245 Cousin, Praise Me!
Ms. Ye continued, “I used the medicinal tea you sent over previously very well. You’re too kind.”
Yu Youyao quickly said, “It’s not worth anything. I just made it to pass time. If you like it, you can just get Old Madam Su to come and get it when you’ve finished it.”
At noon, Yu Youyao left school.
Xia Tao leaned over and said, “This morning, Concubine Qiu arrived at the main courtyard at dawn to pay her respects to First Madam. First Madam only saw her after breakfast. Concubine Qiu waited for more than two hours before she offered First Madam tea. First Madam didn’t hold the teacup properly and spilled hot tea all over Concubine Qiu. Concubine Qiu’s face turned pale from fright, and she immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to get up.”
Yu Youyao had long guessed that the main courtyard would probably not stop this morning. Madam Yang’s actions were really as she expected.
Yesterday, Yang Shuwan had wanted to show the dignity and magnanimity of a legitimate wife.
The second day of greetings was the main event.
Every first wife would suppress a concubine and put her in her place.
Xia Tao continued, “First Madam was good-tempered and wasn’t angry, so she asked Nanny Li to help her to the inner room to change her clothes. Later on, First Madam didn’t sleep well last night and felt uncomfortable. Everyone in the main courtyard was in a mess. Another two hours later, Nanny Li left the inner room and realized that Concubine Qiu was still kneeling on the ground.”
Yu Youyao held her teacup and sipped on it.
Everyone in the residence knew that Yang Shuwan was very petty. Yesterday, a new person entered the family. No matter how magnanimous she was, she would definitely suffer.
She hadn’t slept well at night, and her head was already acting up. This was completely expected.
Xia Tao said, “Nanny Li was shocked and exclaimed. Concubine Qiu, why are you still here? Why haven’t you returned to your courtyard? Get up, get up. You’re a newcomer. How can you kneel like this? Our First Madam is a gentle and magnanimous person. Many people in the capital know that.”
Xia Tao imitated Nanny Li’s exaggerated tone when she spoke usually. It was simply wonderful.
Yu Youyao laughed and put the teacup aside. She couldn’t drink this tea anymore.
However, Nanny Li’s words were really interesting.
Yang Shuwan wanted to take Concubine Qiu down a notch. But when the words came out of her mouth, it sounded like Concubine Qiu was kneeling there on purpose, as if she was being bullied by the main wife and was trying to frame her.
Yu Youyao asked, “Where’s Concubine Qiu? Did she really get up just like that?”
Xia Tao cleared her throat. “She couldn’t get up like this, but Master woke up an hour late today. Concubine Qiu served…” She felt that it wasn’t appropriate to say this in front of Miss, who had yet to get married and was still a young lady. Xia Tao changed the topic. “Madam Qiu woke up late and didn’t have time to eat in the morning, so she went to the main courtyard to pay her respects. She waited in the main courtyard for two hours and knelt for two hours. When she got up, she fainted on the spot and was carried back to the Autumn Courtyard.”
Yu Youyao was amused. “None of them are simple.”
There was no use for breakfast. She wanted to pay her respects to the matriarch, but her health had suffered. If her father found out, his heart would ache.
It was not unreasonable for Concubine Qiu to serve her father for three years. Being obedient did not mean that she was a fool.
Xia Tao couldn’t help but laugh. “This time, First Madam became anxious. She couldn’t care less about her head disease and ran to the Yuqiu Residence to visit Concubine Qiu. In front of Concubine Qiu, she complained that Nanny Li was insensible and actually caused the newcomer to suffer. Nanny Li apologized to Concubine Qiu on the spot. After that, First Madam even got someone to invite a doctor over.”
This way, the wife-and-concubine conflict in the main courtyard could be considered to have stopped.
At this moment, Chun Xiao came over. “Young Master is here. He’s waiting for Miss in the study.”
Yu Youyao hurriedly got up. Before she could even get her clothes ready, she ran to the study. Now that she had gone to school, her cousin came to look for her at noon, just like before.
Zhou Linghuai was looking at the Three Character Classic that Yu Youyao had written with a brush.
The words on the top of the Three Character Classic ranged from simple to difficult. This was the first time she had changed to a new brush, so she used this to practice her calligraphy.
“Cousin, I can use the Five Purple and Five Sheep brush now!” Yu Youyao moved closer to her cousin, unable to hide the smugness on her face. She was already saying the words “praise me quickly, praise me quickly” on her face.
Zhou Linghuai smiled. “Yes, Cousin, you’re really amazing. When I just started studying, my progress wasn’t as good as yours. It took me two months to practice before I could change my brush.”
What he didn’t say was that he was only five years old at that time. He had already taken medicinal baths every day, practiced the fundamentals, and memorized everything. However, his bones were still a little tender.
Moreover, he had not exchanged his brush for five purple and five sheep at that time, but six purple sheep and four purple sheep.
However, calligraphy meant that the younger one was, the greater their improvement. The older they were, the less room for improvement. Yu Youyao started late, but her improvement was much faster than most people. It was also because of her own diligence.
At the thought of this, Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but think of how the young lady had almost cried from anger when she first learned calligraphy. In the end, he had suggested coming over every day to teach her calligraphy, but she was still unwilling.
At that time, her expression was really interesting.
Even he couldn’t help but go along with her words and tease her.
In the end, seeing the young lady’s pitiful face and drooping head, he reluctantly agreed. He couldn’t help but find it funny.
At that time, he did not expect this young lady to improve so much in such a short period of time. In just a few months, she had almost caught up with two to three years of hard work by others.
After being praised by her cousin, Yu Youyao became smug. How could she have thought of this? She asked happily, “Cousin, the brush of the Five Purple and Five Sheep was a birthday gift from Ms. Ye. I think it’s good, and the words written are also different. Cousin, take a look. Have I improved again?”
“Your strokes are steady and not light. It’s obvious that you’ve already mastered the essence of handwriting. The sizes of the strokes are mixed, and the retraction and release are well-matched. They’re also dense and appropriate. Compared to the calligraphy yesterday, they’re a little more reserved.” Zhou Linghuai praised her for a while, then glanced at the most eye-catching bamboo brush hanging on the brush rack.
This time, it was purple bamboo.
It was a faint grayish-purple color with specks on it. Ms. Ye had carved extremely simple orchid patterns on it as the finishing touches. The entire brush looked elegant.
He remembered that the brush pen hanging on this spot two days ago was the one he had used in the past and given to Yu Youyao later.
Now that pen—
Zhou Linghuai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the seven purple and three sheep brush that Yu Youyao had placed by the brush rack.
For no reason, he felt that the pen Ms. Ye had given her was a little dazzling.
However, he had never given the five purple and five sheep brush he had used to Yu Youyao. At that time, he had used a four purple and six sheep brush. It was softer, and Yu Youyao wouldn’t have been able to handle it.
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