Miss and farmhand

When Shen Xuying saw her daughter come in, she quickly turned away to wipe her eyes, then asked with a smile, "Why aren't you playing in the garden?"

Huang Chu felt a pang of sadness. She knew her mother was perceptive and could see the whole picture from a single detail; just from those few people gathered in the pavilion, her mother knew what was going to happen. And Huang Chu was so gentle; even if she knew and felt wronged, she wouldn't say anything.

Since she already knows, wouldn't it be cruel to remind her again?

Huang Chu couldn't bear to speak bluntly, so he closed his mouth tightly, puffed out his cheeks, and pretended to be very angry.

"I don't get along with my aunt. She loves to show off. She can paint, so she looks down on me because I can't. I don't like her."

"Huh?" Mother was taken aback. "That can't be. How could your aunt look down on you? Don't worry about it."

Huang Chu went to her mother's bedside and acted coquettishly, "Anyway, I don't like her. My aunt wants her to stay for a few more days, and I can't stand it even for one day. Mother feels sorry for me, so when they come to ask later, just say that you're not feeling well and don't like having many people around, and send her away for me."

Shen Xuying frowned slightly, smiling with a mixture of helplessness and confusion.

"How could you do this, kicking the customers out..."

"So, Mom doesn't care about me anymore? I won't eat unless my aunt leaves!"

"Oh dear, what should we do..."

Even Mrs. He and Mrs. Han, who were serving nearby, couldn't help but chime in.

"What's wrong with it? With Madam so ill, anyone with a modicum of manners wouldn't choose this time to come and visit. It's not that Madam doesn't want to entertain, it's that she can't."

"That's right, there are only so many people in the family, why do we have to spare someone to serve that cousin? I, the old woman, can't do it, I can't neglect her."

Both Mama He and Mama Han were elderly women who came with Huang Chu as part of her dowry. After Huang Chu grew up, Mama Han was assigned to her. In fact, they were still family. Huang Chu rarely went out, and Mama Han would often come back to help Mama He serve Shen Xuying. They had a very deep relationship.

Shen Xuying was only fifteen when she got married. Her family brought five old women with them, fearing that their young daughter would be looked down upon. The old women guided and cared for her in her daily life and household affairs, each one like a guardian angel. Who would have thought that Huang's parents would pass away early, and Huang Xingtong was a very loving husband. In the first half of her life, Shen Xuying suffered no setbacks except for not giving birth to a son for her husband.

As a result, these older women become more protective of their own, and the less hardship they have experienced, the more reluctant they are to see them bullied.

So they all said, "Madam doesn't need to say anything later; we'll take care of her for her."

Huang Chu felt reassured; no one was more reliable than his mother.

A little while later, Shen Yurui brought Luo San Guniang in. Huang Xingtong also arrived. His brother only greeted them from the outer room, not wanting to come inside. He said in a flat voice, "Take care of yourself," and then, as if he had finally completed his mission, he disappeared somewhere.

Huang Xingtong was also carrying a painting scroll in his hand.

"Yingniang, come and see how nice this bamboo is. I can't see the clump of Xiangfei bamboo from your room, which was my mistake. I planted it in the wrong place, and now it's hard to move it. I want to apologize, so I'll paint it and hang it in your room, okay?"

Seeing the harmonious relationship between the couple, Shen Yurui's smile seemed like a mask, exaggerated and cold.

"And yet, you just asked Miss Biao to paint bamboo, and it wasn't enough; you insisted on painting it yourself. You've wasted Miss Biao's good intentions."

Luo San Guniang bowed to Shen Xuying, her expression unchanging, though her eyes couldn't help but scan her up and down. She thought to herself that Shen Yurui had said before she came that she didn't have much time left and that her health had been poor. Seeing her with her own eyes, she knew it was true. She was a thin, almost transparent woman, huddled on the heavy bedding, as if she were about to be crushed by the brocade quilts.

She straightened up involuntarily. She was young and healthy, and naturally possessed a certain pride in front of her patients.

Shen Xuying smiled weakly, touched a bracelet and wanted to give it to Luo San, asking Mother He to pass it on for her.

Luo San's expression was disdainful, which angered He Mama, so she said, "Our madam said that we didn't entertain her well this time. Next year, when she's feeling better, we'll invite her to our home again so we can spend a couple of days with her."

Luo San was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Shen Yurui.

Shen Yurui waved her hand, "There's no need for such formalities among family. You're a patient, yet you're thinking so much. My cousin doesn't care about these empty formalities. She came especially to take care of you and keep you company since you're not well."

He spoke with absolute certainty, as if it were already decided.

Huang Xingtong asked, "Yingniang, what do you think? I was thinking that even if you need to rest and can't see anyone, having a relative with Rongniang and the others will put your mind at ease."

Shen Xuying opened her mouth, "I..."

Standing nearby, Madam He said anxiously, "Second Miss doesn't need this. She has a wet nurse to take care of her. Why trouble the guests? Let's wait until Madam is feeling better—"

"Heh." Shen Yurui suddenly laughed.

She stood at the head of the bed, looking down at her, her shadow enveloping her younger sister in the next room, making Shen Xuying appear exceptionally small in front of her.

She glanced at him, pulled Luo San's arm, and whispered in a way that everyone could hear, "Can't you see, Miss, that he doesn't appreciate it? We used to be such good friends, but things are different after marriage. It's no big deal to say a few kind words or take care of him for a few days while he's sick, but you should think about whether you still have the right to serve him tea and water."

"Big sister, don't say that!" Shen Xuying hurriedly sat up straight in bed.

She still called her Shen Yurui according to her family's custom, just as their relationship remained the same as it was back in her family: the proud and bright eldest sister and the naive and slow-witted youngest sister. She was always afraid of her.

"...I am delighted by your kindness, Miss. I will have Mama He prepare a room for you later. I'm afraid you might not be comfortable there. If you need anything, just tell them and they will buy it for you."

It was no use for Huang Chu and the old women to say anything more.

Huang Chu looked at her mother, completely baffled as to why she was so afraid of her aunt. Even though the second branch of the family had to be mindful of the eldest branch's feelings when they were sisters, now that she was married and her father was more successful than her eldest uncle, wasn't this the time for her to finally hold her head high?

Shen Yurui had achieved her goal for today. She remained calm and composed, even though there had been some unexpected events in the pavilion earlier, she had always known that she would get what she wanted.

She looked at Shen Xuying, who was cowering on the bed, and seemed even smaller than when they first entered the room, almost buried in the blankets.

She suddenly sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged Shen Xuying.

"Poor little sister, she's suffered so much."

Suddenly they started talking intimately.

"Let's have a private talk, you can ask everyone else to leave."

As Huang Chu left with the others, he glanced back and felt as if his mother was being held hostage, leaning against Shen Yurui's chest.

Still unwilling to give up, she sneaked out to her mother's window to eavesdrop.

"...If you weren't so useless, why would I have brought Luo San along? I did it all for you."

Shen Yurui's voice was low.

"If you could have a son, it would have been worth it even if you got sick. Now, for the sake of a girl, you've become a walking pharmacy. Your brother-in-law just wants to be close to you, but the smell of medicine filling the room kills all his interest."

"Zhi Rong is not that kind of person..." Zhi Rong is Huang Xingtong's courtesy name.

"I know you two have a good relationship, all love and romance, but that's what makes you so naive, so easily blinded by these empty words. Even if he doesn't say it, what about the people around him? Your husband treats you so well, yet you haven't been able to give him a son, and you won't even let him take a concubine. How awful is his reputation for being henpecked when he's out socializing? A man with such a bright future has been reduced to a schoolteacher back in his hometown. People won't blame him; they'll just say he married a bad wife, and that you ruined his life."

A sob escaped her lips.

"If we weren't family, if I were a sister-in-law from another family, I wouldn't be saying this to you. I advised you from the beginning that at least you should have a son, so the family business would be stable and there wouldn't be any problems. Who knew you would be so useless? If I hadn't brought Luo San with me, after you left, he would have married some random stepmother and had a legitimate son. Do you think your two good-for-nothing daughters would have a good life? If you had any motherly compassion, you should have advised your two daughters to get closer to Luo San, and advised your brother-in-law to get closer to Luo San. Think about it carefully!"

Footsteps. Door closing. The room fell silent.

Soon after, Shen Xuying's suppressed sobs could be heard.

Huang Chu sighed outside the window.