Chapter 99 - 99 Supervising Wei Yilin’s

Punishment__l

Translator: 549690339

Madam Yun had not expected her husband to validate their eldest daughter s abilities so wholly.

But indeed, Ruoruo’s recent accomplishments did bring luster to the Wei Residence. Her behavior was impeccable both within and outside their home, exuding the demeanor of an elder sister—a performance far exceeding her earliest expectations.

Madam Yun agreed saying, “You’re right, my Lord. Ruoruo is indeed better suited to be the eldest daughter. But our Wanwan isn’t bad either: she’s gentle, considerate, obedient, and sensible. Every time I see her, my heart fills with

joy”

In acknowledging their eldest daughter, she also took special care to appreciate their second daughter’s excellence.

“Hmm.” Wei Mingting couldn’t deny this. His daughters both excelled in their ways.

‘■The matter of finding a martial arts master for Yilin is settled. You should strictly enforce the rules I laid down today, even when I am not at home. You mustn’t be soft-hearted.” Wei Mingting further cautioned his wife, who was prone to being lenient with their children.

Knowing that his wife had a soft heart, he took special care to admonish her. “Rest assured, my Lord, I will definitely fulfill your expectations.” Madam Yun promised.

Although she loved her young son and didn’t want him to suffer, she would definitely adhere to the arrangements made by her husband.

###

While Wei Mingting and Madam Yun were in discussion, Wei Ruo was supervising Wei Yilin’s wood chopping in the yard.

The seven-year-old’s small arms strained hard against the hefty ax, visibly struggling.

With each swing, the ax barely made a dent in the wood, far from splitting the logs.

Worn out after merely a few swings, he wanted to stop, but Wei Ruo’s voice rang out:

“If you don’t chop five bundles of wood today, you’ll continue tomorrow, starting anew with five bundles. If you don’t finish tomorrow, then the day after, and so on until you can chop five bundles in a single day.

“Wei Qingruo, this is really unfair!” Wei Yilin couldn’t hold back anymore, his round eyes glared at Wei Ruo, fuming with anger.

“Unfair? Really?” Wei Ruo asked lazily, a smug smile on her face.

“I know you’re getting back at me for betraying you yesterday, right? I thought about it last night, everything was too real to be just a dream-it must have actually happened!” Wei Yilin asserted with confidence.

Wei Ruo simply answered with silence and a grin.

Wei Yilin carried on, “Wei Qingruo, I admit my actions yesterday were wrong. Even if I recall yesterday’s events, I won’t tell anyone. Because I realize it would reflect badly on you if others knew you were kidnapped. Even if I don’t like you, you’re a woman of our Wei Family. I won’t ruin your reputation.” Wei Yilin puffed out his cheeks with an angry yet serious expression on his face.

Wei Ruo remained silent.

What if he remembered? As long as she didn’t confirm it, nobody would believe what he said. She didn’t care whether he remembered or not.

“Also, I think it was quite impressive that you killed those two Japanese pirates. So, you shouldn’t retaliate this way. Go to father and ask him to rescind his orders. I can learn martial arts, but don’t separate me from Sister Wanwan and especially don’t let you be in charge. I don’t like you!”

“What if I don’t agree?” Wei Ruo asked with a smile.

“Wei Qingruo, I’ve already said so much, what else do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. As the eldest sister, it’s my responsibility to teach my younger brother, so I must supervise you, even if you may not like it.” Wei Ruo was cautious with her words, ensuring no eavesdropper could accuse her of wrongdoing.

“Don’t pretend, you’re not sincere about teaching me at all! You’re just intentionally targeting me! Furthermore, I don’t acknowledge you as my elder sister, my only elder sister is Sister Wanwan!”

“Stop talking and continue chopping the wood. Laziness is not acceptable.” Wei Ruo was completely at ease.

“Wei Qingruo!” Wei Yilin was incredibly frustrated with Wei Ruo’s indifference. “You must address me as ‘elder sister.’ If you can’t, I’ll have a serious talk with father.” Wei Ruo was calm and collected.

Wei Yilin was so exasperated with Wei Ruo that he was at a loss for words.

His gaze returned to the wood in front of him. He lifted the ax high and brought it down heavily, as if treating the logs before him as Wei Ruo, channelling all his resentment and discontent into each swing.

By the time Wei Mingting emerged, Wei Yilin had already chopped almost half a bundle of wood.

Wei Mingting knew he had set an unachievable task for his son. He did this intentionally, hoping it would temper his son and make him truly realize his mistakes.

Seeing that under Wei Ruo’s supervision, Wei Yilin had adopted a steadfast approach to chopping wood, no longer showing the earlier signs of weakness and delicacy, Wei Mingting was even more convinced that his eldest daughter was the right choice to tutor the youngest.

“Ruoruo, you should go back today. On the days when I’m not at home, I will need you to take care of Yilin. If he doesn’t obey, you have my permission to enforce our family values.” Wei Mingting instructed.

Wei Yilin was seething inside. Looking at his father’s stern face, he felt both anger and injustice.

“I understand, father.”, Wei Ruo replied.

Then Wei Ruo left the Cangyun Garden.

Before leaving, Wei Ruo looked back at Wei Yilin who was glaring at her with bellicose eyes.

###

By mid-August of the lunar calendar, it was time to harvest the rice grains in Xingshan County.

Instead of joy over the harvest, the people of Xingshan County felt more worry and tension.

This was because of a poor harvest. The grain that was collected was barely enough to feed many households for the upcoming year.

The Wei Family was in a similar situation. Looking at the account books delivered by the manager of the farm, Madam Yun was filled with worry.

The manager said that currently, the best growth on the farm was from the seedlings Wei Ruo had taken to the farm to be replanted.

The other rice that was being harvested was approximately one-third the yield of last year, and one-fifth of what it was five years ago.

Even though the replanted rice hadn’t matured yet, judging by the number of grain-filled stalks, there was much more than the other rice crops. However, the seedlings Wei Ruo took only covered a small part. The Wei Family’s grain yield was still much less than previous years.

Apart from Wei Mingting’s official salary, the farm was a significant source of income for the Wei Family.

The poor harvest meant that the Wei Family did not have much income, making the financial budget for the next year a problem.

Wei Qingwan came to the Cangyun Garden to help Madam Yun with household affairs after finishing her lessons at the magistrate’s office. Seeing Madam Yun worry about the grain, she comforted her saying, “Mother, don’t worry. Everything will straighten out in the end. Didn’t father win the war, get promoted, and receive a reward for meritorious service from the court?” Madam Yun shook her head: “It’s true he got a reward, but most of the court rewards are for honor and cannot be easily converted into silver coins.” Moreover, Wei Mingting just temporarily repelled the Japanese pirates off the coast of Xingshan County, without completely defeating all the pirates plaguing the southeast coastlines. Therefore, the rewards were not that plentiful.

She sighed, “If I’d known earlier that the rice variety Ruoruo provided was so useful, we should’ve planted all fields with it. We wouldn’t be in such a predicament right now..”