Just as mother said, my grandmother's house was different from other houses.
The Zhu Residence was high and crowded.
Looking at the servants and pedestrians, they all had good food and clothes. Their manners were completely different from those of Jiangnan … It was very unfamiliar.
This was where mother lived for the first half of her life.
Suddenly, I felt very nervous.
My grandmother's hair was white, but her behavior and expression were very similar to mother's. She kept calling out "sweetheart" and wailing.
Aunt, sister-in-law, elder sister and younger sister, their voices and smiles were all gentle and kind. They kept praising me, showing great care.
Their eyes seemed to be gentle.
The Lin Family's bloodline had always been thin. It was the first time I saw so many relatives, I thought. I hope they all like me.
Whatever they asked, I answered them one by one. I answered them one by one.
Until I met Baoyu.
.....
That night, I sat alone in the house. I held a brush and wrote.
One stroke, two strokes, three strokes.
Why did it become blurry? I rubbed it and threw it away.
One stroke, two strokes, three strokes.
Why did it become blurry again?
Why did he change his attitude towards me after he threw the jade?
Why did my grandmother say, "How can you compare to her now?"
Was he the only one allowed to have a grandmother? Was he the only one allowed to have siblings?
Was he the only one allowed to have a mother?
Was he the only one allowed to be loved by this and that?
Since they treasured him so much, how would they think of me, a girl who made him angry when I just arrived?
I knew this was someone else's house. But … I felt wronged for no reason.
If my grandmother and grandfather, if my mother, if my brother were still alive, would they love me as much as they love him today?
"Miss Lin … Miss, you don't have to be so calculative with him. Second Master Bao has always been like a devil incarnate … He has done more ridiculous things than this." Parrot Bro pulled me, still trying to persuade me.
Aunt said he was a ridiculous child.
Everyone said he was a devil incarnate.
But their tone was affectionate.
My eyes reddened as I carefully folded the paper that was filled with Gusu poems and began to flip through it.
Xue Yan asked me, "Miss, what are you looking for?"
"Where's the bag uncle gave me?"
I took it out and opened the bundle. After reading for a while, I suddenly burst out laughing. Uncle, you must have thought of something like this.
On the cover, it said, "For Little Fairy Niece." Below it was her father's disapproving handwriting: Original story, sound and breath.
Then his father began another line, and wrote with a strong pen: "This is a barbarian's path, do not visit it too often." He must have instructed me to do so.
"Miss Lin, are you feeling better?" Brother Parrot stole a glance at me.
"Hmm." I finally dried my tears, took out the lamp, and opened the book.
I still have my father. I still have my uncle. There is no need to grieve in vain.
The journey was long and tiring. I was in low spirits and my head was crooked. He hadn't read any books yet.
Other than the words "For Little Fairy Niece" written by his uncle on the cover, there were all kinds of strange patterns, but there was no title.
I opened the book, and the first thing I saw was the same strange pattern as the cover, with my uncle's handwriting at the bottom. When I saw my uncle's mark, I understood that the strange 'pattern' was an unknown Western language.
However, I didn't recognize this Western language. After looking at it for a while, I realized that it was a Western language book.
I pondered for a moment, and then went to look for other books in my bag. Sure enough, I found one. It was different from the others. This book was only the size of my palm, and each word was accompanied by a 'pattern'. Under the Western words, there were explanations. Some of the explanations were my uncle's handwriting, but I didn't know who wrote the rest. It was a book of Chinese characters.
I was used to finding friends through poetry, and finding friends through words. When I saw a novel book, I had to finish reading it before I could remember anything else.
I threw away those thoughts and focused on the book.
Suddenly, the candle flame flickered, and the light changed. I realized that I had been reading the book for a long time.
I closed the book and looked at the first Western language book. It wasn't the story of a loyal and virtuous minister, but a story of birds and beasts (monsters?) Their behavior was indescribable. According to the book's explanation, the book's title should be "Aesop's Fables."
Just as I was about to read the contents of "Aesop's Fables," I realized that it was already late. Brother Parrot advised me to rest.
I rested, but I was still thinking about the books.
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