Chapter 185 Is He Old?
Gu Jingxi chuckled: "Sure, of course."
Seeing that the man's brows were relaxed and there was no displeasure whatsoever, Meng Jinyao knew what was going on.
Originally, she thought that even if Gu Xiuming and Gu Jingxi were not biological father and son, they had been father and son for many years, and he was the only son. Now that he was firmly in the position of heir, he must still care about his son. Therefore, she had to be careful in her words and actions.
Now that he knows Gu Jingxi's thoughts, he is no longer afraid to say anything about Gu Xiuming in front of Gu Jingxi, lest Gu Jingxi mistakenly think that he has ulterior motives and is trying to sow discord between father and son.
In powerful families, profit is more important. The leader must be virtuous and talented. Otherwise, even if it is his own son, if he is a rebellious son, Gu Jingxi will not hesitate to remove him. Let alone someone who is not his own son.
Gu Jingxi asked gently, "What kind of guests usually come to your father's birthday celebration?"
Meng Jinyao replied truthfully: "Although the Meng family has declined, at least my mother's dowry used to support the family and keep the Earl's Mansion respectable. My father is a proud and showy man. When he was young, he didn't hold any birthday banquets, just a family meal. But he held a proper birthday banquet for my grandmother. In the last two years, as she has gotten older, he has started to make a big fuss."
She paused, glanced at Gu Jingxi, and continued, "After all, the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion and the Changxing Marquis's Mansion are engaged. For the sake of the Changxing Marquis's Mansion, my grandmother's family, my stepmother's family, and my father's cronies who are not as well off as him are quite willing to fawn over him. As for middle-ranking officials, they don't even bother with it. Not to mention whether the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion will rise again, even if it does, it may not be able to catch up with them in a short time."
After listening, Gu Jingxi picked out the key point of the sentence: "He's gotten a bit older these past two years."
Today is his father-in-law's 35th birthday. The birthday banquet is something he started doing in the last two years as he got a bit older, so he was around 33 years old then.
He's twenty-nine this year, and in a few more years he'll be quite old.
Thinking this, Gu Jingxi felt a very complicated feeling.
Seeing that he remained silent, his expression intriguing and thoughtful, Meng Jinyao asked, "Are you also planning to have a birthday banquet? When is your birthday again? I'll throw you one."
Gu Jingxi's face froze, and he said solemnly, "No need. I'm still young, why bother with all this? It's not too late to do it when I'm sixty or seventy."
Meng Jinyao disagreed, saying, "Actually, young people can also hold one. Some girls hold birthday banquets every year to celebrate with a group of close friends of the same age. Men can do it too, it's just an excuse to hold a banquet and get together to strengthen their relationships."
Gu Jingxi remained adamant: "I don't need it."
After hearing this, Meng Jinyao didn't insist: "Alright, when you're in your sixties or seventies, I'll still be young and have the energy to throw you a birthday banquet."
Gu Jingxi choked.
He felt that these words sounded harsh and unpleasant to him no matter how he listened to them.
He hadn't felt old before, but now that he has a girl by his side, he suddenly realizes that he's almost old enough to be a grandfather. When his nephew Xiuyuan's child is born next year, he will be the great-uncle.
Is he really old?
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The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
The younger generation of Madam Meng's family and the Sun family all came. Many of Meng Dongyuan's cronies who were not as successful as him also came with their families.
In the eyes of these people, the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion has declined, but at least it has the Changxing Marquis's Mansion as a marriage alliance. Although the eldest daughter had a disagreement with her maternal family over the dowry, it was said that it was Sun who did it. The Meng family also said that it was Sun who did it. What does the stepmother's actions have to do with the rest of her maternal family?
The Meng family lost face because of this incident, but at least they returned the dowry of the eldest daughter's birth mother, Zhou, and even made up for the money that had been used. No matter how much the eldest daughter resented Sun, the rest of her family were still relatives, and there was no such thing as holding a grudge overnight.
If Meng Jinyao were to return to her parents' home, they could try to build a relationship. If they could get in touch with the Marquis of Changxing's family and gain some benefits, then the trip would not have been in vain.
When Madam Sun's eldest sister-in-law, Madam Yang, arrived, she was somewhat disappointed not to see Meng Jinyao. She asked Madam Sun, "Sister, it's my brother-in-law's birthday today. Why haven't your eldest daughter and son-in-law arrived yet?"
Madam Sun sensed that Meng Jinyao wouldn't be coming, but she didn't say it out loud. She just sighed sadly, "That girl, Ayao, has hardly contacted her family since she got married. I wonder if she will come today."
Upon hearing this, everyone had different thoughts. They glanced at Madam Sun without making a sound, vaguely sensing that Meng Jinyao's absence was mostly due to Madam Sun. After all, Madam Sun had embezzled someone else's birth mother's dowry, which had caused quite a stir back then. But no matter what, Madam Sun was still an elder. As juniors, we should be more sensible and not argue with our elders.
Even if I'm furious, my father is innocent. I can't just not come back for his birthday, can I?
Madam Sun added, "It doesn't matter if you don't come. It's just a minor birthday celebration. The Earl likes lively occasions, so he held a banquet to invite everyone over. It's just a small, ordinary banquet for relatives and friends to chat and have some fun."
Mentioning the birthday banquet, Madam Sun couldn't help but feel annoyed. She didn't even have a banquet for her birthday, but her husband had to have one to celebrate. The Earl's family was now quite poor. In the past, they were able to support themselves with Madam Zhou's dowry, but now that the dowry was gone, they would avoid holding such banquets to save money.
Unexpectedly, her husband told her that since they had already held a celebration last year, not holding one this year would make people look down on them. His mother also felt the same way. Now they could only put on a show to maintain the so-called dignity, suffering for the sake of saving face. They tried to cut expenses in other ways, making things difficult for her, who was in charge of managing the household.
Madam Yang frowned and disagreed, saying, "Sister, even if it is a minor birthday celebration, they are still juniors and should come to show their filial piety. Chengzhang, who is studying at Lingshan Academy, has taken leave to come back, but they did not come from the capital. This is truly unfilial."
The other ladies chimed in, "That's right. I don't know what this eldest daughter is thinking. She doesn't even come back for her father's birthday."
Madam Sun gently shook her head: "Don't make wild guesses. Ayao is a very filial child. She's probably on her way and will arrive later. No matter how much she resents me, she will definitely attend her father's birthday celebration."
After she finished speaking, she greeted the guests.
There weren't many guests. Apart from the male guests in the front yard, there were the families of Meng Dongyuan's cronies, plus about ten young girls. Several female relatives from Madam Meng's family came, including Madam Meng's nieces-in-law and grandnieces. The female relatives from Madam Sun's family were Madam Sun's sister-in-law, Madam Yang, and Madam Yang's daughter.
They were all worse off than the Meng family, so Sun Shi became the center of attention among them. Even though she looked down on the Meng family, at least they had a noble title, and their eldest daughter had become a marquis's wife.
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