Zhao Mingyao had no desire to attend the so-called party.
She was very clear about her position in front of her mother-in-law.
Even though Zhao Mingyao gave birth to two children for Shen Dingkun, it doesn't mean that she has received recognition.
The parents-in-law distinguished between their grandson and daughter-in-law more clearly than anyone else.
Zhao Mingyao may be a mother to her child and a wife to her husband, but she will never be a member of this wealthy family.
She never told anyone that before she married into the family, her in-laws had already forced her to sign many agreements. Some of these agreements she was ordered to sign quickly without even reading the contents, so as not to waste each other's time.
Although she wasn't quite sure what the specifics of the agreement she signed were, Shen Dingkun had tacitly approved of her signing it, which meant there shouldn't be any risks.
However, Zhao Mingyao still felt humiliated.
What did she do wrong to suffer such emotional trauma before marriage?
However, she dared not tell anyone.
Others only know that she is a wealthy lady, but they have no idea that her in-laws are wary of her at every turn.
Marrying into a higher social class is seen by others as a change in social standing. Zhao Mingyao also admits that her current life is something she could never achieve by working a lifetime. However, the problem is that she still feels a certain unfairness.
Zhao Mingyao was powerless to deal with this inherent injustice.
She knew very well what this unfairness meant.
But her husband didn't start from scratch. He had already done a lot by giving her a wedding and a legitimate status.
Zhao Mingyao swallowed all her grievances; she couldn't cause her husband any more trouble. Couples should support each other.
Several years have passed, and Zhao Mingyao has always kept all her grievances to herself or confided in Jiang Tian. Apart from the discrimination that Shen Dingkun himself discovered, Zhao Mingyao has never mentioned it to him.
This was the survival wisdom she subconsciously chose.
Zhao Mingyao was used to being an invisible person in high society circles.
She could certainly be fawned over by others because of her husband's status, but being fawned over comes at a price. Shen Dingkun would definitely have to give something in exchange for her preferential treatment—Zhao Mingyao didn't want her husband to make such a sacrifice, so she preferred to stay in seclusion.
She was willing to remain an unknown socialite in high society, but her mother-in-law was not.
This time, Zhao Mingyao was brought along to attend the banquet.
To be honest, Zhao Mingyao had absolutely no liking for this kind of banquet.
Everyone only had common ground because of their respective networks, like Zhao Mingyao. She was a housewife who couldn't offer resources to others; she didn't actively seek connections, so no one could gain anything from her, and naturally, they wouldn't get close to her.
But her mother-in-law demanded that she take on the responsibilities of being a lady of high society.
“I brought you out because of my son. You should know how much pressure our family faced when he married you. It took me several years to recover from this. My son, who is exceptional, married a daughter-in-law who is not presentable.”
“This time, my old friend invited all her girlfriends and their daughters-in-law to go out. After thinking it over, I decided to give you another chance. You can’t always live in an ivory tower, protected by my son, and never let yourself be exposed to the harsh realities of life. Today, you have to break through and let others see that you are not only good at having children, but also have social skills.”
Her mother-in-law's words were full of disdain, and Zhao Mingyao's face flushed red.
She understood the implied meaning in her mother-in-law's words—giving birth is something any healthy woman can do, but if she didn't offer some other value to support her husband, her mother-in-law would punish her. As for what the punishment would be, her mother-in-law didn't say it outright, but Zhao Mingyao knew that her fate would definitely not be good.
"Don't worry, I will definitely do my best and won't let you down."
Zhao Mingyao lowered her head, just like a maid.
Shen Dingkun's mother immediately showed her displeasure: "Straighten your back and look straight ahead! Who told you to act like a timid wife all the time! Do you think you can get ahead by using your seductive tricks to seduce men? Put away that timid, subservient attitude of yours!"
Zhao Mingyao was so frightened by her mother-in-law that her face turned pale.
But this time she came on her own initiative. She had already seen how difficult it was for her husband to refuse his mother, so she naturally had to take on some of the moral responsibilities of being someone else's daughter-in-law.
She can't let her husband bear all the problems, she loves him very much and doesn't want him to always be in a dilemma.
But having a wicked mother-in-law in the family caused Zhao Mingyao immense suffering.
Following her mother-in-law's instructions, she tried her best to straighten her back and didn't even dare to lower her head.
At this moment, Shen Dingkun's mother snorted coldly and led her into the hall.
Zhao Mingyao followed closely behind her mother-in-law, trying her best not to show any timidity, but her overly tense appearance was in stark contrast to the others.
"Suzhen, you've arrived. I didn't expect you to actually bring your daughter-in-law. This is truly a rare treat."
Zhao Mingyao's mother-in-law is named Han Xiuzhen. Since they are all in the same circle, they naturally interact frequently.
Han Xiuzhen gave her old friend who greeted her a helpless smile: "I wasn't planning to call her. You all know she just gave birth not long ago. They say pregnancy makes you stupid for three years. I was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it."
"But then I thought, children need to be trained. Since she married my son, I have to act like a mother-in-law and teach her the manners of a matriarch, so I brought her along. Your daughter-in-law is here too?"
Han Xiuzhen's words were quite eloquent, serving as a preemptive warning to others: if Zhao Mingyao didn't behave well, it would be because she was pregnant and had made herself stupid.
The others exchanged knowing smiles.
They didn't let Han Xiuzhen feel awkward, but instead replied with smiles, "Yes, everyone's here. It's not easy to have a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law party, how can we trendy people miss this opportunity?"
A group of old friends chatted and laughed, and the scene looked exceptionally harmonious.
While her mother-in-law acted as if she were in her element, Zhao Mingyao felt extremely uncomfortable.
She really didn't want to socialize with other people's daughters-in-law because she only had a vague understanding of many of the things they talked about.
This group of people, whether they were trying to show off or not, were full of housewives like her who didn't work. But because they had dowries and inherited some property from their maternal families, they would always talk about the operation of their assets and use some professional terms that Zhao Mingyao couldn't understand at all.
She did graduate from university, but she got married right after graduation and was busy dating during university, so she didn't actually learn much.
Because she hadn't studied it well, she got a headache whenever she heard those professional chat contents.
Zhao Mingyao subconsciously looked at the daughters-in-law, wanting to see who she could talk to, but when she saw Jiang Tian, the expression on her face changed instantly.
Why is she here too?!
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