Chapter 45 Reunion Banquet 2

Third Aunt stared coldly at Yu Qingci for a long time, and Yu Qingci just stood there letting her look her over.

After a while, the third aunt snorted coldly, pulled a ring off her finger, and casually tossed it into the tray.

“I am a widow, unlike you all who are wealthy and whose gifts are enough for my family to live on for a long time. This ring was given to me by my elder brother when he was alive. I love it the most. Please don’t look down on it, niece-in-law.”

After speaking, he still looked at his niece-in-law, Yu Qingci, with a critical eye.

Yu Qingci thanked her calmly and turned to offer her her needlework.

As expected, the response was still: "Nothing special."

Then, turning to the group of middle-aged men sitting on the left side of the main hall, Madam Ning continued to introduce them: "This is your second uncle, and this is your fourth uncle."

Yu Qingci paid her respects to both uncles again, but neither of them made any special gestures.

The second master was nearing fifty, with a slightly dark complexion and a robust build. In his early years, he had joined the army with the old general and even fought on the battlefield. However, he was not skilled in martial arts and suffered minor injuries in a battle. After retiring, he quickly chose to retire and return home. Under the old general's protection, he married, had children, and lived a peaceful life thereafter.

The fourth master was the youngest of his siblings, in his early forties, with a neatly trimmed beard, and had the air of a hermit, clearly someone who had been pampered for a long time.

His two older brothers were martial artists, and he couldn't bear the hardship at such a young age, so he wanted to take the imperial examination. However, after studying for half his life, he is still only a student with the title of "child prodigy" and has long since given up on the idea of ​​taking the imperial examination.

The fourth master usually enjoys indulging in refined pursuits, reciting poems and appreciating the moon. With his second brother as an example, he followed suit and took his whole family to occupy a large courtyard in the general's mansion.

This means that both families have always lived dependent on the General's Mansion.

After the elders finished paying their respects, it was time for the peers to exchange greetings. The first person to approach was a young man who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He was much taller than Qingci by more than half a head, so she had to crane her neck to see him.

Just as she was wondering which elder this was, Madam Wei stepped forward with a smile and said, "This is your eldest cousin, Yunzhang. Our General's Mansion is now counting on him to run around and socialize, to support the family."

Yu Qingci, still somewhat dazed, quickly stopped the half-finished junior greeting and addressed him as "elder brother."

Before he could even stand properly, he heard Wei say, "This is your second cousin, Yunbo. He now holds a minor seventh-rank official position in the Dali Temple."

Lu Yunzhang and Lu Yunbo are both born to Wei. Lu Yunzhang is the eldest son of the second wife and is 27 years old this year. He has both a son and a daughter. The eldest grandson of the second wife is 9 years old this year.

The second son, Lu Yunbo, was two years younger than his elder brother. He had studied martial arts with the old general for several years and later, with the old general's help, he entered the Dali Temple and embarked on his official career.

Upon calculation, it turned out that her husband, the young general Lu Yunqi, was the third child in his family, yet he had followed his father to the battlefield at a young age, while his two cousins ​​lived a comfortable life with both sons and daughters under the protection of their elders.

Next came a whole bunch of cousins, and even cousins' wives. Yu Qingci really didn't expect to have so many relatives. Counting up, there was a whole bunch of people older than her, and then down to a bunch of younger relatives of all heights.

Since she couldn't remember anyway, Yu Qingci could only adopt the demeanor of a new bride: speak less, nod more, and at most twitch her lips with a gentle smile—that was enough.

Only when she saw her own sister-in-law, Lu Yun Chu, did she look up and examine her carefully.

Of all the people in the room, only Madam Ning was a true member of her family.

The girl is thirteen years old this year. The last time I saw her was at Taijue Temple. She followed behind Madam Ning like an invisible person. Now, looking closely, she still looks thin and weak, but her eyes are clear. She looks at me with a mixture of scrutiny and curiosity. Her bright eyes make people feel sorry for her for no reason.

I remember that in my previous life, not long after Yu Qingyan eloped with someone, this girl got into trouble. Because of her tense relationship with the Marquis of Nanping, she only heard about the incident and didn't know the specific reasons behind it.

But in this life, I'll protect them as much as I can.

By the time Yu Qingci had identified all the people in the group, she was dizzy and her face was stiff; she didn't even want to speak.

Pei Mama and Tong'er, who were following closely behind her, were in no better shape. They recognized people so well that veins bulged on their foreheads and they gritted their teeth, fearing that they might not remember them and would be unable to help their young lady with her review when they got back.

Yu Qingci quickly calculated in her mind that she had received very few gifts today, the most valuable of which was the pair of mutton fat jade bracelets that her mother-in-law had given her.

As for the things she sent out, not to mention the needlework, she gave more than a dozen purses filled with gold and silver ingots, as well as small trinkets such as pearl flowers and paperweights to the younger generation of the second and fourth wives and her aunt's family. They were all genuine high-end products, and she felt so sorry for them that her eyelids twitched.

After the family reunion was finally over, the maids and servants filed in one after another with trays in their hands to set out breakfast on the table next to them. They had been reuniting with their families all morning and were only now starting to eat.

Because there were many people, four tables were set up in the main hall, separated by a screen. Madam Ning and the women sat at the two inner tables, while the men sat on the other side of the screen. Everyone could eat and talk at the same time, but they couldn't see each other clearly because of the screen.

Yu Qingci deliberately pulled her sister-in-law Lu Yunchu to sit next to Old Madam Ning, so that she wouldn't have to sit next to the three female elders.

After sitting down, Fourth Aunt Ma complained to the table full of delicious food, "Why is the food so bland today? It's making our eyes green with envy. We just had a happy occasion at home, how can you be so frugal, sister-in-law?"

After saying that, he smiled at Yu Qingci and said, "I'm sorry that my niece-in-law has been wronged. It's not that I'm deliberately neglecting you, my new daughter-in-law. Our General's Mansion is not as wealthy as the Marquis of Nanping's Mansion. Since my elder brother and nephew left, the mansion's food, clothing and daily necessities have been getting worse day by day. Alas, there's nothing we can do about it when people leave and things cool down."

Yu Qingci frowned as she listened, but before she could say anything, Lu Yunchu, who had been silent all along, raised her head and said, "Fourth Aunt, my father and my eldest brother have just passed away. We must observe mourning for them and cannot eat meat. Besides, although this table is full of vegetarian dishes, the ingredients are all of the best quality. Mother has already put a lot of effort into it."

Ma glared at Lu Yun Chu and then added, "I know that you mean well, but since your wife has just married into the family, what's wrong with her eating meat once in a while? We adults don't mind, but the children are still growing and can't eat vegetarian food all the time, don't you think, sister-in-law?"

Lu Yun Chu looked at Madam Ma and said, "My father and elder brother never mistreated either of your families when they were alive. Now that they have just passed away, we, as their relatives, naturally have to observe mourning for them. If Fourth Aunt is worried that her nephews and nieces are not eating well, she might as well move out and cook for herself. Then none of us can interfere."