r eyes widened as she stared at Gu Jing Xi in disbelief. The gentle and refined gentleman before her seemed completely incapable of eavesdropping, yet how else would he have known about her conversati...Ning Dong looked at the departing figures of her master and servant, a little shaken. She whispered, "Madam, just now scared me half to death. Thankfully, Lord Hou didn't do anything to you."

Meng Jiny Yao remained calm: "His son was in the wrong first, even if he wanted to punish him, it should be lighter than his son's punishment."

Although that's true, Ning Dong was still worried and advised, "Perhaps you should try to avoid contact with the Crown Prince next time. He ran away from his wedding, causing Madam to become a laughingstock. In the end, he blamed her instead. This kind of resentment and shirking responsibility—it's best to stay away from such people. Who knows if he might one day go mad and bite someone else randomly"

Meng Jin Yao nodded slightly and said softly, "Rest assured, I wouldn't have the time to go looking for trouble with him. It was a coincidence that we met today, you could say it's bad luck."

Prior to this, Meng Jin Yao had taken Chunliu with her to meet Gu Xiuming twice. Ning Dong had never witnessed her mistress confronting Gu Xiuming, but today, seeing them face each other, she felt pity for her mistress. Having such a cheap son around, her mistress would likely face endless trouble in the future.

Meng Jinyao suddenly asked curiously, "Ningdong, is my lying technique really that clumsy, so obvious"

Ning Dong smiled and said, "Madam, you forgot The Marquis is the Minister of Justice, in charge of investigating cases and trying criminals. You definitely can't fool him. Besides, your silver tongue isn't bad either, I believe the Marquis has some understanding of that, which is why he wouldn't believe

Meng Jinyao: "..."

Then, Ning Dong asked, "Madam, would you still like to take a walk in the garden"

With Meng Xiu Ming stirring things up like this, Meng Jin Yao no longer felt like it. She lightly shook her head: "No, let's go tomorrow instead. Let's head back to Weiruixuan first."

She said this, and was just about to turn around and return to the Weiruixuan pavilion, but as soon as she took a step forward, she drew it back. Interest suddenly sparked in her eyes. "It's not even dinner time yet," she said, "Why don't we go for a stroll The best place in the mansion to watch the sunset is at the Lan Yue Pavilion."

Ning Dong nodded and replied, "Oh, it's time to go back for dinner after enjoying the sunset."

-

A few days later, a light rain was falling and people hurried along the streets. A small sedan chair came in through the side gate of Changxing Hou's mansion.

Changxing Hou's son, Gu Xiuming, has taken a concubine. The concubine is the girl he has always had his heart set on, Li Wan'er.

Every member of the Changxing Hou Manor, except for Gu Xiuming who seemed to be in high spirits whenever there was good news, was unhappy about this matter. For their social standing, having a concubine before taking a wife was highly disgraceful, damaging their reputation and leaving nothing to celebrate.

Many servants were whispering about this ridiculous affair in private.

The following day dawned.

Chun Liu glanced at the sky and said in puzzlement, "Madam, it's already four quarters past dawn. Why hasn't Li shi arrived to pay her respects yet"

Although her wife is young, she is considered an elder. As a junior member of the family, Li's concubine should pay respects to the elders upon entering and leave a good impression. In the future, if there is a princess consort, Li's concubine must greet her every day.

Those who are ignorant might think it troublesome to pay respects to elders, and not doing so would be more convenient. But as a junior, being forbidden from paying respects is a sign that one is not recognized or favored by the elders. Since Madam has not issued an order forbidding Li's concubine from paying respects, then Li's concubine should come to pay her respects.

Other big households' concubines, as long as they weren't refused when they went to pay their respects, would all seize the opportunity to go and curry favor with their elders. Even when the elders were dining, standing by and serving them dishes was a face-saving matter. After all, being able to have the opportunity to appear in front of their elders and serve them represented gaining their recognition.

A concubine is like this, for the legal wife serving dishes is a set rule, she suffers from being tossed around, but for the concubine it's an opportunity to please her elders. If she can please the elders, even the legal wife wouldn't dare to mistreat them too much.

Meng Jinyao wasn't at all surprised and said nonchalantly, "She probably won't come."

Chun Liu frowned: "This Li concubine is too unruly.

Meng Jinyao pursed her lips and smiled: "Ignorance is bliss. It's not her fault, and I'm actually relieved she didn't come."

She knew it was all Gu Xiuming's idea. Li Wan'er had just entered the household and hadn't been taught the proper etiquette by a nanny before entering. She probably didn't understand the rules of a wealthy family and didn't know that concubines were supposed to greet their elders.

But Gu Xiuming knew, but he didn't remind Li Wan'er, apparently afraid of embarrassing her, so he didn't remind her. Since he didn't know about it, he was spared from having to greet her.

Chun Liu was upset. She couldn't understand what kind of love potion Li had given to the prince that made him abandon his proper and well-behaved wife to elope with the unruly Li. It caused such a big scandal.

She glanced at Meng Jinyao, who seemed completely unfazed, and said, "Madam is kind.

Meng Jin Yao replied, "Li's mistress has never paid respects to heaven or her parents. She is not my legitimate daughter-in-law, so she isn't obligated to pay me a courtesy visit. Whether she comes or not doesn't matter."

Chun Liu was taken aback by the words. That's right, a legitimate daughter-in-law must pay respects to her mother-in-law. It's not obligatory for those who are not legitimate daughters-in-law to come and greet their elders, so being able to pay respects is a privilege. Concubines all take pride in having the opportunity to greet their elders. Since Li shi refused this honor, then so be it. However, not receiving recognition from her elders really means she's even less respectable than an ordinary concubine.

Meng Jinyao suddenly remembered her mother-in-law going to the temple to burn incense and staying there for a few days. Today should be her return date, so she asked: "By the way, isn't Old Madam returning home today"

Chunliu nodded and said, “That’s right. According to custom, Old Madam always arrives home in the afternoon.”

Good afternoon.

When Old Madam Gu returned home, besides those in official positions who had not yet finished their duties and Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Xiuhong who were studying at the academy, all the younger generations came out to greet her.

But there was one exception, Gu Xiuming, who had taken leave from the academy. He went out with his newly married aunt, Li Wan'er, this morning and hasn't returned yet.

Old Mrs. Gu saw her grandson, Gu Xiwen, and asked Zhang Shi: "Eldest daughter-in-law, why isn't Xiuwen at the academy with his three older brothers"

Zhang shi explained, "Mother, the daughter-in-law is thinking that since Xiu Wen will be going to Ling Shan Academy later, and all the students at Ling Shan Academy are outstanding, in order to help him keep up with the pace once he gets there, she asked the teacher to give him one-on-one tutoring before he enters. That way it would be more secure, so he wouldn't fall behind at the academy."

Grandmother Gu, upon hearing this, unexpectedly approved of her educational approach, nodding in satisfaction: "Your approach is quite good. For Xiu Wen's current situation, one-on-one instruction from a teacher is more effective."

Seeing her mother-in-law's approval, Zhang secretly rejoiced. Thinking of Gu Xiuming, she thoughtfully looked at Meng Jin Yao: "Third sister-in-law, Xiuming wasn't supposed to be taking a leave of absence from the academy Why don't we see him"

As soon as these words were spoken, Madam Gu's gaze also searched for her grandson's figure. She scanned the people present and then retracted her gaze with a slight disappointment.

Meng Jinyao knew she wanted to embarrass Gu Xiuming in front of the elders, but Gu Xiuming's going out with Li shi was common knowledge even if she didn't say anything. So she answered truthfully: "Xiuming is taking a few days off because he's taking a concubine. Unfortunately, this child went shopping with Li shi this morning, probably not knowing that his mother was returning home today.

When Madam Gu heard this, she frowned in displeasure and was even more disappointed. Her grandson, whom she had high hopes for, had actually taken a leave of absence from the academy to accompany his concubine. How outrageous!

Taking a concubine is not the same as marrying a wife, so there's no need to take leave.

If she remembered correctly, Lady Li had just entered the household yesterday. She had caused Xiu Ming to take a leave of absence as soon as she arrived. To take a leave of absence for such an insignificant concubine, disregarding his studies – what would happen in the futureShe pressed down on the panic in her heart, feigning calmness as she asked: "Madam, are you alright"Meng Jinyu gave her a reassuring look and said in a calm voice, "What could I possibly have done It...