Chapter 8 Trouble Arises

  This afternoon was no different from any other ordinary afternoon. The two maidservants entered the room with a slight bow, respectfully greeting Madam Jin and her siblings, and presenting them with the packages in their hands, saying they were tokens of respect for the mistress and master. Madam Jin calmly accepted the maidservants' deliberate show of affection, while also warning them to behave themselves.

  Hearing the spring intention, Mu Zhe looked at a scene of a proper room and a quick pass of a play, listening to the sweet words of two young women. Jin Shi quickly served tea, and the two young women took the initiative to bid farewell and leave. After they left, Jin Shi ordered the maids to withdraw, and Qing Ni accompanied her on the side, saying a few words with a smile, and the room became lively again. Wen Xiuyue picked up a book and began to recognize characters, Wen Xiu Jun crowded beside him, making trouble and causing chaos, Wen Chunyi was pulled by him and had to follow closely beside Wen Xiuyue, she casually recognized a few more characters. Jin Shi looked at her children's closeness, the annoyed expression on her face calmed down, she smiled and said: "The children are safe and sound, that's enough for me."

  The words of Madame Jin hid deep grievances, and Qingni listened intently. When she heard the hint of feelings in Madame Jin's tone, she raised her eyes to look over, catching a glimpse of the faint sorrow that flashed across Madame Jin's brow. Qingni quickly withdrew her gaze, thinking to herself: In this world, a woman's fate is such a fragile thing. Guarding the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, one cannot even ask for fidelity from one's husband, but can only suppress one's own desires and pretend to be virtuous in front of others. As she pretended to sleep, she overheard the hushed conversation between the two women beside her. Madame Jin's life was surprisingly a rare good day among the wives of the He family. Besides his two concubines, Master He had no other women by his side, and he would only occasionally spend the night with them once a month.

  Hearing such words, Wen Chunyi felt as if she had swallowed a fly. Later, when she saw the two servants, she carefully observed those two women who always came and went together, but no matter how she looked at them, their faces were not as good-looking as Jin Shi's. Wen Chunyi was annoyed in her heart, and treated Wen Chaoqing with particular indifference. However, that person who acted as a father to her would hurry over to see her whenever he had time off, carefully accompanying her with a smiling face and coaxing her into talking, even if she always responded with a wooden face. The love of a father is like a mountain, and Wen Chunyi was not truly a child in the classical sense, so she could naturally feel the sincerity in it.

  Wen Chaoqing had never shown any disdain for her sudden clumsiness, and he eagerly awaited his daughter's recovery. When Wen Chunyi heard about Wen Chaoqing's current treatment of her, she was surprised to find that he was even more considerate than before the accident. Whenever he came across toys or other things that children played with outside, he would especially prepare an extra set for her. He repeatedly told Wen Xueyi and Wen Xiuyi not to neglect this foolish younger sister of theirs. Even someone as stubborn as Wen Chunyi couldn't withstand such treatment, and she eventually softened, slowly beginning to change in the direction of a normal child.

  The emotions between men and women, like the wind that comes and goes, no one knows when someone will be moved by whom. In Chunyi's eyes, Mr. and Mrs. Qing treated each other with respect, but there was no visible affection. Chunyi could sense Madame Jin's subtle loss, and when Qingni mentioned her husband, her face showed emotions she couldn't hide. Chunyi felt that Madame Jin, being so intelligent, must have had such feelings too. Chunyi didn't want his parents to have an outsider in the future, so he could only change their way of interacting with each other. For the first time, Chunyi felt like he was reborn and there were things he could do.

  As the spring breeze blew, she felt that from now on, she should thicken her skin and spend more time with her parents. She wanted to observe carefully how this couple interacted with each other, so that she could understand what was wrong between them. After urging Qingni to leave, Jinshi went to the window several times until she heard the sound of movement at the gate of the courtyard, and the light footsteps in the courtyard. Her face was filled with smiles as she said to the children in the room: "Your sister is back."

  Wen Xiuyu put down the book and took her younger siblings' hands, wanting to rush out of the house. Wen Chunyi's face also showed interest, as Wen Xueyi would always carefully tell his younger siblings about his daily activities every time he returned home. Wen Xiujun followed behind his older sister with a smile, as Wen Chunyi opened the door and Wen Xueyi was already standing at the entrance. She looked at her three younger siblings who were about to go out, her small face stern and cold, saying: "All three of you come back inside, I have something to say to you." Jin Shi looked at her eldest daughter's expression, with a bewildered look on her face, explaining: "They heard that you're back, so they wanted to go welcome you."

  Xue Yi's expression improved slightly as she entered, and she took Chun Yi's hand. The two sisters sat down directly in front of Mrs. Jin. Xiu Jun leaned into Mrs. Jin's arms, while Xiu Yu tried to sit next to Chun Yi. Xue Yi whispered to Xiu Yu, "Father has just returned to the mansion, go wait for him at the entrance, remember, don't let outsiders see your shadow." Xiu Yu nodded hastily and whispered back, "Sister, don't worry, I'll hide inside the door and wait for Father to return." Xiu Yu quickly left, and Xue Yi took several deep breaths before turning to Mrs. Jin and saying, "Mother, I'm hungry, is there still food at home?"

  Jin Shi quickly got up, turned around and went into the inner room. After a while, she brought out several packages and said in a low voice: "These are the pastries that Qing Xun's aunt asked Qing Ni to bring in. You can choose some to eat first and fill your stomach." Wen Xueyi opened a few paper bags and smiled, saying: "Mother, I like the pastry bags that Qing Xun's aunt bought. They have more filling and are bigger and more cost-effective than the pastries made in our mansion. I love eating these red sand buns." Wen Xueyi casually tore open a piece of pastry and stuffed it into Jin Shi's mouth, then also stuffed some into Wen Xiujun and Wen Chunyi's mouths, and afterwards ate a small piece herself.

  Wen Xueyi only ate a small piece and then stopped. Wen Chunyi and Wen Xiujun didn't have the heart to eat anymore after having some snacks in the afternoon, so they left half of the bun untouched. Wen Xueyi smiled and said, "Let's save it for Father and Yutong to taste later." Jinshi felt that Wen Xueyi's smile was particularly unnatural, and when she spoke with Wen Xiujun, her words didn't match her tone. She also didn't ask Wen Chunyi what he did at home that day as she usually would, and her small mind seemed to be still wandering outside, not yet back in the room.

  Jin's mood became uneasy, and she looked at her eldest daughter in a low voice: "But what happened again in the mansion? Do you want to wait for your father to come back and talk together?" Wen Xueyi's eyes fell on Wen Chunyi, Jin's face turned white, and she quickly said: "Your big brother took your sister out for a while, just strolling around nearby, can this also provoke trouble?"