Madam Bo disliked Jiang Yao very much, and Jiang Yao herself wanted to show off.
Right then and there, he snatched Jiang Yao's chopsticks and served Old Madam Pei her meal.
"Go and eat too. Today is your first time attending a clan banquet, so there's no reason for you to go hungry."
Madam Pei also asked Jiang Shuwan to return to her seat.
Upon hearing this, the room came alive.
"Judging from the old lady's words, she seems to pity our young master's wife. She didn't show us this much pity when I first attended the clan banquet."
"That's right, even the most respectable task of serving the old lady her meals is never given to us."
"The old lady is too good to the young master's wife..."
"That's so unfair..."
"That's right, that's right. It's always the same old lady, two faces, when the new bride comes in..."
"What, are you all jealous?" Old Madam Pei joked, and all the ladies burst into laughter.
After they finished laughing, Madam Pei sipped her tea and said slowly, "I know you're just saying that on the surface. With such a big event as Yanzhi's wedding, and this old woman not coming back, I wonder what you're all guessing behind my back."
"What the old lady said is true. The young master's wife has such a beautiful face and such a refined temperament. We just think about why our son didn't marry such a good wife."
"Sigh, I only regret that I stay cooped up in the house every day and don't go out for a few walks."
“If we go out and explore more, maybe a girl as good as the Crown Prince’s wife will become my wife. What need would there be for the Madam?”
"Yes, yes, that's what I think too."
All the wives praised Jiang Shuwan.
Before we arrived, everyone had made some guesses in private, but no one showed it on their faces.
"That's what you think."
“We’re all family. It’s one thing for outsiders to speculate, but for you to speculate too is too unfair to Wanwan.”
As she spoke, Madam Pei beckoned Jiang Shuwan over, took her hand, and sighed.
“Good child, when your grandmother learned of your wedding date with Yanzhi, she rushed back as fast as she could, but the heavy snow in winter made the roads treacherous, and she was still a step too late.”
"Good child, I'm sorry you had to go through this."
When Madam Pei said this, she was actually expressing her approval and also making up for the fact that Madam Pei herself hadn't attended her wedding ceremony.
When someone handed her a pole, Jiang Shuwan tactfully moved closer.
“Grandmother, you’re too kind. Your granddaughter-in-law is not wronged. Traveling in winter is difficult, and it’s not your fault. On the contrary, it’s Wanwan who made you travel through the night and you are exhausted.”
“Good child, Grandma loves you very much, and of course she can’t wait to come back and see you.”
"Grandmother said that, and the granddaughter-in-law felt embarrassed. Being favored by Grandmother is Wanwan's blessing from her past life."
The grandmother and granddaughter-in-law put on a show of family affection in front of their relatives.
This dispelled all the doubts that the women of the clan had previously harbored.
They would be the first to disagree if anyone said that the old lady didn't like the young master's wife.
Look how affectionate the grandmother and granddaughter-in-law are, holding hands and talking!
"Grandma, please spoil the young master's wife!"
"Anyway, we're all old now, neither as pretty as the young master's wife nor as considerate as she is."
"That's right, that's right, the new ones are not as good as the old ones, we've all been abandoned by the old lady..."
Madam Pei was amused by them and laughed out loud, "How many vats of vinegar have you drunk? It's so sour!"
The ladies laughed too; they had only pretended to be like this to amuse Old Master Pei.
The room was filled with joy and laughter.
Jiang Yao felt like an outsider.
Jiang Shuwan was also an outsider, yet she was surrounded by the ladies and young women who flattered her, as if she were one of them.
They were laughing happily.
"Hmph, I think you've all gotten too big for your britches. What's wrong with the old lady doting on the young master's wife?"
"If it were me, I would also spoil the Crown Prince's wife rotten!"
"Yes, yes, if the young master's wife is willing to come home with me, I'm willing to give her all my possessions."
"Who wouldn't want a wife like Wanwan?"
"It's just that I was a step too late, made a single wrong move, and lost the whole game!"
Jiang Yao was stung by these compliments, and stared at Jiang Shuwan, who was surrounded by admirers, her face contorted with pain.
This is not what she had imagined!
I should be the one being adored by everyone...
She prepared for almost half a month and spent a full 50,000 taels of silver...
hatred!
I really hate her!
Jiang Yao clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood.
She finally realized the gap between her ideas and reality.
On the other side, Wen Shi's eyes were bloodshot with hatred, and he almost crushed his Buddhist prayer beads.
"These are the well-mannered young ladies you invited?" Madam Wen glared fiercely at the several unfamiliar young ladies in the room.
These young ladies were specially invited by the head matron.
"Please forgive me, Madam. I had no idea they were so useless..."
If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, the head maid would have knelt down before Madam Wen.
The young lady and the young mistress are about the same age, and her family holds a higher official position than the Jiang family. Moreover, she has been taught proper etiquette since childhood.
With such a setup, who would have thought they would behave like this, knocking over the washbasin and then saying they needed the young mistress to save them?
They didn't outshine the young mistress; on the contrary, the young mistress was looked up to by the old lady because of them.
If these young ladies hadn't come because they were praised by the old lady and thought it would make them easier to marry, she would have suspected that they were deliberately trying to get rid of the young mistress.
Or perhaps the young mistress bribed him.
The head maid looked at the happy family scene, but felt very resentful.
By this time, the young ladies from the clan had become quite familiar with Jiang Shuwan, calling her "sister-in-law" and "younger sister" very affectionately.
The two young ladies from the clan who had made mistakes in their panic earlier were full of admiration for Jiang Shuwan. They thought that this new sister-in-law was not only beautiful and polite, but also kind to them.
Although they were sister-in-law and cousin of Jiang Shuwan, they did not have any actual competitive relationship or struggle for interests.
But if they appear together at the clan banquet, especially since Jiang Shuwan is a new bride, wouldn't it highlight Jiang Shuwan's good performance if they performed poorly?
That's how it is in a large family; with many sisters, everyone is competing and trying to impress.
They both wanted to outdo each other.
Jiang Shuwan, however, had no such thoughts. She helped them out of their predicament and comforted them, telling them not to be nervous.
Having a sister-in-law like that is truly a blessing for them!
The young ladies from the clan adored Jiang Shuwan.
They were actually quite relieved.
"Fortunately, my brother, the Crown Prince, married Sister-in-law Wanwan."
"If we marry my brother's sister-in-law, we don't know how much suffering we'll endure."
"Ha, who in the whole capital would marry your brother-in-law and sister-in-law besides your brother-in-law? Many people have heard about their secret relationship. They met by chance while offering incense and exchanged glances at poetry gatherings. Do they think everyone else is blind?"
"I wonder what made my brother-in-law fall for her!"
The young ladies talked, thinking about the handsome face of their young master, Pei Lingyu, and his dashing figure on horseback.
Suddenly I don't think my brother-in-law is that handsome anymore!
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