"The Second Madam has arrived, the Third Madam has arrived."

"Third Miss and Fourth Miss have arrived."

"The Crown Prince's wife has arrived."

The group of female guests who were talking to the old lady at Ci'en Temple all fell silent and turned their heads outside.

Third Madam Xie Zhaozhao walked slowly into Ci'en Courtyard, her back straight and her face smiling. She wore a light purple openwork silk dress with silver hooks and crescent moon rain and mist carvings, and her hair was styled in a high bun with pink and blue pearl flowers blooming in her hair.

Following behind was Xie Xiangxiang, dressed in full regalia, wearing a brocade dress with a begonia motif, her hair styled in a double-knife bun, adorned with a red-gold phoenix-tail hair ornament, and jade pendants jingling by her ears. Her eyebrows were delicate and arched, and she was lightly rouged, exuding an air of wealth and nobility.

Lu Shi then followed the proper rules.

The three entered, greeted their aunts, and then exchanged greetings with their five cousins.

After going through all the formalities, a quarter of an hour had passed.

The old lady was happy, as this was her Cien Courtyard, and since these were all her relatives from her maternal family, the male guests also followed her into the courtyard.

According to Gu Shaoyu's generational order, he has three maternal uncles, five male cousins, two male cousins, and four male cousins.

They greeted each other politely.

When the second uncle's youngest son, Zhi Baiju, greeted his cousins ​​and nieces-in-law, he was very gentle and refined.

His appearance is 80% similar to Gu Chengyan's. If it weren't for his own people knowing, a stranger would think he was Gu Chengyan himself.

He was handsome and refined, with a graceful demeanor and proper manners; he was truly a gentleman.

Xie Zhaozhao is his cousin's wife, but he is a few years older than Xie Zhaozhao.

When he bowed to Xie Zhaozhao, he was extremely respectful, his voice low and polite: "Third cousin-in-law."

Xie Zhaozhao nodded slightly, offering a gesture of respect befitting an equal, which was extremely polite. Then, before he could speak, Aunt Cui had already stood beside Xie Zhaozhao, blocking his view.

Xie Zhaozhao went into the inner room and stood behind the old lady.

Yuan Yuanman and Aunt Cui stood respectfully behind Xie Zhaozhao.

Zhi Baiju showed no signs of distress. He slowly withdrew and stood in the outer courtyard.

My second aunt has already started praising her youngest son: "Baiju has inherited his grandfather's temperament and loves reading the most. He has now passed the imperial examination and become a scholar."

The old lady was very pleased and asked Taxue to bring a set of writing implements, which she then rewarded with Zhibaiju.

After the male guests exchanged greetings, Gu Boyu led them to the front courtyard, leaving only the female guests in Ci'en Courtyard.

Seeing Xie Xiangxiang dressed so lavishly, Madam Tu felt very smug. Her husband was a marquis, her son was a prince, and her wife was the legitimate daughter of the Xie family. She was a true winner in life, and naturally, she looked down on everyone.

Although the Zhi family was a family of scholars who had passed the imperial examinations, Tu's father was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and Xie Xiangxiang was the eldest daughter of the Xie family, the old lady was happy to praise her eldest daughter-in-law.

Several aunts and cousins-in-law all spoke highly of Madam Tu and Xie Xiangxiang, as they were the matriarchs in charge of managing the household affairs.

Xie Zhaozhao tried her best to minimize her presence and remained silent.

However, the third wife is destined to be indispensable.

Second Aunt said with a smile, "Third Brother's wife, Third Brother has been a Grand Secretary for three or four years now, hasn't he?"

"Yes, Aunt," Xie Zhaozhao replied respectfully.

"After all these years, he should have established himself by now. Shouldn't he also help out his maternal grandparents' family? With so many cousins ​​and nephews, can't he squeeze out a position for any of them to settle his family members?"

"yes."

"No matter how high an official you are, even if you become the emperor, you still need helpers. Wouldn't it be better to use your own family members? Everyone can help each other."

"yes."

Xie Zhaozhao answered respectfully and sincerely with "Yes" to each question.

And then? That's it!

After the second aunt performed a monologue for a while, everyone present, being intelligent, could see that the third branch of the family was polite and courteous but extremely distant, and completely disdained to pay attention to them.

Second Aunt's face was very unpleasant. She stopped talking to her and turned to ask Xie Xiangxiang, "The young master's wife looks very fortunate. She must be a good helper to your mother-in-law, right?"

When Xie Xiangxiang came out, Madam Tu went to her courtyard and told her, "These people from the countryside are just here to freeload. Don't agree to anything they say, or they'll stick to you like glue."

So when her second aunt praised her, she simply smiled politely and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Aunt. My mother manages the entire household affairs of the Marquis's mansion, and money is needed everywhere. She is constantly calculating and working very hard. I am young and would like to learn from my mother for a few years so that I can help her share some of the burden."

Money is needed everywhere, it's tough being a housekeeper!

My second aunt shut her mouth.

The old lady brought over her maternal grandniece; there were three girls in total, all around 13 or 14 years old.

Xie Zhaozhao didn't look at her at all, her eyelids remained lowered.

"This is Zhi Yaoyao, the eldest daughter of the Zhi family; this is Zhi Qinqin, the second daughter of the Zhi family; this is Zhi Meimei, the third daughter..."

The old lady specifically pushed her three grandnieces in front of Xie Zhaozhao and said, "You have met your third cousin. Your third cousin has now received an imperial decree and is a first-rank noblewoman. There is no one in the entire capital who is more outstanding than her."

Three women bowed to Xie Zhaozhao, who calmly said to Manman, "Reward."

Manman immediately gave each of the three young ladies a small sachet containing five gold leaves.

He didn't say a word more than necessary.

The old lady then knew that Xie Zhaozhao had no intention of paying attention to them.

He was unhappy, but fortunately, his third daughter-in-law rewarded him with gold leaves, which made him feel quite proud.

The three grandnieces greeted Xie Xiangxiang as equals. This time, Xie Xiangxiang didn't try to stand out, but asked Chunling and Xiahua to give each of them a hairpin, which was decent but not expensive.

The entire household dined together for lunch. Madam Tu prepared a fourteen-course meal, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, and the fattest crabs of autumn.

It wasn't until they were eating that Xie Zhaozhao understood what her aunts meant.

Cousins ​​and nephews want to find jobs or study in Kyoto. For example, Zhi Baiju wants to find a good academy in Kyoto to take the imperial examination three years later.

Meanwhile, her nieces and cousins ​​wanted to ask the old lady to help them find good husbands in Beijing.

My aunt said, "Even the worst family in the capital is a hundred times better off than a small place like Ouyang. Besides, with the Marquis's mansion, my three nephews, and relatives like the Xie family, things won't be too bad."

The old lady didn't want to be looked down upon by her family, nor did she want people to think that the Marquis's mansion had fallen on hard times, so she was single-mindedly focused on maintaining appearances.

It cannot be said that the Marquis's mansion is already in dire straits, so how could it possibly have the capacity to help you find jobs or husbands?

But how could the Marquis's mansion possibly support so many people?

She looked at Xie Zhaozhao, who was very well-mannered, with her eyes lowered and eating quietly. She ate whatever dishes Aunt Cui and Yuanyuan served her, without taking a single extra bite.

After the eldest aunt finished speaking, she waited for the old lady's reply. Seeing that Xie Zhaozhao did not react, the old lady had no choice but to turn to Tu Shi and say, "Tu Shi, make arrangements for them!"