I am so strict with her, and yet I ask her, as a younger sister, to give in to her older sister. This is really a bit too much.
Luo Chengzhang sat down beside his daughter's bed, touched Yining's hair, and softened his voice: "Don't cry, Meimei, Dad doesn't blame you. You are sick, it's not your fault."
Aunt Qiao and Luo Yilian stood behind with stiff expressions.
Mrs. Luo watched from the side, secretly amused. Yining was getting smarter and smarter.
But this is the best way! The crying child gets the milk. If you don't make a fuss, how will others know that you have been wronged?
Yi Ning, however, thought that she had been a top-notch weeping actress among her sisters back then. She had cried her grandmother's way into a marriage with the Marquis, and had cried out a full eighty dan of dowry. Now Luo Yi Lian was trying to compete with her in crying? If she did, she would be embarrassed.
Yining grabbed the quilt tightly and said, "Mom passed away early. I don't even remember what she looked like... I wonder if it's because I'm too naughty that Mom doesn't want me anymore. I can't wait for her to come back. I will change for the better in the future. If Mom were here, she would definitely like me when she saw me being well behaved and not naughty..."
It is so sad to hear and makes the listeners cry.
Luo Chengzhang couldn't help but feel pity for the girl as she spoke so pitifully. She was just a small child. Without a biological mother to take care of her, a child without a mother was always pitiful.
Thinking of this, Luo Chengzhang turned around and said to Luo Yilian, "Yilian, you are my elder sister. Don't do things like spreading rumors again, even if it's just an unintentional mention. Your sister doesn't have a mother, so you should take good care of her."
Luo Yilian was only a teenager after all, and she couldn't control her facial expression well, so she could only respond reluctantly.
Luo Chengzhang comforted his crying little daughter with a lot of words before returning with Aunt Qiao and others.
After her second son left, Mrs. Luo took a handkerchief to wipe her tears.
"Now you've learned your lesson," Mrs. Luo said with a smile. "You know how to retreat in order to advance."
Old Lady Luo knew what she was thinking, but she didn't blame her at all. Yi Ning was very soft-hearted. The old lady had seen a lot of people in her life, and in her seventies, the only person she doted on was her granddaughter.
Yi Ning smiled, grabbed Mrs. Luo's arm and said, "Grandma, this time it's all thanks to my third brother. Otherwise, I would have been sick and no one would have cared about me."
Mrs. Luo said with a stern face, "Even if he doesn't come, Xuezhi will go look for you."
Yi Ning just looked at Mrs. Luo pitifully. The old lady finally chuckled and waved her hand: "Forget it, what do you want?"
"Let's be nicer to our third brother in the future." Yining said after thinking for a while.
Mrs. Luo held her little granddaughter in her arms and sighed, "...It's up to you."
Just as Mother Xu had said, if she truly wanted to protect Yi Ning, she should have treated Luo Shenyuan better. Luo Shenyuan would definitely not neglect Yi Ning in the future. The next day, Ms. Gu went to class again and discovered that her number of students had dropped from four to three, and then to one overnight.
She felt strange. Even if Luo Yining didn't come, how could Luo Yilian, who always abided by the rules, not come?
She and Luo Yixiu looked at each other. Luo Yixiu said, "Yining is sick, and Luo Yilian was punished, so they can't come."
Ms. Gu frowned and was about to say something when the corner door opened and Madam Xu walked in, supporting Old Lady Luo. Old Lady Luo's two sons were both Jinshi (imperial scholars) and were very kind. Every year, they donated over a thousand taels of silver to temples in Baoding, and were highly respected in the city.
Ms. Gu did not dare to neglect her. She quickly stepped forward to greet Mrs. Luo and asked her to sit down. "How did you find time to come here? If you have anything to tell me, just tell me and I'll go see you."
Mrs. Luo smiled and took a sip of tea. She said slowly, "How can this be in accordance with the rules? I came here for my useless granddaughter."
Granddaughter? Old Mrs. Luo has so many granddaughters, which one is she referring to?
Before Miss Gu could ask, Mrs. Luo continued, "My granddaughter was seriously ill yesterday. I advised her not to come to school, but she insisted on coming. She said that the Miss teacher would not see her go to school and would blame her. Yining usually has a bad temper, but she is particularly tolerant of the Miss teacher. That's because I taught her to respect teachers. I told her that the Miss teacher is the most reasonable and that the punishment she gave you is always justified. Just listen to her. Yining never complained about you since then."
Ms. Gu’s smile froze.
Old Mrs. Luo continued, "Yesterday she felt really unwell and asked a maid to pour her some hot tea. I heard the teacher was adamant and insisted on sending the maid out, so Yining didn't say anything and sent the girl away. But the teacher still punished her by making her copy books, and she fainted and was carried back to me... It really broke my heart to see that. I always taught her to respect her teachers and that what the teacher said always made sense."
"But reality leaves me speechless. I'm even ashamed of all the advice I gave her. Abiding by the rules, is that what you call reasonable? Well, I'd like to ask you, mistress. Imagine you pass by a house and see a fire with no one putting out the flames, and a child is about to burn to death. Should you abide by the rules? Would you let the child burn to death, or would you pry open the door and get in to save them?"
Ms. Gu was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed: "Of course... of course it's to save people, but that's a human life after all."
When Mrs. Luo heard this, her voice suddenly became sharp: "Does the lady mean to say that Yining's life is not a human life?"
Ms. Gu was a little uneasy. Mrs. Luo usually looked gentle, but when she spoke, she was merciless. Her gaze was so majestic that it made people sweat. She was frightened and immediately said, "Miss Seven is a human life."
Mrs. Luo's tone softened again. "My granddaughter lost her mother when she was young. I'm old now, and I'm afraid I can't protect her. Others just look for opportunities to bully her. Even last time, when the teacher saw Yi Ning punishing that little girl, it was because the little girl spoke rudely to her, and Yi Ning got angry and punished her. If Yi Ning doesn't stand up for herself, others will just bully her like the teacher did."
"But if you had any judgment, you would know that Yi Ning has never made a serious mistake. Although she has a bad temper, she is kind. You can also ask yourself, has Yi Ning ever done anything excessive to you? You usually criticize Yi Ning too harshly, but Yi Ning has never complained to an old woman like me."
Ms. Gu was at a loss for words after being bombarded with this series of questions.
She was indeed prejudiced against the Seventh Miss, which was why she was so harsh on her.
But I didn't expect that this Seventh Miss was really sick yesterday, and all these things, one by one, clearly showed that she couldn't distinguish right from wrong. They also clearly showed that she was cold and heartless.
Ms. Gu was silent for a while before she said, "What the old lady said makes sense. I will learn from it."
Mrs. Luo then let her sit down and sighed. "It's good that you know. This child has not been easy. I hope you can take good care of her in the future."
After listening to what Mrs. Luo said, Ms. Gu thought for a long time and slowly nodded.
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