Hearing these words that denied Gu Xi's ability, she was so angry that her whole body was shaking.
What is the old lady of the Yang family?
If it was in the past, before she attended the Jiang family's wedding banquet, she would have been concerned about the fact that the Yang family was Pei Tong's maternal family, and that Old Man Yang was the chief priest of the Imperial Academy. For Pei Tong's future, she would have endured this humiliation no matter what. But now, she could clearly feel that although the father and son of the Yang family had good careers, they were just a flash in the pan in the official family like Zhang and Li. If they wanted to be looked up to by others, they had to have at least a second-rank or first-rank official in their family, or several fourth-rank officials or above for several generations.
The current Yang family is not qualified to compete with aristocratic families like Zhang and Li, let alone challenge them.
What does she have to be afraid of?
Gu Xi's face suddenly turned cold, and he stood up and was about to leave: "In that case, then we'll take our leave!"
The women of the Yang family were all stunned. However, Madam Yang reacted quickly and quickly grabbed Gu Xi's arm. She suppressed her anger and said, "Child, what's wrong with an elder saying a few words to you? Don't you think that the Yang family is not as good as the Pei family, so you think that what our old lady said is too harsh? But what the old lady said is not too wrong, right? The two wives of the Pei family are not kind. Why don't they come to visit themselves and let you be their guest? Do you know why our Yang family invited them? What is the status of those guests? The old lady said that you are ignorant, and you are still not convinced?"
Gu Xi has always been arrogant. After attending the Jiang family's wedding banquet, she found that even if the Jiang family looked down on the Pei family, they dared not show it openly. The Zhang and Li families valued her very much because she was the eldest lady of the Pei family, not to mention that she had a sister-in-law from the Yin family. She felt that except for her seniority, she was no worse than Yu Tang.
Mrs. Yang's words just hit the nail on the head for her unhappiness during this period.
She immediately became alert and sneered, "Aunt, what you said is wrong. Second and third aunts have already said they can't come because of something, but you insisted on hosting a banquet for them. They had no choice but to send me here. I thought that although the Fei family is powerful, the Yang family is my maternal family after all, so I must stand on the side of the Yang family. I never thought that in the eyes of my aunt, I was wrong. Am I not a good person to both sides? If so, what am I still doing here! There are a lot of things waiting for me to go back home!"
So, the two sisters-in-law of the Pei family really went to the Fei family!
Madam Yang and Old Madam Yang exchanged glances, and Madam Yang immediately smiled and said, "We know that you are filial, obedient and sensible. Isn't your grandmother angry that you two ladies are too disrespectful to her?"
Gu Xi had encountered this kind of situation countless times when she was at her mother's house. She took the opportunity to attack, looking heartbroken, and said, "You guys, who didn't come without telling me, are stabbing me with knives when I come to your house with good intentions. How can I feel good about this?"
My eldest sister-in-law is not an easy person to get along with.
Mrs. Yang was disgusted in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She said, "You are also a member of the Yang family. Now that something like this has happened, what's the point of getting angry? Why don't you sit down and discuss what to do?"
Mrs. Yang Er, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly interrupted and said, "What can we do? Tell those people not to come! She can't be the boss, so it's useless for us to tell her!"
Mrs. Yang seemed to be choked.
Gu Xi almost jumped up.
What does it mean?
Look down on her?
She really couldn't make decisions on some matters of the Pei family, but it was not the turn of the Yang family to discuss it here.
Gu Xi glanced at Madam Yang Er with a half-smile and said, "I told you I'm useless here. It doesn't make any sense for my aunt to keep me here like this!"
Mrs. Yang glared at Mrs. Yang, but did not let go of Gu Xi's arm.
Mrs. Yang Er turned away with an expression that said, "I did nothing wrong and I won't apologize."
Mrs. Yang looked as if she had a headache.
Gu Xi was a little unsure whether the Yang family had really encountered something and asked the Pei family for help, or whether the two were just pretending, when he heard Madam Yang slam the table and shouted, "Alright! Stop talking. I'm not dead yet, and it's not your turn to make the decision in this family!"
Mrs. Yang Da and Mrs. Yang Er both lowered their heads, and Mrs. Yang Da even let go of Gu Xi's hand.
Only then did Gu Xi realize that Mrs. Yang was holding her very tightly, and her arm began to hurt a little.
She rubbed the area where she was scratched.
Old Madam Yang looked exhausted, as if all her previous energy and vigor had been taken away in an instant.
"Atong wife, please sit down and talk." She said, "The eldest wife stays here, and the second wife goes outside to wait. I have something to say."
Gu Xi was surprised.
The two wives of the Yang family responded in unison. The first wife refilled the tea for Old Madam Yang, while the second wife led the maids and servants in the room and retreated.
Madam Yang took a sip of tea, and seeing Gu Xi sitting below her, she said, "Since you have said this, I will not hide it from you. We went to such great lengths to invite the two ladies of the Pei family to come here, and we do have a request from the Pei family. However, when we say 'request', we are giving face to the Pei family. The Pei family can choose not to agree, but what the consequences of not agreeing are, that is something that the Pei family has to weigh themselves."
Gu Xi was shocked.
This isn't a tone of request; it sounds more like... a threat.
Could it be that the Yang family has caught some evidence against the Pei family?
Gu Xi was also a person who would rather lose the battle than the fight, and although he didn't show any expression on his face when he heard this, his ears had already pricked up.
When Old Madam Yang saw her like this, she knew that she was not without ideas.
She exchanged glances with Mrs. Yang again.
Mrs. Yang nodded slightly towards her mother-in-law.
If she wasn't so amazing, her sister-in-law wouldn't have married her as the eldest daughter-in-law.
At this point, Old Lady Yang could only try to save the situation. She said, "When you go back, tell your Third Aunt that our family wants to strengthen the relationship with the Pei family and arrange another marriage. If she thinks that Mrs. An of the Pei family is unwilling and it is better to refuse, you can ask her to ask your Third Uncle. Others may not know, but our family knows, who gave the Third Prince the 200,000 taels of silver when he moved back from Jiangnan?"
Gu Xi was not an ignorant woman or child. Moreover, Gu Chang was afraid that Gu Xi would suffer because she had no older women to teach her, so he sometimes used things in the court to illustrate her.
She knew about the lecture on Buddha's Birthday last year and the 200,000 taels of silver.
Are the Yang family implying that the two hundred thousand taels of silver given to the Third Prince were given by the Pei family?
Gu Xi suddenly became a little panicked.
Two hundred thousand taels of silver is a small matter. If you think about it more deeply, you can even say that it was extortion by the third prince. But the problem is that the two hundred thousand taels of silver are also related to the assassination of the second prince that year.
The emperor has never appointed a crown prince. Logically, it should be either the legitimate heir or the eldest son. The third prince should not have any role to play. But the emperor has always liked the third prince, and because of the third prince, he did not let the second prince go to live in a foreign land. There was once a rumor that the reason why the previous prime minister retired was because he opposed the emperor's decision to depose the eldest son and appoint the youngest son as the heir.
If the Pei family is involved in such a crisis, it will be useless no matter how powerful they are!
All under heaven belongs to the king.
"What do you mean?" Gu Xi's voice was a little sharp. "Some things can be done carelessly, but some words cannot be said carelessly. The Yang family and the Pei family are in-laws!"
Madam Yang was very satisfied with Gu Xi's reaction and said coldly, "I am so old, how can I coax a child like you! We want to treat the Pei family as our in-laws, but the Pei family must also treat us as our in-laws. Otherwise, how can we stand together with the Pei family and share the joys and sorrows. Well, you can't make the decision on these matters. It's hard for you to let me tell you. But the two wives of the Pei family don't take our Yang family seriously. We can't talk to the two wives of the Pei family properly, so we can only let you suffer."
Gu Xi shook his head, feeling confused, not knowing how he got home.
But when she got home, she found that Yu Tang and the second wife were not at home.
She was so angry that she took a deep breath. She wondered what she would do if this was true. She didn't know if Pei You was involved. Was it too late for the eldest house to draw a clear line with the Pei family?
Gu Xi had no time to change his clothes, so he got on the sedan chair and went to Gu Chang's place.
Gu Chang had not yet left the government office, and her sister-in-law Yin was not at home either.
She couldn't help but ask the Gu family's nanny: "What did my sister-in-law do?"
"It is said that Lord Qin from the Ministry of Rites is having a party." The nanny said with a smile, "Madam, Madam Yin, and your two wives have all gone."
Didn’t they say that Madam Fei was coming?
Gu Xi was confused.
The maid said, "It's because Madam Fei is here! Madam Qin cleaned up Madam Fei, and the Qin family invited several ladies to accompany her."
Is this why Yu Tang sent her to Yang's house?
Are they afraid that she will become prominent, or are they afraid that she will make friends with more women from other families?
Gu Xi waited like a trapped beast for nearly an hour, and finally waited for Gu Chaoyang.
She took her brother to the study and told him the matter quietly.
Gu Chaoyang was so surprised that he couldn't hide his expression. His mind was racing as he muttered to himself, "No wonder Pei Xiaguang stepped in to deal with this matter. I thought he wanted to establish his authority. Maybe he didn't want others to find out that this matter was related to the Pei family? This is really something Pei You would do..."
Hearing his brother mention his deceased father-in-law, Gu Xi's hair stood on end. He hurriedly asked, "Brother, is this really related to the Pei family? Is it related to my father-in-law? Could it be that the Yang family is lying?"
Gu Chaoyang shook his head and said thoughtfully, "I have heard about this matter a long time ago, but I didn't think much about it, especially since Pei You suddenly passed away and the Pei family retreated to Lin'an."
Having said that, the brother and sister couldn't help but look at each other.
Pei Yan is a man of many tricks and is deeply trusted by Mr. Zhang. Any normal father would not call back a son who has the potential to become a prime minister to his hometown to take care of the family business.
Or, this matter has nothing to do with Pei You, but with Pei Yan?
Both of them saw an expression in each other's eyes that could not be described in complex words.
"I have to tell Pei Xiaguang about this." Gu Chang found that he suddenly seemed to have caught the Pei family's handle. His throat felt a little dry and he said in a hoarse voice, "If the Pei family is in trouble, our family will also be implicated."
At this time, Gu Chang regretted very much that he had married his sister to the Pei family.