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Upon seeing Yan Zhigao, Madam Yan snorted coldly, turned her head away, and wouldn’t look at him.

Yan Zhigao forced a sheepish smile and looked toward Auntie Lin and Yan Yishuang, who were kneeling on the ground, “What exactly have you done to make Madam so angry?”

Although he was scolding, his tone wasn’t very harsh.

Auntie Lin knew Yan Zhigao very well. Hearing his words, she knew he wasn’t truly angry and roughly explained the situation. In the end, she pointed out that Yan Yishuang was just a child who spoke thoughtlessly.

After hearing the details, Yan Zhigao indeed didn’t consider it a serious matter. He smiled and said to Madam Yan, “Mother, Yishuang has grown up in the county town and naturally isn’t familiar with rural matters. When she said those things, it wasn’t intentional. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Seeing Madam Yan’s expression soften a bit, he then turned to Daohua, “Daohua, as the eldest sister, you should be more protective of your younger brothers and sisters. If they do something wrong, you can point it out, but you must not make a mountain out of a molehill, understand?”

Upon hearing this, Daohua, who had been watching like a bystander, suddenly looked up at Yan Zhigao with surprise and disbelief flashing in her eyes.

Was Father implying that the fault lay with her today?

What did he mean by making a mountain out of a molehill?

Did he think it was she who had escalated the matter to Grandmother’s attention?

All of a sudden, the faint sense of admiration Daohua had begun to feel completely dissipated.

Daohua stared at Yan Zhigao with wide eyes, causing him to feel somewhat uncomfortable. Eventually, he had no choice but to add, “Of course, Yishuang is also at fault for disrespecting her elder sister and speaking without restraint.” After saying this, he glared at Yan Yishuang and signalled her with his eyes, “What are you spacing out for? Come over here and apologize to your eldest’ sister right now.”

Auntie Lin nudged the unmoving Yan Yishuang, who then reluctantly stood up and walked toward Daohua, “Eldest sister, Yishuang knows her mistake.”

Her reluctance was clear, and so was Daohua’s.

The kind of forced forgiveness that put someone on a pedestal was something she found utterly repugnant.

Seeing Daohua’s furrowed brows and her lack of movement, Madam Yan knew her granddaughter wasn’t willing. She glanced at her eldest son, whose face was clouding over, and felt compelled to give Daohua a tug.

Catching Madam Yan’s look, Daohua suddenly felt it was all quite pointless and replied indifferently, “It doesn’t matter.”

As soon as she finished, everyone in the room and outside-like Madam Li and others—heaved a sigh of relief.

Ever since Madam Yan arrived, the Yan family had gathered every evening for dinner.

This evening, the incident of Auntie Lin bringing Yan Yishuang over to apologize was known by each household as soon as they stepped out of their doors.

They had gathered early, watching to see how the situation unfolded.

Just as everyone thought the matter was settled, Daohua approached Yan Zhigao and said with a bow, “Father, ultimately this matter arose because of the food I sent over. To avoid such incidents in the future, I will not send food anymore.”

Yan Zhigao’s expression froze at her words. He was about to say she could continue to send food, as long as she didn’t go to the front courtyard.

That day, his colleagues at the County Governor’s Office had praised the noodle soup sent by his eldest daughter, saying it was delicious. Even the aloof Scholar Xiao spoke more than usual today, which was a great source of pride for him.

Unfortunately, Daohua didn’t give him the chance to speak.

“Furthermore, Father, I grew up in the countryside, unlike my sister and the others who are more cultured. What I can make is only the simple fare known to country folk, hardly presentable for high society.”

“But you see, Father, I don’t have many other hobbies; I just enjoy preparing food and drinks. To avoid a recurrence of today’s situation, I will no longer deliver my cooking to others.”

“However, Father, we must agree on this in advance: if in the future, someone complains to you because they didn’t get to eat what I made, you cannot blame me again.”

Daohua spoke calmly, but those listening were anything but calm. Watching his eldest daughter turn away without giving him another glance, Yan Zhigao felt both angry and stifled. He hadn’t said that today’s incident was her fault.

All right, he admitted he might be a bit more doting on his youngest daughter. Didn’t he see that his mother had already punished her by making her kneel?

The situation today wasn’t a big deal. A few words from him mediating in the middle, and it would have been over.

His eldest daughter was being unreasonably stubborn; it was unpleasant for him.

This eldest daughter, it seems, had been indulged too much in her temperament by her mother.

He had barely said one thing, and she had retorted with several. Was this how a lady of a good family behaved?

Unable to hold back any longer, Madam Li from outside lifted the curtain and walked in. She glanced at the people inside and forced a smile, “Madam Yan, the meal is ready. We can start eating now.”

Madam Yan glanced at her eldest son, who looked displeased, and then at her granddaughter who remained silent. She coldly looked at Auntie Lin, who was kneeling on the ground, “I’ve heard that in other families, concubines serve their masters during meals. Tonight, let Auntie Lin serve us.”

With this statement, Yan Zhigao and others who had just walked in, as well as the second and third households, all wore shocked expressions.

Although Auntie Lin was a concubine, she was the daughter of a Scholar and had given birth to a pair of twins for Yan Zhigao. Moreover, her brother had also become a Scholar three years prior and had become Yan Zhigao’s private secretary. In the Yan Residence, no one really treated her as an ordinary concubine, not even Madam Li, who sometimes had to avoid her sharpness. Auntie Lin, who had been kneeling on the ground, raised her head abruptly, looking incredulously at the old lady on the dais.

The Old Madam intended to use her as a means to vent her anger for the eldest daughter!

What, am I, an old woman from the countryside, not worthy of your service?” Old Madam Yan looked at Lin’s concubine coldly.

Lin’s concubine hurriedly shook her head: “Being able to serve the Old Madam is…a blessing for this concubine.”

Only then did Old Madam Yan turn to Madam Li: “Let’s have the meal served.” The Yan Family hadn’t risen long ago, so there weren’t strict rules like ‘eat without speaking and sleep without chatting’ during mealtimes.

In the past, the dining table was full of joy and laughter, thanks to Daohua and Yan Wenkai’s witty banter and jokes.

But today, Daohua kept her head down in silence, and though Yan Wenkai wanted to say something to lighten the somewhat somber mood, no one joined him.

During the meal, Old Madam Yan didn’t make things difficult for Lin’s concubine, but merely instructed her to help everyone at the table by adding dishes to their bowls.

Lin’s concubine blushed with shame at this task.

Serving the adults was one thing, but to serve the younger generation was like the Old Madam really treating her as a servant!

Yan Wenbin and Yan Yishuang wanted to say something but were stopped by Lin’s concubine, who meticulously but resentfully served everyone.

She could feel that the master’s gaze had swept over her several times; the more the Old Madam suppressed her, the more the master would sympathize with her and her son.

“Eldest daugther, please enjoy!”

In front of others, Lin’s concubine quietly added dishes, but when she reached Daohua, she spoke up.

All eyes turned her way.

Yan Zhigao also looked over, shooting Daohua a meaningful glance in the process.

But Daohua simply pretended not to notice.

She knew that her stepfather was trying to make her plead with Old Madam Yan on behalf of Lin’s concubine.

But why should she do that?

Daohua gave Lin’s concubine an indifferent look: “I don’t like what you’ve picked for me. Change it for something else.”

Lin’s concubine speaking while serving had two possible intentions.

One was to remind all present that today’s event was because of her, causing everyone to not even enjoy their meal properly. Others might not take it seriously, but would her stepfather not take offence when seeing his beloved concubine treated with such indignity?

The other was to see if she could provoke Daohua. If Daohua reacted harshly,

Lin s concubine as the victim would appear even more pitiable.

Indeed, once Daohua spoke up, many faces at the table showed disapproval. Lin’s concubine also paused, taken aback. Others, like Madam Li, might not have liked the dish she chose, but they wouldn’t speak up; Lin’s concubine truly d.d not expect the eldest daughter to be bold enough to speak up at such a time.

Upon seeing Yan Zhigao’s darkened expression, Lin’s concubine immediately humbled herself and said, “Alright, I will change it right away for the eldest daughter.”

“Enough!”

Just as Lin’s concubine stretched out her hand, Yan Zhigao spoke up, his face ugly as he looked at Daohua: “Daohua, she is your elder. What kind of attitude is that?”

“Smack!”

Old Madam Yan put her chopsticks down forcefully on the table, glaring at Yan Zhigao: “And what kind of attitude is that from you? I was the one who instructed your beloved concubine to serve the meal. If you have any complaints, direct them at me. Why are you yelling at Daohua?”

Yan Zhigao felt a headache coming on: “Mother!”

This time, Daohua truly felt a chill in her heart.

She did not believe that Yan Zhigao failed to see Lin’s concubine was targeting her, yet a daughter who had only just arrived by his side for over a month could not compare to a beloved concubine who had been with him nearly a decade, and a set of children that had been the apple of his eye.

Daohua suddenly felt a sourness in her nose.

Over a month of tender warmth had led her to mistake it as fatherly love, but was it really?

Perhaps a bit, yes!

However, the precondition was that she had to be sufficiently clever and sensible; any conflict with his other children meant that she would be the one reprimanded.

Guilt and love are, after all, different things.

Feeling utterly discouraged, Daohua stood up, bowed to Old Madam Yan: “Grandmother, I have eaten my fill. I will take my leave now.” With that, she turned and walked away.

Seeing the redness in Daohua’s eyes, Old Madam Yan’s heart ached, and she glared fiercely at her eldest son. Yan Zhigao, who had been stern-faced, also reined in his anger.

In the moonlight-draped corridor, Daohua’s figure stretched out long, appearing frail and lonely..