Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's conflict

  Xiao Shuo nodded, and gestured to the servant beside him. A slightly plump old woman standing next to Yun Shi curtsied, looked at Yun Shi again, and seeing that she didn't object, took the tray from the servant's hand, carried the tea over to Yuan Yi and Xiao Heng, curtsied, and said with a smile: "Young mistress, please offer tea to the old master and mistress."

  Xiao Heng's gaze fell on the two golden flower vases on the red wooden tray. Before Yuan Yi could react, he took the lead and handed a cup to Yuan Yi, politely saying to the richly dressed auntie: "Thanks for your trouble, Aunt Zhao."

  Mrs. Zhao's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and she quickly glanced at Yuan Yi before withdrawing her gaze, forcing a smile as she said, "This is just part of my duties, I don't dare to trouble Young Master."

  She looked at Zhao with a thoughtful expression, and was able to get Xiao Heng's courtesy. It seemed that her position in the mansion was not simple. She secretly remembered it in her heart and also thanked him verbally. Zhao naturally said "don't mention it" again, stepped aside, and let out the way.

  Seeing this, Yuan Yi also didn't exchange pleasantries with her, took a few steps forward, knelt on the ground, presented tea to Xiao Shuo and respectfully said: "Please have some tea, Father."

  Xiao Xiao took the teacup from Yuan Yi's hand, took a sip, handed her a red envelope, squeezed out a smile and said: "Daughter-in-law, get up quickly. You married into the Xiao family, you are now a member of the Xiao family, just treat it as your own home in the future. I have been with your father for decades, he must have mentioned me to you before, I'm a rough person, if there's anything wrong in the future, don't mind."

  She secretly smiled to herself as she accepted the red envelope that was obviously filled with silver notes. Her father-in-law was indeed a straightforward person, even able to give her silver notes as a gift for their first meeting as daughter-in-law. However, he was also being considerate in his own way, perhaps worried that she wouldn't be used to his style.

  On the contrary, Yuan Yi appreciated this kind of person very much. People with a straightforward temperament are much better than those who are full of righteousness and morality. At least they are true gentlemen.

  She sincerely thanked him, "Father is just straightforward, how can he be rude? Even my father used to say that you are a true husband."

  Xiao Shuo's big eyes suddenly opened, revealing a few points of suspicion and complacency, and he asked with a split mouth: "That old match... cough, did your father really say that?"

  Looking at this suddenly collapsed old man in front of her, Yuan Yi was taken aback for a moment. What's going on? And that old scoundrel, it can't be what she thought, right?

  Xiao Heng's face twitched suspiciously as he stood beside Yuan Yi, covering his mouth and coughing softly.

  Xiao Xiao suddenly realized his mistake, seeing Yuan Yi's stunned expression, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, he casually withdrew the smile on his face and rehung a dignified and kind smile, saying: "Uncle is overpraising me, if I may say so, your father is also a true gentleman."

  Her mouth twitched, and she thought that the guess of not being talkative was wrong. Her father-in-law laughed loudly, and others were just not used to pretending. Suddenly, she felt very tired, with a father-in-law with such a personality, plus a husband with a special personality, is this a kind of hardship?

  Yuanyi, who was already speechless, took the box handed over by Sumei and presented it to Xiao Shuo with both hands, saying: "This is a small token of my daughter-in-law's heart, please accept it with a smile."

  Xiao Shuo took the box, opened it and looked inside, a joyful expression appeared on his face. "This is a top-quality inkstone, I've been searching for it for a long time, but they were all collected by others and couldn't be found in the market. I didn't expect to have the chance to get one today, my daughter-in-law, you are too generous." He said while playing with the inkstone in his hand, his face showing unspeakable satisfaction.

  Yuanyi smiled slightly and said: "If I can make Father happy, then as a daughter-in-law, I have somewhat fulfilled my filial duty."

  So as not to provoke him, she would never say such a thing. She had several inkstones, which could be seen everywhere in her father's study, and there were even better ones. If it weren't for her father revealing this, she really couldn't have imagined that Xiao Shuo, such a rough and unrefined person, would actually like collecting inkstones to the point of being obsessed. It was just a pity that he had no connections, as soon as these good things came out, they would be offered to those famous poets and scholars first, even if they flowed into the market, they were just ordinary goods.

  Now that I think about it, Yuan Yi feels that her father is quite bad too. He hid so many good things and didn't give any to his future son-in-law, but instead seemed to reveal a schadenfreude expression when mentioning this hobby to her. At the time, she thought she saw it wrong, now thinking back, her father was actually enjoying someone else's misfortune.

  Although his heart had already turned several dozen bends, Yuan Yi's face was already calm and collected. He picked up the last cup of Jinhuafang from the wooden tray, knelt down again, and presented it to Madame Yun's face, saying: "Mother, please have some tea."

  The Yun family remained silent until a cough from Xiao Shuo came from the side, and she finally took over the tea cup. She only slightly touched her lips, then put it aside, seemingly forgetting to ask Yuan Yi to get up. Instead, she directly took a copy of "Female Precepts" from Qian's hand and handed it to Yuan Yi, saying: "Since you've married into the Xiao family, I hope you can follow the rules for women and not spread any rumors that are not three or four. Otherwise, our Xiao family will lose face. My son may be mischievous, but his character and appearance are unmatched in the entire capital. In the future, you must serve my son well, inherit the family line, and fulfill your duties."

  She respectfully accepted the "Female Precepts" with her eyebrows and eyes lowered, a hint of coldness in her gaze, and said lightly: "Daughter-in-law obeys mother's teachings."

  Meng Lao Yun furrowed his brow, raised an eyebrow and said indifferently: "I only have one son, Heng Ge. At first, I wasn't used to others calling me 'mother', so don't call me that either, just call me 'grandma'."

  If it was previously considered a test for the new daughter-in-law by her mother-in-law, now Yun Shi has clearly shown her dislike for the new daughter-in-law. The various maids and servant girls in the hall all looked at the new young madam who was still kneeling on the ground with unusual expressions, their meanings unclear.

  Xiao Heng finally sensed that something was off and furrowed his brow, discontentedly saying to Yun Shi: "Mother, what are you talking about? Why is Yi considered an outsider?" He looked at Yuan Yi who was still kneeling on the ground with a faint smile on her face, and for some reason, his heart felt a pang of pain. "Also, let Yi get up."

  Yun's face was full of kindness as she looked at Xiao Heng, smiling: "A woman with a different surname is not an outsider, what is it? Your mother is scolding your new daughter-in-law for you, so that she can serve you well in the future. You don't understand your mother's good intentions, now that you have a wife, you've forgotten about your mother, it's all been wasted raising you for so many years."

  Xiao Heng wanted to say more, but was abruptly interrupted by Yuan Yi's clear and cold voice. She saw her calm and composed, with a smile on her face, saying: "Mother-in-law is absolutely right, no matter who it is, any woman from outside the Xiao family who marries in is considered an outsider. With mother-in-law setting an example, daughter-in-law is no exception, of course should learn from you to be content and obedient, manage the household and teach the children."

  Although Yuan Yi still looked calm and smiling, she was already burning with anger in her heart. Yun Shi didn't allow her to call her mother, but even if she did, she wouldn't have wanted to anyway. In her heart, there was only one mother, Pang Shi; calling anyone else would be a desecration of Pang Shi's memory.

  The original meaning of this sentence is too obvious, and Yun's face turned blue and white with anger, her furious expression almost uncontrollable. Just as she was about to lose her temper, Xiao Heng whispered "not good" and hastily ran over to tug at her sleeve, saying: "Alright, Mother, whatever you have to say can wait till later, now your son is hungry, hurry up and serve breakfast."

  Xiao Xiao, who was standing aside, also looked at Yun Shi with a surprised expression and said, "You too, calm down for a moment. Quickly get up, daughter-in-law, your mother-in-law has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, don't take it to heart."

  Xiao Heng also nodded repeatedly on the side, hinting at Yuan Yi to hurry up. Familiarly, Yuan Yi ignored him and continued to look at Yun Shi, saying: "May I ask, mother-in-law, did the maid by your daughter-in-law's side bring you any news today? She has always been lazy, until now she hasn't returned to the courtyard, and it's unknown whether she went out to play or not."

  Yun's eyes wandered as he took a sip of tea and said, "What maidservant? I've never seen her before."

  At this time, Qian Yuyu beside her hurriedly saluted and chimed in: "Madam, you've forgotten. This morning a maid rushed into your room, bumping into and shattering that beloved Jun kiln celadon vase of yours. She's being punished, kneeling in the courtyard right now. I heard she's called Jiao or something."

  "Now that you mention it, I remember." Yun Shi glanced at Yuan Yi and said, "Is that your maid? She's really too unruly."

  At this point, Yuanyi's face could no longer hold a smile. She had only been kneeling for a short while, but her knees were already in agony. If Bajiao were to be punished by being forced to kneel for so many hours, wouldn't that be taking half of her life? This was just a small maid, and such punishment was too cruel.

  And she was very clear about the servants around her, absolutely not a reckless person. The so-called smashing of the vase is probably just an excuse. To add insult to injury, what's the worry without words? Yun Shi had made up his mind not to give her face. If it is said that Yuan Yi had some scruples before, then after hearing this news, he could no longer hold back his temper.

  Her eyes were slightly cold, and her face was expressionless. Although her voice was as clear as ever, there was an inexplicable chill to it. "What Qian Mama said was probably about my useless maid Ba Jiao. She broke the mother-in-law's flower vase, and even kneeling in punishment couldn't wipe out her crime. Conveniently, among the dowry for the daughter-in-law, there were some worthless trinkets. If they could compensate for the mother-in-law's loss, it would be enough to pardon the daughter-in-law's transgression." She asked Su Mei: "Su Mei, is there a Jun kiln flower vase in my dowry?"

  Su Mei lowered her head, covering the anger in her eyes. After years of serving together, she immediately understood Yuan Yi's meaning and echoed: "Return to Young Madam, although there is a Jun kiln flower vase in your dowry, I'm afraid it's not worth as much as Husband's beloved object. However, there are several imperial gifts of official kiln porcelain, I remember one early Mei Xiu Chun Qinghua porcelain flower vase, which even Old Master liked very much. Later, when Old Master knew you loved plum blossoms, he added it to your dowry. If we take this one, it can probably match Husband's flower vase."

  The servants next to her were whispering, the imperial kiln's gift, that family had this thing and didn't treat it as a treasure to be displayed at the entrance, passing it down through generations. But when Su Mei said it, it sounded like some cheap goods bought on the street, casually mentioning that there were several pieces. The depth of the Zhu family was really too great.

  At the same time, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. It seems that this new young mistress was also a spoiled one in her maiden home. Otherwise, an illegitimate daughter wouldn't have such a good dowry. The young mistress is warning others that her family is powerful and not to be trifled with.