Chapter 419 Dissatisfaction
The next day.
Madam Dong took some tonics suitable for pregnant women to the Marquis of Changxing's residence. On the way there, she was quite uneasy. She knew very well what kind of attitude the eldest daughter had towards her family, but she had no choice but to obey her mother-in-law's orders.
Upon arriving at the Marquis's residence, Madam Dong first went to visit Old Madam Gu. Now that she was the eldest daughter's stepmother, she was of the same generation as Old Madam Gu, which meant they were in-laws. Therefore, it was only natural to visit the in-laws first when visiting someone's home.
Before she married Meng Dongyuan, she generally wouldn't have had the chance to meet someone of Madam Gu's status. After all, her father was an old Hanlin scholar, which sounded respectable, a member of the Qingliu faction, but his official rank wasn't high. So her social circle was similar to her own family's. Even her ex-husband's family wasn't high-ranking. Her current husband, because of his eldest daughter, had the Marquis of Changxing as his son-in-law, which gave him the opportunity to interact with the Marquis of Changxing's family.
However, upon seeing Madam Gu, Madam Dong did not show any timidity and greeted her with grace and poise: "In-law."
Madam Gu spoke to her in a gentle and polite manner. After learning the purpose of her visit and exchanging pleasantries, she asked her to go to Wei Rui Xuan to see Meng Jin Yao.
When Meng Jinyao learned that Madam Dong had arrived, she quickly instructed her maid to invite Madam Dong in and to prepare tea. Her father was her father, and her stepmother was her stepmother. Her father had wronged her, but it wasn't this stepmother who had wronged her. She didn't need to make things difficult for her and would treat her with courtesy for now. If the other party had other intentions, then they could talk about it another way.
Meng Jinyao asked gently, "Mother, what brings you here?"
Madam Dong understood that Meng Jinyao was only calling her "mother" out of respect, but she didn't dare to take it too seriously. She replied softly, "When I heard that you were pregnant, your father, grandmother, and I were all happy for you. Your grandmother was worried that you might have severe morning sickness, so she specially sent me over to see how you were doing."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao knew what it meant. This was Dong Shi sent by her grandmother, and she must have other purposes. So she said, "Thank you for your concern, Mother. The baby is very well-behaved and hasn't bothered me at all. He hasn't even had morning sickness. Did Father and Grandmother ask Mother to pass on any message to me?"
Madam Dong said gently, "Yes, they asked me to pass on a message to you, telling you to take good care of yourself during your pregnancy."
Meng Jinyao glanced at her and replied, "I will, and I'll tell them not to worry."
Madam Dong nodded with a smile. In fact, her husband had asked her to persuade the eldest daughter before going to bed last night to stop arguing with her parents' elders and to encourage the two families to visit each other more often and support one another. But she wasn't stupid. Knowing the eldest daughter's attitude, why would she want to offend her?
Marrying into this wretched Meng family, she didn't ask for anything else, only that the fire wouldn't spread to her. The second young master was a kind and gentle boy, so she would treat him well. That way, when she got old, the second young master would remember her kindness and be filial to her in the future. As for the heir, he didn't even give her a good look now, so she shouldn't expect him to be filial to her in the future.
A moment later, Madam Dong brought it up: "By the way, the marriage of our second daughter is about to be settled. The future son-in-law's surname is Deng. He is from Yangzhou and his family is in business. The Earl saw that he was handsome and talented, so he had the idea of taking him as his son-in-law."
Meng Jinyao had already heard about this when she first returned to the capital, so she wasn't surprised to hear it now. She smiled and said, "For Father to take a liking to him, that young master Deng must be an extremely good person. Father dotes on my second sister the most, so the husband he found for her must have been carefully selected."
Madam Dong smiled gently. Wasn't this the woman her husband had carefully chosen? He had selected a wealthy woman to fill the family's financial hole. Young Master Deng must have valued their family's noble lineage. Marrying the legitimate daughter of an earl's family would be prestigious, and they would also become brothers-in-law with the Marquis of Changxing.
After spending half an hour together, Madam Dong did not say a single unpleasant word. Meng Jinyao was also satisfied with her tact. Since it was almost noon and lunch was about to be served, she invited her to stay for lunch.
After lunch, Mrs. Dong did not stay long, leaving on the pretext that she had some things to take care of at home.
After Madam Dong left, Ning Dong whispered, "Madam, Madam Bo is a well-educated and reasonable person with a good sense of propriety. I thought she might say something unpleasant."
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly: "It seems pretty good so far, it's just a bit of a pity that she married my father. Never mind, let's not talk about this, I'm going to take a nap first."
Ningdong responded and immediately followed her inside to make her bed.
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The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
When Meng Dongyuan returned in the evening, he asked his wife about her visit to the Marquis of Changxing's residence that day.
Madam Dong replied truthfully, "Husband, rest assured, Madam Gu is very kind, and the eldest daughter treats you with courtesy. There is nothing like what you were worried about."
Meng Dongyuan was taken aback: "I never thought that rebellious girl would know how to respect her elders."
"Perhaps my husband has misunderstood the eldest daughter. She is gentle and polite, and has never said a harsh word. Her in-laws all praise her as a good daughter-in-law." Dong Shi didn't want him to keep asking questions, so she changed the subject. "Now that it's autumn, the autumn clothes for the children in the family have been made, two new sets for each of them."
Meng Dongyuan laughed and said, "You don't need to tell me about such a small matter. Just have the servants deliver it to them when it's done."
Now that Madam Dong was afraid of Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing complaining, she explained, "Chengzhang is studying at the academy. In addition to two new sets of clothes, we also need to send him an autumn quilt, as well as some writing implements. In addition, there should be some tea, incense to refresh the mind, and some snacks. At first glance, it seems like we have more things than the two children at home, but the two children at home already have these things provided by the family."
After listening, Meng Dongyuan nodded in satisfaction: "Madam is very thoughtful. Chengzhang is at the academy and can't come home often. Let's give him some more money. It's better to have more money when you're out and about. You also need money to socialize with your classmates. The students at Lingshan Academy are all very talented. Maybe one of them will be very successful in the future. Making more friends will open up more opportunities for you."
Madam Dong nodded in agreement. Her husband used to value their younger son more, but ever since the results of the provincial examination were released, their younger son failed to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), while their second son not only became a Xiucai but also topped the list. Her husband's heart immediately turned to the younger son, showing that he favored whoever was more successful.
However, the mother-in-law still dotes on her youngest grandson the most. After all, she has loved her grandson for more than ten years and it won't change overnight. Her love for her youngest grandson is not affected by her mother-in-law. Although her attitude towards her youngest granddaughter is influenced by her mother-in-law, she is actually better to her youngest granddaughter than to her eldest granddaughter and is much more tolerant of her.
Meng Dongyuan then brought the topic back to the main point: "Madam, when you saw Ayao today, did you try to persuade her to stop arguing with her elders?"
Madam Dong paused for a moment, then made up a story to try and evade the question: "Husband, when I went to the Gu family to visit the eldest daughter, my in-laws were also there, so there were some things that were inconvenient to say, and therefore I did not try to persuade the eldest daughter."
Disappointment flashed in Meng Dongyuan's eyes, and he was dissatisfied. His tone was reproachful: "Why didn't you find a chance to talk to her privately? Forget it, let's have a family dinner another day and invite her back. I'll talk to her myself."
He became increasingly angry as he spoke: "Other people's daughters stay close to their families after they get married, but she never tells her family anything, good or bad. Except when necessary, she doesn't even step into her family's house. What kind of behavior is that? If my friend hadn't congratulated me the other day, I wouldn't have known that I was going to be a grandfather."
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