Chapter 232 Accepting Fate for Now
Zhang's expression froze. Her mother-in-law had indeed been very good to them in this regard. Back then, who didn't envy her and Chen for marrying into the Marquis of Changxing's mansion without having to follow any rules set by their mother-in-law?
None of her close female friends had a mother-in-law as easy to serve as her. They were basically subject to rules for a year or half a year, and some were even subject to rules for two years until they became pregnant. In comparison, she was very relaxed and did not have to pay her respects to her mother-in-law morning and evening.
But Zhang couldn't say that to her daughter who had been wronged, lest she upset her. She could only say, "Xuanyi, your grandmother prefers quiet, so she exempted her from these rules. It's normal for a mother-in-law to set rules for her daughter-in-law. Just be patient and behave well. If your mother-in-law is happy, the rules that were supposed to last a year might be over in half a year."
Gu Xuanyi was not going to listen to any of that now.
With the examples of her mother and two aunts as a comparison, she had to do things that her mother didn't have to do. She was a noble lady from a noble family, and she had never done such things in her boudoir. There was no reason for her to swallow her pride and do them after getting married.
She immediately felt resentful: "Mother, you don't need to be disciplined by Grandmother, so why do you expect me to endure this? You haven't even suffered this kind of hardship, yet you're telling me to accept it and make your own daughter suffer. Am I not your biological daughter?"
Hearing this, Zhang felt sad and said helplessly, "What else do you want? Now that you're married and have become someone else's daughter-in-law, you have to abide by their family rules. I've reminded you of this before, but you didn't listen. If you had listened and hadn't been in contact with him privately, you wouldn't have fallen into the water and been rescued, and you wouldn't have married into their family."
Gu Xuanyi knew she was in the wrong and didn't dare to argue back, but she felt really wronged and stammered, "Mother, can't you talk to my mother-in-law and ask her to skip these rules? I've never lifted a finger since I was little, how can I serve others?"
Hearing her daughter utter such foolish words, Zhang felt her blood boil. She was furious with her daughter, who hadn't learned her lesson despite setbacks. She sternly reprimanded her, "It's customary for a new daughter-in-law to pay her respects to her mother-in-law morning and evening. This is a way of expressing filial piety. Do you think it's possible for me, as her in-law, to ask my daughter to be exempt from the duty of being filial to her parents-in-law? Besides, you're someone else's daughter-in-law now. Your family affairs are your own business, and as long as they are reasonable, your family has no right to interfere."
Gu Xuanyi asked helplessly, "Then what should I do?"
What else can we do?
Madam Zhang sighed helplessly and said earnestly, "You should serve your mother-in-law well, be sweet-talking, and make her happy so that you'll have an easier time. Also, you should learn from her how to manage the household so that you can take over the family affairs in the future. Don't try to take over the family affairs now; you're not capable of managing a household well enough."
Gu Xuanyi felt as if the sky had fallen, and she sobbed softly. Her married life was so different from what she had imagined. She was the wife of the heir apparent, but she still had to do the work of serving others.
Zhang asked again, "Xuanyi, besides these, are there any other questions?"
Gu Xuanyi nodded, annoyed, "And my husband's own sister, she prefers another girl to be her sister-in-law, and she talks to me in a sarcastic way."
Zhang's face darkened. She had guessed from her mother-in-law's reminder that the Lady of Wu'an might have a better daughter-in-law, and her daughter was the second choice. But because of that time she fell into the water, her daughter became the only choice, and the marriage was a done deal.
She suppressed her anger, took her daughter's hand, and gently comforted her, "She's a girl, she'll get married sooner or later. Don't take it to heart. After all, if you two have a conflict, your mother-in-law will definitely side with her own daughter. Who she prefers as her sister-in-law is her business. Your husband chose you, so you're the best. After you marry him, he should treat you well, right?"
A hint of sadness flashed in Gu Xuanyi's eyes. There was something she couldn't bring herself to say, something she hadn't dared to tell anyone, not even her own mother. She was afraid that if her mother found out, things would escalate and her husband would resent her. Although she had some dissatisfaction with her in-laws, she still had feelings for her husband.
Not hearing a reply, Zhang became suspicious and called out, "Xuanyi?"
Gu Xuanyi gently shook her head and replied, "My husband is quite good to me. Yesterday, his sister was being sarcastic towards me, and he scolded her and then comforted me."
Hearing this, Zhang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as her son-in-law treated her daughter well and protected her, it wasn't too bad. As for the interpersonal relationships in the family, her daughter could learn to be clever and handle them well.
Madam Zhang said earnestly, "Xuanyi, while your husband hasn't taken a concubine yet, and you two are newlyweds with a deep affection for each other, work hard and get pregnant as soon as possible. Once you're pregnant, your mother-in-law, for the sake of her grandson, won't want you to be overworked, and she'll probably be spared the trouble of setting rules for you."
Gu Xuanyi nodded absentmindedly.
"Alright, stop crying, or people will start to misunderstand if they see you with red eyes at lunch later."
After Zhang finished speaking, she saw that her daughter's makeup was ruined, so she ordered the maid to bring in water to wash her daughter's face and also ordered the maid to redo her daughter's makeup.
Gu Xuanyi gradually stopped crying, still feeling wronged and unable to express her bitterness, but she had no choice but to accept her fate for the time being.
The luncheon began.
The men and women sat at separate tables. Today was a family dinner, and everyone was family. They got along very well. Gu Xiuyuan and the others, being the older brothers, treated their brother-in-law, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an, fairly well.
After the luncheon, Gu Xuanyi and her husband stayed at the Gu family home for another hour before heading back.
As Zhang watched her daughter and son-in-law's carriage gradually disappear into the distance, her eyes welled up with tears. Her daughter was not doing well after marriage, but as her mother, she couldn't help her. She could only hope that her daughter could grow up quickly, otherwise, no matter how much her son-in-law loved her, there would be a day when he would get tired of her. At that time, she would have to rely on herself.
Just like her, her husband treated her like a precious jewel at first. Later, her husband took several concubines. Fortunately, she was strict and made the concubines drink contraceptive soup every time, so that there were no illegitimate children to cause her trouble.
On the carriage.
The heir of the Marquis of Wu'an looked at his wife sitting beside him, who seemed absent-minded, reached out and pulled her into his arms, asking softly, "Xuanyi, what did you and your mother-in-law talk about?"
Gu Xuanyi's expression froze for a moment, then she replied evasively, "She didn't say anything. My mother just asked me if I was used to life at the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion. I told her the truth, that I was indeed not used to it, but fortunately my husband treats me well, and I will get used to it after a while."
The heir of the Marquis of Wu'an nodded and then asked, "Wasn't anything else discussed?"
Gu Xuanyi smiled and asked, "What else could it be?" Before he could reply, she changed the subject, "The results of the autumn imperial examinations will be released on the tenth of next month, and my husband should be on the list."
Upon hearing this, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an smiled and shook his head: "That's not necessarily true. Let nature take its course."
Gu Xuanyi looked up at him with a gentle smile on her face and said confidently, "I have a feeling that my husband will definitely be on the list."
Upon hearing this, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an felt very comforted and gained more confidence.
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