TFWYH – Chapter 156 Well-informed

Since they were already inside, and Madam Jiang’s expression was gentle—not at all as Yuan-Yuan had feared—Yuan-Yuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She politely bowed and said,
“Thank you, Madam, for taking pity on us and giving my mother and me shelter. Once I recover, I will surely find a way to repay your great kindness!”

Madam Jiang looked Yuan-Yuan up and down in surprise.
“You’ve studied before, haven’t you?”

Yuan-Yuan nodded. “Please don’t laugh, Madam. I once… studied the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and also some poetry and literature.”

“She’s being too modest,” said the widow Hong with a cheerful smile. “She’s not just ‘a little capable’—she’s no worse than those so-called scholars who boast of their talent. Especially in music and chess—Yuan-Yuan rarely meets an equal. She even once had the honor of playing a game against Master Zhu Ling, and only lost by half a piece!”

Hearing this, Madam Jiang’s last trace of reservation toward Yuan-Yuan vanished. Feeling both compassion and genuine fondness for the girl, she smiled warmly.
“That’s wonderful. I love playing chess too, though I’m not very good. When you recover, you must teach me a few tricks.”

Yuan-Yuan blushed shyly. “My mother exaggerates. I’m really not that good.”

“Enough with the ‘this humble servant’ talk—speak normally,” Tang Wan frowned.

“This…”

“She’s right,” Madam Jiang added with a laugh. “We’re just an ordinary household—we don’t stand on ceremony. Stay here with peace of mind. Teach my unpromising daughter a bit and play some chess with me now and then.”

“Discussing and learning together, yes—but I wouldn’t dare call it teaching,” Yuan-Yuan said quickly. “Miss Yue is intelligent and capable, a woman who can achieve great things. I can’t compare at all. Madam, you flatter me too much.”

Parents can scold their own children, but outsiders can’t—that much, Yuan-Yuan understood perfectly.

Sure enough, Madam Jiang laughed out loud.
Her impression of Yuan-Yuan shifted—from a beautiful, talented girl to a beautiful, sweet-tongued and emotionally intelligent talented girl.

“Mother, I’ll take her to her room so she can rest,” Tang Wan said—no need for more polite talk when the girl was still recovering.

“Good. Aunt Hong, this room is yours. Come take a look and tell me if you need anything,” Madam Jiang said, leading the widow Hong to a room nearby.

Tang Wan then took Yuan-Yuan to the next room.

She had specially arranged it—clean and tidy, and even prepared a medicinal pillow tailored to Yuan-Yuan’s illness.

In the corner stood a zither.

It bore obvious traces of repair—it was the one left behind by Aunt Luo.

Knowing that Yuan-Yuan could play, Tang Wan had fixed it up herself.

“See if anything’s missing—just tell me.”

Yuan-Yuan shook her head, her eyes glistening. “Sister Wan, you’re far too kind to me. Such great kindness… I can only repay it by devoting the rest of my life, even as a beast of burden, to serve you.”

Tang Wan couldn’t handle her being like that. She shook her wrist, showing the jade bracelet there. “Didn’t you call me sister already? It’s only right for an elder sister to look after her younger one. Stop talking about repayment.”

“Yes!” Yuan-Yuan wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled. “Then I won’t say it anymore—please don’t be angry at me, Sister.”

Though she said that, what Yuan-Yuan thought deep down was—
Even if she had to die for Tang Wan, she would have no regrets.

For the rest of her life, she had already chosen to follow Tang Wan.

The widow Hong and her daughter officially settled in.

The house wasn’t far from the docks, so Ling Yue came back early that day.

She had already met Yuan-Yuan before and felt genuine sympathy for her, never putting on any airs.

Yuan-Yuan found that the second branch family was indeed just as her mother had described—kind and wonderful people.

Except for…

Tang Wan’s husband.

She noticed that he always looked at her with a gloomy, hostile expression—
especially whenever Tang Wan spoke to her.

At those moments, Young Master Yu seemed to radiate an aura of dark, oppressive jealousy.