Chapter 18
After chatting with Yueming, Yuyan returned to her room feeling somewhat dejected. The Third Madam was waiting for her with dinner. Seeing her distraught appearance, she guessed most of what had happened. She started to curse, "I've said a thousand things, but I still can't get to the heart of it, right?"
Yuyan played dumb: "Auntie, what are you talking about? I just went to talk to Miss Lan."
The Third Wife's biggest characteristic was that no matter what you said next or what your excuses were, she would not respond and would just say whatever she wanted to say. This left people at a loss and often caused them to lose their temper. She was invincible in the mansion and had no rivals.
"You're determined to become that half-Dai, half-Han bastard's stepmother, aren't you? You'd better give up on this idea. There are so many good men in Yun Xiang, but you chose a widower instead. You're slapping me and your grandfather in the face."
Upon hearing the Third Madam insult Yueming, Yuyan was so frightened that she quickly drove the servants out and told them not to spread the news. Lan Yingde was being highly valued in the palace, and if the Yintai and the chieftain knew about this, they would definitely not let the Third Madam off easily.
Yuyan was both embarrassed and angry, and she lost her temper, a rare occurrence. "Ah Ma, what nonsense are you talking about? Madam told me to take good care of Miss Lan before she left, so I've been seeing her more often. It's fine if you scold me, but why bring Miss Lan into this?"
The Third Wife was very confident: "So what if I said it? I didn't lie. Everyone in the whole Yunxiang Nine Meng Thirteen Circles knows that her mother disregarded her status and family to marry Lan Yingde. She is originally the bastard born of Tao Mannu and Han. What am I wrong about? Both father and daughter are not good people. One is unlucky for his wife and the other is unlucky for his mother. If you are not afraid of death, you don't have to listen to me."
Yuyan couldn't win the argument with the Third Madam, so she could only sit at the table with her handkerchief pulled and sulk.
Although Yuyan had already admitted defeat, the Third Wife was still relentless: "Don't use this as a pretext to pressure me with Yin Tai. Yin Tai asked you to take care of her, but that was just a polite remark. What can you do for her? She has servants to take care of her, so what can you do? When have you ever accomplished anything serious? If you had any sense, you wouldn't make me worry so much."
In this family, Li Yang is the most cherished, Huan Yan the one with the most family hope, and Yun Kai the one who causes the most worry. Yu Yan, neither a middle child nor a daughter of Yin Tai, is introverted and doesn't know how to compete, so she's always been unloved. The only one who loves her the most is the Third Wife. But now, even the Third Wife thinks she's useless, leaving her feeling incredibly embarrassed.
She argued unconvincedly, "There are many things I can do. Miss Lan has different tastes from us, so I have to instruct the servants to prepare meals. She's all alone in the mansion, and I can talk to her and make her feel at ease. There are so many things I can do."
The Third Wife sneered, "You don't have to say these nice things to please me. You crawled out of my intestines, how could I not know what you're thinking? You'd better behave yourself and stop having any dirty thoughts, as you're embarrassing me."
The scolding from the Third Madam was very effective. Although Yuyan felt that the Third Madam was being unreasonable, she did not dare to go to Yueming.
Yueming felt a bit strange not having seen Yuyan for a few days. She'd managed to stay alone in her room painting for the first couple of days, but by the time she finished, she felt her mouth was dry from boredom. Only a few people in the Tusi Mansion spoke Chinese, and she had to guess at what her personal maid said, let alone chat with her. She felt like she was going crazy if she didn't talk to someone. She packed up her painting "Fireworks" and led Ye Nan to find Yuyan.
Seeing Yueming coming, Yuyan asked the maid to bring some fruits and sugarcane juice, but then she felt it was not good to let Yueming sit there idle, so she asked the maid to serve tea first.
Yueming stopped her, saying, "No, who would be patient enough to drink hot tea in such hot weather? I didn't come to you just for snacks. Let them prepare it slowly!"
She pulled Yueming to sit down and explained with a half-apologetic and half-guilty tone, "My mother hasn't been feeling well these past two days, and I've been busy taking care of her and haven't had time to visit you. Is the food to your liking? Are the servants doing their best to serve you?"
Yueming spread the painting on the table and said, "It's all good. No one has neglected me. I just missed you a lot after not seeing you for a few days, so I came to see you and give you a gift."
Yuyan looked at the painting and exclaimed, "You drew this? It's really beautiful."
"I originally wanted to frame it before giving it to you, but my butler Feng Er asked around for me and couldn't find any shop that would frame oil paintings, so I can only give it to you naked."
Yuyan picked up the painting and admired it carefully: "It's okay, I'll ask Yunkai to find a solution for me. I saw a painting like this hanging in his room."
Yueming remembered that Han Yunkai had also studied abroad, and nodded: "Yes, he should have a way."
Yuyan asked curiously, "Does your school also teach this kind of Western painting?"
"How is that possible?" Yueming laughed. "Oil paint is very expensive and many people can't afford it. The school only teaches sketching, Chinese painting and the like. I was interested in learning, so I asked my father to find a teacher for me."
The maid came back with the fruit, and Yuyan handed Yueming a piece of Masangpo and told Yueming to eat it quickly.
Yueming took it and took a bite. The orange flesh was soft and the juice flowed down the fruit and stained Yueming's hand. Ye Nan quickly handed Yueming a handkerchief. Yueming put the fruit down and wiped his hands with the handkerchief. He said to Yuyan, "I almost forgot. I still have something to ask of you."
"We both have something to ask for, if you have anything, just tell me."
"It was still cold in Kunming when I came to Yunsang. I didn't bring enough summer clothes, so I need to make a few sets. Is there anyone here who makes Western-style clothes?"
Yuyan then remembered that Yueming had been wearing two sets of clothes since she came into the mansion: a navy blue dress with a large cape collar and a short-sleeved dress with a stand-up collar. She thought about it and said with some embarrassment, "It seems that there are not many tailors who specialize in Western-style clothes like Prime Minister Yun. Besides Yunkai, no one in our family wears clothes. I wonder how good their craftsmanship is?"
Yueming said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I'll just make two sets for emergencies. My dad will probably buy me one when he comes back."
Yuyan thought for a moment and said, "How about this? I'll ask Yunkai to call his usual tailor over. His craftsmanship should be quite good."
Hearing that they were going to trouble Han Yunkai, Yueming quickly refused: "Don't bother the Second Young Master, I'll just make two sets to last for a few months."
"How can this be considered a trouble? It's not something you can ask him to do for you. It's just a matter of asking." She instructed the maid: "Go and see if the second young master is here. If he is, tell him that I have something to ask him and ask him to come over."
Yueming tried to stop him: "There's really no need to trouble the Second Young Master. Can't I just stop doing it? Let her come back quickly."
Yuyan said, "Don't be embarrassed, it's okay."
Yueming... I'm not embarrassed, I just don't want to deal with the second young master.
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