11 Chapter 11 Gifts from Grandfather_1

The two of them were at a loss for a response.

Wei Ruo continued to analyze the situation for them, her expression serious as she encouraged them to be open-minded:

"Always think on the bright side, change your way of thinking. Mother once said that we are equally important to her, so whether it is who is older or who is younger, it's all the same, and Qingwan has also realized your wish from that day. So you do not need to be upset anymore."

Yun Shi and Wei Qingwan were both taken aback, these were their own words, Wei Ruo was just repeating them.

Wei Ruo then said to Wei Qingwan: "Actually, the first time you saw me, you called me sister. I think you must have accepted me as your sister in your heart. So, I believe you must be looking forward to me being your sister."

"Yes... yes... sister is correct..." Wei Qingwan responded somewhat reluctantly.

Once Wei Ruo had said all of these things, Wei Qingwan found herself with tears in her eyes, yet unable to let them fall.

Then Wei Ruo handed a handkerchief to Wei Qingwan: "Dry your tears."

Wei Qingwan took the handkerchief that Wei Ruo handed over, held it in her hand but dared not to use it.

It was clean but somewhat coarse and had faded from washing, making it clear that it had been used many times.

After Wei Ruo spoke as she did, both Yun Shi and Wei Qingwan stopped crying. Yun Shi then spoke with them for a while before bidding them go rest.

After Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan left, the head maid, Cuiping, presented a gift list to Yun Shi.

Along with the response letter from Wei Ruo's grandfather, there were also some gifts for Wei Ruo.

The letter stated that they were to compensate Wei Ruo for her hardships over the years.

Yun Shi, considering the gifts and thinking of the tearful Wei Qingwan, decided after a moment's thought to divide the gifts into two parts, one to be sent to Wei Ruo's Tingsong Garden and the other to Wei Qingwan's Wangmei Garden.

She specifically instructed Cuiping to only mention that the gifts were from their grandfather, without explaining the reason.

Cuiping did as instructed, and in no time, two large boxes full of gifts were received at both Wei Ruo's Tingsong Garden and Wei Qingwan's Wangmei Garden.

Following Yun Shi's instructions, Cuiping only mentioned that the gifts were from their grandfather, nothing more.

Soon, Wei Ruo received several large wooden boxes delivered by Yun Shi's servants.

The boxes were quite large and heavy, but when opened, they were mostly filled with bronze wares, taking up space and weight, but not very valuable.

Xiumei, following Wei Ruo's instructions, placed all the delivered items into Wei Ruo's room to show respect to their grandfather.

While arranging the items, Xiumei curiously asked, "Miss, didn't you say our family is very prestigious, a family of meritorious service, very influential, then why do these items appear to be inferior to the ones you have?"

"Because you can't just look at the surface. The Wei family is untouchable in the eyes of the He family, but only those who are actually in it know how rich they really are. The so-called family of merit cannot always be wealthy and prominent, no matter how substantial their assets are, they can eventually run out."

"Hmm." Xiumei nodded in agreement.

"So we need to take a long-term view, and not obsess over the limited resources and wealth in the house. There's a broader world outside with more wealth waiting for me," enthused Wei Ruo.

"Yes! Miss is right!" Xiumei, who had been influenced by Wei Ruo's self-reliance over the years, readily accepted her ideas.

At this point, Xiumei muttered, "I wonder when Nurse Xu will arrive."

Nurse Xu was Wei Ruo's wet nurse, who was very kind to Wei Ruo. In the original story, she was the only one who protected Wei Ruo until the end, ultimately sacrificing her life for her.

In this life, Wei Ruo had released her from her employment with the He family early on and encouraged her and her husband to do business, with Wei Ruo providing advice and strategies behind the scenes.

Wei Ruo's initial intention was to repay Nurse Xu, to allow her and her husband to have a good life.

But the couple insisted on leaving the properties to Wei Ruo, claiming that they were merely holding them on Wei Ruo's behalf.

The couple handed all the money they earned to Wei Ruo and took only a small salary for themselves.

When Wei Ruo decamped from Mo Jiazha, she left a letter at old Li family's place in the village. Calculating the time, if Nurse Xu had seen her letter, she should be on her way to Taizhou prefecture.

###

Just like Wei Ruo, Wei Qingwan also received several large wooden boxes.

Upon opening them and seeing the not-so-valuable bronze wares, Wei Qingwan couldn't help feeling disappointed.

After Old Lady Li, who was by Wei Qingwan's side, checked the items sent by Yun Shi, she frowned and said:

"Miss, the items sent from the Capital City seem to be inferior to those of previous years' celebrations. In the past, there were always fine silk and other good items, but this year we received not even a bolt of silk."

Wei Qingwan hung her head, her expression desolate, and murmured: "After all, I am not the real granddaughter of the Wei family. That grandfather was willing to keep me in the genealogy already counts as a great favor. All those silk, pearls and jade should be sent to the legitimate Miss of the Wei family. There is no business of mine."

"Miss, what are you talking about! The master, the madam, the elder young master, and the young master; who in this house doesn't acknowledge you as their legitimate Miss? You are not an outsider!"

"What good does that do? Grandfather's intention is clear, I am not worthy of being the eldest daughter of the Wei family…"

Wei Qingwan's eyes turned red. The tears that she had held back in Yun Shi's room now flowed ceaselessly.

Old Lady Li glanced around, seeing no one else present, moved closer to Wei Qingwan and whispered in her ear:

"Miss, you mustn't lose your spirit. Just look at the present situation, among the three old masters, it is our old master who is thriving. And among the young masters, it is our elder young master who is the most promising. At the age of twelve, he has become a scholar, and in a few years, if he becomes a higher-ranking scholar, his future will be limitless!"

"As the miss adored by our master and elder young master, your future will surely be enviable! Approval from your elderly grandfather is not that important to you!"

Old Lady Li spoke eloquently and Wei Qingwan took some of it in, but she couldn't shake off her unease. Hanging her head, she murmured about her feelings of bereftness and helplessness over the past few days:

"But the affection of my parents and brother, which I now have, will be shared with my sister... I am not unwilling for my sister to share in my parents' and brother's love for me, it's just that in the Military Prefecture, all I can rely on is my parents' and brother's love for me…"

"In these days, I have continuously reminded myself not to resent the unfairness of fate, not to resent others for my fall from grace. After Wei Qingruo entered the house, I often went to see her, expressing my goodwill and hoping that we could get along in the future."

"But when I learned of grandfather's arrangement, thinking of how the grandfather who used to be kind and gentle to me, abruptly changed, I couldn't help feeling scared. If this position as the eldest daughter had been the result of Wei Qingruo's clamor and request, I wouldn't have felt so bad. But in fact, this position was given to her without her having asked for it, indicating how much grandfather values her."