Chapter 527 She's Shameless
The wedding banquet ended, and the guests gradually left.
When Meng Jinyao walked to the hanging flower gate, she saw her second sister's husband, Deng Yuanqing, talking with her own husband.
The two stopped talking when they saw her coming and looked in her direction. Her husband was naturally looking at her, while Deng Yuanqing nodded slightly when he saw her and then looked behind her to see Meng Jinyu and the Deng family girl.
As Meng Jinyao approached, Deng Yuanqing greeted her, "Big sister."
Meng Jinyao nodded in response: "Second brother-in-law."
After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, Deng Yuanqing and his group prepared to leave. Meng Jinyu smiled and bid them farewell, saying, "Big sister, big brother-in-law, we'll be going now."
Meng Jinyao said calmly, "Please take care, everyone."
Deng Yuanqing led his wife and sister away. He walked beside Meng Jinyu, asking her with concern if she was tired, and then reached out to help her walk. He was very gentle and considerate. Looking at their backs, they were an enviable couple.
Deng Yuanqing asked softly, "You always said you missed your family, especially your eldest sister. Now that you've seen her, are you feeling better?"
Meng Jinyu nodded with a smile: "Today I can finally relieve the pain of missing you. Before my elder sister got married, I saw her every day. Even after she got married, we were still in the capital and could see each other often, so I didn't miss her much. But after I went to Yangzhou with you, I missed her more and more."
Deng Yuanqing replied, "I still have business to take care of in the capital, so I'll be staying here for a while. If you miss your family, you can go back to visit them anytime. However, since you're pregnant, I'll have Jiaojiao stay with you when I'm not available, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyu paused. She dared to return to the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion. Now that she was back, her grandmother and father treated her well. After all, her husband gave her money, so she still had some use. But she dared not go to the Changxing Marquis's Mansion. Meng Jinyao would not give her a good look. If she took her sister-in-law to the Changxing Marquis's Mansion, wouldn't that be letting her in-laws see how she would humiliate herself?
Her mind raced, and she said, "Alright, I'll have to go back to my parents' home again in a few days. I only briefly greeted my mother today. I'll go back in a couple of days to get to know her and see what kind of person she is. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease about my second and third brothers."
After hearing this, Deng Yuanqing said, "Then you can set a date, and I'll see if I can find the time to come back with you."
Meng Jinyu was satisfied with his thoughtfulness, and the corners of her mouth turned up. She suddenly felt that marrying down wasn't all bad. At least her husband would be considerate of her. Her husband's family was very wealthy, and since she married into the family, she had never worried about not having enough money to buy jewelry.
Deng Yuanqing added, "Ayu, we didn't attend the full moon banquet for our eldest sister's eldest son, and you didn't get to see your little nephew either. Let's find some time to pay a visit."
Meng Jinyu's heart tightened. Just what she feared had come to pass. She had just steered the conversation toward her family home, and her husband had already brought up the Changxing Marquis's residence. It was unlikely that she would go there, but she couldn't simply refuse. So she could only stall for time and replied, "Well, I have to go back to the Yongchang Earl's residence in a few days. Also, I heard from my grandmother that my third brother will be taking the Lingshan Academy's assessment in a few days. As his older sister, I need to encourage him before he takes the assessment."
Deng Yuanqing followed her words and said, "Of course."
After that, Meng Jinyu didn't hear him mention the Marquis of Changxing's mansion again, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
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Meanwhile, after they had walked away, Ning Dong whispered to Meng Jinyao, "Madam, although the second young lady married down, the second son-in-law treats her quite well."
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "He's not being nice to Meng Jinyu; he's being nice to the second daughter of the Meng family and the only sister of the Marquis of Changxing."
Upon hearing this, Ning Dong immediately understood. The Deng family was a merchant family, and it was already a great honor for them to marry the second daughter of the Earl of Yongchang. It was only because the second daughter had a bad reputation that the Deng family was able to marry her; otherwise, the Deng family would not have been able to reach her level.
The reason why the young master of the Deng family would marry was not to marry the second daughter herself, but simply to marry her status. The second daughter's status would bring the young master Deng honor, and she would also become the brother-in-law of the Marquis of Changxing. With this status, there would be many benefits to be gained behind the scenes. Others did not know that their relationship was not good. In other people's eyes, the young master Deng was the husband of the Marquis of Changxing's sister-in-law.
Meng Jinyao said, "Let's go, we need to go back too."
After leaving the Yongchang Marquis's residence and getting into the carriage, Gu Jingxi asked, "Ayao, what did you think of Zhao Shi after you met her?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "How should I put it? At first glance, she seems like a gentle person, but upon closer inspection, I don't think so. I feel that she is not someone to be trifled with, and she is also quite shrewd."
Gu Jingxi was somewhat surprised and asked again, "Why is he not someone to mess with?"
Meng Jinyao said, "I don't think she's the kind of person who's easily bullied. Of course, that's just my first impression."
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly and then said, "I heard from Deng Yuanqing that Meng Jinyu missed her family very much when she was in Yangzhou, and she missed you even more. Fortunately, your letters eased her longing."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was completely stunned and frowned: "Doesn't she have any shame? When did I write her a letter?"
Gu Jingxi chuckled and said, "It's obvious that she forged it. Maybe she's not doing well in her husband's family, or maybe she's just trying to save face by bringing up your identity to make a good impression."
Meng Jinyao frowned: "She was like she was possessed by something evil today. Even when I spoke rudely, she didn't argue with me. I didn't expect her to be such a good actress behind my back. Deng Yuanqing said I wrote a letter to Meng Jinyu. What was your response?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "There were other guests present at the time, and my father-in-law was also there. Considering the family's reputation, I couldn't say that you hadn't written the letter, so I had to acquiesce to it."
Meng Jinyao narrowed her eyes and said slowly, "Deng Yuanqing is indeed a businessman. Businessmen pursue profit and only care about interests. They will even calculate a small matter to maximize their interests. Bringing up such a thing in front of guests is just to let people know that Meng Jinyu and I are sisters. In this way, his status as his brother-in-law will be improved, and he can also gain some benefits from it."
After saying this, Meng Jinyao asked, "Husband, do you think their next plan is to pay a visit? Meng Jinyu and I are sisters. If they visit, it would be a normal visit to relatives, which would be normal to anyone. But if they visit, from other people's perspective, it would make them think that Meng Jinyu and I are very close sisters. She started visiting me, her elder sister, as soon as she returned to the capital."
Gu Jingxi said, "It's not impossible, but Meng Jinyu probably wouldn't dare to visit rashly unless Deng Yuanqing brings it up and she can't avoid it, then she'll have to bite the bullet and pay a visit."
Meng Jinyao frowned again and said indifferently, "If she has no shame, I won't tolerate her. I'll make her lose face completely."
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