Chapter 353 Insignificant People

She was already taller than Gu Shuyan, and her figure had changed slightly due to her age. When she tilted her head back like that, she looked like a proud old hen stretching its neck.

"What are you laughing at? Is this how you raise your children, eldest sister?" Aunt Ji was somewhat exasperated.

Seeing this, Gu Shuyan moved forward slightly and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, "Who do you think you are as an elder? If you want to be my elder, you should take a good look at yourself first! As for how my mother raised her children, just look at my two older brothers who are in high school. My mother's upbringing must have been excellent. As for you, you should mind your own business first!"

Gu Shuyan spoke without any provocation, but instead with a serious expression, which made Aunt Ji want to explode.

She had never been treated like this before, and now she was being scolded by a little kid who hadn't even grown up yet. She was so embarrassed that she couldn't bear it.

Ji Shi had been bullied by this younger sister a lot when she was young. She was too happy to stand up for her and speak ill of her own daughter.

The mother and her three children entered the general's mansion one after the other, and none of them paid any attention to Aunt Ji and her group.

“You country bumpkin, I’m going to tell Grandma and she’ll punish you.”

The one making the fuss was a teenage girl following behind Aunt Ji. Judging from their appearance, it was clear that the two were mother and daughter.

Gu Shuyan glanced coldly at the girl, then followed Madam Ji into the General's Mansion without looking back.

Inside the main hall of the General's Mansion, Old Madam Ji was already sitting upright, waiting for her descendants to come and pay their respects.

Of course, these children refer to her own daughters, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As for the two grandsons of the eldest son's family and the Ji family mother and son, in Madam Ji's opinion, they were completely unimportant.

Madam Ji did not take the Ji family and their son seriously, and the Gu family did not take Madam Ji seriously either.

Upon entering the main hall, Madam Ji first saw her eldest sister-in-law, Madam Ji, sitting at the lower end of the table.

"Madam, sister-in-law."

Ji Shi still remembered to call out to Old Madam Ji, but Gu Shuyan completely ignored the old lady.

"Has Aunt prepared anything delicious for me?" Gu Shuyan asked coquettishly, stepping forward to hug Madam Ji tightly and refusing to let go.

Seeing Gu Shuyan's clingy behavior, Madam Ji couldn't stop smiling. She had her personal maid bring over the pastries she had prepared in advance, and then said with a smile, "I knew you were a gluttonous girl, so I prepared your favorite pastries for you early on."

As Madam Ji spoke, she affectionately tapped Gu Shuyan on the head, her gesture no less loving than that of a biological mother and daughter.

Seeing the two so intimately together, Madam Ji couldn't help but snort coldly, "I wonder who taught them these manners. It's one thing to not know how to greet elders after entering the house, but to be so disrespectful is another."

There was a hint of sourness in Madam Ji's words, whether it was because she saw how intimate Madam Ji and Gu Shuyan were, or because Gu Shuyan completely ignored her.

Regardless of the reason, her words successfully drew everyone's attention.

"Mother, how is Shuer being unruly?"

Madam Ji was personally arranged to marry into the Ji family by Old Madam Ji, so she has always addressed Old Madam Ji as "Mother." In contrast, Madam Ji herself has never called Old Madam Ji by those two words.

"Aunt, this girl from the countryside is naturally unruly, and she even talked back to Mother outside just now. Grandmother, you must speak up for Mother!"

Before the old lady could speak, a figure in light yellow rushed in from outside the door.

Gu Shuyan looked down and saw that the person who came was Wang Fuling, the youngest daughter of Aunt Ji.

"Fuling is here! Come quickly to your grandmother's house."

When Madam Ji saw Wang Fuling, her eyes almost narrowed into slits. Her loving expression truly reflected the joy of a grandmother seeing her granddaughter.

Upon hearing this, Wang Fuling immediately went to the old lady's side and sat down beside her.

"Grandmother, you must teach this ill-mannered country bumpkin a lesson."

Wang Fuling swayed back and forth on Old Madam Ji's sleeves, looking so aggrieved that it seemed as if Gu Shuyan had really done something to her.

Seeing this, Gu Shuyan sneered and stood quietly to the side without saying a word. Her demeanor alone made people feel that they could not reach her level.

"Second sister has really raised a good daughter. Whenever she sees her cousin, she calls her a country bumpkin. Anyone who doesn't know better would think that the Wang family looks down on our Yi'an Marquis's mansion."

Ji was already very unhappy when she heard Wang Fuling call her daughter a country bumpkin, but she didn't hold it against her because her daughter was young.

But upon hearing her words, how could Madam Ji remain seated? She herself couldn't bear to say a harsh word to her daughter, so why should these insignificant people slander her like this?

"Eldest daughter, it's just that children speak without thinking, don't take it too seriously. After all, the Wang family is your second sister's husband's family, and they are relatives with the Marquis of Yi'an's family. If you say that, people who don't know the situation might think the two families are at odds!"

The Wang family is already in a precarious situation, and if news of discord with the Marquis of Yi'an's household were to spread, they would be walking on thin ice.

Thinking of this, Madam Ji quickly changed her previous attitude and glanced at Madam Ji the Second.

Since the lady had lived with the old lady for many years, she naturally knew what the old lady Ji meant by that look. So, she quickly stepped forward and took Ji's hand.

"Big sister, please don't argue with a child. What can a little kid know? He's just talking nonsense. A few words of discipline will suffice."

Madam Ji the Second put on an air of making a big deal out of a small matter and letting it go.

But just when she and the old lady thought this way, some people were eager to undermine them.

"What nonsense! Our Fuling would never speak carelessly. My niece is from the countryside; is this some kind of secret in the capital?"

It has to be said that the second daughter of the Ji family is really not very bright.

Even though people were speaking up for her family, the moment she saw her biological mother, the thought of having her mother's support came over her.

"Mother, my eldest sister just humiliated me quite a bit."

Just like Wang Fuling, Aunt Ji stepped forward with a wronged expression and grabbed the old lady's sleeve. She looked more like an unmarried young girl than a mother.

Old Madam Ji's expression was already not good after being exposed by her own daughter. Seeing her daughter still looking like this, she immediately lost the tenderness she had felt before.