Gu Xi felt very complicated when he served tea to Yu Tang.

She couldn't figure out whether she felt more reluctance, jealousy, or regret.

If she had been more patient and waited until the news of Yu Tang and Pei Yan's marriage came out before deciding on her own marriage, would she not have faced such an embarrassing situation?

It doesn’t seem so.

Among the young men in the Jiangnan area, there is no better son-in-law than Pei Yan. Even if she doesn't marry Pei Tong, she won't be able to seduce Pei Yan. And Pei Tong is the best candidate among the people she knows.

If she missed Pei Tong, she would probably regret it even more.

That's it, right?!

Gu Xi thought that she had to make her own living. Her mother had married into a good family, but she still died of illness.

She just didn't believe that she couldn't live a good life.

Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem so difficult to accept serving tea to Yu Tang.

Gu Xi called Yu Tang "Third Aunt" in a calm voice, which was neither enthusiastic nor cold.

The eldest wife nodded with satisfaction.

The Miss Peis nearby covered their mouths and laughed.

When Pei Laoan saw this, he glared at them angrily.

The third, fourth and fifth young ladies, who had not yet left the room, hunched their shoulders like quails and dared not laugh anymore.

Yu Tang felt so proud and was in a particularly good mood.

She and Gu Xi are really destined to be together!

She loves the fate of this life so much.

"There's no need to be so polite, niece-in-law." She said with a smile, handed the teacup to the matchmaker standing next to her, took the meeting gift from Qing Yuan, and gave it to Gu Xi.

Gu Xi thanked her with a smile, and was in a better mood when she saw that Yu Tang's meeting gift included a jade pendant, which was different from other sisters-in-law of the same generation, and the water content of the jade pendant was also good.

Although she had to perform the etiquette of a young lady when she met Yu Tang in the future, Yu Tang still had to give her red envelopes during festivals. It could be said that she was at a disadvantage in terms of etiquette but he compensated her financially, so it wasn't that much of a disadvantage.

However, Madam Yang, the eldest sister-in-law from the eldest maternal family, could not help but complain about the Pei family on the way back after the family recognition wine: "They are still so stingy. They are not even willing to let the couples go."

This time, Mrs. Yang came on behalf of the Yang family, and the meeting gifts from several uncles' families were around two thousand taels of silver, which was very decent.

The eldest wife smiled bitterly and said, "Do you still expect the Pei family to be different from before? Even when his father was alive, there was no way to change. What's more, his father is gone, and Pei Yan is as stubborn as my old lady. In short, I can't count on the Pei family anymore."

Madam Yang sighed, helped Madam Pei to straighten the fox fur on her cloak, and said, "What have you thought about what I told you?"

She came here this time with a purpose.

The Yang family wanted to remarry the Pei family.

If Pei Tong fails, there is still Pei Fei.

If Pei Fei doesn't work out, then the Yang family can marry a girl from the Pei family.

The Yang family took a fancy to the fifth daughter, Pei Dan.

Mrs. Yang said, "I will definitely not make it difficult for you. I am here to ask for marriage on behalf of Feng'er."

Yang Feng is the second son of Mrs. Yang.

Although he is the second son, he is the best student in the Yang family.

Pei Dan was indeed not wronged.

Mrs. Pei frowned. She didn't like the second wife, so naturally she didn't like the fifth daughter born to the second wife, and she didn't want the fifth daughter to marry such a good husband.

"We have to wait until Atong's wedding is over." She said evasively, "Second Wife will leave for Shandong after the New Year, so there is still time."

But Madam Yang was in a hurry to go back, she wanted to settle this matter before she went back. She couldn't help but say: "Your brother said that he underestimated Pei Xuan in the past. Do you know who is competing with Pei Xuan for the position of Shandong Provincial Governor? It's the fifth master of the Li family! Pei Xuan was personally recommended by Mr. Zhang."

The eldest wife doesn’t know.

Her mouth opened slightly.

The Li and Zhang families were not only relatives by marriage, but also worked together in the officialdom. If Pei Xuan's Shandong governor was really as Madam Yang said, then it meant that the Zhang and Li families paid a great price and gave up a lot of benefits in order to get the Pei family involved.

"Not only that," Madam Yang gave the first wife another heavy blow, "Pei Xuan's mentor is said to have been appointed as the Chief of the Censorate."

One of the Nine Ministers, he entered the core of the imperial court.

"Your brother hasn't figured out whether this is one of the conditions set by the Zhang and Li families and Pei Xuan's teacher, or whether it is just to win over the Pei family." Madam Yang murmured, "We all thought that Pei Xuan would stay in the capital and be a chief clerk or a junior official, but we didn't expect him to give up the capital and choose Shandong. Shandong is very close to the capital. Of course, this may not be a choice he wants, but this position is definitely the best for him at the moment..."

She kept on nagging, and the eldest wife was a little annoyed, but she knew that her current support was her family, and she had to help them whether she liked it or not.

"Then I'll take the time to ask." Mrs. Pei changed her mind, "Just wait for my news."

She couldn't guarantee that the second wife would agree.

Because the second wife is a filial daughter-in-law, she listens to Pei Laoan in everything, and Pei Laoan dislikes her the most.

As they talked, they returned to the house where the eldest wife lived.

Mrs. Yang still had a lot of things to ask Mrs. Pei, so they decided to rest together tonight.

The next day, Gu Xi and Pei Tong returned home, and Mrs. Pei went to see the second wife.

The second wife was not at home. When asked, the maidservant beside her said that she had gone to the third wife's place.

It took the first wife a few breaths to react and realize that the third wife was referring to that girl Yu Tang.

Now I am mentioned on the same level as them.

The eldest wife was a little unhappy, but the little maid kept chattering, "The three young ladies are also at the third wife's place. They said they were going to the other courtyard outside the city to see the plum blossoms. The third master also said that if the weather is too cold, they will not come back tonight. The fifth young lady is very happy. She even brought a grill with her, saying that she would grill meat there. The third master also asked us to bring venison. I heard that it was sent by the Zhang family in the capital. We all want to go with them. We haven't seen what venison looks like yet. I heard that the rich families in the capital eat venison every day when winter comes. If it tastes good, the fifth young lady will definitely eat venison in winter in the future. Maybe we can all try it!"

He looks petty and has never seen the world.

The second wife is from a wealthy family, so why is her house filled with all these things?

The eldest wife snorted coldly, turned around and left.

The little maid looked around and saw no one. She made a face at the eldest wife's back and ran back to the room where the earthenware cage was burning.

After hearing the reply, Madam Yang pondered and said, "The Zhang family? They even sent someone to deliver venison. Do they think so highly of the Pei family?"

Unfortunately, after the second wife knew that the Yang family wanted to marry her, she politely declined: "I have already talked to my sister-in-law in my natal family and want Ah Dan to go to Jinling."

This means wanting to marry one's daughter back to one's parents' home.

The eldest wife was not good at persuading others, so she was at a loss for words. If she had a daughter, she would be willing to marry her nephew from her mother's side.

But as soon as she left, the second wife ran to Mrs. Pei and told her about the incident. She also cried like a girl complaining to her mother, "I don't have to marry Ah Dan to Jinling, but I definitely can't accept a mother-in-law like the eldest wife of the Yang family."

She couldn't even defeat the first wife, let alone Madam Yang. If her darling daughter got married to the first wife, wouldn't she be bullied and not even be able to say a word?

When the first wife said that she wanted to pick up her daughter-in-law in Hangzhou City, Pei Laoan was holding his breath. Later, he called Pei Tong over and gave her a few words of advice. Pei Tong was smart and persuaded the first wife to change her mind. Pei Laoan was a man who never lost his temper, but now seeing that the Yang family was setting their sights on the Pei family again, he could no longer hold back. Without waiting for Madam Yang to return to Beijing, she called Madam Yang over and reprimanded her: "You are also the one who raised a son and a daughter, how come you don't have a little sympathy? You are also the one who can interfere in the marriage of the second wife's children? Do they have no mother, father, or grandparents? Oh, I was wrong, you only raised a son, so you naturally don't know the heart of raising a daughter. Our old lady is gone, and you don't have to worry about me, an old woman who only knows about the deep mansion. But you are a mother, am I right about this? Since you are a mother, you have to set an example. How come you are not even as good as those servants in the family? Those servants don't know what they can and can't say. You have been married to the Pei family for so many years, can't you learn a little? You..."

Her mother-in-law spoke so suddenly and so fast that it was like hail hitting her head. It took her a while to react.

By the time she came to her senses, she was anxious and angry, and so ashamed that she wanted to bang her head against the red-painted pillar in Pei Laoan's living room that was so thick that it took a man to hug it.

But Old Master Pei didn't let her go, saying, "Don't feel wronged. Do you know why I look down on you? It's because you don't like to learn. Not only are you ignorant, but you don't like to learn. Who are you, the Yang family? Have you washed off the stinky copper money on your body? Why don't you learn well and bring some street habits to our home? If it weren't for Pei Tong's sensible child, I think your family would be like the Yang family, with nothing to do except counting money."

This really hit the first wife's sore spot.

She stood up and was about to hit the pillar.

But Mr. Pei looked at him with a sneer and said, "Don't dirty my place. If you want to mess around, go back to your own room. It's just right to hand the two children over to their second or third uncles to raise them, so they won't get ruined in your hands."

Aunt Chen was there, so of course it was impossible for the first wife to hit the pillar. Some people went to call Pei Yan and his wife, some informed the second wife, and some went to call Madam Yang to come over.

Mrs. Yang was no pushover either. She said to Mr. Pei with a smile, "Who would treat a widowed daughter-in-law like this?"

Pei Laoan was originally trying to scare the tiger with a warning. Now that the tiger has come out, he is even more eager to fight. He sneered, "If you feel wronged, why don't you take my sister-in-law home to live with you, so that those wealthy families in the capital can see whether our Pei family is wrong or your Yang family is right? Or do my two grandchildren want to follow their mother back to the Yang family?"

Mrs. Yang couldn't accept this.

Because no matter from which perspective, it would be easy for the eldest wife to return to her parents' home, but she could not take her two sons, who were already of aging age, with her.

This will be the first wife's support in the future.

I can’t take it away. What should I do if my sister-in-law goes back to her parents’ home?

Mrs. Yang was choked by Mr. Pei's words.