Chapter 459| Chapter 460| Chapter 461
Chapter 459: Wang Chunmei Asks Sheng Wanyan To Go To The Wang Family To Apologize
Gu Jinfang looked down at her tiny hands, a sudden warmth flooding his chest. He was so moved he genuinely wanted to cry.
How could a ten-year-old child possibly dislike premium milk candy? Yet his toddler cousin had willingly suppressed her own sweet tooth, hoarding her favorite treats just to gift them to him.
I don’t even care about having a younger brother anymore, Gu Jinfang thought fiercely. A little sister is infinitely better! I wonder if Mom can just deliver the babies she’s carrying one by one, making sure they’re all girls?
“Thank you, Yiyi,” he smiled warmly.
Yiyi shook her head as if it were a trivial matter. Clasping her tiny hands behind her back, she puffed out her chest with a look of profound accomplishment and began to wander leisurely through the living room, imitating the slow, regal stroll of an old patriarch.
While Gu Jinfang was deeply touched by the gift, he still had to endure the rest of his horse stance. After all, it was part of his mandated daily conditioning.
Sitting on the couch, Gu Tingxiao was the only one who saw right through his daughter’s tactical maneuver. She hadn’t waddled over strictly out of affection; she had deliberately staged the sweet gift exchange to seamlessly exit her own awkward, wobbly horse stance without getting scolded by her great-grandfather.
Sure enough, the little strategist vanished from the living room a second later, humming a merry tune as she climbed the stairs to find Gu Jingjing.
Meanwhile, the Wang family household was in an absolute uproar.
The Wang family’s precious young grandson had returned home bruised black and blue, wailing non-stop. However, the Wang family was entirely unreasonable regarding the circumstances. The boy had attempted to violently snatch another child’s candy—a thorough beating was the natural, expected consequence of such behavior.
Furthermore, every single child living in the military compound was a cherished treasure of their respective families. Yet the moment the Wang boy stepped onto their turf, he was immediately and collectively rejected by the entire neighborhood. Ultimately, the incident merely proved that the Wang family possessed absolutely no ability to properly discipline their children.
“This is completely damned!” Mother Wang shrieked, pacing the living room. “It’s bad enough that the Gu family oppresses us, but now the entire compound thinks they can openly bully us!”
“The third son of the Gu family has only just returned to the capital, and he’s already parading around with such arrogant cruelty! He clearly has zero respect for the Wang lineage!”
“We need to summon Chunmei back home tomorrow morning!” Mother Wang declared. “As the boy’s aunt, she must demand justice for him! We are going to force that Sheng Wanyan woman to march into our estate and deliver a formal apology!”
Mother Wang was practically spitting venom. In her eyes, it was humiliating enough that the two old Gu patriarchs constantly looked down on the Wang family, but for a junior daughter-in-law to act with such violent arrogance was intolerable! She wanted to see exactly where the Gu family’s priorities lay: would they side with the third branch’s wife—who could only produce a useless daughter—or would they stand by Wang Chunmei, who had successfully secured the Gu lineage with a male heir, Gu Jinmin?
Without wasting another day, Mother Wang tracked down Wang Chunmei, relayed a highly distorted version of the department store incident, and commanded her to march into the Gu estate to force Sheng Wanyan into issuing a formal apology to the Wang family.
When Wang Chunmei heard that her beloved sister-in-law and nephew had been violently attacked by Sheng Wanyan, she was utterly enraged. She immediately stormed back to the Gu estate. She simply couldn’t believe that the old patriarch and matriarch wouldn’t be furious with Sheng Wanyan for causing such a catastrophic public scene! Now was the perfect opportunity to expose Sheng Wanyan’s vicious, disgusting true face to the elders!
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Wang Chunmei had promised before leaving. “I’m heading back to the compound right now. I will make sure Sheng Wanyan bows her head and apologizes to my sister-in-law and nephew.”
Hearing her daughter’s confidence, Mother Wang felt completely vindicated. Her daughter had produced a son, Jinmin. Anyone in the Gu family with half a brain would know exactly which side to choose.
Wang Chunmei marched into the Gu estate, dragging Gu Jinmin behind her. The entire extended family was currently gathered around the dining table for the evening meal, including her husband, Gu Tinghao.
“What are you doing here?” Gu Tinghao demanded, his brow furrowing deeply the moment she stepped into the room. Hadn’t Grandpa Gu explicitly forbidden her from setting foot in the compound unless it was a major holiday?
Ignoring the tension, Gu Jinmin zeroed in on the lavish spread of food. Without a word of greeting, he wriggled out of his mother’s grip, ran to the table, and immediately started grabbing at the dishes. Seeing her grandson acting so feral, Mother Gu sighed and fetched a clean set of bowls and chopsticks for him; regardless of his terrible manners, she couldn’t let a child of the Gu lineage go hungry.
“Grandpa. Grandma. Mom. Dad,” Wang Chunmei began, addressing the elders tightly. “I returned tonight to demand that Third Sister-in-law apologize to my eldest sister-in-law and my nephew.”
She pointed an accusing finger at Sheng Wanyan. “Third Sister-in-law has completely crossed the line! A few days ago, she brutally assaulted my sister-in-law and my nephew at the Overseas Chinese Shopping Center. Using an adult’s physical strength to bully a tiny child is an absolute disgrace! So what if the children had a minor scuffle? There is absolutely no justification for an adult to intervene so violently! My poor little nephew is still at home crying in pain!”
With every self-righteous word that spilled from Wang Chunmei’s lips, Gu Tinghao’s face turned an increasingly dangerous shade of black.
You actually have the audacity to march into this house and demand that the Gu family apologize to the Wang family?! he thought, completely appalled by her suicidal ignorance.
“Have you quite finished?” Mother Gu asked coldly. She slammed her chopsticks onto the table with a sharp, heavy crack, fixing Wang Chunmei with an icy glare.
“Mom…” Wang Chunmei faltered, genuinely bewildered by Mother Gu’s furious reaction. In her mind, she held the absolute moral high ground. It was the third sister-in-law who had viciously bullied a child.
“You expect Wanyan to apologize to your nephew?” Mother Gu sneered. “Could your nephew even bear the weight of such an apology? Furthermore, it was under my direct supervision that Wanyan retaliated. By your twisted logic, should I also march over to the Wang estate and prostrate myself in apology?”
“What?!” Wang Chunmei gasped, staring at Mother Gu in absolute shock. What did she mean, ‘under her direct supervision’?
Her own mother had sworn up and down that Sheng Wanyan had acted alone… How was Mother Gu suddenly involved?
“No…” Wang Chunmei stammered, her confidence fracturing.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?!” Mother Gu erupted, her voice echoing through the dining room. “Your vicious little nephew assaulted a child of the Gu family so severely that her hands were nearly shredded! Was I simply supposed to stand there and prevent my daughter-in-law from protecting her own child?!”
With a dark, furious expression, Mother Gu reached over, grabbed Yiyi’s heavily bandaged little hands, and held them up for everyone to see.
Wang Chunmei stared at the thick white gauze, completely blindsided. Her mother had explicitly claimed it was just a “normal childhood scuffle,” and that the third sister-in-law had senselessly rushed forward to protect a useless money-loser…
“Mom… I… I’m not blaming Third Sister-in-law,” Wang Chunmei backpedaled frantically, her voice trembling. “But the boy is still so young. It really isn’t appropriate for an adult to resort to bullying a child.”
“I gave her explicit permission to bully him!” Mother Gu fired back. “Do you have a problem with that?! You want an apology, do you? Fine! I will march over to the Wang estate right this second and deliver a formal apology myself!”
Mother Gu stood up sharply, grabbing Wang Chunmei by the arm and dragging her toward the front door. She wanted to see if the Wang family possessed the sheer nerve to accept an apology from the reigning matriarch of the Gu lineage!
“Mom! Stop!” Wang Chunmei screamed, digging her heels in. She had never imagined that Mother Gu would defend Sheng Wanyan so fiercely, but she was absolutely terrified of letting her mother-in-law cross the Wang threshold to apologize. If the matriarch of the Gu family actually delivered an apology, the Gu patriarchs would annihilate the Wang lineage in retaliation, and her own family would blame her for inciting the disaster!
“Mom, please!! I… I had no idea you were present during the incident!”
“Hmph! It seems your biological mother and your precious sister-in-law don’t care about your survival at all, throwing you to the wolves like this,” Mother Gu sneered, releasing her arm in disgust.
“Since your Wang family is demanding an apology, the timing is perfect! Because the Gu family is officially demanding an explanation! Your nephew violently assaulted my granddaughter, and your sister-in-law actually stood by and cheered him on! Your family is truly magnificent! Go back to your maternal home right now and deliver my message: If the Wang family does not provide the Gu family with a satisfactory explanation, this matter will not end! The Gu family is perfectly willing to sever all ties with such disgraceful in-laws!”
Wang Chunmei’s legs turned to jelly, and she nearly collapsed onto the floorboards. What did Mother Gu mean by severing ties? Was she threatening to annul her marriage and strip her of her status as a Gu daughter-in-law?
In a sheer panic, Wang Chunmei cast a desperate look toward the head of the table. But Grandpa and Grandma Gu seemed entirely deaf to the chaos; they were calmly, tenderly feeding pieces of fish to that wretched, money-losing girl, Yiyi! Father Gu didn’t even glance in her direction; in his eyes, whatever Mother Gu decreed was absolute law. Even Eldest Brother Gu, Eldest Sister-in-law, and her own husband remained completely silent, offering her zero support!
She genuinely couldn’t comprehend it. Why did the entire Gu family constantly mobilize such terrifying power over a useless, money-losing girl?! First it was Gu Jingjing, and now it was Gu Jinsheng from the third branch! She truly couldn’t fathom what was so valuable about these female descendants that the Gu patriarchs felt compelled to shield them like national treasures. Was it truly just to uphold a progressive, modern reputation of gender equality?
Having married into the Gu family years ago, Wang Chunmei still possessed zero understanding of the lineage’s core values. She was completely blind to the fundamental truth: the Gu family didn’t mobilize to protect their political face; they mobilized to protect their bloodline!
How could a legendary eagle, possessing both unassailable honor and terrifying power, fail to fiercely protect its own eaglets?! The children were the living continuation of the Gu legacy!
Furthermore, the women of the Gu lineage were all formidable heroines in their own right. Before her retirement, Grandma Gu had served as a high-ranking Deputy Minister within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! Mother Gu currently operated as a Director within the elite Department of Finance! The second daughter, Gu Tingting, was a decorated officer in the Air Force! Eldest Sister-in-law held a prominent leadership position within the Education Bureau! And Sheng Wanyan was an elite, multilingual translator and a brilliant pharmaceutical researcher!
Chapter 460: The Wang Family Comes to Apologize
Even Wang Chunmei herself held the position of financial director at a major factory!
Which of them was inferior to a man?
Mother Gu truly could not fathom how Wang Chunmei could remain so utterly blind to this reality after all these years. Had a dog actually eaten her brains?
“Get out of here! And take this message back to your Wang family!”
Mother Gu threw her out of the house, slamming the front door shut in one smooth, practiced motion. How such a foolish woman—someone easily manipulated as a puppet by the Wang family—had ever become the head of a factory’s finance department was a mystery to everyone.
Inside, little Gu Jinmin was devouring his food with great relish, paying absolutely no mind to his mother’s sudden eviction.
Yiyi happily enjoyed being fed by her family, though she could clearly sense the lingering malice in her little cousin’s eyes. When Gu Jinmin glared viciously at the chicken drumstick resting in her bowl, she didn’t hesitate to stare right back at him, her chest puffed out.
“Great-Grandmother~ I want to eat the chicken leg.”
“Of course, of course, open wide.”
Grandma Gu gently brought the food to her mouth. Yiyi took a big, deliberate bite, turning a thoroughly provocative gaze toward Gu Jinmin. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you either.
Gu Jinmin shrunk back, glancing nervously at the two imposing elders flanking her. Caught under Grandpa Gu’s naturally fierce, commanding countenance, the boy suddenly lost all his courage and didn’t dare utter a sound.
He couldn’t understand why this little girl was so universally adored. Even the most respected great-grandfather and great-grandmother in the entire household doted on her like a national treasure! My mother was right, he thought bitterly. This girl really did come here to steal everything away from me!
Once the meal concluded, Sheng Wanyan took Yiyi upstairs to give her a bath, while Gu Jinmin quietly slipped away to follow Gu Tinghao back to their quarters.
Downstairs, Eldest Brother Gu and Gu Tingxiao automatically set to clearing the dining table and washing the dishes. The estate’s domestic cook had already departed for her Lunar New Year holiday, and neither man could bear to let his wife handle the cleanup. They didn’t even dare let Mother Gu lift a finger; after all, Mother Gu and Sheng Wanyan were already thoroughly exhausted from preparing three lavish meals a day. If Father Gu caught them slacking while the women worked, he would be the first to skin them alive.
By this point, Gu Tingxiao had strictly ceased giving Yiyi her baths, unless Sheng Wanyan was completely pressed for time. His objective was clear: he wanted his daughter to understand proper physical boundaries and recognize the healthy distinction between men and women as she grew.
After the bath, Sheng Wanyan gently set to changing her daughter’s bandages. Throughout the process, Yiyi kept letting out exaggerated, pitiful whimpers. To put it bluntly, she was simply milking the injury so her mother would continue to coddle her.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, baby. Look, Mommy is blowing the sting away.”
“Mommy~ Hug~”
Yiyi extended her arms wide. Sheng Wanyan pulled her soft, fluffy body into a tender embrace, rocking her gently as she murmured sweet comforts.
“Yiyi, listen to Mommy,” she said softly, smoothing the girl’s hair. “In the future, you must only engage in fights within your own physical capabilities. If you realize you can’t win, you must run away immediately, okay?”
“Run?”
It was the very first time Yiyi had ever heard an elder suggest that fleeing was an acceptable tactical option. In her limited experience, she assumed that if you couldn’t win a fight, you simply had to stay and take the defeat.
“Yes, if you can’t overpower them, you run. Absolutely nothing in this world is more important than your personal safety.”
“But Yiyi doesn’t want to be a cowardly deserter~” the toddler pouted.
“Running away from a losing battle isn’t desertion, sweetheart; it simply means removing yourself from a dangerous situation. Once you’re safe, you can find an adult to assist you. You can seek out the public security officers, or look for the soldiers. Girls naturally face a physical disadvantage in raw strength, so you must learn to protect yourself intelligently. Of the legendary thirty-six stratagems, executing a strategic retreat is considered the absolute finest. Mommy needs you to always prioritize your own survival.”
Yiyi nodded earnestly, processing her mother’s wisdom. She firmly engraved those vital words into her young mind: If you can’t beat them, run away.
The following morning, the Wang family unexpectedly marched into the compound to deliver a formal apology. They had been entirely blindsided to learn that Mother Gu had been physically present at the department store, a crucial detail Old Mrs. Wang had deliberately omitted when she originally rallied her daughter.
Furthermore, the Wang elders hadn’t anticipated that the Gu family would stand so unflinchingly behind Sheng Wanyan, showing absolutely zero regard for the prestige of their grandson, Gu Jinmin. Even though the Wangs were legal in-laws through the fourth branch, the Gu patriarchs clearly didn’t give a damn about the connection when their own blood was harmed.
“Old Master, Old Madame.”
“Mother-in-law…”
Mother Wang walked through the front doors, flanked by her eldest daughter-in-law and her bruised young grandson. She carefully placed a lavish array of apology gifts onto the coffee table, turning a deeply embarrassed, tentative look toward Mother Gu.
“My, what a rare and unexpected crowd!” Mother Gu drawled, her tone dripping with mock hospitality. “And here I thought the Wang family maintained a grand tradition of never taking accountability for their actions.”
Hearing the sharp jab, Mother Wang could only offer an incredibly awkward, strained smile. The yawning chasm between the Wang family’s social standing and the Gu family’s elite political leverage was undeniable; she possessed absolutely no right to argue with the matriarch.
“Please, sit down,” Mother Gu added evenly. Since the guests had formally crossed her threshold, she couldn’t very well leave them standing in the foyer like common beggars.
“This lovely child must be my mother-in-law’s little grandbaby, correct?” Mother Wang noted, her eyes shifting to Yiyi, who was currently nestled comfortably on Grandpa Gu’s lap.
She was internally stunned to see exactly how deeply favored this little girl was within the ancestral estate. Sitting directly on the fierce old general’s lap was an honor few ever achieved, yet Mr. Gu carried himself with his usual domineering, relaxed composure. He hadn’t pushed his great-granddaughter away at all, which proved the toddler had thoroughly captured the old man’s heart.
Yiyi clutched her warm bottle with her gauze-wrapped hands, her large eyes fixed in a steady, unblinking stare on the visitors. The moment she recognized the Wang daughter-in-law and the young bully standing beside her, she immediately puckered her lips into a massive pout, looking up at her great-grandfather. Grandpa Gu gently patted her fluffy head, silently commanding her to remain steady; after all, the perpetrators were currently guests under their roof.
“Yes, look at my poor granddaughter’s hands,” Mother Gu sighed heavily, her voice laced with deliberate drama. “The damage is so extensive she can’t even hold her own chopsticks to eat her meals.”
Her cutting remark left Mother Wang drowning in a fresh wave of mortification. What could they possibly say in defense? The physical evidence of their guilt was literally wrapped in white cotton right before their eyes.
“This is Grandma Wang’s first time meeting our precious Yiyi, so I’ve brought along a special blessing for you,” Mother Wang said quickly. She was a deeply shrewd woman—otherwise, she would have never been able to train Wang Chunmei to systematically plunder the Gu household for the Wang family’s benefit. She understood exactly where her bread was buttered, and she knew they couldn’t afford to alienate the Gu lineage permanently.
She reached into her coat, retrieved a thick red envelope, and extended it toward the sofa. Yiyi didn’t immediately reach out her hand; instead, she turned her eyes toward Mother Gu, silently seeking authorization.
“Go ahead and accept it, sweetheart,” Mother Gu permitted smoothly.
Only after her grandmother spoke did Yiyi extend her uninjured fingers to claim the envelope, delivering her manners with a perfect, milky tone. “Thank you, Grandma Wang.”
Mother Wang forced a polite smile, though she was internally burning with a profound sense of humiliation. The little girl was behaving with such flawless grace and exquisite discipline that it was completely impossible to find a single flaw in her conduct. Her immaculate manners only served to highlight how boorish and abusive her own grandson was, making it glaringly obvious to everyone in the room that the Wang family was utterly incompetent at raising their descendants.
Watching Yiyi execute her manners so flawlessly, the corners of Mother Gu’s mouth curled upward in deep satisfaction. Today, she was going to ensure the Wang family clearly observed the absolute difference in quality between the two bloodlines! Furthermore, when a hostile party explicitly offered a mandatory greeting gift, there was absolutely no reason to decline. This was standard tribute; to reject free capital was the height of foolishness!
“You are entirely too polite, mother-in-law,” Mother Gu noted smoothly. “Though I must admit, the spectacular conduct displayed by my mother-in-law and sister-in-law at the department store was certainly a first for me…”
Before she could even finish the sentence, the Wang daughter-in-law’s face flushed a violent crimson. She lowered her head tightly, far too ashamed to look anyone in the eye.
“Ah, well, let us not dwell excessively on the historical record,” Mother Gu continued, a cold amusement in her eyes. “Children will naturally scuffle when they play. Why, just yesterday, didn’t your young grandson get into a spectacular brawl with the children out in our compound clearing?”
Mother Gu was masterfully steering the knife, her casual words striking directly at the raw nerves of the Wang mother and daughter-in-law. The two women could only offer strained, robotic smiles.
With a deeply pained expression, the Wang daughter-in-law reached into her bag to extract a second red envelope. This specific tribute had been prepared explicitly by her husband; it contained a sum equivalent to his entire monthly salary, sacrificed solely to appease the wrath of the Gu branch. Her heart bled at the financial loss, but she understood with absolute clarity that withholding the tribute was not an option.
Mother Wang shot her eldest daughter-in-law a dark, commanding glare, lightly nudging her foot. Taking a deep, shaky breath, the daughter-in-law rose from her chair and stepped forward.
“Auntie, I am deeply, profoundly sorry,” she whispered, addressing Sheng Wanyan. “The chaotic events of our first meeting were entirely due to my own oversight. I am here today to offer my formal apology to precious Yiyi. This is merely a small token of my regret; I humbly pray our sweet Yiyi won’t look down on it.”
Yiyi accepted the second red envelope. Gauging the substantial thickness of the packet between her fingers, she lowered her chin, a sudden urge to giggle bubbling up in her chest.
However, she firmly recalled her grandmother’s strict tactical brief from that morning: Under no circumstances are you permitted to show them your joy; you must maintain a perfectly aggrieved, sorrowful expression throughout the meeting.
“Thank you, Auntie~” she murmured pitifully, her tiny voice sounding like a perfectly wronged angel.
Chapter 461: The Acceptance Letter Arrives
Yiyi offered a very polite “thank you” as she took the envelope. Across from her, the eldest sister-in-law of the Wang family curled her lips, her heart bleeding. A simple thank-you from a toddler had just cost her husband’s entire monthly salary.
“Zhenglian, go apologize to your little sister,” the mother commanded, turning her sharp gaze toward her youngest son.
Wang Zhenglian had suffered nothing but misery over the past few days. Before they left the house, his father had practically pulled his ear off while lecturing him, warning the boy that he had to apologize sincerely today or face the consequences when he got home.
But having been a spoiled bully since he was a baby, the boy couldn’t handle this kind of humiliation, and the apology stuck in his throat. More than anything, he loathed the idea of bowing his head to a girl. Yet the moment he looked up and caught the terrifying, unyielding glare of Old Master Gu, his bravado vanished, and tears of pure fright welled in his eyes.
“S-sorry,” he stammered.
Yiyi listened to the stuttered words, her expression completely serious. “I accept your apology,” she stated evenly. “But I won’t forgive you.”
Yiyi operated by her own strict principles. Even at her tender age, she was incredibly sensitive to the emotions of those around her, and she could tell her cousin didn’t mean a single word of his apology. Her mother had explicitly told her: If you don’t want to forgive someone, you don’t have to. You can always choose whether or not to accept an apology. In their household, she was allowed to make her own decisions.
Still, she knew these people were her fourth aunt’s maternal relatives, and as a child, she shouldn’t draw out the conflict indefinitely. Besides, she had already successfully collected the red envelopes, so there was no need to make things difficult for her grandparents.
But the moment her words hit the air, the young Wang boy lost his temper entirely. He glared at Yiyi, his face flushing with rage. He had already gone through the humiliation of apologizing; how dare this little girl refuse to forgive him! If it weren’t for the terrifying presence of the Gu patriarchs, he would have never opened his mouth in the first place.
“Why won’t you forgive me!” Wang Zhenglian roared, his voice rising sharply.
Mother Wang immediately lunged forward, grabbing his arm and yanking him back before he could cause an even greater disaster in front of the old general. “Zhenglian! Watch your tongue when speaking to your sister!”
Yiyi quickly turned her head away as if utterly terrified by the outburst, her small frame trembling as she shrank deep into Grandpa Gu’s protective embrace.
Sheng Wanyan: “……”
Wow, she thought. The theatrical commitment from this child is truly magnificent.
She snidely cut her eyes toward Gu Tingxiao. Her husband was carefully staring out the window, completely refusing to meet her gaze. Sheng Wanyan let out a silent snort; it was blindingly obvious that her daughter’s dramatic acting routine had been meticulously coached by this man.
“I am terribly embarrassed, mother-in-law,” Mother Wang offered quickly, trying to smooth over the tension. “The boy is still entirely ignorant.”
“Oh? If I remember correctly, your grandson is already five years old, isn’t he?” Mother Gu challenged smoothly.
“He’ll turn six after the Spring Festival.”
“Ah. Our Yiyi is only two and a half.”
Mother Wang’s face turned a deep, awkward shade of red under Mother Gu’s pointed comparison. Recognizing that the atmosphere had turned thoroughly hostile, she wanted nothing more than to flee, but having delivered the cash tribute, she couldn’t simply bolt out the door. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on Gu Jingjing sitting quietly on the side sofa.
“Jingjing, Grandma hasn’t seen you in such a long time,” Mother Wang called out, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. “Come over here and let me look at you. Why hasn’t this child greeted her elders yet?”
Hearing her maternal grandmother call her name, Gu Jingjing flinched, a visible tremor running through her shoulders. But since the woman was her legal grandmother, she couldn’t simply ignore her; a child raised in the compound could never display blatant rudeness to her elders, regardless of personal dislike.
With a reluctant step, Gu Jingjing walked over. Mother Wang forced a bright smile, pulling the girl into a long, hushed conversation, feigning a deep, maternal affection for her granddaughter.
“My mother-in-law is truly a paragon of thoughtfulness, taking such exquisite care of our Jingjing,” Mother Gu interrupted, her tone dropping into a dangerously sharp cadence. “Though, I suppose if her own biological mother possessed even a fraction of that exact baseline decency, I wouldn’t have to work myself to the bone raising the girl.”
The sweet smile on Mother Wang’s face froze instantly.
“Haha… my mother-in-law certainly loves to joke,” Mother Wang stammered, frantically trying to withdraw from the topic. She knew that if she allowed the conversation to continue down this avenue, Mother Gu would systematically dismantle the entire Wang family’s moral character.
“I assure you, I am not joking in the slightest,” Mother Gu replied, her smile entirely cold.
Trapped in a tight rhetorical vice, Mother Wang looked around the room, desperate for an escape route. Her eyes settled on Sheng Wanyan. “Is this my mother-in-law’s third daughter-in-law? Where is she currently employed?”
She deliberately directed the inquiry toward Sheng Wanyan, having overheard rumors that the third son’s wife was nothing more than an unemployed housewife who stayed home to manage the children.
“Oh, her standing isn’t anything grand,” Mother Gu chimed in, beating her daughter-in-law to the punch. “She simply remains at the estate to look after the children and tend to us elders. It’s an exhausting routine—certainly not as leisurely as your daughter’s career, considering how Wang Chunmei routinely abandons Jinmin to run around the city.”
Mother Wang let out a forced chuckle. Aha, so she truly doesn’t hold a professional post!
“I did hear a rumor that your third daughter-in-law sat for the reinstated college entrance examinations,” Mother Wang noted, a smug satisfaction creeping into her eyes as she finally found a metric to reclaim her family’s prestige. In her mind, how could a simple northern housewife possibly achieve an academic standing that could rival her own career-driven daughter? Even if Wang Chunmei’s exam scores had been dismal, she still retained a secure administrative position as a factory’s finance director. “How did her scores turn out?”
“Has the official acceptance letter been delivered yet?” the Wang daughter-in-law added, joining the offensive.
Mother Gu’s jaw tightened, her teeth practically itching with irritation. While the internal household was fully aware of Sheng Wanyan’s historic provincial score, the physical admission documents hadn’t cleared the regional mail system yet, so they had chosen to keep the details quiet. It was clear these women had marched into her home looking to score a petty social victory.
“Not yet,” Mother Gu stated flatly.
“Oh, really?” Mother Wang drawled, her tone dripping with mock pity. “That’s quite unusual. Several families down the avenue have already celebrated their children’s acceptances over the past few days. If this one’s letter has stalled for so long… well, perhaps the results simply weren’t favorable.”
Mother Gu was so thoroughly suppressed by the insolence that her temper threatened to boil over. Just as she opened her mouth to viciously expose Wang Chunmei’s horrific exam failure, the sharp, rhythmic jingle of a bicycle bell echoed from the front courtyard.
“Is this the residence of Comrade Sheng Wanyan?” a loud voice called out from the gates.
Assuming it was merely a routine update or a letter from her northern in-laws, Mother Gu quickly smoothed down her skirt and hurried out to the porch. “Yes, it is!”
“I have a formal university admission letter for delivery,” the young postal courier announced, checking his ledger. “Is Comrade Sheng Wanyan present to receive it?”
Mother Gu froze on the threshold, her mind momentarily blanking out at the words.
“Comrade? Is the candidate at home?” the courier prompted again.
Coming to her senses, Mother Gu’s face erupted into a magnificent, triumphant grin. She spun on her heel and charged back into the living room, her voice echoing through the corridors. “Yes, yes! She is! Hold on a fraction of a second! Wanyan! Hurry out here this instant!”
Sheng Wanyan had already tracked the commotion from the hallway and stepped out onto the porch.
“Excuse me, are you Comrade Sheng Wanyan?” the courier verified.
“I am.”
The postal worker offered a respectful nod, carefully cross-referencing her identification details to ensure absolute alignment before handing over the pen for her signature. Given the monumental historical weight of the document, he refused to take any risks. Just a moment ago at the outer gates, a woman claiming to be the candidate’s sister-in-law had tried to intercept him and claim the packet on her behalf, but he wasn’t a fool; an administrative document of this caliber had to be delivered straight to the recipient’s hands.
The entire household swarmed onto the porch, their eyes completely locked onto the crisp, official envelope held between her fingers. Even the young courier lingered out of sheer curiosity, eager to see which elite academy had claimed the province’s top scholar.
Sheng Wanyan cleanly slit the seal, pulling out the thick parchment document. The moment her eyes scanned the formal crimson letterhead, a profound sense of satisfaction washed over her.
“Well? Which institution is it?”
Grandpa Gu was the most visibly anxious member of the gathering, having anchored his immense pride to her academic success. He pressed forward, his eyes burning with anticipation.
Sheng Wanyan reviewed the text one final time before turning the document around. Standing directly flanking her, Mother Gu and Gu Tingxiao caught sight of the large, embossed characters simultaneously.
“Peking University!” Mother Gu shrieked, her voice cracking with pure, ecstatic delight. Her daughter-in-law had won a seat at the absolute premier university of the nation!
“Is that the truth?!” Grandpa Gu bellowed, his boots slamming against the floorboards as he lunged forward. “Let me see that deed this instant!”
Sheng Wanyan passed the parchment into the old general’s trembling hands. The moment his eyes locked onto the legendary characters of Peking University, a massive, uninhibited roar of laughter boomed from his chest, echoing across the entire military compound.
“Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!” he shouted, his face flushing with immense pride. “Hahahahaha! Exceptional work, my girl!”
“Control yourself before you tear the parchment to pieces!” Grandma Gu scolded, sharply slapping his arm to break his manic grip on the document. “If you want to celebrate, go ahead and shout, but stop squeezing my hand so hard!”
