"Then, can you tell me why you're unhappy?" Yun Duo held Li Bingchen's hand, tilted her head slightly, and asked him softly.
“Hmm…” Li Bingchen nodded.
Although it was a little embarrassing, he suddenly had the idea to talk to Yun Duo about it.
"Actually, it's nothing. I just feel that... Father... seems to be consciously suppressing me. Although I just said that Father had difficulties, which is why he didn't agree to promote sericulture, I thought about it again after I finished speaking. I think Father may indeed have difficulties, but... he also wants to suppress me. Perhaps... he already has a successor in mind, so he doesn't want me to stand out and block the path of my brother whom he values."
"I'm very unhappy, and that's why."
"Everyone wants that position."
"If it's a fair competition, I'm not afraid of any underhanded tactics or dirty tricks. Even if I lose, it's because I'm not strong enough or not skilled enough, and I'll accept it willingly."
"But if it's because of my father's...favoritism that I was disqualified from competing from the very beginning, then I won't accept it!"
"But at the same time, I also know that if it really is my father's will, no matter how much I disagree or how unwilling I am, it will be useless."
“My father is the final referee. If I don’t even have the right to play in his eyes, then no matter how well I do, it’s meaningless.”
Li Bingchen clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, his expression and tone rising and falling, sometimes indignant, sometimes dejected, clearly indicating that his heart was not at peace.
Yun Duo resisted the urge to pat Li Bingchen's head, but instead squeezed his hand reassuringly and looked at him, saying, "Have you ever considered that you might be wrong?"
"I was wrong?" Li Bingchen looked at the clouds, his tone slightly questioning.
“Yes, you’re wrong.” Yun Duo nodded vigorously, as if what she thought was really true. Looking at Li Bingchen, she said with a ‘serious’ expression, “You always say, ‘brothers, brothers,’ which means they are all older than you. Since they are older than you, doesn’t that mean they are stronger than you?”
Li Bingchen nodded.
Yun Duo continued, "Since they say they are stronger than you, you would definitely lose if you fought them head-on. So, until you have the strength to compete with them, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to play the fool for now, does it?"
"Perhaps your father just wanted to protect you? Was he protecting you in this way before you had the ability to protect yourself?"
“When my grandfather and I first moved to the old courtyard, we replaced all the rafters and purlins on the house. I looked at it and it seemed that the exposed parts were rotten more. When I asked my grandfather why, he said it was because the protruding rafters rotted first.”
“I didn’t quite understand, so my grandfather explained to me that it’s because the exposed rafters are exposed to the sun and rain, which damages the wood, so the exposed parts rot faster than the parts hidden in the grass. He also told me that it’s the same with people; you can’t be too outstanding or showy, or you’ll be envied. Some people are petty; if they see you doing better than them, they’ll have bad intentions and try to harm you.”
As she spoke, Yun Duo smiled sheepishly and said, "Actually, I didn't do well. Grandpa said that if it weren't for the fact that we have benefactors protecting us, we would have been bullied to death by those jealous people in the village long ago."
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