Chapter 11
"Madam, the two young masters have come to say hello and have already arrived at the gate of the courtyard."
Early in the morning, Lin Yunwan had just freshened up and hadn't had time to style her hair.
Taoye was waiting in front of the dressing mirror. She turned around and said to Pingye: "When the two young masters come, please ask them to wait. Madam will be waiting for a while."
Pingye put down the curtain and went.
Lin Yunwan heard something unusual happening outside and raised her hand to stop Tao Ye from inserting the hairpin for her.
She walked to the window, hid her figure sideways, and watched from a distance.
Lu Changgong fell down at the door of Chuisi Hall. He got up from the ground and patted the soil on his knees.
Brother Qing looked at him with a smile, finding the other person's embarrassment funny. The personal servant is also a half-year-old child, otherwise he would not be allowed to enter the inner courtyard, and he pretends to apologize next to him.
Apparently it was Brother Qing's boy who tripped Lu Changgong on purpose.
Taoye came over and said in a low voice: "Madam, I have told the people in the front yard that the people below are bullying the young master. The old lady dotes on young master Qing very much."
Lin Yunwan's tone was very calm: "Don't worry about it."
She had ordered, just pretend not to know.
Taoye said: "Yes."
But I don’t know why. It is clear that Young Master Changgong is the stepson chosen by Madam herself, and it is clear that Madam also intends to take care of Young Master Longgong. Why do she look at him being bullied as if she didn’t see it?
Pingye also received the order and stood in the corridor watching. Although she was a little angry that Master Qing was too naughty, she still held back and just told them to stand in the corridor and listen to the order.
A quarter of an hour later.
After Lin Yunwan finished dressing up and the food was placed in the small hall of Chuisi Hall, she called the two of them: "Come in."
Lu Changgong and Brother Qing came in side by side. They stopped playing around and bowed together and called, "Mother."
In the front yard these days, the two of them still received some training, and they performed the etiquette of greeting their elders very beautifully.
Two gorgeously dressed children stood in front of the table together, very pleasing to the eye.
Lin Yunwan did not move her chopsticks, but asked them: "Have you all had breakfast?"
Brother Qing looked up and said with a smile: "Go back to mother, I've eaten."
His eyes, which have not yet been opened, are as bright and dark as a child's, with a bit of clever agility and joy.
The old lady likes this look very much.
But Lin Yunwan was different. Her attitude was very distant and indifferent. After asking him, he looked at Lu Changgong.
Brother Qing doesn't know what's going on.
Why is Madam so cold to him?
He couldn't help but think of the day he was selected, and felt very nervous.
Lu Changgong always lowered his head, not daring to look at his elders, and said respectfully: "Go back to mother, my son has eaten."
"Gurgling", his stomach growled several times...
Pingye couldn't help but laugh, is this called eating?
Lu Changgong blushed for a while.
Lin Yunwan asked him again: "Did you really eat it?"
Lu Changgong's fair and handsome face turned even redder.
He didn't eat.
He and his younger brother lived in the same courtyard, and they shared the same small hall. They would deliver meals together from the kitchen. The servants always served the younger brother first, so every time the younger brother ate first and then he ate.
Today, his brother got up late and ate late, so he could only wait.
Waiting and waiting, the time has passed, and I can only come hungry.
Lu Changgong didn't want to complain, but just said in a low voice: "Go back to my mother, I ate... I didn't feel full, that's all."
Lin Yunwan said: "Since you are not full, come and sit."
Lu Changgong's eyes lit up.
This is the first time to have dinner with my mother!
Brother Qing was also about to make a move. Seeing that Lu Changgong was already approaching Lin Yunwan, he walked forward, pulled her sleeves, and said coquettishly: "Mom, I haven't had enough to eat either."
Lin Yunwan took out her sleeves.
Pingye immediately scolded: "There are no rules! Did Madam let you come?"
Brother Qing was dumbfounded.
Among his mother and the old lady, who wouldn’t fall for his tricks? Why doesn't my aunt eat it?
He pursed his lips, looked at Lin Yunwan aggrievedly, and shouted: "Mother..."
Lin Yunwan was not at all distressed or soft-hearted.
She knew very well that this was what the child was most familiar with.
Maybe it’s because I was living as a widow and was really lonely in my previous life. I thought it would be nice to have a lively child at my knees, so I was always fooled. But he didn't expect that Brother Qing, despite being close to her on the surface, had long hated her in his heart.
Thinking of the resentment in the child's eyes before he died, Lin Yunwan asked him: "Didn't your upbringing mother tell you that you have to be respectful in front of your aunt?"
Brother Qing lowered his head.
Pingye said sternly: "Madam, why don't you answer your question quickly? If it's true, it's okay. If it's not, it's okay."
Brother Qing almost cried: "...Yes."
But he never had to abide by such rules in front of the old lady and his biological father.
Only Lu Changgong needs to be honest and obedient!
Why does he have to abide by the rules when he comes to his aunt's place?
Lin Yunwan said: "Let's all sit down and eat."
Where can Brother Qing still eat? After sitting down, he became a foil.
On the other hand, Lin Yunwan and Lu Changgong enjoyed the food. They devoured the grouper fish soup, stuffed melon, and salted almonds on the dinner table.
After breakfast, Lin Yunwan didn't keep them and sent them away.
"Madam, my servant will go and have a look."
Pingye was interested, and Lin Yunwan also acquiesced.
After a while, she came back and angrily recounted how Brother Qing bullied Lu Changgong, and asked Lin Yunwan: "Madam, do you really not care?"
Lin Yunwan put down the book in her hand and said: "His family must be very poor if they are willing to send him to the Marquis's Mansion. Since I have chosen this child to enter the Mansion, I will definitely fulfill my responsibilities as a legitimate mother and ensure that he is fed and clothed here. It’s not short. I have the opportunity to study, get ahead, stand on my own, and live a better life than before. I’m not ashamed of him.”
Pingye said: "That's natural. Madam will wait for Young Master Changgong to be kind to him again."
She smiled: "It would be better if Madam could help Young Master Longgong a little more, and Young Master Longgong respects and loves you more."
Lin Yunwan didn't talk too deeply to the maid.
Given Brother Qing's character, the more she favors and helps Lu Changgong, the more Brother Qing will bully him.
It's better to just endure it for a while and Brother Qing will feel bored.
And she didn't want Lu Changgong to be too nice.
Once bitten by a snake, she has been afraid of well ropes for ten years. Brother Qing really hurt her too deeply!
When interacting with the Lu family, it is better to do one's duty without asking for anything in return, and it is more appropriate to have no feelings.
Lin Yunwan finally just said calmly: "Let the mothers in charge go to the meeting hall."
"yes."
Pingye still felt sorry for Lu Changgong.
One day later, when Lu Changgong and Brother Qing came to pay their respects, Lin Yunwan wrote a piece of writing and handed it to Pingye and said, "When the ink is dry, take it, frame it, and hang it on the wall to the east of the small hall."
In this way, they can see them every day when they come to say hello.
Pingye thought: "A great scholar has a limited ambition and can forget his plans【note】. What does this mean?"
Lin Yunwan was cleaning her hands.
Taoye explained warmly: "It means that if you have great ambitions, don't take trivial matters too seriously."
Lu Changgong stood aside, raised his ears, and read the words silently.
Pingye smiled and said: "Good words. That slave is gone."
Lin Yun Wanjing came over after finishing her work and asked the two of them to leave.
Brother Qing bowed and ran away.
Before Lu Changgong left, he said shyly: "Thank you, mother, for your teaching."
Lin Yunwan looked at him in surprise. When the child turned his face, he pursed his lips tightly. His handsome face always looked very reserved and quiet.
Watching the little figure go away, she felt sad.
It's true that good things come from bad bamboos, and the Lu family actually has such a smart child.
