The sad thing is that men may set the rules and precepts for women, but it is women who are the ones who actually expect women to follow them.
When my grandmother was young, she suffered a lot of hardship and mistreatment from her mother-in-law because of the strict rules and teachings for women. Now that she is in power, she is unwilling to let her granddaughter off the hook.
She favored her granddaughters who flattered and fawned over her, but disliked An Yuan'er. Even when An Yuan'er did nothing wrong, her grandmother would often find fault with her, a habit she had maintained since An Yuan'er was a child.
An Yuan'er felt her blood run cold, and an unnamed fire ignited within her: "How could Grandmother do this? What does she take Father for? A stepping stone for the An family's smooth future? Father is a living, breathing person. How dare she treat him like this?"
An Yuan'er also felt sorry for her father. Over the years, apart from Aunt Yun who had always been by his side, taking care of him in every little detail, there had never been another woman in his life. Her mother had been gone for over ten years, and An Yuan'er knew that she was probably long gone...
An Yuan'er never objected to her father seeking new happiness, but what she couldn't accept was that her grandmother actually wanted to arrange all of this. Her father was already so old; did her grandmother really need to arrange a wife for him?
An Yuan'er was about to rush out to confront her grandmother, but An Huishou stopped her in time.
"Xiao Yuan'er, calm down. Impulsiveness won't solve anything."
"How could I not be impulsive? That's my own father."
"Father's affairs concern the honor and disgrace of the An family, and the matter of remarrying for Father was also agreed to by Grandfather."
My grandfather was the Grand Tutor of the court, wielding considerable influence. Although he didn't concern himself with trivial matters in the An family, he was the one who made the decisions on major issues. My grandfather was the one who nurtured my father from a young age, and he was someone my father always respected.
An invisible mountain seemed to press down on An Yuan'er, making her feel suffocated. Behind the seemingly glamorous facade of a large family lay endless oppression. She bore the glory bestowed upon her by the family, but with it came a heavy burden.
An Yuan'er's father and brother gave her the greatest freedom and willfulness, but they themselves had a very difficult life.
“Brother~~” An Yuan’er sobbed softly, “It’s Yuan’er’s fault for being too willful. Yuan’er was wrong.”
An looked back and gently comforted her: "Silly girl, you've done nothing wrong. You're just fine the way you are now. Your father and brother both hope that you can be happy and be yourself. The world is beautiful, and our Yuan'er has the most beautiful eyes to see it."
"Actually, I'm very content to have such a wonderful little sister as Yuan'er."
"The most urgent task now is to resolve Yuan'er's crisis. We must find the source of this rumor. Our little princess of the An family is not someone to be trifled with. As for Father, he has his own considerations. As his children, we can only offer suggestions; we can't go against his wishes."
Her brother was like a huge protective umbrella. He patiently explained to An Yuan'er that she had never been alone. With her father and brother by her side, even if the sky were to fall, there was nothing to fear.
An Yuan'er finally listened to her brother and obediently went to her room to rest.
*
Despite not sleeping a wink all night, I managed to drift off to sleep.
The next day, just as dawn broke, An Yuan'er got up, quickly tidied herself up, and secretly slipped away to the ancestral hall.
Although she was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall and forbidden from eating, drinking, or visiting, An Yuan'er didn't care about those strict rules.
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