Chapter 12 After the banquet, Old Madame Dou, being advanced in years, was already showing signs of fatigue. Mrs. Ren and Mrs. Jiang helped her back to rest. Luo Jingrou had been staying at Ganquan Residence, so Mrs. Yu first had Concubine Qin take Shiyu back.In her heart, Mrs. Yu regarded Concubine Qin as a nanny of slightly higher rank than Shiyu's own. She felt more at ease knowing Shiyu had her birth mother to look after her. Moreover, if anything happened to Shiyu, the responsibility would fall on Concubine Qin.Only then did Mrs. Yu take her daughter's hand and return—not to the eastern wing, but to her own quarters. She said, "While your father hasn't returned yet, I'll teach you how to manage the household."What she had taught before, treating everyone equally, was merely the surface. What she would teach now was the true essence.If Yaoniang had been naive and close to Luo Jingrou, Mrs. Yu would have feared her daughter might let something slip and would have waited until she truly matured before teaching her. But today, when her daughter had seen through Luo Jingrou's tricks in just a few words that morning, Mrs. Yu felt compelled to fight for her daughter.If her daughter were ordinary, a plain and uneventful life would be fine. But with such intelligence, to treat her as ordinary would be an insult to the wisdom she was born with."Today, Mother will teach you how to read visiting cards, but in truth, the most important thing is connections. Mother will start by teaching you about our relatives."Yaoniang had an excellent memory—not because of her rebirth, but because she had always had a good memory in her past life as well. Especially for matters great and small, she could remember them after hearing them just once. She was also skilled at imagination, which was why even though she secretly read storybooks at night and dozed off distractedly during the day, she could still compose poetry almost effortlessly, letting her thoughts flow into lines at the stroke of a brush.Mrs. Yu said, "You saw our household's old relatives today. This First Mrs. Shan is your grandmother's nephew's wife. Although their family still holds hereditary favor, they are far less prosperous than before. In officialdom, the most common thing is that once people leave, the tea goes cold. First Mrs. Shan has a son and a daughter. I hear her son, Shan He, is about the same age as your brother, and he is quite the dashing playboy. Her daughter is about the same age as your third sister. As for the Dou family, they have many members, but most remain in their hometown of Fufeng Commandery. Only two branches currently reside in the capital…"Although Yaoniang had known all this in her past life, hearing Mrs. Yu speak of it now made everything clearer.By the end, Mrs. Yu was also tired and only mentioned that her maternal grandmother and Cousin Yu would be visiting tomorrow. Yaoniang took note.Her maternal grandmother, Old Madame Yu, had passed away when Yaoniang was ten. Fortunately, Cousin Yu had married before that. Cousin Yu's marriage seemed to have happened around these very years.The only interaction Yaoniang remembered was that for some unknown reason, Cousin Yu had come to live with her, taking half of her allowance every day. Mrs. Yu, pitying Cousin Yu's loss of both parents, had favored her greatly. Yaoniang had not been happy about this and had always been unfriendly toward this Cousin Yu, who seemed to be mooching off their family.That evening, after wiping her face with a handkerchief, Yaoniang asked Yinrong, "Tomorrow, Grandmother and Cousin Yu are said to be coming. Tell me, what do you know about them?"Yinrong, hearing Yaoniang bring up the Yu family, quietly glanced at Yaoniang's expression before speaking. "Old Madame Yu is fond of pastries and needs two people to support her when she walks, otherwise she gets out of breath. She's a decent person, though. But I've heard Sister Erzhen mention that Old Madame Yu wasn't always like this—she used to be a very sharp-tongued woman. Back then, Old Master Yu's family was poor and he still had to study, so she herself took her daughter along the streets selling crispy cakes. It wasn't until the old master passed the imperial examination that she became an official's wife.""As for the young Miss Yu, she's twelve this year, the same age as our Third Young Lady. We've met her rarely, so I don't know much about her."Yaoniang smiled. "Never mind—we'll see her tomorrow."Early the next morning, when Yaoniang went to pay her respects to Mrs. Yu, she saw a very portly old lady, and beside her a young girl who was strikingly fresh and bright.When Mrs. Yu saw her enter, she quickly said, "Yaoniang, this is your grandmother and your cousin Yu Yan. Come, pay your respects."Yaoniang hurriedly performed a bow. "Greetings, Grandmother." Then, smiling at Yu Yan, she said, "Cousin Yu."Old Madame Yu quickly said to Mrs. Yu, "Oh my, so this is Yaoniang! She's truly beautiful—carved from the same mold as you. And our Jinghao too—oh, these two children of yours are true descendants of the Luo family. Our Yan'er is far inferior by comparison.""Mother, I think Yan'er is wonderful," Mrs. Yu said, disapproving of her belittlement of Yu Yan.Yaoniang looked at Yu Yan, who indeed wore a look of defiance. Such a person had sharp edges. Old Madame Yu remained all smiles, and being shrewd, after a few more words, upon hearing that Luo Jingrou and Luo Shiyu were coming over, she quickly took her leave."Mother, stay for lunch with us today—why rush off so soon?" Mrs. Yu pressed her lips.Old Madame Yu said, "I've lived in Apricot Blossom Court for so long; these old bones are too lazy for socializing. Now that I've seen my two grandchildren, I'm content.""Whatever you say—then in a few days I'll bring Jinghao and Yaoniang to visit you," Mrs. Yu said, not pressing her to stay.But she had Erzhen wrap up some pastries, fresh fruits, and two bolts of cloth to give to Old Madame Yu, and Yu Yan quietly pursed her lips in disdain.The grandmother and granddaughter entered the garden through a small side gate of the Luo residence, in a secluded spot where few people passed. Seeing Yu Yan sulking, Old Madame Yu gave a sly smile. "Young lady, we're living under someone else's roof. You don't expect them to treat us like honored guests, do you?"Struck where it hurt, Yu Yan said uncomfortably, "Grandmother, I wasn't thinking that at all.""You weren't thinking it, but your lips could hang an oil jug." Old Madame Yu chuckled.Yu Yan pouted. "It's understandable that outsiders treat us coldly, but why does Aunt do the same?"“Your aunt has children of her own, and her daughter was only just found. If she were overly kind to you, that young girl would surely grow jealous. There’s no need to rush—once some time passes, go pay your respects every day. Silly child, you’re not getting any younger. Your marriage prospects depend on your aunt finding you a good family and preparing a dowry for you in the future. Don’t feel embarrassed—flash a smile, contribute what you can, whether it’s money or just your presence. That’s far better than sitting around waiting for others to arrange things for you. These years, you and I have had a combined monthly allowance of five taels of silver, and at New Year’s and festivals your aunt gives me an extra twenty taels. Throughout the year, we’ve never lacked for clothes for the seasons or even food. They’ve let us live in that large Apricot Blossom Courtyard. Don’t cling to pride—pride isn’t worth a few coins.” Old Madame Yu spoke earnestly.Yu Yan deeply resented that her parents and grandfather had died so early; otherwise, why would she have to live under someone else’s roof?Yaoniang was asking the same question: “Mother, why did you let Grandmother and Cousin come home? Why not let them stay and play a while longer?”“There’s nothing to say about it. Back when our family was struggling, your grandmother nearly sold me off. Because selling me to a brothel would fetch the highest price, she would have done it without hesitation. I don’t bring it up now, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten. Yaoniang, remember this: not every mother loves her own child, especially daughters.” Mrs. Yu stroked Yaoniang’s head.Yaoniang had never known any of this—no wonder her mother was warm on the surface but cold inside toward the Yu family.Then Mrs. Yu continued, “In life, the people closest to you aren’t necessarily the ones who treat you best. Perhaps, when they’re down on their luck, the first person they think to scheme against is you.”That hit the mark. Yaoniang thought of that Lin Chaoyan and Luo Jingrou from her past life, and she couldn’t help but hug her mother. So her mother had suffered the same as she had—both betrayed and harmed by their own kin.“Mother, in this life, I never want to be separated from you.”Mrs. Yu felt her daughter growing more clingy, and she hugged her back: “Alright, from now on, we’ll be together every day.”“Ahem, if you two are together every day, what am I supposed to do?” Luo Zhizheng, who had just walked in, looked somewhat displeased at the sight.For the first time, mother and daughter weren’t afraid of Luo Zhizheng; they both covered their mouths and giggled.

The Second Wife’s Daughter