Chapter 270 Why?

Just now, Madam Gu turned a blind eye to the petty actions of the eldest and second wives. This time, when she heard about the imperial examination, she became more interested. The son-in-law of the Gu family is promising, which will also benefit the Gu family. In the future, he can support the Gu family's children.

Gu Xuanling replied, "My mother-in-law said that my husband ranked 87th in the autumn examination this time, which is quite low. The chances of him being on the list in the spring examination next year are slim, so he doesn't plan to participate in the spring examination next year. He wants to accumulate knowledge and skills and participate again in three years."

Ms. Chen nodded: "That's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyi felt even more heartbroken, as if her soul had been struck by another blow. She felt that her husband had been outshone by Liu Zifang. Her husband had failed the imperial examination this autumn, but her brother-in-law Liu Zifang had passed. Perhaps Liu Zifang would become an official in the court, while her husband had not yet been able to enter officialdom.

Compared to her, her husband seemed to only have a good family background, which made her feel increasingly resentful. Her cousin, who was clearly inferior to her in every way, was living a better life than her.

After being hit by a series of setbacks, Gu Xuanyi was a little dejected. Looking at her cousin, who was beaming with happiness, she felt increasingly unbalanced. Before, when she didn't have any sisters to compare herself to, she could comfort herself by saying that all new brides are like this. But now that she had a comparison, especially with her cousin, who was born out of wedlock and came from a less privileged background, she felt suffocated.

Back in Zhang's courtyard, during a private conversation with Zhang, Gu Xuanyi couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. Tears streamed down her face as she threw herself into Zhang's arms, sobbing indignantly, "Mother, why am I so unlucky to have such a mother-in-law? I have to be disciplined and serve her like a maid every day, and I'm also bullied by my sister-in-law. What do I lack compared to Gu Xuanling? She's just a lowly concubine's daughter, so why does she get to live a better life than me?"

Seeing her daughter's tearful eyes, her face filled with resentment and near collapse, Madam Zhang felt sorry for her but was helpless. She sighed softly, "Xuanyi, this is all fate. I told you about the problems with the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion before, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on having secret dealings. Now that you've already married into the family, what can we do? Just serve your mother-in-law well first. Once she's satisfied, there'll be no need to set any rules."

Gu Xuanyi was fed up with these kinds of words and said angrily, "Mother, I'm not a three-year-old child. Stop treating me like one and always trying to coax me with these excuses. She will never be satisfied, she will never be satisfied in this lifetime!"

Fearing that her daughter might be upset by the incident and offend her mother-in-law, making her life even worse, Zhang hurriedly and earnestly advised her: "You've only been married for a little over a month. Rules aren't set for life. Things will probably get better in a year or two. Just be patient for now. Be respectful to your mother-in-law. Even if you're dissatisfied, don't have a conflict with her, or she'll only make things worse for you."

Gu Xuanyi wouldn't listen, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, "What rules? I think she did it on purpose, she just wants to torment me for the rest of my life. She gets tormented by her mother-in-law, so she takes her anger out on me. Her mother-in-law isn't even her biological mother-in-law, she's her stepmother-in-law, but I'm her own daughter-in-law, how can she treat me like this?"

While wiping away her daughter's tears, Zhang said, "Xuanyi, you are already someone else's daughter-in-law. It is a customary rule to set rules for daughters-in-law. I can't help you with this matter unless your mother-in-law goes too far."

As she spoke, her tone revealed helplessness. She was also a mother-in-law. Although she didn't intentionally torment her daughter-in-law, she could understand the mentality of most mothers-in-law. They wanted their daughters-in-law to experience the hardships they had gone through and couldn't bear to see their daughters-in-law living comfortably. But what could she do? She couldn't control her daughter's husband's family and could only advise her to relax and be patient for the time being.

Hearing her mother say this, Gu Xuanyi cried even harder, raised her hands and continued, "Look at my hands, aren't they rough? And look at my fingers, they're all cut. I am, after all, the wife of a prince. She has maids to serve, but she makes me peel walnuts for her, and it's not the first or second time."

Zhang looked down at her daughter's hands and saw that her fingers were indeed cut. She felt bad for her daughter, who never lifted a finger. As her mother, she had never even eaten the walnuts her daughter had peeled, because she couldn't bear to let her daughter do such things. But her in-laws were willing to do it, after all, she was her daughter-in-law, not her own daughter.

However, peeling walnuts for elders is an act of filial piety. If elders want to eat them, it is perfectly normal for younger people to peel them for them. No one can say a word against it. She can't make a fuss with her in-laws just because her daughter peeled walnuts for her mother-in-law and got a cut on her finger.

Seeing her mother remain silent, Gu Xuanyi suddenly stopped crying and choked out, "Mother, I am your own daughter! How can you remain indifferent and let your daughter be tormented?"

Originally, Zhang felt sorry for her daughter, but hearing her daughter say this made her angry. She retorted, "Then tell your mother, how should your mother help you? If you had listened to your mother back then, would you be suffering like this now?"

Gu Xuanyi opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

Zhang patted her daughter's hand and said earnestly, "If you want to change the current situation, the best shortcut is to gain status through your son. You and your husband should work hard. Once you are pregnant, your mother-in-law will be exempt from the morning and evening greetings because of the eldest grandson in your belly. Otherwise, overworking will harm the fetus and also hurt her grandson."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyi lowered her head slightly, her eyes downcast, and did not reply.

Zhang gave her advice on how to conceive more easily. Seeing that her daughter was listless and silent, she comforted her and then went to check on the lunch arrangements.

Gu Xuanyi left Zhang's courtyard and ran into Gu Xiuming in the back garden. She didn't want others to know that she had been wronged in her husband's family. Apart from her mother, she always spoke well of her husband's family to avoid being laughed at. Now, seeing Gu Xiuming getting closer, she immediately put on a smiling face and called out, "Third Brother."

Gu Xiuming nodded in response. Noticing that her eyes were a little red and swollen, he asked with concern, "Little sister, it seems you've been crying. Did your brother-in-law bully you?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuanyi smiled awkwardly and replied, "Third Brother is joking. How could my husband bully me? It's just that the wind is a bit strong, and I got some sand in my eyes."

Gu Xiuming, unsuspecting, smiled and said, "That's true. My brother-in-law seems to be a good person; he would never bully anyone. With such a good-natured man and the kind-hearted Lady Wu'an, it's hard to find a husband's family like that even with a lantern. My sister is truly blessed."

Hearing this, Gu Xuanyi felt bitter inside, but she smiled absentmindedly and dealt with the situation until her cousin left. Her smile immediately vanished.

Although there were many troubles in the Wu'an Marquis's household, her husband treated her fairly well, but there were also things that made her dissatisfied. She didn't dare to tell her mother about these things, for fear of affecting their relationship, since she still liked her husband very much.

At this moment, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an, who was not far from her, walked towards her. In fact, he had noticed her earlier, but he did not come over because he saw her talking to Gu Xiuming.

As the Marquis of Wu'an approached, he noticed that his wife's eyes were a little red. He frowned almost imperceptibly, then raised his hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His gaze, however, fell on Gu Xiuming, who was walking away, and he asked softly, "Xuanyi, I saw you talking and laughing with Third Brother just now. What were you talking about?"

Gu Xuanyi knew that her husband was a bit sensitive and suspicious. If he found out that she had cried, he would probably ask her all sorts of questions. So she took the opportunity to laugh and say to him, "I got sand in my eyes just now. When my third brother passed by, he didn't know the truth and thought you had bullied me. I explained to him."

After hearing this, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an breathed a sigh of relief and said gently, "Although it hasn't snowed yet, the north wind is quite strong. Let's go back inside so that we don't get our eyes wet with sand later."

Gu Xuanyi nodded: "Okay."