Daiyu from the Red Mansion is also arguing with people today

Chapter 153 Don’t move your hands or feet

Xichun accepted what Daiyu said very well. She had been taken to the City God Temple by Daiyu a long time ago and had seen the "evil in the world", so she was particularly attentive to martial arts training and did not dare to slack off.

When it comes to this topic, Xichun is particularly eager to show off. She volunteered: "Cousin Daiyu, I can now perform a set of punches smoothly!"

"Really? Then I'll have to take a closer look!"

Upon hearing this, Xichun trotted out happily like a little deer and went back to her room to change clothes.

Yingchun glared at Daiyu and said, "You just like teasing the little girl. She just ate half a sweet potato, how can she punch!"

"Come on! You ate half a sweet potato, but you can still chase me for a long time!"

It was not until Xichun finished a whole set of boxing that Tanchun was awakened by the cheers of Yingchun and Daiyu. Recalling some of her speculations just now, she felt a layer of fine and dense goose bumps on her arms.

Yingchun motioned Tanchun to look at Xichun and said, "Look at Xichun. Even though she plans to become a nun in the future and not get married, she is not waiting for that day to come. Instead, she is preparing for the future."

Tanchun murmured in confusion, "But...what should I do?"

Yingchun sighed, feeling that she had a long way to go, and became more determined to get out of the Jia family. It should not be difficult to take care of the two sisters, Tanchun and Xichun.

"Just be yourself and don't let others lead you into trouble."

Tanchun was confused: "What do you mean by 'taken into the ditch'? Does it mean you got hurt?"

Yingchun couldn't explain it clearly, so she tugged at Daiyu's sleeve as if asking for help.

Daiyu was praising Xichun for her ability when she was suddenly pulled by Yingchun and almost fell down.

She asked in confusion: "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Although there was a hint of reproach in her tone, the familiarity in it made Tanchun a little envious. Her feelings towards Daiyu were somewhat complicated, she wanted to be close to her, but also felt a sense of distance.

Yingchun pointed at Tanchun and said to Daiyu, "You caused this. You should solve it yourself."

Daiyu looked confused, thinking that she hadn't told Tanchun anything, so how could she have caused this? She had completely forgotten what she had said to Tanchun before Xichun started boxing.

Yingchun reminded her: "Have you forgotten what you just said? Follow-up!"

Daiyu suddenly realized what she had said before. She cleared her throat and said, "You are worried about your aunt!"

Daiyu revealed Tanchun’s inner conflict in one sentence, which was also one of the reasons for the tragedy in her life.

Tanchun always thought that Daiyu was about the same age as herself, and usually treated her as a peer. It was only when Xue Baochai pretended to be sick that she discovered the sharpness hidden under Daiyu's obedient appearance.

At this moment, Tanchun no longer thought that Daiyu was too strong, but realized that she had been tolerant and had no way out.

If I don't resist, I might really end up like what Daiyu said, being dragged down by my own mother all my life, ruining my marriage, and living a miserable life.

Tanchun looked at Daiyu and made a crucial decision in her life: "Daiyu...cousin, what should I do?"

Daiyu took a deep breath, sorted out her thoughts, and decided to help Tanchun first and solve the most fundamental problem.

"Does your aunt often say that you crawled out of her intestines, so everything you have is thanks to her?"

Every time Aunt Zhao went to Tanchun's room to get something, she would say this. But that was in her room, Daiyu couldn't have heard it, it could only be that she lived in the same courtyard with the old ancestor...

Tanchun's eyes wandered between Yingchun and Xichun.

Yingchun immediately shook her head and denied it: "How could I know such a thing!"

Daiyu interrupted Tanchun's guess and said, "You don't have to doubt the sisters in the courtyard. If I had known it long ago, I wouldn't have waited until now to point out your problem. Your aunt has such a good relationship with the servants in the backyard, do I need to find out from these sisters?"

Tanchun thought about it carefully and felt that this was indeed the truth.

Daiyu continued, "Speaking of which, the four of us are in similar situations in the mansion. You and Sister Yingchun are both born to my aunt, and Xichun is a girl from the East Mansion. As for me..."

Tanchun interrupted and denied, "How can you be the same as us! You are my aunt's daughter, the granddaughter of our ancestor, how can we compare to you?"

"That's just lip service. Look at me, I only pay 1,000 taels of silver to the government every year, so those servants look up to me. Otherwise, I would have been drowned in their spit long ago."

Daiyu smiled bitterly, knowing that Tanchun would not believe it so easily, and gave another example: "Look, I have been in the Jia Mansion for two years, and who remembers my birthday?"

"Ah!" Xichun exclaimed, "When is my sister's birthday? We didn't even think of asking you!"

"Flower Festival." Daiyu pinched Xichun's little face and said jokingly, "I think you are thinking about those rare delicacies in the small kitchen!"

"Sister Daiyu still understands me!" Xichun didn't feel embarrassed at all and nodded with a smile.

Tanchun also felt bitter: "Yes, who remembers our birthdays?"

"That's why I said that the situations of the four of us are similar." Daiyu said, pouring four bowls of tea and sharing them with the three sisters.

She took a sip of tea and said quietly, "If I didn't have a father, I'm afraid my life in this mansion would be even more miserable."

"How...how could it be, no matter what, our family will support you." Tanchun felt more and more powerless. She remembered the third sentence Daiyu mentioned before, "The treacherous brother sold his sister to a brothel", and she couldn't help but shudder.

Xichun wanted to defend Daiyu, but she couldn't explain how she knew what was happening outside. She was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead.

Daiyu noticed her reaction and sighed in her heart that it was not in vain that she taught this little girl Xichun.

She smiled indifferently and asked Tanchun: "Between you and your brother Huan, who will your aunt help? Is the annual income of the Jia family enough to support these hundreds of people?"

The four of them all had the answer to the first question, so there was no need to explain it. But for the second question, Tanchun couldn't answer it: "How can I know that?"

"Then have you ever thought about the fact that when Sister Lian was pregnant with Sister Yuan, she fell ill from exhaustion. Was it really just because she was tired from taking care of the household chores?"

Daiyu's words helped Tanchun to clear away the fog and gradually get closer to the truth: "Can you still count on a family like this? Maybe it will be fine for ten or twenty years, but what about after that? How long can these servants drain the private treasury of our ancestors?"

Looking at Tanchun's pale face, Yingchun felt a little reluctant.