Chapter 221, Shame
Songheyuan.
Old Mrs. Yan sat on the step, her expression unremarkable. She held a pair of small scissors in her hand and carefully trimmed the pots of green chrysanthemums and red plums on the table. Every time she finished trimming a pot, she asked Grandma Sun to move it away.
Below, Yan Zhigao was feeling a little restless, looking up at the old lady from time to time, feeling a little worried.
Even though he is now over thirty and a fifth-rank prefect, he still feels a lot of pressure when facing his silent and serious old mother.
His mother was widowed at a young age, and in order to raise him and his siblings, her temper was not very good before the New Year. If she got angry, he would definitely not be able to withstand it.
Mrs. Yan didn't put down her scissors until she had trimmed all the potted plants on the table. She looked at her eldest son sitting below and asked slowly, "Sending the child to my yard, was it your idea or Lin's?"
Yan Zhigao felt relieved when he saw his mother speak. He hurriedly said, "It was Lin who suggested it, but I also thought about it carefully. The children at home usually have to go to school and basically have no time to chat with me. I thought it would be boring for me to be alone in the yard. Why not..."
Old Lady Yan interrupted: "Why don't you leave a child in my yard so I can kill time?"
Yan Zhigao smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Old Madam Yan snorted coldly, "They say children are the flesh and blood of their mothers. Your concubine is really generous. She rushed to send the child to me, an old woman, even though the child is only a few days old."
Yan Zhigao heard the irony in his mother's words and had to defend his concubine: "She also wanted to fulfill her filial duty and thought her mother was bored alone."
Old Lady Yan once again impatiently waved her hand to interrupt her eldest son: "Filial piety? I have three daughters-in-law who are in great demand. Do I need a concubine to fulfill my filial piety? We are the only two people in the room. If your wife and your two sisters-in-law hear this, they will definitely spit at you."
"She was filial and sent the child here. When the third daughter-in-law gave birth to Wencheng last year, she didn't send Wencheng here. Isn't that unfilial?"
Yan Zhigao was stunned. He really didn't expect the third room to go.
Old Madam Yan squinted at her eldest son and said, "Also, which eye of yours could tell that I was bored?"
Yan Zhigao glanced at the bonsai trees that filled his mother's room. Each pot was well-maintained and looked full of vitality.
Obviously, my mother takes care of me a lot.
Just at this moment, a sudden voice rang out.
"Not boring, not boring, only old ladies are not boring!"
Yan Zhigao's face froze and he turned to look at the parrot hanging on the windowsill.
At this time, Mrs. Yan stood up with a smile, walked towards the parrot with a plate of peeled sunflower seeds, grabbed a handful and put it in the parrot's food bowl.
Seeing the parrot immediately lower its head and pecked non-stop, he immediately laughed and said, "As expected, like master, like pet. Daohua is a foodie, and you are also a little foodie."
Daohua was also worried that the old lady would be bored, so she sent the parrot over here early in the morning so that the parrot could keep the old lady company and entertain her.
"The old lady is also a foodie! Good foodies are healthy and everything they eat tastes delicious."
Seeing his mother instantly amused by the parrot, Yan Zhigao's face became more and more embarrassed.
Old Madam Yan teased the parrot for a few moments, then sat back on the steps, took a sip of tea, and said calmly, "I can guess a little bit about your concubine's little thoughts. Let me ask you, do you really think she's just doing it to show her filial piety?"
Yan Zhigao moved his lips as if to say something, but the words could not come out.
Of course he knew something about Lin's thoughts, but when he saw her lying weakly on the bed after giving birth, looking at him with pleading eyes, he couldn't refuse.
Old Madam Yan sneered, "I don't want to say much about how you treat your concubines, but Zhigao, the officialdom is dangerous, but the backyard and inner house are not necessarily peaceful either. Don't let your selfish desires bring unrest to our home."
"It would be fine if Lin was a well-behaved woman, but she's so careless. Not only does she want your favor, she's also coveting Li's position. Don't tell me you haven't noticed this at all."
Yan Zhigao frowned and remained silent for a while. Finally, he stood up and bent over and said, "Mother, I was wrong!"
Old Lady Yan stared at her eldest son and said, "I hope you really know your mistake. Everything the Yan family has today is not just your contribution. Don't let people down."
"Also, you have to understand that the children in your family are getting older and older, and they will have more and more expectations. If you go too far, it will only make the siblings grow further apart."
"They are not born from the same mother, so don't expect them to be close and loving to each other."
"This person must be placed in the right position. Don't let Wenbin and Yishuang have any inappropriate thoughts."
"People should never covet things that do not belong to them. Once you have such thoughts, you will end up hurting others and yourself."
Yan Zhigao's face turned serious. He had indeed not thought carefully enough about the affairs of the rear house.
Old Lady Yan continued, "By the way, I heard that Lin gave birth prematurely because she was the one who pushed Liu first. Before Liu could do anything, she fell to the ground by herself."
Yan Zhigao immediately wanted to defend Lin, but Old Lady Yan didn't want to listen to him and continued talking to herself.
"Let Li handle the backyard affairs from now on. You're a grown man, but you know too little about women's ways. You're easily fooled by their delicate appearances. You don't know that some women are capable of anything when they get angry."
"Ms. Li is gentle, kind, respectful and frugal. Even though she cares more about her children, she is not a cruel person. I feel relieved to have her help you take care of the backyard. You should also have some trust in her."
Yan Zhigao was silent for a moment, then leaned forward and said, "Son, I will obey your mother's orders."
After talking for a long time, Mrs. Yan was a little tired and waved her hand: "Go down."
"Then you should have a good rest!"
Yan Zhigao turned and left. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he heard the old lady's voice.
"I have devoted my life to raising these four siblings. You could say I have always lived for them. Now that they have all started their own families and careers, I feel I have done my duty to their deceased father and the ancestors of the Yan family."
"I'm still able to live so well now, all thanks to Daohua. I want to live more freely with these extra days. My family is getting better and better, but the worries are also increasing."
Sun Ma's voice.
"Old lady, isn't the eldest lady in charge of the household? Just enjoy yourself."
The old lady said: "Ms. Li is a good and filial person. She never mentions the troubles at home to me. She arranges everything for me, including food, clothing, housing and transportation. But it is my own son who is bothering me. I really owe them a debt in my past life."
"I raised four of them, isn't that enough? They even pushed their own children onto me. Am I their wet nurse? Don't you know how tiring and exhausting it is to raise a child? You think all children are as lovable and easy to take care of as Daohua. You see I'm having such a good time, and you're trying to make me uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Yan Zhigao was struck by lightning and fled away in shame.
He was so unfilial. Instigated by Lin, he ran to find his mother without even thinking about whether his mother really needed his so-called filial piety.
(End of this chapter)
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