Chapter 40: A Simple Meal
The next morning, Zhang hosted a simple dinner at her house to welcome her eldest brother and his family. Pei Qian and Jiang Yao also came.
When he saw Jiang Lan, Pei Qian's eyes widened.
Her skin was as white as cream, rosy and tender as a pink peach blossom. Her beauty, which had been covered by a hint of sickness before, was now fully revealed like the bright moon after the clouds were parted.
Just one glance and his heart was moved. Any resentment he had about her actions was swept away at this moment, and his eyes became tender, mixed with admiration.
Being looked at by him with such eyes, Jiang Lan felt nauseous as if she had eaten a fly. She pinched her palm with her thumb to barely suppress the nausea, otherwise she really wanted to slap him in the face.
Seeing Jiang Lan's radiant and pretty face, Jiang Yao was surprised for a moment, but then she was overwhelmed with jealousy and resentment. Especially when she saw Pei Qian's staring look, she was even more jealous and crazy. She was so angry that her nails dug deep into her flesh. If there weren't so many people present, she would have rushed up and scratched that face to pieces.
During the meal, Jiang Cheng asked Pei Qian with concern how his brother-in-law was preparing for the next spring imperial examination. Pei Qian answered modestly and talked about his views on the essays of the top scorers in previous years. His comments were brilliant and received Jiang Cheng's nod of approval.
He glanced at Jiang Lan again, as if his previous remarks were just to show off his talent in front of her. There was a kind of proud expectation in his eyes, wanting to see her look of admiration at him.
Jiang Lan never looked up at him from beginning to end. She concentrated on eating and was thinking about other things. She didn't hear a word of what he said.
Seeing that she didn't look in his direction, Pei Qian felt like he was being scratched by a cat. He was eager to find an opportunity to be alone with her. However, due to so many people present, he couldn't be too obvious. When he looked away, he saw Zhang Hua steal a glance at Jiang Lan. His eyes suddenly darkened, as if something that should have belonged to him was coveted by someone else.
He looked at this cousin he had never met before with a condescending and critical gaze. He had an average appearance and vulgar manners, and was inferior to himself in every way. He immediately felt a lot more relieved.
Jiang Yao secretly paid attention to Pei Qian's every move, not even missing a glance from him.
After the meal, he glanced at Jiang Lan a few times. She saw everything clearly. She was so angry that she had no appetite at all and hardly even moved her chopsticks. She was so angry that she was full of anger.
Especially when she saw Jiang Lan concentrating on eating, chewing her food slowly and enjoying it very much, Jiang Yao felt even angrier and cursed her to death from overeating.
Mrs. Du looked at Jiang Lan coldly. She had almost never stopped using her chopsticks since she picked them up. She picked up every dish and was the only one at the table who was concentrating on eating. She was eating when her father was talking to her brother-in-law, she was still eating when her father was talking to her uncle, and she was still eating when her mother was talking to her aunt. She had absolutely no manners at all.
After the meal, Mrs. Du looked down upon Jiang Lan more and more, especially when compared with her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhu, who was sitting at the same table, Jiang Lan seemed even more uneducated.
Like Jiang Yao, Zhu didn't eat a single bite of the food. She was picking up food for her mother-in-law, Du, the whole time. When someone spoke, she put down her chopsticks and lowered her head to listen attentively.
In Mrs. Du's eyes, this is a qualified daughter-in-law who is honest and dutiful, filial to her parents-in-law, and whose words and actions are impeccable whether in front of the elders or the younger generations.
In the eyes of her youngest son Zhang Hua, Jiang Lan looked particularly pretty whether she was stretching out her chopsticks to pick up food or lowering her head to eat in small bites. In the middle of the meal, Zhang secretly gave him a look to hint that he should pick up food for Jiang Lan. He wanted it very much, but he didn't dare to do it in front of so many people, especially in front of his mother Du.
After dinner, Jiang Cheng invited his elder brother-in-law Zhang Da Laoye, his uncle-in-law Pei Qian, and his two nephews Zhang Kui and Zhang Hua to his study to see paintings. He had just acquired a landscape painting by a famous artist a few days ago, and he liked it very much. Good things should be taken out for everyone to see, so he invited a few people to appreciate it together.
Pei Qian was anxious to find an opportunity to meet Jiang Lan alone, but he also didn't want to spoil the fun of his father-in-law Jiang Cheng. On the way to the study, he was thinking about what excuse he could come up with to get away.
On this side, Jiang Lan said goodbye to her stepmother Zhang and her aunt Du and left first.
"The elders are still here, but she, a junior, left first. She has no manners at all." Mrs. Du looked at Jiang Lan's back coldly, with the corner of her mouth curled down in dissatisfaction.
Zhang was about to say something nice to Jiang Lan, but Jiang Yao exaggerated and said, "Aunt, you don't know, but Second Sister has always been like this in the mansion. Sometimes she doesn't even take Mother seriously and dares to contradict Father."
Seeing that Mrs. Du's face was getting darker and darker, Mrs. Zhang interrupted quickly, "Your second sister was not in good health before." As she spoke, she winked at Jiang Yao to stop her from causing trouble. She smiled and explained to Mrs. Du, "She was not feeling well and was unhappy. It was just a little temper now. Now the child is better and is very filial to the master and me." She gave Jiang Yao a stern look to stop her from speaking, and continued to smile at Mrs. Du, "After she gets married, she will definitely be filial to you, her mother-in-law."
Hearing this, Jiang Yao's grievance, anger, unwillingness, jealousy... all disappeared, replaced by overwhelming surprise and pride. Her expression suddenly turned from gloomy to bright. She immediately understood her mother's intention of speaking well of Jiang Lan, and changed her tone to speak well of Jiang Lan.
"Third Miss, you are married now and belong to another family. You should worry less about your mother's family's affairs." Mrs. Du said indifferently.
Jiang Yao looked embarrassed, and Zhang spoke to her rescue, "Yao'er is just concerned about her sister, please don't be offended, sister-in-law."
After all, she was her niece, and Mrs. Du did not want to make the relationship awkward, so she softened her tone and said to Mrs. Zhang, "My son-in-law is a good guy. He will be on the imperial examination next year, and it's just around the corner." She also urged Jiang Yao to hurry up and get pregnant, as this was the most important thing. If she could give birth to a son, her position in the Duke's Mansion would be unshakable.
The following few words also touched Zhang's heart. She also urged Jiang Yao to have a child as soon as possible. Jiang Yao blushed, lowered her head and nodded.
After talking for a while, Mrs. Du felt tired and took her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhu, back to Tingyuxuan to rest.
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