Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 53

Pu'er quickly jumped down and walked over quickly: "Mom!"
Mother Qin asked her with a smile: "Have you enjoyed the food these days? Are you having any discomfort due to the local climate?"
Pu Er replied, "They all suit my taste. The kitchen can cook Huaixi cuisine. There is no problem with the local climate at all."

"Then why do you look unhappy? Oh, right..." Mother Qin said, "Feng was supposed to serve tea to the young mistress today. But it didn't go well?"
Without waiting for Pu'er to answer, she whispered in Huaixi language: "That Feng, the daughter of an official in the capital, could it be..."

Pu'er immediately thought of her as one of her own from her accent and tone, but Yin Shi told her not to mention it, so she could only pout and say, "No, no, everything is fine."
Mother Qin laughed angrily: "Look at your mouth, you can hang a bottle of oil on it. Are you still hiding it from me?"
Pu Er bit her lip: "Young Madam doesn't allow me to tell anyone else..."
Mother Qin said angrily: "Of course you shouldn't tell others about what happens in your yard, but am I someone else?"

Of course! How can Mother Qin be someone else? She is one of us!
Pu Er looked around and whispered to Mother Qin: "...She calls the Young Madam Sister."
Mother Qin understood immediately.
"That's Feng's fault." She made the first judgment.
Pu Er said: "That's right. She is a government slave, how can she call me sister?"

Mother Qin asked, "What did the young lady say?"
Pu Er said, "Don't mention it. Our girl agreed directly and told us not to be angry about this matter. She said Feng Shi was pitiful. I was so angry."
She said, "Our girl is like this, she never gets angry or anxious. My sisters said she has been like this since she was little."

This is consistent with the temperament of Yin Shi that they observed in Huaixi, which shows that it is his true temperament and not fake.
Mother Qin nodded secretly in her heart.
She said, "You are still young, you don't understand adult matters. Since the young lady has spoken, just listen and do as she says. Watch and learn well, so that you can be independent in the future and truly help the young lady. It's useless to just get angry now."

After comforting Pu'er, Mother Qin went into the main room.
Yin Shi and Madam Shen were talking and laughing in the east room.
"Yesterday, while he was away and I was not busy, I asked the girls to take inventory of the small storeroom."
"There are so many things in the cloud. They are all good things."
"The maids have put it in order very well, and the records are clearly entered, without any mistakes or omissions. Even the handwriting is very good."
"My girl can't compare to them."
Seeing Qin's mother coming in, she curved her eyes and greeted her cheerfully, "Mom."

She was such a good-natured child, always cheerful. At that time in Huaixi, the third wife complained that the fourth daughter was a little silly and always cheerful.
Mother Qin felt that this was a blessed child.
Look at her, the monk had predicted that she would marry three years later. Everyone thought that she would delay her marriage, but she ended up marrying into the Shen family in the capital, and married the newly crowned top scholar.

Mother Qin is respectable and can sit in front of Mrs. Shen.
The maid moved the brocade stool and placed it in front of the couch. Madam Qin sat on it and said to Yin Shi, "It's always like this. When we first arrived, we were not as good as the young lady. We were really in the dark and knew nothing. The lady had read books and learned to read, but I couldn't even read big characters."

Mrs. Shen continued, "At that time, I knew very little. I had only read the Three Character Classic and a few worthless books. In the Shen family, saying that I was 'educated' was a joke."
"Yeah." Yin Shi leaned forward, "It was quite difficult for you then, right?"

This topic hasn't been discussed for a long time.
Because there was no one around the capital who was suitable to talk about this topic, because these people were the ones who made Mrs. Shen "difficult" in the first place.
"How should I put it..." Mrs. Shen recalled, "It's difficult to say, because after all, we are really too far apart. But as long as the husband and wife are of one mind, the family is united, and we work hard, it won't be that difficult."

"When your great-grandmother returned to the capital, her health had already deteriorated. She knew that she didn't have much time left, and that she wanted to leave the family to me. She was afraid that I wouldn't be able to stand on my own feet, so she taught me step by step while she was still breathing."
"Your uncle, no, your father-in-law told me not to be afraid, I live with him, not with those people. Don't take what others say to heart."

"How could I have such a good fortune to have such a husband and mother-in-law? I can only work hard to learn. I just want to avoid being laughed at by others and not bring shame to your father-in-law and your grandmother-in-law."
Mrs. Shen sighed, "Looking back, how difficult could it be? It's just those things. It's just that our family didn't have enough conditions to learn them."
Mother Qin also sighed: "That's it."

Yin Shi said: "Come to think of it, I am much better than my aunt was then... Can I still call her aunt?"
Madam Shen said, "Of course, why not?"
Yin Shi was happy and continued to call her "Auntie", saying, "Now we have everything we need at home. We have hired a female teacher and my sisters go to school every day. The teacher has taught us everything we need. I am just stupid and only know the basics. In the future, I will have to work harder to learn from you, Auntie."

Mrs. Shen stayed in Huaixi for two months, and asked Yin Shi to accompany her almost every day. She had long seen that Yin Shi was clear-headed, methodical in his words and deeds, and good-tempered. He was a very stable person, and she knew that she was just being modest when she said she was stupid, and she was just trying to entertain her parents with colorful clothes.
Madam Shen waved her hand and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here for you when you come to the capital. If you don't understand anything, just come to me. We are aunt and niece, two generations of Shen family daughters-in-law, and we will never let them laugh at us again."

After Yin Shi returned, Mrs. Shen realized she was thirsty. She drank a cup of tea but it was not enough, so she drank half a cup and wondered, "How strange! Why am I so thirsty?"
Mother Qin covered her mouth and laughed: "Look at how much you just said."
A few days ago, Shen Ti and Yin Shi came to pay their respects together, and Lord Shen was also there. How could Madam Shen have such a chance to tell stories to her heart's content?
Today, the two people with stern faces were not here. Only Yin Shi and her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were left. They were relaxed and started talking.

"When you get old, you tend to talk a lot." Mrs. Shen also smiled, and after thinking for a while, she said, "It's rare to find someone who can speak Huaixi dialect so freely. Don't tell me, after all these years, Huaixi dialect is still engraved in my bones."
Mother Qin said: "Of course."

Mother Qin asked, "Did you ask her about Feng?"
"I asked her. She said everything was going well." Mrs. Shen said, "This child is a good one. I can see from her face and eyes that she is not forced, but sincere."
Mother Qin sighed: "Only Feng..."
Madam Shen was slightly surprised: "What happened to Feng?" Madam Qin then told Madam Shen that Feng Luoyi called Yin Shi "sister" and said: "It is true that she used to be a rich lady, but now she is different. Fortunately, the young lady is kind and honest and doesn't care about her."
Mrs. Shen was silent for a long time and sighed: "Poor child."
He then asked Yin Shi about his attitude and said with relief, "I really didn't misjudge him."

Pu Er actually regretted what she said. She was very nervous on the way back, but she still told Yin Shi.
Kui Er was annoyed: "I've already said it's not allowed to be said."
Pu Er Nene: "Because... it's not someone else, it's Mother Qin..."

In fact, it would be a good thing for Mrs. Shen to know about this indirectly from others.
Anyway, as long as I don’t know it directly from Yin Shi, it’ll be fine.
What's worse is that Pu'er is not careful with his mouth.

Yin Shi stopped.
"This matter of Feng's is not a big deal, so I won't punish you this time." She said, "But you have to be more careful in the future. You can't talk about the things in our courtyard, especially the things I said can't be said."
She looked at her two personal maids and said sternly, "We were at home before, so it's okay to be more casual."
"Now we are in someone else's home. We can no longer be as casual as before. We have to be alert."

"Aunt, Mother Qin, and Mother Wang are all from the Huaixi Yin family just like us, so of course we should be close to them."
"But don't forget when you are close to me that my aunt is now my mother-in-law."
"Between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law is the son, and the son's heart is with the concubine."

Kui'er and Pu'er both lowered their heads: "Alas."
Kui Er even glared at Pu Er and said, "Remember?"
Pu'er hung his head dejectedly.

Yin Shi curled the corners of his mouth.
In fact, it was just to scare them. The real situation was not that bad at all. Shen Ti was a partner who had made an agreement with her to form a united front.
Moreover, she didn't care at all about the things that the maids cared about, such as husband, favor, and the gossips in the inner house.

It’s just that the maids used to follow her and were marginalized in the Yin family, living a simple life behind closed doors. They are too unvigilant, which is not acceptable.
We have to scare them so that they will change.
When facing the Shen family, of course they are closer to Madam Shen. But when they are alone at the Shen family, they are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

No matter how close a daughter-in-law or niece is, she is not as close as a son. As a mother, of course, the interests of her son are tied together.
There is a game of interests between husband and wife in marriage. Not to mention that this is a time and space where men can have three wives and four concubines, this game of interests is even more intense.
Therefore, there is naturally a certain degree of antagonism between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
The people around her have to realize this.

Shen Ti also accompanied his uncles to stroll around the capital today.
See some famous sights, visit some bustling places, and eat some Beijing-style food.
When we came out of the restaurant, we saw the famous gold shop Fengxianglou next door, also known as Jinfengxiang. My uncles asked, "Is this Jinfengxiang?"
"Your sisters-in-law have repeatedly told us to buy them some jewelry of the latest styles in the capital from Jinfengxiang in the capital."
"Let's go and have a look. It saves us from having to go back and make a special trip."

Shen Ti went in with his three uncles.
The waiter who came over was all smiles, and he immediately bowed and greeted him, "Tanhua Shen!"
Shen Ti looked at him and said, "I have never been here before, how do you recognize me?"
The waiter laughed and said, "After ten years and three consecutive Tanhua awards, there finally appeared a Tanhua scholar who made young girls and wives throw sachets and handkerchiefs all over the place. Who wouldn't recognize him?"

Shen Ti laughed and said, "My uncles want to see the latest styles. You lead the way."
"Okay, please come in." The waiter said enthusiastically while leading the way, "I heard from people on the street that you got married, and you are so happy. I think your wife must be a lady with both good morals and good looks. Would you like to show your wife to me?"

Shen Ti suddenly thought of the morning when Feng Luoyi called her "sister". The expression on Yin Shi's face had never changed, and her smile had never diminished.
In fact, at that moment, what he thought about was not that he and she had an agreement and they were just pretending to be husband and wife.
The first thought that came to his mind at that time was that this is how a wife should behave.
"Okay." Xiao Shen Tanhua nodded, "Let's take a look too."

(End of this chapter)