Chapter 228 Receiving a Cold Reception
A lady glanced at Meng Jinyu, noticing her sweet smile and charming demeanor. Unable to gauge Madam Gu's true feelings towards her younger sister, she smiled and said, "Madam Gu's younger sister is truly beautiful."
Another person chimed in, "Yes, she's just so likable."
Meng Jinyu smiled shyly: "You two are too kind."
Meng Jinyao glanced at Meng Jinyu indifferently, her smile undiminished: "My mother was a beauty when she was young. My second sister looks like my mother. Even my father said that my second sister and my mother are cut from the same mold. I also think that my second sister looks just like my mother, especially in the last two years when she has grown up and looks even more like her."
Who among those present wasn't a shrewd and calculating person?
Hearing Meng Jinyao bring up her stepmother, Sun, one could roughly guess Meng Jinyao's true attitude towards this younger sister. How could she possibly like a younger sister who looked like her annoying stepmother?
The ladies had already figured things out and knew how to treat Meng Jinyu. They praised Meng Jinyu's appearance a couple of times, and then subtly changed the subject, talking to Meng Jinyao about other things. No one brought up Meng Jinyu again.
Meng Jinyu, an unmarried girl, couldn't join in their conversation at all and stood next to Meng Jinyao like a ghost.
Seeing that Meng Jinyao was chatting and laughing with them, and that she didn't try to change the subject because her sister was being ignored, the other ladies knew they had done the right thing; the two sisters really didn't get along.
Meng Jinyu was stuck beside Meng Jinyao, unsure whether to leave or stay. She tried to interject several times but couldn't find a way in. She watched as Meng Jinyao chatted happily with the ladies, completely ignoring her presence. She was resentful but dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction in front of these ladies, so she could only sit there like a beautiful but empty vase.
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Judging by the time, the wedding procession will be arriving soon. My sister-in-law is currently too busy to leave, so I need to go and see how the bride is preparing."
The guest, understanding the situation, said, "Then Madam Gu, please go ahead and attend to your business."
Meng Jinyao stood up and nodded slightly to the ladies: "Ladies, I must take my leave now." Then she said to Meng Jinyu, "Second sister, I have to go and attend to my business. You go and keep Mother company."
Meng Jinyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile, "Elder sister, please go ahead and do your work. I'll go find Mother first." After saying that, she also stood up from her seat and went to find Madam Sun.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Sun was being intentionally or unintentionally isolated by the other guests, and she didn't have the energy to shamelessly chat with others.
Since she went to the Lingyun Temple's Hall of Rebirth to offer incense to that woman, she has been sleeping better and hasn't seen any ghosts in recent days. However, the lack of rest she had recently had taken a toll on her health, and she still lacks energy. She came to the wedding banquet today for the sake of her children, hoping that they could take this opportunity to meet some important people.
Just then, she saw her daughter walking towards her listlessly and asked gently, "Ayu, what's wrong?"
Meng Jinyu looked aggrieved and resentful: "Mother, those ladies didn't take me seriously at all, and they didn't even speak to me. Meng Jinyao didn't introduce me to those ladies either. I was like a transparent person from beginning to end."
Her wishful thinking fell through, and Madam Sun frowned: "You went up to her with a smile and greeted her, and she deliberately ignored you? This is not like her."
Meng Jinyu replied truthfully, "She only told me to greet the ladies. At first, they said I was good-looking, and then she said I looked like you. After that, she didn't say anything else. I couldn't get a word in edgewise when they were talking."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood. Her face darkened, and she cursed inwardly: "That little slut is getting more and more cunning."
Looking at the lively scene around her, Meng Jinyu felt out of place with her mother. She pouted in frustration and said, "Mother, this isn't a wedding banquet, it's a place to be mistreated. She's deliberately ignoring us, her family."
Madam Sun remained calm and said gently, "Since that's the case, we won't force you. Your father and Chengxing should be able to meet a few people at the banquet. Even if they don't meet anyone, our Yongchang Marquis's Mansion has been polite enough today and can salvage some of our reputation."
Meng Jinyu was indignant: "Mother, you are the elder and she is the junior. Her behavior towards you is unfilial. It is only because you are kind that you have tolerated it."
Madam Sun frowned and said in a deep voice, "Ayu, be careful what you say. I told you before that if you get married, your reputation can't be tarnished in the slightest. You are sisters. No matter what she does, you should only speak well of her in public. You have to be good at putting on a good show so that no one can say anything about you. Even if they do say something, it will be about her, saying that she doesn't love her sister, but that her sister defends her in public."
Meng Jinyu dared not disobey her mother and nodded hurriedly: "Mother, rest assured, I have always done as you said, and I have never said a bad word about her outside."
Not long after, the sound of music and celebration came from outside; the wedding procession had arrived.
Dozens of people from the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion came to welcome the bride. Several young masters of the Gu family blocked the groom at the door and made the Marquis of Wu'an's heir compose a poem to urge the bride to come in. The poem had to be applauded by everyone before the groom could enter the house to fetch the bride. Many guests came to watch the excitement.
Today is a joyous day, so we'll just make things difficult for the groom as a token gesture. We'll only ask the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an to compose three poems to urge him to get ready before letting him in to fetch the bride.
Gu Xuanyi was carried out of the house by her eldest brother, Gu Xiuyuan, and escorted to the flower bridge. Her second brother, Gu Jingsong, accompanied her as the bride's elder relative.
The wedding procession set off, accompanied by music and drums, and returned to the Marquis of Wu'an's residence in a grand procession.
At the banquet, toasts were exchanged and congratulations from guests rose and fell. One after another, guests offered toasts to the host. After several rounds of drinks and dishes, the banquet gradually quieted down.
After the banquet, the guests were full and satisfied, and many of them were quite drunk. They were helped away by their servants. The men in the mansion saw off the male guests, and the women saw off the female guests. If any guests lived far away, guest rooms had to be arranged for them. Everyone was extremely busy.
Meng Jinyao was exhausted. She had been dealing with a bunch of female guests and had even drunk some wine at the banquet. Her head was a little heavy, but she still had to stay sober and see the guests off.
After seeing off the guests, Meng Jinyao asked Zhang if there was anything she could help with.
Zhang was also very tired. When she heard her ask this question, she wanted to be a hands-off manager and go back to rest, letting her direct the servants to tidy up and ask the overnight guests what they needed, and then send someone to deliver it.
But seeing how tired she looked, Zhang didn't want to ask her for help. This was her brother-in-law's darling, so she said gently, "It's nothing else. Third sister-in-law, you've had a hard day. Go back and rest."
Hearing her say that, Meng Jinyao went back first.
On the way, Meng Jinyao saw Gu Jingxi talking to someone. The other person was a man in his thirties who looked gentle and refined, and whose appearance was somewhat similar to Gu Jingxi's.
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