Chapter 21 …
Losses All Around
After Dohwa left, the atmosphere at the dinner table grew heavier and heavier.
After a long silence, Old Madam Noh looked up at An Chigo and spoke.
“Dohwa is a child who rarely cried since she was little. The first time she cried was when she fell on a ridge while helping your third grand-uncle’s family with the autumn harvest. Her foot was dislocated then. Even so, she clenched her teeth and didn’t make a sound because she was afraid they would feel sorry. But today… her eyes actually turned red…”
At those words, Madam Lee’s vision blurred with tears before she even realized it. She had always yielded for the sake of family harmony, but now she was beginning to resent Concubine Im. If not for Im, would Dohwa have suffered such grievance and been scolded like this?
An Chigo also felt uncomfortable inside. He had not wanted to scold his eldest daughter, but what had just happened truly made no sense.
Old Madam Noh looked at Madam Lee and said,
“Go follow Dohwa. That child is stubborn—you’ll have to coax her properly. And pass this message along too. Tell her this old granny is here, so she need not worry. If this household cannot accommodate us, then this old granny will take Dohwa and return to our hometown.”
An Chigo shot to his feet at once. With an awkward expression, he asked,
“Mother, what are you saying? You are the most senior elder of our family. Even if you drove us all out, it would never be that we could not accept you.”
Old Madam Noh let out a cold snort and glanced at Madam Im, who was trying to make herself invisible off to the side.
“Do you think this old woman dares to drive you out? Someone here can’t even hide her dislike while serving meals—acting as if this old woman were some heinous villain.”
At these words, Concubine Im immediately dropped to her knees and cried out,
“Old Madam, this is all this concubine’s fault. I provoked Eldest Miss’s anger and caused this situation. I will go apologize to Eldest Miss at once. Please quell your anger—”
Clatter!
Before she could finish, Old Madam Noh flung the bowl and chopsticks to the floor. She glared at Madam Im in fury.
“So this is the fine concubine you brought in? After pressuring Dohwa to leave, you still want to drag her back in? Let this old woman ask you—what great offense has Dohwa committed against your precious favored concubine in the past month that you must keep biting at her like this?
Do you take this old woman for a blind fool? You think I can’t see what schemes you’re harboring?”
Old Madam Noh was furious to the point of shaking. She pointed at An Chigo and shouted. An Chigo immediately rebuked Madam Im as well.
“Is this a place for you to speak? Withdraw at once!”
Madam Im retreated in a panic. But just as she reached the doorway, Old Madam Noh’s voice rang out again.
“This old woman cannot accept the filial ‘service’ of your esteemed concubine anymore. From now on, make sure she does not appear before me. Since she dares not offend certain people, she should at least know to avoid them.”
Madam Im’s heart sank.
She had not expected Old Madam Noh to cherish the Eldest Miss to this extent. Originally, she thought this incident might make the master less fond of the Eldest Miss… Although An Chigo now had some dissatisfaction toward Dohwa, Madam Im had also thoroughly offended Old Madam Noh.
If she had known things would turn out like this, she would have kept her mouth shut when handing food to the Eldest Miss.
* * *
At this time, on the path to the garden
Dohwa walked slowly toward the garden, while Pingdong followed behind her, repeatedly wanting to speak but holding back.
“The longer I stay here, the more I want to go back.”
Dohwa suddenly let out a soft laugh, tilted her head back, and forced her tears down. After becoming a child again, it seemed even her heart had grown younger. Sometimes she felt herself gradually turning into a real child—easily trusting others when they showed her a little kindness.
Over the past month, her father had indeed taken decent care of her. So Dohwa had mistaken it for paternal love and believed he truly cherished her…
But unfortunately, reality had coldly awakened her.
In modern times, she had grown up in a family with a strong preference for sons. She had received very little love from her parents since childhood, and even before her death, she had almost no lingering attachment.
There was a reason she had grown so close to her grandmother after being born in ancient times.
It was because her grandmother gave her the most unconditional love.
And among the Third Branch family, she had also felt the warmth of kinship she had not experienced in a long time.
After arriving in Im County, Dohwa had tried to become part of the large family. But aside from her mother and Fourth Brother An Wenkai, the people here were not pure-hearted.
Then again—how much true affection exists in this world?
People shouldn’t overestimate themselves. Otherwise, worries would never cease.
She understood now. She wasn’t money—she couldn’t possibly be liked by everyone.
Even now, she still had Grandmother, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, her wholeheartedly devoted mother, and her brothers and sisters.
To ask for more would be too greedy.
She just needed to grow closer to those who suited her, and walk separate paths from those who didn’t.
Pingdong watched Dohwa’s steps grow lighter and finally breathed a sigh of relief, though she still felt indignant.
Originally, today should have ended warmly. The Eldest Miss would have shown filial piety, and the master would have saved face before the other adults…
But that Im mother and daughter had to interfere and ruin everything.
In the past, Madam had worried that the Eldest Miss wasn’t very affectionate toward the master. Yet today, when the Eldest Miss finally cooked for him, that mother and daughter had turned things into this mess.
In the future, the Eldest Miss probably wouldn’t take the initiative to approach the master again.
As they were about to reach the garden, Dohwa heard footsteps behind her.
Turning around, she saw Madam Lee hurrying toward her with a worried expression.
“Mother, why did you come back?”
Madam Lee walked up and examined her. Seeing Dohwa’s expression had brightened considerably, she relaxed.
“You barely ate dinner, so I ordered mung bean cakes to be made. Come inside and eat.”
As she spoke, Madam Lee led Dohwa into the garden residence.
After the mother and daughter entered the main room, a maid brought in the mung bean cakes.
Dohwa took a bite and said,
“Mother, the mung bean cakes I make taste better than this. I’ll make some for you next time.”
Madam Lee smiled.
“Then I’ll wait for you to make them.”
After saying this, Madam Lee studied Dohwa’s expression and continued,
“Today your father even praised the hulata soup you made. From what I see, he probably wants to eat it again tomorrow.”
Dohwa let out a soft snort.
“Today I made it and everyone ended up in a bad mood. If I bring it again tomorrow, who knows—maybe the same thing will happen. I might even earn the whole family’s resentment. I won’t do something that only brings me hardship and no thanks.”
Not just hulata soup—she had no intention of bringing any snacks to that kind of father.
Madam Lee laughed at her sulky daughter.
“Dohwa, are you really angry with your father?”
Dohwa looked at her seriously.
“How could I not be angry? Father clearly favors Concubine Im. Because he couldn’t bear to see her and An Yishuang suffer, he wronged me. Why should I be the one to endure that grievance?”
Madam Lee paused in thought.
Dohwa is resentful toward the master…
She held Dohwa’s hand and spoke solemnly.
“Dohwa, remember this well. He is your father. You may disagree with him in your heart, but you must still obey him outwardly.
Talking back to your father in front of so many people, like today, is not proper behavior. If this matter is exaggerated, it could be called unfilial conduct. An unfilial child is criticized everywhere and cannot survive in society.”
Dohwa listened silently. After a long while, she raised her head and replied,
“Mother, don’t worry. I understand how I should treat Father from now on.”
Since he wasn’t someone to treat with family affection, she would deal with him through interests instead.
Her father was the head of the An family—most household matters required his approval. If she wanted to live well in the future, she needed to face him with a smile and say some pleasing words when appropriate.
Madam Lee examined her daughter and could tell her anger had not fully dissipated. But children often cooled down quickly, so she said nothing more.
“And don’t pay too much attention to Concubine Im. Though she is the daughter of a xiucai and has a scholar brother, a concubine is still just a concubine. She won’t be able to stir up any great storms.”
The moment Dohwa heard the words “Madam Im,” her stomach churned.
Before coming to Im County, she had mentally prepared for household intrigue. But after experiencing it firsthand, she felt someone like herself was no match for a sly fox like Madam Im. Even when she tried to retaliate, she somehow still ended up at the center of the turmoil.
“If I just don’t see them, I’ll be fine. But that mother and daughter keep appearing all the time. It really makes my insides churn!”
Madam Lee stroked Dohwa’s head.
“I will speak to Madam Im and make her understand. She will keep to her proper place in the future.”
Dohwa looked up at her mother and felt a bitter ache inside.
In both looks and figure, her mother was far superior to Madam Im. She was simply too gentle and reserved.
But when it came to acting coquettish and currying favor, Madam Im was far more skilled.
Men all seemed to like women like Madam Im.
At least, Dohwa’s nominal father certainly did.
* * *
Songhe Courtyard
Only after Old Madam Noh fell asleep did An Chigo and the others take their leave. After hesitating briefly, An Chigo ultimately headed toward the main courtyard.
The Second and Third Branches saw this and returned to their own residences.
* * *
Second Branch
“What on earth was that today!”
An Chiyuan shook his head and continued,
“I didn’t even get a full dinner tonight!”
Although An Chigo was a county magistrate, his salary was not very high. Moreover, due to his upright character, he never exploited the common people, so he had no extra income.
Thus, the An household lived only slightly better than an ordinary family.
If they didn’t eat their fill at dinner, they had to spend their own money to get late-night food from the kitchen.
Madam Sun also spoke resentfully.
“Tell me about it. When whales fight, the shrimp suffer. The children probably didn’t eat properly either.”
She turned to the three siblings An Wenge, An Yiluo, and An Yihuan.
“You kids too! Even if the adults couldn’t eat well, you should have eaten more.”
An Wenge replied,
“Mother, how could we dare eat? Grandmother and Eldest Uncle both looked so scary. It’s already good enough that I didn’t drop my chopsticks.”
An Yiluo nodded quickly.
“Exactly.”
An Chiyuan looked at the three children.
An Yihuan had a calm temperament, but An Wenge and An Yiluo did not.
He suddenly sighed.
“We should have left Wenge back in the hometown for Mother to raise.”
At this, An Wenge widened his eyes in alarm.
I don’t want to suffer back in the hometown!
Madam Sun spoke unhappily.
“What are you saying?”
She only had this one son—of course she wanted to keep him by her side.
An Chiyuan shook his head.
“Long hair but short insight! What’s wrong with Mother raising him? Look at Dohwa! Her temperament and nature are exactly like Mother’s when she was young. Hmph!”
He snorted and continued,
“That Madam Im is truly foolish. Our mother raised the four of us alone—she’s no ordinary person. Yet she dared to play tricks in front of Mother. She deserved the scolding.”
Madam Sun pursed her lips.
“A girl should be gentle and demure. What’s so good about a wild girl like Dohwa? This isn’t the hometown, after all.”
After hearing that, An Chiyuan felt she had a point and said nothing more.
