n and go for a walk outside."Forget it, Qingyu Xuan is pretty good. I don't like going out either."Li Wan'er said, a bitter smile on her face. Although she had the full love of her brother Xiuming, sh...Old Madam Gu listened to her eldest daughter-in-law talk about these young masters, none of them were satisfactory. The most unsatisfactory was the son of Marquis Wu'an, but her daughter-in-law seemed most satisfied with him. Looking at her eldest daughter-in-law's smug expression, she replied flatly: “I don’t think any of them are good, especially the son of Marquis Wu'an.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang's face instantly froze. She felt as though her mother-in-law was speaking directly to her, perhaps disapproving of the eldest daughter-in-law or envious of Xuanyi's good marriage. She retorted, "Mother, your daughter-in-law thinks that Marquis Wu'an's heir is a fine match. Why are you dissatisfied"
Grandmother Gu said softly, "Marquis Wu'an's eldest son is quite good. His family background is excellent, and when Marquis Wu'an passes away, he will be able to inherit the title. If Xuan Yi marries him, she will become a countess in the future."
Upon hearing this, Zhang’s face softened. She said in a perplexed tone, “Since that’s the case, why does Mother feel it is not good Xuanyi has married well and will be able to help her family in the future.”
Mrs. Gu bluntly said, "Eldest daughter-in-law, you know Xuyi's temperament well, don't you She isn't suitable to be a main wife."
Zhang said with a smile, “Why isn’t Xu Yi suitable to be the wife of a clan member Lady Wu An has met Xu Yi and quite likes her. She even hinted that she wants Xu Yi to be her daughter-in-law.”
When Madam Gu saw that she only cared about the title of Marquis Wuan, and wanted her daughter to marry into a wealthy family, ignoring all other concerns, and was about to make another foolish decision, Madam Gu frowned and spoke sincerely: "Eldest Daughter-in-law, Xuan Yi has a flamboyant and spoiled personality, acting on her own whims. What kind of wife would she be for the head of a clan Marquis Wuan has several concubines, with four illegitimate sons and daughters, and two legitimate sons and one legitimate daughter."
Besides Marquis Wu'an, the second, third, and fourth branches have not yet divided their households. The matriarch is the wife Lord Old brought in later, so she is only a few years older than you. When she passes away, it will be many years before the brothers divide their households.
In such a big family, after she married in, Lady Wǔ'ānbó gave her the household accounts. She couldn't control them, and even though Lady Wǔ'ānbó would support her, she couldn't handle the daily affairs in the short term. Lady Wǔ'ānbó would also find fault with her. Besides the household accounts, let's talk about interpersonal relationships. In such a complex family, her personality would only make her suffer after marrying in. You are doing this, aren't you just pushing Xuānyì into the fire pit"
When Zhang heard this, he was taken aback.
Chen glanced at Zhang with a faint expression, secretly cursing in her heart: "What an idiot!"
In such a complex family as the Marquis of Wuan's, normal aristocratic ladies wouldn't want to marry there and suffer. Otherwise, how would Madam Marquis have wanted to leak information to Zhang Shi
Xiangyi is the daughter of the concubine in the main family. Gu Jing Sheng is also inept, and both his sons have not entered the official service. Xiangyi's status is not suitable for Wu Anbo's son, but now that the family hasn't been divided yet, Gu Jingxi enjoys imperial favor, and even Changxing Houfu has risen in status. The main family and second family also benefit from this, and now Zhang shi manages everything. As the second wife, she only assists, making the main family seem quite face-saving.
While the second and third sons of Duke Wuan's mansion were illegitimate, the fourth son was born to his elder brother's concubine. The fourth son is now about twenty-two or three years old. He has passed the imperial examinations, entered the capital as an official, and even gained the emperor's favor. His popularity is faintly overshadowing his elder brother, Duke Wuan. The elderly wife (grandmother) of the family, as well as Duke Wuan's daughter-in-law (mother), are only a few years apart in age, yet the grandmother can assert her seniority over Duke Wuan's wife.
Lady Wu'anbo was able to be suppressed by her mother-in-law for so many years, which shows that the old lady is not a pushover.
Therefore, Lady Wu An Bo would want the eldest son, already designated as heir apparent, to marry Xuan Yi. This way, the son of Wu An Bo would have the backing of House Chang Xing Hou, relieving the pressure on the first wife's side. Furthermore, Xuan Yi’s lower status would make her easier to control. Lady Wu An Bo had been controlled by her mother-in-law for so long, becoming a controlling mother-in-law after years of enduring it. She would definitely try to control her daughter-in-law, but Zhang Shi is oblivious and cannot see this.
The atmosphere remained silent for a long while before Mrs. Zhang stammered, “Mother, your daughter-in-law… your daughter-in-law didn’t think so far ahead. Thank you, Mother, for reminding me. But your daughter-in-law has already made an appointment with Lady Wu An to go boating. How can we possibly change plans now”
Old Mrs. Gu glared at her, a look of displeasure on her face. "You caused this mess yourself, so you better clean it up. Don't push your child into the fire pit. You almost made a blunder with Xiu Yuan's marriage before, and now it's Xuanyan's turn, you're making another one! I think you've never reflected on your actions."
Zhang was scolded and hung her head low, not daring to speak. She just had some resentment; with both sisters-in-law present, her mother-in-law didn't even give her any face.
Mrs. Chen did not say a good word for Mrs. Zhang, she just sat there watching the play. Originally, Mrs. Zhang wanted to have Xiu Yuan marry into a good family so that he could help him in his career later on, but her mother-in-law stopped it, saying that the girl was not easy to deal with. She directly arranged Xiu Yuan's current wife, Jiang Shi, making Mrs. Zhang very angry.
It turned out that the mother-in-law was still farsighted in this regard. Mrs. Jiang was gentle and virtuous. The previous girl had already gotten married and made her husband's family chaotic, but with a good father, she couldn't be properly dealt with by him. Only then did Mrs. Zhang realize that her mother-in-law's approach was correct, so she quickly apologized to her mother-in-law.
Meng Jinyáo saw that Mrs. Chen was silent, and she kept her mouth shut too, acting like a transparent person. After all, it had nothing to do with her.
Old Madam Gu raised her teacup, took a sip, and suppressed the anger in her heart. She glanced at her several daughters-in-law and said in a serious tone: "When choosing a wife, one should choose a virtuous woman; when giving away a daughter, one should marry her to a family with good morals. Virtue is more important than social status. Marriage shouldn't only consider the family background but also character, ability, and the circumstances of the other family. Families with too much complexity have many worries. It’s fine to marry a woman from such a family, but if you marry your daughter into it, and she doesn't possess the ability to turn things around, she will inevitably fall into a fire pit.”
Meng Jinyao and Chen shi hurriedly said, "The daughter-in-law will follow her mother's teachings."
Zhang shi hesitated for a moment, then followed suit: "Daughter-in-law will follow mother's teachings." She paused, then gathered her courage and asked again, "Mother, daughter-in-law has made an appointment with Lady Wu An to go boating tomorrow, may I bring Xuyan along too"
Madam Gu replied, "You promised to let Xuanyi meet with the son of Marquis Wuan. If she doesn't show up at the agreed time, what's that It's slapping someone in the face and creating an enemy."
Zhang's heart tightened, and she asked with worry, "But what if we let Xuyan meet the heir of Duke Wuan If they hit it off, how can we manage this situation"
Lady Gu glanced at her and said, "It's just a look, it's not like you have to decide right away. You tell Xuanyi clearly, if she isn't stupid, she'll understand the situation and won't fall for the son of Duke Wu'an. Even if she likes him, you parents can refuse on behalf of your daughter, and keep Xuanyi at home. Tomorrow, there's no need to dress her up specially, just plain and simple."
Zhang hurriedly replied, “Mother, your daughter-in-law understands.”ost couldn't help but expose her for murdering her illegitimate son. It was by inflicting pain on myself that I stayed clear-headed. I didn't want to ruin things out of momentary anger. Instead, I con...