Chapter 39: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
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Chapter 39: Compliments Without Cost
The winter in Lingyi County was colder than in Yan Family Village. Since the snow started falling, Old Madam Yan had been staying indoors, unwilling to go outside.
Daohua, worried that the old lady might get sick from staying cooped up indoors, always made sure to take her for a walk after meals whenever they were in Songhe Courtyard. This not only helped Old Madam Yan stretch her legs but also let her get some fresh air.
On the day of the Laba Festival, Daohua and the others didn't have classes. After breakfast, she took Old Madam Yan for a walk.
When Yan Zhigao arrived, he just missed them.
"Where’s the old madam?" he asked the housekeeper, Aunt Sun, who was cleaning inside.
Aunt Sun smiled. "The eldest young lady took the old lady for a walk after breakfast."
Yan Zhigao glanced at the snow outside, frowning. "Isn't that a bit reckless? It’s so cold. What if she catches a chill?"
Seeing his displeased expression, Aunt Sun immediately reassured him, "Don’t worry, sir. The old lady is in good health. Besides, a walk outdoors will do her good. It’ll help her spirits."
Yan Zhigao paused. "What do you mean by that? Is her health not good?"
Aunt Sun responded, "Not that her health is bad, but she’s just not used to it. You know, sir, the old lady is the type who can't sit still. Back at home, even in the winter, she would go outside to chat with people, and there were always some tasks for her to do. But here, you and Madam are taking such good care of her that she doesn’t know what to do with herself. She’s been feeling a little bored."
When people have nothing to do, their spirits can become disheartened, right?
Yan Zhigao’s face darkened with self-blame. "I didn’t think this through. I’ve neglected my mother. I’ll make more time to spend with her in the future. I’ll leave the office earlier and accompany her more."
Aunt Sun quickly stopped him. "Sir, please don’t say that. If the old lady knew you were neglecting your work just to accompany her, she wouldn’t be happy."
Seeing Yan Zhigao still looking guilty, Aunt Sun added with a smile, "You don’t need to worry. Now that it’s the twelfth month, the eldest young lady’s lessons are fewer, so she will be around more to keep the old lady company. With her by the old lady’s side, she’ll have nothing to feel upset about."
Yan Zhigao was slightly moved. "Does Daohua visit every day?"
When Aunt Sun heard Daohua’s name, her smile widened. "Yes, she comes every day. As soon as she sees the old lady stuck indoors, she always finds ways to get her to go out for a walk. She says staying inside too long is bad for health."
"She manages to convince the old lady every time. Since they’ve started these post-meal walks, the old lady’s spirits have been getting better and better each day."
Aunt Sun seemed to recall something and chuckled. "A few days ago, I don’t know what made the eldest young lady think of it, but she said she wanted to find a set of exercises for the old lady so that she could practice them indoors when she has nothing to do."
Hearing this, Yan Zhigao couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. "This child."
Aunt Sun continued, "The eldest young lady just doesn’t want the old lady to get bored."
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This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com
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Yan Zhigao nodded and sighed inwardly. No wonder the old lady favored Daohua more than the others. After all, she had raised her, and Daohua was always more thoughtful. Even he had failed to notice that the old lady was struggling with boredom after coming here, but Daohua had noticed right away.
At that moment, a young maid entered the room. "Aunt Sun, the kitchen is asking when to start making Laba porridge."
Aunt Sun glanced at the sky and replied, "No rush. The eldest young lady hasn’t come back yet. Tell the kitchen to prepare other things first. She said she wants to make the Laba porridge herself."
Once the maid left, Yan Zhigao smiled. "So Daohua is going to cook today?"
Aunt Sun nodded with a smile. "Yes, the eldest young lady has been learning women’s needlework recently, but her hands have been sore from practicing. The old lady saw them and wouldn’t let her touch water. But today, it’s the Laba Festival, and the old lady really wants to eat the porridge that the eldest young lady makes every year, so she finally agreed to let her cook today."
Yan Zhigao was curious. "How is Daohua doing with her needlework?"
Aunt Sun beamed. "Very well. The eldest young lady is so clever. She understands everything in the books at a glance. There’s nothing she can’t learn."
For the next while, Yan Zhigao silently listened as Aunt Sun continuously praised Daohua. He was surprised by how eloquent she was—she never repeated herself when complimenting his eldest daughter.
"Oh, the eldest young lady is clever, but she’s not very good at women’s work," Aunt Sun suddenly added.
Yan Zhigao, thinking Aunt Sun had finished, was about to respond when she shifted topics again.
"The old lady says that the eldest young lady hasn’t figured out women’s needlework yet, but once she does, she’ll be able to stitch anything she wants."
Yan Zhigao felt embarrassed, his hand instinctively going to his forehead.
Seeing his reaction, Aunt Sun thought he doubted her words and immediately began to offer proof. "Sir, the eldest young lady has always had dexterous hands. You’ve tasted the food she made, haven’t you? I’m not boasting, but her cooking is better than even the kitchen maids."
Yan Zhigao had to agree with this: "But being good at cooking doesn’t necessarily mean she’s good at women’s work."
Aunt Sun countered, "Someone with dexterous hands can’t possibly be bad at needlework. The old lady also said, once the eldest young lady gets the hang of it, she’ll definitely be able to stitch beautifully."
As someone who worked for the old lady, Aunt Sun was in a position that made it hard for Yan Zhigao to argue, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement. He quickly changed the subject. "Why haven’t Mother and Daohua come back yet?"
Aunt Sun replied, "They might have gone further."
Whenever Daohua had free time, she and Old Madam Yan didn’t just walk around the county yamen’s courtyard. Sometimes, they would go out to the streets for a stroll as well.
Yan Zhigao, feeling guilty for not paying attention to his mother’s feelings, decided to stay at Songhe Courtyard to spend more time with her.
After sitting there for an entire hour, he finally saw his mother and Daohua returning, both smiling and holding a potted plant.
"Mother, where did you two go?" Yan Zhigao quickly got up, walked over, and took the potted plant from his mother, then helped her inside.
Old Madam Yan was delighted. "We went to the street with Daohua and bought two potted plants."
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhigao paused for a moment, glanced at his cheerful eldest daughter, and then at his rosy-cheeked mother. He decided not to say anything about them going out more often in the future.
"Mother, next time you go out, make sure to bring more people with you."
He sighed inwardly. His mother and Daohua had lived in the countryside for so long, used to being free, so it was understandable that they weren’t yet used to the rules of not allowing women from big households to go out freely. He would be patient and let them adjust.
Old Madam Yan waved dismissively. "We didn’t go far, just around the yamen."
Noticing her adoptive father didn’t stop them from going out, Daohua smiled. "Grandmother, Father is just concerned about us."
Old Madam Yan smiled as well. "Good. Next time, we’ll bring more people." She waved to Yan Zhigao. "Zhigao, come take a look. Daohua and I were lucky today. As soon as we went out, we came across a vendor selling red plum bonsais. We bought them for just ten taels of silver."
Yan Zhigao took a quick look at the bonsais, which didn’t even have buds yet. He wanted to mention that red plums were hard to grow, and they might have been swindled, but seeing how happy his mother was, he just said, "When did you learn to appreciate bonsais, Mother?"
Ten taels of silver for two bonsais seemed like a waste of money, something his mother would never spend carelessly.
Old Madam Yan shot him a sideways glance. "Do you need to learn how to admire beautiful things?"
Back at the old house, Daohua would often spend time tending to the flowers and plants in the yard. The old lady had been forced to watch her, and while she had gotten used to seeing flowers in the warm, green south, the stark white landscape in the north was sometimes a bit too much for her.
Yan Zhigao, taken aback, could only mutter, "Uh."
He found himself at a loss for words.
Old Madam Yan, not wanting to argue, looked at Daohua. "Take good care of these two plants. Maybe by New Year, we can enjoy the red plums."
Daohua confidently patted her chest. "Grandmother, just leave it to me."
Watching them so excited, Yan Zhigao really wanted to rain on their parade. Where did they get the confidence that they could grow these red plums? Red plums were notoriously hard to take care of.
One winter, when he and Concubine Lin had a falling out, he bought a cold plum tree for a hundred taels of silver to make her happy, but it died within a month.
At this moment, Aunt Sun came in. "Miss, it’s almost noon. Should we start cooking the Laba porridge?"
Daohua suddenly slapped her forehead. "I almost forgot! Are the red beans and lotus seeds soaked?"
Aunt Sun nodded. "They’re soaked. Miss Man personally watched over them."
Daohua turned to Old Madam Yan. "Grandmother, I’ll go to the kitchen now."
Old Madam Yan hurriedly grabbed her hand. "Your hands..."
It was then that Yan Zhigao noticed Daohua’s fingers were wrapped in white cloth.
"It’s fine!" Daohua quickly unwrapped the cloth, revealing her fingers covered in needle pricks. "Grandmother, see? The swelling’s gone down."
Old Madam Yan was still worried. "Don’t touch water. Just tell the kitchen what needs to be done."
"I know!" Daohua replied.
After Daohua left, Yan Zhigao asked, "How is Daohua doing with her needlework?"
Old Madam Yan glanced at him. "My Daohua has clever hands, so needlework will come naturally. As for that Teacher Qin, I don’t think she’s doing a good job. She’s been making Daohua embroider sachets every day, and now her hands are swollen. I don’t know if she’s bullying her or actually teaching her."
"I don’t care," Yan Zhigao said. "If Daohua still isn’t improving, you can replace her teacher."
Yan Zhigao wanted to say more, but when he met his mother’s stern gaze, he immediately backed off.
At the same time, he felt that Teacher Qin wasn’t handling the situation well.
Daohua’s hands were like this, yet she was still being made to embroider sachets?
Old Madam Yan snorted coldly. "The teacher at home may be teaching a few girls, but Daohua is the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yan family. Don’t forget that. If she’s not learning anything, I think we don’t need to keep this teacher."
Yan Zhigao quickly responded, "Mother, I would never forget."
Old Madam Yan lightly said, "Who knows if you’ve forgotten? Alright, enough talk. You can go do what you need to do now."
Yan Zhigao felt like his mother had dismissed him. "Mother, I’ll stay here with you today."
Old Madam Yan gave him a knowing look. "You want to eat the Laba porridge Daohua’s making, don’t you?"
Yan Zhigao was speechless. He was Daohua’s father—wasn’t it natural that she would offer him the Laba porridge she made?
(End of Chapter)
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