"Young Master seems to be recovering faster this time than before."
Zhou Yuqing said calmly, "We can't keep making Mother worry."
The old woman sighed softly, "Master only favors Qin Yaxuan's side. In this mansion, only Madam truly cares about you, young master."
"Unfortunately, I was not good enough and could never keep up with my second brother in academics."
"Young Master, please don't think like that. Your health is the most important thing. You are the eldest son, and no matter how hard they work, their status will never surpass yours. As long as you take good care of your health, that will be the greatest comfort to Madam."
Zhou Yuqing sighed: "I know, but I don't want to be a useless person, I don't want to be protected by my mother all the time, I also want to be my mother's support."
"The other day, the young master's wife praised his painting. There's no need for you to belittle yourself. There's more to life than just studying."
"But in the end, studying and taking the imperial examinations still make people look more respectable."
The old woman felt even more pain in her heart when she saw the sorrow in his eyes. She had watched the young master grow up. Although he was the eldest son, he was not favored by the master and the old lady. The young master was also sensitive and always pushed himself, thinking that if he did better in his studies, he would get the master's praise. But the young master did not know that the master's heart was with that woman. No matter how well the young master did, the master's heart would still be biased.
Fortunately, the lady is devoted to the young master and is no longer as insistent as before, forcing him to achieve something in his studies. As long as he recovers his health, everything will be alright, won't it?
Just then, Song Xia came in with freshly cooked porridge: "Are you feeling better today?"
Zhou Yuqing's smile deepened: "Much better, I don't feel as tight in my chest as before."
"That's good. The weather is nice today. After you finish this porridge, you can take a walk in the yard."
"Mother worked hard all day yesterday, why are you getting up so early today to cook porridge for your son? This kind of work can be left to the kitchen, Mother doesn't need to do it herself every day."
“If you like it, then it’s not tiring for me to cook. The maids watch the fire, and I just add some ingredients. It’s not tiring at all.”
"Is Mother still going to distribute porridge later?"
"Yes, I've said it for three days, I can't go back on my word."
"Mother doesn't need to exhaust herself just to avoid giving the other side any leverage."
Song Xia shook her head: "How could they pose a threat to Mother? No matter how much your father favors them, they are nothing more than a concubine, a son born out of wedlock, and a daughter born out of wedlock. Mother went there because you recovered from your illness. Mother sincerely prayed for your well-being."
Looking at his mother, a seed of doubt began to sprout in Zhou Yuqing's heart. So, did his mother mean that it would be beneath him and his second brother to compete for it?
"Yuqing, you must remember that you are the eldest son, your mother's son. No matter how well Zhou Shuqing studies in the future, you are the rightful heir of the Zhou family. As long as you are here, they will never be able to surpass you. You also have your maternal grandfather and uncle to back you up! Having someone to back you up is not a shameful thing. Aunt Liu and Zhou Shuqing may want that, but do they have it?"
Zhou Yuqing nodded solemnly: "Son understands."
"The day after tomorrow, your mother will take you back to the Prince's Mansion to live."
Song Xia firmly believed that a good environment was necessary to recover her health. Although she was not afraid of anyone from the Zhou family, their frequent visits and pretense would inevitably affect Yu Qing's mood. Would these people dare to go to the Prince's Mansion if she moved there?
Because of what happened yesterday, Zhou Ying did not go to distribute porridge with Song Xia today. Seeing that she was still so early, Zhou Yongli and Madam Liu could only feel disappointed when they tried to find fault with her.
"She's quite tolerant." Liu Fangniang was throwing a tantrum in her own courtyard; she hadn't suffered such grievances in a long time.
Not only was his attempt to withdraw silver from the accounting office rejected, but Ying'er was also confined to her quarters. All of this was thanks to that woman, Song Xia!
“Why are you angry, Aunt? No matter how many reasons they have or how much power they have, they don’t have a good son. In the future, they will still have to live at the mercy of Shu-ge’er, right?” Zhou Shuqing’s wet nurse skillfully flattered her.
Liu Fangniang noticed that her complexion had improved somewhat: "You certainly know how to talk."
"What I'm saying is just the truth. Once they leave, this huge Zhou mansion will only have the second young master as the heir, just like the master back then. How glorious the old lady Zhou was back then, and what happened to her?"
Liu Fangniang's smile deepened. When she was very young, she had also visited the Zhou family mansion and met the old lady of the Zhou family. Her mother-in-law did not dare to utter a sound in front of the old lady of the Zhou family, and she also treated this little girl who came to the Zhou family mansion to beg for money very indifferently.
But what happened? After Madam Zhou's son died, Yonglang was the only man left in the entire Zhou family. No matter how unwilling Madam Zhou was, she could only watch helplessly as Yonglang inherited the family business, and eventually died of depression in the family temple.
How similar is the situation now to that of back then? No matter how high Song Xia's birth rank is, he won't be able to enjoy his success for long.
How many more years can Zhou Yuqing, who is so sickly, hold on? She fell seriously ill at the beginning of autumn; will she be able to survive the winter?
"Have you prepared everything that Shuqing needs at the academy?"
"Everything is ready. I personally took care of it. I'll have the servants deliver it to the academy after you've reviewed it, Madam."
"Yes, you are Shuqing's wet nurse, so I trust your preparations. When Shuqing becomes successful in the future, he will never forget you."
The wet nurse smiled broadly: "It is already an honor for this servant to nurse Shu-ge'er, how could I expect Shu-ge'er to repay me?"
Aunt Liu ignored her. She was just a wet nurse; it was indeed an honor for her to serve Shu-ge'er.
She looked at the jewelry in the dressing box and felt uneasy. She heard that Linglong Pavilion had released a new style, which used pearls from Nanyang. She wondered how gorgeous it would be.
She pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and threw it down forcefully. She could have bought it with those two thousand taels of silver, but now, not only can she not buy the current model, she's afraid she'll never be able to indulge in such luxuries again.
Why isn't Zhou Yuqing dead yet? If he dies, it would be best if Song Xia went with him. Then who can say that it was wrong for her to buy those clothes and jewelry?
While Aunt Liu was raging at her maid, Song Xia, after serving the porridge, turned around and went to Linglong Pavilion to buy the South Sea pearl set that Aunt Liu had been coveting for a long time. Not only that, she also had several other sets of jewelry made, each one very valuable.
Because she didn't like some of the gems in Linglong Pavilion, the owner of Linglong Pavilion personally came to collect the gems, then took them back to polish and set them. This commotion naturally caught Liu Fangniang's attention.
She snapped at Zhou Yongli: "You forbade me from buying these things, yet you spend so lavishly on them yourself, Yonglang..."
Zhou Yongli coaxed, "Alright, I'll go take a look."
Little did they know, Song Xia was waiting for Zhou Yongli to arrive. This whole thing was intentional; she deliberately wanted to make Liu Fangniang envious, jealous, and resentful.
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