Recognizing one's relatives is actually a money-giving boy

When we reached the main courtyard, we could faintly hear laughter coming from the side.

Chen Yuanyuan paused. She suddenly realized that in this strange era, the only people she could rely on were the man next to her and his family.

Although she had shown loyalty to him by blocking the attack on his behalf during their wedding, this "loyalty" was also based on his conscience, and a man's conscience is often the least trustworthy.

This is more important than a promotion and salary increase at the end of the year, as it concerns her future life interests in the Shen family.

Chen Cong's eyes have been on Xu Lingwan since he left Yan Xiju.

He was walking slightly ahead, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed her pause, so he turned to look at her. It was early in the morning, and although Xu Lingwan wore a composed expression, her eyes, as she looked at him, were clear and hesitant.

This reminded him of the deer in the forest stream, weak and innocent.

But when he thought about how she rushed forward to block the fatal sword for him on their wedding day, he felt that this woman seemed weak, but was actually strong and resolute.

"Walk slower." He stretched out his hand, a slight smile forming in his heart.

It turns out that this woman who is not afraid of life and death and has dared to tease him boldly during this period also knows how to be afraid. This is good.

A woman who is too strong is easily broken; when she acts with fear, she won't be so bold as to act recklessly. Given his status, she would be his social media influencer among the officials' wives in the capital. If she relied on her youth and temper to be too impulsive, she might cause trouble.

Although the matters in the inner chamber were not a big deal, others would not dare to do anything to hinder him for his sake. But the more prosperous the situation was, the more cautious one had to be in what he said and did.

A mistress who is fearful and neither humble nor arrogant is always much better than a mistress who is bold, aggressive and reckless.

"Thank you, my husband." Xu Lingwan calmed down the uneasiness in her heart, put her hand in his palm, and smiled at him lightly.

This scene happened to be seen by a beautiful woman in her twenties who came out. The beautiful woman smiled at them and then smiled behind the curtain, "Mother, my second uncle and his wife are here."

This new name made Chen Yuanyuan blush.

Although she has had relationships in modern times and met the family of a scumbag, this is the first time she has been someone's real wife, not to mention that this is not her real self.

Several maids and old women hurriedly welcomed them in. After passing a twelve-panel rosewood screen with patterns of flowers, birds, fish and insects, they saw a spacious side room.

Several elegantly dressed ladies sat inside, including the beautiful woman who had just smiled at them. Sitting on the Arhat bed in the middle was Old Madam Shen, who was now looking at her with a smile.

"Second son's wife, come here and let mother take a good look at you." Old Madam Shen smiled at her.

Xu Lingwan didn't move.

Master Shen glanced at her expression, and seeing that she was slightly stunned, he whispered, "Go over quickly, mother is calling you."

Only then did Chen Yuanyuan remember that her husband ranked second, so the second wife he was referring to was naturally her.

She walked up to Old Lady Shen and bowed to greet her. Old Lady Shen took her hand and looked at her carefully from left to right for several times. The more she looked, the happier she became. She then introduced her to Old Lady Gu, the eldest wife of the Gu family, the wife of Duke Dingguo, the old wife of Duke Wendi, and the wife of the Crown Prince.

Thinking of Xu Lingwan's heroic act of blocking the sword for her husband on the wedding day, all the ladies gave her a friendly smile.

"Although you have met your sister-in-law and brothers and sisters before, now that you are officially your relatives, I still have to introduce them to you." Old Lady Shen pointed to the two people sitting next to her and began to introduce them.

On the left of Old Madam Shen is the eldest wife, Mrs. Lu, whose maiden name is Mingda and whose family is the Fanyang Lu family.

The Fanyang Lu family has always been "renowned and renowned, a family of great renown and prestige." They have produced three imperial tutors, two prime ministers, and three generals. Their descendants have established strong connections within the imperial court, and their students and former officials are spread throughout the country, truly making them a prominent family of their time.

At this moment, Mrs. Lu was sitting upright on the armchair. She was nearly forty years old, wearing a blue jacket with white magnolia and gold and silver inlays. Her hair was combed meticulously and she smiled faintly at her.

This solemn and dignified eldest sister-in-law always reminded Chen Yuanyuan of the director of the teaching department when she was in school. At this moment, she couldn't help but straighten her back, took a step forward, and called out, "Sister-in-law."

Mrs. Lu's smile deepened. She had often visited Xu Lingwan while she was recovering from her injuries, and she knew she was a very kind and sensible child.

Today, I saw that although she was beautiful, she behaved properly and dressed elegantly. There was no unnecessary decoration on her body. There was only a thumb-sized South China pearl in her hair that sparkled when she looked around. I immediately felt a little better about her.

Seeing her again, although she was tall, she still looked childish. She was a few years younger than her eldest daughter. Her heart softened and her smile widened. She took the blue and gold-embroidered hibiscus purse handed to her by the maid and placed it in her hand: "Thank you for your courtesy, second sister-in-law. From now on, we are one of our own family."

At this moment, the beautiful woman who had just met her stood up, bowed and saluted, then called out affectionately, "Second sister-in-law, I must ask for a gift from you."

Old Madam Shen looked at her, with an expression of obvious doting on her face.

This beautiful woman is Tao, the wife of the old lady's sixth son, the youngest daughter of the second branch of the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion, and the niece-granddaughter of the old lady of Duke Wendi, who had just paid her respects.

Judging from her innocent and lovable appearance, she must be a noble lady from a wealthy family who is loved by her parents, brothers and husband.

After Old Madam Shen finished her introductions, Xu Lingwan smiled and said, "Sixth brother's wife, you're too polite."

As he spoke, he took the prepared crimson brocade purse with honeysuckle patterns from Hongyue and handed it to her. Inside was a gold-threaded and ruby-studded Ruyi hairpin. The top ruby on the hairpin was translucent and shone with a beautiful water red.

When she saw it last night, her heart ached. In modern times, why would she still have to work? She could just sell it for a few thousand and live a leisurely life.

When Mr. Shen saw Xu Lingwan take out the purse with the honeysuckle pattern, he couldn't help but smile.

Last night, when she saw her preparing a gift, the maidservant who was close to her just took out this hairpin and Xu Lingwan gasped. Then she quickly calmed down and said to the maidservant in a mature manner: "This is it. Go and put it away."

After the maid left, the little girl with her hair disheveled and plain face hunched over the small table, feeling distressed for a long time. Finally, she looked up at him and said, "Husband, am I going to lose money tomorrow?"

Seeing this little girl's attitude, Mr. Shen felt that she would not be able to handle the greetings between women when they met her relatives tomorrow.

However, although she is young, she appears calm and dignified in public. She stands obediently beside her mother, always smiling calmly and appropriately.

At this time, a maid came to tell her that the Fifth Madam had arrived.

The Fifth Lady had also come to visit Xu Lingwan once with her eldest sister-in-law and Mrs. Tao. But she was not in good spirits at that time, and the Fifth Lady was standing at the back, so she had no impression of this Fifth Brother's wife.

At this moment, Chen Yuanyuan heard what she said and looked over, and saw a pretty young woman wearing a lilac-colored bodice with a pattern of hundreds of butterflies and flowers coming hurriedly. She wore a golden silk eight-treasure bead bun, and had two solid gold hollow bracelets inlaid with rubies on each hand.

"Please forgive me, mother, for being late." The pretty young woman bowed to Old Madam Shen. Because she came in a hurry, her body seemed to be unstable when she saluted, and her two gold bracelets made a crisp sound.

"But are you angry with Jingzhi again?" Old Madam Chen frowned, her tone slightly displeased.

Before she could answer, Mrs. Tao, who was standing beside her, hurriedly supported Mrs. Shen's arm and said in a gentle voice, "Mother, Fifth Sister-in-law originally came with me this morning, but when Ming'er woke up, he cried for his mother, so Fifth Sister-in-law turned back."

Anyone with a discerning eye would know that Mrs. Tao was trying to save the situation again. The fifth and sixth houses lived in different places, one to the east and the other to the west, so how could they possibly walk along the same road?

"Forget it, I won't talk about you today. Come and meet your second sister-in-law." Old Madam Chen sighed and said to her lightly.

The fifth wife, Yao, was born into a branch of a prominent family in Yuhang.

Xu Lingwan had heard Mother Yu mention that the Fifth Lady would never be able to marry into the Shen family in terms of family background, but the Fifth Master Shen of the Shen family was a notorious playboy. One day, he got drunk at a banquet at the Zhongzheng Marquis's Mansion and openly molested Yao.

When the news reached the Shen family, Prime Minister Shen, who was still alive at the time, immediately sent his eldest daughter-in-law, Lu, to personally propose marriage to Yao in order to protect the girl's reputation. Fifth Master Shen, already punished for Yao's actions, and seeing that she was plain and uninteresting, disliked her even more.

In the first few years after his marriage, it was rumored that he had a mistress outside, who was chaste in nature and had a smart son.

Old Master Shen was almost sick because of this matter, and punished Master Shen Wu by making him kneel in the family ancestral hall for a month.

Yao, on the other hand, listened to someone's advice and wanted to please Master Shen Wu by welcoming the concubine into the house and raising the concubine's son under her own name.

At that time, Master Shen and Master Shen II were both on assignment outside the palace, leaving only the old lady and the first lady at home.

Madam Lu, having received the news in advance, stopped the men at the west gate and, through some drastic means, had the virtuous and virtuous courtesan expelled from the capital. As for the eldest son, it was said that he was being raised by one of Master Shen Wu's concubines.

Thinking of this, Chen Yuanyuan couldn't help but feel a bit sad as a woman.

In an era where fathers are the leaders of their sons and husbands are the leaders of their wives, it would be good if you could meet a good person and live a happy life with him; but if you didn't meet one and you didn't have the backbone to stand up for yourself, you would have to compromise and depend on others for the rest of your life.

At this moment, Yao couldn't help but have red eyes, and she greeted Xu Lingwan in a low voice.

Xu Lingwan gave him a purse with a gilded background and embroidered with five blessings in gold and silver threads, inside which was a Hetian jade hairpin with a lustrous Ruyi pattern.

By the way, she glanced at her nominal husband, who was eighteen years older than her. If she were to encounter this situation, how would she deal with it?

Then comes the formal process of serving tea and recognizing relatives.

The group went to the main hall. Old Madam Shen sat on the armchair with a smile on her face. The empty seat next to her was for Old Master Shen, who had passed away eight years ago.

Old Master Shen was the prime minister. In Xu Lingwan's memory, his grandfather still admired Old Master Shen's integrity and character.

Ling Wan kowtowed to both Old Madam Shen and Old Master Shen, then took the tea handed to her by the maid and called out to Old Madam Shen, "Mother."

The word "Mother" caused the noble ladies watching the ceremony to smile with their hands covering their mouths. Old Madam Shen looked at her lovingly and smiled as well. Then she handed her the things she had prepared long ago.

Chen Yuanyuan felt the weight of the gift in her hand. Last night, as she and Yu Mama and the maids were taking inventory of the gifts to be given away, her heart was bleeding.

Mr. Shen is of a high generation. Apart from his biological children, he also has a large number of brothers-in-law, nephews and nieces. This is not recognizing relatives at all. It is clearly to be a money-giving boy.

Moreover, if she had known that Xu Lingwan's dowry was so generous, she would not have had to keep in touch with Shen Cong from time to time in the past six months. If the two of them really couldn't get along, with her current wealth, it would not be a problem for her to support the people in the dowry and live a free and comfortable life.

Chen Yuanyuan felt like she was having a heart attack at the time, but when she caught a glimpse of Shen Cong's profile reading a book under the lamp, she covered her chest and comforted herself: If the old doesn't go away, the new won't come. It's right for your man to spend his own money.

If he treats you well, then treat him like a husband; if he treats you badly, then treat him like a hired hand. This small business, if you think of it as a long-term investment, won't necessarily be a loss.

After Xu Lingwan finished her greetings, Second Master Shen saw that she was no longer as awkward as before. He then walked over to her side and whispered, "Duke Wending, Duke Fuguo, and Marquis Weiqi are still here. I'm afraid Xiaowu and Xiaoliu won't be able to handle it, so I have to go to the front to greet them. If you want anything, just tell mother. Mother loves you very much."

Finally, she added: "If you have any inconvenience in the interactions among the women, just follow your eldest sister-in-law."

Chen Yuanyuan gave her a funny look. Could it be that someone in the Shen family's backyard was bullying her?

He underestimated her too much. She murmured softly in her heart, but seeing Chen Cong's natural and sincere expression, she felt that her husband was not bad and knew how to protect her. So she whispered to him, "I understand. Go ahead, husband."

This "husband, go ahead" carried some of the usual coquettishness that Xu Lingwan used to show towards her, making Chen Cong feel that she was pretending to be calm, so she smiled and said, "I'll be there in a minute, don't worry."

Chen Yuanyuan watched his tall, crimson figure disappear, remembering that his hesitation when she first arrived that morning had made him feel timid, hence his hesitation to offer comfort. She smiled inwardly and turned back to focusing on the matter of recognizing her kin.