Chapter 197: Chapter 179, A Decade in the East, A Decade in the West_1
By the end of April, with swallows chirping and pigeons cooing, and bees and butterflies carrying scents, it was indeed a good ti for all things.
As soon as Zhou Jingwan had finished the busy work at Daohua Manor and the shop, she couldn’t wait to co over and drag her out for a countryside outing to enjoy the scenery.
The two young girls, one fond of imrsing herself in nature alone, the other impatient with socializing, thus when they went out, they didn’t call anyone. They played outside joyfully for an entire day before returning ho.
“You actually rembered to co back?”
Daohua stepped into her ho with the tail of the sunset, and as soon as she entered the main courtyard, Madam Li glared at her daughter disapprovingly, “Don’t you have any sense of ti? Next ti you go out and co back this late, be careful I won’t allow you to go anymore.”
Daohua imdiately begged for rcy, “Mother, I had too much fun today and lost track of ti. That’s why I ca back late. I’ll definitely pay attention next ti.”
Seeing her daughter’s rosy cheeks and bright eyes, and thinking of her busyness these past two months, Madam Li didn’t pursue the matter further.
“Eh, there are still many days until the Dragon Boat Festival, why start sending gifts now?”
Seeing the gift boxes on the table, Daohua walked up and flipped through them, “Mother, who sent these? They seem quite valuable.”
Madam Li’s expression was sowhat indifferent, “The education instructor from Linyi County used his connections and was transferred to Xingzhou. The things are from their family.”
Upon hearing this, Daohua’s expression also imdiately grew faint, and she put back the gift box she was holding in her hand.
Madam Li glanced at her daughter, knowing that the girl still rembered the incident where the instructor’s daughter got slapped by the master of the house, “In the next few days, Madam Zhu may bring Miss Zhu to visit. You’ll need to et them then.”
Daohua was completely uninterested, “I’d rather not. Miss Zhu gets along well with Yishuang and the others. Let them et her then.”
Madam Li glared at Daohua, “What nonsense are you speaking? As the eldest daughter of the Yan Family, it’s your duty to receive guests and manage social interactions. How can you have your younger sisters take over for that?”
“Mother knows you don’t like the Zhu Family, and neither do I. However, the education instructor is ultimately going to work under your father. We need to maintain a decent face.”
Seeing that her daughter had her lips pursed high with an unhappy face, Madam Li chuckled, “I’m not asking you to get close to her, just to et her. Besides, you’re too quick to show your feelings. It’d do you good to practice with them.”
Madam Li stood up, walked over to Daohua, and patted her on the head, “In the future when you’re married, you’ll et even more people, and it’s not possible that you’ll like all of them. You can’t avoid eting everyone, can you?”
Hearing Madam Li bring up the matter of marriage, Daohua grew a bit annoyed and imdiately said, “Mother, will it suffice if I et her?”
Madam Li smiled, “Just don’t forget your manners.”
She, too, had no fondness for the Zhu family, so naturally, she wouldn’t demand too much from her daughter.
The day after the gifts were sent, Madam Zhu brought Zhu Xiuyun to the Yan Residence.
Different from her deanor in Linyi County, this ti as she entered the Yan Residence, Madam Zhu had shed her forr arrogance and there was a hint of restraint in her eyebrows.
Who could have anticipated that the Seventh-rank County Magistrate of the Yan family would rise three ranks silently and beco the Fifth-rank Prefectural Governor of Xingzhou?
She could afford to scorn the wife of a Seventh-rank County Magistrate who ca from a rchant background, but she could not disrespect the wife of a Prefectural Governor.
The governor of a prefecture, overseeing several counties, ant that the Yan family was no longer the humble household she could once look down upon.
Especially considering the news about the Yan family she had heard throughout the year.
The eldest son of the Yan family, as well as the third and fourth sons, were now studying at the Wangyue Academy, frequently seen coming and going with the Little Prince.
The Little Prince was a royal relative, which was an imnse honor.
Her husband had said that the head of the Yan family was an honest and capable official. Were it not for soone obstructing his promotion, he would have advanced much sooner. Now with the connection to the Little Prince, his further promotion was only a matter of ti.
While the Yan family was flourishing more and more, the Zhu family was gradually declining.
This ti, her husband had paid a hefty price to be transferred to Xingzhou, hoping that the high regard they had held for each other over the years would allow the head of the Yan family to give him a helping hand.
Thinking of how the master had repeatedly instructed her last night to make ands with Mada Li, Mada Zhu felt sowhat uneasy, as her own treatnt towards Mada Li back in Linyi County was anything but kind.
Mada Zhu looked at her daughter who was also bowing her head, and sighed in her heart again.
Now she questioned whether befriending the Lin Family had been a misstep; no matter how favored a concubine might be, she was ultimately still a concubine. It was the lady of the house who had to engage in social interactions.
Linyi County was small, and there weren’t many large households, so the rules and etiquettes weren’t so strict. But here in Xingzhou City, if she continued to befriend a concubine, she feared that the other ladies would distance themselves from her.
For a legitimate wife to befriend a concubine was deaning!
Guided by a maid, Mada Zhu, full of worries, walked with her daughter toward the main courtyard.
All the way there, Zhu Xiuyun was very well-behaved, and at this mont, she too felt sowhat anxious.
After all, she had been the instigator behind the slap that Yan Family’s eldest daughter received from Master Yan.
Main courtyard.
Ping Xiao greeted Mada Zhu and her daughter with a smile and ushered them into the hall, “Mada Zhu, I’m truly sorry, our lady has been unexpectedly held up by so matters. Please wait here for a little while.”
The smile on Mada Zhu’s face stiffened for a mont before she said with a smile, “It’s us who have co at an inconvenient ti. You let your lady attend to her matters first; I am not in a rush, waiting a while is no trouble.”
Ping Xiao smiled and excused herself. As soon as she stepped outside, she was pulled aside by Ping Tong.
Ping Tong glared at Ping Xiao, “Didn’t we agree to find a better excuse? Although our lady did want to give her a bit of a cold shoulder, she didn’t want to go too far.”
Ping Xiao curled her lips, “Given Mada Zhu’s previous attitude towards our lady, it’s good enough that I can smile at her. To co up with excuses… I can’t be bothered to waste my brain on that.”
Ping Tong was left sowhat speechless but didn’t argue further.
Back in Linyi County, Mada Zhu looked down on ladies from rchant backgrounds. Seeing that Aunt Lin had a scholar father and brother and was also favored by the master, Mada Zhu would always speak with Aunt Lin during visits, ignoring the rightful lady of the house. It was truly vexing.
Ping Xiao sneered, “Rember when Miss Zhu was injured at our house? Master Yan gave his eldest daughter a slap for it, causing our lady to cry many tis over.”
“Subsequently, during the issue of Mr. Qin’s employnt, Mada Zhu and Aunt Lin were also involved.”
“Mada Zhu prides herself on being from a Scholar Family, yet none of her actions are proper. If it were , I wouldn’t even deign to et with her.”
Ping Xiao was about to continue venting when she spotted soone arriving in the courtyard and imdiately went up with a smile, “Oh, Aunt Lin, why have you only just arrived? We’ve been waiting for you for quite so ti.”
Aunt Lin was a bit puzzled at the sight of the Senior Maid being so cordial, but she didn’t let it show and responded with a smile, “I was called on suddenly, so it took so ti to change clothes; does the lady need sothing?”
Ping Xiao glanced at the hall and said with a smile, “Sothing good. You see, you have a guest, isn’t that why we asked you to co et them?”
Aunt Lin froze.
A guest? What friend could she possibly have? And would the lady ever be so kind as to let a concubine out to et guests?
Caught up in the summoning, Yan Yishuang asked, “Who is it?”
Ping Xiao smiled, “Third Miss, it’s your dear sister, Miss Zhu. She and Mada Zhu are here. Didn’t our lady think of how well you two get along and specially requested you to co see her?”
Seeing that Aunt Lin and her daughter were a bit stunned, Ping Xiao urged them, “Aunt Lin and Third Miss, please follow now. We shouldn’t keep the guests waiting.”
Inside the hall, Mada Zhu and her daughter, who had been left hanging, wore clearly displeased expressions.
Just then, hearing voices in the courtyard led them to believe Mada Li had arrived, and they promptly got up to receive her.
However, upon seeing Aunt Lin and her daughter enter instead, Mada Zhu’s smile nearly faltered completely.
By having a concubine greet them, what was Mada Li implying about her status?
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