The word is 'attempt'

Where do we go from here? Part 3

Yanli seemed embarrassed but there was also a vulnerability there that made Yu Ziyuan think twice about saying too much to her in front of everyone. She herself was a bit uncomfortable with displaying all of these emotions with an audience.

Yanli had been courageous when sticking up for the boys, but that courage had faltered when it came to herself. It made sense then that she would feel more vulnerable. She was accustomed to taking care of them but she wasn't accustomed to having that much attention on her.

The boys cherished her a lot and looked up to her and maybe she didn't feel comfortable showing this side of her to them. She was older than them and a girl to boot. It would not do to expose her insecurities in front of them.

"Alright then, if you insist there's nothing to say then I won't push you," she said to her daughter who looked relieved.

"But you and I are going to have tea later, no excuses."

Yanli winced but nodded, accepting that she would not get out of talking so easily, but that her mother would at least do her the kindness of talking to her in private.

Yu Ziyuan really did feel proud of her daughter at that moment. Yanli had never had an aptitude for cultivation. As a woman and a wife, their roles would be limited and a strong cultivation base did offer you a measure of freedom and protection. Strength meant that a man could not take advantage of you as much as one without strength. For a strong female cultivator like Yu Ziyuan, a daughter who was unable to cultivate a strong golden was disappointing. Still even though her daughter wasn't a strong cultivator she could try to ensure she'd be protected by setting up an engagement with her dear friend's son. Her friend was strong and would be able to protect Yanli. She would be well taken care of. Since the engagement was no more, Yu Ziyuan had been worrying about her daughter's future.

But now she had come to realise maybe she didn't need to worry so much. Yanli may not have had much martial strength, but she did have strength nonetheless. Yanli had her own brand of strength that many others might not be able to claim. (And as for the marriage thing, well maybe the best way to protect her really was for her to just stay with her parents. A-Cheng loved his sister, if anything happened to them he would surely take care of her. He wouldn't force his sister into anything she didn't want and he wouldn't try to get rid of her. She could stay and be Lotus Pier's darling for the rest of her life. Her only worry was that someone may like Yanli and try to force a marriage– she would have to try and find a way to prevent something like that.)

She'd focused too much of her energy on trying to get Jiang Fengmian to acknowledge A-Cheng. Now that Fengmian had supposedly seen the error of his ways, it was something she would hopefully not have to waste time on. She would spend some more time with her daughter now. Her daughter deserved her care and attention too. She may not be able to train her like she would with A-Cheng, but there were undoubtedly things that she could still pass on. She was a daughter of Meishan Yu after all. She was no fool and clearly, neither was Yanli. The things her daughter had brought up, especially to her father who had never once listened when Yu Ziyuan spoke about any of them, were so to the point. She had never known that her daughter had noticed all of these things.

Yanli was so much more than her mother had given her credit for.

Yu Ziyuan took in her daughter's tear-stained face and felt her heart sting. She promised herself she would do better by her.

She cupped Yanli's face again and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Yanli blushed cherry-red, but looked shy and pleased. She smiled, a small, bashful thing, and oh! Why was that so adorable?

That's it! Yanli was never getting married. She had everything she needed at Lotus Pier. If she fell in love with anyone he would have to move there. (Try and mistreat her daughter under her watch! 😤) And if Fengmian disagreed... well, there was a tanghulu stick with his name on it!