Lesson 9

  Yang Lan smiled slightly, nodding her head: "Yes, don't worry, I understand. Since Third Sister likes red so much, let's just give it all to her. As a younger sister who has just arrived, I should yield to my elder sister. Besides, I really don't lack fabric, the spring clothes in my room have already been made, and I'm not lacking anything. If Sister is in such need, then let's just give it to her!"

  "After saying that, she turned her face and said seriously: 'Third sister, you take it away. There are many kinds of fabrics in my room, and there are not a few red ones. I dislike them because they are too gorgeous, and at my young age, I can't hold back that gorgeousness. If you lack one, you can also choose from mine.'"

  The fifth sister, Yaqi, couldn't help but burst out laughing with a "heh" sound. She was glared at by her fourth sister, Mingyue, and pouted her mouth in discontent, muttering under her breath, "It's not like it's shameful or anything, where has anyone ever heard of a younger sister giving way to an older sister? It's ridiculous!" She snorted disdainfully.

  Yang Lan quietly observed the expressions of several sisters, Fourth sister looked more dignified, with a hint of disdain in her eyes, but mostly she seemed to be detached and didn't plan to participate.

  The second sister had a resentful face, but it was clearly not the first time she had been bullied. The third sister's face turned red and white in turns, and soon became complacent.

  The old lady's face was also somewhat embarrassed, obviously having understood Yang Lan's hint just now, which meant that she had been biased and thought of her identity and the strong mother behind her back, feeling uncomfortable again. If it were not for the fact that her mother-in-law had never been kind to her, she would have endured it, but now she was suffering from her daughter-in-law's temper, and there was really no place to reason with her!

  The old lady frowned, originally wanting to scold a couple of sentences, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she heard Xu Mama laughing loudly beside her: "Old lady, I heard that the eldest daughter specially brought back some Huiquan wine, tonight I'll pour you a cup, our family should also get together, it's been several years since we've seen Master, aren't you always saying how much you miss him?"

  The old lady's words turned back to her mouth, and she nodded with a strong smile. "Yes! Let them make a few dishes for dinner tonight, make a few of the little ones' favorite dishes, and ask where the men are? Tell them to come over for dinner tonight, we can set up two tables without partitions, they're all our own family members, no need to be so polite!"

  Mrs. Xue let out a sigh of relief, nodding repeatedly, "Yes! I remember Grandpa loves to eat steamed fish with pickled mustard greens, I'll go and instruct them right away!" She then ran off to give instructions to the little maid.

  The old lady hastily shouted, "Make another dish of chicken silk and silver ear, Osmanthus fragrans fish strips are the favorite food of Lao San's family."

  "Ah! Got it!"

  Yang Lan couldn't help but raise a mocking smile, her own mother can't even say what her eldest son likes to eat, it's not as good as a slave mom who knows clearly! On the contrary, the younger son's favorite dishes are all correct, this is really partiality without bounds!

  Third sister Mingwen immediately glanced over with a pleased expression, as if to say that my family is the most favored and you can't do anything about it. Yang Lan just smiled faintly and didn't make any extra expressions.

  She casually picked a few batches of goods from Songhe Hall, and Yang Lan's face inevitably added a few points of displeasure. When she returned to the princess mansion and saw her mother, she was still not very happy!

  He Hui said with a strange tone, "What's going on? Who made my baby unhappy? Let me guess, you went to Old Lady's place to pick out the gifts for Big Sister-in-law, I suppose Old Lady was biased, huh?" She smiled knowingly, with a hint of mockery in her eyes.

  Yang Lan pouted and nestled in her mother's arms, "Mom, why is grandma so biased? I didn't quite believe you when you said it before! I thought that no matter what, she's still my own grandmother, there must be a limit to it. But today I've seen it for myself, grandma said we'd have dinner together tonight, and yet she doesn't even know what dad likes to eat! It was Xu mom who said dad loves pickled fish, but it turns out that's actually third uncle's favorite dish. Grandma spoke about it so clearly, without leaving anything out... why does my heart feel so uncomfortable?"

  He Hui smiled lightly, who wouldn't know that this little girl was taking her father's side? She gently patted her back to comfort her emotions. "Your father was taken in by his grandmother soon after he was born and raised by her. When your second uncle was born, it was a difficult delivery, and the old lady didn't like your father and second uncle very much. She thought they were not close to her and didn't understand some things as a woman who stayed at home. So she thought your father was always against her, and over time, their relationship became distant. Your third uncle was raised by the old lady herself, so it's natural that he can't be compared to you. You don't have to be like this either, just keep a distance."

  Yang Lan naturally understood this truth, she wasn't someone who lacked love, nor did she lack the pampering of her grandmother. It was just that she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in her heart. Listening to her mother's consolation, she felt that her father's heart must be even more distressed than hers, and she became embarrassed. "Mother, I know now, from now on I'll try not to fight with Third Sister, this time it was my fault, I shouldn't have squeezed out Grandmother and Third Sister, I shouldn't have treated an elder like that, I was wrong!" As she spoke, her face turned red.

  Thinking about it, I was indeed wrong myself. Even if the elder is biased, there's no reason for a younger generation like her to be so presumptuous and arrogant. This makes people realize that they won't say the elder is wrong, but rather that the younger generation lacks family education and doesn't know how to respect and care for their elders.

  He Hui nodded comfortingly and stroked her head, "Good child, Mother knows you've always been sensible, it's just that sometimes you can't hold back your temper. Now that we're back home, with many people and things to attend to, you must be even more careful with your words and actions. This is only at home. Later on, you'll still have to frequently visit the palace, where people are even more ruthless than at home. It won't do if you can't hold back your anger. But remember, when it's time to show your dignity, don't appear weak either, or people will think you're easy to bully. Some things don't need to be made public, there are plenty of opportunities to find a suitable occasion, but it depends on who the other person is."

  Yang Lan's face turned serious, and she secretly admired her mother's words. She knew that in the palace, she would also have to be on guard against others who were even more ruthless. It was true that everyone had their own agenda, and she needed to learn more skills and be more careful with her words and actions.

  "I understand, I'll work hard and not be lazy. This won't happen again in the future. Let Third Sister have her way, she loves to fight for favor, but I don't lack that sort of thing. It's really not suitable for us to be at odds with each other, after all we're both Yangs. It looks like I'm not magnanimous enough, and as a county princess, my every word and deed should match my status!" Only then did Yang Shan thoroughly understand.

  Sisters quarreling can only say that both people are wrong, in the eyes of outsiders her mistakes are more, the young lady is also a member of the royal family after all, and should be dignified and elegant, what's the point of arguing with a willful child, losing one's identity, making others look down on you!

  He Hui saw her daughter had truly understood, and only then did she nod with a smile, "Indeed it is so. Tomorrow I'll bring you to the palace to meet the Empress Dowager. Didn't you prepare gifts for the Empress Dowager?"

  Yang Lan nodded, "I've prepared a painting album for the Empress Dowager from my time in Guangdong, it's all about folk customs. And I also brought a pair of soft-soled shoes that are comfortable to wear at home, made with cotton fabric and glued soles for comfort. I didn't embroider anything too fancy, but the shoe pads made of Songjiang cloth are very absorbent. Mother, do you think these two things will do?"

  He Hui couldn't help but nod, with a hint of approval in her eyes. Her daughter had thought it through carefully, the gift was not extravagant but considerate, reflecting a child's filial piety and sincerity, which was enough!

  What good things has the empress dowager not seen before, does she need a child to send gold and silver? It's still the adults who are busy behind the scenes, it's clear at a glance that between relatives, what gifts are suitable is naturally the most sincere, this gift may not be worth much money, but it conveys a child's true heart and filial piety, I believe the empress dowager will be satisfied.