Chapter 525 You've Grown Up

Meng Jinyu replied, "At first I wasn't used to it, but with my husband around, I gradually got used to it. I'm sorry to have troubled you, elder sister."

Meng Jinyao lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on her lower abdomen, and asked in a low voice, "Second sister, your belly should be about four months along, right?"

“I’m already five months along.” Meng Jinyu subconsciously touched her belly and continued, “It’s just that I don’t show much. Even at five months, I don’t look that big.”

Meng Jinyao nodded slightly and congratulated her: "Congratulations, Second Sister, on becoming a mother soon."

Meng Jinyu replied with a smile, "Thank you, elder sister. I originally wanted to go back to Beijing to attend Wanwan's one-month celebration, but I was newly pregnant at that time and it was not advisable for me to travel, so I only sent Wanwan a gift."

Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was surprised. She hadn't expected Meng Jinyu to inquire about her son's nickname. She wondered what Meng Jinyu was planning to do, and calmly replied, "We need to be careful during the first three months."

Meng Jinyu then said, "Grandmother was just talking about my eldest sister. How about I accompany her to pay our respects to Grandmother first?"

Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement and went with Meng Jinyu to see Old Madam Meng. She was still wondering what Meng Jinyu was up to. Not only had she changed her personality, but she was also being so friendly to her. She wondered what kind of tricks Meng Jinyu was up to.

Meng Jinyu was very clear about what she was doing. She used to look down on Meng Jinyao, but after moving to Yangzhou with her husband, she gradually understood her situation. Even though she was the legitimate daughter of the Earl's family and her husband's family were just merchants, she was left helpless after marrying far away to Yangzhou.

At first, she thought that since her husband’s family was a merchant family and her mother-in-law also came from a merchant family, she was aloof. But she didn’t expect that her husband’s family would not treat her well just because she came from the Yongchang Earl’s Mansion. They probably thought that her family was far away in the capital and could not be reached. They treated her as an ordinary daughter-in-law, just like the second son’s family, and set rules for her.

She had always looked down on her husband, a businessman who reeked of money. However, even though he knew she didn't like him, he still treated her with respect and never deprived her of her food, clothing, or daily necessities. After learning that her mother-in-law had wronged her, he even sent her some things that young ladies would like to make up for it, saying that she had been wronged, but that the other party was an elder and asked her to be more understanding.

Gradually, she felt that her husband was passable. At least he could provide her with a life of luxury and knew how to please her. As long as they didn't return to the capital, she was a respectable person in Yangzhou.

In order to get her husband's family to treat her better, she had to put aside her pride. Even though she didn't like her husband very much, she had to be affectionate with him. She also had to occasionally pretend to casually mention her elder sister, Meng Jinyao, and even forge letters from her elder sister in the capital that showed her concern, so that her husband's family would think that there was a sisterly bond between them.

Sure enough, this made her mother-in-law more wary, wary of her elder sister who was a marquis's wife in the capital. Her attitude towards her improved considerably. Her husband's attitude towards her remained consistent. He would even teach her how to deal with guests and how to speak with them. Gradually, she realized that her husband was a capable man. If she had married a scholar, she might not have been living as well as she was now.

Now that she's back at her parents' home, no matter how much Meng Jinyao dislikes her, her attitude is gentle and friendly. Meng Jinyao also has her pride, so she won't treat her with a dark face. This way, her sister-in-law, who came to the capital with her, will see that she gets along well with Meng Jinyao. When they return to Yangzhou, her sister-in-law will know how to talk to her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law.

She resigned herself to her fate. She could never surpass Meng Jinyao, nor could she possibly defeat her. To maintain her current life of luxury, she had to pretend that she had a decent relationship with Meng Jinyao. She also knew about her own brother's situation. She figured her third brother was unreliable. If they were to talk about who was more promising, her second brother was definitely better.

Unfortunately, she had already completely offended her second brother, and now she only hoped to maintain a superficial sibling relationship, just like she had with Meng Jinyao earlier.

Meng Jinyao greeted the old lady of the Meng family, and it wasn't until she met the people from Meng Jinyu's husband's side that she understood what was going on.

The newcomer was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a pretty and lovely appearance. She walked briskly to Meng Jinyu's side and called out, "Sister-in-law." As she spoke, she looked at Meng Jinyao beside her and saw that she had a stunning appearance and a noble demeanor, and seemed to have an extraordinary status. She asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, who is this lady?"

Meng Jinyu smiled and said, "Jiaojiao, this is my elder sister, and also the wife of the Marquis of Changxing."

Upon hearing this, the young girl quickly curtsied and said, "Greetings, Madam Gu."

Meng Jinyao said calmly, "Miss Deng, there's no need for such formalities."

Fearing that Meng Jinyao would disrespect her after learning her intentions, Meng Jinyu said, "Jiaojiao, go play with girls your own age. I haven't seen my older sister in a long time, and I have some things to say. I'll talk to you later."

The young girl had originally intended to get closer to Meng Jinyao, but upon hearing her sister-in-law's words, she had no choice but to leave.

Meng Jinyao glanced at the little girl's back and chuckled, "Second sister, it's been a long time, you've grown quite a bit."

Having been mistreated in her husband's family, Meng Jinyu is now able to be flexible and resilient. She replied, "Elder sister, I was ignorant before. Please don't hold it against me. I also sincerely want to reconcile with you."

Meng Jinyao, however, did not agree with her: "No need. We've never gotten along before, so how can we talk about making up? If you don't want to embarrass yourself and make me lose face in front of the guests, then stay away from me."

“If you don’t want to see me, then I’ll leave.” Meng Jinyu’s tone was somewhat aggrieved. She sighed softly and continued, “It’s also my fault for being ignorant before, but we are sisters after all. I… never mind, I know that no matter what I say, you don’t want to talk to me. But please remember, we are sisters. If you ever need any help in the future, I will definitely do my best.”

Meng Jinyao didn't believe a word of it, scoffed, and called her by her name: "Meng Jinyu, if it were you in the past, even without Sun's protection, she would still be arrogant towards me. Now you've become so flexible and assertive. It seems you've suffered a lot of grievances since marrying into Yangzhou. But should I praise you for being smart or for being stupid?"

Meng Jinyu frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

Meng Jinyao lowered her voice and asked slowly, "You create the impression of a close sisterly relationship between you and your husband's family. If they need your help and you come to me, and I ignore them, and they find out that our relationship is just so-so, how do you think you will be treated?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyu's pupils suddenly contracted; she hadn't considered this possibility.

Meng Jinyao glanced at her and said indifferently, "You have changed a lot, but you've become more shrewd and rounded. However, you are still far inferior to your mother. Alright, I don't want to see you. You'd better stay away from me today."

After saying that, Meng Jinyao left without looking back.

Meng Jinyu was both angry and resentful, but dared not retaliate. She could only swallow her grievances and continue to put on a smiling face to talk to other guests.