Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Treat Her Differently
Wang Huilan asked the nanny to teach Xiao Shuzhen etiquette. After a period of study, Xiao Shuzhen's rustic air gradually faded away, and she could recognize a few simple words. However, compared with the well-educated ladies, she was still far from it.
After all, she has been a country girl for sixteen years. It will take time to transform herself, so there is no need to be impatient.
Wang Huilan came out of Quhe Hall and was on her way back to Jingfang Garden when she suddenly heard gossip in the corner. Two maids were slacking off with brooms in their hands.
"There are so many strange things. Last year, a scandal happened in my hometown," the old woman said, her face looking a little embarrassed. She lowered her voice and said, "Boss Sun from the tea shop in town had a secret crush on my little cousin before he got married. There was a locked box in his house filled with my little cousin's things. The problem is, my little cousin is already married and has moved to another county with her husband's family."
The other woman was surprised, "Oh my god, does Old Sun's wife know about this?"
The old woman quickly put down her hand and whispered, "Keep your voice down. This is not honorable. Don't attract anyone here."
"At first, they didn't know. It was only when their adopted daughter grew up that they discovered it. The couple had a huge fight. After my little cousin got married, Boss Sun adopted a girl whose parents had both died. He treated her like the apple of his eye! He wanted everything but the stars, and he wanted everything for her. He didn't even pay this much attention to his own child!"
"My adoptive father has done this much, he is a very kind man!"
"Well, listen to me. When the adopted daughter was little, she looked a little like my little cousin, and when she grew up, she looked even more like her." The old woman gave her a look, as if she saw through it but didn't say anything. She tutted her tongue several times and said, "Thinking of the old nest, even the new swallows under the eaves are especially sympathetic."
"Love the house and love the dog, this Boss Sun..."
Wang Huilan's body trembled slightly, the knuckles of her hand holding the handkerchief turned white, and her face suddenly became extremely ugly.
Nanny Wu understood what she meant. She waved the silk in her hand and sternly scolded those in the corner, "You lazybones! You're just hiding here and taking a break. Have you finished your work?"
The two old women were so frightened that they jumped up, holding the brooms tightly, lowered their heads and kept silent.
Madam Wu scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? If I see you two slacking off again, watch out for yourselves! Hurry up and get to work!"
The two old women slipped away quickly, picked up the brooms and went back to work.
After Wang Huilan and her servants walked away, the two maids went around the main road of the garden, left Jingfang Garden, and found them in a secluded corridor.
A woman said, "It's all according to Miss Biluo's instructions."
Biluo took out two ingots of silver from her purse and gave them to the two men. "Remember this carefully. Forget everything you said and everyone you met."
The two old women took the silver and couldn't stop smiling. "Don't worry, Miss Biluo. We old women are the most tight-lipped."
Biluo put the purse into her sleeve, glanced around at the empty area, walked down the corridor, and returned to Yanfuju to report.
*
Cicada Snow Residence.
The wind outside was cold, so Qiongzhi lowered the window a little.
In the bright light from the window, Shuyun was copying the women's ring without distraction. She rubbed her sore wrist and looked up to see Wang Huilan looking at her outside the house.
"Mother!"
There were stars in Shu Yun's apricot eyes. She put down her brush, picked up her lilac skirt, and walked quickly out of the house. The hem of her skirt and long sleeves swayed in the wind like a butterfly flapping its wings.
A'niang came to see her.
Wang Huilan looked at the girl's face and never felt that this bright smile was so glaring and uncomfortable.
Faced with the arm stretched out to hold her, Wang Huilan frowned and took a half step back, with a hint of disgust in her eyes.
Shuyun's hand fell empty, and she stood there at a loss. Seeing Wang Huilan's cold face, she withdrew her hand awkwardly. She didn't know why she was unhappy again, so she said, "Mother, come in and sit for a while."
Wang Huilan gently flicked the gold bracelet on her wrist, suppressing the disgust in her heart. "No need. Copy out the female ring in the next few days. Madam Wu will come to pick it up in ten days."
The voice was cold and passed by Shuyun's ears lightly. Wang Huilan turned and walked out of Chanxueju, followed closely by Nanny Wu.
After a while, the figures of the master and servant completely disappeared from sight.
Shu Yun froze in place, her heart slowly sinking. She no longer had any complaints about copying the women's rings, and in the past few days, there were only eight copies left to copy.
"I just met with my cousin, why is my mother so angry?"
Shuyun was like a child who had done something wrong. She lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping to hide the helplessness in her eyes, and tears fell uncontrollably.
"Miss..." Qiongzhi panicked. She handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears and patted her shoulder to comfort her.
Shuyun returned to the room and lay on the couch crying bitterly.
"Cry if you want." Wang Huilan turned around and glared at Nanny Wu, saying unhappily, "You don't have to speak for Shuyun anymore. Zhen'er has suffered a hundred times more than she has."
Those misty eyes, filled with timidity, grievance and pity, would make any man feel soft-hearted.
It was this face that Wang Huilan hated.
The more Wang Huilan thought about it, the more irritated she became. She couldn't vent her anger. "You've been to the Tian family. Did you remember the crazy woman who drowned?"
Nanny Wu had seen countless people and had been with Wang Huilan the longest. She vaguely guessed what she wanted to ask and said, "In my opinion, Miss Yun and that crazy woman don't look like mother and daughter. But perhaps it's because the crazy woman is unkempt and crazy, so I was mistaken. Or perhaps Miss Yun looks like her father."
Wang Huilan snorted coldly and entered the gate of Jingfang Garden. "It would be best if she took after her short-lived father who died young."
It's best not to have anything to do with that person.
Wang Huilan held her anger in her heart for a long time, but after receiving the letter from her husband the next day, the anger was completely ignited.
In the middle of the morning, the doorman brought a letter from the border.
Wang Huilan recognized her husband's seal and handwriting, and opened the envelope and read it quickly.
Although Shuyun was not his biological daughter, she was a girl from the Marquis's mansion and his daughter, so she stayed in the Marquis's mansion and was provided with food, clothing and other expenses as before. He strictly forbade anyone in the mansion to discuss this matter again.
As for the biological maid who was exchanged, she was ranked after Shuyun and called the fourth girl. Wang Huilan arranged for her to live in the mansion, and her monthly allowance was the same as that of other sisters.
This is all the fault of the woman who was swapped. Yun'er is a tearful person, so she must have cried for a long time, fearing she would be sent away from the mansion. Lan Niang comforted Yun'er and told her: She will always be a daughter of the Xiao family, and her father loves her just as much as before.
Wang Huilan slammed the letter onto the table, furious.
A fingernail poked a hole in the corner of the letter.
Wang Huilan closed her eyes and clenched her fists secretly. It was just as she expected.
After a long time, Wang Huilan opened her eyes, put the wrinkled letter back into the envelope, stood up and walked towards the lampstand.
The flame ignited the envelope, burning brighter and brighter. Wang Huilan watched, her pupils reflecting the scorching fireworks.
The letter from home, sent thousands of miles back from the northern border, was thrown into the jar and turned into ashes in an instant.
Wang Huilan's anger hadn't subsided yet. She immediately called the nanny who taught Xiao Shuzhen etiquette and ordered her to hurry up in the next two or three days. "Don't let Zhen'er go out and embarrass herself. She needs to be generous and decent. A lady from a marquis's family should behave like a lady from a marquis's family."
Two or three days was too short a time, and the nanny didn't dare to refuse. She gritted her teeth and replied, "The third young lady is very hardworking and will not let you down."
Wang Huilan nodded and waved her hand to let her leave.
*
Shou'an Hall.
Old Lady Cui also received the letter from Marquis Anlu. She read it calmly and put the letter on the table.
Madam Cui looked at Xiao Ye and said, "Your father meant that Yun girl is also a child of the Xiao family and should be kept as well. If this letter had been sent back half a month earlier, the third young lady of the Marquis' Mansion would not have changed."
"Sister Yun has already been removed from the family tree. Now moving her in again is a joke and inappropriate." Xiao Ye stood up from his armchair and said, "It has come to this point. It's a done deal. If father comes back to ask for an explanation, it will all be my fault."
Madam Cui gestured for her grandson to sit down. "Since Grandmother has asked you to handle this matter, it means that I agree with your approach. I will make the decision on this matter."
The grandfather and grandson didn't talk about this matter anymore. Xiao Shuyi didn't say anything and listened to the conversation quietly. She looked at Xiao Ye with some doubts and pondered for a while.
The brother and sister came out of Shou'an Hall. Xiao Shuyi walked beside Xiao Ye and said, "Among all the sisters, brother is the one who protects Sister Yun the most. Now that there is an opportunity to have Sister Yun reinstated in the family tree, brother is indifferent. It's really strange."
Xiao Ye stopped, his face cold, and looked down at his sister who was born to the same mother.
Although Xiao Shuyi was only fourteen years old, she had grown into a graceful and dignified young lady, lacking some of the innocence of a young girl.
She met Xiao Ye's gaze frankly and said bluntly, "Isn't it? Brother has always treated Sister Yun differently. Now that Sister Yun has no relationship with the Xiao family, what exactly is Brother thinking?"
She paused, "Or brother...it's just like that."
Xiao Ye concentrated for a long time, his biological sister was indeed different.
*
That day, Xiao Shuan brought a kite to Chanxueju and asked Shuyun to go to the garden to fly the kite.
Shuyun had been in a low mood these past two days and had no energy. She just wanted to finish copying the ten copies of the Women's Precepts as quickly as possible. She had no intention of going out to play, so she rejected her offer.
Xiao Shuan didn't leave either. She sat down on the couch, sipping tea while looking at the furnishings in the room. The room was comparable to Quhe Hall, and the furniture was not as good as Shuyun's previous one, but the clothes she wore were still the same fine brocade, shining and colorful.
Xiao Shuan stared intently, her expression normal, without any major fluctuations.
She entwined a strand of black hair with her fingers and suggested, "Since mother is not at home, let's go out and play for a while."
"No, Second Sister," Shuyun dipped the ink in the water, "When Mother returns home and finds out that I've been slacking off, she'll definitely punish me."
Xiao Shuan said, "No way, mother took sister Zhen'er to the Changyi Earl's Mansion. I saw that mother was in a good mood when she left the mansion."
Shuyun was stunned, with the tip of the brush hanging above the rice paper.
Xiao Shuan muttered softly, "Mother always takes you to your aunt's house, but today is unusual."
The two were close to each other, so Shuyun naturally heard it. Her fingers trembled slightly, and ink dripped from the full tip of the pen, spreading on the paper, and the beautiful small characters were covered by a pool of ink.
It turns out that the banquet Xiao Shuzhen mentioned a while ago was going to her aunt's house.
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See you at nine o'clock [waves hand]
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