Sitting opposite, Yu Xi Yu winked at her with glee. But the conflict in the main hall had also made her realize that no matter how much Lin Shi dotted on Yu Miao Qi, they would not be able to oppress Yu Xiang as long as Old Madam and Yu Pin Yan were present. Fourteen years had passed, Lin Shi was no longer the same matriarch whose words dictate the fate of everyone like she once was.
Pinching his younger sister’s chin, Yu Pin Yan turned her head back and uttered in a deep voice, “What’s there to see, have your meals. Elder Brother will pick for you. There’s no need to envy others.” He had also yearned for Lin Shi’s motherly love, but after so many years, he understood that it was something that simply nonexistent. If his younger sister needed affections, he could give so much more than she could ever imagine.
Old Madam also felt distressed for both her grandchildren. She placed some dishes for them each and softly said, “Eat, just tell Grandmother what you want. Grandmother will give it to you.” This would be the only gathering. Both mother and daughter could just return to their own courtyard next time. This act was really off-putting. They were equally all her children, so why was she favoring one and treated the others as if they were picked/adopted?
Having the insight to perceive, Yu Miao Qi promptly urged Lin Shi to enjoy her own meals in a whisper before giving Old Madam and Yu Pin Yan a piece of fish each with a shy smile on her face.
“Hey, don’t give Elder Brother any fish. Elder Brother never eats fish.” Yu Xiang put the fish back into her bowl.
The smile on Yu Miao Qi’s face stiffened but she paid no heed to Yu Xiang, instead she looked at Lin Shi and asked, “Mother, does Elder Brother dislike fish? I really don’t know as I’ve just returned home for the first time. What does Elder Brother like to eat? Just tell me so I will take note of it.”
Lin Shi was stumped with the question and felt absolutely embarrassed. When her husband died, her son was only five and was not even able to take care of himself, he ate whatever he was fed, so how was she supposed to know his preferences.
Seeing Lin Shi evading the topic and unable to answer for a long time, Old Madam’s face instantly blackened. The daughter-in-law’s disregard for her grandson had always been a thorn in her heart, and she couldn’t forgive her daughter-in-law for such irresponsible behavior until her death in this lifetime. The more she cares about Yu Miao Qi now would only serve as a foil of how pitiable her grandson was back then.
A wave of frustration surged up in her chest, causing Old Madam not able to vomit or swallow and felt extremely uncomfortable.
Yu Xiang’s expression also turned cold as she slammed her chopsticks heavily on the table.
Yu Miao Qi knew that she had said the wrong thing, but she didn’t actually know where the fault was. Even though she was not the Shen family bloodline, Mother Shen had never treated her so badly, instead she had even devoted twice as much motherly love to her. Hence, she could never imagine in any way that there was actually a mother in this world who would ignore her own children.
As the saying goes, ‘one pecks while one drinks, so one return the other will pay back’. Fallen into such an awkward situation today was Lin Shi’s own doings.
Yu Miao Qi dared not ask the gloomy faced Old Madam, so she could only turn to Yu Xiang who was next to her, “Younger Sister, what type of food does Elder Brother like? My cooking skills are pretty good. I can personally make some for Elder Brother in the future to make up for the regrets of us, siblings, having not seen each other for many years.”
Hearing this, Yu Xiang would be unlikely to tell her at all. Hugging Yu Pin Yan’s arm, she asked in a seemingly ignorant stance, “Elder Brother, what do you like to eat? I have also forgotten.”
Nudging the tip of her upturned nose, Yu Pin Yan laughed at her words, “I like whatever you like to eat.”
Yu Miao Qi gripped her chopsticks tightly and persistently asked, “Then, what does Younger Sister like to eat?”
Yu Xiang tilted her head to look at her. Her feline-like eyes twinkled with a wry bright light, “Me, not a picky eater. I like to eat everything.”
After all that was said,she was just teasing her. Not only was she (YMQ) hostile towards her (YX), even she (YX) disliked herself (YMQ) too. But what makes her? Who the hell is she? The pent-up anger of Yu Miao Qi was raging yet she smiled faintly and lowered her head to eat with some glistening tears.
Her aggrieved bearing made Old Madam feel tender-hearted that she picked her chopsticks up again and said, “Eat without words, sleep without speech. Let’s eat peacefully. Today is an auspicious day, so don’t waste it.”
Everyone complied softly.
Since Yu Xiang no longer had any appetite, she moved the plate of drunken shrimp before her, shelled them and dipped in the sauce then stuffed them into her elder brother’s mouth. Yu Pin Yan filled half a bowl of thick egg soup, mixed it with white rice before feeding one spoonful for you and me till they were each half full.
The siblings had always loved to eat this way since they were children, and Old Madam had already been used to them behaving this way, but it was Yu Miao Qi who frequently looked over at them. Though her face didn’t reveal anything, her heart was as uncomfortable as a cat scratched. She had finally discerned, if there was a chain of authority in the Marquis manor then Yu Pin Yan was truly the master, next would be Old Madam and followed by Lin Shi.
In order to gain a foothold in the Marquis manor, it was far from enough to just enthrall Lin Shi alone; instead she needed to procure the favors of Old Madam and Yu Pin Yan. However, based on Yu Pin Yan’s current stance of spoiling Yu Xiang to the skies, it might not be easy for her to occupy a more significant place in his heart than Yu Xiang.
How would her life be in the future without Yu Pin Yan’s favor?
All kinds of reckonings came into her mind that Yu Miao Qi somewhat lost her appetite.
Yu Xiang was equally absent-minded. In fact, she really wanted to grab Yu Miao Qi and asked how her family was doing now. Although she wasn’t willing to leave with them, she still wanted to know about them. It was alright if they were doing well but if their livelihood was bad, she could still help them a bit, which was also considered doing her best for the original owner of this body. Looking at the attitude of Old Madam and elder brother, they didn’t have any intention to let her contact her family member so she would just pretend not to know.
Though her heart was clear, her face still needed to pretend to be stupid, as the days were in fact not easy to live by.
Everyone at the dining table had different ideas in their mind and the meal was finally over unmindfully. Unwilling to stay any longer, Yu Pin Yan took his leave from Old Madam then carried his younger sister and left first.
Yu Miao Qi wanted to leave with Lin Shi, but was stopped by Yu Si Yu.
Lin Shi was happy to see she had a playmate, so she waved her hand and let her leave.
Yu Si Yu led Yu Miao Qi back to her own small courtyard. As soon as she entered the door, she asked, “Where are your former family members? Why don’t they come and take Yu Xiang away? The turtledove has occupied the magpie’s nest for fourteen years, don’t you resent her? That family is a merchant of lowly status, they should bring Yu Xiang back to be a merchant’s daughter as this is truly too favorable for her now.”
The smile on Yu Miao Qi’s face froze, and she spoke in a low voice, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
At the same time, the favorable impression she had towards this Shu elder sister completely turned into deep malice. It was fine that her mother, grandmother and elder brother knew about the past that she tried to hide, but why does this person know too? Undoubtedly this Yu Si Yu had surpassed Yu Xiang into the obstacle she was most eager to remove right now.
She was Marquis manor’s Di daughter, never a merchant’s daughter!