"Alright, Second Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady can sleep on the same bed. There's still room for one more person to sleep on the kang bed in the warm room. Yesterday, Second Young Master made a fuss about going to the Jade Screen Cabinet and was laughed at by us. He's in the warm room. "
Cheng Yujin understood. Although Old Lady Cheng was watching over them, it was still too intimate for the two cousins to sleep in the same room. She rolled her eyes and withdrew her gaze. She nodded and smiled at the servant girl, "Thank you, Older Sister. Has Grandmother woken up? "
"Old Lady has woken up. It's just that Second Young Master Xu slept late last night and hasn't woken up yet. "
Cheng Yujin's footsteps suddenly stopped, "Second Older Brother is still asleep?"
The warm room was a small room separated from Old Lady Cheng's bedroom. The surrounding walls were hollowed out. In winter, heat circulated throughout the day and night. It was as warm as spring, so it was called the warm room. In other words, if Cheng Yujin wanted to enter the inner room to greet Old Lady Cheng, she would inevitably pass by Xu Zhixian's warm room.
If it was Cheng Yumo, she would definitely run in and even use her cold hands to tease Xu Zhixian to get out of bed. However, Cheng Yujin didn't do that. She stopped outside the door and said, "Since Second Older Brother isn't convenient, then I'll wait a little longer."
When the servant girl inside saw that the Eldest Young Lady had arrived, she quickly woke Xu Zhixian up. Xu Zhixian originally didn't want to wake up, but in a daze, he heard the servant girl say, "Eldest Young Lady is outside." Xu Zhixian was so scared that he jumped out of bed and grabbed a robe from the side of the bed to put it on.
Xu Zhixian had always been carefree and didn't care about trifles. However, for some reason, in front of Cheng Yujin, he was always very well-behaved. He had to dress decently. If Cheng Yujin saw that his clothes were untidy, what would it look like?
After Xu Zhixian had settled everything, he finally came out to greet Cheng Yujin. "Sister Jin … Uh, hello, Cousin."
When the maids saw this scene, they all laughed and joked, "Second Master, the First Young Lady is clearly the First Young Lady. Why are you blushing like a First Young Lady who is sitting on a bridal sedan chair for the first time?"
Xu Zhixian blushed. He saw that Cheng Yujin was also pursing her lips and smiling. He didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed all over. He scuttled out of the room. "I'll go outside to look cold. You guys go in and greet the Old Ancestor first."
The noise outside had already reached Old Lady Cheng. She came out of the bed that was like a small house. Cheng Yujin saw her and quickly went to help Old Lady Cheng.
The maids had already prepared the water. Cheng Yujin reached out to touch the water. The temperature of the water was just right. It could be seen that the water had been kept warm on the stove. Cheng Yujin handed a handkerchief to Old Lady Cheng. From time to time, she did some light and conspicuous chores and served the Old Lady Cheng to wash up.
Mammy Chang, who accompanied Old Lady Cheng when she married, praised, "First Young Lady is really filial. Other daughters-in-law who have been married for more than ten years are not as meticulous and considerate as First Young Lady."
Cheng Yujin smiled. "It's my blessing to serve the elders."
When Granny Zhang heard Cheng Yujin's words, her smile became even more brilliant. She thought to herself, there were still two young ladies sleeping in the jade-green screen cabinet. They were in the same main room and were only three or four rooms away from each other, yet those two didn't come to serve the old madame. It was clear that they were completely unaware. Not to mention the girls, even Old Lady Cheng's two daughters-in-law hadn't arrived yet.
It was really easy to distinguish who was better when compared with others.
Last night, Cheng Yumo slept in the Old Lady's room. Early in the morning, the Nguyễn Clan hurried over to see how her daughter was doing. She didn't expect to see Cheng Yujin already there as soon as she entered the door. Looking at her posture, it seemed that she had been waiting for a long time.
The Nguyễn Clan's expression suddenly became a little strange.
Old Lady Cheng glanced at the Nguyễn Clan and said coldly, "She's here."
The Nguyễn Clan felt very embarrassed. The most terrible thing was to compare with others. As a daughter-in-law, she couldn't compare with her granddaughter? The Nguyễn Clan didn't have time to go to the west side of the green screen cabinet to see her daughter. She quickly rolled up her sleeves and squeezed over to serve the Old Lady Cheng to wash up.
The place was only so big. When the Nguyễn Clan squeezed over, many people were blocked. Cheng Yujin took a step back at the right time to give the Nguyễn Clan space.
In the eyes of outsiders, Mammy Chang secretly praised her for her generosity.
Cheng Yujin watched as the Nguyễn Clan hurriedly wrung the handkerchief for the Old Lady Cheng and brought her mouthwash. After all, she wasn't as good as a maidservant. The water was sometimes hot and sometimes cold. She was scolded by the Old Lady Cheng several times. There were still so many maidservants surrounding them. Old Lady Cheng wasn't happy, and the Nguyễn Clan's expression didn't look good either.
Cheng Yujin secretly shook her head. She was really muddle-headed. Serving the elders was for the sake of "filial piety". Did she really have to do the work of serving tea and water? To put it bluntly, it was just a show. The performance component was far more important than the practical component.
Therefore, Cheng Yujin never did things like wringing a handkerchief or holding a spittoon. It was dirty and tiring. Whoever wanted to do it could do it. Cheng Yujin would only wait for the maidservant to wring the handkerchief. Then, she would naturally reach out to take it and hand it to the Old Lady Cheng. After that, the maidservant would do the work for her. In this way, Cheng Yujin didn't do anything. However, she seemed to be very important and indispensable.
For someone like the Nguyễn Clan, who rolled up their sleeves and went to work personally, it was too honest.
Cheng Yujin's complicated family environment taught her how to be clever at a very young age. She understood the things that other girls learned after three or four years of marriage when she was ten years old. Not only that, she also became smooth and slick in dealing with people. She was extremely self-centered. She didn't care about her face, didn't yearn for her parents' love, and didn't care about love.
She only loved herself.
It wasn't easy for Old Lady Cheng to finish tidying up. At this time, the Nguyễn Clan was tormented to the point that she was physically and mentally exhausted. She looked at Cheng Yujin, who was standing to the side and watching with folded arms. She didn't know why, but an evil fire ignited in her. The Nguyễn Clan smiled and asked, "Eldest Miss, why didn't Eldest Sister-in-law come?"
The Nguyễn Clan also didn't know why she asked such a question. When Cheng Yujin was very young, the Nguyễn Clan clearly knew that Cheng Yujin didn't know who her biological mother was. However, the inexplicable malice in her heart made the Nguyễn Clan open her mouth again and again. She quietly instigated the relationship between Cheng Yujin and Princess Qingfu. If Cheng Yujin didn't have a good life, the Nguyễn Clan would feel distressed. However, if Cheng Yujin had a good life and was close to Qingfu like a mother and daughter, it would make the Nguyễn Clan's heart burn with jealousy and unbearable hatred.
Lian Qiao's expression wasn't very good. In her opinion, Second Madam's attitude was simply too bad. She just couldn't bear to see Eldest Miss living well! The head maidservant was filled with righteous indignation, but Cheng Yujin herself was very calm. Her heart had long become impervious to fire and water. Instead, she could even smile at the Nguyễn Clan, "Mother has to take care of Father and Third Brother, so she can't leave for a while. Therefore, Mother asked me to be filial and serve Grandmother on her behalf. "
Cheng Yujin didn't answer why Princess Qingfu didn't come. She only said that Qingfu had to take care of Cheng Yuan-hsien and Cheng Enbao. In one sentence, she helped Qingfu get out of trouble and coaxed Old Lady Cheng. In Old Lady Cheng's eyes, of course, her son and grandson were the most important. Hearing that her daughter-in-law was serving her son made Old Lady Cheng feel comfortable.
Old Lady Cheng smiled with satisfaction. When she got up, she glanced at the Nguyễn Clan. The Nguyễn Clan immediately bowed their heads in fear and didn't dare to breathe.
Old Lady Cheng walked to the east room and asked, "Where are the other children?"
"In reply to Old Lady, Second Miss and Second Master Xu are washing their faces in the green screen cabinet. Miss Nian said that there's no makeup here that she's used to, so she went back to Great Aunt's courtyard to comb her hair again. "
Not to mention outsiders, even the Nguyễn Clan's mother wanted to shake her head. They were the same age, but Cheng Yumo and Xu Nianchun were so childish. Their elders had been awake for so long and didn't come to greet them. They even went out to dress themselves. In contrast, Cheng Yujin was so sensible that she didn't seem like a little girl.
The Nguyễn Clan couldn't stand it and secretly asked a maidservant to go to the green screen cabinet to call Cheng Yumo over. Cheng Yumo and Xu Zhixian walked over with their hair loose and said in unison, "Old Ancestor, greetings."
Old Lady Cheng nodded and said, "The three of you grew up together. You don't have to wait here. Go play on your own."
Xu Zhixian cheerfully said, "Yes." Cheng Yujin sensed that Old Lady Cheng was deliberately creating opportunities for them. As for who she was creating opportunities for, it was hard to say. It was reasonable to say that this opportunity was exactly what they were looking for. However, Cheng Yujin paused and reluctantly said, "Grandmother, I'm afraid I can't."
Old Lady Cheng was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Cheng Yujin said, "Grandfather told me yesterday to learn how to write from Ninth Uncle."
Old Lady Cheng was even more puzzled. "Why do you want to learn this?"
"The Emperor's Thousand Autumns Festival is coming soon. Grandfather wants to send a screen to celebrate the Emperor's birthday and let granddaughter embroider it. So I'm afraid I won't be free these few days. After greeting Grandmother, I have to go learn how to write from Ninth Uncle. "
The silence in the main room was heavier than usual. The gift to celebrate the Emperor's birthday was so honorable, but it was actually handed over to Cheng Yujin to embroider. This was the dignity that Qingfu, Nguyễn Clan's daughters-in-law, and even Old Lady Cheng, the legal wife, did not have. The Nguyễn Clan's and Old Lady Cheng's feelings were complicated. Xu Zhixian and Cheng Yumo looked at each other and did not dare to speak.
Even if they were not sensible, they knew that Cheng Yujin's treatment was not a small matter. It was better than their mother's.
In the end, Old Lady Cheng said, "Since Marquis said it, you just have to go. If you don't have enough time, you don't have to come to me for roll call in the future. "
"How can I do that?" Cheng Yujin declined with a righteous expression. Then she saluted and left. "Grandmother, Second Aunt, I'll go first."
After she came out, Lian Qiao was very excited. She whispered, "Miss, you didn't see Second Madam's and Old Madam's expressions just now. How can they compare to our Miss's dignity? Don't talk about comparing, I'm afraid Second Madam doesn't even dare to think about it. "
"Enough." Cheng Yujin faintly scolded Lian Qiao. "Don't talk so much. It's getting late. If you don't go now, you'll be late."
Lian Qiao bluntly agreed, but the corners of her mouth still curled up. This was only the beginning. When the embroidery was finished, their eyes would be red with envy!
Cheng Yujin woke up early today. Although she was delayed by Old Lady Cheng's place, she thought that it was still early. She did not expect that when she arrived at Chenming Courtyard, Cheng Yuanjing had already packed everything. It seemed that he had already done a lot of things.
Cheng Yujin was very surprised. "Ninth Uncle woke up so early?"
Cheng Yuanjing glanced at her indifferently. He was too lazy to answer this kind of meaningless question. He pointed at Mo beside him and asked, "Can you write?"
Cheng Yujin's smile was very bright. If one listened carefully, they could hear the sound of teeth gritting. "Ninth Uncle, what do you think?"
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