Chapter 602 Xiu Hong's Wife
The next morning.
The entire Gu family, young and old, gathered in the main hall. Even the relatives who had stayed overnight at the Gu family's house came to see what kind of woman the new bride was, that Gu Xiuhong would marry no one else but her.
Before long, Gu Jingsong and his wife came over with their son and daughter-in-law to pay their respects to their elders, and everyone finally saw the new bride.
The new bride's name was Song Yuan. She was not particularly outstanding in appearance, only considered pretty. Beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows were a pair of gentle, watery eyes, and her pale red lips were slightly upturned with a hint of a smile. She looked like a gentle and graceful woman.
Many people were stunned when they saw Song Yuan. They thought that someone who could make Gu Xiuhong insist on marrying her must be a beauty. They really didn't expect her to be such an ordinary woman.
When Song Yuan saw that the hall was full of people and so many eyes were staring at her, she suddenly became nervous and looked at Gu Xiuhong with unease.
Gu Xiuhong reached out and took her hand, giving her a gentle smile to comfort her. Then, he led her to follow behind his parents and greeted the old lady Gu: "Grandson greets Grandmother."
Song Yuan curtsied and said, "Granddaughter-in-law greets Grandmother."
Madam Gu looked at Song Yuan with a kind smile and said lovingly, "Good children, get up."
Afterwards, Song Yuan presented Old Madam Gu with a pair of shoes she had made herself. She also presented the eldest and third branches of the family with embroidered items she had made herself. For Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Xiuwen, who were of the same generation, she presented them with the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper). For Gu Xiuheng and Gu Yunxin, who were younger, she presented them with dolls she had sewn herself. The gifts were not expensive, but they were thoughtful. She was good at embroidery, and the embroidered items were all very beautiful.
Madam Gu, Madam Zhang, and Meng Jinyao all prepared gifts for her, which were jewelry that young ladies would like.
Immediately afterwards, Chen introduced her to the other relatives of the Gu family. After exchanging greetings, Chen led her to sit down in the seat below Zhang.
Song Yuan sat awkwardly next to Chen Shi, feeling uneasy under the subtle scrutiny of those around her. Even though she had told herself repeatedly not to be nervous when she woke up that morning, she still couldn't remain calm and composed when she arrived at the scene.
Chen glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and sighed inwardly. After all, she was not from a wealthy family and did not receive a good education. If it had been Lingyi who married Xiu Hong, she would definitely be poised and graceful today and would have won the favor of the elders. She would not be sitting there like a block of wood without saying a word like Song. She, as the mother-in-law, could only teach her slowly in the future.
Seeing this, Zhang turned her gaze to her daughter-in-law, Jiang. She saw Jiang holding Yunxin, sitting gracefully and gently beside Xiuyuan, her every move exuding composure and elegance. Zhang was very satisfied. This daughter-in-law not only brought her honor, but also gave her a clever and witty grandson.
The group chatted and laughed for a while before the three brothers led the other men out of the hall. Almost half of the people in the hall were gone, leaving only the women chatting about everyday things. They would have lunch together at noon.
After lunch, Chen took her daughter-in-law home. Because she was very dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law's performance that day, she complained to her husband in private: "Why does Xiu Hong like such a girl? She sits there like a block of wood. My sister-in-law even said a few sarcastic things to me, and she kept bragging to me about how good her daughter-in-law is."
Gu Jingsong replied, "She seems to be a gentle and shy person. She just married into the family and is not familiar with everyone, so it's normal for her to be reserved. If you have any other complaints, just give her some pointers."
Mrs. Chen said irritably, "You two are really father and son, both with such poor taste."
Gu Jingsong nodded in agreement: "Yes, I have poor judgment. When I was looking at you, I married you after only meeting you once."
Upon hearing this, Chen glared at him angrily: "What do you mean by that? Am I that bad? Back in my youth, I was a beauty with talent, more than a match for you!"
Gu Jingsong laughed and said, "You said it yourself, I didn't say you were bad."
Chen gave a soft snort.
Gu Jingsong softened his tone: "Alright, alright, your daughter-in-law is already married into the family, it's no use regretting it now. Just teach her well from now on. Our son likes her. If you are dissatisfied with her in every way, be careful that your son will become estranged from you."
Madam Chen sighed deeply, truly resigned to her fate. She sent a maid to fetch Song Yuan, personally gave her some pointers, and assigned her capable nanny to her daughter-in-law, instructing the nanny to properly instruct her.
With the year-end approaching, gifts still need to be sent to various households, so Chen also keeps her daughter-in-law by her side, so that her daughter-in-law can learn a lot.
Gu Xiuhong was initially worried that his mother would make things difficult for his wife, but he was relieved to see that although his mother was not very affectionate towards his wife, she was still teaching her with care.
Fortunately, Song Yuan is a very adaptable person. With the careful guidance of her mother-in-law and nanny, she has made a lot of progress in a short period of time. When she went to visit relatives with Chen Shi during the New Year, she was already able to handle those relatives with difficulty.
Seeing that she wasn't an unteachable blockhead, Madam Chen's attitude towards her softened considerably.
During a casual chat among the sisters-in-law, Zhang sighed, "Second sister-in-law, your daughter-in-law has changed a lot in just one month after you've trained her. She's even starting to resemble you in how she treats people."
Chen said calmly, "It's alright."
Zhang added, "Xiuhong has changed a lot. He used to be indifferent to women, but after getting married, the young couple spends all their time together. I can occasionally see them walking hand in hand in the garden."
“If he wasn’t all lovey-dovey with Song, I would suspect he regretted it and didn’t really like Song.” Chen said, scoffing lightly. “That brat wouldn’t have bought me snacks from time to time before he got married, but now he’s buying me snacks. Isn’t it because he’s afraid I’ll be jealous? When he buys snacks for his wife, he buys some for me too. Don’t think I don’t know his little scheme.”
Zhang asked curiously, "Xiu Hong's wife has been married into the family for a while now. Have you noticed anything about her that attracts Xiu Hong?"
After thinking for a moment, Madam Chen replied, "Perhaps it's because he has some talent and can talk to Xiu Hong. I heard from the maid that the two of them would gamble on books, spill tea, and compose poems in their spare time."
Madam Zhang frowned slightly, quite puzzled: "There are quite a few talented young ladies from noble families in the capital, why did Xiu Hong choose her in particular?"
"Who knows? I'm not Xiu Hong, how would I know what he's thinking?"
Madam Chen turned to look at her and continued, "There is one thing you are right about, sister-in-law. Madam Song is two years older than Xiu Hong, and she is really good at taking care of people, even more so than I, as her mother. Knowing that Xiu Hong is busy with official duties, she was afraid that he would ruin his health, so she personally cooked medicinal meals for him, making different kinds of dishes for him. Perhaps she cannot compare with women from noble families in many aspects, but she also has her merits. She is a gentle and virtuous wife, and she is usually filial and sensible."
Madam Zhang nodded: "When choosing a wife, it's important to choose a virtuous one. Judging from what you've said, my second sister-in-law, Xiu Hong has made a good choice in marrying her. But she's already twenty-three this year. Other women her age already have two or three children. You should encourage them to work hard and have a healthy baby boy soon." As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice, "She wasn't pregnant when she married her first husband. Could there be something wrong with her health? If there's still no news in two months, my second sister-in-law should find a doctor to give her a proper check-up."
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen's expression turned serious; she hadn't considered this possibility.
Madam Zhang comforted her, saying, "Second sister-in-law, you don't need to worry too much. If she really has a health problem, we can arrange for Xiu Hong to take in a few concubines. Once the concubines have children, we can give them to her to raise, and they will be registered under her name as legitimate children."
Madam Chen pursed her lips, glared at her, and said, "Couldn't it be that her ex-husband has a problem? Her ex-husband was a womanizer who died without having a child or even a mistress. It seems more like her ex-husband has a problem."
Upon hearing this, Zhang was taken aback at first, then nodded: "That's true. Even with good land, without good seeds, you can't grow fruit."
Mrs. Chen said, "Let's not talk about these things anymore. As long as they are happy, I don't care about anything else."
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