Chapter 231 Xuan Yi's Wronged Feelings
Our dynasty treats its officials very well. Not only are their salaries slightly higher than those of the previous dynasty, but they also have more holidays. In addition to the designated holidays, they can also take leave for happy events in their families, such as their own or their children's weddings, which are nine days off. They also have leave for the weddings of close relatives. Considering that some officials need to travel to other places to attend, these holidays do not include travel time.
When Gu Xuanyi gets married, Gu Jingxi and Gu Jingsong, as her uncles, get three days off, while Gu Jingsheng, as her father, gets nine days off.
Therefore, on the day Gu Xuanyi returned to her parents' home after three days, the entire Gu family was there, with everyone waiting for Gu Xuanyi and her husband to return.
Zhang has been sleeping poorly for the past two days. She knows her daughter's personality well and is worried that her daughter won't be able to handle her husband's family. Right now, she is eagerly waiting for what will happen.
Just then, a maid came in to report, "The eldest young lady and her husband have returned."
Upon hearing this, Zhang immediately instructed Gu Xiuyuan and Jiang, her elder brother and sister-in-law, to go and greet them, to show the importance her family placed on her. As for the elders greeting the younger generation, there was no need for that.
Not long after, Gu Xiuyuan and his wife brought Gu Xuanyi and her husband to Shou'an Hall to pay their respects to Old Madam Gu and to the other elders.
Putting aside his complicated family background, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an seems quite good-looking. He is handsome, has an elegant demeanor, and is said to be academically competent. Standing next to Gu Xuanyi, they are a perfect match.
"Granddaughter greets her grandmother."
"The grandson-in-law greets his grandmother."
Gu Xuanyi and her husband first greeted Madam Gu, and then greeted the other elders.
Zhang looked her daughter up and down. She saw that her daughter had a proper smile on her face, but her face looked a little haggard. She could tell that her daughter was not having a good time in her husband's family. If she was having a good time, her face would be rosy and she would have a little bit of the shyness that a new bride should have.
In front of her son-in-law, Zhang didn't ask any questions, but just chatted with her daughter and son-in-law about everyday matters.
The rest of the Gu family members all had sharp eyes and could see that Gu Xuanyi looked a bit haggard. It seemed that the arrogant and domineering eldest daughter of the Gu family had suffered a loss in her husband's family.
Afterwards, everyone left Shou'an Hall. Gu Xiuyuan and his brothers accompanied their brother-in-law, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an, while Zhang Shi also prepared to have a private conversation with her daughter.
With a smile on his face, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an spoke gently to Gu Xuanyi, "Madam, I'll chat with my brothers for a while and exchange ideas. You should also have a good talk with your mother-in-law; she must be missing you very much these past few days."
Gu Xuanyi met his smiling eyes, her expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly smiled and said, "Go ahead, my husband. See you at the luncheon later."
The heir of the Marquis of Wu'an nodded in response: "Very well."
Hearing the couple's conversation, Gu Xiuming quipped, "Your younger sister and brother-in-law have such a good relationship; they're reluctant to part even after being apart for a short while."
Gu Xuanyi smiled and lowered her head without saying a word, looking shy.
Jiang glanced at her sister-in-law and smiled, "How could a newlywed couple not have a good relationship? When you get married in the future, you'll definitely be just like them with your new wife."
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Jiang belatedly realized that she had said something she shouldn't have. Gu Xiuming dotes on his concubines like they're his own eyes. Which girl would dare to marry into such a family and suffer?
Gu Xiuming's expression changed slightly, but he smiled and remained silent.
The others glanced at Gu Xiuming indifferently, tacitly changed the subject, and left chatting and laughing.
After returning to her courtyard with her daughter, Madam Zhang dismissed all the maids and then asked, "Xuanyi, how have you been at the Marquis of Wu'an's residence?"
Seeing her mother looking at her with concern, Gu Xuanyi's eyes instantly welled up with tears, but she still managed a smile and replied gently, "Mother, I'm doing quite well at the Marquis of Wu'an's residence."
No one knows a daughter better than her mother.
Zhang knew her daughter's personality well. Was her daughter such a sensible child? In the past, she would make a scene in front of her if she suffered even the slightest grievance. She was not a child who could stand being taken advantage of. Now, only two days later, she had suddenly changed a lot and matured a lot. She wondered what she had been through.
She asked again, "Xuanyi, tell your mother the truth, how have the people of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion treated you?"
Gu Xuanyi slowly lowered her head, tears finally spilling from her eyes and dripping onto the back of her hand with a 'plop', as she sobbed softly, suppressing her cries.
From the moment she returned to her parents' home, even though she felt wronged, she always tried to smile and maintain her dignity, afraid that others would see that she was not doing well and laugh at her. After all, she had gone against her mother's wishes to secretly associate with the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an, and she had been full of expectations to marry into the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion.
Seeing this, Zhang felt heartbroken and asked anxiously, "Xuanyi, what happened? Tell your mother that if they dare to bully you, while your son-in-law is still at our house and your third uncle is also home, we can intimidate them and get justice for you later."
Gu Xuanyi looked up at Zhang Shi and saw that Zhang Shi looked anxious and concerned. In the end, her grievances overcame her so-called dignity, and she told her mother about her grievances: "Mother, the people in the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion are not easy to get along with. The old lady and my mother-in-law don't seem to get along. On the second day after I entered the family, the old lady gave me a hard time. As for the other aunts, the second and third wives are born out of wedlock and are a little better, but the fourth wife is the old lady's daughter and is not easy to talk to either."
Zhang was not surprised by this; it was within her expectations. She sighed softly, "I told you before that the Wu'an Marquis's residence is a complicated place, but you wouldn't listen to my advice and insisted on having secret dealings with him. Now that it's too late, there's no turning back. You can only be more careful in the future and learn from your mistakes."
As Zhang spoke, seeing her daughter's tears fall even more fiercely, she stopped scolding her and instead said, "Although the old lady is your mother-in-law's mother-in-law, she is a second wife, only a few years older than your mother-in-law, and she has her own son. This son is even more outstanding than your father-in-law, but because your father-in-law, the legitimate son of the first wife, is alive, he cannot inherit the title. She is resentful and it is impossible for her to get along with your mother-in-law. By the way, how does your mother-in-law treat you?"
Mentioning Lady Wu'an, Gu Xuanyi felt even more aggrieved and choked up as she said, "My mother-in-law is not as kind as I had imagined. The day after I married into the family, she set rules for me. This morning, I got up early and waited in her courtyard before she got up, serving her as she dressed, washed, and ate breakfast. From now on, I will have to pay my respects to her morning and evening every day."
Although Zhang felt sorry for her daughter, she couldn't find fault with her. This was because setting rules for the new bride, requiring her to pay respects to her mother-in-law morning and evening, was something many mothers-in-law would do, and no one could find fault with it.
Looking at her daughter, who was crying with tears streaming down her face, she could only comfort her, "Xuanyi, just bear with it for now. Go along with your mother-in-law. If you make her happy, she naturally won't make things difficult for you. These rules will only last a year or two. If you behave well and keep her happy, it will only take half a year."
Gu Xuanyi was not comforted and felt even more upset. She said with a mix of grievance and anger, "I married into their family as a daughter-in-law, not a maid. There are maids here, so why should I do the work of a maid to serve her?"
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she felt very aggrieved: "Grandmother never set any rules for you, my second aunt, or my third aunt. Grandmother even said that this was something that maids did and that you didn't need to do. But my mother-in-law made me do it. I've never done this kind of servant work before in my life."
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