AWB Chapter 602 Xiu Hong's Wife
Chapter 602 Xiu Hong's Wife
The next morning.
All the men, women, young and old in the Gu family gathered in the main hall. Even the relatives who stayed at the Gu family last night came, just to see what kind of woman the new daughter-in-law was and why Gu Xiuhong insisted on marrying her.
After a while, Gu Jingsong and his wife brought their son and daughter-in-law to pay their respects to the elders, and everyone finally saw the new daughter-in-law.
The new bride's name was Song Yuan. She was not outstanding in appearance, but could be considered pretty. She had a pair of eyes as gentle as water under her willow-shaped eyebrows, and her light red lips were slightly raised with a smile on her face. She looked like a gentle and graceful woman.
When they saw Song Yuan, many people were stunned. They thought that if Gu Xiuhong wanted to marry her, she must be a beauty. They didn't expect that she was such an ordinary woman.
Seeing that the hall was full of people and so many pairs of eyes were staring at her, Song Yuan suddenly became nervous and looked at Gu Xiuhong stiffly.
Gu Xiuhong reached out and took her hand, giving her a gentle smile to comfort her. Then he took her by the hand and followed her parents to greet Mrs. Gu: "Grandson pays his respects to grandmother."
Song Yuan bowed and saluted: "Granddaughter-in-law pays respects to grandmother."
Madam Gu looked at Song Yuan with a pleasant expression and said lovingly, "Good children, get up."
Afterwards, Song Yuan gave Madam Gu a pair of shoes she had made herself. She also gave embroidery pieces she had made herself to the first and third wives. Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Xiuwen, who were of the same generation, were given the four treasures of the study. For younger ones like Gu Xiuheng and Gu Yunxin, she gave dolls she had sewn herself. The gifts were not expensive, but they were thoughtful. She was an excellent embroiderer and her embroidery pieces were very beautiful.
Madam Gu, Mrs. Zhang, and Meng Jinyao also prepared gifts for her, all of which were jewelry that girls would like.
Then, Chen took her to meet other relatives of the Gu family. After they greeted each other, Chen took her to sit down below Zhang.
Song Yuan sat stiffly beside Chen, feeling a little uneasy facing the vague gazes from all around. Even though she told herself over and over again not to be nervous when she woke up this morning, she still couldn't remain calm when she arrived at the scene.
Chen glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and sighed in her heart. After all, she was not from a wealthy family and did not receive a good education. If the person who married Xiuhong was Lingyi, she would definitely be graceful and elegant today, and would be able to please the elders. She would not be like Song, sitting there like a wooden stick and not saying a word. As her mother-in-law, she could only teach her slowly in the future.
Upon seeing this, Zhang turned her gaze to her daughter-in-law Jiang. Seeing Jiang holding Yunxin, sitting gracefully beside Xiuyuan, with ease and grace in her every move, she was very satisfied. This daughter-in-law not only brought her honor, but also gave her a smart and clever grandson.
Everyone in the room chatted and laughed for a while before the two brothers Gu Jingxi took the other men out. Suddenly, almost half of the people in the hall were gone, leaving only the women chatting about family matters and having lunch together at noon.
After lunch, Chen took her daughter-in-law home. Dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law's behavior today, she complained privately to her husband, "Why would Xiuhong like such a girl? He sat there like a wooden log, and my sister-in-law even said some dirty talk to me, bragging about how great her daughter-in-law was."
Gu Jingsong replied, "She seems to be a gentle and shy person. She just got married and isn't familiar with anyone, so it's normal for her to be reserved. If you have any other complaints, please let me know."
Chen said angrily: "You two are really father and son. You both have such poor vision."
Gu Jingsong nodded in agreement: "Yes, I have poor judgment. When I saw you, I married you after only seeing you once."
Chen's eyes widened as she heard this. "What do you mean? Am I so bad? When I was young, I was also a beauty and talented. I was more than a match for you!"
Gu Jingsong smiled and said, "You said that yourself. I didn't say you were bad."
Chen snorted softly.
Gu Jingsong softened his tone: "Alright, alright, our daughter-in-law is already married. It's no use for you to regret it. Just teach her well in the future. Our son likes her. If you are dissatisfied with her in every way, be careful that our son will become alienated from you."
Chen sighed deeply, truly accepting her fate. She asked her maid to call Song Yuan over, and she personally gave her some advice. She also gave her capable nanny to her daughter-in-law, asking her to teach her well.
Now that the New Year is approaching, gifts have to be given to each family. Chen also brings her daughter-in-law with her so that she can study well.
Gu Xiuhong was initially worried that his mother would make things difficult for his wife, but when he saw that although his mother was not very kind to his wife, she was still teaching her with all her heart, he felt relieved.
Fortunately, Song Yuan was very adaptable. With the careful teaching of her mother-in-law and the nanny, she made a lot of progress in a short period of time. When she went to visit relatives with Chen during the New Year, she was able to barely cope with those relatives.
Seeing that she was not an unteachable blockhead, Chen's attitude towards her became much gentler.
As the sisters-in-law chatted, Zhang sighed, "Second sister-in-law, your daughter-in-law has changed a lot in just one month after you trained her. She's become a bit like you in the way she treats people."
Chen said calmly, "It's okay."
Zhang added, "Xiuhong has changed a lot. He used to be averse to women, but after getting married, the couple spends every moment together. I occasionally see them walking hand in hand in the garden."
"If he hadn't been so affectionate with Song, I'd have suspected he'd regretted it and wasn't truly in love with her anymore." Chen scoffed. "That brat didn't buy me snacks from time to time before we got married, but now he's buying snacks for me. Isn't it because he's afraid I'll get jealous? When he buys for his wife, he buys one for me too. Don't think I don't know what he's thinking."
Zhang asked curiously, "Xiuhong's wife has been married for a while now. Have you noticed anything about her that attracts Xiuhong?"
Chen thought for a moment and replied, "Perhaps it's because he has some talent and learning that he can get along well with Xiuhong. I heard from the maids that in their free time, the two of them gamble with books, splash tea, and recite poems and couplets."
Zhang frowned slightly, puzzled. "There are many talented and learned girls from noble families in the capital. Why did Xiuhong choose her?"
"Who knows? I'm not Xiuhong, how can I know what he's thinking?"
Chen turned to look at her and continued, "You are right about one thing, sister-in-law. Song is two years older than Xiuhong, and she is really good at taking care of people, even more attentive than me as a mother. Knowing that Xiuhong is busy with official duties, she is worried that he will exhaust himself, so she personally cooks medicinal food for him, making different dishes for him. She may not be as good as women from aristocratic families in many aspects, but she does have her merits. She is a gentle and virtuous wife, and she is filial and sensible."
Zhang nodded. "Marry a virtuous wife. From what my second sister-in-law said, Xiuhong has made a good wife. But she's already 23 years old. Other women her age would already have two or three children. You should make sure they work hard and have a big, fat boy soon." As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice. "She wasn't pregnant when she married her first husband. Is there something wrong with her body? If there's no news in two months, my second sister-in-law should find a doctor to take a good look at her."
When Chen heard this, her face became serious. She had never thought about this.
Zhang comforted her, "Second sister-in-law, you don't have to worry too much. If she really has health problems, then let Xiu Hong take in a few concubines. When the concubines give birth, they can give the children to her to raise. They will be registered as legitimate children under her name."
Chen pursed her lips, glared at her, and said, "Couldn't it be her ex-husband who has the problem? He was a philanderer and never had a child, not even a concubine. No matter how you look at it, it seems more like her ex-husband has the problem."
Hearing this, Zhang was stunned at first, then nodded: "That's true. Even if you have good land, without good seeds, you won't be able to grow any fruit."
Chen said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. As long as they are happy, I don't care about anything else."