Chapter 526 Stepmother Zhao
"The bride has arrived."
Suddenly, things became lively in front of them as guests gathered to watch the ceremony.
Meng Jinyao also went to the front hall with the guests to watch the ceremony.
A short while later, the newlyweds, each holding a red silk ribbon, walked slowly towards them. The bride's face was covered by a red veil, so her features were not visible, but the groom could see her clearly. On this joyous day, the groom's face showed little joy, and the guests had different thoughts.
Sitting on the high seat, Madam Meng saw no smile on her son's face and became angry. At a time like this, was he still thinking about Madam Dong? She gave her son a warning look.
Seeing this, Meng Dongyuan lowered his eyes and forced a smile.
The matchmaker didn't care about the groom's expression; once the auspicious time arrived, the ceremony had to be followed. She loudly proclaimed, "First bow to Heaven and Earth!"
Meng Dongyuan numbly went through the wedding ceremony with Zhao.
Meng Jinyao whispered to her husband, "He didn't want to marry her but didn't dare to resist. Now that he's married her anyway, who is he giving him this attitude for? In the end, won't he just be a disgrace to the Meng family?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "Because I'm unwilling to accept it, I can't face it with a smile. This can also be considered as dissatisfaction with the marriage arranged by my elders."
Meng Jinyao said, "Then he's really a coward."
After the newlyweds finished their wedding ceremony, they were led to their bridal chamber. Many of the female relatives followed to see the bride, curious about what Meng Dongyuan's new wife looked like. Meng Jinyao and Meng Jinyu also went along.
Meng Dongyuan picked up the scale rod and lifted the bride's red veil. Everyone's eyes were focused on the bride. When they saw the veil lifted, their scrutinizing gazes fell on the bride's face.
Meng Jinyao carefully examined Zhao Shi. Zhao Shi was dressed in a red wedding gown and was quite beautiful. Although she was over thirty, she was well-maintained and had an oval face that still retained her charm. At first glance, she seemed to be a gentle and demure woman. However, when she raised her eyes, she noticed that the corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and her eyes revealed a shrewdness. She seemed to be a woman with her own ideas and not someone to be trifled with. This was good, otherwise, a soft persimmon would not have a good life in the Meng family.
This was also the first time Meng Dongyuan had seen the bride. Upon seeing her face, he, who was already dissatisfied with the marriage, became even more dissatisfied. As expected, she was an older woman with fine lines around her eyes. In terms of appearance and temperament, she was no match for Dong Shi in any way.
Zhao still held some hope for this marriage. Although the Meng family had fallen on hard times, they still had a noble title. She would become a countess after marrying into the family, with the Marquis of Changxing as her son-in-law and her stepdaughter as the Marquis of Changxing's wife. However, her husband had a stern face and seemed dissatisfied with her, which made her heart sink.
After drinking the wedding wine, Meng Dongyuan left the bridal chamber to greet the guests, without even saying a kind word to the bride before leaving.
Seeing that the groom didn't seem to care much about the bride and didn't talk to her much, the other women left one after another.
As stepdaughters, Meng Jinyao and Meng Jinyu took the initiative to step forward and greet their elder, calling out, "Mother."
However, they weren't familiar with each other, so after exchanging a few pleasantries, Meng Jinyao and Meng Jinyu left.
When Meng Jinyu left, she was in a good mood because she could tell from her father's attitude that her stepmother was not a threat and her silly younger brother was no longer a concern. This Zhao Shi was far inferior to the Dong Shi of the past.
Regarding what had just happened, some gossipy guests couldn't help but whisper among themselves: "It's obvious that Lord Meng isn't very satisfied with the bride."
Someone replied, "To be honest, this Zhao is far inferior to the previous Dong, Sun, and Zhou. It's normal for Lord Meng to be dissatisfied. Zhou and Dong were the most beautiful of his wives, and they came from scholarly families, exuding an air of refinement and possessing excellent temperament. As for Sun, although she couldn't compare to the other two, she was still quite pretty. When she married Lord Meng, she was still young, so she had the advantage of youth. This Zhao is a bit older."
The man said, "I heard that Zhao is thirty-one years old this year."
Someone interjected, "Wouldn't that mean he's the same age as the Marquis of Changxing?"
The man then said, "Yes, the son-in-law is the same age as the mother-in-law. How can the son-in-law call her 'mother-in-law'?"
Some people disagreed, saying, "Why can't he call her that? Dong Shi was younger than him before, but he still called her 'mother-in-law'. Back then, Miss Meng was even younger than Gu Xiuming, only a teenager, but Gu Xiuming still had to call her 'mother'."
Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement: "That's true."
...
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyu, standing beside Meng Jinyao, asked with a smile, "Elder sister, what do you think of the Zhao family?"
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "That's good. Zhao seems to be a gentle person. Father is lucky to have such a good wife by his side. They will definitely be able to stay together until they grow old."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyu rolled her eyes at her and chuckled, "Elder sister is really good at lying through her teeth. Anyone with eyes can see that Zhao Shi has already fallen out of favor as soon as she married in. Father is not satisfied with her."
Meng Jinyao replied calmly, "Second sister, there are some things you can't say carelessly. If Father wasn't satisfied, why would he have married her?" She paused and glanced at Meng Jinyu. "Today is Father's big day. If you gossip behind his back, people will think you're unhappy with Father's remarriage."
Meng Jinyu was speechless. She was about to retort, but she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and lowered her head to say softly, "What elder sister said is true. I misunderstood. But I am absolutely not dissatisfied with Father's remarriage. I am happy for Father that he has a gentle and virtuous woman by his side."
Meng Jinyao was speechless for a moment. In the past, Meng Jinyu would have argued with her long ago, but now that he was so well-behaved, she was a little unaccustomed to it.
Meng Jinyu felt uncomfortable being stared at by her indifferent gaze. She said aggrievedly, "If you don't want to see me, I'll leave. I won't bother you. But I just haven't seen you for so long and I miss you so much. That's why I couldn't help but say a few more words to you. When I was a young woman, I could see my family often and didn't feel anything. But after I married far away, I miss my family even more."
Meng Jinyao's lips twitched, and she replied, "If you're possessed by something evil, go find a Taoist priest. Don't hang around in front of me, it's creepy. I bet the evil thing that possessed you was in a theatrical troupe in its previous life, it was quite the actor." With that, she turned and walked away quickly.
Meng Jinyu was so angry that her face was contorted. She had already put aside her pride and tried to be friendly with her, but she still didn't know what was good for her. She suddenly had an urge to rush up and argue with her, but then she thought better of it. It wasn't worth arguing in this kind of situation. Her husband's family was also there. She had to be a good sister to the end. She didn't believe that Meng Jinyao would deliberately give her a hard time in front of others.
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