However, Gu Chonghu relaxed a little. Everyone else in the living room—whether it was Yan Ruyu, Gu Chonghu's legal wife and Gu Shaoyong's biological mother who had been made his legal wife after her death, or Bai Wei, Gu Shaozong's wife—involuntarily changed their expressions. Although they quickly became nonchalant, the fleeting surprise, the sense of being caught off guard, and... a subtle malice were all felt by Gu Shaoyong and Zhou Huiyu.
Yan Ruyu was the first to react. After concealing her emotions, she smiled gently as usual, stared at Zhou Huiyu for a couple of seconds, and then nodded. She said to Gu Chonghu with a smile, "Cousin, this is truly a joyous occasion. Not to mention us, even if my sister knew in the afterlife, she would surely be overjoyed."
That's right. Yan Ruyu is Gu Chonghu's cousin, and she is from Gu Chonghu's biological mother's family. Her biological parents died early because of an accident, and she was taken in by Gu Chonghu's biological mother and grew up in the Gu family. She and Gu Chonghu can be considered childhood sweethearts.
However, as an orphan living under someone else's roof, her status was far too low... Therefore, despite her childhood friendship with Gu Chonghu and her pregnancy due to premarital sex, she couldn't marry him openly. Instead, Gu Chonghu's mother arranged for him to take her as a concubine. However, because Gu Shaoyong's birth mother, who was Gu Chonghu's legal wife and a suitable match, wasn't a malicious person who liked to make things difficult for women, Gu Chonghu's eldest son was actually born to her.
However, if Gu Shaoyong's biological mother knew that her momentary soft-heartedness had caused one of her sons to "die on the battlefield" and another son to almost (in fact, already lose) his biological daughter, her own granddaughter, what would she think?
Perhaps, I'll hate myself for dying so young...
Of course, that's beside the point.
After his first wife passed away, Gu Chonghu made Yan Ruyu his official wife. Over the decades, Yan Ruyu developed the demeanor of a matriarch. So, even though she felt uncomfortable inside, she still naturally called her "elder sister" and appeared happy for Gu Shaoyong, the Gu family, and even Gu Chonghu's first wife.
Not only that, before Gu Chonghu could respond, she looked at Gu Shaoyong and continued, "Perfect timing, Shaoyong, you haven't been back for quite a while. After you go back to your room and freshen up, don't forget to offer incense to your mother first. Also, tell her that your wife's illness has been cured, so she can be happy even in the afterlife."
At this point, she paused slightly, smiled, and then began to "advise" Gu Shaoyong with a painstaking expression: "Shaoyong, it's not that Aunt Yu is criticizing you. We won't talk about how your father painstakingly raised you into a useful and independent man... just talk about your mother. She carried you for ten months and gave birth to you with great difficulty, losing half her life in the process. Even though she took great care of herself, she... never had a few truly comfortable years."
"My sister has had a tough time."
“Even if you’re busy and don’t have time, it doesn’t matter to those of us who are still alive. You should visit your mother more often, offer her some incense, and talk to her so she won’t be lonely in the afterlife.”
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