Chapter 008: Estrangement
"Yao Niang, this is disobedience. Whatever the elders ask you to do, you should do it immediately. Otherwise, how will your grandmother treat you for being so naughty? Have you thought about the consequences?" Yan Jingzhao stood with his hands behind his back, explaining the seriousness of the matter.
Yao Niang said, "Brother, I know you are trying to persuade me with good intentions, but I think it is better to live happily every day than to live a miserable life day after day. It is enough for Grandma to have you by her side. I am suddenly feeling unwell and do not want to go. If Grandma wants to punish me, I will not object."
She didn't know why she disobeyed, but she felt very upset. She had clearly agreed that her mother should go with her, but now she was not allowed to go. If she didn't accompany her mother, how sad her mother would be!
Yan Jingzhao didn't expect his sister to be so stubborn. He didn't get angry or upset as he imagined. He just said, "Are you really not going?"
"Yeah." Yao Niang still nodded.
Yan Jingzhao didn't say anything as he had imagined. He just said calmly, "I know. You and mother should stay at home."
Yao Niang curled her lips.
Yan Jingzhao quickly returned to report. He said to the Third Old Lady, "Yao Niang is young. The weather has been hot and cold these days. I think she has caught a cold."
The third old lady was very disappointed with this answer, because Yan Jingzhao seemed very calm and did not really carry out her will, but in front of her grandson, she had to give him face.
…
Inside the Jiangxuexuan
Yao Niang thought her mother would blame her, but unexpectedly her mother looked extremely happy. She seemed to be able to sense her mother's happiness and felt that she must have done the right thing this time.
"Since I've already given you leave today, you don't have to go to school. Your mother will do needlework with you later." Xie said.
Yao Niang nodded heavily and said, "I heard that mother has been making shoes for grandfather day and night these days. Why do you have to do it? There are so many servants. And you have to finish it in just a few days."
Xie smiled: "If I have to do it, how can I not do it? But now I want to teach you needlework, let's not talk about shoes first." She was not stupid, even if she had to do something, she would do it in front of Yan Yingqi.
In terms of needlework skills, Xie's needlework is not faster than others, but every piece is definitely delicate and smart, and both the color matching and the pattern are novel and unique.
Yao Niang began to learn from Xie seriously.
Xie was publicly slapped in the face by the third old lady and was not allowed to go out. The news quickly spread throughout the Yan family, especially to Zhen, who heard about it and smiled at Mother Wei.
"It seems that the third old lady should have heard about it." Zhen felt that her plan was beginning to show results.
Mother Wei praised: "You are smart. You took the opportunity to hint to the Guan family that the second wife is fake. You are the legal mother of the eldest master's parents. Xie is at most the biological mother."
Zhen smiled and said, "I didn't care about Xie's identity at first. I just saw that she was sensible. As a woman, she is also very pitiful. Her father is at least a governor. But she seems to be too ambitious. She dares to compete with my son. That's not allowed."
"Who says it's not true? The third old lady also thinks that her position is not legitimate." said Mother Wei.
Zhen looked at the invitation on the table and said, "I heard that the Jinling prefect's family favored concubines and killed his wife, which caused a joke. You should have someone tell the third old lady about this matter."
Mother Wei said, "Don't worry. If you are allowed to come forward this time, I'm afraid you will also be in charge of my eldest brother's marriage in the future. There will be no place for the Xie family."
"Well, we just need to do this covertly and make sure no one finds out that it was us who did it." Zhen instructed.
Mother Wei nodded: "Don't worry. In fact, given the character of the Third Old Lady, she is afraid that Xie and the eldest brother and his mother will get along well. I'm afraid she would rather not!"
Zhen sighed, "Although I have to deal with her now, I also feel that the Third Old Lady is too difficult to deal with. She separated the mother and son, and expected Yan Jingzhao's daughter-in-law to only recognize her and not her own mother-in-law in the future. This is really too cruel."
"Madam, why do you have to pity her? She is very happy now." Mother Wei was afraid that Zhen was too kind.
Yan Jingzhao already had a grandfather who was a high official, and was favored by his father, so it was probably Zhen who would have trouble getting along with him in the future. Zhen and Xie were about the same age, Xie married in at the age of 15, and Zhen married in at the age of 18. At their ages, they were both looking forward to having children, but they both had one son and one daughter.
Who would like to see their son overshadowed by someone else?
**
At dinner time, Yan Yingqi came over. He saw Xie and Yao Niang were both at home, and joked, "You came back from Quan's house so early?"
Before Xie said anything, Yao Niang said, "Grandma said this morning that someone from the Guan family was delivering something, so she suddenly asked my mother to stay. We waited for a whole day but no one from the Guan family came. Originally, grandma wanted me to go with them, but my mother didn't want to go, and I didn't know anyone from the Quan family, so I didn't go either. Daddy, if grandma is angry, you have to speak up for me!"
"What?" Yan Yingqi glanced at Xie and of course understood what Yao Niang meant. It should be that the third old lady deliberately didn't want Xie to go before she left, so she did this.
Xie felt that his daughter's teaching was not in vain. When giving advice, one should not be too emotional and should point out other people's mistakes directly. Instead, one should be more objective and rational, so as to better prove that things are true.
Or there are some things that some people say that are pleasant to the ear, but others say that are unpleasant to the ear.
But at this time, Xie still wanted to explain: "Maybe the Guan family has something to do today, so he can't come. Please sit down and have dinner." After saying that, she put down the shoes in her hand.
Yan Yingqi usually loved the dishes cooked by Xie, but in recent days, Xie was said to have listened to the third old lady and had to do needlework every day, so she had no time to cook. He felt that Xie was really pitiful.
Since ancient times, a wife's status depends on her husband. He married Xie, who had never had any means or scheming, and always allowed others to bully her.
Even though he had lived here for a few days, the Third Old Lady had not given him any face. In that case, he would come to give her face. Yan Yingqi's character had always been like this, quite rebellious, especially since he was originally a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy with a bright future. The reason why he was appointed as the Minister of Rites in Nanjing was because he offended the ruling party with his words.
"So what if you're from the Guan family? You are Jingzhao's biological mother, and will be her mother-in-law in the future. If they dare to treat you badly now, wouldn't it be rebellion after you marry into their family?" Yan Yingqi was unhappy.
Xie glanced at him, and seemed to muster up the courage to say, "Then teach me how to do it?" Generally speaking, men don't like strong women, and they especially like women who have been trained by him personally.
If Xie's own situation had not been so dire, he would not have reached this point.
When Yan Yingqi saw that Xie had come to his senses, he was secretly delighted and a bit of his joy showed on his face.
It is also said that after the third old lady came back that night, she heard that Yan Yingqi was resting at Xie's place again. She thought that if she did not send someone over again, Xie's influence would grow and they would be determined to get Jing Zhao.
Therefore, despite being tired from a day of socializing, he called Yue'e over and gave her some instructions.
Yue'e's temperament was gentler than Su'e's, and she was also more kind. According to the observation of the third old lady, Yan Yingqi liked Xie from the beginning because Xie's temperament was gentler and more considerate than Princess Linzi.
She must send the person over before leaving!
Therefore, when Yan Yingqi came to pay her respects in the morning, the Third Old Lady smiled and said, "You come here often now, but Third Sister's mother is not feeling well, and since she is the mistress of a family, it is inevitable that she will not be able to take care of her. I see Yue'e beside me, who is always gentle and kind, and serves me very well. Would you like her to serve you?"
If Yan Yingqi was in his teens or twenties, he would have respected his elders. But now that he has been an official for many years, thinking of Xie's situation, Yan Yingqi said, "That's not necessary. Since she serves you well, how can I have the heart to steal your love? Yes, I have something to tell you today. I want to let my eldest brother's mother go with me to visit the grandson of the Xunfu family. I wonder if anyone from the Guan family has come to visit these days?"
The third old lady thought to herself, how dare Xie be so bold as to even respond to Qi's crying?
But she couldn't afford to offend Yan Yingqi either. He was not an easy person to control, and they didn't have a mother-son relationship. Now that she could register Yan Jingzhao and Yao Niang in the third house, it was already a great favor to the third house.
Yue'e was not pushed out to be Yan Yingqi's concubine. The third old lady didn't have any problem with it, but Xie took action. When Yan Jingzhao came to pay his respects, she rarely kept him for a while.
Yan Jingzhao was a little puzzled, and then he saw Xie looking at him and asked, "Has the old lady been kind to you these days?"
"Okay, as always." Yan Jingzhao didn't understand why Xie asked this question.
Xie said, "I heard from your father that the old lady wanted to give Yue'e to your father. Of course, this is a matter for the elders and shouldn't be told to you. But I'm afraid that the old lady intends to let Yue'e give birth to a few more brothers for you. I know that a big family like ours naturally wants to have many children, but you already have enough brothers. I don't care about the family property, but I'm afraid that if the old lady has too many candidates, she may not be able to do it as before."
"Mother, you're overthinking." Yan Jingzhao said this, but he naturally had other thoughts in his mind.
Xie smiled slightly: "I also hope that I am overthinking."
Yan Jingzhao looked at Xie, and saw that she was thin and pale, and she was still looking at him lovingly. His heart was also touched, but a child of this age would feel embarrassed unconsciously. The more he cared about something, the more he had to show that he didn't care. Therefore, he went out in a wolfish manner.
After he left, Xie curled her lips and called Yao Niang's wet nurse Gu Ma Ma to come in and said, "Tomorrow I will go with the master to inspect the mansion and take Yao Niang with me. Find her rose-red double-breasted shirt today, iron it, and fumigate it."
Mother Gu quickly said yes and was naturally happy for Yao Niang.
Xie thought that Zhen was really hasty and whispered something in the Third Old Lady's ear, making her really believe that the Guan family was dissatisfied with her and therefore did not allow her to go to the Quan family. Instead, now they have fulfilled her wish and allowed her to attend the event with Yan Yingqi, and also alienated the Third Old Lady and Yan Jingzhao.