The moon falling to the ground

Chapter 145: Family Dinner

Why are you unhappy? Just use jewelry to appease it. This is probably a way for Xie Chujiao to make money for her daughter.

Jian Yue casually gave the banknote to Muxiang for safekeeping.

Xie Chujiao took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and said with a fake smile: "This jade bracelet is made of top-grade jadeite. It is my mother's favorite jewelry. I'm giving it to you to wear for fun!"

Jian Yue raised her eyelids and said, "Since it is Madam's favorite, I will not take it away from her, lest people say that I am ignorant."

Xie Chujiao was so angry that her teeth itched, but she still kept smiling and stuffed the jade bracelet into Jian Yue's hand: "It's a gift from an elder, you can't refuse it, take it!"

Jian Yue touched the jade bracelet with her fingers.

She didn't understand jade, and couldn't tell whether the jade bracelet was good or not. But she just felt that Xie Chujiao would not be willing to give her good things.

"Since Madam insists on giving it to me, I will accept it."

Xie Chujiao almost couldn't keep the smile on her face.

Why do you have to give me this? You are so ungrateful, you little bastard!

Jian Yue picked up the chopsticks and looked at Yan Xiuyuan: "Father, are you ready to eat? You must be tired after a busy day. Eat early and rest early."

Yan Xiuyuan felt very relieved.

Who said this girl is ignorant? Isn't she very considerate?

Yan Xiuyuan said with a gentle smile: "Your brother and sister haven't come yet, wait for them." He turned around and instructed Xie Chujiao, "Send someone to urge Chen'er and Shan'er. They haven't come yet, is that reasonable? You have spoiled both children."

Xie Chujiao had no choice but to ask Biyu to make the trip.

After waiting for a while, Yan Tianchen and Yan Lingshan finally came. Both of them looked unhappy, but neither of them was targeting Jian Yue.

Yan Xiuyuan opened his speech with the words: "It is a happy event that Yue'er has returned home. There are only three of you siblings in the family. As a father, I hope that you will love each other. I hope that our family will be harmonious and with loving mother and filial children." After saying that, he started eating, and Jian Yue could finally eat.

There was a rich variety of dishes on the table, including a sweet and sour fish and a plate of sugar cakes placed in front of Jian Yue.

Jian Yue's mind moved, she picked up a piece of fish meat with chopsticks, and then a piece of sugar cake, and said: "I have never eaten such delicious food. In the past, in the countryside, the Jian family and I ate two kinds of food. They ate rice and flour, and had one or two dishes for every meal. And I could only eat black flour steamed bread mixed with wild vegetables. It was better in spring and summer, when I could eat steamed bread made of fresh wild vegetables. In autumn and winter, it was not so good, and I could only steamed steamed bread with dried vegetables. You must have never eaten steamed steamed bread with dried wild vegetables, it was bitter and astringent, and it was as unpalatable as it could be."

"But even such a bad-tasting steamed bread was not enough to fill my stomach. Qian had all kinds of reasons to deduct my food."

Yan Xiuyuan's face flashed with distress. Xie Chujiao and her two wives pouted secretly, secretly happy.

The more miserable Jian Yue's life was, the happier and more relieved the mother and her two children were.

Just then, a maid brought a ginseng chicken soup. Jian Yue began to recall the good old days: "When I was in the countryside, I never had soup. Whenever I saw the Jian family drinking rice soup, white flour soup, or egg drop soup, I was so greedy, and I always thought that soup must be delicious."

"Once, I secretly boiled a bowl of water to drink while Jian Dacheng and his wife were out at the market. Yan Xinning saw me. After Jian Dacheng and his wife came back, she immediately told Qian. Qian took a willow stick and beat me so badly that my bones ached for a month. From then on, I never dared to boil hot water to drink again. I was eight years old that year, and Yan Xinning, who was three months older than me, laughed loudly beside me."

"Even though I was beaten, no one gave me a day off. I still had to serve Yan Xinning, helping her wash her face, drink water, and wash her feet. After she finished washing her feet, she deliberately overturned the foot basin and splashed the water on my face."

Yan Xiuyuan suddenly felt that the food in his mouth no longer tasted good, and his heart felt upset.

He always thought Yan Xinning was innocent. But judging from her attitude towards Jian Yue, she should have known it when she was very young. If what Jian Yue said was true.

Xie Chujiao saw that Yan Xiuyuan's face was not right, and her heart "skipped". She quickly changed the subject: "Yue girl, we won't talk about the past. Look at which dishes you like and eat more."

Jian Yue said as she ate: "I love all the dishes on the table. For someone who has never had enough to eat, even a table full of leftovers, let alone delicacies, is something I could never have. I need to think more about the hardships I suffered in the past and tell myself that the good life I have now is hard-earned and I must cherish it."

Yan Xiuyuan couldn't eat anymore. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Jian Yue distressedly: "Yue'er, it's because of your incompetence that you have suffered for so many years. In the future, your father will definitely let you be a carefree and wealthy lady."

Jian Yue's smile was very faint: "Don't worry, father. My life has been much better since I followed my master to learn medicine. My master said that as long as I learn medicine well, he will reward me with the house and property under his name."

Yan Xiuyuan suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Thinking of the five hundred taels of silver note I just gave him, I suddenly felt a little embarrassed to present it.

"Father, I suddenly remembered something. Did you give Yan Xinning the shop and land?"

Yan Xiuyuan felt uneasy again.

He actually gave it.

In the past, Yan Xinning often mentioned the hard life she had in the countryside. Yan Xiuyuan felt guilty about it, so he gave Yan Xinning a few shops and a farm and asked her to learn how to manage them.

Xie Chujiao saw that things were not going well, and hurriedly said: "Today is a good day for our family to reunite, so let's not talk about these things, so as not to disturb the mood of the meal."

Jian Yue immediately looked at her: "Why don't you say it? Is there something that cannot be said?"

Xie Chujiao choked.

You little bastard! You have so many things to do! You keep bringing up all sorts of issues.

Yan Xiuyuan said: "There is nothing that cannot be said. I remember that I took out a rouge shop, a teahouse, a cloth shop, and a small farm of 60 acres from your mother's dowry and gave them to her, asking her to learn how to manage them. At that time, I thought she was my daughter, and sooner or later I would have to give her my mother's dowry. Who would have thought..."

Jian Yue looked at Yan Xiuyuan and blinked: "Now that you know it's not true, should you take back the shop and the land?"

Yan Xiuyuan paused.

Logically, it should be taken back, but...

Jian Yue put the chopsticks heavily on the table, her face gloomy: "Father, you can pretend that Yan Xinning is innocent, and you can ignore the suffering I have endured over the years. I have no right to ask how much dowry you are willing to give to Yan Xinning. But you can't give my mother a dowry. Because she stole my life and came to power, there is an irreconcilable hatred between her and me."

Yan Xiuyuan's face felt hot, as if he had been slapped hard in the face.

The daughter spoke so bluntly that it even tore off the fig leaf from his face.

It would be fine if it was a public shop or piece of land, but it was the ex-wife's dowry, which would indeed cause gossip.

Yan Xiuyuan sighed...