All Hail Cousin Brother

179 Completely Embarrassed

Her thoughts were exactly the same as Yang Shuwan’s.

Yang Shuwan looked down on the Xie family, but when the Xie family ever brought gifts, wasn’t she happily carrying so many gifts that she even complained that the gifts she prepared were too little?

Master usually interacted with his colleagues, so his money did not seem to have decreased. How much of it belonged to the Xie family?

It was obvious that if they were not family, they would not enter the same house.

Yu Zongzheng was a little displeased. “What does Mother take me for? I know how to treat my guests. I won’t embarrass the Yu Residence.”

Old Madam Yu nodded and did not say anything.

However, her heart was thinking about something else. After Second Brother saw Xie Jingliu, he said to her, “Mother, although the Xie family didn’t say anything explicitly, it’s certain that the vassal king will act strangely. I’ll get someone to investigate the situation and ask Mother to work harder to manage the family. I’m afraid there won’t be a break in April.”

After leaving An Shou Hall, Yu Zongzheng met Xie Jingliu. The two of them chatted for a while before greeting each other.

The banquet tonight had to be more grand.

There was only one person in the house, so it shouldn’t be so busy. However, it had only been two days since Yang Shuwan had regained control of the house. She wanted to take the opportunity to establish her authority in the residence and make a show of it. She had already arranged everything, so there was no reason not to do it. As a result, there were even more things to do.

Yang Shuwan was still a little pretentious in the morning, but in the afternoon, she was really busy. She was also worried that something would go wrong and make Master angry, so she wanted to ask Madam Yao for help. This was human nature, but when she thought about how Madam Yao had taken the initiative to help in the morning, but was sent away by her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

This was finally done on time at 7pm.

After Old Madam Yu sat down, Yu Zongzheng, Yu Zongshen, and Xie Jingliu followed suit. Then, it was Yang Shuwan, Madam Yao, and finally Zhou Linghuai and the other juniors.

Yu Jianjia looked at the empty seat beside her and frowned slightly. “I didn’t see Fourth Sister at noon. It was just a small banquet, so it wasn’t that rude. But why didn’t Fourth Sister come over at night?”

Her voice was neither high nor low, and even the other table could hear her.

Yu Zongzheng frowned. Just as he was about to ask, he heard Yu Youyao say, “She probably hasn’t learned the rules well, so it’s not appropriate for her to go out.”

Yu Jianjia pursed her lips and said weakly, “There’s an important guest in the house, so it’s only right that we hold a banquet. Everyone is here, but Fourth Sister is missing. Isn’t that rude?”

“That makes sense!” Yu Youyao nodded.

Yu Jianjia was stunned for a moment, as if she had not expected Yu Youyao to agree with her. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Yu Youyao call Qiu Xing over. “Send a few dishes to the Hanlu Courtyard. Since Third Cousin is here, even if it’s not convenient for her to come, she should enjoy the banquet like us. She might not be here but we understand her intentions.”

The eldest daughter had always been thorough in her work, so this arrangement was definitely not wrong. Yu Zongzheng did not say anything, but he glanced at Yang Shuwan solemnly.

Yang Shuwan was in charge of the household, so such matters should be arranged by her.

As the first wife, she had actually neglected her daughter.

It could be seen that she had always said that she was devoted to Qingning, but it was all to fool others.

Yang Shuwan’s eyelids twitched. She understood her oversight and quickly smiled. “Old Madam said yesterday that there were guests at home today, so she didn’t restrict Qingning and Nanny to learn the rules together and let her leave the courtyard to join us for thebanquet.”

Nanny Li understood and immediately echoed, “In the morning, Eldest Miss felt that Fourth Miss hadn’t learned her manners well, so she sent Fourth Miss back to the Hanlu Courtyard. At that time, the residence was busy and chaotic. I was afraid that something would happen to the guests, so I didn’t report it to Madam in time. It was my mistake.”

When Old Madam Yu heard this, she immediately felt sick of it.

Yang Shuwan had been negligent, yet she still had to indirectly blame her eldest daughter for making such a decision.

She did not even think about it. She was in charge of this family. Even though she was in charge of a banquet, she was already flustered. If she neglected her daughter, it would seem like she was not good at managing the family and did not care about her.

Her reputation as a “kind mother” would probably be greatly reduced.

Madam Yang was the first wife, so she had to take responsibility for raising her daughter. If her daughter didn’t learn the rules well, it would mean that she had lost her upbringing. No matter what, she couldn’t blame her daughter for this. Even a smart person would know what kind of person Yang Shuwan was after hearing this.

To think that Madam Yang was still feeling smug and self-conscious about grabbing onto Yao Yao’s tail. However, she had already exposed herself completely with just a few words.

Yang Shuwan turned to look at Yu Youyao and smiled. “Fourth Sister is a little rash. As her elder sister, you should be more tolerant. Today, your relative came knocking on my door. He should be welcomed by the residence…”

Although there was no criticism in her words, it was obvious from her words that Yu Youyao shouldn’t have made such a decision on her own.

Yu Youyao did not argue and nodded. “Mother is right.”

Seeing that Yu Youyao had suffered a loss, even Yang Shuwan raised her eyebrows slightly. “You’re still young, but you don’t know that the rules and regulations of this banquet are too important…”

Seeing that her eldest daughter was listening to her stepmother obediently and didn’t retort, Yu Zhengzong couldn’t help but say, “You talk too much. Even eating can’t stop you from talking. You only know how to teach your daughter at banquets. Why don’t you teach Qingning more often? If you had paid more attention to Qingning, she wouldn’t have failed to learn the rules well. Even Yao Yao knows how to care about her younger sister’s upbringing. As her mother, you’ve forgotten about her. This is your fault. Who are you blaming?”

Fourth Miss’s upbringing wasn’t good. It was because Concubine He who couldn’t teach her well, but wasn’t it also because Yang Shuwan, her legitimate mother, wasn’t doing her best? What did Yao Yao have to do with this?

Even Yao Yao knew how to show concern for Fourth Sister and asked her to learn more of the rules. What had Yang Shuwan, the legitimate mother, done?

She probably no longer cared about Fourth Miss.

She had been negligent, yet she was blaming Yao Yao?

Who was in charge of this family?

“Master, I…” Yang Shuwan’s face turned pale. Her lips trembled, and she felt a lump in her throat, but she couldn’t say a word.

However, she did not expect that Yu Zongzheng would disregard the relationship between husband and wife and her face. He had reprimanded her in public at the banquet, causing her to lose all face.

No matter how glorious and capable this banquet was, it would still be a loss of face.

She knew that one couldn’t just think about things that weren’t presentable. She had to think deeper. Old Madam Yu picked up her chopsticks and said calmly, “Let’s start the banquet!”

Yu Zongzheng turned around and ignored Madam Yang. However, it was inevitable that he would feel a little awkward after his outburst earlier.

Yang Shuwan couldn’t keep a straight face anymore. She picked up her handkerchief and pressed it against the corner of her mouth before putting on a smile again. “It’s getting late. It’s time for the banquet.”

The atmosphere inevitably became a little stiff.

A faint smile appeared on Madam Yao’s lips. Someone was trying to embarrass her, but she couldn’t stop him.