Babies change every day. By the ti An Ning officially completed her postpartum confinent, the little one in her arms had transford from a tiny red-faced newborn into a fair, soft little bun.
With his big round eyes and rosy cheeks, even at this small size, his delicate features already hinted at the handso boy he would beco. Old Master Lin, who had co to visit several tis, couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't rember what his daughter-in-law looked like as a baby, but he was certain his eldest son had never been this good-looking as a child.
That the grandson turned out so handso clearly ant he took after his mother. Even the child's father, Lin Xiuyuan, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that he resembled his wife.
After the hundred-day celebration, the baby was officially nad Lin Jinghuai, with Ah Jing as his pet na. With his adorable face, the less-than-one-year-old effortlessly won over everyone in the household. Even Madam Jiang would hold him for hours whenever she got the chance.
"Ah Jing is truly... he just keeps getting more beautiful. In all my years, I've never seen such a pretty child!"
"He's much better-looking than our Xiao Zhi was at that age," Eldest Miss Lin said with genuine envy.
Watching the little one lying on the couch wearing his tiger hat, his big round eyes sparkling with intelligence and charm, Lin Wan couldn't help but feel another wave of disgust toward that Jiang fellow.
The Lin family might not have much talent for academics, but Eldest Miss Lin could swear on her chest that whether it was her or her younger brothers, none of them were ugly. While not exceptionally handso, they were all above average in looks. Otherwise, her cousin wouldn't have so easily caught the eye of that noble family's daughter.
But Xiao Zhi's father? Just average-looking at best. Though perhaps it was precisely because of his diocre appearance that she'd been able to see through his cold, hypocritical nature before falling too deep into that pit.
Thinking of how miserable that Jiang fellow had been recently, so of the resentnt in Lin Wan's heart finally eased. She felt increasingly grateful toward her fairy-like sister-in-law.
Knowing her family well, Lin Wan understood clearly that without her sister-in-law's presence, given her father's temperant, he probably wouldn't have been able to decisively cut ties with that Jiang fellow either.
An Ning leaned against the couch, skillfully playing with the baby. Hearing this, she rely smiled without comnt.
With Lin Wan's good looks, Xiao Zhi was actually quite a handso child on his own. It's just that compared to the little one before them, the difference beca rather obvious. Unaware of the truth, Lin Wan smoothly and naturally placed all the bla squarely on her unfortunate husband.
Since Scholar Jiang's downfall and complete loss of prospects, the Jiang mother-son pair no longer had the capital for their forr arrogance. They didn't dare utter a word of complaint about Lin Wan frequently bringing her child back to her maiden ho.
But Lin Wan knew her boundaries well. Xiao Zhi's literacy education naturally fell to outside tutors, with An Ning only occasionally offering so guidance as his aunt. Even so, over the past half year, Xiao Zhi's progress had ranked among the top in his school.
This undoubtedly made Lin Wan even more attentive toward her sister-in-law. Every visit, she never failed to bring interesting little toys for the baby. Whenever there was interesting gossip or news in the county, she would always co share it with her sister-in-law first.
Between reading, writing, burning incense while admiring flowers, occasionally playing with the little bun in her arms, and giving pointers to her not-so-bright husband, An Ning's days passed quite leisurely.
The next ti she heard news about her cousin, the girl had quit her embroidery workshop job and started a small food stall in the county town. With innovative dishes, good flavors, and various novel snacks, she reportedly earned quite a bit of money in a short ti.
In less than half a year, she had already saved enough for Liu Wencai to take the imperial examinations again.
As for Second Aunt, during An Ning's occasional visits ho, she could see Xia Zhaodi visibly deteriorating, her eyes even faintly bloodshot. According to An Ning's mother, if not for Third Sister and the little grandson visiting frequently during this period, Xia Zhaodi's condition would likely be even worse.
"About Second Ya..."
In front of her daughter, Little Chen opened her mouth as if to say sothing, then closed it again with an inscrutable expression. Before leaving, she made sure to remind her daughter to stay as far away from Second Ya as possible.
Beyond this, throughout the entire al, no one in the Xie family ntioned Second Ya's na even once.
Xie Laosi, on the other hand, having rented a shop in town to run his business these past two years, had beco much more articulate. Now he could chat with his nephew-in-law Lin Xiuyuan without any awkwardness.
Even Aunt Xie was all smiles, wearing a dark red jacket that was eighty percent new. Perhaps due to better living conditions in recent years, none of her forr anness showed in her expression. Smiling, she held a grandchild in each arm, feeding them snacks that would have pained her to give away in the past.
Who could have imagined that the shrill-voiced, constantly scolding Aunt Xie would have this side to her?
Holding the little one in her arms, An Ning couldn't help but smile.
When life goes smoothly, who would want to nitpick over every little thing and maintain a nasty, an deanor?
Though it might seem like they'd just gained a scholar in the family, being exempted from the backbreaking corvée labor and land taxes, plus having married into several well-off families who commanded respect both in town and county, the Xie family's circumstances had visibly improved over these two short years.
Xie Laosi's shop was thriving, and since other Xie family mbers had invested in it initially, they all received shares of the profits.
With a steady inco stream and elevated social status, people naturally beca more content.
It was said that co next year, even Da Wa's son would formally begin his studies.
On the way back, An Ning leaned comfortably against her husband in the carriage lined with thick wool blankets. Little Ah Jing, just over a year old, was laughing and playing boisterously.
Lin Xiuyuan had his hands full—between keeping an eye on his wife and watching over their energetic son on the bumpy country roads.
After this trip, the system was surprised to discover that its host seed to have suddenly lost interest in her cousin.
The following year, when Liu Wencai packed his bags again to take the examinations, the system thought its host might intervene. Yet she remained completely inactive, even allowing Liu Wencai to pass the exams with decent scores and beco a scholar.
The system: "???"
This wasn't right!
Ignoring the system's bewildernt in her consciousness, An Ning reclined on the couch, propping her chin with one hand as she regarded with amusent the little four-year-old before her and her husband whose face had turned slightly green:
"Alright, Ah Jing, what happened this ti?"
Despite looking like an angel that everyone adored, like all four-to-five-year-olds, the little one could be quite a handful.
Moreover, An Ning noticed the child had sharp instincts—he knew perfectly well that his mother held the highest status at ho and must never be crossed. Grandfather and grandmother doted on him completely, giving him whatever he wanted, making them no fun to tease. The sa went for aunt and cousin Xiao Zhi.
Which left only poor Lin Xiuyuan as the usual target.
Whatever the little rascal had done this ti, it had clearly gotten to his father—Lin Xiuyuan's face was still green!
Under his mother's intense gaze, little Ah Jing hesitated for a mont with his big round eyes before tilting his little face up to explain:
"It's really nothing much! I just saw Daddy reading the sa essay all morning, so I wanted to help!"
"Hey hey, Mama!"
The little one proudly lifted his chin:
"I recited the whole thing for him from mory!"
Actually, the child was rather puzzled too.
He'd already morized it after hearing it three tis—he couldn't understand why his father kept reading it over and over.
He just wanted his father to finish sooner so they could go outside to see the lion dogs!
An Ning: "......"
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