Chapter 423 Filial Piety to Mother-in-Law
Meng Chengzhang smiled and said, "Father is feeling down because of his unsuccessful career."
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao chuckled helplessly: "When has his career ever been smooth sailing? After all these years, can't he accept his own mediocrity and incompetence?"
Meng Chengzhang recounted the events of the previous night: "Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the family dinner, my father drank a couple of too many drinks and complained to my grandmother that you weren't close to your maternal family and didn't support them even after marrying into a good family, causing him to miss out on a real opportunity."
"Then he complained about his uncle, saying that his uncle's current wife's younger brother had taken his other position, and that even though his aunt had passed away, he was still his aunt's biological younger brother and his uncle's eldest son's maternal uncle, and that his brother-in-law was not helping his brother-in-law."
“He blames you for not getting your brother-in-law to support him. That requires connections. Without your brother-in-law’s help, he had to settle for second best. He could just bribe someone else. In the future, my second brother-in-law will have money, but someone else beat him to it. He said that my uncle favors his current wife’s brother, which is making his career difficult.”
Meng Jinyao was taken aback: "Is that so?"
Meng Chengzhang nodded and said, "Last night he also told me to persuade you, elder sister, not to go back to your parents' home when you have nothing to do. Father is a bit difficult to deal with these days. If I come back, I will come to see you."
"Don't worry, second brother, I won't go back unless it's absolutely necessary." Meng Jinyao said, then smiled. "I remember that my uncle's second wife came from a merchant family, and I heard that she has a younger brother who is taking the imperial examinations. If she needs money to bribe someone, Madam Luo's family is not short of money. What does it have to do with whether my uncle is biased or not?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "But my father just thinks it's someone else's fault, that someone else is ruining his career, saying that since they are both his brothers-in-law, my uncle is biased towards the other one."
Meng Jinyao said helplessly, "He was never capable to begin with. Otherwise, how could he be over thirty and still only have a nominal position? Even if he were given a good official position, he would still need to be capable to be competent. If he is not capable and makes mistakes in his work, he will be punished at best, and at worst, he will lose his head and implicate his family."
Meng Chengzhang said, "That makes sense. Father just doesn't understand himself."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Second brother, let him do whatever he wants. Our stepmother is a smart woman now. She will make him take it easy and won't let him do anything that will implicate the family."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang couldn't help but feel sorry for Dong Shi: "She's not only smart, but also kind-hearted. Father is not good enough for her."
Meng Jinyao nodded in agreement; her father was indeed unworthy of the well-educated and sensible Dong Shi.
A moment later, Meng Jinyao asked again, "By the way, did Cousin Luo visit Grandmother at the Meng family's house?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "Cousin Yong'an and his wife brought Zheng'er over this morning. My cousin is my grandmother's grandson, and she treats him quite well. However, my father tried to sow discord between my cousin and his uncle, and also between my cousin and his stepmother. He implied that if there's a stepmother, there's a stepfather, and warned my cousin to be more careful and not be fooled. But my cousin has the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and he didn't take these words to heart."
Meng Jinyao said, "I saw that my cousin and Madam Luo got along quite well before, and my cousin's wife and Madam Luo also had a close relationship. This proves that this stepmother has never mistreated my cousin. My father was just venting his dissatisfaction by saying those things."
Meng Chengzhang added, "Elder sister, I met my future brother-in-law yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was very curious: "What about that Young Master Deng?"
Meng Chengzhang objectively commented: "Young Master Deng is twenty years old this year. He has regular features and is a shrewd man. If my second sister marries him, she will definitely be completely controlled by him."
Meng Jinyao nodded and then asked, "Has the specific wedding date been set?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "It's set for the second day of the tenth month."
Meng Jinyao nodded again, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Didn't Father get drunk and complain at the family banquet last night? Did Young Master Deng hear it too? What was Young Master Deng's reaction?"
Meng Chengzhang shook his head: "No, Young Master Deng came to visit in the morning. He won't be at the family banquet tonight. If there were outsiders present, Grandmother would definitely not allow Father to say such things, lest he be looked down upon."
Meng Jinyao pursed her lips and gave a mocking smile. Marrying her daughter off to a merchant for money was already considered an act of selling her daughter, something that would be looked down upon by others.
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The autumn wind rustles, and yellow leaves fall in the wind.
Meng Jinyao held a needle and thread to embroider patterns on a garment. The garment was made of blue silk and embroidered with auspicious patterns of fortune and longevity. It was clear at a glance that it was not clothing worn by a young person.
This is a dress she made for her mother-in-law, Madam Gu. She had made clothes for her husband and unborn child to pass the time, so she thought of making a set of clothes for her mother-in-law as a way to show her respect. She also asked Qingqiu to ask the embroiderers in the mansion for the size of the dress.
Her mother-in-law usually lives a secluded life, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers. She has no desires or hobbies, and her only hobby is probably related to Buddhism. If you want to give her something, it's hard to give anything other than rare Buddhist scriptures or prayer beads that would please her.
My mother-in-law likes vegetarian food, but vegetarian food that is light, simple, low in salt and oil sounds easy, but it takes a lot of cooking skills to make it delicious. She doesn't even dare to eat what she makes, so she shouldn't make things difficult for herself and her mother-in-law.
You can't go wrong gifting everyday clothes right now.
The stitches are finished, and the garment is complete.
Meng Jinyao carefully checked the clothes and found nothing wrong. She then folded the clothes and went to Shou'an Hall to deliver them to her mother-in-law.
When Madam Gu suddenly received a gift from her daughter-in-law, she saw the fine stitches and knew that her daughter-in-law had put a lot of effort into making the dress. She was very happy, but said, "Ayao is very thoughtful, but you are pregnant. How can you work so hard? In the future, you can leave such things to the servants. Don't tire yourself out."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Mother, I'm not tired. I'm just idling at home anyway, so doing something can help pass the time."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu smiled and asked, "Ayao, do you miss Yaoling?"
How could I possibly answer such a question?
Meng Jinyao lowered her head shyly, taking it as a tacit agreement.
Seeing this, Madam Gu smiled even more: "When Yaoling went on official business before, he would usually return within half a year at most. This time he went to Hangzhou Prefecture, so he should be back by late autumn or early winter. If you miss him during this time, you can write to him."
Meng Jinyao nodded shyly.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted for a while longer before the old lady told her to go back for dinner. It wasn't that she didn't want to eat with her, but she was fasting and the vegetarian food she was eating didn't suit her daughter-in-law's taste. Besides, it wasn't good for a pregnant woman to eat so much vegetarian food.
Looking at the clothes Meng Jinyao had brought, Granny Feng said, "Madam, the embroidery skills of the lady are truly excellent. They are no worse than those of the embroiderers in the manor, and perhaps even better."
Madam Gu nodded with a smile: "It's very nice. This child is thoughtful. My old friends and I have arranged to go to the temple to offer incense and pray for blessings tomorrow. I will wear this outfit tomorrow."
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