Chapter 44 Family Reunion Banquet

Yu Qingci glanced at the hourglass in the corner of the room and asked, "Have all the elders arrived so early? It was my oversight, Granny Pei, let's hurry up."

The head maid hurriedly added, "Young Madam, there's no rush. It's still early before the time for paying respects, and none of the household members have arrived yet. The Old Madam asked me to come early to tell you to get ready."

Yu Qingci nodded: "I understand, thank you for your trouble, nanny."

With a smile, Granny Pei stepped forward and slipped a purse into the head maid's hand. The head maid took it, weighed it in her hand, and her expression became even more amiable.

Looking at Yu Qingci's simple yet dignified attire, he was even more satisfied. He curtsied again before taking his leave.

Yu Qingci dared not delay any longer. After tidying up briefly, she led Granny Pei and Tong'er to the Songbai Hall where the old lady lived.

The Ningyuan General's Mansion was a residence bestowed by the emperor. The four courtyards were large and spacious. Fortunately, the Guanlan Pavilion where Yu Qingci lived was not far from the Songbai Hall of the old lady. Both courtyards belonged to the main courtyard and were one in front of the other.

Walk along the long corridors on both sides, and after passing through two moon gates, there is a winding, pebbly path. Follow the path for a while, and you will reach the main courtyard.

After passing the marble screen wall, which is four or five meters high and engraved with a pattern of galloping horses, a bright and open space suddenly appears before you.

Songbai Hall is the largest main courtyard of the General's Mansion. The entire courtyard is spacious and well-maintained. Looking up, there is a row of five main rooms with twelve large vermilion lacquered wooden doors. Above the door, the three large characters "Songbai Hall" are written in a vigorous and powerful style.

The two maids guarding the door immediately called out to Yu Qingci and her companions upon seeing them, "Young Madam has arrived."

Upon entering the main hall, the huge room was already filled with people, men, women, and children.

As soon as Yu Qingci entered, everyone's eyes turned to her.

The woman was slender and graceful, with black hair like clouds. She wore a plain satin dress in the shade of sky blue after rain, with a moon-white brocade jacket embroidered with cloud patterns over it. Her black hair was tied up, and she wore only a white jade hairpin in the shape of a begonia flower, along with a pair of hair ornaments. Her whole outfit was fresh and elegant.

With a bare face, her small, delicate features, almond-shaped eyes, and refined and elegant demeanor exude the air of a well-bred lady.

Yu Qingci walked straight to the seated Madam Ning without looking to the side. A sharp-eyed maid placed a cushion on the ground, and another maid with a teacup stood guard to the side.

Yu Qingci stepped forward, knelt down, kowtowed, and offered tea. The series of rituals flowed smoothly and were pleasing to the eye.

After he stood up, he was beckoned to her by Old Madam Ning.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Madam Ning looked her daughter-in-law up and down, murmuring, "Good child, I'm sorry to have wronged you."

After saying that, he put a pair of jade bracelets, white as cream, on her wrists.

Before Yu Qingci could finish her thank-you speech, a woman's voice suddenly came from the side: "Oh, sister-in-law really cares about her daughter-in-law. She always complains to us about being poor, saying that the General's Mansion doesn't have much money left. Now, the first thing she gives as a gift for her daughter-in-law is such an expensive jade bracelet. Just by looking at the quality of the jade, you can tell it's worth a lot. It's clear that all those times when sister-in-law said the mansion was poor were just to fool us."

Yu Qingci looked over and saw several middle-aged women sitting side by side on the chairs on the right side of the main hall. Each of them had an inscrutable expression, but their gazes were all fixed on the same spot: the pair of white jade bracelets that her mother-in-law had just put on her wrist.

Madam Ning didn't respond, but instead took Yu Qingci's hand and introduced her to each of them: "This is your second aunt, and this is your fourth aunt."

Yu Qingci went up to greet them one by one, and the two aunts gave her gifts in turn, all of them ordinary headdresses.

Fourth Aunt Ma said with a smile, "We aunts aren't as wealthy as your mother-in-law, so we can't offer anything fancy. Please don't look down on it, niece-in-law."

Yu Qingci simply lowered her head and smiled shyly without answering.

Madam Ning pointed to the third woman and introduced her: "This is your aunt, your father-in-law's younger sister. Her husband's family name is Yang. She specially brought several of your cousins ​​to stay in the mansion early on, just to watch the bride enter the house."

Yu Qingci curtsied, while the Third Aunt sat motionless in her chair with an icy expression, her eyes scanning Yu Qingci up and down, her face full of meanness and disdain that was obvious to anyone.

After Yu Qingci finished bowing to her, she asked with a sidelong glance, "Are you the concubine from the Nanping Marquis's mansion who returned home halfway?"

The room fell silent as soon as these words were spoken, and everyone's eyes turned to her again. Yu Qingci could even feel several curious glances coming from behind her.

Upon hearing this, Madam Ning became somewhat anxious and hurriedly said, "Third sister, be careful what you say. The other day, the Nanping Marquis's Mansion publicly announced the identities of Qingci and her brother. Qingci is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, and I have also told you that she is Master Yuankong of Taijue Temple..."

The third aunt interrupted her impatiently: "No need for you to say it, sister-in-law. I just want to hear what my niece-in-law has to say. After all, the one who was engaged to our General's Mansion before was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Nanping. Who would have thought that at the last minute, another daughter would be chosen? What's going on? It's laughable."

Yu Qingci looked up and sized her up. The third aunt was about forty years old, with a thin face, prominent cheekbones, and a pair of slightly mean-looking droopy eyebrows, giving people the impression that she was not someone to be trifled with.

Looking at her attire, she wore a royal blue brocade jacket embroidered with butterflies and flowers, and underneath was a plain satin pleated skirt with scattered flowers. The gold hairpin with tassels on her head was large and flamboyant, swaying back and forth. This contrasted sharply with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in front of her, who were dressed in plain clothes and had few pieces of jewelry. She was the most festively dressed person in the whole room.

Yu Qingci quickly searched her mind for information about this third aunt.

Third Aunt was the younger sister of her deceased father-in-law, the third in line. In her early years, she married a military general through the matchmaking of her eldest brother. Because she gave birth to three sons and made great contributions to her husband's family, and with the support of her eldest brother who was also a general, she lived a very successful and influential life in her husband's family over the years.

Unfortunately, the youngest son was born not long before the general died on the battlefield, so the aunt is now a widow.

Yu Qingci: "It turns out that Aunt thought Qingci was not worthy of marrying the young general. It's a pity that Aunt said this too late. If Aunt had been willing to step forward for the general's mansion and personally go to the Earl's mansion to choose a candidate before the wedding, then my second sister would be the one marrying in today."

The implication is that you're just jumping out to offer hindsight advice now, so who do you think you are?

"What do you mean? How can you talk to your elders like that at such a young age?"

Third Auntie could easily understand this, and was about to utter another reprimand when Second Auntie Wei pulled her back: "Alright, this marriage was hard-won to begin with, so say less. Your niece-in-law has already given you her gifts, so hurry up and bring out your wedding gifts."