Chapter 6: Beyond Words, No Longer Understood

  Yao Cun's heart was secretly sour and she sighed inwardly, but her face showed the expression Li Lin's family had hoped for. She widened her eyes in surprise, blinked lightly, and hastily lowered her eyelids, revealing a look of being honored and surprised. With a grateful smile, she said: "Mother is so thoughtful, Hui'er is extremely grateful!"

  "Second Miss is being polite!" Li Lin's family smiled with satisfaction, accompanying Yao Cunhui into the house.

  "Second Miss, enjoy your meal while it's hot!" Li Lin's servant placed the food box on the small round table, smiled slightly, rubbed his hands together, and stood there without leaving.

  "Thanks for your trouble, Sister Li!" Yao Cunhui smiled and saw that Li Lin's wife was hesitant to leave, so she asked: "Sister, are you waiting for the bowl?"

  Li Lin's family was taken aback, and his face suddenly fell, looking a bit unsightly. He stuttered for a moment before saying coldly, "Don't wait any longer, have Second Miss send a little maid to take the bowl and basket back to the kitchen later!" With that, he turned around and lifted the curtain to leave.

  Yao Cunhui responded with a nonchalant "oh", casting a sidelong glance, and clearly saw that Li Lin's face was even more sullen.

  Hong Lian just came out from inside, holding a dozen or so copper coins in her hand. Seeing only Yao Cunhui left in the house, she was taken aback and asked in surprise: "Has Li Lin's family left?"

  Yao Cunhui let out a "heh" and her gaze fell on the copper plate in her hand, smiling reproachfully: "We're both penniless, every single copper coin should be used to sharpen our blades, what's with grabbing such a big handful?"

  Yao Cunhui knew that Li Lin's family was just pretending to be reluctant to leave, waiting for a reward. Unfortunately, she was no longer the original Yao Cunhui, how could she possibly give them money for nothing?

  "It's the servant who is confused!" Hong Lian's eyes lit up, and she looked at Yao Cun Hui with a mixture of surprise and joy. Her spirit lifted, she quickly said: "The servant will put it back right away!" Hong Lian's nose was slightly sour, but more than that, she felt relieved and moved. In the past, those servants were like Li Lin's family, constantly coming up with new ways to ask for rewards, Yao Cun Hui didn't dare resist, every time she would swallow her anger and retreat, if not for the eldest miss secretly helping them out, their lives as master and servant would be even more difficult.

  "Second Miss, have this congee while it's hot! Your body really needs a good nourishment!" Hong Lian put down the copper plate and smiled as she opened the box, about to take out the bird's nest congee.

  Yao Cunhui heard the last word of Hong Lian's voice, and her movements also stopped. She slightly raised her eyes and glanced over, smiling: "What? Stunned? Hurry up and take it out!"

  "Second Miss!" Hong Lian's voice trembled with anger, injustice and humiliation. She gritted her teeth, took out the small white porcelain bowl with a floral pattern, and placed it on the table, saying: "They're too much! What is this thing they've sent over?!"

  Yao Cunhui let out a soft, self-deprecating snort, gazed at the milky-colored soup, and stirred it randomly with her spoon. Apart from a few sparse grains of rice, there were also some impurities that looked like fragmented bird's nest.

  Not bad, indeed it's "Swiftlet Porridge", a name that lives up to its reputation!

  Yao Cunhui raised her head and took a glance at the puffed-up Hong Lian, pursed her lips with a smile, and slightly shook her head.

  "Second Miss! You can still laugh about it!" Hong Lian stomped her foot, getting so angry that her eyes turned red. She thought Second Miss had changed from before, but it seemed she was still the same, letting people bully and humiliate her without getting angry, instead laughing happily about it!

  "Go and reason with them, you bunch of hypocritical shrews!" Hong Lian's small fist clenched tightly as she was about to take the swallow's nest congee back to the kitchen.

  "Red apron!" Yao Cunhui grasped her wrist, raised his eyes, and stared at her solemnly, saying word by word: "Theory? How can you theorize? Do you think the kitchen would do this without that person's hint? You go and theorize, but it's just self-inflicted humiliation!"

  Hong Lian suddenly came back to her senses, her lips moved slightly, and she immediately became stunned.

  "Madam, she really is..." Hong Die's body trembled with rage, her chest heaving with indignation, unsure of what to say!

  She thought the lady would really be good to Miss, but it wasn't! It's still the same old trick, one face in front of people and another behind, using Miss to play and find a facade! She was too naive!

  "Alright, don't be angry!" Yao Cunhui saw Hong Lian's agitated expression and felt a warmth in his heart. He gently pinched her wrist and softly comforted her: "Don't worry, your young lady won't let her have it both ways. Just watch me teach her what it means to reap what she sows!"

  Hong's eyes lit up, and she subconsciously raised her head to meet Yao Cunhui's gaze, which shone with confidence and composure. Her heart involuntarily calmed down, and she nodded slightly with a smile, saying "Mm-hmm". Then, with a look of disgust, she said: "Let the servant pour this thing away! So that Miss won't be disgusted when she sees it!"

  Yao Cunhui let out a snort of laughter, feeling inexplicably pleased in her heart. She nodded and smiled, saying: "Go ahead, and take the bowl to the kitchen on your way!"

  She didn't expect that Honglian would be such a straightforward and forthright person! This is great, just to her taste.

  Before dinner, Yao Cunhui changed into a half-new pale blue short sleeve and white satin long skirt, casually coiled her hair into a maiden bun, and wore two silver silk flowers with bean-sized fine gemstones.

  "Miss, you're too plain, put these two silk flowers on as well!" Hong Lian said, opening a palm-sized wooden box in front of Yao Cunhui, revealing two egg-sized silk flowers, one bright red and the other pale pink, with petals that were soft and smooth to the touch, their color rich and full, layered with golden threads and delicate stamens, exquisitely crafted, almost lifelike.

  This was made by Yao Cun Jia himself a few days ago and given to her.

  Yao Cunhui didn't say anything, she just lowered her head to glance at the clothes on her body, and used a small copper mirror with a blurry reflection to take a look. She smiled and said: "It's indeed too plain, go pick two peony flowers from the garden for me to wear!"

  Hong Lian was taken aback, feeling a bit bewildered. However, since Miss had given the order, she must have had her reasons, so she didn't ask any questions and just agreed to go along with it. Before long, she picked a bright orange and a pale pink peony, carefully arranging them in Yu Cunhui's hairdo. Suddenly, her face lit up, and her beauty was enhanced greatly. Hong Lian smiled in satisfaction.

  "Second Miss, the old master is also here tonight! And Second Master and Second Madam are all here too!" Hong Lian couldn't help but remind her, fearing that when Second Miss saw so many people, she would become shy again. Although it had been a day or two, Hong Lian was certain that her mistress had changed a lot, but she still had some worries.

  "Uh-huh, I know." Yao Cunhui smiled and nodded, lightly turning her body to examine her outfit, and said with a smile: "Let's go!"

  I went to my sister's place today, so she knows.

  The two arrived at the main house where Ma lived, and before they even entered the door, they heard bursts of laughter and noise coming from inside the house. Among them were the voices of two young girls, particularly the sweet and clear voices of Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang, who had been raised by the Yaos as their own niece.

  Hui'er has seen her mother and is asking for her well-being! After the report, Yao Cun Hui followed the leading little maid into the room, and calmly went forward to pay respects to Madam Ma by kneeling and bowing.

  Ma wore a eight-treasured peony hairpin on her temples, with a phoenix-headed hairpin adorned with pearl drops standing out particularly; she was dressed in a cyan and gold embroidered chrysanthemum robe with sleeves that reached to the ground, with a jade-made butterfly-shaped brooch emitting soft and lustrous light, tied with an olive green eight-treasured running rabbit double happiness undergarment skirt, exuding subtle and low-key elegance and nobility, sitting upright without saying a word, yet giving off a strong air of being the mistress of the house.

  Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang had stopped their playful antics, at this moment one was lazily embracing Ma's arm and leaning against her on the couch, while the other stood by Ma's side with hands clasped in front of her, smiling sweetly. Together with all the maidservants in the house, they were all openly and unscrupulously sizing up Yao Cunhui and his servant.

  It is said that after the second young lady woke up, her temperament changed a bit. Yesterday, she even punished Hongzhi, which led to a battle of wits between the madam and the second madam. Looking at her now, her eyebrows are lightly painted, her complexion is calm, and she exudes a clear and elegant temperament, indeed, it's different from usual.

  "Get up, sit down and talk!" Mrs. Ma smiled and raised her hand, affectionately sizing her up: "Your complexion has improved a lot! How are you? Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere? Should we invite a doctor to take a look?" Mrs. Ma's face was smiling, but the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of coldness and severity in her gaze, which was clearly seen by Yao Cunhui.

  Although Yao Cun Hui was well-prepared, she couldn't help but feel a jump in her heart and her face turned slightly pale: What's the saying "a smile on one's face, a stumble at one's feet"? Ma Shi is indeed a master of manipulation.

  Yao Cun Hui pretended not to see Ma's last glance, and obediently sat down on the small stool, opening her bright eyes to smile gratefully at Ma: "Thank you, Mother, for your concern. I've already recovered a lot! Now that Mother has also instructed to stew bird's nest every day to nourish my body, what more could be wrong?"

  As soon as Yao Cunhui finished speaking, Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang exchanged a glance. Yao Cunmei let out a snort of laughter, and Ma Qunfang also smiled with her lips pursed up.

  Swallow's nest? Qiao's mother ordered to send it to the kitchen for Yao Cunhui to nourish her body, what kind of swallow's nest is this, Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang have seen it with their own eyes. This Yao Cunhui is too stupid and too easy to cheat!

  Ma looked at Yao Cunmei with a hint of disdain, trying to find any signs of sarcasm on her face but failed. She then felt relieved and smiled as she said in a gentle tone: "That's good, now mother can rest assured! By the way, your father is back from his trip today, we'll have dinner together tonight, and your second uncle and aunt will also be coming over, do you want to stay?"

  "Mother is so kind, then Hui'er will stay too!" Yao Cunhui nodded gratefully to Madam Ma with a smile.

  Ma was taken aback, her face changing color. She had only said it casually, and in the past, Yao Cunhui would never have agreed to stay. But this time, she had actually agreed! Ma's eyes narrowed as she carefully looked at Yao Cunhui: Had she become smarter or dumber? Did she really not understand the implicit meaning of her words?

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