It's understood at 40

  Three people gathered together to have breakfast, Yuanyu kept offering tea and pastries to Yuanyi and Yunqing. Jasmine brought two bowls of goat's milk and smiled saying: "Ladies, please drink up the milk, it will warm your body after getting up early."

  Wan Yu also nodded and said, "Of course, Yun Qing, you have a bowl too. Let's have lunch at my place this afternoon. I've asked someone to prepare some good dishes. It'll be more lively if we eat together."

  Yun Qing's face turned slightly red with concern and she asked hesitantly, "Should we send someone to inform Grandmother?"

  Wan Yu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I told grandma yesterday that we would be coming today. Today, grandma has to meet with the accountants from various places to settle accounts, so she really doesn't have time to play with us. She'll be busy for the next few days."

  Yun Qing's face cleared up, and she smiled as she nodded, "In that case, I won't be polite with sister anymore."

  Wanyi's mouth was full of food, and after taking a big sip of tea, she easily swallowed the things in her mouth. She patted her chest and laughed: "From now on, I'll always eat at Big Sister's place. Big Sister's dim sum is even more delicious than mine. Yunque, you come with me too, Big Sister's dishes are really good." She smiled foolishly.

  Jasmine attended to the young ladies, pouring tea and serving water, all while smiling and saying: "You know, our courtyard's food is truly one of a kind, all made by Madam Xu herself. You won't find it anywhere else." She proudly tilted her chin upwards.

  Wan Yu gave her a displeased glance, "This girl loves to show off. My mom's cooking is actually quite good. If you want to eat more, I can have someone pack a few portions for you to take back and try. They're just ordinary ingredients, nothing special, it's just that the preparation is a bit of a hassle." Her gaze was warm and clear, exuding a gentle warmth.

  "Well, in that case, I won't be polite. When it's time to leave, pack a variety of things for me." Yuanyi quickly spoke up.

  Yun Qing wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, smiling silently, and didn't respond.

  Jasmine smiled and agreed, then went down to hand over.

  After breakfast, Yuanyu led the two to start practicing calligraphy on the desk. Yuanyi had a better foundation and started with larger characters, being very familiar with them, and her handwriting was quite good-looking. On the other hand, Yunqing's foundation was poor, and his writing was not very stable, clearly inferior by a bit, but he made up for it by being willing to work hard.

  Wan Yu pointed at them while practicing herself, the sound of brushes scratching paper came from the study room, the three girls practiced calligraphy in silence, sunlight shone on the three delicate girls, casting a layer of hazy golden light, revealing a few touches of ethereal beauty.

  Early in the morning, Yuwen also had someone inform Yunshu, wanting to ask if she was willing to come, but ultimately refused. Yuwen didn't mind too much, having fulfilled her obligations, and that's it. She didn't want to cause trouble, so from now on, she would keep a distance. It doesn't make sense for others not to be interested yet still rush over to cling to them.

  Yun Qing felt a bit tired after resting for a while, so she lifted her head and exercised her shoulders. Wan Yu looked at her and asked softly, "Are you tired? It's always like this when you first start practicing. Once you get used to it, your hands will have strength and your writing won't shake."

  Yun Qing nodded sincerely, watching Yu Wei write with a serious and focused expression, and asked in a low voice: "Second sister really isn't coming? It's great for us sisters to be together." She couldn't help but feel some regret at the end.

  She really likes the eldest sister's place, relaxed and happy, even the maids in the eldest sister's house are treated equally, without being looked down upon by Honglian and Baiyan, treating herself and her fourth sister with the same respect, making her feel respected.

  The older sister is also gentle and considerate, thinking of everything thoroughly. I really don't understand why the second sister is jealous. Originally, legitimate and illegitimate children are different, but to let go of such a good learning opportunity is truly a pity.

  Wan Yi finished writing the last stroke, sneering with a raised corner of her mouth, and sarcastically said to Yun Qing, "Third sister, others look down on us, thinking that practicing calligraphy with us will bring shame. Our humble abode is not worthy of them, they are already famous and don't need to practice anymore. What's the point of your blind worry? They won't accept your feelings anyway."

  Yun Qing lowered his head in embarrassment, looking at Wan Yu with concern, fearing that she would be unhappy.

  Wanyu sighed and said, "I've already sent someone to invite her, but she's still recovering from her injury and isn't feeling well enough to come for the time being."

  "Wan Yi sneered, 'No need for big sister to cover up for her, she just didn't want to come. The wound hurts, serves her right! Good days are not spent in vain, our family has always been a rule-abiding one. Auntie is such a kind person and she's still not satisfied, if she met someone strict, would she dare behave like this? When my father was in office, I knew a girl from the Xu family, her younger sister was also born out of wedlock, came to our house as a guest and served her older sister like a servant, without any dignity at all. I think second sister has had too many good days.'" She looked down on her with disdain.

  Wan Yu looked at Yun Qing with a puzzled expression, Yun Qing's face was somewhat embarrassed as he nodded in acknowledgement, implying that Wan Yi had spoken the truth, and there was even more to it than that.

  Wan Yu sighed and didn't say anything in the end. She also didn't know what to say, after all, they were children of a big family, and losing face would not be good for her either.

  "Yun Shu still has some talent in playing the guqin, maybe she likes it more." Wan Yu made a lame excuse for Yun Shu.

  Wanyi cut her off, sneering disdainfully. "Auntie did say that she has some talent, but her heart isn't in the right place and won't amount to anything. I'm not mocking you, sister, just annoyed that you're embarrassing us sisters. We all bear the surname Murong, no one can act selfishly, especially in front of the Fourth Prince. What will people think? Will they assume that all the girls from the Murong family are unscrupulous and only know how to cling to power and wealth? You're already humiliating yourself, why drag your sisters down with you?"

  That day, Yunshu rushed to the front to pay respects to the Fourth Prince, which annoyed Yuanyi. At that time, the eyes of the Fourth Prince showed a mixture of understanding and mockery, which made Yuanyi, who was always proud, very resentful towards Yunshu, thinking she had lost face.

  Wan Yu's face looked a bit awkward, not knowing how to respond. But Yun Qing took the initiative to speak up: "Fourth sister, this is her own fault for not studying well. Besides, she grew up in the northwest and didn't learn any rules from Eldest Aunt. It's not Eldest Aunt's or Eldest Sister's fault that she just came back a few days ago. Even if Eldest Aunt had three heads and six arms, she couldn't immediately change her bad habits. Moreover, she still has her mother backing her up... This matter is clearly her own selfish thoughts, it's really not anyone else's fault."

  Wan Yi saw Wan Yu's somewhat embarrassed expression, and secretly wondered why she was so short-tempered. She turned her anger into joy, pulled Wan Yu's arm and said: "Big sister, I'm talking nonsense, don't blame me! I just can't stand the way she does things with no skills but dares to be presumptuous, I'm really afraid that it will drag big sister down."

  Wanyu's expression softened as she smiled and said, "It's all right, don't worry about it. The Fourth Prince understands what's going on in his heart and won't take it out on us because of this."

  Wan Yi nodded, "That's good."

  Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Yun Shu, and quietly continued writing. Wan Yu was still upset by Yun Shu's previous words, so she stopped practicing calligraphy and instead spread out paper to paint. She planned to paint a peony of wealth and nobility, at least it would be something new, couldn't just keep painting lotus flowers forever.

  Wanyu has all sorts of paints here, very well-prepared. She plans to do meticulous painting, but can't quite grasp the freehand style, and her paintings always turn out poorly.

  Yun Qing also curiously came over to take a closer look, her eyes filled with envy. These things all require someone to teach and guide, she had never learned them before, nor could she learn them now. Seeing Wan Yu being able to write and paint made her feel very envious in her heart, gradually it seemed like she was starting to understand Yun Shu's thoughts a bit more, if she were Yun Shu, perhaps she would also be unable to calmly accept such a blow and reality.

  Actually, from the moment she saw Yun Shu and Yun Qing, she understood that although they were both concubine-born daughters, they couldn't be the same kind of people. From her clothes and adornments, the precious jewelry on her head and body, which was no less than Wan Yi's wealth, it could be seen that she was favored and completely different from herself.

  But what used to be doesn't matter anymore, now that we're back at the Murong estate only Big Sister is the most noble daughter, everyone else has to take a step back, they were all born to Concubine but the three of them have different fates, it was like this before and the gap will probably get even bigger in the future, no wonder Yun Shu doesn't want to accept reality.

  The difference between cloud and mud is really frustrating and suffocating.

  Wan Yu painted a small part, smiled and nodded, today's painting was quite smooth, looking at it, it looked much better than the last time, and some elegant spirit could be seen, far surpassing the peony picture of the last time, just as Nanny said, more observation, more contemplation, and more practice can lead to progress.

  She turned her head to look at Yun Qing, dazed, and smiled as she waved her hand in front of her. Her smile was bright and radiant. "Snap out of it, Third Sister, what are you thinking about?"

  Yun Qing blurted out subconsciously, "Sister's future and our lives will be different, maybe we'll spend our whole lives chasing after her but can't catch up. Perhaps it's because Second Sister saw this point that she's so resentful."

  Wan Yi stopped what she was doing and stared at Yun Qing in shock, realizing for the first time that her illegitimate sister wasn't stupid at all, but rather intelligent and wise, and it was herself who had misjudged her before.

  Wan Yu let out a wry smile, "I think you all probably understand Grandma's intentions too. I myself don't know what the future holds, can only take it one step at a time. As for anything else, I really don't know what to say, my own heart isn't even sure." She lowered her head, her face somewhat gloomy.

  This path was chosen by the Murong family for her, how could it not be what she wanted? She had no other way to go, if she didn't cultivate she would die. The spiritual energy in the mortal world is thin and weak, and can only rely on this method to cultivate. No matter how bumpy the road ahead may be, she can only grit her teeth and press on.

  Yun Qing suddenly understood the difficulties of her elder sister and finally grasped the words that her aunt had said behind her back: the greater the wealth and glory, the greater the price to be paid. She told herself not to envy her elder sister's favored status, but instead to focus on developing her skills, being honest and not harboring petty thoughts, and she would definitely have a bright future ahead of her. Even if she was born out of wedlock, she was still destined to become the legitimate wife of the Mu Rong family.

  Recommended book by friend: "Being a Billionaire's Daughter is Not Easy"

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