The fourth young lady was the fourth in line, with three older half-sisters who had married one after another.
Often, when others call her "Fourth Miss," it evokes distant and unfamiliar memories for her.
My father was obsessed with my mother. In order to marry her, he knelt in my grandfather's yard for three days and three nights, almost crippling his legs, before finally getting my grandfather to give in.
At that time, the relationship between the Wei family and the Yan family was strained. In order to get his maternal grandfather to agree to marry off his daughter, his father and grandfather went to great lengths. They were even ridiculed for being a man who could not live without a woman.
The mother didn't love the father, and there may have been various considerations for her marriage, but one of the reasons must have been that the father was easy to manipulate.
Wei Pingxi opened the cage and grabbed Fei Hong's most beautiful feather with one hand, scaring the little parrot into silence and preventing it from acting recklessly.
She had never met a man like Wei Hanqing.
No matter how much outsiders flattered Marquis Yiyang, in her heart, her father was utterly despicable.
He craved scraps from his mother's hand like a dog to keep him alive, yet he could be as ruthless as a wolf when facing other women.
That's how her two half-sisters, who died young and suffered misfortune, came to be.
It was Wei Hanqing who called out his mother's name, blindfolded his two aunts, and planted the seed on the windowsill.
Wei Pingxi's eyes were dark; she had witnessed that scene firsthand.
Even though her father knew she was hiding near the flowerbed, he remained as vicious as ever.
The two concubines eventually fainted, covered in wounds. Perhaps it was at that moment that they developed a terrible feeling of disdain and disgust towards men in the world.
I just can't feel close to my father.
Her father didn't like her either.
Aside from mothers, fathers in all the world only like submissive women who kneel and lick their feet.
A dangerous glint flashed in Wei Pingxi's eyes. Li Le, who had rushed over, saw that the parrot that the lady cherished was about to be strangled to death by the fourth young lady, and hurriedly cried out, "Fourth young lady, please have mercy!"
These words startled Wei Pingxi, who abruptly looked up.
Li Le was so frightened that she took three steps back: "Fourth...Fourth Miss?"
Wei Pingxi gave a faint "hmm," released his grip, and the bird fled, obediently burrowing into its cage, no longer daring to call out "A-Si" so loudly.
"I've come to pay my respects to my mother."
Li Le, pale with shock, asked Wei Ping, a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "What are you afraid of?"
"The Fourth Miss's prestige is growing stronger; she's born to be a mistress. How can I not be afraid?"
No wonder she's someone who's always been by her mother's side.
Out of respect for his mother, Wei Pingxi did not make things difficult for her.
Once she calmed down, Li Le dared to reply, "I'll have to trouble you to wait a moment, Miss. Madam is praying to Buddha and doesn't allow anyone to disturb her."
"Go ahead, I'll wait for Mother here."
"yes……"
Wei Pingxi sat by the corridor. In the sweltering summer heat, she looked listless and dispirited.
In her past life, she was very curious about how her mother and father got along in private. Her mother clearly had no feelings for that man at all, so why was she willing to have children for him?
She was more curious about how she got here.
Could it be that the father also used a brutal and coercive method?
This is a knot in her heart.
This unresolved issue affected her deeply.
So much so that on the second day after her rebirth, relying on her martial arts skills, she avoided the guards and crouched on the roof of the main house of Liulan Courtyard. She carefully lifted the tiles blocking her view and witnessed the absurdity that she never dared to imagine.
Thinking about it now, it still feels like a dream.
Her mother was not what she thought, and her father was even more despicable than she imagined.
You can't see into someone's heart.
Wei Pingxi lowered her eyes until Madam Wei came to her side from the other end of the corridor and placed her hand on her forehead. She slightly lifted her eyelids and said, "Mother."
Why are you sitting here?
I miss you.
Madam Wei's expression softened instantly, and she took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from her temples: "I've given you everything you wanted, so why are you so sullen?"
"Summer heat." She smiled.
"Li Le told me that you don't like Xiao Hong, the pet I'm raising?"
"How could that be?" Fourth Miss Ruifeng raised her phoenix eyes slightly, her charming demeanor reflected in her bright eyes. Madam Wei couldn't help but stroke her eyebrows, not hearing what her daughter said.
"Mother?"
Madam Wei snapped out of her daze, but didn't immediately withdraw her hand from stroking Fei Hong's brow: "What did Fei Hong do to offend you?"
"It provoked me." She feigned annoyance: "How dare it call me 'Ah Si'!"
Ah Si...
A strange look flashed in Madam Wei's eyes.
Miss Wei observed carefully, but ultimately couldn't bear to probe any further.
No matter what, her mother is still a mother who loves and cares for her.
Who cares what kind of person she is?
Who cares who she admires?
Just be good to her.
Between her two lifetimes, the number of people who were kind to her could be counted on one hand.
She felt a wave of weariness: "Mother, when are we going to our maternal grandparents' home in the capital?"
"Want to go back?"
"Um."
Her eyes were filled with melancholy, and Madam Wei couldn't bear to see her so melancholy, especially the unpleasant emotions spreading across her face.
Her heart ached: "Once you formally take a concubine, we'll return to the capital together with her."
"really?!"
The gloom that had been hanging over her brows finally dissipated, and Madam Wei happily pinched her cheek: "I would never lie to you."
Wei Pingxi had long since grown tired of staying in the lifeless Wei family.
People who stay in dark places for too long may forget how bright the sunshine is.
Having received a positive answer from her mother, she left Liulan Courtyard with high spirits.
Watching her departing figure, Madam Wei smiled, her eyes suddenly turning deep and unfathomable.
The capital city.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was still the same strong yet gentle, and uncompromising matriarch.
...
Yuzhi spent a very fulfilling time in the small courtyard.
Every day, looking at those exquisite bottles and jars, I can almost hear the sound of money being poured in.
She still cries as much as before, crying when she's extremely ashamed, when she's tired, and even when praised by Granny Wu for doing something well.
A wondrous person made of water.
The Fourth Miss is so cold-hearted; she needs Miss Yu's tears to soften her hardened heart.
With cicadas chirping incessantly in the summer, after the initially embarrassing "self-cultivation" phase, Yu-Chih begins her "nourishment" course today.
One must learn all of the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Painting is especially important. The fourth young lady is skilled in painting, and if one wants to become her beloved concubine, one must delve into the art of painting.
Granny Wu brought her to the small courtyard for further study, mainly to guide her into the field. Once she entered this field, her future depended on whether she was destined to be loved and cared for.
Haste makes waste.
Yu Zhi rarely had the opportunity to study, and her wrists ached so much that she didn't dare put down her pen, resulting in her being scolded by Granny Wu.
"Miss Yu," Wu Mama sighed, "if you really ruin this wrist, won't all our efforts be wasted? Didn't you come here to take the painting academy's entrance exam? Don't you know why you're here?"
The implication is that Yu Zhi has put the cart before the horse.
What you should know is that her most valuable asset and the thing that made her most appreciated by influential people was her beautiful complexion.
Which concubine wasn't beautiful and attractive? Who would spend a fortune to support a useless person?
The pen in Yu Zhi's hand fell to the ground with a snap.
Granny Wu came over with a worried expression and taught her how to massage her wrists to relieve the soreness from holding a pen for a long time.
"Don't ever think about doing anything rash in the future. If you've already embarked on this path, and you can't even take the first step steadily, what future can you expect?"
Her thoughts were suddenly exposed, and Yu Zhi sincerely remarked that those who could survive in the Wei family, aside from anything else, certainly had sharp eyes.
I could tell at a glance that she wanted to learn more skills.
Having many skills is never a bad thing. If the Fourth Miss gets tired of her and she and her mother leave Lingnan Prefecture, they will still have the means to make a living.
She's dreaming. It's just like what the old woman said—if you can't even take the first step steadily, how can you talk about the future?
Having received this warning, Yu Zhi became even more careful about her own health.
Having learned the four arts, at night, the nanny taught her how to manipulate the master's heart.
Yu Zhi studied diligently. After Granny Wu left, she lowered the bed curtains and, despite her shyness, carried out her nightly 'care' task.
It is said that this kind of daily nourishment will not only help her develop a beautiful complexion, but also make her suffer less on her wedding night, and make her more sensitive and more likely to enjoy herself.
To put it nicely, she was a concubine; to put it bluntly, she was nothing more than a plaything used to serve men with her looks.
She recognized her identity and understood the situation she faced. There may have been many inexplicable grievances, but when she thought that the suffering she had endured was not in vain, she would find the courage to face it again after she had cried enough.
In order to restore my mother's sight, and also to repay the Fourth Miss's kindness in saving me, I will use this body.
Yu Zhi understood a principle very well: what you can't bear to part with, you can't afford to lose.