Chapter Ninety-One: Underestimating Wei Qingruo

You are the eldest daughter; in an ordinary household, the eldest daughter and the eldest son would receive a little more spending money each month than the younger siblings. That is the proper custom. Wanwan is a sensible child; once she knows, she will not object."

Yun Shi said this with firm conviction, certain that Wei Qingwan would never fuss over such a matter.

"That is true. My younger sister Qingwan is so kind that she really would not be upset by something like this," Wei Ruo said with a smile.

"Mm." Yun Shi nodded. "Then you carry on with your work. I will return to the Azure Cloud Courtyard first."

"All right." Wei Ruo smiled as she saw her out.

After Yun Shi left, Xiumei could not help laughing. "Miss, I have to say, your gift for talking nonsense is getting better and better."

Wei Ruo let out a sigh. "What else can I do? I was forced into it. Ever since I became the young lady of this commandant’s residence, I can no longer speak my mind as freely as I used to when dealing with people and reason."

"If I had simply said that I do not like Wei Qingwan, that I do not want to give my things to Wei Qingwan, I would have been scolded to death. They would either say I do not care for sisterly affection, or that I lack the bearing of an eldest sister."

"But if I frame it in terms of etiquette and propriety, I can make them swallow it without a word. I made up quite a few things and said they were Sister Ying’s words, but I think she would support me doing this. Otherwise, when she arranged for the steward to bring me gifts today, she would not have specifically asked me to check them in front of him."

Of course, the claims that Xie Ying had noticed her clothes fit poorly, or thought her fabric was inferior, were all inventions of Wei Ruo’s.

She had said those things solely to gloss over Yun Shi’s demands and prevent Yun Shi from continuing to ask her for things.

"But Miss, if the madam had not been persuaded by you just now and still insisted on taking your things for the Second Miss, what would you have done?" Xiumei asked.

"Then I would have set everything on fire. No one would get a thing. I will not be forced to give my belongings to someone I do not like!" Wei Ruo replied.

Xiumei burst out laughing, then asked, "Then, Miss, do we still need to prepare a return gift for the Xie family?"

"Not for the time being. Their gift was expensive, and the formula your young lady gave them was no ordinary thing either, so they did not come off badly. Besides, what they gave was itself a return gift. If I sent one back as well, what would that make it? I will remember their kindness, and cherish it. Treating one another with sincere affection as sisters is what matters most; when there is need, one should step forward without hesitation. There is no need to keep tally of gain and loss," Wei Ruo said.

"Yes, Miss. You are right."

###

After Yun Shi left Listening Pine Courtyard, she immediately arranged for Wei Ruo’s monthly allowance to be increased. She also invited people from the Brocade Pavilion to the residence to measure Wei Ruo for new clothes.

The news quickly reached Plum Viewing Courtyard.

Wei Qingwan’s face turned deathly pale.

Not only had her mother refused to have Wei Ruo take out the cloud brocade to make her new clothes, she had even increased Wei Ruo’s allowance. What on earth was going on?

If Wei Ruo had refused to hand over the cloud brocade for her new garments, then her mother should have blamed Wei Ruo for being inconsiderate. Why, then, had she not only refrained from blaming her, but even rewarded her instead?

"Nanny, can you tell me what is going on? Why did Mother suddenly raise my sister’s allowance? Is it because she has grown close to Miss Xie?" Wei Qingwan asked Nanny Li.

Nanny Li did not know the answer either. After that last incident, the madam had become much more distant from her, and for anything important she now sent Nanny Zhang instead.

"I did underestimate Wei Qingru after all. It seems she really does have some skill," Nanny Li said through gritted teeth.

Her deliberate act of kneeling and apologizing before Wei Qingru’s courtyard gate had not worked, and the purse she had specially asked the young lady to send to Wei Qingru had also been refused. This Wei Qingru was far more troublesome than she had first imagined.

"Nanny, what am I supposed to do now? Will Mother send me back to the He family in time? Nanny, I do not want to go to the He family. They are only a merchant household, low in standing and looked down upon by others. Even if they have money, there are many things that cannot be used there," Wei Qingwan said anxiously.

Looking at her like this, Nanny Li felt both heartache and worry.

She knew that her own fate, and her daughter’s, were tied to Wei Qingwan’s. If Wei Qingwan were truly sent to the He family, then her daughter would have to go as well. By then, not only would her daughter’s future be in jeopardy, but the mother and daughter might never see each other more than a few times for the rest of their lives.

"Miss, do not worry yet. None of these matters are serious at present. Even if the Eldest Miss can win the madam’s favor, the madam’s affection for you has not lessened," Nanny Li comforted her.

"Nanny, aside from worrying, I can do nothing else," Wei Qingwan murmured.

"Miss, rest assured. Everything will improve. When next month’s garden gathering comes, you can go to the prefectural city, broaden your horizons, and meet more people. There are families there far more illustrious than the Xie family."

Nanny Li’s words did nothing to comfort Wei Qingwan. Those prominent families in the prefectural city would hardly look kindly upon her, and even if they did, they would never treat her as the Xie family had treated Wei Qingru.

Such behavior from the Xie family was truly rare. She did not know what had caught their eye in Wei Qingru.

###

Around the fifteenth day of the eighth month, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were holiday rest days, and both Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan were granted leave, so neither had to attend lessons.

Wei Ruo stayed home, busying herself with the mushroom business. She had just expanded its scale to three times as much, which meant more materials to purchase and more account books to review.

At the same time, preparations had to begin for dried mushrooms and mushroom paste. Mushrooms could not keep long after being picked, so they had to be processed as early as possible. She needed to arrange the follow-up work before a large quantity of mushrooms ripened.

Xiumei helped her chop mushrooms in the courtyard; later, they would be taken to the neighboring side kitchen for processing.

Although Wei Jinyi and Xiaobei were not at home, before leaving Wei Jinyi had said that the courtyard gate would remain open, and if Wei Ruo needed anything, she could go in and use the side kitchen at any time.

At noon, a servant responsible for looking after Wei Yilin could not find him and went to Plum Viewing Courtyard to ask about him.

"Yilin?" Hearing the voice, Wei Qingwan walked to the doorway and interrupted the conversation between the servant and the maid. "Yilin has not been here today. Has something happened? Is he not in his own courtyard?"

"It is nothing serious, only that it is nearly time for lunch and the young master is not in Rain Pavilion Courtyard. Since he is not here with the Second Miss, I will go look elsewhere," the servant explained to Wei Qingwan before hurrying off to the next place to search for Wei Yilin.

Wei Qingwan sensed that something was wrong. "Cuihe, let us go look as well."

The servant next went to Proud Chrysanthemum Courtyard to inquire about Wei Yichen, but Wei Yichen was not there either.

Upon learning that Wei Yilin was missing, Wei Yichen immediately put down the book in his hands and rose to search together with Wei Yilin’s servant.