Chapter 8: A Tale of Two Daughters

  Mrs. Mao held her son Yao Shili with one hand and her daughter Yao Cunyun with the other, walking forward with a smile and instructing them: "Quickly call uncle!"

  Yao Shili and Yao Cunyun were only seven or eight years old, with a delicate and lovely appearance. They twisted their small bodies forward, politely greeting Old Master Yao in a well-behaved manner. Yao Shili bowed his hands, while Yao Cunyun curtsied, calling out "Uncle!" in a soft and tender voice.

  Yao Niangong also smiled and nodded, calling out "Big Brother!"

  "Sit down, all of you!" Old Master Yao smiled and nodded at his younger brother and sister, his eyes fell on the nephew and niece, and suddenly became much warmer. He said with a smile: "Good, good, well-behaved kids!"

  Looking at his nephew's delicate eyebrows and eyes, Old Master Yao suddenly thought of his own son. His heart softened, he opened his arms and smiled at Yao Shili: "Shili, come, come to Uncle!"

  Yao Shili subconsciously looked at his mother and saw her smiling and nodding, so he also smiled and said "good" as he ran towards Old Man Yao.

  Mr. Yao laughed and sat down beside his nephew, holding his small hand and asking one by one: What books have you read during this time? How many characters have you learned? Is the teacher's lesson good or not? What do you like to play after school? And so on.

  Talking about their son, the second couple of the Yao family also had a look of satisfaction on their faces. Mrs. Mao was hugging her daughter in her arms, and she and her husband would occasionally respond to Mr. Yao's words, filling the room with warmth and laughter that erupted from time to time.

  Yao Cunmei didn't know when she left her father's side, obediently sitting aside, biting her lip and looking at her cousin who was close to her father, a wave of discomfort kept coming to her heart. Father would rather be heartbroken for someone else's child than his own, just because she was a daughter not a son?

  Yao Cunmei felt uncomfortable in her heart, not to mention that she had already heard the sound of Ma Shi laughing and chatting loudly from the doorway. Ma Shi held back the maid who was about to lift the curtain, standing outside the door listening for a while. The more she listened, the more her anger rose, feeling sour and bitter, indignant but having to swallow her temper, a mix of emotions that made her feel so frustrated that she almost went crazy!

  What's it to you? She doesn't have a son anyway!

  She has no son, so she deserves to suffer this anger! And can only suffer it!

  "Second Uncle and younger siblings have arrived!" Madam Ma put away the resentment on her face, replaced it with a dignified and elegant smile, and walked in graciously. Her eyes lightly swept around, and she said with a smile: "Dinner is already prepared, Old Master, Second Uncle, let's go eat!"

  "Thanks for your trouble!" Mr. Yao II said with a smile. Mr. Yao also smiled and invited everyone to get up, walking together towards the dining hall.

  Whether intentionally or unintentionally, when she stood up, Mao's gaze swept towards Yao Cunhui, and Yao Cunhui also glanced back at her. As their eyes met, Mao pursed her lips and smiled faintly, with a profound implication.

  As soon as they arrived at the dining hall, Old Master Yao sat down, and everyone else followed suit according to their usual custom.

  Yao Cunhui had not appeared at the big dinner table for a long time, so she naturally didn't have her old seat. She sat at the very end, under Ma Qunfang.

  The meal was enjoyed in a warm and harmonious atmosphere, with Mr. Ma occasionally calling out to everyone, while Mrs. Mao also exchanged polite conversation and laughter with the guests. Yao Cunmei and Ma Qunfang would occasionally chat and laugh with Old Master Yao, who would sometimes discuss business matters with his brothers, but soon return to chatting and laughing with his wife, daughter, and nephew. Only Yao Cunhui smiled and listened most of the time, only speaking up when drawn into the conversation.

  After dinner, everyone came to the flower hall and sat down. After rinsing their mouths, a maid immediately presented a red lacquer tray with tea to help digest and nourish the stomach.

  Yao Cunhui's sister and Ma Qunfang got up, took the initiative to take over the tea cups from the maidservant, and one by one presented them to the elderly people present. This is filial piety, which Old Master Yao has always valued.

  Yao Cunmei didn't expect Yao Cunhui to still remember this and also stood up, suddenly feeling a bit displeased. While serving tea, she quietly squeezed Yao Cunhui's arm with force, elbowing her hard.

  Yao Cunhui let out a low cry, and her body involuntarily stumbled to one side, bumping into the Eight Immortals table placed in the center of the flower hall. All that could be heard was a "ripping" sound, as a piece of her sleeve was torn off by the corner of the table.

  "You're so big, how can you be so careless!" Mrs. Ma frowned and scolded Yao Cunhui with a gaze that was both reprimanding and concerned, instructing the maid Mingxia beside her: "Help the second young lady down and see if she's bumped anywhere! Find some medicinal ointment to apply."

  Mr. Yao also furrowed his brow, and the little bit of good impression he had just formed about Yao Cunhui instantly vanished again.

  Mr. Yao was about to echo Mrs. Ma's words, but saw that Mrs. Mao had already taken three steps and two steps to arrive at the side of Yao Cunhui, holding her hand carefully to see if she had scratched herself, let out a sigh of relief and smiled: "Fortunately, you didn't get hurt! I'd say this dress is too old, it's broken with just one touch, why are you still wearing it?"

  Yao Cunhui lowered her eyes and smiled slightly: "Thank you, Second Aunt, for your concern. I'm not so delicate, just stumbled a couple of steps because I couldn't stand firmly for a moment, how could I get hurt?" After speaking, she turned to Yao Laoye and Ma Shi, bowed her head and apologized: "Daughter was impolite, please forgive me, Father and Mother!"

  Ma heard Mao's words and her heart suddenly tightened, she hastily said: "Alright, since nothing happened, that's good, go down now!"

  "Wait!" Mr. Yao's low voice carried a hint of severity, his face also darkened slightly, and his eyes stared fixedly at Yao Cunhui.

  Mr. Yao only then realized how shabby his daughter looked, with her faded half-sleeves and old white silk dress that had turned a bit yellowish. Except for a dull silver bangle on her left wrist, there was not a single valuable ornament on her from head to toe. Her simple hairdo didn't have any expensive hair accessories, but instead two delicate flowers tucked behind her ears added a touch of color to her appearance!

  But she stood there, delicate and elegant, with outstanding temperament, her eyebrows and eyes were as clear as a painting, her calm expression showed natural elegance, like a small wild chrysanthemum swaying in the wind, not revealing any timid or humble color, exuding a gentle and soft charm.

  Old Master Yao's heart softened, and he suddenly felt a hundred kinds of tenderness and love. This tenderness and love turned into raging anger as soon as he looked at Yao Cunmei.

  Yao Cunmei wore a water-red satin jacket with a bright pink lining, a pale purple embroidered edge, and a long skirt with a silver thread pattern of intertwined lotus flowers. She had a jade hairpin adorned with pearls, emerald earrings shaped like water droplets, a golden hairpiece inlaid with red and blue gems, a jade bangle, and a necklace made of gold and precious stones. She was dressed to the nines, exuding an aura of elegance and refinement, every inch the young lady of a wealthy family.

  Mr. Yao's face was gloomy, his icy gaze fixed on Mrs. Ma's face, not saying a word, just staring at her like that, enough to make Mrs. Ma feel like she had needles on her back, fidgeting with anxiety.

  "Big brother, it's getting late, let's head back first!" Mr. Yao number two saw the atmosphere wasn't right and hastily laughed as he stood up to bid farewell.

  "Alright, you go back first. We'll discuss it again tomorrow." Mr. Yao's expression eased a bit as he nodded towards Second Master Yao. Earlier, the two brothers had agreed to head to the study after dinner to talk things over, but now it was clear that he wasn't in the mood.

  "Alright, alright!" Yao Erlaoye let out a sigh of relief, gave his wife a signal with his eyes, and led the children away.

  Mrs. Mao actually wanted to stay and watch the play, but with a reluctant glance at her husband, she was warned by his gaze and followed him out.

  Qiao's mother also busied herself, making eye contact with the maidservants. Everyone, including Ma Guifang, quietly and silently retreated, leaving only Mr. and Mrs. Yao, their daughter, and Qiao's mother, who stood by Ma's side.

  Qiao's mother wasn't trying to listen to gossip, but there were some things that Ma Shi couldn't say conveniently, so she had to be the one to say them.

  "Good job!" Old Master Yao slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacups to rattle softly, and everyone was startled.

  "Old Master!" Ma was even more shocked, his heart racing wildly as he looked at Old Master Yao with a mixture of fear and hatred in his eyes.

  Yes, she neglected it! It was her negligence!

  Yao Cunhui has always been dressed like this, she's used to it and wouldn't think there's anything wrong with it. But Yao Lao Ye is different! With two daughters standing in front of him, no words are needed, the contrast is stark!

  Her kindness, her goodness, all turned pale at this moment.

  "Take a look at yourself!" Old Master Yao's hand suddenly pointed at Yao Cunhui, and he shouted loudly: "My Yao family's thousand-golden-miss has been made into what by you! If there were guests coming to our house and they saw my daughter looking so shabby, where would I put my face?"

  Yao Cunhui's cheek muscles twitched slightly, her palms clenched unconsciously, and a needle-like sensation swept across her forehead, bringing a sharp stinging pain.

  Not bad, that sleeve was deliberately torn by her, and she also expected that Mr. Mao would not let go of this opportunity to embarrass Mr. Ma. Everything is developing as she imagined, Father finally took a good look at her, finally spoke up for her, didn't he?

  But why would she still feel a slight pang of pain and disappointment when he said those words?

  What is she disappointed about? Yao Cunhui secretly ridiculed herself with a bitter smile, she had long been clear what kind of person her father was, she had known it all along!

  On the contrary, Ma heard Mr. Yao's words and was stunned for a moment, his tense face relaxed a bit, he quickly got up and apologized with a humble attitude: "It's all my fault, I was careless and didn't take good care of things, please forgive me, sir! I promise you, sir, it won't happen again!"

  "Negligence?" Old Master Yao sneered coldly, growing even more angry in his heart - not at anyone else, but at the cunning excuses of the Ma family.

  Yao Lao Ye thought himself cleverer than others, more thoughtful than others, and more cunning than others. He hated it most when others showed off their petty cleverness in front of him.

  If Mr. Ma had admitted his mistake honestly, he would have let it go and there wouldn't be any problem.

  After all, he didn't have much deep feelings for this daughter who had never been close to him. Even when he saw his daughter for a moment, he couldn't remember who she was, let alone Ma Shi? Ma Shi wasn't even her biological mother! Not abusing her, giving her food to eat and clothes to wear, Old Master Yao thought that was already good enough. If it weren't for those words from Mao Shi, if it weren't for the face of the Yao family, he wouldn't have gotten so angry.

  However, Ma did not honestly admit his mistake, but claimed "negligence", which made Old Yao unacceptable. He felt that Ma was clearly making excuses to deceive him.

  To put it bluntly, they are taking him for a ride and deceiving him!

  What he hated most was people who pretended to be clever in front of him.

  "Zhu Men Chun Shen" latest chapter is released by Yun Qi Shu Yuan, the fastest and most popular online release site! (This site provides: traditional pagination, waterfall two modes, can be selected in settings)