Chapter 190: Yang Clan Meets Defeat
ned out to be my niece and your daughter-in-law."Gu Jingxi frowned, his voice dropping: "Unexpected"I really didn't expect this. It's all because the people below are incompetent and the information i..."You..."
Yang was ridiculed, her face alternately red and white. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she glared at the girl, speechless for a long time. Every time she came to the Earl's mansion, this girl had always been docile, never speaking to her like this before. It seemed that after climbing higher branches, she had become arrogant.
After a long silence, she flew into a rage and scolded him angrily: “You are so bold! Is this how you treat your elders Even though you have married into the Hou Mansion and become the Marquis's wife, you cannot disregard filial piety and defy your elders. Even the current emperor and empress would show respect to their elders, let alone you! Today, I will discipline you on behalf of your mother for being so unfilial.”
"Aunt, your words are amiss"
At this moment, a male voice came from behind Yang. Hearing the slightly familiar voice, she suddenly turned around and saw Gu Jingxi and Gu Xiuming father and son standing not far away. Gu Xiuming had no expression on his face, while Gu Jingxi's expression was cold and stern, his eyes gazing at her deeply, an invisible pressure coming over her.
She was flustered all of a sudden, and didn't even dare to call him "nephew-in-law." She stammered and called out, "Lord Gu, Lord Gu."
Gu Jingxi asked calmly, “Ayao said it well. If there’s anything she does poorly, she has her parents and grandmother. It's not the aunt’s turn to step in and discipline her yet. To be honest, isn't this contradicting elders”
Yang smiled sheepishly and said, “Lord Gu is right. I was just worried about her mother being busy today and not having time to educate her, so I meddled too much.”
As soon as his words were uttered, Gu Xiuming interjected: "Grand Aunt, I also heard what my mother said just now. She was concerned about Grand Matriarch. How could she have caused any embarrassment Did Grand Aunt misunderstand something Why don't we take this opportunity, while the guests are still here, to invite Grand Matriarch and all the guests to clarify things That way, we can clear up any misunderstanding and prevent Grand Aunt from continuing to misinterpret my mother."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyang suddenly looked at her eldest son. In an instant, she felt a bolt from the blue. This disobedient child actually had her back today If she didn't know this son's intentions, she would really think that he had reformed and become a good person. But she had to admit, this son has grown quite a bit and even knows how to say something like this.
However, perhaps he already understood. After all, he had been raised as an heir by Gu Jingxi for so many years. His academic performance was decent enough to satisfy the old Madam, and he wouldn't be too stupid. The series of foolish things he did before were probably because of youthful infatuation when he met a girl he loved dearly. He was blinded by love and, upon learning that his status might be jeopardized, he immediately sobered up.
Yang had previously wondered if the mother and child were truly loving, but now it seemed they were. If Gu Xiuming were indifferent, he wouldn't have defended Meng Jin Yao. Now that she was caught off guard by his words, her face flushed red. There was no way she could truly ask Gu Xiuming to invite guests.
She hurriedly said, "I misunderstood. There's no need to invite guests!"
"Having said that, Yang turned to Meng Jinyao and said softly, "Ayao, your aunt thought about what happened just now, and she really misunderstood you. Don't blame your aunt. Your mother is your uncle's only sister, and as his sister-in-law, I treat her like my own sister, so I got a little anxious."
Now that we've come to this, Meng Jinyao wasn't about to let things slide. She spoke softly, "It's said that a sister-in-law is like a mother, and your mother's sister-in-law is also like a mother. It's normal for you to be concerned about my mother." She then abruptly changed her tone, "However, Aunt, next time, please be more careful with your words and actions. This time, it's because we are all family, so I won't hold it against you. But if this were to happen with an outsider, things wouldn't be so easily resolved."
Yang, upon hearing this, smiled awkwardly: "Ai Yao is right."
Meng Jin Yao also didn't want to tangle with her, only saying: "Aunt, my grandmother should be awake now, let's go and greet her first, you do as you please."
Yang replied, "Good, go ahead."
When the three of them had gone far, Yang snorted coldly in anger and said disdainfully, "Hmph! All she did was marry into a good family She dares to show off her power in front of elders!"
Last night, Mrs. Sun hardly slept at all. She hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep lately. Today she was busy entertaining guests all morning and afternoon, and now she's extremely tired and exhausted. She just came out for some fresh air when she heard these words and immediately went up to her, asking, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong"
Yang said angrily, "Sister, your stepdaughter is truly lawless. She acts so arrogant and domineering, taking advantage of marrying into a good family to show off in front of our elders."
Sun Shi was astonished: "What has she done again"
Yang told him everything that had just happened, and finally said, "It really infuriates me. Although I'm not her blood relative, she is my niece. How could she speak to me like that"
Sun Shi listened, her eyes darkening. Originally, she had been thinking that when that little shrew lost Gu Jingxi's favor and had no one to rely on, Gu Xiuming would also deal with Meng Jinyao. But thinking about how Gu Xiuming treated Meng Jinyao with maternal and filial piety, this was something she hadn't expected.
She looked at her angry sister-in-law and said softly, "Sister-in-law, why should we bother with her That white-eyed wolf, Cheng Xing is her own younger brother. She wouldn't even help him get into Ling Shan Academy by asking the Marquis for assistance, she's already forgotten her own name."
Yang was extremely saddened. She had thought that this niece, marrying into a good family, could help support the Meng family and allow the Meng family to, in turn, support the Sun family. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be a white-eyed wolf.
Sun Shi asked, “By the way, elder sister-in-law, will Bojun participate in this year’s Autumn Examination”
Bojun is the elder brother of the Sun family and the eldest son of Yang's, named Sun Bojun, who is eighteen years old this year and has already passed the Xiucai examination.
Speaking of her son, the anger in Lady Yang's heart dissipated, and she smiled back, "Yes, he is participating. Master said that if Bojun's studies are developed well, there's a chance he could pass the Autumn Examination."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun felt great comfort in her heart. If her nephew from her family passed the autumn examinations, he would also likely succeed in the next year's examination, and then he could become a jinshi and enter the government service. In the future, he would also be able to help her family's business thrive.
Thinking this way, Mrs. Sun's tone became even more gentle: "That's excellent. Although Master said that Bojun is fine, we mustn't relax before the autumn examinations are over."
After the autumn wedding at Berjun, they became a married couple. You know about the Sun family's situation. Sister, what do you think" As Yang spoke, she looked at Sun, wanting to say something but hesitating. But her meaning was very clear.
Sun Shi would certainly understand her meaning.
Over the years, Yongchang Bo Fu has at least had Zhou's dowry to help fill the hole. The Sun family did not have such a substantial dowry to make up for it, so their life was far less comfortable than that of Yongchang Bo Fu.
Previously, she felt sorry for her natal brother and nephew, and would secretly help them out. But now that her dowry was used to make up for the silver spent from Zhou's dowry, it wasn't enough to fill the hole. She also took some from the public property of the Earl's Mansion to make up for it.
Now the Earl's residence was far inferior to when Meng Jinyang was unmarried. Everything visible now was merely being maintained with great effort. She wanted to support her natal family, but it was difficult. Where could she possibly squeeze out extra silverit would be fine, but if it didn't, he estimated he would be scorned by his wife. He directly concealed it, hoping that one day he would regain his former glory. For his wife, this would be a surprise...