Chapter 49: Closeness and Distance
In fact, Daohua was not really angry with Yan Wenxiu. Although she did not agree with some of the things he said that day, she would not keep nitpicking about it.
Especially when she thought about the fact that her elder brother was only a teenager, she felt embarrassed to keep nagging him.
So, under Yan Wenkai's persistence, he reluctantly went to Zheguiyuan.
As soon as the two arrived at the gate of the courtyard, they heard laughter coming from inside.
When I walked in, I found that Yan Wenjie, Yan Yihan, Yan Yile, Yan Wenbin and Yan Yishuang from the second room were all there.
Several people were gathered in the hexagonal pavilion in the courtyard, drinking tea and reciting poetry.
Seeing the intimate interaction between her eldest brother and Yan Wenbin and Yan Yishuang, Daohua was a little surprised. She turned around and asked Yan Wenkai, "Fourth brother, are you close to Wenbin and Yishuang?"
Yan Wenkai said without much thought: "Big brother was taught by Master Lin, and has been close to Wenbin and Yishuang since he was a child."
Hearing this, Daohua was stunned and asked speechlessly, "Why did you let Aunt Lin's younger brother teach Big Brother?"
Don’t you know that the principal wife and the concubine are natural enemies?
Even if the two sides can coexist peacefully, it would not sound good to let the concubine's younger brother teach the eldest son of the main wife!
You have to know that according to the rules of that era, the status of concubines was not high. When the concubines' families came to visit, they would not be received with the courtesy of relatives. The favored ones might be met by the head of the family or the lady, but if they were not favored, they would be sent away by sending two or three servants.
Isn't my cheap father particular about status and position, even looking down on the wives of merchant families? How could he agree to such a ridiculous thing?
Yan Wenkai didn't react as strongly as Daohua and scratched his head. "I can't remember much about my childhood. It seems that my father had just become the county magistrate and was quite busy. My mother was also in charge of the household affairs. It just so happened that Aunt Lin's brother came to visit her, so Aunt Lin took the initiative to ask Master Lin to teach my eldest brother."
"snort!"
Daohua sneered.
No need to ask, as soon as the wife opened her mouth, her cheap father agreed in a daze.
Daohua took another look at her elder brother and half-brothers and half-sisters who were behaving intimately in the pavilion, and had a deeper understanding of Aunt Lin's methods.
In the inner court, she enjoyed the favor of the head of the family and was also on good terms with the eldest son; in the county government, her younger brother was the advisor who helped her with advice and decisions. She truly had a hand in everything. Concubine Lin's family was only a little poor; otherwise, her influence in the Yan family would definitely be greater than that of Madam Li.
Daohua: "Fourth brother, is my eldest brother still very close to Shuangxinyuan?"
Seeing Daohua's expression was a little off, Yan Wenkai realized that his sister didn't seem to like the people in Shuangxinyuan. He immediately shook his head and said, "No, ever since I started attending the county school, I've spent all my time studying. Apart from Wenbin and Yishuang coming to ask me questions, I have almost no contact with Shuangxinyuan."
To be honest, he didn't like Aunt Lin either. As for Wenbin and Yishuang, he couldn't get along with them anyway.
"Fourth brother, eldest sister!"
Several people in the pavilion noticed Daohua and Yan Wenkai standing at the gate of the courtyard and immediately called out.
"Let's go."
Yan Wenkai grabbed Daohua and walked quickly towards the pavilion.
"Fourth brother!"
As soon as the two entered the pavilion, Yan Yishuang, Yan Yile, Yan Wenbin and other children stood up and greeted them with a smile.
For rice flowers
Yan Yile has been unhappy these days because she has run out of material and cannot wear beautiful clothes for the New Year. Now that she sees Daohua, she naturally doesn't give her a good face. Not only does she ignore Daohua herself, she also stops Yan Yihan who wants to greet Daohua.
On the other hand, Yan Yishuang and Yan Wenbin would not take the initiative to talk to Daohua. Aunt Lin is too embarrassed to leave Shuangxinyuan now, all because of Daohua. Both of them have a lot of opinions about Daohua.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the pavilion became a little weird.
Yan Wenjie sat nearby, watching the scene with a smile, as if it had nothing to do with him, and had no intention of stepping out to ease the atmosphere.
Yan Wenxiu glanced at Daohua, who was isolated by her younger siblings, and sighed, "Why did my older sister want to come here?"
Upon hearing this, Daohua raised her eyebrows.
She doesn't care about being ignored by others.
Anyway, she doesn't have any real feelings for these so-called brothers and sisters.
But she still cares a little about this older brother who is born to the same mother.
"Brother, do you not welcome me?" Daohua asked with a smile.
Yan Wenxiu frowned. He really felt that his elder sister had a wild temper and her words were not gentle at all.
"Why do you ask, big sister? Why wouldn't big brother welcome you?" Yan Yishuang smiled and stood beside Yan Wenxiu, pulling his arm affectionately. "Big brother, do you think I'm right?"
Yan Wenxiu smiled and nodded, looking at Daohua: "Big sister, you are worried. I am very happy that you can come. We are reciting poems together. You can come too."
Daohua smiled and said, "Brother, it seems you don't pay much attention to me. I've only been in school for a short time, how can I write poetry?"
Yan Wenxiu paused. He had indeed not considered this.
Yan Yishuang glanced at Yan Wenxiu and took over the conversation: "Big sister, don't blame big brother. Big brother is usually busy studying, and sometimes he has to answer questions for me and my fifth brother. He didn't mean to ignore big sister."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the pavilion looked at Yan Yishuang.
Yan Wenjie smiled, his mother was right, since the eldest sister came, there has been a lot of fun in the first room.
The eldest sister is not easy to deal with, and the third sister is no easier to deal with.
A hint of displeasure flashed through Yan Wenxiu's heart. As he grew older, he understood more and more, and had been deliberately distancing himself from Shuangxinyuan. However, he didn't want to go too far towards Yishuang and Wenbin.
Daohua glanced at Yan Yishuang indifferently, ignored her, pointed at the snacks on the table and said, "Mom is so partial. She bought so many delicious snacks for my eldest brother. But eldest brother, why don't you call my third brother and sixth brother? They like it the most." As she said that, she reached out and picked up a piece of cake.
Yan Yishuang spoke again, with a guilty look on her face, "Big sister, the cakes were sent by my uncle, and I forgot to invite my third brother and sixth brother. We used to celebrate like this, so I didn't think of my third brother and sixth brother. Don't be angry, big sister, I'll go and call my third brother and..."
"Are you tired?" Daohua suddenly interrupted Yan Yishuang.
"Ah?" Yan Yishuang was stunned. She didn't quite understand what rice flowers meant.
"Bang!"
Daohua threw the cake in her hand back on the table, clapped her hands, and then looked at Yan Yishuang: "I think you and your aunt are both very tired."
After saying that, he looked at the other people in the pavilion and said, "You guys write poems, I won't disturb you." After saying that, he turned and left.
"Sister, wait for me, I can't write poetry either."
When Yan Wenkai saw Daohua leaving, he immediately put down the cake in his hand and chased after her.
When walking out of the courtyard, Daohua looked back at the brothers and sisters who were busy comforting Yan Yishuang in the pavilion, and smiled contemptuously.
"Big sister, why are you walking so fast?"
Seeing the breathless fourth brother chasing after him, Daohua's smile became more sincere: "I'm afraid if I walk too slowly, I'll be infected with the bad habit of being pretentious."
"Let's go to grandma's house. I'll treat you to something delicious."
Hearing this, Yan Wenkai's eyes lit up: "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" After saying that, he grabbed the rice flowers and ran away.
As for the matter of persuading his elder brother and elder sister to reconcile, he had long forgotten about it.
In the corner pavilion, Yan Wenxiu looked at the two disappearing figures, his eyes flashing.
(End of this chapter)
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