Chapter Eighty: A Disgrace
Shou'an Hall.
Today is a day off, and it just so happens to be the day to pay our respects to Old Madam Gu. The eldest, second, and third branches of the family all arrived at Shou'an Hall around the same time.
At this moment, Madam Gu was having breakfast. The younger generation wanted to show their filial piety by serving her breakfast, but she didn't want to do that. She felt that the younger generation was making noise and affecting her meal, so she simply sent them to wait in the hall.
Having such an easy-going mother-in-law is a blessing for a daughter-in-law. Some old ladies, even with a house full of maids to serve them, still expect their daughters-in-law to come and serve them every day, setting rules for them, which is very demanding.
If you try to show filial piety and curry favor with the old lady in their family, she'll just say, "You married into this family as a daughter-in-law, not a maid. You don't need to do these things."
You thought the old lady must be lonely, so you went to pay your respects to her every day and chat with her to relieve her boredom. She found it very annoying and said bluntly, "You come over so early every morning, I can't even get a good night's sleep. I have to get up early to see you. From now on, you can just come to pay your respects on the first and fifteenth of each month."
On this point, Zhang and Chen, who had always felt that the old lady favored her own son, both felt that their mother-in-law was very kind in this respect.
After waiting for a while, Madam Gu finished her breakfast and came to the hall, where the younger generation greeted her.
After everyone sat down, the members of the first and second branches of the family all looked at Gu Jingxi and his wife. Only the couple had come today; Gu Xiuming had been released from confinement, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Madam Gu also noticed that her most beloved grandson was not there, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. However, when she thought about the absurd things Xiu Ming had done these days, she became somewhat numb.
Just then, a maid came in to report: "Madam, the young master has arrived."
Although disappointed in her grandson, he was still the grandson she had loved for many years. After not seeing him for more than a month, Old Madam Gu still missed him and gently instructed, "Quickly go and invite the young master in."
A moment later, everyone saw Gu Xiuming with a beaming smile, and a shy, demure girl walking beside him.
Everyone was immediately stunned.
Li Wan'er was carried into the mansion in a sedan chair the day before yesterday. Yesterday, she went out with Gu Xiuming for the whole day and had not yet shown her face in front of everyone. Today, when people saw her in person, they subconsciously looked her up and down to see what kind of girl could make Gu Xiuming cause such a scandal as eloping.
She was dressed in a light blue cloud-patterned gauze dress, with a beautiful and graceful appearance. Her beauty was different from Meng Jinyao's bright and dazzling appearance. At this moment, she walked timidly beside Gu Xiuming, her head slightly lowered, not daring to look up at people, which greatly diminished her appeal in everyone's eyes.
It's incomprehensible why Gu Xiuming, the heir of a marquis's family, would choose such a petty and uncouth girl. When Meng Jinyao came to serve tea on the second day of her marriage, she was under immense pressure, yet she remained poised and confident, showing no fear whatsoever, and handled everyone with ease.
Gu Xiuming definitely picked up the fish eye and lost the pearl.
The next moment, everyone realized another problem: Li Wan'er was a concubine, so why was a concubine coming to join in the fun?
Previously, Madam Gu allowed her concubines to come and pay their respects. However, after one of Gu Jingsheng's concubines got into a fight and made a fool of herself, which displeased Madam Gu and resulted in a scolding from her, everyone tacitly agreed that concubines could not be brought to pay their respects. After all, concubines were not proper wives, so it didn't matter if they were not well-liked by their elders.
After that incident, the brothers Gu Jingsheng and Gu Jingsong never allowed their concubines to come to Shou'an Hall to pay their respects to Madam Gu again. The eldest grandson, Gu Xiuyuan, also had a concubine, who was a maidservant who was promoted to concubine after his wife, Jiang, entered the household. She never showed her face in front of Madam Gu.
Now, Gu Xiuming has brought over a concubine who is not presentable. It is unclear whether he is arrogant or thinks that as the heir apparent and his grandmother's most beloved grandson, he will be an exception.
Gu Xiuming also sensed the subtle atmosphere, but he kept his eyes straight ahead and respectfully greeted the old lady Gu: "Grandson greets Grandmother, may Grandmother be well."
Feeling somewhat flustered under the scrutiny of so many eyes, Li Wan'er quickly followed suit and bowed to Old Madam Gu when she saw Gu Xiuming bow. "Granddaughter-in-law greets Grandmother. May Grandmother be well."
These words made the atmosphere even more awkward. What kind of granddaughter-in-law is a concubine? Only the legally married wife is a proper granddaughter-in-law. It's a shame that no guests were present, otherwise it would have been embarrassing and made a laughing stock.
Madam Gu frowned slightly, but ultimately gave her grandson face and didn't scold him in front of the whole family. She simply ignored Li Wan'er and said gently to her grandson, "Xiu Ming is here. Don't stand there, sit down and talk to me."
Gu Xiuming was about to introduce his beloved girl to his elders, but seeing his grandmother's attitude, he dared not disobey her and moved to sit down in the seat below Meng Jinyao.
Li Wan'er also sensed that her elders were intentionally ignoring her. Her face turned pale, and her eyes were clouded with a thin mist. She timidly followed behind Gu Xiuming and sat down in the seat below him.
She was fine when she didn't sit down, but once she did, everyone's eyes fell on her again, and those intriguing gazes made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Besides watching the spectacle unfold, the first and second wives were also quite puzzled. Even though Meng Jinyao was the eldest daughter of a fallen noble family, she was still a proper and dignified young lady. Why did Gu Xiuming choose this unruly girl over Meng Jinyao? They really didn't know what he was thinking.
A concubine dares to sit on equal footing with them. In the past, when the old lady allowed concubines to come and pay their respects, they would stand next to the main wife after paying their respects. How could they be qualified to sit down? Being able to come and pay their respects was already a favor.
Seeing this, Madam Gu's expression also turned sour, but she still gave her grandson face and didn't want things to get too ugly, so she didn't scold him on the spot and decided to talk to him about it later.
Seeing her mother-in-law's unpleasant expression, Zhang knew that her mother-in-law disliked this Aunt Li, so she didn't need to hold back. Her tone was gentle, but her words were sarcastic: "This must be Aunt Li, right? She's really pretty, so lovely and endearing. No wonder Xiuming cherishes her so much. She's just a bit too unconventional."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er's face turned pale. She could tell that this was not a compliment, but an sarcasm that she was using her looks to bewitch Brother Xiuming. As for being unconventional, she was a little confused. She had just entered the room and hadn't done anything yet, so how could she be unconventional?
Gu Xiuming's expression changed. Seeing his beloved looking at him helplessly with tears welling up in her eyes, he felt a pang of heartache. Just as he was about to speak up for her, he heard a "thump," and his heart skipped a beat.
This is the sound of a teacup being placed on the coffee table, and it was placed with considerable force, which also suggests that the person who placed the teacup was displeased.
He looked in the direction of the sound and saw his father's frosty face. His heart tightened, and he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He didn't dare to utter a sound, but silently held Li Wan'er's hand and comforted her.
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