Author: Ting Lan Tingyu

"Grandma doesn't want to eat it either."

Ye Xiuyan took the empty bowl from her hand and sighed like a little adult: "The fish traders bought all the fish they caught, converted them into money, and gave them to my cousin for repair."

Mrs. Wang glanced at the low courtyard and looked puzzled: "You and the next door are in two courtyards. Are they not separated?"

"separated."

Ye Xiuyan patted the barrel and motioned for the two ospreys to come over and eat.

Mrs. Wang was a little dissatisfied: "We are separated and you still come to grab fish?"

"Even if the family is separated, I still have to pay alimony to my grandma."

Ye Xiuyan did not want the family scandal to be publicized, so she explained with a smile: "It was not easy for grandma. She was young and widowed. She raised her uncle and father by herself, and she suffered a lot."

"She looks fierce and has an unforgiving mouth, but she is actually forced to do so. A widow with two young sons, if she is not fierce or cruel, she will be bullied to death."

"That makes sense."

Mrs. Wang sighed and stopped asking further questions.

"Xiuyan, my name is Qiaoyan."

Wang Qiaoyan's child's character, although a bit arrogant, is pure and kind.

She listened to the lively conversation between Mrs. Wang and Ye Xiuyan, so she took the opportunity to add in the conversation, smiled and held Ye Xiuyan's hand.

"I'm three years older than you, so you can call me sister. During the holidays from now on, I'll ask dad to send someone over to take you to Lingyan County, and we can go to the temple fair together."

"real?"

Ye Xiuyan's eyes lit up: "My cousin is studying at Lingyan Academy, and I have long wanted to go to the county town."

Wang Qiaoyan was stunned: "Your cousin is in Lingyan Academy?"

"yes."

Ye Xiuyan smiled and nodded.

"What a coincidence."

Wang Qiaoyan's voice suddenly rose an octave higher, with a bit of unexpected surprise: "My family lives in the academy, and my father is the dean of the academy."

"Well?"

Ye Xiuyan glanced at Wang Quan, who had a mustache and was not tall, and her eyes flashed: "Really, what a coincidence."

"We agreed."

Wang Qiaoyan liked the smart and cute little girl from the bottom of her heart and smiled happily: "It will be the Double Ninth Festival in a few days. I asked dad to send someone to pick you up."

*

"Hey, let's not make a decision in a hurry yet."

Ye Xiuyan interrupted her hastily: "I have to ask my mother-in-law first if she agrees."

"Does your mother control you very closely?"

Wang Qiaoyan looked surprised: "You are not allowed to go out?"

"Um."

Ye Xiuyan's eyes flashed slightly, and she nodded with a smile: "My mother said that the world outside is too chaotic, and she doesn't worry about girls going out. She has restrained me since I was a child and didn't let me leave the village. When I grow up, I can't go far away.

I’ve been through town, and I’ve only been there once.”

"Your mother is right."

Mrs. Wang felt something in her heart: "Our Xiliang Kingdom is no better than Fengqi Kingdom. Men are superior to women and women have a low status. It is indeed unsafe for girls to go out."

Ye Xiuyan's face sank and she was indignant: "Xiliang is a small country affiliated with Fengqi. Why can't it improve the status of women like Fengqi, make men and women equal, and allow women to enter school and become female officials?"

"snort."

Mrs. Wang blew out a thick breath from her nostrils: "It's not like some high-ranking men have three wives and four concubines. They are intoxicated in the beauty's nest and don't want to think about it. They are used to the status quo and don't want to change."

"Ahem."

Wang Quan's heart trembled when he heard this, and he reminded with a wry smile: "Madam, be careful what you say, be careful what you say."

"Pfft."

Wang Qiaoyan glanced at her father's embarrassed look, couldn't help it, and burst out laughing.

*

After drinking the ginger soup, Ye Xiuyan sent her family out and walked along the path paved with bluestones through the small village to the east end of the village.
Chapter completed!