Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 5

The reason why Master Yin San could come to Yin Shi was because of Madam Shen and Shen Ti.
Aunt Yan was gone, and Master Yin San was also sad, but his sister and nephew's visit was more important. He put all his energy into this matter, fearing that he would do something wrong and neglect his sister.

Everything went smoothly today. Knowing that his wife would go to meet with his sister alone, he returned to the room early to ask his wife about the situation.
The Third Madam curled her lips and said, "Sister didn't respond at all, don't think too much. We don't have a legitimate daughter, and you gave your sister a concubine's daughter. Are you embarrassed? She's the golden grandson of the Shen family, aren't you afraid that your sister will be embarrassed in front of her mother-in-law and husband?"

How could Master Yin San not have thought of this? He was just holding on to a little unrealistic fantasy. Now that it was extinguished, he was slightly disappointed, but not particularly disappointed.
It was originally a delusion.

At this time, someone came to report: "The cousin went to visit the fourth girl's courtyard in person and gave her something."
There are no secrets in a big mansion. Besides, Shen Ti is an upright person, so naturally the servants will report to the Third Madam.
"Hey?" The Third Madam said, "My sister must be worried about the Fourth Girl. Really, Brother Xi is also a child, and he still has to work hard."
Master Yin San was happy: "This is her dear niece, so naturally she feels sorry for her."
The sister loves her niece because she is close to her brother and loves him as well.

If an aunt is like this, then a father cannot be worse than an aunt he has never met. He pretended to ask about Yin Shi's situation: "How is Si Niang?"
"She was reported once this morning, and she is much better than yesterday." The Third Lady said, "She woke up in the afternoon and came to ask how she is, but I was with my children at my sister's place and missed her. I heard from the maid that she has recovered almost completely. I think she was just frightened at the beginning, and she should be fine after taking two more doses of medicine to calm her nerves."

This reminded Master Yin San of Aunt Yan who had just passed away.
Aunt Yan had been ill for quite a long time. As the saying goes, there is no filial son around a sickbed, let alone a concubine. The previous favor had long been worn away by her sickbed.
Madam Shen sent Shen Ti to visit Yin Shi, which instead aroused the remaining warmth and fatherly love of Master Yin San. He sighed, lifted his skirt and stood up: "I'll go see Si Niang."

Then they arrived at Yin Shi's yard, and as soon as they came in, they saw the two older maids outside.
Master Yin San frowned: "Why don't you go into the house and look after the girl?"
Qingyan and Qiaoque didn't dare to tell the truth because they neglected their duties due to fear of ghosts. Qingyan wiped her eyes and said, "The girl misses her aunt and doesn't want us to be around. She just wants to be alone. We didn't dare to listen to her and asked Yunjuan to guard inside. But if there is anything, go in as soon as you call."

Master Yin San's eyes were red. "She just lost her mother. You should be more careful. If she cries, comfort her."
Qingyan quickly responded: "I know."
The third master said, "Go and call her."
Qingyan didn't care about being afraid at this time and went in diligently to report.

When the daughter grew up, even her father could not enter the inner room, and the third master could only wait in the main hall.
He seldom came to his daughter's courtyard. Now he looked around and saw that the room had all the paintings on the walls and the vases on the table. His wife and servants should not have treated this concubine's daughter harshly.
Everything is just mediocre. Although there are no mistakes, there is nothing outstanding either. The best I can give is a "complete" evaluation.
The Third Master sighed softly.

Yin Shi was lying cross-legged in the room planning for the future, when Qingyan suddenly came in to tell her that her "daddy" was here. She jumped up in surprise.
She dared to cry and sing in front of her little cousin from the Shen family because she had never met her before and didn't know what kind of person she was. But this was her biological father.

Yin Shi's first reaction at this time was to imagine the relationship between parents and children in another time and space - the family lived in the same house and saw each other every day and were very familiar with each other. How could Yin Shi not be nervous?
She calmed down and realized that this was a different time and space. Look, her own father would not come in, but waited outside and asked the maid to report.
Different, different.

While Qingyan was helping Yin Shi to sort out his clothes, Yin Shi already had an idea in his mind. She was a little girl whose mother had just died, wasn't she? She could behave in any way.
It's okay to cry, make a scene, act silly, or even faint, right? She had already had a high fever from the shock of it.

After thinking it through, he was no longer panicking. Yin Shi followed Qingyan out and lowered his head when he passed through the second lattice door.
Master Yin San was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the furnishings in the hall. He turned around when he heard the voice and saw his fourth daughter walking out slowly with her head lowered.
Very pitiful.
Master Yin San suddenly felt a little pity in his heart and called out, "Shi'er."

Yin Shi slowly raised his head and glanced at the man in front of him.
She was born pretty good. The father had a pretty daughter, so the daughter born to the pretty concubine must be even prettier. It makes sense.
She called out "Dad" softly, then lowered her head again, without even bowing to the man.

Because she didn't even see her stepmother, the Third Lady, today, and didn't even have the chance to practice the posture of salute. Although she had relevant information in her memory, her body was still unfamiliar.
Rather than acting in a messy and non-standard manner and exposing flaws, it is better to just act stupid.

It was very effective. The fourth daughter, who used to be well-behaved and obedient, became dull and stupid, which made her father very distressed. Master Yin San sighed and touched her head, explaining: "Your aunt's visit to her parents in the past two days is a big event in the family. She and I are born of the same mother. Your grandfather handed all the affairs to me, and I really couldn't get away. I came to see you today as soon as the matter was settled." Hearing this, Yin Shi didn't want to bother to guess whether the aunt saw her husband before she died. It was tiring.
When there are too many women, love is diluted. When there are too many children, family affection is diluted.
What's more, the original body's biological mother was just a concubine, and she might not have any love. Even if she did, it was at most pampering, which is ultimately different from love.

Seeing that his daughter didn't respond at all and looked dazed and stupid, she was nowhere near "mostly recovered" as his wife said. It was obvious that she was still in the grief of losing her mother and hadn't come to her senses.
Master Yin San felt a little guilty. After thinking for a while, he said softly, "I want to build a temple for your aunt in Donglin Temple so that she can go there safely. Since you are young, you don't have to go there. Just recite some sutras for your aunt at home..."
Before the word "wen" came out, Yin Shi knelt down with a plop: "I'll go!"

What does it mean that someone brings you a pillow just as you doze off?
Yin Shi originally wanted to use his original mother's funeral as a transition period for his own integration. Now that he says he wants to go to the temple, isn't that better?
She knelt without any burden, it was just an act, not something she took seriously.
Not only did she take over the identity of someone else's daughter, but she would also have to eat and drink at his expense in the future. Kneeling to him once would be considered a sign of gratitude.

"Dad..." The actor's eyes were filled with tears, "Not only do I want to go, I also want to, I also want to..."
I couldn't remember what the word was, so I took a deep breath, as if I was crying. After taking a few puffs, I remembered: "Reciting scriptures and praying for my aunt... Well, I recited scriptures and prayed for my aunt in the temple... She is my biological mother, and I am mourning for her."

Master Yin San hesitated a little: "It's good to be filial, but you are still too young, and life in the temple is hard...
Yin Shi grabbed the hem of his long gown and said, "I also want to pray for my grandfather, my father, my mother, and my fourth aunt. I hope everyone will be healthy and live as long as the Southern Mountains."
The little child was thinking about so many people. Master Yin San was touched: "Good child."
He agreed: "Okay, Dad will arrange it. Get up."

Qingyan tactfully helped Yin Shi up.
Yin Shi lowered his head and wiped his tears with his sleeve.
Oh yeah~
Master Yin San went back and told his third wife that he wanted to build a Taoist temple for Aunt Yan, and also said that he wanted Yin Shi to go to Donglin Temple to chant scriptures and pray for the whole family.
"This child is very filial." He was touched and said, "Please make some arrangements."
When the Third Lady heard that a ceremony was going to be held for Aunt Yan and that Yin Shi would be asked to go to the temple, she sneered inwardly.
Aunt Yan had been ill for several years, but he didn't seem to care much about her. Now that she died, he started to feel sad again?

She curled her lips and said, "Since you are filial, you might as well serve the full mourning period there."
This time and space is the Da Mu Dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the Da Mu Dynasty, a ritual system was established, which originally stipulated that sons and unmarried daughters should observe mourning for their concubine mothers for one year. However, this system has been criticized and is not actually implemented by the people. It exists in name only.
Now that a concubine has died, only the biological children will observe mourning for their biological mother. The period is not strict, and if they observe mourning for three or six months, outsiders will praise them for being grateful for their mother's death.
The Third Master hesitated: "She's still a little young..."
The Third Madam just said it casually and didn't care: "It's up to you."

The Third Master really thought about it. Because when Aunt Yan left, Yin Shi fainted and had a high fever after hearing the news, which was really a bit scary. People at that time believed in ghosts and gods, so they couldn't help but think that Yin Shi was haunted by something unclean. Children are prone to premature death.

The Third Madam teased casually, but the Third Master was really moved: "Alright. She has been in fever for two days, I am afraid her aunt can't bear to let her go and wants to take her away. Let her stay in front of the Buddha to protect her soul. With the Buddha's protection, her aunt's thoughts will gradually disappear."
He said, "Please arrange for someone reliable to follow her."
The third lady: "..."
I should have kept my mouth shut. It's just causing trouble for myself.

The next day, Master Yin San went to see his sister, and they were finally able to meet each other in private. This was the closest person to her in the world besides her son, a brother from the same mother. Although they had been exchanging letters and gifts during the New Year, Mrs. Shen still shed tears when she talked about their separation.
The third master also shed tears on his clothes.

The brother and sister talked a lot, and finally mentioned Yin Shi in some trivial places.
"You sent Brother Xi to see Xiao Si yesterday." The third master said with red eyes, "I thought at that time that this is my real aunt. Even if we are far away, we can't be separated."
Mrs. Shen pressed her handkerchief to her eyes and said, "Of course. You and I have both been through this. You should be nicer to the child."

Madam Shen and Master Yin San also lost their concubines at a young age.
But in fact, Master Yin San's feelings were not as deep as Madam Shen's. After all, he was a man, and daughters were under the care of mothers, while sons were under the care of fathers.
Since she had little contact with the harem, she naturally didn't feel as strongly as Mrs. Shen. Mrs. Shen was really living under the control of her mother-in-law. Especially since her mother-in-law had her own biological daughter, the concubine's daughter would be even more cautious.
That's why I really feel sympathy for this niece who just lost her mother.

Master Yin San said, "Of course, this is my own daughter. This child is very good. She asked to go to Donglin Temple to observe mourning and pray for blessings. I have asked your sister-in-law to make arrangements. Someone was sent over early this morning to take care of it."
Mrs. Shen recalled that Shen Ti also had a good impression of this cousin yesterday and praised: "She is really a good child."

What happened next was naturally her sister-in-law, the third wife's business. As an aunt, she had done her best and could no longer interfere in her sister-in-law's family affairs as a younger sister-in-law. She let the matter go.
In her mind, Yin Shi was just a gentle, filial and poor niece, and a faint impression of her remained in her heart.

(End of this chapter)