To be a Virtuous Wife

011

  Confrontation

The West Hall of Chang De Gong Fu was specifically used for female gatherings so the majority of the furnishings were vibrant yet well-made. Inside, there were artwork and calligraphy of masters and it looked as this was a home with some foundation. But it was to be obvious that each generation was worse than the previous. The present Duke of Chang De was so preposterous that many laughed at him behind his back.

Qu Qing Ju was at the same table as Old Madam Qu and her spot was beside Old Madam Luo. It was obvious from the seating the attitude that the Qu Family held toward her. At the table, there were people who were willing to ingratiate themselves so the mood at the table was somewhat busy. But when Old Madam Qu seated the Qu Family's third lady beside her, everybody's eyes changed. If this was a family banquet, nobody would say an extra word, but of the womenfolk present today, there were several females who ranked higher than Old Madam Qu. This Qu Family's third lady was both of a younger generation and wasn't titled. It really wasn't suitable for her to sit at the table.

The Marquess of Bao Rong smiled coldly at Old Madam Qu's actions, understanding that this was Old Madam Qu wanting everybody at the table to meet Qu Family's third lady  but the timing just wasn't good.

"This old one has always preferred these two girls. Now that the older family's lady has married, we've finally managed to gather together today," Old Madam Qu couldn't know what others were thinking. She used her handkerchief to wipe at the corner of her eye, "Now that these girls have grown up, this old lady still wants to keep them by my side all the time."

One of the madams that had good relations with the Qu family smiled and followed: "This is Old Madam's love for her granddaughters. But when the children grow up, they can't stay at home. Third lady is the epitome ... ..." When she got there, she smiled mischievously.

Qu Yue Su heard those words and quickly dropped her head in embarrassment.

Seeing her act like a little girl, Qu Qing Ju smiled at the woman that spoke. This person was on the side of Old Madam Qu, Wei shi. Her husband was an assistant minister at the Ministry of Rites, a not very large yet not very insignificant position. But this person usually only treated Qu Yue Su courteously. At the beginning, both Qu Qing Ju and the concubine's daughter Qu Hui Xue hadn't come into her eyes.

"Madam Wei is very funny. At this time, third sister is the youngest and grandmother loves her best. Why can't she spend more time with grandmother." Qu Qing Ju smiled thinly at Wei shi, and took the handkerchief Yin Liu handed over to wipe her hands, "It is er meimei who has less time to spend with grandmother."

Liang shi heard what Qu Qing Ju said and felt anger stir. Qu Qing Ju was trying to ruin her daughter's marriage. Mentioning the second daughter, she was telling others that her, the legitimate mother, wasn't benevolent, would only think of her own daughter and neglect the concubine's daughter?

Wei shi paused and didn't seem to have any response. In the past, she had always ingratiated herself with her paternal aunt in this manner. Today, she was firmly pushed back by Qu Qing Ju and just realized that the person sitting across from her wasn't the Qu Family's first daughter of the past, but the noble and elevated Duan Wang Fei.

Old Madam Luo smiled as she looked at Wei shi, her eyes full of distain. Who was Duan Wang? He was the second son of the Emperor. His mother Jing Fei may not be as favoured as Shu Fei but she still had some level of influence with the emperor. As to what Duan Wang was really like, nobody knew. But in the eyes of the entire court, Duan Wang might not be the most capable of the four imperial sons, but he definitely was not useless.