Chapter 599 He's not very good at it
Gu Xiuhong's marriage was settled; it was with the young widow he had been longing for. The wedding date was set for the end of the year, December 20th. The timing was a bit rushed, but he was eager to marry his sweetheart as soon as possible, and both sets of elders agreed to his request.
Everyone in the household was astonished. They never expected that Gu Jingsong and Madam Chen would agree to their son marrying a girl from a humble family, who was also a widow who had been married before.
Zhang asked curiously, "Second sister-in-law, didn't you absolutely disagree with this marriage? Why did you change your mind later?"
Chen glanced at her with a straight face and said indifferently, "It's nothing. He's not going to spend his whole life with me. He can marry whoever he wants. I've tried to persuade him and his father, but he insisted on marrying her. If he regrets it later, it's his own fault."
Seeing that she didn't look well, Zhang guessed that she must have agreed to the marriage reluctantly because of her child. She comforted her, saying, "Second sister-in-law, take it easy. That young widow is two years older than Xiu Hong. She's older and knows how to take care of people. She'll definitely take good care of Xiu Hong in the future. Besides, she's marrying up. Her family can't support her. Once she's married in, she'll be at your mercy. No matter how much Xiu Hong likes her, she can't do anything to you."
It would have been better if the age hadn't been mentioned, because it made Chen furious. On one side was her cousin, who was only fifteen and had just come of age, and on the other side was a twenty-two-year-old widow. Anyone with a brain would know to choose the young, beautiful cousin from a prestigious family. But her son had chosen a widow instead, which infuriated her!
Chen glared at her: "Sister-in-law, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Zhang was speechless at her words, turned to look at Meng Jinyao, and said angrily, "Third sister-in-law, look at her! I was trying to comfort her, and she talks to me like that!"
Meng Jinyao didn't want to take sides, so she pretended to be clueless, holding the child and looking blankly at Zhang Shi, asking, "Sister-in-law, what were you talking about just now? I was busy playing with the child and didn't hear clearly for a moment."
Chen said, "It's better if you didn't hear clearly. Just ignore her. Not a single word she says is pleasant to hear. People who don't know better might think she's deliberately trying to make me unhappy."
Zhang's face darkened: "Second sister-in-law, what do you mean by that?"
Chen continued to retort, "It's just the literal meaning; if you don't understand it, then forget it."
Zhang was furious: "You..."
Chen was still troubled by her son's marriage. She had agreed to the marriage out of love for her son, but she couldn't accept such a daughter-in-law. Now she didn't want to argue with Zhang, so she glared at her, snorted twice, and quickened her pace to leave.
Zhang was quite angry at her attitude. Pointing at her back, she said to Meng Jinyao, "Third sister-in-law, look at her. She gives me attitude all the time. It's only because I have a good temper that I don't argue with her. She should be secretly happy to have such a good sister-in-law as me."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law is in a bad mood, so let's not provoke her."
Madam Zhang sighed softly, "The child is promising, but he is too opinionated and disobedient, which is a real headache. In a family like ours, with Xiu Hong being so promising, he should marry a woman from a prestigious family. It would be beneficial for his future career. Xiu Hong comes from a distinguished family, how can he not see that?"
Meng Jinyao disagreed, saying, "No matter how good other girls are, Xiu Hong won't like them. Even if you force him to marry one, he won't be happy. There will be one more unhappy couple in the world, and his family will never have peace. Wouldn't that be terrible?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang's gaze fell on the child in her arms, and she asked, "What would you, third sister-in-law, think if Wanwan were to marry a girl from a different social class in the future?"
Meng Jinyao looked down at the little one in her arms and smiled, "As long as that girl isn't scheming or has ulterior motives, I can accept it. After all, she's going to spend her whole life with Wanwan. Whether I like her or not is not important; what's important is that Wanwan likes her."
Zhang was taken aback, but she didn't believe it. She said, "Wanwan is still young. Of course you can make it sound so easy. But when he reaches marriageable age, he'll reject well-bred ladies and insist on marrying a girl who's not good in any way. You'll know how heartbreaking that will be. We parents are only trying to do what's best for our children, but they're too young to understand our good intentions."
Everyone has a different perspective on issues, so Meng Jinyao didn't argue with her, but just smiled.
Zhang's gaze fell again on Wanwan in Meng Jinyao's arms. The little one was beautiful and adorable. Except for her phoenix eyes, which resembled Gu Jingxi's, the mother and son looked like they were cut from the same mold. She reached out and touched the child's face, then asked, "Wanwan is over a year old now. Has your wife thought about giving him a younger brother or sister?"
Meng Jinyao was about to say that she and her husband would not have a second child, but she swallowed the words back and said, "We don't have that plan at the moment."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang gave Meng Jinyao a reproachful look and said earnestly, "Third sister-in-law, this matter needs to be handled as soon as possible. You are young and not afraid of not being able to have children, but Third Brother is no longer young. After a man turns thirty, he may be willing but unable to have children."
She glanced around, leaned closer to Meng Jinyao's ear, lowered her voice, and continued, "Your eldest brother, don't be fooled by the fact that he still takes fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls as concubines and often stays overnight in their rooms. That's because he drinks a lot of kidney-tonifying soups and medicines. He relies on these tonics and medicines to maintain his dignity as a man; otherwise, he would have been useless long ago. Moreover, if your eldest brother is like this even without being injured, your third brother is even worse off after being injured. When you want to have another child, your third brother won't be able to."
Meng Jinyao was stunned, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked at Zhang Shi. She clearly hadn't expected Zhang Shi to say such things to her; it was her elder brother's private matter, and her sister-in-law had just said it out loud.
Seeing the woman staring at her in surprise and astonishment, and seemingly lost in thought, Zhang, with a gossipy nature in mind, asked, "Third sister-in-law, is Third Brother also not doing so well?"
Meng Jinyao subconsciously shook her head: "No, my husband is fine."
Little did she know that her eagerness to deny it was seen by Zhang as a blatant attempt to cover up her mistake. Zhang gave her a knowing look and comforted her, saying, "Third sister-in-law, men go downhill when they reach a certain age. But you don't need to worry. You've given birth to a son, Wanwan, so you won't have to worry about anything in the future. As for giving Wanwan a younger brother or sister, just let fate decide."
Meng Jinyao said again, "Sister-in-law, my husband is really fine."
Zhang nodded perfunctorily: "Yes, I understand. I've been through this before, how could I not understand these things?"
Meng Jinyao: "..."
Madam Zhang reached out and patted Wanwan's head. The little one grinned at her, revealing a row of tiny baby teeth, which was incredibly cute. Madam Zhang smiled gently and continued to comfort Meng Jinyao: "Actually, this is a good thing. With only Wanwan as a child, Third Brother will cherish you and your mother even more. There won't be any illegitimate children in the future. Otherwise, you would have to prepare contraceptive soup for those concubines all the time, just like I have. Don't think I'm slandering Third Brother. It's just that people's hearts are fickle. Your eldest brother and I were once as loving as you and Third Brother are now."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback, but she did not refute Zhang's words. It was not that she did not trust her husband, but that it was best to remain silent at this time, otherwise she would hurt Zhang's feelings. After all, her brother-in-law was really a scoundrel, a failure as both a husband and a father.
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