He Shi saw that Shen Liyue didn’t stand up to greet her, but she didn’t care. She had something more important to do today.
"Yue'er." He called her affectionately, and Shen Liyue could only smile and respond, "Second Aunt."
After greeting, Shen Liyue looked at her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose, as if she didn't see that there was a man standing next to He.
"The moon looks really beautiful today." He praised her, but Shen Liyue didn't respond and just smiled.
"This is my nephew from my mother's family. I brought him here specially for you to see."
Chen Lijiao had not expected so many people to come to today's lunch. She thought there would only be some ladies and young ladies, so she did not separate the tables. Because the preparations were not sufficient, Chen Lijiao did not have time to ask someone to set up a screen.
However, there are serious problems between men and women, so the guests who came were consciously divided into male and female guests. The female guests sat on the inside, while the male guests sat on the outside.
He came straight over with a stranger, attracting many people's attention.
No one dared to look over openly, but everyone has a curious heart. Seeing He walking towards Shen Liyue with a man, they guessed something in their hearts.
So while everyone was still chatting and exchanging pleasantries, they were secretly paying attention to the developments here out of the corner of their eyes.
When Shen Liyue heard what He said, she secretly rolled her eyes in her heart.
She had guessed He's purpose early on, but seeing her rushing over with her people in a red-faced manner, regardless of the difference between men and women, she was still amazed at He's shamelessness.
Not to mention the strict family traditions of the Shen family, even in ordinary families, when men and women meet, they do it secretly. No one would bring someone here directly.
Outsiders would shake their heads at He's actions.
Therefore, Shen Liyue ignored her.
He Shi seemed unable to understand Shen Liyue's intention and continued to talk to herself.
"This is your third aunt's legitimate son, He Zhen. Logically, you should call him cousin."
After hearing this, Shen Liyue couldn't hide anymore, so she pretended to be surprised and said, "Third aunt? Which third aunt? My third aunt? My cousins on my aunt's side are all surnamed Jiang. I'm confused and really don't know which one Second Aunt is talking about?"
As soon as Shen Liyue said this, she heard a "puff" sound from the side. Shen Liyue pretended not to hear it and continued to observe her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose.
He was temporarily blocked by Shen Liyue's criticism. Before she could say anything, Jiang on the side spoke slowly:
"Yes, I don't even know when I got a nephew with a surname like that. When I have time, I will go home and ask my brothers if they have found some extraordinary mistress and given their child a surname like hers. This is truly a great shame and humiliation. No, I will go back and write a letter. This is a serious matter."
"Hahahahahahaha." A young lady sitting next to them couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, but her mother's glare made her restrain her laughter a little, and she just winked at Shen Liyue playfully.
After hearing what Jiang said, the man named He Zhen's face turned red. Jiang's words actually said that he was born out of wedlock. Although his He family was in decline, they were still an honest family and had never been bullied like this.
"Why does the Shen family insult people's innocence?"
He's face also showed annoyance, "Sister-in-law's words are too harsh!"
Jiang's face was filled with surprise. "Why would my second sister-in-law say that? She brought a stranger here for no apparent reason, claiming he was Yue'er's cousin. We have so many ladies sitting here, and I haven't blamed her for being so intrusive, yet she's saying I'm being too much of a bully. Besides, I've been married for many years and don't know much about my family's situation. I'm just making a guess. What's wrong with that?"
He's face turned pale and blue, and she was shaking with anger but couldn't speak.
When everyone saw the commotion here was getting louder, they stopped talking and all their eyes were focused over here.
Old Madam Shen also saw it, and her face darkened when she saw them like this.
Knowing that today is her birthday, she should have endured any big conflicts. Making a scene in front of so many people, isn't she deliberately making a fool of her Shen family?
"What happened?" asked Old Madam Shen in a deep voice.
When He turned around and saw her mother-in-law coming, she opened her mouth and was about to cry.
Jiang, however, rushed ahead and bowed to her mother-in-law. She spoke even faster than He, saying, "My second brother's wife, disregarding the gender distinction, brought a stranger here to recognize Yue'er as her relative. I didn't understand why, so I asked, and they ended up making a scene at Mother's birthday banquet, disturbing her peace. I want to apologize to Mother first."
Jiang's words were flawless. She deliberately described He's bringing a man from outside the family as a recognition of kinship, but anyone with a discerning eye would know the real story. Moreover, she took the initiative to confess her guilt to Old Lady Shen. No matter how angry Old Lady Shen was, she couldn't show it in front of all the guests.
"Mother, you have to make the decision for your daughter-in-law!" He seemed to not understand other people's expressions and started crying.
Old Madam Shen was really angry this time, "Shut up! Don't you see what kind of occasion it is today?"
Mrs. Shen didn't say the rest of the words, but her meaning was clear. Crying and making a fuss at her birthday party, wasn't that just asking for trouble? Besides, with so many people watching, she had already thrown everyone in the Shen family away!
After being scolded by Old Madam Shen, He finally realized that her behavior was inappropriate and stood aside with her hands hanging down, looking unhappy.
Madam Shen didn't want to get involved in their affairs at the moment. She just smiled and said to everyone, "Today's events have made everyone laugh."
Everyone quickly responded and said no, and some even warmly invited Madam Shen to the first seat.
Seeing Madam Shen sitting down, Shen Liyue ordered the servants, “Serve the dishes.”
The cold dishes were served first. They were okay. Although the quantity of each type was not large, there were eight of them in total, and they looked quite exquisite.
When the hot dishes were served later, everyone felt unhappy.
The plates used in the banquet were all prepared in advance, and there were words like "happiness" and "longevity" on the plates. If the kitchen wanted to change to other plates, they would have to rearrange the dishes and change the knives at the same time. There was no time to wash the plates when they got them out of the warehouse, so they had to use the plates prepared before.
The plates were still the same size as before, but the quantity was much smaller. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to start eating.
What's more, in such a big Chen Mansion, there wasn't even a whole chicken or fish at the banquet. It was really inappropriate.
Even ordinary people would serve a whole fish if they held a banquet, which meant abundance every year. However, the Shen family served fish fillets, and the fish were very small, not even filling up a plate.
When Shen Lijiao saw these dishes, she secretly felt something was wrong.
This is completely different from what the kitchen presented to her for review!
Although she had never done everything herself and had never been to the kitchen to see it with her own eyes, she had never expected that the kitchen servants could bully their master to such an extent.
For a moment, the hall was silent. Old Madam Shen was sitting in the main seat, trembling with anger. She only managed to hold on for a breath to prevent herself from fainting on the spot.
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