Chapter 37: The Visitor from the Clan (Part 1)

  Thinking of asking a martial arts instructor and bodyguard for Yao Shi Zan, Yao Cun Hui's brain suddenly jumped out this person, so some days ago he secretly asked Shen Que to inquire.

  Shen Que did not disappoint the trust placed in him and soon brought back news about Wu Jin, also repeatedly praising this person as reliable. The two of them then deliberated inside and out, making plans and calculations, and Wu Jin smoothly made it into the inner circle, coming before Old Master Yao.

  Yao Cunhui only then realized that Wu Jin's parents had passed away, and he had a younger brother of similar age to Yao Shizan named Wu Guang. He came to apply for the job as a bodyguard, not mentioning anything else, nor did he care about the monthly salary, but there was one condition: he wanted to bring his younger brother with him.

  Mr. Yao was not very happy at first, but Wu Jin's conditions were really good and in line with his wishes. Later, he heard that Wu Guang was about the same age as Yao Shi Zan, and when they met, he found him to be handsome and likable, a person who was both well-behaved and showed a bit of cleverness. So, he let Wu Guang serve as a study companion for Yao Shi Zan, and arranged for them to live together in the Fei You Residence, so that Wu Jin could wholeheartedly take care of Yao Shi Zan.

  Wu Jin was indeed grateful and immediately knelt down to kowtow three times to Old Master Yao, showing that he would not disappoint the trust placed in him.

  Mr. Yao finally felt at ease.

  Yao Cunhui also secretly reminded Yao Shizan to get along well with Wu Jin brothers.

  Time flies, and more than a month has passed. On this day, the main courtyard of the Yao Mansion received a noble guest, who was the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law of the original clan leader of the Yao family, Mrs. Guo, along with her mother and daughter. By calculation, she was Yao Lao Ye's elder clanswoman and niece. Mrs. Guo had returned to her hometown to visit relatives and, at the behest of the clan leader, came to the Yao Mansion in Beijing to ask about his views on rebuilding the ancestral temple.

  Mr. Yao and Mrs. Ma knew each other's minds, asking about the law was superficial, coming for money was the real intention. The Yao family's ancestral home is in Shanxi Province, most of the young men in the Yao family are doing business outside, some have become successful while others have fallen on hard times. Among them, the two brothers of Mr. Yao were undoubtedly the most successful, not only did they occupy a good position in the imperial capital, but also became part of the royal merchant class, and were the leaders of the northern rice trade!

  Mr. Yao hurriedly called for someone to invite Mr. and Mrs. Yao Er over as well, and warmly entertained the mother-daughter pair of Gu and Yao Cunxian. Having face in front of Mrs. Gu was equivalent to having face in front of the old family members in Shanxi. Moreover, Mrs. Gu and her daughter represented their ancestral home, so if they were treated with neglect, there would be suspicion of being ungrateful. This crime Mr. Yao could not afford to commit, no matter how large his household or business was!

  Gu's family saw the two old gentlemen of the Yao family being understanding and respectful, and they were very pleased with themselves. Their faces also added a few more smiles, and their conversations with Ma and Mao families became even more cordial.

  "There are still some business matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. Please forgive me, elder sister-in-law! Tonight, I'll host a dinner party to welcome you and make amends. Since you're here, it's just like being at home, so please don't be polite, elder sister-in-law. If there's anything you need, just let my brothers and sisters know, otherwise, we wouldn't be treating each other as family! Wife, younger siblings, keep elder sister-in-law company and chat with her, arrange for her to rest!" Just then, Old Master Yao gave a signal to his brother Yao Nianguang, and they both stood up smiling.

  "Both of you young uncles are busy with important matters, how can you not be busy? You two just do as you please, as Fourth Uncle said, we're all family, no need to stand on ceremony!"

  "Thank you, elder sister-in-law!" Old Master Yao said with a slight bow and a smile.

  Gu smiled and nodded in response. Ma also smiled and said "Don't worry, I absolutely won't neglect the elder sister of our great clan."

  "Right, Jia'er, Hui'er and their siblings haven't come to pay respects to the elder sister-in-law yet. Xian is also here, it's a good opportunity for the sisters to get closer! Quick, send someone to invite the young ladies and two young masters!" Old Master Yao suddenly instructed.

  When Ma heard her husband mention the names of Yao Cun Jia and Yao Cun Hui, but referred to their own daughter as "their sisters", she felt a bit displeased. Moreover, in the past when guests came to their home, had Old Master Yao ever instructed Yao Cun Hui to come out and meet them? Never!

  Thinking of this, Ma's heart was even more unhappy, her face slightly stiffened, and she forced a smile to agree, ordering Qiao Mama and Ming Xia to go invite people.

  Here, Mr. Gu smiled and said it had been a long time since he saw his nieces, chattering away as they talked about old times.

  One after another, Yao Cun Jia, Yao Cun Hui, Yao Cun Mei, Yao Cun Yun, Yao Shi Zan, and Yao Shi Li came in, followed by Ma Qun Fang. The room was filled with beautiful women, all dressed up and adorned with jewelry, making it hard for the Gu family to take their eyes off them. Each one of them praised the others, smiling so widely that their mouths couldn't close.

  Yao Cunjia and her sisters came forward one by one to pay their respects to Madame Guo, and afterwards they also paid their respects to Yao Cunxian.

  The maid brought in a fine mat for her sisters and brothers to sit on, and they all sat down again to talk, chattering away together, making quite a lively scene.

  "I really envy you, with a thriving family and children, so harmonious and beautiful, truly blessed! Mrs. Gu looked at the many children surrounding Madam Ma and Madam Mao, each one dressed in fine clothes and fed on the finest food, each with outstanding temperament and appearance, and couldn't help but sincerely exclaim."

  "Haha, but that's all, what kind of good fortune is that? You, the elder sister-in-law, are the truly blessed one!" Ma heard those four words "children and grandchildren complete" and felt a bit suffocated in her heart. What children and grandchildren complete, that's not even her own son, and he's not close to her either, who knows what will happen when he grows up? Good fortune? If it's not a disaster, then burn incense!

  This was Ma's greatest heartache, suddenly being hooked up by Gu's words, and the words that couldn't be held back also had a hint of sourness, which made Gu listen in stunned silence, and then smiled faintly, secretly wondering where she went wrong.

  Yao Cunhui cast a sideways glance at Mao Shi, who happened to be looking over at her as well. The two exchanged a brief, secretive look.

  Mrs. Mao let out a bright, crisp laugh and said with a smile: "My elder sister-in-law is indeed modest, you're absolutely right, my elder brother and sister-in-law are truly blessed! Take my nephew Zan'er for example, since the passing of his mother, he's been ill all along, really like someone who's always taking medicine, his body is weak and frail, can't even leave the house a few times a year, more than half of his time is spent in bed..."

  "Really?" Madam Gu's eyes widened in surprise, carefully sizing up Yao Shizan. The brand new bright blue satin with five bats holding longevity and hidden flower patterns wrapped around her small body, tied with a silver-blue waistband inlaid with white jade, hairpins held back her hair, bright eyes shining, delicate features like a painting, looking rather weaker than ordinary children, but still in good spirits and complexion, completely not matching what Madam Mao had said!

  "It's hard to tell!" said Mr. Gu with a smile.

  "Otherwise, how can we say that Brother and Sister-in-law are so lucky!" Without waiting for others to speak, Mrs. Mao hurriedly smiled and said: "Two months ago, Zan suddenly fell ill, and the doctor who was responsible for treating him happened to be out of town. Uncle coincidentally invited Liu Taishou, the chief physician of the Imperial Hospital, to come and diagnose the illness. Ah, it turned out that the previous doctor was a swindler who didn't know how to treat illnesses, but only knew how to sell medicine, clearly targeting our family's wealth! Liu Taishou also said that if we had delayed any further, even if the great god of healing had come, it would have been useless! It scared Brother and Sister-in-law and us all out of our wits! Elder Sister-in-law, don't you think that Brother and Sister-in-law are lucky?"

  Gu's wife was taken aback, smiling and nodding: "Indeed! Zaner is also a lucky child!" As the daughter-in-law of the Gu family, Mo's wife feared that she wouldn't understand the implication behind her words. How could Gu's wife not catch the hint?

  "Big clan sister rarely comes once, younger brother and sister say these what to do, in front of the children is not good either." Ma's heart was extremely angry, her hand holding the handkerchief clenched tightly together, crumpling it into a ball, her body also slightly trembling. This little prostitute Mao's tongue is so long, daring to lose face in front of the clan people!

  When Cui returned to her clan, in the daily conversations between relatives and friends, wouldn't they talk about this trip? As a prominent family in the clan, how many people would love to hear the gossip from that side? By saying so, did she still want to have a good reputation in the clan?

  Mr. Mao pretended not to hear her words and continued smiling at Mr. Gu, saying: "It's really thanks to my niece Hui'er that Zan has recovered so quickly! Eldest Uncle let Hui'er take full care of Zan, and she did a great job, taking good care of him with all her heart. In just two months, Zan has recovered this well!"

  Gu's eyebrows twitched, her gaze quickly swept over Ma and landed on Yao Cunhui, smiling: "Really? Hui'er is so capable! I remember when we last met, she was still a little girl, didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, she would grow up to be such a beautiful young lady! Who knows which family will be lucky enough to have our Hui'er in the future!" Everyone burst out laughing.

  Would rather let his daughter take full care of his son than let his wife interfere, seeing Mrs. Ma's unnatural expression but unable to utter a word of refutation, it seems that what Madam Mao said is true after all, the water in this second house is indeed deep!

  Gu's heart was coldly laughing, but her face was light and calm, just chatting and smiling, as if she hadn't heard the meaning of Mao's words at all. She came for money, not to plead for someone else or seek justice, whatever happened in their family was none of her business, it was just a few idle remarks after listening, she didn't want to get involved, nor did she have any reason or need to intervene.

  "Second Aunt always loves to tease me, I didn't think Eldest Maternal Aunt would also tease her niece like this, not fair!" Yao Cunhui slightly lowered her head in embarrassment, her slender white fingers playing with the handkerchief, pouting her small mouth, speaking with a hint of coquetry, which made everyone laugh even more, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more relaxed.

  "Speaking of which," said Mrs. Gu with a warm and loving gaze at Yao Cun Jia, "shouldn't your good days be arriving soon?"

  Yao Cun Jia's face flushed slightly, her head lowered, revealing a slender and fair neck. Her eyes met those of the Gu family for a brief moment before she nodded gently with a warm and elegant smile.

  "The date is set for next April, and all the dowry is ready. We're just waiting for a good day to send it over to the Zhang family! When the time comes, I'll invite you, elder sister-in-law, to come and witness the ceremony. If the elders and uncles from our clan are willing to attend, my husband and I will be overjoyed! As long as our relatives are willing to attend, nothing else matters!"

  When it comes to the marriage of his daughter, Yao Cun Jia himself is not in a position to say anything, and Mao Shi also does not dare to overstep her authority. Ma Shi finally waited for the opportunity to speak up and immediately expressed herself, fully demonstrating how she had fulfilled her duties as the legitimate mother. Moreover, she hinted that if the relatives were willing to come, all expenses including transportation and hospitality would be covered by the Yao family!

  She dares to say this, which means that in the Yao family, she is capable of being in charge and having a say! When relatives from the clan come, can they let everyone go back empty-handed? Of course not!

  These are all real benefits, who wouldn't be tempted?

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