Chapter 464 - The Kitten and the Dog (1/2)
The family looked at the bright red fruits on the table and, for a second, the whole entire room was silent. Even the youngest, Li Haoming, didn’t start clamouring to eat the tomatoes. At this time, Official Li from the Ministry of Ceremonies walked in. He revealed a perplexed expression as it was currently lunchtime but there were no food dishes on the table.
When he noticed the small tomatoes and strawberries on the table, Official Li’s expression lightened and he smiled, “Looks like our luck was pretty good today and we were able to buy such rare fruits. What a coincidence, tomorrow I’m inviting a few of my colleagues over. I can use such valuable fruits to serve them then.”
Unexpectedly, his youngest son, Li Haoming, pouted unhappily when he heard this, “Father, these fruits weren’t bought by the servants from the kitchens. Fifth Older Sister had gone to Official Yu’s residence as a guest today and these are her gifts!”
After he finished, he stared pitifully at his father and the expression on his face clearly said, ‘These fruits are considered to be the property of Fifth Older Sister. Father, you don’t even say a greeting before taking them over, is it really right?’
“Ru’er?” Official Li stared at his normally silent and taciturn concubine-born daughter with a flabbergasted expression. He would have never expected that she would catch the eye of Miss Yu and even be able to get some gifts from the other person.
After his daughter explained what had happened, he was silent for a moment before he stated, “Our ancestral background, if we go back three generations, is also from a farming family. We cannot use our backgrounds to humiliate other people! Assistant Minister Li’s family is a great example of what could go wrong, so you must keep this in mind! This Miss Yu is very young but has already shown such talent at farming and agriculture. In the future, the emperor will clearly view her with great importance. Since Ru’er has caught her eye, then collaborate well with her. Do not use your background and talents to bully the other person!”
“I will listen and obey Father’s instructions!” Li Mengru seldom had the chance to talk to her own father, let alone receive any personal teachings from him. She was quite moved by this change.
Li Mengqi grinned, “Father, you don't know what type of personality younger sister has? If she was an arrogant and willful person, even if she had talent, Miss Yu might still not decide to work with her. Earlier when this daughter attended a banquet to admire the plum blossoms, I heard a rumor that Miss Yu is planning on opening a flower tea store and to sell her peach blossom tea that is able to improve a person’s appearance. Even without Younger Sister’s rouge and face powder, she wouldn’t lack for business.”
Official Li muttered to himself for a bit before he finally said, “You’re normally just messing around when you make your rouge and face powder, so there’s usually not a whole lot when you’re done. It’d be hard to manufacture enough with your current process——how about this, have your mother take some money from the residence’s budget and give it to you. If you need any particular materials, please tell your mother. Before the shop opens, you need to practice more in order to avoid ruining Miss Yu’s business venture!”
“Yes! Thank you, Father!” Li Mengru’s normally reserved expression revealed hints of happiness. If she had access to top-notch ingredients, she was sure that she would be able to make cosmetics that were much better than the ones sold by Full Spring Fragrance.
When he saw how obedient and sweet his daughter was, Official Li felt his heart relax a few fractions. He looked at his sons and daughters in the room and felt a bit of pride rise up——his children were all so obedient and understanding, so they definitely wouldn’t do anything like Assistant Minister Li’s daughter to bring calamity to their whole family!
His oldest son was only ten this year but he had already read through and knew the Book of Songs and the Book of History [1] . In the future, he naturally was going to become an official. His younger son was lively and clever. Although his personality was not as steady as his oldest son, he wasn’t a stupid child either. His wife was virtuous and generous. People always said, ‘a virtuous wife will reduce harm to her husband’, and this ancient saying wasn’t wrong! Wasn’t Assistant Minister Li’s wife short-sighted and lacking in knowledge? After all, she had spoiled their daughter to the heavens, which caused them now to be the laughingstock of the whole capital.
“Hm hm…” Official Li looked at the valuable fruits on the table. There were even strawberries to be had in this season? Only Miss Yu’s residence was able to bring out such rare fruits in this season so easily to give to other people, right? He looked at Li Mengru and then asked in a somewhat awkward manner, “Ru’er, what do you plan on doing with these fruits?”
Although Li Mengru had a weak and timid personality, she wasn’t an imbecile. She hurriedly stated, “Whatever Father decides is best…”
“There are no outsiders here, so there’s no need to be so cautious. In my heart, you, Qi’er, Ming’er, and Yu’er are the same. You are all Father’s good children!” Official Li raised the status of this unassuming concubine-born daughter of his to the level of his legitimate children. This showed how much importance he placed on the recent events.
Lady Li was very skilled at guessing her husband’s intentions and hurriedly interjected, “Ru’er lost her concubine-mother when she was young and has always been a sensible and clever child. I quite pity her. Husband, how about we record Ru’er’s name under me. In the future, she can also get a good marriage because of this!”
“Then we will do as my wife says!” Official Li admired his wife’s generosity and wisdom in this situation and now regarded her with even more importance.
Li Mengru almost couldn’t believe her own ears. Being recorded under the legitimate wife’s name was a very big honor for concubine-born children. This meant that, in the future, she would be of the same status as her legitimate born older sister and younger brothers and would be considered a legitimate born child under the legitimate wife...
She couldn’t help but exclaim in happiness and repeatedly cried, “Thank you Mother for being so loving and generous…”
The smile on Li Mengqi’s face didn’t change at all as she said, “In the future, I will have a new legitimate younger sister! We’re close in age so we should be more intimate together. Mother, the courtyard next to my Qinglan courtyard is still empty. How about we move Younger Sister Ru into that courtyard? That way, us sisters can easily spend more time with each other.”
“Okay! We will do as Qi’er suggests!” Lady Li naturally wouldn’t refuse to go with her daughter’s wise decision.