Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful spring day in March, and the Huaixi Yin family was bustling with activity. It was because his fourth aunt was returning home to visit her relatives, which was a happy occasion.

The Yin family was considered a wealthy family in Huaixi, but it was a pity that they were not of high birth.
His family was originally a peddler, and three generations worked together to expand the family business. By the time of Old Master Yin's generation, they mainly sold mulberry, tea and raw silk, donated their official titles, and became officials.
Now he looks like a respectable gentleman, he doesn't need to bow when meeting an official, and he can have a seat in the hall, but if we really talk about his ancestors, he lacks a lot of heritage compared to those generations who passed down poetry and literature. In the eyes of scholars, he is just a nouveau riche.

Fortunately, his family tradition was good, and after the family business became large, they did not bully the villagers. Instead, they were kind and generous, built bridges and roads, and had a good reputation. In this way, although his family background was a little poor, when the scholars mentioned his family, they nodded and praised them for being kind.
Especially since the old man's fourth daughter married into a real scholarly family, she was looked up to even more.

To be honest, it was all thanks to the old man's kindness back then.
There was a change in the capital that year, and many officials were exiled thousands of miles away. Many could not bear the hardship and died on the way.
The old man was still young at that time, and he encountered such a man while traveling. The officials just waited for the man to die and buried him on the spot before continuing on their way. The old man saw that the boy accompanying the prisoner was still calm and resolute despite his misery, which was exactly the kind of "scholar's child" he longed for. He was moved by kindness and paid for the prisoner's medical treatment, saving his life.

I thought that this fate had just gone with the wind, but a few years later the criminal official was rehabilitated and came to Huaixi specifically to look for his benefactor.
The boy from the past has grown into a young man, and growing up in a difficult borderland has not lost his charming demeanor. The old man loves him very much.
Perhaps he loved her too much and couldn't hide it, so people saw it. The father said, "If it weren't for Brother Yin, I wouldn't have made it to Yazhou. If I were dead, the orphans and widows would have no chance to survive. Brother Yin gave this child his life, so let him be Brother Yin's half-son."

A son-in-law is half a son. The so-called half son refers to the son-in-law.
He had been rehabilitated, and in terms of family background, the Yin family could not even get close to him. Suddenly, a good marriage came from heaven, and the old man was overjoyed.
The two families arranged a marriage, and the fourth daughter of the Yin family, who was of marriageable age, married into a family of officials as if in a dream.
After being married for several years, the fourth aunt now returns to visit her relatives, and the Yin family welcomes their daughter with great enthusiasm.
But in the midst of all the excitement, there was a little unpleasant thing - a concubine named Yan, the third son of the old man, Master Yin San, passed away.

"Why do you have to do it at this time? It's such a nuisance on such a happy day. Auntie is so tactless."
"That makes sense. Who can choose a day to die?"
"But the old lady was very unhappy about this matter and gave our lady a cold look."

"Our master originally told the lady to keep the girl in her courtyard, and the lady had already agreed. But now she is unhappy and has changed her mind."
"Alas, our girl is so unlucky..."
"That can't be blamed on anyone else, only her own mother."

The voices of the maids in the back room were not quiet, at least Yin Shi could hear them clearly while lying in the inner room.
She had been lying in bed for two days, and now she had sorted out her identity - yes, she was the "she" in the last sentence who could not blame others. She was the biological daughter of the concubine Yan who had just passed away, the daughter of Master Yin San, and her maiden name was Yin Shi.

Of course, the little girl whose real name was "Yin Shi" had a high fever on the night her mother died, and her soul was taken away by her mother to be reincarnated.
Today's Yin Shi has been reincarnated here for the second time, traveling through time and space from another world.

"By the way, my cousin is really handsome."
The maids thought Yin Shi was still asleep, so they took the time to chat with him, full of interest.
"Did you see it?"
"When my aunt and my cousin came in, I was leaning on the porch window and secretly took a look. He is really handsome. I wonder how handsome he will be when he grows up. I heard that Uncle Shen is a handsome man."

"My mother said that the third and fourth aunts were both of the right age to get married, and the old lady said that the third aunt was a legitimate daughter, and wanted to give the marriage to her. But the old master arranged for Master Shen to meet the two aunts from a distance across the pond. Master Shen chose the fourth aunt himself." The maid lowered her voice, "Everyone said that since they were all daughters of merchants and not real scholars, there was no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, so it was natural to choose the one with better appearance..."

"The Fourth Aunt is a concubine's daughter, and she is very beautiful. Of course, the young master she gave birth to will also be good-looking."
"The old lady scolded our Madam not because Aunt Yan died at the wrong time, but because her biological Third Aunt became a widow just last year, while the illegitimate Fourth Aunt is living so well, and even our Master, who is born of the same mother as her, is valued by the old master. How could the old lady not be angry?"

"Hush..." Another maid was shocked when she heard these words, "Don't let the girl hear..."
"Still sleeping, let me see."
The maids who were telling stories also became cautious, because the girl they were serving was eight years old, at the age when children loved to learn to talk and could not control their mouths. If she heard it and learned it in front of her master, they would be punished.

Yin Shi had just come here two days ago. Her original body was still a child, so the information she had in her mind was too limited. In order to survive in the future, she wanted to know more information. When she heard the maid come in, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
The maid came in quietly, lifted the curtain and took a look at her, then quietly left, closed the lattice door, and said, "It's okay, she's still sleeping."

Another maid sighed: "It's pitiful that he lost his mother at such a young age."
The maid who had just entered the inner room sneered: "No matter how pitiful she is, she is still a girl of this family. How can she be as pitiful as us who were born as slaves? You should put away your bodhisattva heart."
The other one was silent for a moment, and said: "That's right..."

The subsequent chat did not yield any useful information.
Yin Shi opened his eyes and stared at the hanging curtain with a hundred butterfly patterns.
It was very exquisite, even if it was placed in another time and space, it could be called an exquisite work of art. Her second reincarnation was neither good nor bad.
The reason why she said "not qualified" was because the ancestors of the Yin family were peddlers. You should know that among the four classes of people, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are at the bottom. Moreover, her father, Mr. Yin San, was a bastard in the family, and she became the bastard daughter of this bastard.
But the reason why they say "not down" is that Gaozu was hardworking, and his great-grandfather and grandfather earned a lot of money and donated their official positions. Although the officials who donated their official positions in the Da Mu Dynasty could not really become officials, they only had the title of casual officials, but they did change their origins.

Because her family was wealthy, she, the illegitimate daughter of a concubine, was inconspicuous among so many people in the big family, but she also had gold hairpins, jade bracelets, brocade clothes and embroidered skirts, and lived a carefree life.
No matter what, it's still a world of difference compared to the few servants gossiping in the side room.
It would be too hypocritical to say that it was a bad reincarnation.

Yin Shi let out a long breath.
She has been lying down for two days and it's time to get up.
After sorting out the information he had inherited and the gossip he had heard from the maids over the past two days, Yin Shi sat up and called for someone, "Come... Ahem, someone come."
The maids in the back room heard the sound and pushed the door open and came in: "Miss, are you finally awake? Are you feeling better?"

Another maid said, "Get up and report to the mistress immediately, kowtow, let the master and the mistress know that the young lady is fine, so they can rest assured."
"Miss, please get well soon. Now other girls are fawning on the fourth aunt, but here we are alone and deserted."
"After the aunt is gone, the girl's quality will all depend on Madam. If she can win the favor of the fourth aunt, maybe our Madam will look up to her."

This maid was the one who gossiped behind her back. Yin Shi knew her name was Qingyan, and she was a servant in the Yin Mansion. When she came in, she didn't even ask if she was thirsty or hungry, but started to complain about how she missed the chance to show her face in front of the fourth aunt who married a rich man.
This girl doesn't have much affection for "Yin Shi" himself, but from the perspective of profit calculation, everything she says is right.
As Yin Shi's maid, she is in the same boat with Yin Shi. She can only be good if Yin Shi is well.

Yin Shi didn't dislike these calculations. In many cases, people have to calculate in order to gain greater benefits and live a better life.
But... Yin Shi looked up and saw that the beams were painted and illustrated.
The table was decorated with pastel-colored porcelain, youthful and lovely.
Looking at the present, no matter the two maids were truly kind to her or were simply assigned to her place because she had no other choice, no matter what they were thinking, they were slaves who served her in her daily life.

Having an independent courtyard all by yourself, not being hungry or cold, and having someone to serve you - it's already very good.
It’s really good, no need to bother with it anymore.
Therefore, although Yin Shi knew that what Qing Yan said was right, she weighed the considerations of what she had given and what she had gained in her heart, and felt that she could be satisfied with what she had now, and did not want to be humble and seek a "better" as Qing Yan expected.
So be it.

"I'm thirsty." Yin Shi sat steadily on the bedside, not panicking at all because of the urging and intimidation. He even touched his stomach and looked up at the maid and said, "I'm still hungry."
You are already eight years old, how can you be so ignorant and only know how to eat and drink.
Qingyan was almost mad at the sight of an ambitious maid meeting an unmotivated girl.

The old master’s fourth daughter married Shen from the capital and is now Mrs. Shen.
She was the best married daughter of the Yin family. This marriage brought honor to the Yin family. It also gave the Yin family a talisman in the local area. Although the Yin family could not use their power to do anything evil, many things that were difficult to solve in the past were much easier to solve with the business card of the father-in-law.
The Yin family's development over the years has received a lot of help from the Shen family.

Therefore, although Madam Shen was no longer in Huaixi, the Yin Mansion in Huaixi retained her former courtyard and did not allocate it to the younger generations to live in. Everything was still maintained as it was, and someone cleaned it from time to time, waiting for the fourth aunt to come and visit her parents at any time.
Now it is really used.

Mrs. Shen was entertaining her sister-in-law, the Third Lady, in her former courtyard.
Among the brothers and sisters, Mrs. Shen and Master Yin San are from the same mother. Madam San is her dearest sister-in-law, closer to her than other sisters-in-law and brothers and sisters.

The third wife brought the children of the third room over: "Come here."
There were boys and girls too, all bowing and calling her "Aunt."
Regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, they were all the third brother's children, and Madam Shen's dearest nephews and nieces. She had actually seen them in the inner hall before, but in front of the old lady, Madam Shen didn't want to be close to her brother's children alone, and ignore the other nephews and nieces. Now that they met in private, seeing so many healthy and cute children, Madam Shen smiled happily: "Come here, let me take a look."
Pat this head, ask that question. A daughter like her who married far away can only go back to her parents' home a few times in her life, and she has to be intimate with her nephews and nieces.

He called his son to come forward and meet his cousins, and told him, "These are all our closest relatives."
Although they have different surnames, this is the maternal bloodline. The young boy nodded, and his warm eyes swept over, but he said: "Why is there a sister missing?"

Even Mrs. Shen was so happy that she didn't notice it.
It was also because he had so many children. The Third Master had three sons and five daughters. When they all stood together, they looked like a bunch of children.
But this cousin discovered that someone was missing.

The third lady was talking to Mrs. Shen and turned to look when she heard the voice.
The young boy had a handsome face, especially beautiful eyebrows and eyes: "There should be a fourth sister, why didn't she come?"
He spoke slowly and calmly, without the impatience common among children of his age.
Looking over, a pair of eyes were as crystal clear as jade.

(End of this chapter)