Wei Jiao immediately stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Chengyi to express her gratitude.
Jiang Chengyi, supporting himself on the wheelchair, made a move to stand up, but was immediately stopped by Xiao Censhi.
"Why are you so honest, child? Sit down quickly, you can't make things worse. Is your leg alright?" Little Cen asked again.
"It's alright, it's alright. It's only natural for a father to beat his son, but even a father knows his limits and won't beat him to death. Aunt, please don't worry, he's been able to walk with crutches these past few days, but it's still more convenient to use a wheelchair when traveling." Jiang Chengyi waved her hands repeatedly and explained softly.
"That's good, that's good." Madam Cen said it twice, and finally a smile appeared on her face, clearly showing her genuine relief.
Seeing this harmonious scene between the aunt and nephew, Li Chunlan couldn't hold back any longer and started complaining to Xu Wanying again.
"Look at this, they're afraid their future son-in-law will be crippled. Their daughter can't marry a cripple. As soon as they heard that the little beast say he won't be crippled, they were relieved. Their daughter can still marry him. It seems like they're determined to stay with our Marquis's mansion."
"His ambitions were sky-high, but his fate was as fragile as paper."
Xu Wanying couldn't help but secretly observe Cen Shi's expression. Li Chunlan was cursing Jiang Chengyi, laughing out loud, but Cen Shi didn't react at all. Could it be that she didn't hear it?
But they were very close, and in front of these people, so Cen Shi suppressed her anger, waiting to explode when she returned to the Marquis's residence.
"Why didn't Father-in-law beat him harder back then? How could he get out of bed so quickly and even go out to attend a banquet!" Xu Wanying couldn't help but chime in.
“Yes, Dad must have softened his heart back then,” Li Chunlan nodded.
She said this, but in her heart she was thinking: If the news of the artifact hadn't been released so late, the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness would have thought it was his own son, otherwise he would have beaten him to death long ago.
Seeing that the surrounding discussions were getting louder and louder, Cen immediately spoke up, interrupting Cen's concern.
"Alright, he's in good health and nothing will go wrong. Today is Jiao'er's birthday, so don't neglect her."
Madam Cen seemed a little unsatisfied. She patted Jiang Chengyi's shoulder and instructed the servant beside her, "Be sure to take good care of your master and don't let him drink. If he gets tired, he can go to the guest room to rest."
"Yes." The servant was a little confused. These words should have been spoken by the Lady of the Marquis, so why was his aunt, Madam Cen, overstepping her bounds?
Only after seeing Jiang Chengyi being taken to the front yard did Madam Cen regain her composure and continue greeting guests.
Once all the female guests had arrived, Xiao Cen returned to the back courtyard flower hall and saw a group of female relatives surrounding her.
"Oh my, how young you look, Madam Hou! Standing next to your daughter-in-law, you look like sisters!"
"Exactly! What good things have you been eating? The last time I saw you was on Chengli's wedding day. It's only been three months, and you've become so young. Ginseng? Bird's nest? Or did you hire some miracle doctor to treat you?"
Among these women, all were heads of households. After all, Cen was the wife of a marquis, and wives from humble families would not dare to approach her.
Xiao Cen couldn't help but feel jealous, as was Madam Yu, the wife of her husband Wei Xianshang.
Wei Xian's performance evaluation was entirely in the hands of his superiors, and whether he could be promoted depended on their wishes. Therefore, Wei Xian specifically instructed her to serve Madam Yu well and to whisper sweet nothings in her ear to make it easier for him to get promoted.
Just now, after Madam Yu got off the carriage, Madam Cen went up to greet her, but it was like offering a warm face to a cold backside, as if a creditor had come to collect a debt.
But at this moment, Madam Yu was surrounding Cen Ying, smiling like a flower, and her words of praise never stopped. She wanted to elevate Cen Ying to the heavens, a complete contrast to before.
This stark contrast was something she simply couldn't accept.
Seeing Cen Ying surrounded and praised by the crowd, Xiao Cen felt as if she had been hit hard, as if she had returned to her childhood, when other noblewomen treated her and her sister in the same way.
Even though she thought Cen Ying was inferior to her in every way, everyone only had eyes for Cen Ying, not for her.
She was like a bedbug that couldn't be seen in the light, abandoned in a dark corner, which became her nightmare and a childhood trauma.
I thought that after getting married, I would finally be free from this torment, but I never expected that this nightmare would last so long and I still haven't gotten rid of it today.
"What's all this commotion about?" Madam Cen took a couple of breaths to calm herself down, then slowly walked forward and asked softly.
"They say the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Just look at the women that the Marquis's wife brings out. They are all so lovely and fresh-faced. Even she herself is as tender as a scallion!" Madam Yu chimed in.
Cen Ying immediately retorted, "What do you mean 'young onion'? I'm clearly an old onion!"
The two exchanged a few words, instantly eliciting laughter and chatter from the ladies who joined in the conversation.
Xiao Cen's face stiffened. This lively scene belonged entirely to the Jiang family and had nothing to do with the Wei family mother and daughter. How could she tell that it was her daughter's birthday? It looked more like Cen Ying's birthday celebration.
"Let me see. Eldest sister and Yu'er are truly mother and daughter; they look very alike, both wealthy and elegant. This must be Chengli's wife; she seems a bit delicate. She needs to eat more and gain some weight to have a son. My nephew's wife—"
Xiao Cen took a few steps closer and pretended to look him over, clearly picking on the weakest link.
First, he praised the Cen mother and daughter, then he made a few seemingly concerned but actually disparaging remarks about Xu Wanying, and finally when it was Li Chunlan's turn, the young Cen was silent for a moment, looking like she had nothing to say.
He finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "My eldest nephew's wife is here too."
Li Chunlan had been eagerly anticipating what kind of nice things she would say, but to her utter surprise, she only received three words: "He's here too," which was a fatal blow.
Clearly, everyone understood the meaning behind these words and had nothing to say to Li Chunlan; it was just a side note.
A soft laugh immediately rippled through the front hall. Even Madam Yu couldn't help but laugh; Little Cen's words were truly too harsh.
What hurts more than being belittled is being ignored.
Li Chunlan had been smiling, but after falling into this embarrassing situation, she couldn't smile at all.
She blushed deeply, felt completely flustered, and wished she could disappear into the ground.
However, she couldn't say anything, since Xiao Cen hadn't said anything bad, and she didn't even have a chance to refute.
"Auntie, you have lip balm on your teeth."
A crisp voice rang out, and the laughter in the hall stopped abruptly. Cen Shi, who had been laughing heartily, immediately shut her mouth.
Everyone looked over and saw the new daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion standing there, looking at Xiao Censhi with concern.
Xiao Cen's face tightened, she coughed lightly, and said with feigned composure, "Really? I was covering my mouth with a handkerchief when I laughed just now. My niece-in-law must have seen wrong."
"Yes, I saw it just now, but I was too embarrassed to say anything. My aunt was laughing so hard that her lip rouge got on her lips."
This time, Xiao Cen didn't even dare to open her mouth. Everyone's eyes were fixed on her mouth, making her feel quite embarrassed.
She stopped smiling, and naturally couldn't openly show her teeth to confirm, so she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said softly, "Ladies and gentlemen, please excuse me for a moment, please have your tea first."
After saying this, she hurriedly left with her maid.
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