The next morning, Wu Hui was summoned to Fuyou Residence by the old lady, who gave her a long lecture and then ordered her to apologize to Wu Xia.
Because she was not easily moved, Wuxia had slept in the old lady's room last night and was still reclining quietly in bed. Her face was a little pale, but she still forced a smile and greeted Wuhui to come to her side, asking kindly, "Did I frighten you yesterday?"
This was very different from what Wu Hui had imagined. She had expected to be scolded, but Wu Xia not only didn't say a harsh word, but also showed concern for her first.
Sometimes people's hearts are so strange. When they do something wrong, they are easily blamed and scolded, and they are more likely to rebel and refuse to admit their mistakes. But when they receive understanding and consideration from others, they will naturally say words of apology: "Big sister, I'm sorry. I was reckless yesterday and almost hurt you."
Wuxia smiled and said, "I know you didn't mean it, and I don't blame you. Don't look so gloomy." She patted the side of the bed, gesturing for Wuhui to sit down. "Besides, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a few days. Don't blame yourself too much."
Wuxia's voice was gentle and soft, which reminded Wuhui of when she was a child, when her mother, Madam He, was still alive, and she always spoke to her in such a gentle way.
Although she was headstrong and willful, and prone to getting stuck on trivial matters, she was still just a young girl. Once the softness in her heart was touched, she couldn't help but want to speak her mind: "Big sister, in this family, you are the only one who is still kind to me."
"How could that be?" Wuxia said. "We are all family, we are all blood relatives, how could we possibly treat you badly?"
“They…they all hate me.” Seeing that Wuxia didn’t seem to believe her, Wu Hui became anxious. “Really, you have to believe me.”
"Okay, okay, I believe you. But you also need to tell me why everyone dislikes you." Wu Xia asked.
“They all resent my mother. She almost killed my uncle back then, and after she passed away, this debt was placed on my shoulders. Even Aunt Caiqiong did the same. In order to please my grandmother, she also went along with my grandmother's wishes, treating me coldly and doting on Wuyou more.”
This was the thing that bothered Wu Hui the most. Everyone knew that He Caiqiong married Jun Nian as his second wife because she was related to Wu Hui by blood. The He family was afraid that Jun Nian would mistreat Wu Hui after remarrying, so they made this arrangement. But He Caiqiong got along better with Wu You, who was born out of wedlock. Wu Hui was stubborn and didn't listen to others. She never reflected on herself, so she became more and more biased and thought that her stepmother had impure intentions.
Wuxia asked, "How can you tell that Grandmother loves Wuyou more?"
Wu Hui snorted, "Is there any need to say that? Look at the good marriage that Grandmother arranged for Wu Xia, but for me... I heard her say with my own ears that she wanted to find me a lowly family that would have to rely on our family to survive."
Although Wuxia had been married for many years, she was not completely ignorant of her family's affairs. Ignoring the extreme parts of Wuhui's words, she seized on the point that Wuhui cared about most and asked, "Then why do you think Grandmother prefers Wuyou?"
"Isn't it all because she's scheming and knows how to pretend to be obedient and please people?" Wu Hui pouted.
“Silly child,” Wuxia laughed, “Grandmother is so old when she comes back, can’t she tell who is sincere to her and who is not?”
A single question left him speechless and without remorse.
Wuxia added, "If you want everyone to love you and treat you well, I have a way, I can give you some advice."
"What method?" Wu Hui asked expectantly.
"You can see that well-behaved children are likable, right? Well-behaved naturally includes being obedient, respectful to elders, and getting along well with sisters. As long as you do these things, I guarantee that everyone will treat you differently than before. At that time, your worries about marriage may also take a turn for the better."
"Really?" Wu Hui was a little skeptical, especially about the relationship between the sisters. Wouldn't that mean she had to soften her stance and win over Wu You and Wu Shuang? But they had been enemies for a long time, especially Wu You. The last letter incident had completely torn off their relationship. Could they really reconcile?
"Big sister, what if I change my attitude and become friendlier to them, but they still treat me the same as before? What should I do?"
“Well,” Wuxia thought for a moment, “like you said, if you treat others well, they may not treat you the same way. By that logic, if you treat others badly, they will definitely treat you even worse. So, if you want others to treat you well, you have no choice but to keep trying to treat them well.”
The two were ten years apart in age. Wuxia acted like a little mother, patiently persuading Wuhui until she finally convinced him.
Moreover, Wu Hui put the principles she hadn't had time to teach her to use right away.
That afternoon, as she was saying goodbye to Wuxia and about to leave Fuyou Residence, she ran into Wushuang, who had come to visit her sister, while walking in the courtyard.
Wu Shuang was furious and regretted almost causing Wu Xia to miscarry yesterday. As soon as she saw her, she questioned her impatiently, "What are you doing here? Didn't you hurt my sister enough yesterday?"
Wu Hui instinctively wanted to argue, but remembering Wu Xia's words of advice, she swallowed the harsh words that were about to come out and said in a soft voice, "I... just came to apologize to my elder sister, I meant no harm."
I thought we'd end up arguing when I saw Wu Hui, but to my surprise, she calmly apologized.
Wushuang couldn't say what she had prepared, and after a long while, she finally managed to stammer out, "Well... my sister is alright. To pray for the safety of her and her child, Grandmother and I have decided to eat vegetarian food. What about you?"
"I want one too!" Wu Hui exclaimed hastily, as if he would miss out on the jewel if he was even a step too slow. "I'll go tell Yuanxiao to tell the kitchen right away."
After saying that, she lifted her skirt and ran away.
Wushuang stood on the stone steps under the eaves, watching Wu Hui's departing figure. After a long while, she inexplicably looked up at the sky.
It's strange, the sun rises from the east, so why does Wu Hui seem to have changed her nature?
Chapter 86 | Table of Contents
Chapter 86:
Before Wushuang could recover from the shock of Wuhui's sudden change, news arrived that Emperor Deqing's northern tour was confirmed. [txt ebook download: Http://wW/]
Both Jun Shu and Jun Nian were on the travel list, and their families could naturally accompany them.
The three young ladies, Wuyou, Wushuang, and Wuhui, are nearing marriageable age, and no one can say for sure whether they will have the opportunity to travel far away after they get married. Therefore, the old lady suggested that they take advantage of their time at their parents' home to go out and play freely.
Because Madam Yang was worried about Wuxia, she decided to stay home to take care of her. Although He Caiqiong accompanied her husband, she already had two daughters, Wuyou and Wuhui, to take care of, so it was really difficult for her to take care of Wushuang as well. In order to ensure that none of the three girls were left behind, the old lady simply decided to go along as well.
It was drizzling on the day of departure. As dawn broke, Wushuang got ready and sat in the carriage. But after she and her companion Wuyou Wuhui had taken a nap, they lifted the curtain and saw that the carriage was still parked at their side gate, without having moved an inch.
"If only we had slept enough in the room before coming out," Wu Hui said, yawning impatiently.
Wushuang had accompanied the emperor on his southern tour before and knew a bit about the ins and outs, so she casually explained, "It was the same last time we went on the southern tour. The emperor went first, then the concubines, then the ministers, and finally the family members. I remember we didn't have to wait this long back then; maybe it was because of the weather that we were delayed."
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone knocked on the car window.
Wushuang lifted the curtain and saw that the person who came was Lu Peng, Chu Yao's guard.
"Third Miss, this is what the Prince ordered me to deliver." Lu Peng, still on horseback, waved and handed over a carved red lacquer food box.
Wushuang took the box and opened the top lid. There, on a blue and white porcelain plate, were ten small pastries shaped like crab shells and colored like crab roe.
"Crab shell yellow?" Wuyou asked.
Wu Hui, who knew more about food, chimed in, "It's Mingyuan's crab shell pastry." She turned to Lu Peng, "As far as I know, Mingyuan doesn't serve crab shell pastry in the morning. Could this be stale from being left overnight?"