Chapter 218, The Fight Begins
"Mom, this is the list of New Year gifts I prepared for my aunt. Please take a look."
Daohua handed the gift list to Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Li took the gift list and looked at it. It had everything from food and clothing to daily necessities. "Have you seen it, old lady?"
Daohua nodded. "The items on the gift list were decided upon by my grandmother and I. Do you think there's anything you'd like to add or subtract?"
Madam Li smiled and put down the gift list. "Everything is very well prepared, but we could add a few more things produced in our farm. Your aunt is weak, and things like black rice and red dates are very nourishing. Give her more."
Daohua naturally responded without hesitation and asked with a smile, "Mother, are you and Auntie on good terms? I see that the New Year gifts you prepare for her are always exceptionally generous."
Madam Li smiled and said, "When mother first married into the Yan family, your aunt helped mother a lot. If it weren't for her, mother wouldn't have been able to integrate into the Yan family so easily. Mother is very grateful to her." As she spoke, her expression paused.
Another point is that she understands too well the difficulties of marrying a woman of higher status.
She was from a merchant family and married into a scholarly family, while her sister-in-law was from a poor family and married into a wealthy family. Both of them were considered marrying up. People like them would definitely not have an easy life in their husband's family, so they couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for each other.
Daohua smiled and said, "Mother, you treat aunt this way, and grandmother is grateful for your kindness. She often praises you in front of me."
The feelings between people are mutual. If you are good to me, I will naturally return the favor.
What she is most satisfied with about this family is that there is no conflict between her grandmother and her mother.
Her grandmother was sensible and never interfered in the affairs of the family; her mother was filial and considerate, and she thought everything through carefully, and the two of them were always harmonious with each other.
Otherwise, she would be caught in the middle and have a headache.
Mrs. Li smiled and said, "Ever since I married into this family, the old lady has treated me well. It's my mother's blessing to have such a sensible and non-interfering mother-in-law."
It is also for this reason that she will take on more responsibilities for the second wife who is not involved in the production, so as not to make things difficult for the old lady.
Speaking of the second house, Madam Li thought of something and looked at her daughter: "I heard that you punished Yile?"
Daohua nodded. "Master Shen asked us to choose a talent. Because I learned an extra one, Fourth Sister started to complain about me behind my back, even mentioning Master Shen in her comments. So I punished her by writing a hundred long-character essays. What's going on? Did Second Aunt come to complain to Mother?"
Madam Li smiled and shook her head. "Not really. Your Second Aunt is, well, quite astute. It's just that she can be a bit too calculating sometimes, which is a bit off-putting."
"However, she still attaches great importance to the upbringing of your second and third brothers."
"In the past, our family's rules were a bit lax, and we didn't understand a lot of things. Since we came to Xingzhou, we've met more people and started to pay attention to a lot of things."
"Your Second Aunt is smart and knows what's best for the child. Master Shen's teachings are well-known. After hearing the whole story, your Second Aunt personally ordered Yile to write the big characters."
Daohua raised her eyebrows and was really surprised by this.
Madam Li patted her daughter's head and said patiently, "You are the eldest sister, and you have the responsibility to teach your younger brothers and sisters."
Her daughter has been around for so long, she can feel that this girl doesn't care much about people she doesn't like. As long as they don't bother her, she can just ignore that person.
This kind of temperament is neither good nor bad.
The good thing is that you can live more comfortably; the bad thing is that you may seem a little indifferent sometimes.
"I told your father about this last night, and he said it was a good idea."
"In this world, a single tree cannot make a forest. Your father has suffered enough up here."
"Blood relatives, no matter how hard you try to escape, you can't escape. It has always been the case that if one suffers, all suffer; if one prospers, all prosper."
"Our family foundation is too shallow. When you grow up, you still need to support and care for each other with your brothers and sisters. The more successful they are, the more help you will get."
"So, if Yihuan and the others do anything wrong again in the future, you can speak up and punish them. As long as you are right, no one will say a word."
Daohua frowned, looking a little unhappy.
Managing people is such a hassle.
Seeing Madam Li looking at her closely, Daohua nodded reluctantly: "I'll try my best."
Mrs. Li smiled and said nothing more. She knew that her daughter was sensible and knew her limits.
The mother and daughter started talking about the New Year gifts again, but at this moment, Ping Xiao walked in with a pout.
Seeing this, Daohua immediately smiled and said, "Sister Pingxiao, who offended you? Tell me and I will vent your anger for you."
In the past, Ping Xiao would have responded with a smile and started talking a lot, but this time, he shook his head and looked at Madam Li: "Madam, Aunt Lin may be about to give birth."
Mrs. Li's expression straightened. "Isn't the due date in the middle of the month? How come it's so early?"
Ping Xiao: "Mrs. Lin's maid came over and said that it was Mrs. Liu who pushed Mrs. Lin, which caused the premature birth."
Hearing this, Daohua became curious and interrupted, "Isn't Concubine Liu very well-behaved? Why would she push Concubine Lin for no reason?"
Is this the beginning of a house fight?
Ping Xiao sneered, "It's not certain who pushed whom. Aunt Lin must be jealous that the master went to Aunt Liu's room, so..."
"Shut up!"
Mrs. Li stopped Ping Xiao and glared at her. How could she tell her daughter about this? Then she looked at Daohua and said, "Okay, there's nothing for you to do here. Go do your homework."
Daohua was reluctant to leave, but seeing that Mrs. Li looked serious, she had no choice but to leave with Wang Maner.
"Man'er, go and find out what's going on." As soon as they left the main courtyard, Daohua said to Wang Man'er.
She had no interest in her stepfather's two concubines, but she still had to know what she needed to know, so that they wouldn't cause any trouble and interfere with her mother.
Not long after Daohua returned to her yard, Wang Maner came back.
"Miss, Aunt Lin is really about to give birth. Madam has already invited the doctor and the midwife."
Daohua: "I didn't ask you that. I was asking, what is the relationship between Aunt Lin's premature birth and Aunt Liu?"
Wang Maner: "It was not long ago that Aunt Lin took advantage of her pregnancy to give Master a hard time. Unexpectedly, when Master left her room, Aunt Liu intercepted him. Since then, the two have been at odds."
Daohua nodded in agreement, then sneered, "I thought my father would never go to Concubine Liu's room. I didn't expect that. Humph."
Wang Man'er glanced at Daohua and hesitated for a moment: "The master went there several times afterwards. I thought Concubine Liu was an honest person, but I didn't expect she was a treacherous woman."
Daohua's expression was indifferent: "She is my father's concubine. In order to continue living in the Yan Mansion, it's okay for her to use some tricks on my father. As long as she doesn't get carried away and covet things that don't belong to her, it's fine for her to fight with Concubine Lin."
(End of this chapter)
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