After coming out of the warm and elegant room, Mr. Wen strolled in the garden in the backyard.
Looking at the tree of blooming white magnolias, he couldn't help but think of the time when Yao'er and he planted this white magnolia tree together when she was a child. The memory of that time was a little vague, but the image of Yao'er wearing a white dress with a big pink bow tied around her waist was still so vivid.
I still remember the little girl sitting under the tree with her forehead propped up and kept asking him, "Dad, Dad, when will the magnolia tree grow taller?"
"Dad, Dad, the book says that the flowers of the Viburnum tree are as big as plates, white as jade, and crystal clear. They are surrounded by eight large five-petal flowers, surrounding the small white pearl in the middle, just like butterflies playing with pearls, so they are called butterfly flowers. They also look like the Eight Immortals dancing, so they are called the Gathering of Eight Immortals. Liu Chang's poem says: 'Ten thousand trees in the East compete for beauty, but this flower is unparalleled in the world! I don't know when I can see it?"
More than 30 years have passed in a flash, and this magnolia tree has bloomed the purest and most romantic flowers in the world, just like the smile of the little girl who circled around the tree back then, pure and romantic to the extreme.
From a distance, I could hear the servants talking together.
"The young lady and the young lady are really alike, and their temperaments are similar. Unlike Wen Ruya, when she first came to the Mo family, she seemed well-behaved, smart and cute, but her eyes were slippery and made people feel uncomfortable. You could tell from looking at her that she was not a quiet person."
"That's right. Every time she comes to the Mo family, her eyes are always fixed on the Mo family's antique jades. It's obvious that she is not a good person."
"What I can't stand the most is that although she is so young, she always acts so superior and elegant. She doesn't look like a lady at all. I don't think she is the child of a lady."
"Don't talk nonsense. How can she be compared with the young lady? Scholars value integrity the most. The old man and the old lady who passed away were both from scholarly families. The young lady has been influenced by them since she was a child. That kind of integrity and talent has been instilled in her since she was a child and integrated into her bones. How can it be compared with that sparrow who occupied the phoenix's nest?"
"It's just a sparrow."
At this point, everyone was disdainful and no one wanted to mention this person anymore.
"Mr. Zhang, do you know what the young lady likes to eat? We can prepare some. It turns out that young ladies have the habit of drinking sweet soup after meals. I don't know if the young lady has it. No... Young people nowadays like to be thinner. Drinking sweet soup at night can easily make them fat..."
"I think the young lady looks too thin. She must have suffered a lot while living outside. I'll make a bowl of red date and black chicken soup for her to nourish her body."
"Last time, one of my students gave me a wild ginseng. I heard it was produced in Changbai Mountain. Do you want to add some angelica and wild ginseng to the soup? It's a great tonic."
"It's better not to! The young lady is still young, and she needs warm nourishment instead of strong nourishment. Drink more nutritious soup every day, and your body will recover slowly."
Seeing how happy everyone was, Uncle Zhang started preparing dinner so early and said, "I'll ask the young lady what she likes to eat. You guys prepare it. Don't rush. We also need to make some dishes that the old man likes. The young lady is back today, and the old man is happy. Maybe he can eat an extra bowl of rice."
"That's right. Since the young lady left, I have never seen the old man so happy. I really hope that the young lady can live in the Mo family forever."
"Maybe the young lady can really stay in the Mo family forever. The Wen family is a group of people. How can the master let the young lady suffer injustice in the Wen family for nothing?"
Old Master Mo didn't expect that the Mo family, which had always been lifeless, became lively in an instant, as if it had been injected with life because of Xinya's arrival.
At this time, Uncle Zhang looked up and saw Mr. Mo standing not far away, and hurried over to greet him.
Mr. Mo said calmly, "Old Zhang, please walk with me!"
Zhang Bo naturally had no objection and stayed by his side even if he made a mistake.
Mr. Mo suddenly said: "She is a good child."
Zhang Bo smiled and said, "The young lady is naturally good. Although she doesn't have the talent that the young lady had in her youth, she is still a piece of rough jade. If she is carefully carved, it will become a piece of peerless jade."
Old Master Mo also smiled and said, "You are right, but I think that child is much stronger than Yao'er. Although Yao'er is gentle and generous, she is too calm and too arrogant. The kind of arrogance that is integrated into her bones cannot be violated. She disdains to fight for and calculate. In the end, she couldn't even keep a man's heart. But Xinya is different. When I learned from Old Master Wen that she took the initiative to ask to stay at the Mo family, I knew that the child was not simple!"
Knowing how to retreat in order to advance, and doing it so beautifully, is not something that everyone can do.
"The young lady has lived in exile since she was young. She has suffered a lot and experienced many things. Naturally, she is calculating about everything. However, the young lady grew up under your care and has never experienced any ups and downs. Naturally, she behaves with integrity and pride that is ingrained in her bones."
Mr. Mo sighed and said, “You can see clearly.”
Uncle Zhang smiled but said nothing.
Old Master Mo said with emotion: "When I was young, my mother once told me my fate. The fortune teller said that I was the reincarnation of Wenquxing. My life would be prosperous, but I would have few relatives and would be lonely all my life. I was young at that time and didn't believe in these vague and illusory fates. It was not until Yuqian and Yaoer died in childbirth and my only granddaughter disappeared that I believed that this was my fate. But when I saw Xinya looking at me with such admiration and trust, I knew that this was the family life I had been looking forward to. Although I don't have many children and grandchildren, at least I have my granddaughter to accompany me, and I will be content."
What Mr. Wen didn’t know was that he had died alone in his previous life.
Zhang Bo looked at his satisfied expression and said, "I don't believe in fate, but I believe good people will be rewarded. You are highly respected in this life, so you will definitely be rewarded."
“In fact, because of the example of Xia Ruya, I didn’t have high hopes for Xinya, my real granddaughter. Although I have always paid attention to her after she returned to the Wen family, I was not very caring towards her, and this child suffered a lot in vain.” Thinking that she was almost forced out of the Wen family, Grandpa Mo felt even more guilty.
Uncle Zhang frowned and said, "The Wen family found the young lady, but they didn't treat her well. When I asked the servants to sort out the young lady's things, I saw that there were only a few things, and I felt sorry for her."
A cold look appeared on Mr. Mo's face. "The Wen family always puts profit first in everything. Xinya has such a past, which is not glorious no matter how hard it is. There is no place for her in the Wen family. In addition, her stepmother and stepsister are not upright and greedy. They will take advantage of Xinya's lack of foothold in the Wen family to make the Wen family completely disgusted with Xinya and turn her into an abandoned child. The family wealth of the Wen family will be theirs!"
Zhang Bo sighed, "The young lady is so pitiful. She has been wandering outside for many years. She finally returned to the Wen family, but it is a dangerous place. If she is not careful, she will be doomed."
Mr. Mo said coldly: "Let's see what Xinya thinks."