I want to make progress

Chapter 18: Training the Daughter-in-law
Facing the two people's contemptuous and sarcastic eyes, Shu Yunfu exclaimed in surprise, as if she was the country bumpkin who had never seen the world in their eyes. She covered her mouth and shouted, "In the past, when I was in Xuancheng, I had never seen such precious ingredients at the banquet held by the most powerful prefect. This is really... No wonder my father always said that there are so many nobles in the capital!"

The voice rose several notches, and the liveliness and warmth in the room were all suppressed by her words. Everyone's eyes fell on her, and the two concubines who had been smiling coquettishly and proudly just now now looked pale.

But she pretended not to hear him, and just picked up the chopsticks again, saying with a look of having gotten an advantage: "Then I have to eat more, there is so much silver!"

"Shu Yunfu!"

Before she stretched out her chopsticks, Gu Changheng shouted angrily with a dark face, staring at her with a pair of eyes flashing with ferocity, as if he was ready to bite someone.

"Hmm? W-what happened?"

The chopsticks fell from her fingertips in fear. Shu Yunfu looked up timidly, her eyes full of confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

"you……"

"Chang Heng!"

Gu Changheng stood up and was about to drag the person out, but the old Duke called out to him in a light tone and pushed him back to his seat in an instant, but the look in his eyes when he looked at her was still so vicious.

"Father, please forgive me. It was my daughter-in-law who was inconsiderate."

Without anyone saying anything, Lady Liu, the wife of the Duke, stood up, knelt down and admitted her mistake. The prefect of Xuancheng was the biggest corrupt official in this corruption case.

Even the prefect of Xuancheng could not afford to eat the yellow croaker worth 1,000 taels of silver, but the Duke of Yingguo could eat it and ate it frequently. There are many stories behind this.

Without even needing her father-in-law to speak, Liu had already apologized. As the wife of a duke, she did have some political acumen.

"You have good intentions." The old Duke nodded with satisfaction. He was satisfied with his daughter-in-law.

He is quite steady in his actions, and occasional mistakes are not a big deal. After all, no one is perfect and no one can guarantee that they will not make mistakes.

"But families like ours are different from ordinary families. We need to be cautious in everything we do. We must know that everything we say and do may be seen by others."

"The current emperor sets an example by advocating thrift and diligence. As his subjects, we should do the same. In the future, such things that waste people's money and labor should not appear. It's just a fish. It doesn't matter how you eat it."

I picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks, chewed it twice and swallowed it. This fish worth one thousand taels did not taste like dragon liver and phoenix marrow. It was too expensive!

"You're all the same!"

"Yes! My daughter-in-law knows."

"Yes! My son knows."

"Alright, alright! Let's not talk about these court affairs at the dinner table. No one intended to be extravagant. It was just a coincidence. Liu is just related to Changting and was careless for a moment."

The old Duke, who had lived a hard life in the army, felt a little distressed and did not notice that his daughter-in-law looked strange at all. It was the old lady who saw that the atmosphere was not right and quickly tried to smooth things over, saying that their son was back and everyone was happy, so they did not want to say anything to spoil the fun.

But the old lady didn't want to let the matter go. Liu thought the old lady was on her side and explained quickly: "Yes, yes, your daughter-in-law thought that the Duke loves fish the most, and the big yellow croaker from the seaside is rare, so she asked the kitchen to bring it up." "Usually, your daughter-in-law would never dare to be so extravagant." She glanced at Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhao, who were shrinking like quails, feeling full of grievances.

As soon as these words came out, everyone who was preparing to have fun again paused, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point again. This is why the old lady doesn't like this daughter-in-law, she is too strong-willed!
"Yes, yes, we all know that you are thinking about Changting all the time. Come to Changting and eat more. Don't let your wife down! Hehehe..."

As the old lady's kind voice sounded again, the welcoming banquet finally went on smoothly, and no one dared to say anything to spoil the fun.

Shu Yunfu's ears also became much quieter. Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhou no longer dared to make sarcastic remarks, for fear that she would say something that would ruin the atmosphere and implicate them.

She took a bite of a piece of beef, chewing it until her cheeks were puffed up. She looked at the two aunts beside her who were glaring at her angrily but could do nothing about her, and smiled like a little fox.

Naturally, the little fox who was enjoying her meal did not notice Gu Changting's shining eyes and Liu's gloomy eyes.

The slightly turbulent welcoming banquet ended just like that. Apart from showing that she was not easy to bully and filling her stomach, Shu Yunfu did not get the other news she wanted.

After the banquet, Gu Changheng didn't even look at her, just turned away with his sleeves swung, showing his disgust at all. Her nominal mother-in-law only told her to go back by herself and left. She really became a poor little thing who was not loved or valued.

Although she didn't care about their attitudes, their attitudes influenced the attitudes of others. However, as more people looked at the dishes they served, she not only saw ridicule in the eyes of Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhou, but also contempt in the eyes of the servants around her.

Thinking that the days in the mansion will not be easy in the future, Shu Yunfu sighed, hoping that there won’t be too many people who are blind.

The lifeless wind lantern in Qiutang's hand swayed in the wind, dazzling the eyes with its orange color. The bluestone slab under her feet was scorching hot during the day but icy cold at night. The bright moon shone on it, emitting a soft light.

Feeling the night breeze, walking on the bluestone slabs, and listening to the chirping of insects, I just felt comfortable and unknowingly slowed down my pace on the way back.

"Miss, I have to say that this Duke's Mansion is great. The scenery in this mansion is really beautiful."

Yuyan also noticed this, and seeing the young lady so leisurely, she also slowed down and carefully appreciated the scenery of the Duke's Mansion.

"Of course. I heard that every plant and tree in the mansion was built by a famous master. The Duke's wife loves flowers and plants, so there are many precious flowers and plants in this garden. It is even more beautiful in the spring when all the flowers are in full bloom."

Qiu Tang raised her chest proudly and introduced everything to the two of them in detail. Shu Yunfu did not interrupt her. The Duke's Mansion was so big that she really needed to familiarize herself with it.

"Shu's!"

Just as the few of them were strolling leisurely, Gu Changheng suddenly appeared in front of them, looking at them with a pair of gloomy eyes. It was obvious from his gloomy aura that no good was going to happen.

"Second Master!"

Qiu Tang was startled and quickly knelt down to salute.

"Get off!"

Without even moving his eyeballs, Gu Changheng scolded the man away with a cold face. Qiutang didn't dare to breathe a word, and ran away with the lantern in his hand, leaving Shu Yunfu with only a worried look.

(End of this chapter)