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Xu Qingyi had always maintained a reserved attitude towards Lin, deliberately trying to win him over but not investing too much hope.
She didn’t want to be heartbroken if things didn’t turn out well.
However, she hadn’t expected that beneath the eldest son’s cold exterior, there lay a warm heart.
Lin stayed in his father’s room for a while longer, until Ming Yu came to take his place, then he nonchalantly returned to the courtyard.
He took a plate of grilled vegetables that Xu Qingyi had handed him and continued eating.
Zhen was captivated by this scene and muttered, “Mother favors Big Brother; she only grilled for him, not for us.”
He had seen Xu Qingyi carefully grilling so many skewers and thought they were for someone else. It turned out they were for Big Brother; even Third Brother didn’t get a share.
He was curious; when did Mother become so fond of Big Brother?
If Xu Qingyi knew of the second son’s confusion, she would have smiled and answered him, “Just now, a grand reconciliation. I can now love my eldest son with peace of mind.”
“Nonsense, how am I partial?” Xu Qingyi, unconcerned by the accusation, explained reasonably, “Grilling vegetables doesn’t require much skill; I only know how to grill these. You and your Third Brother don’t like vegetables, so if I don’t give them to your brother, who should I give them to?”
The reasoning was logical, but Zhen, wiping his oily mouth, still felt that his mother favored his brother.
Lin, the object of his jealousy and the party involved, remained detached and unperturbed throughout, as if Xu Qingyi’s partiality was only natural.
And it was; the second and third brothers weren’t good at studying; only he would be able to support the family in the future. Why was it wrong for his mother to favor him?
“Alright, alright, I’m not partial. If you want to eat, I’ll grill some for you too.” Xu Qingyi immediately took a vegetable skewer from her own plate and gave it to Zhen, ending the undeclared battle.
As the old saying goes, if you have many children, you’ll encounter a lot of trouble.
“Humph.” Zhen was barely satisfied.
It wasn’t that he was deliberately making things difficult for Xu Qingyi.
It’s just that as a rather unremarkable second son, he was particularly sensitive to his elder brother’s behavior.
Big Brother was talented, and Third Brother was young.
He was caught in the middle, without support from either side, and lacking other advantages, he couldn’t help but feel superfluous.
Seeing the second son’s disgruntled expression, Xu Qingyi quickly reflected on whether she had neglected him.
“You haven’t rested in a long time either. Tomorrow, I’ll tell Mr. Pei that you should all have a good two-day break.”
Xu Qingyi said softly to the second son.
She had taken the eldest son out a few days ago and the youngest son today; she realized she had neglected the second son.
“Really?” Zhen was easily appeased and immediately cheered up.
“Really, I’ll give you ten taels of silver; go out and have a good time.” Xu Qingyi nodded.
She felt that children shouldn’t be kept away from money; they needed to learn how to spend it.
Hearing this, Zhen immediately forgot his displeasure and reached out for the money, “Thank you, Mother!”
“Get it tomorrow morning.” Xu Qingyi chuckled and patted Zhen’s hand.
Zhen triumphantly glanced at his older brother, seemingly showing off his ten taels of silver.
Lin remained indifferent; he had received three hundred taels long ago, so he didn’t care about the mere ten taels the second brother received.
The next day, Xu Qingyi, feeling uneasy about letting Zhen go out alone, followed him.
“You won’t feel I’m too strict and that you don’t have any freedom, will you?” she worried, fearing that her overbearing love might make her child resentful.
Zhen shook his head, “Who would dislike that? Only Big Brother would dislike you.”
As the inconspicuous second son, he actually preferred his mother to manage him.
Xu Qingyi, who had been drinking water, nearly choked, then sighed, “You guys are…” such plastic brothers.
They were always using any chance to make each other look bad.
“Your brother doesn’t dislike me; he was just sulking before; now it’s fine.”
Xu Qingyi felt that she should clarify things; she didn’t want Zhen to continuously feel wronged on her behalf, affecting the brothers’ relationship.
“Oh.” Zhen’s reaction was lukewarm; he didn’t seem to believe Xu Qingyi’s words; he knew his brother’s character.
“Mother treats all of you equally; it’s just that sometimes, due to your different personalities, our interactions might be different.”
Xu Qingyi took Zhen to a restaurant and ordered his favorite braised pork.
She spoke earnestly, “Play and joke as you may, but you brothers must never lose sight of your bond. You need to work together, and then we’ll have a good life in the future.”
Receiving Xu Qingyi’s assurance, Zhen felt relieved and grinned, “Mother, don’t worry. I just talk about Big Brother; I respect him in my heart.”
“That’s all that matters. Mother knows you’re a good boy; you’re the most filial.”
Xu Qingyi piled Zhen’s plate with food.
When a child starts complaining about parental favoritism, it’s important to acknowledge those feelings and quickly pull them back.
Zhen was beaming; he had no idea that just a few days ago, his mother had told his Big Brother that he would be the one to support the family in the future.
And even earlier, she had told his Third Brother that he would be the one to take care of her in her old age.
Anyway, he was happy with his outing. He picked out a beautiful amulet in the street and brought it back to hang by his father’s bedside.
“Father, Mother and I went out to play today, and I picked out an amulet for you to hang by your bed. May it bring you peace and health, and may you recover soon.”
Xie Yunzhi felt a warmth in his heart; the second son was a filial child who always thought of him.
After Zhen left, Xu Qingyi came over to hang one as well.
This was an amulet for blessings of many children and prosperity.
“There’s no science here, so we can only rely on fate,” she murmured, chanting softly.
She hoped that with the blessing of this amulet, she would have good luck tonight.
Later, the young servants joked about it, and Xie Yunzhi learned that Lady Xu had also bought one for him.
It was for blessings of many children and prosperity.
“…” This only made him feel anxious.
The fact that Lady Xu hadn’t conceived in so long made him feel inadequate.
It seemed this little gift was being given out wholesale; even Lin, who was preparing for exams, received one that represented wishes coming true.
Superstition.
However, the amulet was small and didn’t take up much space, so he casually hung it on his pen holder.
Later, when Lin went to see Shen Zhijie to have his essay reviewed, he discovered that Shen Zhijie also had one, identical to his.
He immediately went to Xu Qingyi, unhappy, “Why did you give Scholar Shen that kind of thing?”
Xu Qingyi was very confused and asked, “What kind of thing?” She didn’t seem to have given Shen Zhijie anything recently.
Lin said, “The one you gave me.”
What? Xu Qingyi thought for a moment and then realized what it was, quickly disassociating herself, “I didn’t give it to him; it must have been your second brother.”
“I see.” Lin turned and left after hearing this.
Xu Qingyi asked Zhen, and it turned out that he was the one who had given it, and it was the “wishes coming true” amulet.
Oh dear, the eldest son had a sensitive personality.
Receiving an identical, seemingly insincere gift, he must have been quite upset.
Xu Qingyi, a clumsy person, spent the night learning knot-tying from the maidservants, crafting a new, personalized gift for her eldest son.