Chapter 002: Parents

The Yan family was not a conservative family. Although Madam Yu often said that it was better for girls not to be blind, they still hired a tutor to teach them how to read and write. When Yao Niang was five years old, she had to go to the northwest with her grandparents because of Xie's illness. Even so, she still had someone teach her how to read and write. However, she learned very little in the northwest and could not keep up with the girls' school.

Fortunately, she is a person who never gives up. She made up for the missed lessons every day during this month. Her memory is also exceptionally good, so hard work can make up for lack of talent. She eventually surpassed the opponent.

There were six desks in the school. In addition to the three sisters, there were also their second cousin Yan Rubei, the second wife's niece Zhao Fang, and Madam Yu's granddaughter Xin Wan, all studying with them.

At this time, Yan Rubei was already sitting at the desk. She was only fourteen years old, almost reaching the age of marriage, and had a plump and dignified figure. When she saw Yao Niang and the others, she waved to them and said, "You are all sweating. I brought some ice cream. Come and quench your thirst."

Yao Niang wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, sat down and thanked Yan Rubei: "Thank you, Sister Bei."

The second branch of the Yan family was considered to be prosperous in the second generation. The second old lady is currently the prefect of Ningzhou. She has three sons in total, two legitimate and one illegitimate. In the third generation, they are not as good as the first and third branches. Not to mention that the first branch has three sons and three daughters, the third branch also has one son and one daughter. The eldest son of the second branch, Yan Yinglong, is five years older than Yan Yingqi, the father of Yao Niang. He died ten years ago, leaving behind his wife and children. The second son is Yan Rubei's father. He is not good at studying and was born in Yinjian. Although he is a concubine, he married the daughter of a salt merchant and his family is quite wealthy. It's a pity that Yan Rubei has no brothers and sisters. As for the second old lady's youngest son Yan Yingjun and his wife, although the couple have a good relationship, they have been married for several years and have no children. Mrs. Jun San often brings a pair of nephews and nieces from her natal family to stay for a while.

Yan Rubei smiled and said, "Although it tastes good, don't be greedy. Just eat it to quench your thirst."

Yao Niang looked thin, but she was actually in good health, so she didn't mind. Qian Niang agreed: "Yesterday I drank a bowl of papaya water and my stomach was upset."

When everyone had almost finished eating, a thin girl appeared at the door. She was slender and delicate, but even in such a hot summer, she was still neatly dressed.

"Cousin Xin." Yao Niang stood up with a smile.

She had made great progress in her studies these days, thanks to Xin Wan's guidance, so she became closer to Xin Wan. She also heard her mother Xie mention that her parents had both passed away and she had entrusted her orphan to the Yan family, which was quite pitiful.

But Yingniang didn't like Xin Wan very much, for no other reason, they were enemies in the same profession. Originally, before Xin Wan came, Yingniang was very favored, but after Xin Wan came, Yingniang's status was not as good as before.

After Xin Wan sat down, she did not eat the ice cream. She said to Yan Rubei, "I'm afraid I can't enjoy it. Thank you for your kindness."

Yao Niang glanced at Yan Rubei. It was said that Xin Wan was a premature baby, so her health was not good. Yan Rubei was usually the most considerate person, so why did she prepare this specially when she knew that she couldn't use it? She could have prepared some mild cooling tea like bamboo sugarcane, water chestnut and impatiens root water.

Yan Rubei's smiling voice rang in my ears again: "Sister Wan, you are so polite."

The last person to come in was Zhao Fang. She was about the same age as Xin Wan, about ten years older. If Xin Wan had a kind of "essence and grace", Zhao Fang had a more "woodland-like style", with the same character as the famous scholars of Wei Jin.

"Yesterday, when I was cleaning up old stuff, I found a rubbing of the Zhengxi Stele. My father was an official in Shandong at the time, and he took me and my brother to climb Tianzhu Mountain, where we found the upper stele. Later, I heard that the lower stele was in Handong Mountain, east of Yunfeng Mountain in Ye County. I was still young at the time, so my father and brother went to Handong Mountain to make a rubbing of it themselves. I heard that this stele combines the strengths of seal script, li script, and cursive script, so I brought it to you today to see."

Yao Niang and the others stood around watching for a while, all marveling at it. Fortunately, Mr. Yu came after a while, and they all returned to their seats.

Although there was an ice basin here, it was still hot and unbearable. Yao Niang could hardly endure the first half of the afternoon and left after school. Qian Niang, Ying Niang and Xin Wan went to Zhen's house for lunch. Ying Niang saw that there was indeed abalone for lunch today, and couldn't help asking Zhen: "Is this sent by my third sister's uncle's family?"

Zhen was surprised and asked, "How do you know?"

Yingniang pouted: "I heard about it from my third sister today."

Zhen smiled and said, "This is a soup made with fresh abalone, with apples, figs, black dates and pork ribs added. I am from the north and am not good at making these. Your second mother made it and sent it to me. You should drink more."

"I know." Ying Niang buried her head in her soup and didn't dare to ask any more questions. Although she would show off in front of Yao Niang, if she knew about it in front of Zhen, she would definitely be blamed.

Zhen asked Xin Wan again: "It's hot today, can you handle it?"

Xin Wan smiled and said, "It's still the same as before, but it's great to hang out with my sisters."

"Ask someone to come and see the young lady in a few days." Zhen looked at Xin Wan's expression and said after thinking.

When Xin Wan was about to answer, she heard someone outside say, "Madam, the Third Master is back."

"Quick, let Jingwen in." Zhen said happily.

After a while, a young man came in. He was wearing a laurel green silk gown with double flying swallows, and his forehead was dripping with sweat. He had sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, square lips and a straight mouth. He was Yan Jingwen, the son of Zhen.

Another set of bowls and chopsticks was added to the table. After Yan Jingwen sat down, he happened to see Xin Wan sitting opposite him, and the two smiled at each other.

Then he heard Zhen ask him, "How come you have time to come here at this time?"

"My master was sick and I had to go home to attend the funeral. When I came back, I happened to meet my eldest brother. He told my father that he would let me become his disciple. So I came back first. I will see when my eldest brother's master, Mr. Lancang, comes, and then I will go there." Yan Jingwen said.

Zhen smiled and said, "Then wait until your father comes over tonight and I'll ask him for you."

Ying Niang said, "It just so happens that my daughter is going to make a pair of silk threads today, and I'll give them to Dad."

Zhen nodded, not knowing that Yan Yingqi went to the third room during dinner. After all, Zhen was the eldest lady, so she could still keep up the appearance. However, Yingniang began to feel bad.

On the other side, in the third room of Jiangxuexuan, Yaoniang liked the pickled papaya juice very much, but Xie said, "You had eaten ice this morning. Now, you can only eat a little."

"I understand." Although Yao Niang looked unhappy, she was still very happy in her heart. After all, being with her mother was much better than being with her grandparents.

She and her mother ate dinner together almost every day, while her brother would eat with their grandmother. No one stipulated this, it was almost a custom. Her grandmother, Old Lady Quan, had raised her brother since he was born. It was said that it was difficult for her mother to see him before, and she had to bribe his wet nurses to please him. Her brother was closer to the wet nurses than to her mother.

When the dinner was ready, Su Xin's excited voice came from outside: "The master is here."

Xie had not expected Yan Yingqi to come at this time. Since she fell ill three years ago, although she recovered later, she rarely met Yan Yingqi except for visiting the old lady once or twice.

It should be said that since Zhen came into the family, she seldom took the initiative to get close to Yan Yingqi. Later, after Yao Niang was born, she stayed in Jinling and did not go to the capital. If Yan Yingqi had not returned to Jinling to take up a post this time, the couple would never have reunited.

Yao Niang and Jie stood up together, and saw a tall man coming in from the door. He had a high nose bridge and tightly pursed lips, which showed his determination. His face had clear lines, and he looked handsome and upright. When he looked over, his eyes looked even more stern.

Yao Niang was a little scared. She had not had much contact with her father since she was a child. She grew up with her mother in Jinling, and later went to the west with her grandparents. Now that she returned to Jinling, she had only met her father a few times.

"Master." Xie said softly.

Unexpectedly, the father who had been so stern just now softened after hearing what Mrs. Xie said: "I heard that the uncle of the Dongshan Xie family came. Why didn't he stay for a few more days? He went back so soon? I was planning to have a few drinks with him."

Xie didn't feel awkward at all, as if she was talking to an old friend: "Brother is busy at home, so I can't trouble you."

Because Yan Yingqi came unexpectedly and had no intention of leaving, Xie ordered someone to add an extra set of bowls and chopsticks, and said apologetically: "I didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't ask the kitchen to cook your favorite dishes."

"Do you still remember my favorite dishes? I thought you had forgotten them long ago." Yan Yingqi glanced at Li Shi, but ultimately did not dare to look her in the eye.

Yao Niang took a bite of the abalone and heard Xie say, "You are the head of the family. You can eat whatever you like or dislike. We will not violate any taboos."

"Your temper is still so stubborn. You look amiable and pitiful on the outside, but you are rebellious and unruly on the inside." After Yan Yingqi finished speaking, he looked at Xie, hoping that she would look back at him.

But Kejie just kept his eyes down and said nothing.

Yan Yingqi also felt that the atmosphere at the table was awkward, so he took the initiative to talk to Yao Niang: "You've returned from the northwest, are you adapting well?"

Yao Niang smiled and said, "I've adapted very well. Having you by my side is better than anything else." After she said that, she looked at Xie, who was only moved when she saw her daughter.

Yan Yingqi asked her how her studies were going, and Yao Niang said, "I've been able to catch up with all my lessons. Today, Sister Zhao even pasted us an inscription on a stele, saying it was a copy of the Zheng Xi Stele that she copied when she was climbing a mountain. The writing is really beautiful."

"It just so happens that I have a day off tomorrow, so why don't we go climb Mount Qixia tomorrow as well?" Although Yan Yingqi was speaking to Yao Niang, his eyes were always on Xie.

He finally found a reason to talk to Xie, so of course he had to seize the opportunity.

Xie didn't answer. She just looked at her daughter tenderly: "Do you want to go, Yao Niang?"

Yao Niang certainly wanted to go. She used to live with her grandparents, and they wanted her to be quiet and obedient, and rarely let her go out to play. But she didn't say anything, she just put down her chopsticks, hugged Xie's arm and said, "If mother goes, I will go. If mother doesn't go, I won't go."

Although she said so, children don't hide their emotions. Xie saw at a glance that her daughter wanted to go, so she said to Yan Yingqi, "How many people will go tomorrow? Do you want me to tell them now and ask the stewards to prepare the carriage?"

Yan Yingqi smiled and said, "No need, our family of four will go there tomorrow."

Xie was a little stunned.