family is very wealthy; the mother's meager savings are probably not even enough for the eldest son to eat out twice.
Not long after Nguyen Xuan's birthday, 27-year-old Nguyen Bang returned from studying abroad. The first wife said it was because the master was unwell that she called the young master to come back and show filial piety. But later, many people knew that he had offended someone abroad and that's why he couldn't stay.
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