Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 13

Yin Shi was originally an insignificant marginal person in the mansion, and he was unwilling to try to please his stepmother like the aunt did, so naturally his sense of existence was even lower.
But in fact, for Yin Shi herself, life has entered a stable state that makes her extremely satisfied.

Although the servants may have some small thoughts, her mother, the Third Lady, who has three sons, is very confident and tolerant of the concubines. Well, saying that she is kind may seem like flattery, but at least the Third Lady does not have the intention of stinging.
Fruits in spring, ice in summer, tonic in autumn, charcoal in winter, there is no shortage of anything.
Once the gate of the courtyard is closed, everyone in the courtyard feels comfortable and at ease.

She even helped her family book a courtyard at Donglin Temple on Buddha's birthday.
Originally, this should be the eldest wife's business. Donglin Temple is very popular, and it is common to not be able to book a courtyard on these days. The old lady meant that if you can book it, it would be great, but if you can't, there is nothing you can do.
Although the Yin family is wealthy, there are many rich and noble people in the area, and silver is not very useful at this time.

But the old lady worshipped Buddha, and everyone knew that although she said it was okay, she must still be hoping to get the engagement in her heart, and she just didn't want to make things difficult for her son.
As in previous years, we were not able to book the courtyard for the big room on Buddha's Birthday this year. The old lady said it was okay, but there was disappointment in her eyes.

Who would have thought that the third wife suddenly stood up and said that she had used her connections to get the place.
Although they shared a yard with other families, the old lady was so happy that she praised the third wife for the first time in her life.
The third lady rarely acted respectfully in front of the old lady, feeling proud.

When she came back, she asked someone to call Yin Shi over and praised him profusely - she was able to squeeze in this time thanks to Yin Shi's contact with her master.
Yin Shi was very modest: "It is my duty to be filial to my mother and grandmother. How dare I take credit for it. It's just that I made a big promise to my master..."
"Don't worry." The third lady smiled and held up a few fingers. "This is the amount of money the old lady gave for incense this year."
Wow.
Yin Shi smiled, but continued to ask, "What about my master..."

The third lady laughed and scolded: "Look how worried you are."
"Don't worry. This is something that the adults are concerned about. I'm here for you." The Third Madam pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to her. "Here, this is all prepared for your master."
Who says monks have given up the secular world? In some time and space, being a monk is actually a profession, and it is a regular job.

Yin Shi quickly scanned the gift list, no, it should be said that it was a list of offerings, and he was completely relieved.
The third lady said, "It's not too thin, is it?"
Thanks to the head monk, she was able to hold her head high for once, so she became generous. Not to mention the incense money and offerings to Donglin Temple this time, which the old lady had entrusted to her to handle, so how could there be no profit in the process?
A sure win.

Yin Shi used to rely on her child's body and adult soul. Moreover, since she had just lost her mother, she showed her fragility which made people feel pity for her, her intelligence which made people like her, and her perseverance. Finally, she persuaded the head monk to accept her as a registered disciple.
There is some emotional factor in this kind of relationship at the time. But after a long separation, if it is not maintained, it will fade away. This is the case between people.
Therefore, Yin Shi had to maintain this master-disciple relationship at all times.

Yin Shi knelt down with a smile on his face: "Mother is much more thoughtful than me. She actually made such a generous offering. Master will definitely be happy to see it."
The Third Lady pointed at her from a distance and said to Madam Sun, "Look at her. She is now closer to Master than to us."
Mother Sun smiled in support.
Yin Shi didn't bother to act smooth and tactful in front of the Third Madam. He could just smile foolishly to save himself some trouble and effort.

Spring goes and summer comes, summer goes and autumn comes. When the charcoal basin is lit and you put on the embroidered winter coat with ermine lining, another year has passed.
People in this time and space believe that turning the year over means growing one year older.
Sure enough, the skirt became shorter and the shoes became smaller, and the little girl grew taller like a sprout.

The oldest cousin who was in the same class with me came of age. All the cousins ​​attended her coming of age ceremony. Then one day, this cousin suddenly stopped coming to class.
Er Niang smiled and said, "She has booked it."
Once the engagement is done, it means the engagement. After the engagement, the girl no longer attends these girls' classes, and while following her mother to learn some practical aspects of housekeeping, she also concentrates on preparing needlework for the day of marriage and recognition.

In fact, Huaixi is famous for its mulberry, hemp and tea, and its textile and embroidery industries are well developed.
Many families would hire professional embroidery workshops to make wedding gowns, wedding quilts and other large items. The Yin family had its own embroidery workshop, so the girls didn't have to do any of the large items themselves.
Girls hid in their own rooms and just sewed some small things for their future parents-in-law, uncles, aunts, and relatives.
The most important thing is to let girls calm down and control their temper.

"Fourth Lady, why are you sighing?" The lady turned around and asked Yin Shi.
"No." Yin Shi touched his throat and replied perfunctorily, "My throat is uncomfortable..."
"It's dry in spring, so you should drink more water." The old lady said, "My mother gave me some good tea yesterday. I'll ask Sang'er to bring some to you later."

Second Mother yelled, "Why did Mother only give it to you and not to us?"
Before the aunt could answer, the second cousin who was sitting at the next table covered her mouth and laughed: "You are only a few years old, why do you have to compete with your sister? First, your sister, then you, there are still many years to go."
The auntie spat at her and twisted it again. The cousin smiled and dodged.
Er Niang also understood and made a face: "I won't argue."
All the naive behavior of girls, innocent and cute.
Yin Shi held up his chin and smiled.

The gentleman came in and the girls quieted down.
Yin Shi flipped through a few pages of the book, looked up at the girls' sweet and well-behaved looks, looked out the window at the green branches, and listened to the chirping of birds. When they reach the age of 15, they will get married, and after getting married, they will no longer come to class. So the girls in the class are not very old.
At this age, I enjoy my carefree teenage years and don’t know how precious the present time is. After many years, I will probably sigh that “I thought it was just normal at the time”.

Unlike them, Yin Shi, who was reborn for the second time, extremely enjoyed and cherished the present time.
Not having to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation is a happiness that only comes with childhood and adolescence. It is no longer available after adulthood.
Apart from visiting the elders every morning and evening, there is no other social interaction. The third wife, the mother of the first wife, is content with having a son, and she doesn't care much for the flattery of the concubines, nor is she interested in teasing them. If she is happy, she will even give them something. Everyone is content with their duties.
After finishing classes with the lovely girls every day, Yin Shi would return to the courtyard, close the door, roll up his sleeves, and plant flowers and grass happily.
How nice it would be if we could stop time here.

But that is impossible. Even in different time and space, time still flows and cannot be stopped.
Another year passed, and several of the Yin family's sons who had gone to the capital returned to their registered places to take the Tongsheng exam. The eldest son, Silang, and the third son, Dalang, passed the exam and became scholars. Although they were only scholars, it was a real honor, and two at once!
The entire Yin family was filled with joy and spent money lavishly.

The third room had double happiness - after the eldest doctor passed the imperial examination, they got married.
The wedding was originally scheduled, and it had to go on whether the marriage was successful or not. But if the marriage was successful, it was even more joyous.
The third lady's face was beaming.

But after that, the men of the Yin family no longer went back to the capital to study with the Shen family.
Everyone in the house was in high spirits, except the old man who sighed. Uncle Yin and his other sons accompanied him cautiously.
"That's it," the old man said regretfully.

The men of the Yin family did not return to the capital and continued to study at home.
why.
"I can't keep up." Shiro from the eldest son admitted honestly.
Yin Shi's eldest brother even said, "You don't know how much pressure we are under. The people in the Shen family... are too good at studying. We have really worked very hard."
But it was too painful to be crushed by the younger brothers of the Shen family.
Especially their dearest cousin Shen Ti, he is simply... forget it, let’s not mention it.

The Yin family was indebted to the Shen family. Relying on its own strength, the Shen family managed to produce two scholars among the three men of the Yin family who had no talent for studying.
The benevolence and righteousness are gone.
When it comes to studying, diligence and hard work are important, but in the face of talent, 99% of sweat cannot match that 1% of natural talent.

The Shen family introduced a new teacher to the Yin family. Mrs. Shen and her husband both wrote to the Yin family.
One of the couple said it more tactfully, while the other said it more clearly.
My nephews from my mother's family have limited talents, and the Shen family has done their best. Their level is only this level, and they can't keep up even if they go to the Shen family. If we force them to grow, we may end up hurting our nephews. The teacher your son-in-law found is definitely good enough to teach our children, so let the children study with him. Don't continue to be crushed in the Shen family. I see that my nephews have lost all their confidence, which is not good.
——Of course, this is not how it is said, but this is what it means when it is read.

Mrs. Shen's husband Shen Bo even predicted in a letter that Silang and Dalang would win.
As expected, it was the eldest son's son Silang and the third son's son Dalang who passed the examination. This shows that the Shen family has a clear grasp of the academic level of the Yin family's children.
The old man said regretfully: "That's it."

The old man had also experienced ups and downs, so he quickly adjusted his mindset: "Your great-grandfathers were just peddlers. Only when I came here did I have some assets and donated to become an official. Now you have finally achieved fame and honor. After all, each generation is stronger than the previous one."

Hearing that they wouldn't have to go back to the Shen family anymore, the young people breathed a sigh of relief.
The old man was so angry that he rolled his eyes: "What a shame!"
Nagafusashiro sighed and said, "Grandfather, please don't scold us. We really don't want to study with our cousin anymore."
The third roommate also sighed: "Grandfather, you don't know what it feels like to study with Shen Ti."

When I was at home, I knew that I was not a particularly talented person, but the people of my peers were all the same, with one or two who were a little smarter, but that was all.
But Shen Ti, the Shen family’s cousin, is different.
Studying with this younger brother often makes me doubt myself: Am I a fucking loser?
The old man's eyes narrowed slightly: "Brother Xi? Did he also die this year?"
Silang complained: "He wanted to quit last year, but his uncle stopped him. He still doesn't want to."
The old man asked: "Why did your uncle want to stop Brother Xi from dying?"

Shiro was silent for a moment.
"My uncle said that it is not a good thing for a tree to stand out from the crowd. He doesn't want him to achieve fame at such a young age."
"Last year...he was only ten years old after all."

(End of this chapter)