Chapter 103: What about me? What am I?

Chapter 103: What about me? What am I?

"Sister, Ming Zhu greets you respectfully. I beg you to let Ming Zhu and my child remain in the Pei family. I promise to abide by my duties." Ming Zhu, understanding the situation, approached Ruan Xiaoyue to show goodwill, but was pushed aside by her.

Madam Pei was shocked by the scene, but luckily, the maid caught her. She immediately became furious and slammed her chopsticks: "Ming Zhu is carrying the flesh and blood of our Pei family. Do you want to harm her?"

"Mother, your words make no sense. If she is a member of the Pei family, then what about me? What am I?"

"You are naturally the mistress of the Pei household. No one is trying to take your position." Madam Pei ordered Ming Zhu to be taken back to her room before continuing: "It is common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. As the mistress of the household, you should be more generous."

"Is this taking a concubine? I just married into the family, and the child in her belly is almost due." In normal noble families, it is impossible for a concubine to be pregnant before the main wife enters the household. Madam Pei couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

The Pei family was indeed at fault in this matter, but for Madam Pei, nothing was more important than her grandson: "This was an accident. Since the child is already here, there's nothing we can do. If you really care, you should try to conceive sooner. Why waste energy on something that can't be changed?"

What kind of crap is this?

Ruan Xiaoyue looked at her husband, Pei Chong, who remained silent and calmly continued eating. Disappointment overwhelmed her.

If he truly cared for her, he wouldn't have chosen to ignore the situation, not even offering an apology.

Ruan Xiaoyue stormed off in anger. Seeing her leave, Madam Pei glared at her son: "Your attitude just now was too much. We still need to rely on her."

Pei Chong, her husband, said nothing. He was swamped with one worry after another and had no mind to comfort Ruan Xiaoyue.

Pei Wen added fuel to the fire: "See, this is how a merchant's daughter acts—narrow-minded and rude. Since she married into our family, everything should prioritize my brother. That's the duty of a wife. Look at her!"

She then brought up the engagement banquet of the Qi and Jiang families: "I wanted to attend the engagement banquet of the Qi and Jiang families, wasn't it for my brother? Jiang Jie is a rising star in the court, and I am familiar with Miss Qi. If our family doesn't present a decent gift, it would be a small matter to be laughed at, but it would be awkward for my brother to face Jiang Jie in the future."

Mentioning Jiang Jie, Pei Chong remembered the two thousand taels of silver he had spent. Despite such a high cost, he had gained nothing, which only added to his frustration.

Not only had he failed to gather any information, but even when they met during official duties, Jiang Jie treated him no differently than before, as if he had never received the two thousand taels.

In a few days, Jiang Jie would be engaged, and the matter of the gift was indeed troublesome.

If they gave too much, the Pei family couldn't afford it. If they gave too little, given Jiang Jie's appetite, it would be better not to give anything at all.

**

Back in her room, Ruan Xiaoyue started packing her things. She didn't want to stay in the Pei family for another day.

"Madam, if you leave now, you'll only give Master and that Ming Zhu an opportunity. Besides, returning to your parents' home right after marriage would not sound good."

"Who said I'm going back to my parents' home in a fit of anger? I just want to visit my parents and stay for a few days."

This was the only excuse Ruan Xiaoyue could find at the moment—to visit her parents.

She had given everything to Pei Chong. The day after she married, she gave him two thousand taels from her dowry to help him navigate his relationships. But he, in return, didn't even give her a single honest word, and now there was a pregnant concubine...

Tears clouded her eyes. Suddenly, she grabbed the bundle of her belongings and threw it to the ground. She collapsed on the bed, crying.

She couldn't figure out how things had gotten so bad. The man she had longed for turned out to be an absolute scoundrel.

After crying enough, she asked Xiao Qing to put the bundle back in the closet. She did want to return to the Ruan family, but she couldn't take the bundle with her. She couldn't let anyone know how miserable her life in the Pei family was.

She wasn't afraid of worrying her parents, but she didn't want the main branch of the family to mock her.

Remembering her grandmother's objections to her marriage to Pei Chong, those words now felt like daggers in her heart. Today, it really felt like Ruan Xiaoyue had brought this upon herself.

But she would never admit it.

**

Ruan family.

"Auntie, this is a fan panel I embroidered for you with a landscape scene, and this one is for Grandmother with a design symbolizing blessings and longevity. Do you like them?" Wei Mingxi had come today to deliver gifts, which caught Zhou Yunzhi off guard.

Since Wei Mingxi started working at the Ruan family's shop, she often accompanied the shopkeeper during his business reports, always finding a chance to chat with Zhou Yunzhi.

After examining the exquisite fan panels for a while, Zhou Yunzhi praised warmly, "These two fan panels each have their own merits. The landscape scene is magnificent and grand, while the design symbolizing blessings and longevity is delicate and beautiful. The old lady will surely love them."

Wei Mingxi, pleased, asked, "Are they as good as my sister-in-law's embroidery?"

Earlier, her cousin brother had said that her embroidery was not as good as her sister-in-law's, which had made her feel indignant, hence today's question.

But this question caught Zhou Yunzhi off guard, who smiled and looked up, "Mingxi, you don't know, Qing Huan has never liked these things since she was a child. She hasn’t even touched a needle and thread, let alone compare her embroidery to yours."

Wei Mingxi frowned upon hearing this and exclaimed, "But cousin brother clearly said that my embroidery skills are much worse than sister-in-law's."

Zhou Yunzhi, unaware of the inside story, had no explanation.

It was Wei Mingxi herself who figured it out, thinking that her cousin must have lied because he didn't want to accept her embroidered pouch.

Zhou Yunzhi understood Wei Mingxi's feelings. Ever since she started working at the Ruan family's shop, her son had been avoiding her. It wasn't entirely because of her; as a mother, she knew Qingzhou’s heart wasn’t in the family business.

However, Zhou Yunzhi quite liked Wei Mingxi. She had initially thought the girl was a bit quick-tempered, but she was always straightforward in her speech and actions.

But her son was rebellious and indifferent to the family business. If they forced him into a marriage, he might just run off to Jiangnan out of frustration.

Despite this, she couldn't bear to dampen Wei Mingxi's spirits, "Qingzhou has been rarely home lately. Zimo mentioned that he and General Ji had gone to the military camp outside the capital. I haven't verified what Zimo said, but it's true that Qingzhou is quite playful."

"Auntie, I came today specifically to see you and Grandmother, nothing else," Wei Mingxi said, though her face turned red involuntarily.

Zhou Yunzhi smiled, "Auntie didn’t mean anything by it; just a casual remark."

As they spoke, Liu Sao came in, "Madam Zhou, Miss Xiaoyue has returned."

Zhou Yunzhi was surprised since the second branch had already moved out and established their own household. Even if Xiaoyue came back to visit, she should have gone to the new home, "Did she come back alone?"

"Yes, she looked upset, as if she had been crying. She went straight to the west courtyard as soon as she entered, and the servants couldn't stop her."

"Let her be. She’s the old lady’s granddaughter; she might have come to see her."

That's what she said, but the fact that Zhou Xiaoyue went straight to the west courtyard upon entering suggested that she probably didn't know about the family’s division of property yet.