Chapter 285 Dispelling the Idea
It snowed last night, and when I woke up this morning, I saw that the outside world was covered in a blanket of white.
After having breakfast, Meng Jinyao wrapped herself up tightly and went to Shou'an Hall to pay her respects to Old Madam Gu.
Even though Meng Jinyao's clothes were scented and she wore a sachet, she still had to take a medicinal bath while drinking medicine, so the smell of medicine on her body couldn't be removed. If you got close to her, you could smell the faint smell of medicine, so Zhang Shi, who was sitting next to her, smelled it.
Zhang asked with concern, "Third sister-in-law, you seem to smell of medicine on you. Are you sick?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu looked at her youngest daughter-in-law with concern in her eyes.
Meng Jinyao naturally wouldn't reveal the truth, and responded by avoiding the main point, "No, I just have a bit of blood deficiency and am more sensitive to cold. I took a medicinal bath, so I smell of medicine on my body."
Zhang looked enlightened: "So that's how it is. No wonder my third sister-in-law didn't seem sick."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "I'm sorry to have worried you, sister-in-law. It's just a small problem, nothing to worry about."
Madam Gu was relieved, but still gave a word of advice: "Insufficient Qi and blood is not a big problem, but you can't be careless. You need to take good care of your body. If a person has insufficient Qi and blood, they are prone to fatigue, lethargy, and cold intolerance. In addition, they are also prone to aging and premature graying of hair."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao asked in surprise, "Mother, how can this cause premature aging?"
Madam Gu glanced at her daughters-in-law and, drawing on her own experience, said gently, "That is indeed the case. So women who love beauty should pay more attention to this issue. Sometimes, no matter how much beauty cream you apply, it's not as good as nourishing your internal qi and blood. When you reach a certain age, people with good qi and blood look much younger than their peers."
Meng Jinyao pursed her lips. It didn't matter if the medicine was bitter or smelly, but she couldn't age prematurely. She couldn't be younger than her husband but look older than him in the future, could she? She had to take the medicine on time.
Zhang and Chen subconsciously touched their faces. At their age, they were anxious, afraid of getting old, and even more afraid of looking older than their peers. They had put a lot of effort into maintaining their appearance. When the ladies gathered, they would compare themselves, comparing who looked younger, whose clothes and jewelry were more beautiful, and who wanted to be the one who looked the oldest.
Seeing that her daughters-in-law seemed worried about their appearance, Old Madam Gu smiled and shook her head. All of her daughters-in-law were beautiful. The two older ones were in their thirties but did not look old. Ayao was even younger, only sixteen years old and in the prime of her youth.
After a moment, Madam Gu asked, "By the way, eldest daughter-in-law, I heard that Xiuyuan's wife seems to be ill. Is it serious?"
Zhang replied, "Mother, don't worry. Xiuyuan's wife only caught a cold. The fetus is very stable and has not been affected."
Madam Gu nodded gently and said, "The thing pregnant women fear most is getting sick and disturbing the fetus. Taking too much medicine during pregnancy is also bad for the baby. We need to increase the amount of silver frost charcoal in their yard. They can't afford to get sick again."
Zhang nodded in agreement.
Madam Gu then asked her daughters-in-law, "How are Xiuyuan and his brothers doing lately? Are they studying diligently?"
Zhang was proud: "Mother, since Xiuyuan passed the imperial examination, he has been working even harder than before. If he continues to work hard like this, and if he studies for another three years, I reckon he will be able to get a ranking in the metropolitan examination."
Chen said, "Xiu Hong is quite self-aware. He often consults his third uncle when he has questions, in order to prepare for next year's imperial examination."
After listening, Old Madam Gu was very satisfied. Seeing that her youngest daughter-in-law hadn't spoken yet, she asked again, "How is Xiuming?"
Even though Meng Jinyao disliked Gu Xiuming, her adopted son, she only spoke well of him in public: "Mother, although Xiuming was a little disappointed when he failed the exam, he quickly cheered himself up. He has been studying hard lately and often gets together with his classmates to exchange knowledge. He has also participated in poetry gatherings many times."
Madam Gu nodded with satisfaction: "Xiuming has become much more mature and sensible. I think we can find him a proper wife. It's not good for him to stay with a concubine. People will gossip about it."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao paused. If the elders were to find a proper wife for Gu Xiuming, wouldn't that be exactly what Gu Xiuming wanted?
That's absolutely unacceptable. If we find a good girl for someone like Gu Xiuming, wouldn't that be ruining her life and pushing her into a fire pit? It's immoral to harm a good girl.
She immediately said, "Mother, I don't think this is appropriate."
Upon hearing this, Zhang and Chen exchanged strange glances with her. It would be strange if this adopted mother treated Gu Xiuming well, but to refuse to find a wife for her adopted son like this was too blatant.
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu was not displeased, but instead asked the reason: "Why is it inappropriate?"
Meng Jinyao readily replied, "Mother, when Xiuming took Consort Li as a concubine, he told me and the Marquis that he wanted to marry Consort Li. However, Consort Li came from a low social class and eloped with Xiuming, so she could not be his wife, but only his concubine. At that time, Xiuming said that he would take Consort Li as a concubine, but he would not marry a wife or have any other concubines. He would be with Consort Li for life."
Zhang and Chen were shocked. They never expected that Gu Xiuming would not marry again for the sake of Concubine Li, and that he would never have another woman. No wonder he dared to elope and dote on Concubine Li so much. His previous behavior was as if he wanted others to know that he had a concubine he loved to the bone. They never expected that he was determined not to marry, which is why he was so audacious and not afraid that noble ladies of equal social standing would not want to marry him.
Even so, Zhang and Chen felt a surge of anger. They didn't want to get married, but their brother did. Gu Xiuming's actions were affecting their children's reputation, making others suspect that their children would also favor concubines like Gu Xiuming.
Madam Zhang frowned and said disapprovingly, "Third sister-in-law, how can you and your third brother let him do whatever he wants? If he has such thoughts, you shouldn't have let Aunt Li into the family in the first place. Even if she were to enter the family, Xiuming should have married a legal wife first."
Meng Jinyao sighed softly, quite helplessly: "The child is stubborn and we elders can't persuade him. Even if we force him to marry another girl, he will take his anger out on his wife, which will be unfair to the girl. In that case, it won't be a marriage, but an enmity."
Zhang was stunned. That's true.
Madam Gu knew about this matter. She originally thought that her grandson was mature and sensible, so she should find him a proper wife. However, after hearing what her daughter-in-law said, she could only give up the idea for the time being.
Meng Jinyao looked at Old Madam Gu and gently advised, "Mother, in my opinion, it's better for Xiuming to bring up the matter of marriage himself. Once he's thought it through and brings it up, we can then arrange the marriage for him. Otherwise, if we try to persuade him to get married, it might cause him to rebel and become even more determined to only have Aunt Li. After some time, once his novelty wears off and his brothers in the family have wives, he will naturally want to get married himself."
She dared to say this because she was certain that Gu Xiuming wouldn't bring it up himself. If Gu Xiuming were to bring it up, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trying to seduce a well-matched lady in private. Unfortunately, the girl ignored him, and she didn't know what method he would use next.
Madam Gu thought this made sense and sighed softly, "Then let's wait a little longer."
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