A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 11

Chapter 11: “You Took the Wrong One”

The next day, Yuan Shi and Wen Huan joined the group paying their respects to Old Madam, both smiling, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

When the sisters were together, Wen Huan gave Wen Yu the cold shoulder but got along very well with her other sisters, chatting and laughing nonstop.

Wen Jiao, who was already indifferent towards Wen Yu and somewhat envious of Wen Huan, was busy stirring things up at this moment. She chimed in with occasional comments, clearly enjoying herself.

Wen Yu didn’t try to join in and remained indifferent to Wen Jiao’s provocations. Thus, she became an outsider, but she didn’t mind, sitting there calmly and composed.

Cousin Hui couldn’t bear to watch and came over to chat and joke with her for a bit.

After paying their respects, Wen Yu returned to her room, unlike in the past when she would diligently present herself at her father’s courtyard.

Hong Dou felt very sorry for her but didn’t mention the matter. She just obediently accompanied her, working on some needlework, but secretly resenting the unfairness of the Master towards her mistress.

Hong Xing was also nearby, listlessly doing her tasks. In reality, her mind had already wandered far away. The Madam still hadn’t sent anyone to look for her. She got distracted for a moment and accidentally dropped something, making a “clang” sound.

Wen Yu and Hong Dou both turned to look at her.

Hong Xing was a bit embarrassed and tried to change the subject: “Miss, why don’t you go to Master and Madam’s room?”

Wen Yu asked: “Why?”

“Oh! I mean… you used to go there!”

“I used to go, now I don’t. Is that strange?” Wen Yu replied nonchalantly, continuing with her work.

“No, not at all.” Hong Xing didn’t dare to say more.

Suddenly, a maid from Yuan Shi’s side arrived at the door, smiling brightly, “Eldest Miss, Master and Madam request your presence!”

Hong Dou’s eyes lit up: Had the Master finally remembered the Eldest Miss!?

Wen Yu shook her head at Hong Dou. She couldn’t let her always hold onto such hopes, it would only lead to heartbreak, or even worse!

She still sent Hong Xing out.

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When Wen Yu entered the room, the family was sitting around a round table, chatting and laughing.

The atmosphere was excellent. They were so engrossed that no one even noticed her arrival.

Wen Yu stood there quietly, watching them…

Indeed!

Adding herself to such a warm scene would be like gilding the lily.

After a pause in the conversation, Yuan Shi finally noticed her. “Yu’er?” She chided the maids with a hint of annoyance, “Eldest Miss is here, why wasn’t I informed? Come sit down quickly. Jin’er, give your seat to your elder sister.”

The little boy obediently stood up: “Eldest Sister!” He was quite polite.

Wen Yurui, slightly older than him, also stood up and called: “Eldest Sister!”

Wen Yu nodded and smiled, “Father, Madam.” She walked over, bowed slightly, and then sat down.

Wen Huan didn’t get up but smiled and said, “Sister! We’ve been waiting for you for a long time! It’s been over two years since we last saw each other, don’t you miss Father? I thought you would follow Father and Mother back here to chat!”

I haven’t even settled in, and you’re already starting to instigate!

Wen Yu smiled and said, “After such a long journey, daughter thought Father and Madam would need to rest properly.”

Wen Qian’s face turned cold when he heard her address them as “Father” and “Madam.”

Yuan Shi smiled and said, “This time, the journey back wasn’t that rushed. We could have arrived the day before yesterday afternoon, but your father stayed an extra night in Lu County. His good friend, Magistrate Liu, happened to be back from the capital to visit his family, so they got together there.”

Wen Yu ignored her father’s cold expression and just listened to her stepmother with a smile, appearing very polite.

Wen Huan’s eyes flickered for a moment. “Yes! Our family… went to visit the Liu family! The cook at the Liu family makes delicious fish. And, Sister Liu is such a kind person, truly a first-class refined young lady!”

“I’m so happy that I’ve already made such a good friend before even reaching the capital! Uncle Liu said that if he has time, he will attend Elder Brother’s wedding. If he comes, I will introduce Sister Liu to Eldest Sister.”

With Wen Qian’s intelligence, how could he not understand what Wen Huan was implying?

But he didn’t seem to mind and was still secretly observing Wen Yu.

He saw that her appropriate smile remained unchanged, betraying no emotion.

In previous years, when she returned, she would have rushed to his side, trying to please him with incoherent words and giving him numerous pouches he had never used.

This time, she seemed much more composed, perhaps because she had come of age.

Second Brother said she had turned fifteen…

He thought of Wen Huan’s birthday, how every time they had to prepare for it long in advance, with many special arrangements, different each year. Even when he was away on official business, he would find ways to celebrate for her…

Both were his daughters…

He disliked this feeling of being indebted and said decisively, “Huanhuan, bring out the gift for your sister!” Just go through the motions, so she could leave quickly.

“Father!” Wen Huan’s face was full of displeasure, pouting, “As soon as you come back, you only have eyes for Eldest Sister! The gifts are all ready! They won’t be missing! Can’t daughter chat with Eldest Sister first? Don’t rush me!”

Wen Qian chuckled, “You! You have a lot to do today. You haven’t been with Grandmother for a long time, you should go and spend more time with her.”

“Yes, Father! Eldest Sister, this time when we came back, Father and Mother entrusted me with preparing gifts for all the sisters. It made me so nervous! I personally selected everything and spent a lot of time on it. I was just afraid that the sisters wouldn’t be satisfied with the gifts I chose.” She said proudly and smugly.

✿✿✿

“Your thoughtfulness is precious, how could anyone be dissatisfied?!” Wen Yu said sincerely.

Wen Huan smiled and turned around, taking out a package and handing it to Wen Yu. “This is yours, Sister! Take it back and have a good look! If you don’t like it, just give your sister some face and don’t tell anyone. Just tell me quietly.”

“Sister is being modest. After all these years, being nurtured by Father’s side and personally taught by Madam, your taste, style, and way of doing things are naturally top-notch! How could Sister not like it! I’m dying of curiosity, I want to open it and have a look right now!” Wen Yu started to untie the small package.

“Hey!” Wen Huan quickly pressed down on Wen Yu’s hand. “Take it back and look at it!”

“I’ll just take a peek.” Wen Yu gently moved Wen Huan’s hand away. “I hope what I receive this time will be different from what my sisters got. The gifts I received before were always the same as theirs! Every time Father left, they would tease me… saying that Father treated his own daughter the same as his niece! It made Sister feel very sad.”

As Wen Yu spoke, her hands moved swiftly, and the package was already open, the contents about to be revealed.

Wen Huan panicked and rushed forward to snatch it back. “Wen Yu! Oh… Eldest Sister, there are some things inside that are not appropriate for Father to see!” Her eyes widened, and her tone became serious.

“How could that be?” Wen Yu looked at Wen Huan curiously. “Sister, why are you so flustered?”

“Just take it back and look at it!” Wen Huan insisted.

She hadn’t experienced such an emergency before and was quite flustered, her actions exaggerated as she pressed down on Wen Yu’s hand.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Shi’s heart skipped a beat. Could her daughter have done something sneaky?

… She quickly intervened, “Yes, Yu’er, take it back to your room and look at it slowly! Someone, take the packages in the box and send them to each room according to the names on them!”

“Heh! Sister, the more mysterious you act, the stronger my curiosity becomes. I can’t wait… not even a moment longer!” After Wen Yu finished speaking, she forcefully shook off Wen Huan’s hand.

“Ouch…” Wen Huan cried out in pain.

Wen Qian was furious. “Wen Yu, what are you doing?!”

“Father… daughter didn’t do anything! I just wanted to see the gift Father and Sister gave me!”

The package was open, revealing a pile of messy items before their eyes…

Wen Huan, ignoring the pain in her hand, blushed, biting her lips nervously.

Seeing those things, Yuan Shi was also dumbfounded. She never expected her daughter to act this way!

Even more unexpected was that the damned girl insisted on opening it in front of her husband…

She quickly glanced at her husband…

… Seeing the “gift” on the table, Wen Qian couldn’t believe his eyes: a few hairpins without even a box: The hairpins were neither gold nor silver, but simply red flowers made of velvet with green leaves, tied to wooden hairpin bases… the kind worn by village girls from poor families he saw during his countryside inspections…

And a few wrinkled handkerchiefs… and… that was it, nothing else.

“…” He swallowed hard.

Wen Yu, neither anxious nor angry, but with a hint of disdain, first picked up a hairpin. “Oh my! There are… hairpins? Heh, these hairpins are really…”

She looked as if the words “beautiful” and “precious” were stuck in her throat… After struggling for a while, she finally said “kindly,” “They are truly… unique!”

She knew what kind of gift her sister had given her this time.

In her past life, at this time, she had just experienced the pain of Hong Dou’s death and hadn’t yet entered the Song family. When her father returned, she received such a bunch of junk.

She went back and threw those things all over the floor, her heart utterly broken!

Now, she didn’t care anymore, so she felt much more relaxed.

Her jade-like slender hand held the hairpin and gestured with it in her hair, giving Wen Qian a mocking smile. Then she tossed it onto the table with a “slap”!

Yuan Shi and Wen Huan felt as if it had been thrown in their faces!

Wen Yu then picked up the embroidered handkerchief.

It was made of thin grass-green silk, with crudely embroidered pink flowers… She glanced at it and put it down, then accurately picked up a dark green handkerchief. Among all the things, only this handkerchief was worth any silver.

It was the work of a famous local embroiderer, and one handkerchief was priced at ten taels of silver, making it a quite presentable gift.

“Give it to me…” Wen Huan felt even more guilty and reached out to grab it.

Wen Yu dodged and unfolded it… In the middle of the handkerchief, there was a hole cut by scissors!

That time, Wen Huan had falsely accused her, saying that she was dissatisfied with her father and deliberately damaged it.

“Ah? Sister, this handkerchief… what happened to it?!” Wen Yu held up the handkerchief and asked Wen Huan with a puzzled expression.

Wen Huan didn’t know what to do, her face flushed crimson with shame.

No matter how composed Wen Qian was, he couldn’t keep up appearances anymore.

Yuan Shi reached out and snatched the handkerchief. “This… what is going on? This shouldn’t be! These handkerchiefs are Master Huang’s work. How could they be damaged?!”

Wen Yu smiled. “Hehe, Second Sister… It seems that Father and Madam entrusting you with buying gifts was really an unwise decision!”

Yuan Shi’s face flushed red, and she stared at Wen Huan. “Huanhuan, you took the wrong one!”

My dears, your holidays must be ending soon, right?!

Three thousand words update delivered!

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