Feng Zi Rui did not understand and unhappily asked: “Why?”
Yao shi explained it to him: “Because inside this manor, the two of you only have one mother, and that is Chen shi. Not only you two, but all of the children in Feng Manor only have one mother.”
Feng Zi Rui still did not understand but did not ask further. He lowered his head and puffed his cheeks out in a pout.
Yao shi turned to beg of Feng Yu Heng, “A-Heng, you’re the older sister. There are some things that cannot be immediately changed when we want them to. At least keep up appearances in front of other people.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded as she understood. Yao shi acting like this was already a huge improvement. She could not ask for her to instantly change too much.
“Zi Rui.” She patted the child’s head, “We will always only have one mother, but in front of people from the outside we must at least put on an act. That’s all. For the time being, call that person mother. Sooner or later, a day will come where we will not be treated like this.”
Feng Zi Rui found that he liked listening to his sister talk more and more, especially after leaving the village. His sister compared to before seemed to be very different. Small children don’t know how to use many descriptive words, but he thought that she had become more fierce. He admired her even more.
He nodded fiercely, “Zi Rui will listen to everything sister says. We will act and call her mother for now. That’s all.”
Feng Yu Heng was amused by Zi Rui’s expressions. Looking at the children, Yao shi, once again, fell in to a trance.
This type of trance had happened just once on the path to the Willow courtyard. It was also that one time that had caused a subtle change in her mindset. Presently, that subtle change had begun to slowly develop. It was as if there were a type of force that drove her to get a taste of a life she did not dare live before. It caused her to look forward to and rejoice in the changes in Feng Yu Heng.
Not long after, granny Sun returned along with granny Li, Man Xi and Bao Tang.
Granny Sun’s face had a calm expression, while the three behind her carried trays. The trays had bowls and chopsticks, reminding them it was lunch time.
Granny Li fixed a professional smile to her face upon entering the room and gestured for the two girls to place the bowls and chopsticks on the table. Then she said to Yao shi: “Concubine Yao, quickly, please eat.”
They looked towards the dishes, and Yao shi frowned, while Feng Zi Rui stared blankly, not daring to believe his eyes. Feng Yu Heng directly laughed with anger.
What was this that had been brought here? Food for humans?
A tiny bowl that was not even half-filled with rice; furthermore, the husks had not been cleaned from the rice. A plate of boiled radish, a plate of chopped, raw lettuce and a bowl of soup with only two stalks of vegetable. Not a drop of oil, nor piece of meat could be seen.
Seeing the three stare blankly as the dishes were served, granny Li smiled to herself.
There were many ways of dealing with people inside the manor without violence or cursing, some that specially drove people to death. The second young miss was only twelve years old. Her earlier display of force was merely something she had acted out and was good enough to bluff a child like the fourth young miss. Assessing the situation, how could she, who had been treated well for half her life, be afraid of a child?
Man Xi and Bao Tang also closely watched their so-called masters. They forcefully hid their jubilation and waited for the second miss to begin sniveling. After all, a second miss that could be bullied was easier to deal with than the scary second miss from earlier.
Feng Yu Heng blinked a few times then suddenly grabbed granny Li’s hand. Granny Li was so frightened, she retreated a couple steps and desperately wanted to pull her hand away; however, she found that the second young miss’ strength was not normal. Her two hands were like steel vices, forcefully holding her in place. No matter what, she could not pull her hand back.
“Second young miss.” Granny Li began to get scared. “What does the second young miss mean by this?”
Looking at Feng Yu Heng, she indeed had a depressed face that was on the verge of crying. “The concubines of the Feng manor are fed this? How does one swallow this stuff?”
Granny Li breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that yielding would be enough.
But Yao shi and Feng Zi Rui along with granny Sun had been with Feng Yu Heng the entire time. They understood her personality quite well. They did not believe that Feng Yu Heng would be discouraged by these dishes alone. Worst case scenario, she had another devilish trick. In fact, they were a little interested to see what may occur.
Sure enough, the happy feelings the three had begun to feel were swiftly brought to an end, as Feng Yu Heng continued: “I originally thought that father exiled us to that mountain village because he didn’t want us. Who knew that he was looking out for our well being.”