Chapter 7: Taste the Burning Feeling
After a long while, he took a sip of tea and said, "My Gu family is a noble family with many rules. Since you are marrying into the family, you must learn them well and make sure you don't make any mistakes."
Although Mother Gu's tone was gentle, it was sharp and the threat in her words was self-evident.
"Mother-in-law's teachings, I will remember them in my heart. I will study them diligently and follow the rules of the Marquis' Mansion. I will not dare to violate them."
Chu Ruohan's eyes were always downcast and her attitude was humble, making it impossible to find fault with her.
Afterwards, Chu Ruohan offered tea to other elders in turn.
"Auntie, please have some tea."
The Countess smiled widely, took the teacup, took a sip, and praised, "This niece-in-law is so pretty and well-mannered. It's really rare."
After saying this, he ordered the maid to present the prepared gift, a pair of mutton-fat jade Ruyi, which were warm, translucent and obviously worth a lot of money.
Seeing this, Mother Gu was furious. What did she mean?
This is the Anyang Marquis's Mansion. She, as the mother-in-law, has not yet expressed anything, but the Countess has taken the lead and shown her goodwill to Chu Ruohan in such a high-profile manner. Isn't this a slap in her face?
She was still upset about Chu Ruohan having served tea to Princess Anyang first, so she had no intention of giving her a gift.
Mother Gu's face darkened slightly, but she didn't want to lose her temper right away.
With a forced smile, he said, "She is so blessed that her sister-in-law loves this child so much."
The Countess seemed not to understand the deeper meaning of Gu's mother's words, and continued to smile: "My niece-in-law is so well-behaved and lovely, I like her very much."
Chu Ruohan knew that Mother Gu was unhappy. She and the Countess had always been at odds with each other and looked down on each other.
"Thank you for the generous gift, Auntie. I will treasure it very much."
After thanking the Countess, Chu Ruohan walked towards Gu Sifu, knelt down politely as usual, and presented the teacup steadily with both hands, "Aunt, please have some tea."
The Fourth Madam didn't rush to take it. Instead, she deliberately raised her voice and said, "Oh, this new daughter-in-law hasn't learned the etiquette of serving tea well. She can't even hold the teacup steadily enough. If it spills, won't it offend the elders' blessings?"
The scorching temperature was transmitted to her fingertips. In her previous life, Mother Gu had tortured her every day, and Fourth Madam Gu had given her many suggestions. Her hands were covered with blisters from the burns, but she dared not say a word.
Now, she will no longer allow herself to be bullied like she did in her previous life.
She pretended to be terrified, "Aunt, please forgive me. I was just too nervous and worried about losing my manners, so I acted like this."
The fourth lady was relentless, "This daughter of a merchant family just doesn't know the rules. She can't even offer tea. Second sister-in-law must teach her a lesson."
Mother Gu, who was standing by, had an expression of enjoying the show and had no intention of stopping it.
Just as the Fourth Madam reached out to take the tea, Chu Ruohan pretended to be scalded and shook her hand, causing the teacup to tilt and the hot tea to splash straight towards the Fourth Madam.
The fourth lady was unable to dodge and was splashed all over, and she screamed immediately.
Mother Gu scolded: "How reckless! Why don't you apologize to the Fourth Madam!"
Chu Ruohan knelt down quickly, tears in her eyes, "Aunt, please forgive me. I really didn't mean to do that. The tea was too hot, and I took too long to hold it, so I burned my hand and lost control."
"The teacup is so hot, someone must be doing something bad, trying to make my niece-in-law make a big mistake as soon as she comes home." Her words were sharp but gentle, leaving Mother Gu and the Fourth Lady speechless for a moment.
"You..." The Fourth Lady's chest heaved violently. She was about to attack again, but was abruptly interrupted by the Countess's words.
"Alright, this is the Anyang Marquis' Mansion. Why are you, an elder, trying to make things difficult for the younger one?" The Countess's eyes were full of warning. "We've followed the rules and given the gifts. It's time for us to go back."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and left.
The fourth branch of the Gu family had separated long ago. If the fourth lady had not come looking for her early in the morning, she would not have come at all.
The Countess really couldn't stand the two men's unpresentable and petty behavior.
Although the Fourth Lady was unwilling, she had no choice but to swallow her anger under the intimidation of the Countess.
She glared at Chu Ruohan fiercely, with a look that seemed to want to eat her.
Chu Ruohan lowered her head slightly, looking frightened, but in fact, the corners of her mouth curled up in an imperceptible arc.
After everyone dispersed, Chu Ruohan returned to her residence.
The nurse's face was filled with worry. "Young lady, you've been too aggressive today. You may have offended the Fourth Madam, but the Marquis's wife is your mother-in-law. You'll have to live under her thumb for the rest of your life."
Chu Ruohan smiled softly, sat on the couch, picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Madam, please relax. My husband is not the Marquis's biological son. If I keep putting up with him, it will only make others think I am easy to bully, and then they will take advantage of me."
The nurse sighed, "I, the old slave, am not as insightful as the young lady."
The wet nurse sighed inwardly. It had only been two days since her young lady married into the Marquis's Mansion, and she was no longer the weak woman who needed protection everywhere.
Baoling opened the curtain and hurried over, "Miss, Miss..."
The nanny's brows immediately furrowed into the shape of a "川" character and she sternly scolded him, "We're in the Marquis's residence, and you're so flustered. You don't know the rules at all!"
Baoling was frightened by the wet nurse's roar and trembled, and quickly stopped.
"Call me Madam from now on." Chu Ruohan's expression was cold, but her eyes were as cold as stars, shooting straight at Baoling.
"Yes, young madam." Baoling hurriedly lowered her head. She didn't know what she had done wrong. The young lady was not as kind to her as before.
"What happened?"
"Replying to Madam, there's been a commotion again at Suijinxuan."
Bao Ling secretly glanced up at Chu Ruohan's face, and when she gestured for her to continue, she continued, "For some reason, that Du Ruoling went to serve tea to the Marquis's wife, and was ridiculed by the maids at Tingxue Pavilion. So she ran to complain to the Second Young Master."
"I don't know what kind of seductive tricks she used, but the Second Young Master was completely bewitched by her. Even after being burned like that, he still insisted that the Marquis's wife deal with those maids.
Chu Ruohan frowned slightly. This Du Ruoling was really unpredictable. She was pregnant but instead of taking good care of the baby, she chose to cause trouble for herself.
Baoling continued, "How could the Marquis agree to this? During the argument, the Second Young Master fainted and developed a fever. The doctors were coming in and out, all with grave expressions."
The nurse said, "Young Madam, someone in my old family was burned by a fire. That night, they developed a fever that wouldn't go away. The doctors we called in all shook their heads and sighed, trying everything they could to no avail. Within two days, the person died."
"Second Young Master's situation..." the wet nurse said, shaking her head.
Fortunately, the young lady was married to the eldest young master. If she had become a widow early, how would she have survived the rest of her life?
Chu Ruohan looked indifferent as she looked out the window. Gu Chengan should not die so easily...
The next day, the dawn
Chu Ruohan got up early in the morning to dress up. In her previous life, her mother Gu hated her and deprived her of the right to return home. She was unable to see her parents for the last time until they died.
Now that she was reborn, she was eager to return home and wanted to fly back immediately to reunite with her parents.
"Is the carriage ready?"
"It's ready, but...but the Marquis' Mansion didn't prepare any return gifts."
Yuling looked embarrassed. The young lady was the one that the Marquis's family took the initiative to ask for her hand in marriage. This kind of behavior was too bullying.
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