Volume 1 Chapter 29

  However, in order not to leave an impression on her grandmother Shen that she didn't like Gu Qingyao, Qingjin also intentionally cooperated with Gu Qingyao's approach and chatted with her about some trivial matters. Originally, without the previous life's affection for Gu Qingyao, it wasn't easy for a child who had just met to become familiar and intimate.

  Looking at the two people, although they are not very close but harmonious, Shen's expression is now full of satisfaction, with one hand grasping Qingjin and Qingyao, "This is great, you both are doing well, sisters should be in harmony."

  "Yes, grandmother." Qingjin and Qingyao spoke in unison to Shen Shi, and then Junshi and Sushi also said a few words of pleasant conversation, the atmosphere was lively and bustling.

  When the time was almost up, Junshi got up and walked to Lao Taitai's side, opening his mouth to say to Shen Shi: "Mother, it's getting late, let's set out the meal!"

  Madam Shen nodded, and Madam Jun immediately began to arrange things. Before long, the maids had laid out the dishes in an orderly fashion. Madam Shen sat in the center, with Qingjin sitting habitually on her left side. On the other side, Su sat down next to Gu Qingyao, who was beside Madam Shen. Madam Jun sat down next to Qingjin, while Su sat opposite Madam Jun. Gu Qingxia and another girl sat dejectedly in the farthest seats from Madam Shen.

  They ate in silence and went to bed without a word, the whole group quietly finishing their meal.

  Qingjin sat back down beside Madam Shen, feigning curiosity and asked: "Grandmother, who is that sister again?"

  Shen's gaze followed Qingjin's and landed on a strange girl who had sat with Gu Qingxia during dinner.

  "This is also your third uncle's daughter, Qingqi. She hasn't come to see you and your second sister yet." It was Su Shi who spoke up. Qingjin turned her gaze towards Su Shi, of course she knew that this was Gu Qingqi, and she had deliberately asked just to add some trouble for Gu Qingyao and her mother.

  "Second sister An, I am sixth sister Qingqi." Wearing a light purple long dress, Gu Qingqi bowed respectfully to Qingjin with a sweet smile on her face. She was the illegitimate daughter of the third house, and after Su brought her in, she only briefly introduced her identity to Shen at the beginning, then pulled her legitimate daughter Gu Qingyao to talk to Shen by her side, unintentionally making everyone completely ignore her existence.

  Until the second sister of this big house came in, she saw Gu Qingyu giving Gu Qingyao a hard time with abandon, and her heart was delighted, but she still didn't dare to reveal a hint of it. Her own mother was just a small concubine, and when she gave birth to her, she was still favored by her father. She had also spent several years in a life comparable to that of the legitimate daughter, with gold and jade luxury. However, later on, the concubine gradually lost favor, not only did the beautiful life of the past disappear, but even this biological daughter couldn't be kept, and was raised under the knees of her father's legitimate wife, Madame Su.

  At first, she had cried and made a fuss, but after seeing Su's methods, she gradually became more obedient. As she grew older, she understood the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children and learned to be humble in front of Su. Su was also someone who liked to save face, so on the surface, she didn't treat her poorly. However, Gu Qingqi knew that Su looked down on her mother and her, just like today - if it weren't for the second sister of the main house bringing up the topic herself, Gu Qingqi estimated that she would have been ignored from start to finish.

  It's good that this second sister spoke up. Just now, seeing Su Shi's spoiled daughter being cold-shouldered by this second sister and grandmother, Gu Qingqi had already thought to herself, if she could get along with Gu Qingjin, would her own days with her aunt be better too? Thinking like this, the smile directed at Gu Qingjin was especially sweet, also carrying a subtle admiration and desire to draw closer.

  Qing Jin couldn't help but think of Gu Qing Yao's admiration for her in her past life when she saw her expression. She couldn't resist taking a glance at Gu Qing Yao, who was looking at Shen Shi with a desire to get closer but didn't dare to. Originally wanting to tease Gu Qing Qi, Qing Jin suddenly lost interest. They were indeed sisters, and some habits and actions were still very similar. Forget it, as long as Gu Qing Yao didn't come to provoke her, she would maintain the surface calmness like a sister.

  Thinking of this, he no longer cared about Gu Qingqi and turned to continue chatting with Shen Shi. Shen Shi, because of Qingjin's inexplicable mention of Gu Qingqi's suspicious thoughts, put them away and asked Qingjin: "Jin'er, didn't your mother ask the master who came to our house before that you haven't been to school for a long time?"

  Upon hearing Shen's question, Qingjin was somewhat surprised. She thought that her grandmother should know about her learning household chores from Junshi. She looked up at her grandmother and saw that she was looking in the direction of Gu Qingyao, and Qingjin understood what Shen meant to express next.

  "So, Grandma said that, I remembered, indeed it's been too busy lately, I'll go back to school tomorrow."

  Shen smiled and patted Qingjin's hand, "What you said to your grandmother last time made her very happy. Although the teachers your mother invited are all famous, you can skip those banquets outside, but you can't delay learning from the teachers in the house. Even if young ladies don't need to be obsessed with piano, chess, books and paintings, it's good to learn some characters from the teacher, read more books, recognize a few words, and understand some principles of life."

  "Mother said that Qingjin, this young lady, doesn't know how to say it. At first, for her sake, I invited a famous scholar from the capital to teach her, but who knew that after she recovered from her illness, she refused to attend poetry gatherings outside and didn't go to the family's school either? It was all because of Xuan'er back then. In recent years, she hasn't been close to me either. Fortunately, after recovering from her illness, this young lady has become more sensible and closer to me. Just a while ago, she even came to find me on her own initiative, saying that she wanted to help me share some of the household chores. I thought she was being sensible, so I assigned some tasks to her, but unexpectedly, it delayed her studies. I was thinking of talking to her about this in the next two days, but you've already said it for me today..."

  "Grandmother and mother taught that granddaughter listens to grandmother and mother, granddaughter must learn well with the teacher."

  Shen nodded in satisfaction at Qingjin's words, but her eyes were still fixed on Junshi's direction. Qingjin knew what Shen meant and was worried that Junshi hadn't caught on, thinking about how to remind Junshi when she heard Junshi speak up again, this time addressing San Shu Su, "Third Brother's wife, I don't know if Yao has found a good teacher in the capital yet? If not, let Yao study and play with my sister Jin'er, it will deepen their sisterly bond."

  Su heard Jun's words and looked at Shen's expression, knowing that this was also Shen's intention. It seemed that the teacher invited by her elder sister was extremely satisfactory to her mother-in-law Shen as well. So she cooperated and opened her mouth: "Thank you, elder sister. The previous teacher didn't come because of family problems, and I was worried about finding a new teacher for Yau. Since you've spoken up, I'll also take the liberty of accepting. This girl has been spoiled by me, so please ask the teacher to instruct her more."

  "It's settled then, tomorrow Yau and Qi will follow your second sister to school, just like your aunt said, sisters going to school together will deepen their feelings in the future." The old lady made her final decision.

  "Yes, grandmother." Gu Qingyao and Gu Qingqi responded in unison.

  After saying this, the old lady closed her eyes slightly and said: "I'm tired, you all go back and rest." She waved her hand and let them all leave.