Xuan Ge'er was playing with his servant on a newly acquired tangram puzzle and didn't notice Aunt Qiao at all.
Aunt Qiao's eyes were filled with tears, and she called out softly, "Xuan'er, don't you recognize your mother?"
Xuan Ge'er turned around and saw that it was Aunt Qiao, but he hesitated: "Aunt..."
Aunt Qiao felt even more uncomfortable. She grabbed the child's small shoulders and squatted down and said, "Xuan'er, why don't you call me mother anymore?"
Xuan Ge'er said slowly, "Seventh Sister said that I am now registered under the name of Madam, and Madam is my mother. I can only call you Auntie. Auntie, I'm going into the house to eat mooncakes. Will you come in?"
His attitude was distant and polite, not as friendly as when he spoke to the servant boy just now.
Aunt Qiao felt like a hole had opened in her heart, a cold wind pouring in. It was all those people who taught him to distance himself from her. It was all their fault! Her scarlet nails dug into her palms. She had tried so hard to keep Luo Chengzhang from getting tired of her, but Luo Chengzhang would never budge on Xuan Ge'er's affairs, and there was no room for discussion. She didn't know when Xuan Ge'er would be returned...
In the room, Aunt Guo's maid came out and told Xuan'er to come in and eat mooncakes, leaving him his favorite ham and pine nut mooncakes. Xuan'er was very happy to hear this and immediately said goodbye to her and went into the room.
Aunt Qiao went home silent, and Luo Yilian could guess she'd gone to see her brother again. She sighed and personally wrung out a hot cloth to apply to Aunt Qiao's forehead. Her mother had lost her appetite for her brother, even neglecting her daughter. To her, her brother was still the most important.
Luo Yilian stood outside on the corridor, a sudden chill welling up in her. Even if Luo Yining was in trouble, she still had Lin Hairu loving her. But as for her... who truly loved her? Her father had raised her like a caged bird, playing with her when he pleased and punishing her with anything when he didn't.
She looked into the distance and saw a man in a green robe walking by the lake. He seemed to have noticed her and turned back to nod and smile at her.
It was Luo Yiyu's fiancé Liu Jing, who also came to the banquet.
Seeing her standing there, Liu Jing hesitated for a moment before walking over. She stopped not far away, bowed, and said, "This must be the Sixth Miss, right? The mansion is so bustling, why are you standing here alone?"
Luo Yilian recalled meeting him when she was young. He was much more mature now. I heard that he had been observing government affairs in the Ministry of Works for three years and could be promoted to a position like the Imperial Secretary. Liu Jing had always been down-to-earth and sincere, with a warmth that made people feel comfortable. Perhaps because he was quiet, he always seemed down-to-earth. Luo Yilian simply smiled and said, "Isn't Mr. Liu with Fourth Sister?"
Liu Jing smiled, but her tone was a little sad: "She... doesn't like me to accompany her." Luo Yiyu didn't like him very much, of course he knew it, and just thought he was being shameless.
Luo Yilian knew that Luo Yiyu was generous and that Liu Jing was just barely worthy of her attention. Seeing the tall man, hunched over with a humble demeanor that looked somewhat pitiful, she couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of sympathy. She said softly, "If you treat her better, she'll always know."
Liu Jing smiled slowly. He could only be nice to Luo Yiyu, knowing he wasn't worthy of her. He looked up. The Sixth Miss in the Luo family had grown up and was the most beautiful of them all. There was a kind of arrogance in her beauty that Luo Yiyu didn't even possess, an illusion created by her beauty. He paused and said, "Sixth Miss, there's no need to be sad. My mother always told me that all difficulties in the world will eventually pass."
He did not overstep his authority at all, and after he finished speaking, he bowed and went down.
Luo Yilian looked at his tall and modest figure from behind, and suddenly felt a little lost. The gown he was wearing was half-worn and half-new, and it looked a bit shabby.
She shook her head and walked into the house. She saw Aunt Qiao summoning the shopkeeper from one of her shops. She spoke weakly, "...The shop's profits are poor, but Xu Si definitely can't stay. He stole the money from the shop and still dared to go out and gamble? Just beat him up and throw him out. Why are you asking me?"
A maid was kneeling beside her, massaging her legs with a beauty hammer. Aunt Qiao, having lost weight, leaned sideways against the chaise longue, possessing a peculiarly morbid beauty.
The old woman sighed inwardly when she saw her. With such beauty, it was no wonder that the Second Master was determined to keep her by his side. She smiled and said, "Auntie, you've misunderstood. Xu Si stole the silver to treat his wife's illness... His wife was actually a maid from our house who married out and served the former Second Wife. I don't know what disease she has, but she's burning money and relying on ginseng to stay alive! Xu Si stole the silver from the shop because he had no other choice. The family had nothing left. We servants secretly decided that it would be better to just drive him away instead of beating him to a cripple."
When Aunt Qiao heard about the former Second Wife, she thought of Luo Yining and her own Xuan brother, and she was filled with hatred. She stood up and said, "Why are you trying to find an excuse for stealing money? I don't care who he's treating! I said I'm going to cripple him, so get out! Anyone who dares to show mercy will be kicked out."
Luo Yilian couldn't help but persuade her, "Mother, he's really pitiful. Let's just forget about it."
Aunt Qiao said coldly, "Why should he be pitied? It's your biological brother who's pitiful! He's being raised by others, and his own mother doesn't even recognize him." She lay back on the chaise longue and said, "No one is allowed to show mercy. He's dead, he deserves it."
Seeing that there was no room for maneuver, the housekeeper retreated with some embarrassment. Luo Yilian sighed. Her mother now hated those people to the core, so naturally she was unwilling to give in after hearing what had happened.
She asked the maid to bring medicine for her mother to drink and stopped talking.
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