Chapter Thirty-Five: Aunt Chang

  After instructing Dong'er, Liu Rong went to the plum garden, and it was this series of events that made Liu Rong the first to arrive at Chang's aunt's place.

  The maid waiting in the house saw Liu Rong come in and quickly stepped forward: "Don't make a sound, Chang's aunt dislikes being disturbed when she is making tea."

  Liu Rong nodded, leaving Dong'er outside, and then pushed open the beaded curtain to enter the inner room. She saw Chang's aunt sitting alone in front of a small table, slowly pouring boiling water into a teacup.

  Liu Rong couldn't help but think of the first time she visited Chang's house, when Chang was brewing tea. She still remembered that one cup of blooming tea, and even now, thinking about it made her feel amazed.

  Thinking so, I couldn't help but walk forward.

  Compared to that day, today is clearer because it's closer. The tea leaves in the cup initially stuck together like a flower bud, and as the water temperature dissipated, they gradually unfolded, opening into a full-bodied tea flower. Unfortunately, after about ten breaths, the tea flower disappeared in the cup.

  "Would you like to try a cup of tea?" Aunt Chang had already raised her head and was looking at her, because during these days of getting along, plus her habit of taking notes, which was a modern way of growing up, Aunt Chang's attitude towards her was no longer as cold as it was the first time, but instead had a warm smile on her face.

  Liu Rong nodded slightly awkwardly and took the tea from Chang's hand, which was a bit bitter and sweet, her favorite Dahongpao, and finished it in no time.

  "I'll make you another cup." Before Liu Rong could put down her cup, Chang's aunt suddenly spoke up again. This time, she made tea at a slower pace than before, taking the tea, washing it, and brewing it in one go. Although this cup of tea wasn't as beautiful as the previous one, with a few tea leaves floating on the surface, it had a subtle flavor that seemed to evoke a sense of serenity, and her mood also became more tranquil.

  "Try it again." After a while, Chang's aunt handed her the tea.

  Liu Rong took it over, lightly sipped a mouthful, and her eyes showed surprise, unexpectedly sweeter than before, and more comfortable to drink.

  "Life is like tea, and tea is like life. What do you feel when you drink these two cups of tea?" Aunt Chang finally spoke up, looking at Liu Rong.

  Liu Rong's mind flashed back to the scene where she and Liu Fu confronted each other that day, was this what Chang Auntie had been hinting at?

  Liu Rong looked at Chang's gaze with a few more serious eyes: "Chang, do you think I'm like the previous cup of tea, although it bloomed with fragrance, but couldn't last long, warning me to be like this cup of tea, although plain, but sweet and lasting."

  Aunt Chang smiled with satisfaction, this child is not only diligent in doing things, but also has a good understanding of things, what a pity...

  "Why did you sigh, Aunt Chang? Was there something wrong with what I said?" Liu Rong looked at her aunt in puzzlement.

  "You know all these principles, why are you still so sharp and revealing?" Chang Gugu didn't answer Liu Rong's words, but instead looked at her curiously and continued to ask.

  Liu Rong put down the purple clay cup in her hand and looked up at Chang's aunt: "I once heard a story about a couple who went to a foreign land to open a wine shop, and they encountered neighboring shops looking for trouble. They thought that since they were outsiders, it was better to have fewer troubles than more, so they yielded. As a result, even more people came to cause trouble, and all the local rascals came to collect money."

  Liu Rong said with a slight pause, looking at Chang's aunt: "Aunt Chang, can you guess what happened to this couple in the end?"

  "They finally gave up and couldn't stay in that town, so they begged their way back home." Liu Rong didn't really want to hear Aunt Chang's answer, and before Aunt Chang could say anything, she told her the result.

  Fourth Aunt gazed at Liu Rong for a long time, slightly shaking her head: "This principle is not wrong, but this is not a foreign land, it's the Wen Ding Marquis' estate. You are the daughter of the Wen Ding Marquis' estate, this is your home."

  Liu Rong was silent. For her, only those who showed kindness to her were her home. In this mansion, except for Zhong Shi, she didn't feel any kindness from anyone else.

  "Being sharp-tongued may give you a temporary advantage, but after all, you need the support of the Wen Ding Hou Mansion. In the future, when choosing a husband, it's only if the elders like him that you can have a good marriage. Even if you get married, without the support of your natal family, you won't be able to stand firm in your husband's household." Chang Auntie looked at Liu Rong and said slowly: "You're an intelligent girl, you know what's good, it's just that your mother wants to live a good life, but also needs to rely on the Wen Ding Hou Mansion to succeed."

  "If possible, try to get along well with several sisters. I see that you are gentle with Liu Jie, but cold to others. In the future, when you go out, your sisters will be your support." Chang Aunt said with a serious tone.

  She understands what her aunt says and knows that what her aunt says is not wrong in this world, but she has her own thoughts.

  The elder grandmother got her position by stepping over her mother, which in itself determined the elder grandmother's attitude towards her, it is absolutely impossible to ease up, even if there are any opportunities in the future, choosing a husband's family will not leave good things for her.

  Because of her low status in the mansion, these sisters naturally looked down on her and were not close to her. And she was unwilling to force herself to get along with them, nor did she bother to deal with those who had nothing to do with her, so it was only natural that their relationship didn't extend to anything good.

  She's already past the age of playing house and can't force herself to act like a kid with these people.

  The already determined result, existing irreconcilable contradictions, she shows weakness again, if not showing people their contradictions earlier, it will be really bad later.

  At least now everyone knows that she and the eldest grandmother have a bad relationship. The eldest grandmother is just for the face of the eldest lady of the Wen Ding Hou Fu, and it's not good to do too obviously, this is what she wants as a result.

  She just didn't dare tell these thoughts to Chang's aunt, and they were things that couldn't be explained.

  Moreover, she never felt that without the support of this family, she would not be able to survive in this era. Perhaps it would be difficult at first, but she believed that a capable woman could make a living on her own in any era.

  Even so, this is a world where men are revered and women are inferior, with distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children.

  Although she thought so in her heart, Liu Rong did not want to disappoint an old man who had been kind to her: "Thank you, Aunt Chang. I will try my best."

  Liu Rong finished speaking and heard the sound of pearls falling from outside, no longer speaking. The first to arrive were elder sister Liu Yun and second sister Liu Bi, who happened to see Aunt Chang smiling warmly at Liu Rong as soon as they entered the room. Second sister's face immediately showed displeasure, while Liu Yun was still gentle, but unfortunately her face always lacked a bit of grandeur.

  The sisters in the mansion immediately came in one by one. When Fifth Sister entered the room and saw Second Sister looking unhappy, she quietly sat down beside her.

  Liu Jie didn't come today, saying she had a cold, but I don't know the specifics.

  Liu Xuan was the last to arrive, and when she came in, she saw Liu Rong standing tall with a proud expression, carrying an air of triumph, but it made Liu Rong puzzled. However, she didn't like Liu Xuan's self-centered personality anyway, so she ignored her.

  Liu Rong completely disregarded herself, Liu Xuan's face turned ugly, but when she turned to look at Chang Niangniang, she immediately became respectful: "Hello, Aunt Chang."

  After finishing, she found a position to sit down next to her and waited until Chang Gu Gu finished today's lesson before standing up and speaking: "Chang Gu Gu, there was an invitation from the Weibei Marquis' household, asking my mother to bring my sister-in-law and all of you sisters to attend the Weibei Marquis' eldest grandson's third birthday celebration. I came to inform you in advance, tomorrow's lesson will probably be suspended for a day."

  Before Aunt could even open her mouth, Second Sister's face was already filled with surprise and delight: "Really, Aunt? I've heard that the second son of Duke Weibei is one of the four great young masters of the capital, even more outstanding than the eldest son. If we go to the Duke's residence, will we be able to see him too?"

  Auntie often frowned.

  "Is this something a daughter of our family should say!" Yu Xuan scolded her second sister, who pouted in response.

  She couldn't help but shake her head slightly, thinking that the family tradition of the Wen Ding Hou Mansion had really declined, and the girls were all taught to be like this. When she saw Liu Rong's face was calm and unchanged, she nodded slightly, then shook her head again, what a pity, the only good child, yet not favored by the family.

  I'm afraid it won't be many years before she sees a family decline.

  But it turned out that Chang Gu Gu was wrong, and Liu Rong was actually eager to get on with things, and didn't pay attention to what Liu Xuan said, which is why she didn't react to what Liu Xuan and Er Jie Liu Miao said, her expression remained calm and unchanged, otherwise she would probably be full of curiosity.

  She still has to go and help the second grandma with her needlework, after that she has to draw the designs for Zuo Tingxuan, she's so busy that she doesn't even have time to catch her breath.