Chapter 437 For Ayao
The weather was sunny and the room was brightly lit.
Meng Jinyao was focused on her needlework when, after a moment, she vaguely sensed someone beside her. Looking up, she saw a man dressed in scarlet standing next to her. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she asked with a smile, "My husband is back?"
Gu Jingxi nodded: "These things can be done by the embroiderer, don't tire her out."
Meng Jinyao shook her head: "It's nothing. I'm just bored and looking for something to do to pass the time." After saying that, she put down her work and pointed to the pastries on the small tea table next to her. "These are the jujube paste pastries you sent someone to buy this morning. They're from Yipinzhai. Try them. I heard that the pastry chef's wife passed away, so the pastries he makes now aren't as sweet as before, but they still taste good and have a unique flavor."
Gu Jingxi looked bewildered: "Ayao, are you sure you're not mistaken? When did I send someone to buy it this morning?"
Meng Jinyao was stunned for a moment, then said, "That was probably something you ordered before. After you came back, you didn't tell the servants that they didn't need to buy any more, but they still maintained the previous habit and went to buy snacks every two days."
Gu Jingxi was very puzzled. He had not ordered his servants to do these things, so he asked again, "Ayao, are you sure I ordered it?"
"Are you still pretending to be stupid with me?"
Meng Jinyao glared at him and continued, "After you left the capital, you were so afraid that I wouldn't have enough to eat or wear. You arranged everything for me, including my food, clothing, and daily necessities. I asked you, and you arranged it all. Look at the clothes I wear and the jewelry I'm wearing. You had the managers of Jinxiufang and Jinyuge come to my door so I could choose the styles and have them made."
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi understood. He had written to his mother asking her to take care of A Yao, which must have been done by his mother in his name. So A Yao thought it was his arrangement. Then he asked, "A Yao, tell me, what have you arranged these days?"
Meng Jinyao thought he was worried that his subordinates wouldn't be attentive, so she told him everything in detail.
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi felt a little complicated. His mother raised A Yao with far more care than he had ever done. Her care was comparable to that of the empresses in the palace. He, as a husband, was not as good as her as she was as a mother-in-law. He suddenly felt a little frustrated.
At the same time, he understood why his mother had given him ten thousand taels of silver today. This money was not for him at all, but was for A Yao through him. She was worried that he couldn't afford to support A Yao, so she was giving him a subsidy to support his wife.
He does have private property, but his mother doesn't know exactly how much. It seems he needs to find a time to tell his mother, otherwise she might think he can't afford to support his wife and has to pay for her support.
Seeing that he remained silent, Meng Jinyao assumed that he was blaming his subordinates for not doing a good job, and said softly, "Husband, they did a very good job and were very responsible. I am very satisfied with them. You must reward them."
His elderly mother attributed all the credit to him, but Gu Jingxi did not want to take credit for his mother's work. He sat down next to her and said gently, "Ayao, I only wrote to my mother and asked her to take care of you for me. I did not arrange these things. These were all arranged by my mother."
Meng Jinyao's eyes widened in surprise: "Husband, you...you said this was arranged by Mother?"
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly: "To be precise, it was arranged for you by my mother in my name. I didn't know about this until you mentioned it." He then took out ten silver notes with a face value of one thousand taels from his sleeve and handed them to Meng Jinyao, "These were given to us by my mother not long ago."
Upon hearing her husband's words, Meng Jinyao's gaze fell upon the silver notes in his hand, and she was deeply shocked. Although her mother-in-law usually treated her very well, she was still overwhelmed with gratitude. During the days that her husband was away from the capital, her mother-in-law had meticulously arranged everything for her according to her preferences.
But she thought it was her husband's arrangement, so she spent money without restraint. It turned out that it was her mother-in-law's arrangement. No wonder when she wore new clothes, her mother-in-law always looked at her with a satisfied and appreciative look and praised her for looking good. Now she understood that her mother-in-law was satisfied with her own achievement.
However, she has spent a lot of her mother-in-law's money these days.
She slowly raised her head to look at Gu Jingxi and said hesitantly, "Husband, I've been spending a bit too much money lately."
Gu Jingxi patted her head to comfort her and said gently, "It's alright, Mother has money and is very well-off. The little bit of money you spent is nothing to her." As he spoke, he stuffed the silver notes in his hand into Meng Jinyao's hand, "This is from Mother. Take it and buy whatever you want. Don't be stingy."
Meng Jinyao looked down at the silver notes in her hand. Although she didn't count how many there were, at first glance, it seemed like there were tens of thousands of taels. Although the silver notes were light, they felt heavy in her hand. She was very puzzled: "Why did Mother suddenly give us so much silver?"
Gu Jingxi smiled and said, "She probably thinks your husband is too poor and will mistreat you and the child, so she specially subsidized us. This is a token of her mother's kindness, so let's accept it. Thanks to Ayao, this is the first time I've ever received a subsidy from my mother. I've never received a single tael of silver before, but now I've received ten thousand taels."
Meng Jinyao exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?" and seemed a little taken aback. She stammered, "Is your husband poor?"
Gu Jingxi laughed and said, "You can think of it as when it's cold, even though you're not cold, your mother thinks you are and insists on making you wear two more layers."
Meng Jinyao instantly understood. Her husband and she were clearly not poor, but her mother thought they were and insisted on subsidizing them. A wave of emotion washed over her; this profound maternal love was something she had never experienced before. Not to mention Sun Shi wasn't her mother, Meng Dongyuan was her biological father, who had given her almost nothing yet still complained that she asked for too much.
Her eyes welled up with tears. Looking at the silver notes in her hand, she said softly, "I know Mother loves us, but we're both so grown up. I have a dowry, you have private property, and you're still receiving subsidies from your elders. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Gu Jingxi said softly, "It's alright, please accept it. Mother will be at ease. There's no need to feel embarrassed. Mother loves us dearly, and we will repay her by being even more filial to her in the future."
Meng Jinyao thought about it and agreed with him. She put down the silver note and picked up her needlework again, pursing her lips. "Look, this is a dress I made for my mother. It's almost finished, just a few stitches left. I'll take it to her tomorrow as a token of my respect. My mother loves the dresses I make. She wears them whenever she goes out and even says my embroidery is better than that of a professional embroiderer."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi recalled his mother's words. No wonder his older sisters were envious; it turned out that his mother always wore clothes made by A Yao to show off to her older sisters whenever she went out.
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