Chapter Eleven: The First Move

  Jin and Wen Xueyi came out of the inner room with gifts in hand, Wen Xiuyu stood up to welcome them, Wen Chaocang had already opened the door and said: "Leave early and return early." The four of them left the house, Wen Xiujun hugged Jin's leg tightly while walking around the courtyard gate, not crying or making a fuss but refusing to let go. Upon hearing Wen Xiuyu's words, Wen Chunyi immediately retreated two steps and calmly said: "Wait in the mother's room."

  Wen Chaoqing closed his eyes slightly as he listened to his daughter's words. His young daughter already knew the reality of hiding outside. Wen Chaoqing opened his eyes, looked down at Wen Xiu Jun who was still clinging to him and said: "Jun'er, you want to follow us, okay? But you have to hold your brother's hand all the time. You promise, we'll take you out together." Wen Xiu Jun happily let go of his legs and stretched out his hands to tightly grasp Wen Xiu Yu's hand, shouting: "Brother, remember to hold my hand tight!" Wen Xiu Yu saw that he was so excited that saliva dripped from his mouth, and smiled as he held Wen Xiu Jun's hand.

  Wen Chunyi followed the woman back to her own courtyard, and after a compliant wash under their arrangement, she went to Jin's room with her hair loose. The book that Wen Xiuyu had opened was still on the corner of the desk in the room, she walked over to pick it up, under the eyes of Liu and Zhang, she quickly tore the book apart, then picked up another book and tore it apart as well, she played for a while, eventually feeling bored, she randomly pulled out a pile of books and threw them onto the desk. The faces of both Liu and Zhang changed, seeing Wen Chunyi stop, the two women hurried to clean up.

  As the two women restored the pile of books, she sat beside the table, staring blankly at the candle flame on the desk. After Liu and Zhang finished tidying up in an orderly manner, the two women stood in front of the book table, both somewhat fearful that Wen Chunyi would think of a way to calculate something. Wen Chaoqing, husband and wife, were not to be underestimated in the Wen Mansion, and Wen Xiuyuan was also a young master who couldn't be looked down upon; he wanted to say something casually in front of the teacher, and the two women feared that they would have no hope when facing Old Madame. Wen Chunyi glanced at the book table and found that Liu and Zhang both recognized characters; they almost restored the books to their original positions.

  Wen Chunyi secretly warned herself, the female servants in the Wen household were not to be underestimated. She understood even more clearly the sad words of Jinshi: in a noble family's life, daughters who are too intelligent will be exploited by their families. Clumsy daughters, as long as their elders kindly arrange things once, can instead obtain a simple and peaceful marriage. Wen Chunyi carefully thought about her future path and felt that she should still follow Jinshi's arrangements, which might lead her to a relatively comfortable life. She absolutely could not rush into those noble families, walking the narrow road of women competing for the same man, struggling ceaselessly throughout their lives.

  Wen Chunyi's expression was dazed as she stared at the small piece of land in front of her, thinking that if she had to spend her life going from one small courtyard to another, it would be a kind of torture. Wen Chunyi felt that in her previous life, she hadn't accumulated enough good fortune, so while she could find warmth in a small family, in a large one, she could only live a life like walking on thin ice. When Liu and Zhang saw Wen Chunyi spacing out again, they started whispering to each other. Liu said in a low voice, "The old lady is kind-hearted, I wonder which sister will be sent to take care of Yier?"

  Mrs. Zhang smiled and said, "Liu sister, in a few years, Ninth Miss will be able to get engaged, and there are several beautiful young maids at Old Madam's place. I think they can only make up for the shortcomings of the young maids, but which one is so lucky to follow Ninth Miss and have a good life in the future?" Wen Chunyi's heart sank, as the third, fourth, and sixth houses were all illegitimate children, and Old Madam treated these three houses with only superficial affection, while being extremely cautious inside. Mrs. Liu looked at Wen Chunyi, who was staring blankly at the table, her eyes not blinking once, thinking that this Eighteenth Miss was really useless, as if she hadn't heard their conversation about such a secret matter.

  Mrs. Liu smiled and scolded, "This is what it means to be a concubine, what a good thing! It's not as good as our carefree life, that's what it means to have a good fate." Mrs. Zhang glanced at Mrs. Liu, shook her head and said, "Sister Liu, it depends on who the mistress is. If you follow a gentle and virtuous mistress, being a concubine will definitely be better than our lives. Unfortunately, I don't have a good face, so in this life, I can only be a servant." Wen Chun's eyebrows didn't move at all, she could feel the probing eyes of the two women from time to time, but she just had a confused expression, staring at the pattern on the table, as if there was a blooming flower there.

  Liu's wife and Zhang's wife gradually let go, chatting for a while longer, until the sound of footsteps and voices echoed in the courtyard. They stretched out their hands to push Wen Chunyi, who had been sitting like a wooden statue, reminding her: "Eighteenth Miss, Fourth Master and Fourth Madam are back." "Oh" Wen Chunyi woke up as if she had just woken up, looking at them with a confused expression. The two women's faces showed even deeper disappointment. Wen Chunyi felt slightly relieved in her heart, she couldn't pretend to be a dignified white lotus flower or a pitiful little white flower. She could only pretend to be stupid, fortunately, she just needed to empty her mind and she would definitely be able to pretend to be stupider than a fool.

  Wen Chunyi was helped up by Liu's wife and Zhang's wife to greet the guests. When Wen Chaoqing and his entourage arrived, they brought in a large group of people, including those serving tea and snacks, all of whom poured into the house at once. Wen Chaoqing's face turned cold, and Jin Shi frowned, asking: "Qingni has become pregnant and can't take charge anymore, and everyone in this courtyard is in disarray. Who was it that suggested letting you all rush in like a swarm? Do we really need four people to serve tea? And do we need one person to carry a tray of snacks? You're all getting too big for your britches - do you need to go back and receive some more instruction from Mother Wen?"

  Several people immediately retreated from the room, leaving only two maids holding tea and snacks, standing in a corner with their heads bowed. Liu's wife and Zhang's wife paid their respects to Wen Chaoqing and Jin Shi, asking them to take Wen Chunyi back to rest. Wen Chaoqing glanced at Wen Chunyi, who was expressionless, and smiled as he said to the two women: "It's getting late, I think she looks tired. Let her stay here tonight, you two can come over early tomorrow to attend to her." Zhang's wife opened her mouth to speak, but Liu's wife laughed and agreed, saying: "We'll follow Fourth Master's arrangements, we'll send over Eighteenth Miss's clothes later."

  Everyone in the house had dispersed, leaving only family members. Wen Qing and Jin Shi sat on the main seat, while Wen Xueyi and Wen Xiuyuan sat properly on the bench. Wen Chunyi leaned against Jin Shi's body, while Wen Xiujun's face was filled with excitement as he reported to Wen Chunyi: "Xueduo, I went to see Yiyi sister, she was lying in bed, her face was red and looked great. However, I called out to her several times, but she didn't respond to me, and Sanbomu even shed tears. I praised her for looking good, saying that she was more beautiful than the fruit that Father brought back for us last time." The whole room fell silent as they listened to the youngest person's words.

  Thank you book friend: yh_yh1166 for sending a gift of 100 starting coins, thank you book friends for your support!