Chapter 5011 Men are hard to appease
On that day, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly.
Meng Jinyao hadn't left the house for a long time. Today, she made an appointment with Song Xinning to visit Princess Jingning at the Shen State Duke's Mansion. She left Gu Wanwan with Gu Jingxi since he was off work today.
Gu Jingxi stood at the gate, holding his son, watching her get into the carriage with a resentful look in his eyes. He had originally planned to take her to the manor, but Qi Mobai's niece beat him to it, so he had to stay at home to take care of the child.
After Meng Jinyao got into the carriage, she lifted the curtain of the carriage window and saw Gu Jingxi holding her son, with a resentful expression on her face, as if she was watching her husband who had abandoned his wife and child leave, but she was powerless to do anything about it.
She suddenly felt a little guilty, coughed twice, and said awkwardly, "Husband, it's windy here. You and Wanwan should go back first. I'll be back soon."
Gu Jingxi: "..."
Others prioritize romance over friendship, but Ayao is the complete opposite. Listen to what she's saying! She doesn't even bother to coax him, just spouting nonsense. What kind of nonsense is she spouting now?
Seeing his increasingly resentful expression, Meng Jinyao didn't know how to coax him.
Inside the carriage, Qingqiu, sitting next to Meng Jinyao, did not hear the Marquis's reply and whispered a reminder: "Madam, there is no wind now."
Meng Jinyao: "..."
He turned to look at her and muttered under his breath, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Qingqiu: "...This servant never expected you to lie through your teeth."
Meng Jinyao: "..."
Soon, Meng Jinyao peeked out again and changed her tone, saying gently and considerately, "Husband, the sun is very strong today. You and Wanwan should go back first, and be careful not to get sunburned."
Gu Jingxi chuckled helplessly after hearing this: "It's a good thing you're a woman, otherwise, with your eloquence, your wife would have run back to her parents' home countless times."
Meng Jinyao suddenly thought of Princess Jingning's husband, Prince Shen. After the couple quarreled, Prince Shen went to his parents-in-law to complain. She murmured, "It's not that a husband can't go to his wife's parents' home."
Gu Jingxi replied, "Wanwan and I are going back first. Come back soon, or Gu Wanwan will miss you."
Meng Jinyao nodded with a smile. Wanwan is so young, how could she know to miss her mother? Only Wanwan's father would miss her.
When Meng Jinyao arrived at the Duke of Shen's mansion, it was neither too early nor too late, just the time she had agreed to meet Song Xinning. As soon as she got off the carriage, she saw the Shen family's carriage stop in front of the Duke of Shen's mansion, and then she saw Song Xinning get off the carriage.
When Song Xinning saw her, she quickly went up to greet her: "Ayao, you just arrived too?"
Meng Jinyao nodded: "Okay, let's go in first."
Song Xinning responded and went in side by side with her.
Princess Jingning knew they were coming, and had already instructed her personal maid to wait at the door, ready to invite them in as soon as they arrived.
Upon seeing Princess Jingning, Meng Jinyao glanced at her and, seeing that she seemed to be in good spirits and had no problems, asked with concern, "Ayan, I heard you weren't feeling well. Are you alright?"
Princess Jingning replied, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."
Song Xinning glanced at her flat stomach and asked, "Ayan, was my guess accurate the other day?"
Princess Jingning nodded with a smile.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao and Song Xinning understood that she was really pregnant. Time really flies. Just two years ago, they didn't have any children yet, and now they are both mothers.
Song Xinning then asked, "You shouldn't be overworking yourself right now, so what about managing the household affairs?"
Princess Jingning replied, "My mother-in-law is bedridden and can't help me. Now, if there's anything, I just nod and the people below will handle it. My dowry nanny is also very capable, and I feel at ease with her watching over things."
Seeing that everyone in the room was one of her own, and that the maid was also Ayan's confidante, Meng Jinyao asked, "How is the Duchess's health? Is she still insane?"
Princess Jingning nodded gently: "She's still the same as always, bedridden and talking nonsense all day long. My father-in-law has always been the same to her, and he's become even better to my husband. But my father-in-law was good to my husband before, but he's even better now."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao and Song Xinning understood.
The Duke of Shen's unwavering devotion to his wife must stem from love. As for his increasingly affectionate treatment of the heir apparent, it was out of guilt. The Duke of Shen's wife's ramblings suggest that the Duke of Shen must know that his wife had poisoned his child with his first wife, and that she had married him because his first wife had schemed against her, and that she harbored resentment towards his first wife, thus transferring that resentment onto his son with his first wife.
Although there were reasons for the incident, the heir apparent of Shen was innocent. Madam Shen was both the victim and the perpetrator. The Duke of Shen was reluctant to punish his beloved woman, so he could only pretend to be ignorant and do his best to compensate his son.
Meng Jinyao then asked, "What about Prince Shen?"
Princess Jingning replied, "My husband will also pretend not to know. We can't interfere in the grudges of our elders. It's best to just pretend we don't know anything. Anyway, she can't do anything evil now."
Song Xinning sighed softly, "Everyone says that a mother's status depends on her son, but I think it's the son's status that depends on his mother. A man will favor the child of the woman he loves. If Duke Shen deeply loves his first wife, and learns that the young master of Shen was nearly killed by his stepmother, Duke Shen will definitely punish Madam Shen, instead of pretending to be ignorant and directly favoring Madam Shen."
Meng Jinyao nodded in deep agreement: "People's hearts are always biased. My father used to love Sun Shi so much, so he doted on Sun Shi's two children. Later, he stopped liking her and married Aunt Dong. After Aunt Dong became pregnant, he thought that after Aunt Dong gave birth to a son, he would make Aunt Dong's son the heir and then find a way to depose my third brother. But because of his stupidity, he said such things after drinking. Aunt Dong lost her child and divorced him."
Song Xinning said, "So what if he likes Dong Shi? That little bit of liking is nothing. I heard that his marriage is settled and he's preparing to marry. How long has it been since he divorced Dong Shi?"
Meng Jinyao laughed and said, "A-Ning, you've wronged him. He still misses Aunt Dong. Remarrying wasn't his own idea; it was my grandmother's. He's a very filial son, so he could only obey his mother's orders and dared not disobey."
Princess Jingning's lips twitched: "You're all so old, and you can't even make a decision on something this simple?"
Meng Jinyao said, "If he could make the decision, why would Aunt Dong have divorced him?"
Princess Jingning scoffed, "To believe whatever one's mother says is blind filial piety. Anyone who marries him will be in big trouble."
Meng Jinyao said, "Let's not mention him, it's bad luck."
Princess Jingning replied "Okay," and then asked, "Ayao, is your son clingy? When you go out today, will he be like A-Ning's son, crying loudly as soon as he sees A-Ning leaving, making it impossible for him to see A-Ning every time she goes out?"
Meng Jinyao laughed and said, "Wanwan isn't clingy, but her father is. When I went out today, he carried his son to see me off, making it seem like I was abandoning them."
Princess Jingning was surprised, then said, "That's good. Adults won't cry loudly, and they're easier to soothe than children."
Upon hearing this, Song Xinning disagreed, saying, "Who said adults are easy to coax? They are much harder to coax than children."
Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement: "A-Ning is right. The child's father is much harder to coax than the child." As she spoke, her gaze fell on Princess Jingning's belly. "You'll understand later."
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