Chapter 103 Chapter 103 According to the rules of Kyoto, before serving tea, Qin...
After finally seeing Jingyi off, the two of them had just started talking about the shop when the maid came in hurriedly to report that Madam Zhao had arrived.
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people rushed in from the door, surrounding a beautiful woman wearing Shu brocade clothes, and sat directly at the top of the table.
Nan Xu looked at her acting like a master and her smile faded slightly.
"Who is the Third Young Master's wife? Come and meet your mother-in-law!"
The old servant beside Qin opened his voice and shouted at Nan Xu and the other person who were motionless. Immediately afterwards, a servant brought out two cushions and placed them in front of Qin. There was also a servant holding a tray for serving tea. It seemed that they wanted to drink the tea served by their 'daughter-in-law'.
Yin Ruizhu was already fuming over Xiao Jing's earlier remarks, and now, glaring at this old woman from nowhere, she stood up and retorted, "What mother-in-law? What Third Young Master's wife? I've seen a lot of beggars these days, but this is the first time I've seen someone rushing to claim her as their daughter-in-law." She turned to the maids in the other courtyard, "The prefect asked you to serve the Earl's wife well, and this is how you do it? You let in all sorts of random people, disturbing the peace and quiet."
The old servant's face turned red, and he was about to teach Yin Ruizhu a lesson with his big eyes, but was stopped by Qin.
She pointed at Yin Ruizhu with a well-maintained finger, looked her up and down for a moment, and smiled, praising her: "No wonder Juer sacrificed half her life for you. She is such a beautiful and eloquent girl. Not only does Juer like her, I am also happy to see her."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Nan Xu, her face full of seriousness. "Even if you've come, it must be because you can't bear to leave Jue'er. How about I make the decision today? Not only will I recognize Zhou'er as my wife, but I'll also recognize the marriage between Miss Yin and Jue'er. I'll send someone to the Yin Mansion in Kyoto to propose the engagement. What do you think, Ah Xu?"
The scar was exposed so blatantly in front of so many people, which was undoubtedly like stabbing Yin Ruizhu in the heart with the tip of a knife. Yin Ruizhu was so angry that her face turned pale, and she rushed towards Qin with trembling body.
She muttered curses, "So disgusting, so disgusting! You are all a bunch of snakes and rats, and you still want to hurt me again. I will never marry him, I won't marry, I won't marry..."
Seeing her stumbling, Nan Xu rushed forward to hug her, patting her back in an attempt to comfort her. With her comfort, Yin Ruizhu stopped rushing forward, but she buried her head in Nan Xu's neck and kept whispering "I won't get married", which was heartbreaking to hear.
Anger rose in her heart. Nan Xu raised her head to hide the tears in her eyes, leaned over and whispered a few words in her ear, and asked the maid to take her away first.
Yin Ruizhu initially refused, but seeing Nan Xu's determined gaze, she knew she was emotionally unstable and feared she might do something irreparable, so she followed the maid out. After leaving the room, she rubbed her burning heart, remembering Nan Xu's words and hurried to find Liu Hui.
Inside the room, Qin watched the two women helping each other, sneering in her heart, but with a pleasant look on her face.
Facing Nan Xu's cold face, she called out in a gentle voice, "Third Brother's Wife."
Nan Xu also imitated her movements when looking at Yin Ruizhu, looking at her from head to toe for a long time, then walked over to sit in the chair next to her, and called her with a smile, "Mrs. Zhao."
"It's a bit rude of you to come here uninvited."
These words don't sound like what a younger generation would say to an elder. He's probably treating her as an equal.
Qin's face stiffened slightly, but she had seen enough to be intimidated by a youngster. She raised her hand to signal the servants to place the futon and tea tray in front of Nan Xu. "Ah Xu, what you said hurts my heart." She tucked her handkerchief into the corner of Kai's eyes and said sadly, "Zhou'er has been willful and run away for so many years. As a mother, I blame myself and regret it all the time. If I had been more patient and tolerant back then, I wouldn't have let him wander around for so long, without anyone to take care of such a big thing as marrying him."
She paused, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Nan Xu with sorrow. "Now everything is fine. Not only is Zhou'er back, but you're here too, Ah Xu. This is such a happy ending. Even if I were asked to die right now, I'd be willing to do it. But there's one thing that still worries me. According to Shu customs, when a daughter-in-law enters the house, she must kowtow and offer tea to her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law then gives her a gift of changing her words, wishing the newlyweds a happy and harmonious life. Only then can everything be considered complete."
"Ah Xu, please have pity on me as a mother and grant my wish."
Her singing, reciting, acting and fighting were so lifelike that if Nanxu didn't know the reason, she would have thought that she was just feeling sorry for the poor mother who didn't get to see her son get married.
But she knew that Qin was a she-wolf who would eat people without leaving any bones behind, so how could she fulfill her wish?
"Madam's heart is truly moving." Nan Xu placed her hands on her knees and frowned at the headmaster. "But there's something I don't know if I should say. Logically, Madam is the elder..."
Qin had been performing the role for a long time and had become very good at it. She understood people's hearts very well and there was no anger or resentment that she could not arouse.
Seeing Nan Xu smiling and frowning at the same time, although he felt uncomfortable, he could only follow her and said, "What elder? Just treat me as your real mother. If you have anything to say, just say it directly."
Nan Xu narrowed her eyes slightly, just waiting for these words!
"Madam just said that Shu has its own rules, but I'm from Kyoto and a daughter of the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, so naturally I also have our Kyoto rules."
Qin listened to her slowly speaking, feeling a hint of impatience, and unconsciously urged her, "That's true, but the rules for serving tea are similar. If Ah Xu feels uncomfortable, we can use the Kyoto rules."
The more she urged, the calmer Nan Xu became. She smiled and said, "Madam, you misunderstood. I'm not talking about the rules of serving tea, but the rules of etiquette."
She straightened her back, her face proud. "I am the second daughter of the Yong'an Marquisate, raised under the late emperor's watch. I am the cousin of His Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Yi, and the wife of the Marquis of Weiyang, bestowed upon me by His Majesty himself. Not to mention that Madam is not the Marquis's biological mother, but before Madam asked me to serve tea, shouldn't she have bowed to me first, as is proper etiquette?"
A few words resounded in everyone's ears. No one had expected that the seemingly weak and docile Kyoto lady would dare to say such disobedient words to her elders.
The smile froze abruptly on Qin's face, making her look funny and ugly.
She had always been the hawk, and this was the first time she was pecked in the eye by a chicken that hadn't even grown all its feathers. The pent-up anger ran rampant in her body, shattering the mask she had worn on her face for so long.
The old servant beside her and the servants around her had long been dissatisfied with Nan Xu's attitude. When Qin's face turned cold, without waiting for her to speak, someone rolled up his sleeves and grabbed Nan Xu's shoulders, trying to force her to kneel down.
Qin looked on coldly without saying a word.
Nan Xu didn't struggle much and knelt on the mat.
The servant brought the tea tray to Nan Xu and poured a full cup of boiling hot tea into the empty teacup.
Nan Xu held his head high and straightened his back without moving.
The servant grabbed her wrist and slammed her wrist against the cup. Nan Xu struggled for a few times, followed the servant's hand, and was about to hold the teacup. When the servant relaxed his strength, Nan Xu quickly reached out from under the tray and pushed it out, causing the tray and two cups of hot tea to spill out.
It just happened to spill onto Qin's skirt.
Wearing thick clothes in winter won’t burn you, but Qin jumped up as if someone stepped on her foot.
"Evil creature! Evil creature! An unfilial son married an unfilial wife. What are you waiting for? Why don't you teach her the rules of being a daughter-in-law?"
Nan Xu calmly watched Qin's rage, and also calmly let the servants pin her to the ground, as docile as a lamb to be slaughtered.
Qin looked at her, and somehow her eyes slowly reunited with the ones in her memory. That bastard also liked to look at her like that...
Her heart skipped a beat, and she came to her senses belatedly. She was about to ask the servants to stop, but it was too late.
Another group of people rushed in at the door. The leader had a goatee and was leaning on a cane. Accompanied by Zhao Mingcheng, he glared at Qin.
"Don't go to extremes, Qin. Look at you, you don't have the dignity of a Zhao family's patriarch." He slammed his cane into the ground and shouted angrily, "Don't let go!"
The servants looked at each other and then turned to look at Qin who was sitting at the top.
Qin glanced at Zhao Mingcheng, who had an expressionless face. Fearing the old man's intimidation, she slowly stood up and asked the servant to let go.
She turned sideways, bowed her head and said respectfully, "Third Uncle, please take a seat."
The old man called Third Uncle glanced at her and went forward to help Nan Xu with his crutches.
Nan Xu smiled obediently and stood up with the old man's hand.
The Third Uncle glanced at Nan Xu with drooping eyelids, then smiled and praised her, "What a neat and pretty child. That boy from Huaizhou has married a good wife."
As he said this, he called to the door, "Old woman, come and see if I have made a mistake."
In response to his call, a silver-haired grandmother walked out from beside Zhao Mingcheng. She walked over quickly and pulled Nan Xu to sit down. Like her third uncle, she was full of praise. "Needless to say, there are few unattractive young men in the Nan family. Huaizhou is also handsome. If the two of them had a baby, it would be really a disaster."
Nan Xu didn't quite understand the last sentence, so Third Uncle smiled and explained, "The old woman said that the baby you two will have in the future will definitely be good-looking."
Nan Xu blushed and lowered her head shyly.
The two old men couldn't stop looking at Nan Xu. After laughing for a while, they remembered the people in the room.
Third Uncle snorted coldly at Qin and asked her what she intended to do just now.
"I know you don't like Huaizhou's child, and I also know you're still brooding over those old incidents. But the child is innocent. If you want to blame someone, blame your husband for not being able to control himself and committing this sin. Huaizhou has finally returned. Don't rely on your status as an elder to bully the younger generation."
"You think you can touch the Nan family's children? And you're even offering tea to them. Your three sons are drinking tea with you, and you're still not satisfied?"
Qin has always advocated filial piety. Third uncle is the oldest and most prestigious elder in the clan. In front of everyone, Qin had no way to defend herself and could only bow her head and explain, "Third uncle is wronging my niece. I wish Huaizhou well, and I feel that I owe him a lot, so I want to make up for it. If Ah Xu offers tea to my mother-in-law, I can give her a red envelope and bless her and Huaizhou." As she said that, she took out the purse she had prepared in her arms and showed it to Third Uncle, and then gave it to Third Aunt for inspection.
"If I really have evil intentions, I will be struck by lightning and die miserably!"
She swore an oath in front of everyone to show her determination.
Third Aunt opened her purse, glanced at it, and handed it to Third Uncle. Knowing that the matter couldn't be pursued any further, she acted as a peacemaker. "Alright, alright. Your Third Uncle and I are old, and we don't know when we'll pass away. Our only wish is to see you all well. Let the past be the past. What's important is the present. For the sake of us two old men, please get along well with Huaizhou and his wife. Ming Cheng, am I right in what I said?"
Hearing this, Nan Xu looked up at the Zhao family's ruthless patriarch, whom Duan Wenpei had mentioned. He stroked his beard and agreed with an awkward expression, "As long as that rebellious son doesn't start trouble, I'll obey my aunt."
What are you talking about? Who is the one who started the trouble?
She would not put on such a big hat silently. Nan Xu couldn't help but wanted to speak, but was stopped by her third aunt beside her.
"According to Patriarch Zhao, Qin came knocking on my door and made my wife kneel down to serve tea. She even got angry and wanted to teach my wife a lesson because of a matter of etiquette. We invited Qin here specifically to cause trouble!"
"By analogy, I think that Zhao Huaijue has repeatedly tried to assassinate me because some people think my existence is really annoying, so they resort to this desperate measure."
"Qin, Benbo is right!"
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