Before even sitting down, Aunt Yun Liu spoke up, "Oh dear, Third Sister-in-law! I heard two months ago that you were sent back to your hometown. I'm so sorry, there's so much to do at the end of the year, and I've been thinking about you but haven't been able to come and visit you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou knew that the woman probably had a grudge against her mother, so she stepped forward and pushed a chair to the seat below her mother. "Sixth Aunt, please sit down. The Yun family is so large and well-established that even though we've been back for two or three months, we haven't even recognized all the relatives yet. It's really a shame that we didn't grow up in this ancestral home. If you hadn't come back for the New Year, we wouldn't have known where your whole family lived."

Madam Yun gave Zhou a look of approval.

Zhou said they had been back for two or three months. This was a retort to Aunt Yun's comment that "there are many things to do at the end of the year." So, you, sir, need two or three months to get through the end of the year?

She also said that they did not grow up here from childhood and did not even recognize all their relatives. Although she was ashamed and humble, she implied that they were originally from the capital and had suddenly returned to this small mountain village. How could a aunt who had married into a family not know where she was?

Aunt Yun sat down in the chair, her expression already somewhat displeased. "Is this the matriarch of your third branch of the family?"

She pulled one of her daughters-in-law over and said, “Come and take a look. This is the mistress of our second branch. She comes from the Feng family, the prefect of Taizhou. She is very well-educated and polite, and would never interrupt her elders when they are speaking.”

Zhou's face darkened. Was she implying that she had interrupted and lacked manners?

However, Madam Su smiled and said as a guest, "Please forgive me for speaking out, elders, but this is not the capital or the prefecture, so why are there so many rules here? If we're talking about rules, such as New Year's gifts and visiting cards, there's no way to argue about them now, is there?"

Aunt Yun Liu's face looked unwell.

Feng, the daughter-in-law she had just pulled over, glanced at her mother-in-law's expression but ultimately didn't dare to speak.

Little Youran jumped out of Old Madam Yun's arms and into Zhou's arms, "Sixth Aunt, you're wrong. My eldest cousin's wife is the best eldest cousin's wife. She's very brave. She didn't interrupt."

Madam Yun immediately came to her senses and said with a smile, "Little Youran is right, all my daughters-in-law are good. This eldest daughter-in-law was able to keep the Yun family in a good position when it was in trouble, and led the whole family, including the elderly, women and children, on a long journey back to their ancestral home. Now they can live a peaceful life and be reborn. She deserves all the credit."

Zhou's eyes welled up with tears as she listened, and she hugged Xiao Youran even tighter in her arms.

When the topic turned to the decline of the Yun family, Aunt Yun Liu immediately perked up, "Who says otherwise? Fortunately, Third Sister-in-law, you only had four sons, so you don't have many grandchildren now. Otherwise, if our Feng family had so many children and grandchildren, and suddenly fell into hardship, we would probably have to drag over a hundred people along with nowhere to go!"

This was blatant sarcasm.

Xiao Youran then remembered that her sixth aunt's husband's surname was Feng. She had only given birth to one daughter before her health deteriorated, rendering her unable to conceive again. Therefore, she arranged for her husband to take several concubines, resulting in over a dozen illegitimate sons and daughters. When it came time for her illegitimate sons to marry, in order to secure a marriage with a daughter of an illegitimate family in the prefectural government, she chose the sixth illegitimate son, who was of the same birth order as her, and registered him under her own name, making him the only legitimate son, who then married the daughter of an illegitimate family in the prefectural government. Now, in the third generation, those dozen or so illegitimate sons had dozens more grandchildren. Wouldn't that be over a hundred people?

When the topic of her misfortune came up, Old Madam Yun choked up and couldn't get the words out.

The Zhou family members couldn't retort, as the Marquis's downfall was a deep pain in their hearts.

Little Youran waved her little paws cutely in Zhou's arms and said, "Grandma, my two cousins, don't be sad. We will definitely return to the capital soon. Although our family is small, we are all family."

Upon hearing this, Madam Yun beamed with joy and reached out to take Xiao Youran back from Zhou Shi's arms. "Oh my, look at our little Youran's little mouth! She's so good at talking!"

The first sentence was meant to comfort her, while the second sentence directly hit Aunt Yun's sore spot.

The eldest daughter-in-law behind Aunt Yun Liu finally spoke up after her mother-in-law nodded slightly, "Mother, now that you have both sons and daughters and several grandsons, what does it matter whether your other brothers and sisters are your own flesh and blood? In my opinion, it was fortunate that you were wise enough not to marry your eldest aunt into the Marquis's branch of the family. Otherwise, your eldest aunt would be suffering now."

Zhou's expression changed immediately. No wonder her mother-in-law disliked this Aunt Yun Liu. It turned out that such a thing had happened back then.

Aunt Yun Liu even considered marrying her daughter into the Marquis's mansion.

I wonder which of the four men she had her eye on back then?

Little Youran gave Old Madam Yun a cute kiss on the cheek, "Great-aunt has the best eye! Look, my cousins ​​and my uncle's family can all do it!"

Madam Yun was immediately relieved, and Madam Zhou was even more relieved.

But Zhou's heart was also in turmoil. So, back then, Aunt Yun Liu had her eye on her husband, Yun Yue.

Feng immediately retorted sarcastically, "Your eldest son and grandson are quite capable; they've even made it all the way to Ningguta."

The eldest son of the Yun family is Yun Yue, and the eldest grandson is Yun Tianbai, who is Zhou's husband and eldest son.

Upon hearing this, Madam Yun and Madam Zhou's faces darkened once again.

Su smiled gently and said as an outsider, "The battlefield is ever-changing, and so is the officialdom. No one knows where the next danger will lie. This applies to those in high positions as well as ordinary officials. How can one judge someone's worth based on a temporary setback?"

"If you want to have a competition, how about letting my four-year-old daughter compete with your child?" Her gaze fell on the boy who had been standing behind Aunt Yun Liu. "Come closer and take a look. Is this Aunt Yun Liu's grandson? He's ten years old?"

Madam Feng immediately proudly pulled out her son, "Isn't that right? This is our Feng family's third son, who is nine years old this year."

Madam Su gave her daughter a wink, "You've learned quite a few characters from your mother, why don't you have a character-writing contest with your brother?"

She then turned to Aunt Yun and Madam Feng, saying, "The Feng family can be considered a scholarly family in Wufeng County. I imagine their grandson's studies are excellent. Does he have the guts to compete with my four-year-old daughter?"

Xiao Youran immediately corrected herself, "Mother, I'll be five years old after the New Year!"

Madam Su laughed heartily, "Yes, yes, Mother was wrong, Little Youran is five years old!"

Originally, Madam Feng felt that it would be a disgrace to her son's reputation as a child prodigy to have his nine-year-old son compete with a five-year-old girl. However, after hearing what Madam Su said, she realized that she would lose her courage if she didn't compete. So she patted the boy's head and asked, "Qing-ge'er, would you like to compete with your sister?"

The boy, named Feng Ziqing, shook his head upon hearing this and said, "My sister is still young. If I win, it would be an unfair victory."