The bride came late to greet her on the first day, which was indeed a bit excessive. No wonder Mrs. Sun looked at her with cold eyes full of unkindness!
In comparison, Mrs. Zheng's expression was much softer and more natural. Probably because she was worried that Ye Qinglan was too nervous, she even smiled at her.
Sitting in the middle is Gu Youhe, Duke of Dingguo, with a deep expression and no trace of happiness or anger - this is probably a common feature of elderly noble men. It seems that if he smiles a little, he will lose his majesty. In short,
You must have a straight face and a serious expression to be worthy of your status as the head of the family. Changyuan Bo Ye Sheng also belongs to this type of person.
Father-in-law Gu Hong was quite good, and he and Mrs. Zheng were sitting at the bottom, one on the left and one on the right. Next was the second master, Gu Bo.
The population of Duke Dingguo's mansion is not very prosperous, and there are only a few serious elders. The rest are of the same generation. Gu Yongnian, Zhang Yue, and Ye Qinglan are also familiar with each other, but she has only heard of Gu Shengnian and his wife, but has never seen them.
Well, today is the first serious meeting. I am short of time and don’t have time to look at it carefully, so I won’t mention it for now.
The most familiar person was Gu Xiyu. Gu Xiyu stood beside Mrs. Zheng and smiled sweetly at Ye Qinglan.
In front of all the elders, Ye Qinglan did not dare to look at Gu Xiyu, but only pursed her lips and smiled.
While Ye Qinglan was silently looking at everyone, everyone's eyes also fell on Ye Qinglan. She was wearing a red dress, with a pretty face that was rosy and bright. Her eyes were big and bright, and the bridge of her nose was slightly upturned.
The red lips are soft and lovely. If we just talk about appearance, Ye Qinglan is actually not as good as the exquisite and flawless Gu Xiyu. But she has a spring breeze but unforgettable temperament on her body, which makes people unable to take their eyes away.
Standing next to the elegant Gu Xinian, she was not outdone in the slightest, but rather matched him perfectly.
Even the most picky Mr. Sun had to admit that although this Ye Qinglan was of low status, she had a good appearance.
Ye Qinglan kowtowed and served tea under the guidance of Mama Huang.
The first person to serve tea was naturally Dingguo Gong Gu Youhe. He did not speak much, but was concise and powerful: "From today on, you are the daughter-in-law of our Dingguo Gong's mansion. From now on, every word and deed will represent our Dingguo's family."
I hope you will take good care of the face of the Duke's government."
...With a serious expression, it sounded like a lecture.
Ye Qinglan nodded obediently and took a pair of shoes from Ruomei's hand: "Grandpa, this is my granddaughter-in-law's wish. I hope you don't dislike my granddaughter-in-law's poor craftsmanship."
Duke Dingguo took a look at the pair of shoes that were not of exquisite workmanship, and actually had a smile.
It is also an old rule for a bride to prepare a greeting gift for her husband's family when she enters the house. Those who are clever and good at women's fashion will certainly not be stingy about showing off their skills. If they are not good at their craftsmanship, they will inevitably be suspected of being embarrassed. Simply let their skills be superb.
The embroidery lady will do it for you and just add one or two stitches at the end.
Ye Qinglan was honest and open-minded. Although her craftsmanship was not very good, she still insisted on making shoes by herself. This actually made Ding Guogong have a good impression of this new granddaughter-in-law.
As for why Duke Dingguo could see this... is there any need to ask? There is no way any embroiderer in any house could have such a skill!
After receiving the gift from Ye Qinglan, Dingguo Gong ordered someone to present the prepared meeting gift. Of course, the elders should not be too shabby. They are rare and good things. Ruixue happily stepped forward to help accept it.
After passing the test of Duke Ding, Ye Qinglan did not dare to be careless at all. She knew very well that the real difficulty was still below.
"Invite grandma to drink tea!" Ye Qinglan kneeled respectfully on the soft futon, holding the teacup in her hand.
Mrs. Sun did not take her tea immediately. She looked her up and down and said slowly: "Since you have married into Duke Dingguo's palace, you must always remember your identity. Don't do anything that is not in line with etiquette and standards.
.Otherwise, as a grandmother, I will never just watch and ignore it. Do you understand?"
…
The show of force has indeed come!
Ye Qinglan murmured secretly in her heart. But she didn't show anything on her face, and she responded respectfully and meekly.
Mrs. Sun continued: "Take today as an example. This is your first official day. You should have come earlier to treat your elders to a respectful tea, but you came late, leaving so many of us waiting for you.
Such behavior is really undesirable. If it weren’t for the fact that you are a bride and don’t understand the rules of our house, I would have to punish you just for this..."
...Can you blame her for this? If it weren't for Gu Xinian's lustful behavior and pestering her in this way, how could she be late? Sun didn't even say a word about Gu Xinian, but she blamed her for everything.
It was clearly an excuse! She knew very well that among the people in this room, the one who disliked her the most was Mrs. Sun!
Ye Qinglan continued to curse in her heart, but her face showed a slightly ashamed and uneasy expression at the right time.
Kneeling is not too tiring, but you have to straighten your waist and hold the tea cup high, which is not a very comfortable posture. Over time, your back will hurt and your arms will feel numb. This is also the simplest and most effective way to embarrass the bride.
The trick is to let you kneel down holding the tea cup and not complain even a word. At this time, even Gu Xinian would not be able to stand up and speak for her.
Gu Xinian's smile did not diminish, but his eyes were a bit colder.
Mrs. Sun deliberately ignored Ye Qinglan in this way, firstly to show off her power to the new granddaughter-in-law, and secondly to vent her dissatisfaction on that day. Mrs. Sun was very disapproving of this marriage, but she couldn't resist Gu Xinian. Then there was an uproar.
Due to the rumors and the Queen's personal intervention, the stubborn Sun had no choice but to give in and reluctantly nodded and agreed to the marriage.
Yes, yes, Mrs. Sun was not happy at all. From the betrothal gift to the decoration of the new house to the wedding and the wedding banquet, there were countless thorns in the face, both overt and covert. Gu Xinian dealt with them all with great effort.
At the first level, Sun's difficulty was expected. However, in front of all the elders, he couldn't say anything. He could only rely on Ye Qinglan to get through it...
Mrs. Sun deliberately rambled on for a long time, and was a little disappointed when she saw Ye Qinglan still kneeling there steadily. According to her intention, of course she hoped to see Ye Qinglan kneeling for a long time, her arms sore and the teacup in her hand.
It's better if it spills. But I didn't expect that after kneeling for so long, Ye Qinglan was still very calm and didn't panic at all.
Gu Youhe suddenly coughed lightly. There is a limit to making things difficult. If you go too far, it will be degrading.
There was no way Mrs. Sun wouldn't recognize such an obvious code, so she had no choice but to shut up angrily, took the teacup from Ye Qinglan's hand, took a symbolic sip, and then put the teacup down again.
Ye Qinglan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally put her arms down!
After getting up, Ye Qinglan presented the meeting gift as before. She also gave Sun a pair of shoes.
Mrs. Sun glanced at it briefly and then laughed: "Ms. Ye, you must have made these shoes yourself! You are really good at craftsmanship!" The sarcasm in his words was clearly audible.
Ye Qinglan responded with a smile without changing her expression: "Grandma is so complimentary, and grandson-in-law is really ashamed of herself. As long as grandma likes it, grandson-in-law will definitely make two more pairs of shoes for grandma when she is free in the future."
Sun: "..." It seems that she underestimated Ye Qinglan's thick skin!
Gu Xinian felt indescribably happy when he saw Mrs. Sun being defeated. How could he forget that Ye Qinglan was never a doormat. Back then, she was still a young girl, and she could compete with him in words, and later even more so.
It's tit-for-tat and she won't give in. It's not easy for Mrs. Sun to control her!
Ye Qinglan kowtowed to Gu Hong respectfully and served tea again. Her father-in-law had a good temper. Although she was not satisfied with her status as a concubine, it was always a good thing that her son was willing to get married. She also no longer had any ill feelings towards Ye Qinglan. Laughter
After drinking tea, I gave him a generous greeting gift.
Next up is Mrs. Po Zheng.
When Ye Qinglan kowtowed and took the tea cup from the maid's hand, she felt even more uneasy than when she faced Sun just now.
No matter how mean and sarcastic Ms. Sun is, she is still a grandmother-like figure. From now on, she just needs to stay away and meet as little as possible. But Mrs. Zheng is different. She is her serious mother-in-law, and she will have to deal with An An every day from now on.
.If Mrs. Zheng doesn’t want to see me, then the days ahead will be difficult!
Isn't Zheng Min a living example? She is a well-born lady from a well-known family, and Xue, the mother-in-law, still takes care of herself. I don't know what Mrs. Zheng thinks of herself...
"Mother-in-law, please drink tea!" Ye Qinglan showed the most gentle and obedient smile, and knelt there with the teacup in hand. Judging from Sun's experience just now, I am afraid that she will kneel for a longer time this time...
Mrs. Zheng smiled slightly, took the tea cup and took a sip with a calm expression. Then she said gently: "Okay, get up quickly! After entering this door, we will become a family. Today is a tea ceremony, and kowtows are inevitable.
These rules don't need to be so restrictive when we meet in the future."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "I'm late today, so I probably don't blame you. It doesn't matter if the young couple wakes up late after their wedding. Don't worry about it."
When Mrs. Sun heard such words, she couldn't forget the frustration in her heart.
Ye Qinglan stood up obediently, almost bursting into tears to express her joy.
Mrs. Zheng treated her as kindly as before. It was so touching! Such a good mother-in-law was really hard to find even with a lantern! As for Mrs. Zheng, marrying Gu Xinian was definitely the wisest idea.
Decide!
Gu Xinian also smiled.
He has always been deep and reserved, rarely showing his emotions. Even when he smiles, it is a shallow and polite smile. Even when he is facing his parents and relatives, he is polite with a touch of alienation. But at this moment, he is truly genuine.
Pleasant and happy. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
