Chapter 40, Contrast
"Daohua's cooking skills are amazing. We eat Laba porridge every year, and this year's is the best." Yan Zhiyuan praised Daohua without hesitation.
Old Mrs. Yan liked to hear others praise the rice flowers. After hearing what her second son said, the smile on her face deepened.
When Yan Zhiyuan saw this, he immediately praised her a few more times, which made the old lady laugh continuously.
On the side, Daohua sat obediently next to Mrs. Li with a decent and polite smile on her face. She glanced at her third uncle who was drinking Laba porridge honestly, and then looked at her adoptive father who was introverted and pretending to be majestic, and thought to herself.
Her second uncle, a commoner, was able to make his way in the county government. His vision and eloquence were indeed remarkable.
Through the contact during these days, she also realized that her second uncle was a smiling tiger. He said one thing to one person and another thing to another person. He was very smooth-talking.
Knowing that her grandmother favored her, she tried to praise her in every way, but she also did not forget to mention other people. She really took everything into consideration.
While Daohua was thinking about this, she felt her arm being touched. Turning around, she saw her fourth brother looking at her with a smile: "Big sister, you must cook more often in the future. I love the food you cook so much."
Before Daohua could say anything, Madam Li said, "Don't bother your sister. She wants to learn to read and write, and she wants to learn needlework. Don't you see what she's done to her hands?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Daohua's hand.
Looking at her fair and delicate fingers covered with red needle holes, I was stunned for a moment.
Daohua smiled faintly: "I'm a little clumsy at needlework. Sisters Yihuan can embroider large pieces, but I can't even embroider a purse properly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Daohua's hand was grabbed by Yan Wenkai.
Yan Wenkai carefully touched Daohua's finger, his face full of heartache. He blew on it again, raised his head and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Daohua shook her head blankly.
Yan Wenkai, however, became furious. "What's wrong with that Master Qin? My elder sister's hands are already in such condition, why are they still asking her to embroider a purse? Can she be a teacher? If not, get someone else to teach her?"
Under normal circumstances, Yan Zhigao would definitely scold Yan Wenkai at this time, but when he saw his eldest daughter's hand, anger surged in his heart.
Daohua was in a hurry to make Laba porridge before, so he didn't see it clearly. This time, Wenkai held his hand up, and the needle holes on his fingers made him feel numb.
Although he had not raised his eldest daughter since she was a child, he still valued her very much. Seeing her hand pierced like this, he instinctively felt that Master Qin had treated her poorly.
Yan Wenkai continued, "Mother, why don't you give my elder sister a teacher? I don't think Teacher Qin has much knowledge."
Hearing this, Daohua couldn't help but want to applaud.
During this period, she practiced needlework diligently. Although she did not intend to win the sympathy of others, she would be happy to change her teacher if she could do so.
Daohua looked at her cheap fourth brother carefully. If she hadn't seen the genuine concern on his face, she would have thought that this man was deliberately trying to trick Master Qin.
He is indeed a very honest child.
Who would have thought that the next second, Yan Wenkai would say, "My eldest sister's hands are used for cooking. If they are pricked by a needle, who will cook for us in the future?"
Upon hearing this, the touch on Daohua's face disappeared immediately. She quickly pulled back her hand and glared at her cheap fourth brother: "So I'm just a cook? I won't be cooking anymore. If you want to eat, cook for yourself."
"Stop!" Yan Wenkai wailed immediately, "Sister, I was wrong. You can't stop cooking. Otherwise, how will I survive in the future?"
The two of them started arguing with each other, and the dinner table quickly became lively again.
The eyes of the others moved slightly. The Yan family knew the relationship between Master Qin and Aunt Lin. If Master Qin didn't get any good results, Aunt Lin would also lose face.
Yan Zhiyuan glanced at Sun, who immediately smiled and changed the subject.
Seeing this, Yan Yishuang and Yan Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief. Before, they dared to whisper to their father Yan Zhigao at the dinner table, saying that Aunt Lin was lonely eating alone, but now they were just drinking the Laba porridge in their bowls in silence.
Mrs. Li took in the expressions of everyone at the table, glanced at Yan Zhigao, who had a slightly restrained expression, and smiled as she gave him another half bowl of Laba porridge.
Seeing this, Yan Zhigao also smiled and picked up a piece of food for Mrs. Li with chopsticks.
Beside them, Yan Yishuang and Yan Wenbin lowered their heads in disappointment when they saw that Yan Zhigao did not mention Aunt Lin again.
Yes, Aunt Lin did not come to Songheyuan for dinner.
This was decided by Old Madam Yan, who said that no concubine in any family could eat with the masters of the family.
Just now, when Yan Zhigao saw the family happily drinking Laba porridge, he thought of Aunt Lin who was eating alone. He felt pity for her and was about to ask her to come and eat with them, but his son Yan Wenkai interrupted him.
Now, because Master Qin had his eldest daughter embroider a purse and her hands were bruised, he was a little angry and let his mind go.
In Songhe Courtyard, everyone was talking and laughing happily, but in Shuangxin Courtyard, Aunt Lin was sitting alone at the dinner table with a lonely look on her face.
After being married to the master for so many years, this is the first time she has spent the holiday alone.
Her children and husband are now with other people. They are a family, and she is just a concubine, a concubine who cannot even sit at the dinner table.
There has never been a moment like this that made her clearly understand her identity and status in the Yan family.
Do you regret it?
Her father is a scholar, and her brother is also a scholar. Given her family's status, it is more than enough for her to marry someone and become his wife.
But she had no choice!
In order to support his father's studies, the Lin family mortgaged all their property. By the time his younger brother was studying, the family had no extra money. But his younger brother was so smart, and the teachers in the clan all praised him for his bright future. How could she bear to see her younger brother live a mediocre life because he had no money to study?
So, when Yan Zhigao went to the countryside for an inspection, she deliberately approached this honest official who was praised by everyone.
She was good-looking and had learned to read and write from her father since she was a child, so her demeanor was naturally not comparable to that of an ordinary woman.
After several encounters, and with her intentional or unintentional contact, the master was indeed attracted to her.
Later, she successfully married him as his mistress.
With the support of the county magistrate, the family gradually got better off, and the younger brother also went to school. A few years later, he successfully passed the examination and became a scholar. He stayed with the master. With the support of his brother-in-law, the younger brother's future future would definitely be good.
She also lived comfortably in the backyard.
The eldest wife of the Yan family, Mrs. Li, was born into a merchant family. Although she was the principal wife, she could not compare with herself in terms of family background, and she did not feel that she was inferior to her.
Moreover, based on her understanding of the master, she knew that the master also looked down on businessmen in his heart, which could be seen from the way he received the lady's brothers.
Mrs. Li herself is aware of this, so she is not very confident in the Yan family, and she often avoids herself because of the favored one.
She thought that she could live a peaceful life like this, writing poems and chatting with her husband in her spare time, and raising her children. But then the old lady came and the eldest daughter came.
These two have no idea what it means to be tactful or to remain calm.
She just said whatever she wanted to say from the beginning, putting her most embarrassing side directly on the table. No matter how many tricks she had, there was nothing she could do.
Now, when the whole family is happily celebrating the festival, the master allows her to eat alone, but what about in the future? Will she have less and less room to eat?
(End of this chapter)
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