Madam Lu led Madam Zhou and her daughter into the courtyard. She had just thought to follow her mother-in-law’s instructions and invite them to sit down in the hall first, but why should she?
Everyone was joyous about the marriage, except for her, suffocatingly miserable. Why should her mother-in-law make her suffer?
Since she was feeling bitter herself, why should anyone else feel any better?
Madam Lu changed her mind and said to Madam Zhou, "Mother and the relatives are all sitting in the main room. Ying Mei, would you like to go and greet them?"
Madam Zhou paused in her tracks, looking up towards the room where Old Lady Zhou was, hesitating.
Madam Lu waited leisurely; after all, if her mother-in-law blamed her later, she could just say it was Zhou Yingmei who insisted on going to pay respects, and she couldn’t stop her.
Wufu followed Madam Zhou, catching a glimpse of Madam Lu’s calculating expression, and her gaze darkened.
She tilted her head slightly and saw Zhou Xiuer staring intensely at her; no, she was actually staring at the adornments on her head, and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Hearing a snicker, Zhou Xiuer snapped back to reality, catching Wufu’s seemingly mocking look, and her little face, powdered with rouge, turned red-hot in a bout of angry embarrassment as she glared and bared her teeth at her.
That wicked Wufu, those eyes appeared to see right through people, utterly detestable!
Zhou Xiuer glared hatefully at Wufu, but seeing her raise her hand in a counting gesture, she turned pale with fright and instinctively stepped back.
Wufu pressed her lips together in a smile before returning her attention elsewhere, noticing her mother heading towards the main room. She hurried after her, saying, "Mother, I reckon the bride will be arriving soon. Shouldn’t we be waiting at our seats?"
Madam Lu’s calculating look certainly portended ill intentions, and recalling Old Lady Zhou’s disdainful demeanor, why bother inviting contempt?
Madam Zhou replied, "We’ve come all this way, we should at least pay respects to your grandmother." How would it look otherwise? Ignoring Wufu’s protests, she moved forward.
With no other choice, Wufu followed. As she passed by Madam Lu, she whispered lowly, "You’d best not stir up any trouble, or none of us will have peace."
Madam Lu’s heart skipped a beat, watching the mother and daughter enter one after the other, snorting disdainfully.
Old Lady Zhou was chatting and laughing with the in-laws and relatives, but the doorway suddenly darkened. Lifting her head to see Madam Zhou and Wufu, her smile froze.
Wasn’t she supposed to have them seated on the side? How dare they come here instead? Madam Lu, how bold of her to defy her orders so stealthily.
Old Lady Zhou shot Madam Lu a fierce glare, internally displeased but unable to erupt.
Madam Zhou caught Old Lady Zhou’s expression, her hand trembling slightly, but having come in, she couldn’t just walk out and had to go forward and kneel in greeting, "Mother."
"You’ve arrived," Old Lady Zhou inhaled deeply, forcibly conjuring a smile.
Madam Zhou stood there, momentarily at a loss for words, looking quite awkward.
Mother and daughter stood in the center of the main room, conspicuously drawing attention, especially with the place full of people; ignoring them was impossible.
And so, all eyes landed on them, and upon closer inspection, some faces subtly changed.
Nothing else but the mother-daughter duo’s attire caused this.
Among those present, who wasn’t from a peasant background, or a family with some property? Wearing a couple of heavy silver bracelets would be eye-catching enough.
But this pair of mother and daughter, just look at their outfits, one might mistake them for ladies of a well-to-do family.
Wasn’t it said that the origins of this mother and daughter were quite disgraceful, their lives extremely difficult? But with these clothes, who could say they were living a hard life?
Perhaps there was an unknown secret or gossip here?