Chapter Thirty-Three: The Unworthy Son Is Unworthy
"Behave yourself, I might not be there next time."
The man spoke calmly, his tone tinged with helplessness, but he didn't seem angry.
Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback, then asked with a smile, "Husband, are you worried that I will be bullied by your son?"
Gu Jingxi glanced at her indifferently, without replying.
Meng Jinyao didn't care whether he responded or not, her smile remained, and she said in a light tone, "Don't worry, husband, he can't bully me."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi's face twitched. He knew she wouldn't stay quiet and might even enjoy making fun of Xiu Ming. Helplessly, he said, "Madam, why did you provoke him for no reason?"
Meng Jinyao disagreed, retorting, "Husband, how did I provoke him? I just came to check on him because I heard he had a persistent high fever."
These words sounded very respectable, but Gu Jingxi didn't believe a word of them. Looking at the young girl's gentle and kind face, she seemed like a loving mother who cared for her son. He shook his head and smiled, saying meaningfully, "Madam should care less about him. That unfilial son doesn't deserve it."
"I'm the elder, why should I argue with the younger generation?"
Meng Jinyao didn't care much. After all, with Gu Xiuming's quick wit, he couldn't win an argument with her. She tilted her head slightly to look at the man in front of her and said with a smile, "Besides, if he's disobedient, doesn't my husband help me discipline him?"
Gu Jingxi countered, "I just happened to be there this time, but what if I'm not there next time?"
Meng Jinyao said matter-of-factly, "Then I will educate him myself. It is a mother's duty to educate her son who disrespects his elders."
Gu Jingxi had no choice but to let her cause trouble. Judging from Xiu Ming's attitude today, it was impossible for him to admit his mistake and repent. Even if she didn't take the initiative to appear in front of Xiu Ming, he would still cause trouble when he saw her. Telling her not to take the initiative to appear would only reduce the number of conflicts.
Meng Jinyao asked again, "Our eldest son is injured and had a high fever last night. My husband didn't have time to ask about his condition just now. Should we go back and check on him again?"
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "No need. I can tell he still has the energy to curse, which proves there's not a big problem."
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement: "I think so too. Our son should be fine. Let's go back for lunch. I'm hungry." After saying that, she started to leave without waiting for his reply.
Her light steps reflected the little girl's excellent mood.
When Gu Jingxi saw this, he sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. One was a truly rebellious son, and the other was a fake loving mother. The three families were in for a good time.
-
Wei Rui Xuan.
Upon receiving the Marquis's signal, Chunliu had no choice but to return first. She was filled with anxiety the whole way, fearing that the Marquis would hold her accountable for revealing the information to the Madam. Even after returning to Weirui Pavilion, she dared not show her unease.
Chunliu's heart finally settled when she saw her two masters return one after the other, with the lady beaming and the marquis following behind her, seemingly indulging her greatly.
It was the lady who had the best ideas; she quickly appeased the Marquis. She felt more and more that clinging to the lady was the right choice. In order to continue to be a respectable head maid, she had to keep up the good work in the future.
After lunch, Gu Jingxi went out of the mansion to run errands.
On a warm spring afternoon, the sun was not intense, and a gentle spring breeze caressed my face.
Meng Jinyao sat by the window, propping her head up and looking up at the clear blue sky outside. She felt incredibly content and experienced the benefits of being married for the first time.
There's no need to constantly be on guard against a seemingly kind but actually cruel stepmother, nor to greet her every day and deal with her grandmother's harsh and difficult demands.
As for her husband's family, apart from the wedding day being quite unpleasant because her husband was a bit old and had a rebellious son, everything else was alright. The rebellious son couldn't bully her because she was of a higher generation.
Ningdong, Qingqiu, and Chunliu served at the side.
Meng Jinyao suddenly asked, "Chunliu, how old are you this year? How long have you been working in the Marquis's mansion?"
Chunliu answered truthfully: "This servant is sixteen years old this year. I was bought back by the old lady along with Xiazhu. I have been in the Marquis's mansion for four years. I used to work by the old lady's side. Last year, I was sent to Weirui Pavilion."
Meng Jinyao then asked, "You must know quite a bit about what's going on in the manor, right? Tell me about it in detail."
Chunliu responded readily and spoke frankly, describing the temperaments of all the masters in the mansion.
After listening to Chunliu's account, Meng Jinyao frowned slightly. Gu Xiuming was gentle, refined, polite, and sensible, and was deeply loved by his elders.
Gentle and refined, polite and sensible – which of these qualities describes Gu Xiuming?
That is clearly a rebellious son who lacks responsibility, behaves badly, does wrong things without any remorse, and even shifts the blame onto the victims.
Whether others like this kind of younger generation or not, she doesn't know, but as their mother, she certainly doesn't like them at all.
Seeing that she was frowning and silent, Chunliu asked nervously, "Madam, is there anything else you would like to know?"
Meng Jinyao said calmly, "Others may be as you say, but my son Xiuming is clearly talking about two different people."
Chunliu was stunned. Thinking of the two meetings between the lady and the young master, they were both confrontational. Indeed, the lady was not as gentle, refined, polite and sensible as she had described.
Meng Jinyao yawned, feeling sleepy, and said, "I'm tired, I'll rest for a while, you all go about your business."
The three maids acknowledged and withdrew.
-
Xia Zhu looked down on Chun Liu's obsequious behavior and walked over to Chun Liu, muttering, "Do you have to be so fawning towards the madam? We are the head maids of Wei Rui Xuan, and you have never been so obsequious in front of the Marquis."
Chunliu replied, "We are the head maids of Weirui Pavilion, but now the Madam calls the shots in Weirui Pavilion. As for the Marquis, he never lets the maids serve him personally. Before, at least we could do some other things, but after the Madam married in, many things are done by her dowry maids. What can we do?"
Xia Zhu said, "I will do whatever Madam instructs me to do."
"You're such a blockhead! If you don't show your face in front of Madam and win her favor, how can you expect to be given an important position?"
Chunliu glanced at her, not understanding how someone so clueless could have been chosen by the old lady to be transferred to Weirui Pavilion as a head maid. She then said, "Besides, didn't you see the bracelet on Madam's wrist? That's the symbol of the head mistress of the Gu family. The eldest madam has been in charge of the household affairs for many years and still hasn't been able to get that bracelet. Madam just got married and the old lady gave it to her. Maybe she'll be in charge of the household affairs in a while."
Xia Zhu was surprised: "That shouldn't be possible, right? The First Madam manages the household affairs quite well."
“What’s impossible?” Chunliu felt that she was hopeless and said in a low voice, “Although the First Madam is in charge of the household affairs now, and the Second Madam is assisting her, the First and Second Madams are both born out of wedlock, while the Marquis is born out of wedlock. The Madam is the rightful head of the household. Even if the Heir Apparent marries the Heir Apparent’s wife in the future, he will not be able to surpass the Madam.”
Xia Zhu looked enlightened.
Seeing that she understood, Chunliu continued, "For the sake of our sisterhood, I'm reminding you that if you want to gain the Madam's favor, you'd better be clever. If you win the Madam's favor, she might even add some dowry when you get married. Besides, whether we can get married or not is entirely up to the Madam."
Xia Zhu nodded slightly.
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