Xiao Cao turned her head to glance at her sister, not knowing if it was an illusion, but every word sounded like praise, but in essence it didn't seem to be the case. It didn't seem to be a compliment, or something like envy or jealousy, it was quite strange.
"What's wrong, Fourth Sister? Why are you looking at me?" Wen Renying asked puzzledly.
Xiaocao shook her head and said, "No, let's go." She was probably overthinking it.
As they walked, Xiaocao casually asked Wen Renying what masterpieces Miss Li had.
Wen Renying recited several poems in succession as soon as she opened her mouth, all of which were quite classic and would definitely be passed down through the ages without any explanation.
Xiao Cao remained silent. Classic? Of course it was a classic. She was familiar with it, it was included in the textbooks, it was a masterpiece that had been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years, how could it not be a classic
There was a part of what Wen Renying said that Xiao Cao didn't know, so this Li Ruoshui either had studied it because he liked it, or he was a person working in a related profession.
However, Xiaocao really thinks it is too shameless to claim important chapters of ancient documents of the Flower-Growing Family from another time and space as her own and pretend to be a talented woman in this world to gain a good reputation. She has lived a relatively smooth life in her past and present lives and has met many people - not many of whom have had deep interactions with her - even those who are extremely treacherous and evil can be forgotten afterwards. But the person like Li Ruoshui, who is not considered a bad person by nature, is the first one who can make her feel so bad about him, and she will never forget him easily. After all, living in this circle, Li Ruoshui will inevitably continue her shameless behavior in order to maintain her reputation as a talented woman. Every time a "excellent work" is reported, Xiaocao cannot be as ignorant as before. Li Ruoshui's constant "showing of presence" may increase her dislike value.
As for the so-called number one beauty, people have different aesthetic tastes. As for Xiaocao herself, I think many of the people I meet are very beautiful, but I don't think any of them can be ranked number one. Xiaocao doesn't know whether there is such a person who can unify everyone's aesthetic tastes. However, although Li Ruoshui is also considered beautiful, she is definitely not at that level. The reason she can be called number one is probably because of the halo of being a "talented woman".
In Xiaocao's eyes, she was a fake talent, shameless and despicable. Naturally, other aspects were even more discounted.
In terms of talent, no matter how harsh an uninformed person is, he probably cannot deny it. But in terms of temperament, Xiaocao feels that Li Ruoshui's situation may be a little delicate. Xiaocao can see through Li Ruoshui's state with a professional eye. However, women in the back house should never be underestimated. There are always some who are particularly powerful. Can Li Ruoshui's tricks be hidden from them
Even if Li Ruoshui's personality is really similar to Lin Daiyu's, not everyone likes Lin Daiyu, right
Let alone others, Wen Renying could definitely see things more clearly than Xiaocao. Although Xiaocao had experienced a lot and met all kinds of people, to her, most of those people were just passing by, and she didn't have many opportunities to see through people's hearts.
After Wen Renying was reborn, she deliberately looked for opportunities to contact Li Ruoshui. In her eyes, Li Ruoshui's tricks were far from enough.
Perhaps there are many men who like Li Ruoshui's style and want to marry her, but their mothers will not like such a daughter-in-law. If a man has talent, the more widely it is spread, the better. But if a woman has talent and it is widely spread, it means she is being ostentatious, and such a woman will make people feel uneasy, which the mother-in-law especially dislikes.
This is really an ironic thing, and also something that cannot be helped.
Looking back at history, how many of those famous talented women had a good ending
Wen Renying counted on her fingers and found that she couldn't use all the words with one hand. Of course, this might also be because she didn't read much.
Correspondingly, there are still not many teenage girls, young admirers, and outstanding young men of appropriate age in the entire imperial city. If many of these men's minds are on Li Ruoshui, how can other girls not be jealous
Even though Xiaocao didn't know much about these twists and turns, she understood that being too outstanding also meant loneliness.
Just like their Xiao Si, of course, their Xiao Si is a god, he enjoys that "loneliness" and wishes to be alone forever. Most people can't reach his level and still need to be worldly.
"Is Miss Li popular?" Xiaocao wanted to verify it a little.
"If a person is so outstanding that his peers feel ashamed of themselves, they will naturally stay away from him because he is outshined. Lord Li is the Left Vice-Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and a very upright person. He will expose and reprimand everyone in his Yue family without mercy." Wen Renying said with an ambiguous tone.
Xiaocao understood that Li Ruoshui's popularity was even worse than she had expected. Her father was a man of such a bad temper that even his subordinates could not fawn on him. Naturally, the girl in their family would not flatter Li Ruoshui.
"Minister Li has no brothers, and Deputy Chief Censor Li is also an only son. Miss Li has six sisters and a brother. The other six girls in the Li family are actually smart people, but compared to Miss Li, they are like fireflies under the bright moon, inconspicuous. She is the third among the sisters, and people have always called her Miss Li, not Miss Li San. When other people are mentioned, they are often referred to as 'far inferior to Miss Li', 'all born of the same father, how can there be such a big difference' and so on. At other times, it's as if they don't exist.
It is said that Deputy Chief Censor Li is also particularly fond of her. Her brother is mediocre in talent and is a concubine's son. He is in his twenties and is not even a scholar. Deputy Chief Censor Li is very strict with him and wants him to learn from his sister. It is said that he often uses words like "idiot", "blockhead" and "waste" on his lips.
Madam Li was born in the Mansion of the Duke of Xiangguo, which is also a family with a military tradition. The current Duke of Xiangguo is Miss Li's maternal grandfather, and he just stepped down from the post of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army (first rank) three years ago. Her eldest uncle is currently the Associate Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army (first rank), and it is only a matter of time before he is promoted to Commander-in-Chief. Her younger uncle is the Commander-in-Chief of the Local Guard (third rank), and most of her cousins also serve in the military, so they are all very powerful.
Mrs. Li was not a woman who was good at wielding a sword or a stick. She was just an ordinary noble lady with mediocre talent and learning. Like her second aunt, she only gave birth to three daughters. Perhaps because she suffered a loss in talent and learning, she was criticized by others. But after giving birth to such a talented daughter, she seemed to be completely proud of herself. She loved and doted on her like a treasure. The eldest daughter and the third daughter were not even as good as a finger of the second daughter.
For the same reason, Miss Li's status in the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion was also very high. Not to mention the elders, even the cousins were not forced to study or anything like that, and were often admonished to protect their cousins. Therefore, they either wanted to marry Miss Li or loved her like their own sister. As for those cousins..." Wen Renying smiled and stopped talking.
Okay, I’ve offended all my sisters and cousins, and I’m truly alone.
If her background wasn't so strong, she might have been plotted against countless times, and it's unknown whether such a talented woman as her would still exist.
Come to think of it, Xiao Cao had never read any novels in her previous life. Otherwise, after listening to her sister's words, she would probably understand that Li Ruoshui is simply the standard heroine of sweet love stories. Take a look—
The best talent, the best beauty, a distinguished family background, the favorite of many elders, a string of admirers...
According to this development, there should be a man with a more prominent family background and excellent in every aspect who defeats many rivals and marries her in a grand wedding. Then he will treat other women as nothing and pamper her in every way, giving her everything she wants. In the future, she will have a son and a daughter to spoil her. She doesn't have to do anything and just be a spoiled naive person.
Of course, it is hard to say whether Li Ruoshui will be like this in the future.
Fortunately, Xiaocao didn’t know. If she knew, I wonder what expression she would have.
When Xiaocao had almost digested it, she realized belatedly that her seventh sister knew too much about other people's affairs. Xiaocao looked at Wen Renying with an ambiguous look. Was she an ancient gossip expert
Wen Renying was confused by the stares and touched her face, "Why are you looking at me, Fourth Sister? Is there something on my face?"
"No, I just think that Seventh Sister knows a lot."
Wen Renying's heart choked, "That would be boring even if it was normal." She looked a little embarrassed, thinking, how could she feel at ease if she knew a little about these two anomalies, Li Ruoshui and Concubine Kou? So naturally she needed to deliberately inquire about them, and she would know all kinds of things. You know, because of her excessive attention to these two people, her mother had asked about it, and she just covered it up with her curiosity about the "strange women".
Little did Wen Renying know that her fourth sister might be the biggest variable.
Next to the rockery, among the peonies, there was a stone bench. Wen Renying looked around. The location was relatively hidden, but the field of vision was quite special. It was quite wide. Perhaps because the peonies had not yet bloomed, there was no one around. "Fourth sister, how about this place?"
Xiaocao didn't care and nodded.
After spreading a handkerchief on the stone bench, the two sisters sat down.
Wen Renying seemed to be quite knowledgeable about flowers and plants. She talked in detail about the varieties of peonies, the colors and shapes of flowers after they bloomed, and so on. Xiaocao listened and nodded from time to time, as if he was being taught.
After Wen Renying finished speaking, Xiao Cao slowly spoke, with a smile and a bit of nastiness, "I only know that peony can be eaten."
Wen Renying was shocked and looked at Xiaocao in disbelief. Then she felt a little resentful. "Fourth sister, you are simply burning the piano and cooking the crane. You are so vulgar."
Xiao Cao laughed out loud, and reached out to ruffle Wen Renying's hair, "I, your fourth sister, am a vulgar person to begin with."
Wen Renxuan's eyes became even more resentful, but what could she do? This was her fourth sister, so of course she had to obey her.
Xiaocao explained to her the benefits of peony. Its main medicine is its rhizome, which is mainly divided into white peony and red peony. The former is cultivated, while the latter is wild. They are processed differently. It has the effects of nourishing blood and regulating menstruation, astringing yin and stopping sweating, softening the liver and relieving pain, and calming liver yang. It is known as the "flower of gynecology". In addition, peony flowers can also be made into scented tea, or cooked into porridge.
After all, it is for eating.
Wen Renying nodded and said, "It is indeed for eating." She almost wrote the words "Sister is right" on her face.
Xiaocao laughed again and couldn't help pinching Wen Renying's face again. Although this girl gave people a bit strange feeling sometimes, most of the time, Xiaocao still thought she was very cute.
It must be said that life was indeed good back at the Wen family, although some of Xiaocao's bad behavior occasionally popped up.
Suddenly a slight laugh was heard, "Who?" Wen Renying turned around and asked, looking a little annoyed.
A girl came over from behind the rockery. She was wearing a red dress with black embroidery. Most girls wouldn't wear it like that because it would make them look old. But this girl didn't look like that. Her waist was tightly tied and her figure was very good. She had a smile on her face, and she was really bright and flamboyant. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't eavesdrop on you. I just happened to come over and you were talking so excitedly that I didn't want to disturb you. I just overheard a few more words. Please forgive me, ladies."
The first impression this girl gives people is that she is a straightforward person, and usually it is difficult for people to dislike her.
Xiao Cao smiled and said, "It's okay, don't mind it." In a place like this, no one would talk about private matters, and it didn't matter if others heard it. They were probably not the only ones who wanted to hide away, and anyone could come to this place.
Wen Renying's expression also eased, "Miss Zhen Liu."
Zhen Muyao's smile did not fade, with a shallow dimple on her face, "Do you recognize me? Who are you from?"
"My father is Minister Wenren of the Ministry of Rites." Wenren Ying said.
Zhen Muyao suddenly realized, "The sisters of the famous Wenren Shudai." After saying that, she realized that she had said the wrong thing and was a little embarrassed, "Well, Master Wenren..." She didn't mean to disparage the great talent.
"He's just a nerd, it's okay." Wen Renying had heard the word "nerd" many times. If someone said it with malicious intent, she would probably be angry. Normally, in her mind, Fourth Brother was just a nerd.
However, it is enough to show that Wen Renyang is more famous than his father, which means he has achieved success in advance.
"Can I sit with you? There are too many people here today, and it's not easy to find a quiet place. Don't move, I'll sit here." Zhen Muyao sat down directly on a not-so-flat stone opposite.
"Is it not easy for Miss Zhen Liu to find a place?" Wen Renying said with a smile.
Zhen Muyao waved his hands, "I don't get along with them. If we force ourselves to get together, it will make everyone uncomfortable. Why bother?" Then he looked at Xiaocao, smiling, "I am also an ordinary person."
So this is the reason why I talked to Xiaocao and the others.
"Is this elder sister or younger sister also the daughter of Lord Wenren? I remember that Lord Wenren seemed to have two daughters, and the eldest daughter is married..." He glanced at Wenren Ying again. This should be the youngest daughter.