I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 29 Turmoil
As far as Xie Fei knew, Marquis Anyuan had five sons.

The eldest son is the legitimate eldest son and works in the capital. He will inherit the title of marquis in the future. His wife is also a noble lady from a wealthy family, and the whole family has a prominent status.

The second son was a concubine's son. He had no talent and had no intention of pursuing a career in officialdom. He just made a living by taking care of the land and shops allocated to him by the Marquis's Mansion.

His wife is said to be the descendant of a butcher. She is generous and open-minded. Therefore, although the family is not rich and powerful, they live in harmony. She is the least noticeable among all the branches.

The third brother's family seemed to have some issues with the Marquis's Mansion, and there were few rumors outside.

The fourth one is Pei Yuan’s family, and now only the old lady and Pei Yuan are left.

The fifth wife's family works in other places and seldom returns to Beijing. At least the fifth wife was not present at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

After this calculation, the identities of the people at the table were basically figured out.

The sarcastic one is from the first room, the generous one is from the second room, and the one who didn't participate in the conversation from beginning to end and just stared blankly is from the third room.

As for the young women standing with Xiao Shirong, Xie Fei couldn't tell any of them apart.

While the elders were talking, the younger ones were not idle either, commenting on Xie Fei.

"The Xie family has a daughter who is famous in the capital. I heard that all the daughters of the Xie family are stunningly beautiful, but why is she..." So ordinary, even a little ugly?

"Oh, this shows that rumors cannot be trusted. If they are all really stunningly beautiful, why don't we see the most beautiful girl in the capital, the Xie family, being sought after by the sons of the noble families?"

"It's really pitiful that Yuan Ge'er was forced to marry such an ugly girl. If it were me, I would have kicked her out long ago!"

……

The young women were talking loudly, and Xiao Shirong listened with a smile on her red lips.

Xie Fei just knelt there until his old mother came hurriedly and whispered something in the old lady's ear.

The old lady's expression remained unchanged as she said to her sisters-in-law, "Mother-in-law is here. Let's go outside to greet her."

Everyone stood up, and the old lady said to Xie Fei, "You get up."

"Yes." Xie Fei then stood up.

Fortunately, she was careful and wore a knee brace before coming here, so after kneeling for so long, the injury on her knee did not get worse.

Everyone rushed to the front hall to greet the old lady. Xie Fei, supported by Fu Yu, slowly followed at the end of the team.

The convoy arrived at the main gate of Pei Mansion. Fu Yu stretched his head and looked for a long time, and finally saw the old lady's true face among the crowd.

The old lady had white hair and eyebrows and looked a little plump, but she looked kind. She kept smiling after getting off the carriage, and treated her daughter-in-law and grandchildren with a kind and gentle attitude like a bodhisattva.

"The old lady is highly praised in the capital. They say that although she was born in a humble family, she is far-sighted and has accompanied the old marquis in guarding the border for many years. She is as capable as any man. Not only that, she also manages the rear house in an orderly manner and treats the concubines' children equally." Fu Yu told Xie Fei what he had found out.

Xie Fei whispered, "Let's talk about it when we get back."

The crowd dispersed to both sides. Xie Fei and Fu Yu were at the back and saw the ladies walking through the middle.

The old woman, who was supported by the old lady and the main wife, had a head full of silver hair, wrinkles all over her face, and looked extremely old.

But he was in very good spirits. He greeted his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law cheerfully along the way, and asked everyone with great concern whether they were in good health.

Halfway through the walk, she stopped, looked around, and asked the old lady, "Miao Xuan, have you called over the concubine that was given to Brother Yuan in marriage?"

Madam Ji Miaoxuan replied, "The old lady is thinking about it, how dare the daughter-in-law not ask her to come?"

Then, Ji Miaoxuan glanced at him, and Xie Fei sighed inwardly, pretending to be terrified, and hurriedly walked out and knelt in front of the old lady. "My name is Xie, and I am honored to meet you, old lady. I hope you will live a long and healthy life, and remain forever beautiful and graceful."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed. After all, they are so old, how can they still talk about "eternal youth"?
Seeing Xie Fei, the old lady also smiled from ear to ear, and said repeatedly: "This girl is sweet-mouthed, smart, and looks... pretty, lovely? She has a dignified and gentle temperament. It can be seen that she is a girl who has been carefully trained by a wealthy family."

Behind him, Xiao Shirong snorted and looked at him with hatred.

The old lady called the old nanny over again, saying that she had prepared a gift for Xie Fei and asked Fu Yu to take it.

"Brother Yuan is my most beloved grandson. Now that you have entered the mansion, you must serve him well and give birth to children for him as soon as possible."

Xie Fei thanked him respectfully, and the matter was finally put to rest.

The family dinner was finally about to begin, and everyone took their seats one by one.

After all, Xie Fei was a concubine and was arranged to sit in the farthest corner. No one at the table knew her.

This is better. While eating, she was thinking about what delicious food to pack for Fu Yu and Yuan San to take back.

Su Lu was waiting on the side. Seeing that she was only focused on eating, she whispered to her, "Xie Xiao Niang, you should go and toast."

Xie Fei glanced into the main hall and continued eating. "The Madam hasn't even touched anything, why should I, a concubine, show off?"

Su Lu stopped talking and just served her the food.

Xie Fei said as he ate: "Miss Sulu is a first-class maid beside the old lady, but she is serving me. I am really shocked. Forgive my dullness, I will ask directly, what does this mean?"

Xie Fei was quite puzzled by what the old lady did.

If you say it was a warning, then he had a very trusted maid serve him. Even Xiao Shirong didn't get such treatment.

If he was planning to use her, he wouldn't have made her kneel in front of everyone for a long time.

Su Lu smiled gently and humbly, still only serving dishes and pouring wine, and said: "My dear little lady, I am just here to serve you as ordered. How dare I pry into the old lady's mind?"

Seeing that the woman's mouth was tighter than a clam shell, Xie Fei simply focused on eating.

While they were eating, Pei Yuan brought Miao over.

Miao was originally from a declining official family, and was sent by the old lady, so it was normal for Pei Yuan to bring her to see her.

It's just that Miao likes to show off. Not only does she dress extremely extravagantly, but she also relies on her favor to ignore Xiao Shirong and even refuses to bow and greet him, showing the arrogance of a wife.

Xiao Shirong was so angry that she wanted to smash the cup, but Pei Yuan did not stop her. He happily let Miao meet the distinguished ladies of each family.

Seeing the tense situation in the main hall, Xie Fei even felt a little better.

The people at the table were whispering and discussing.

"This Pei family is too unruly. They dared to let a concubine show off at the family banquet, overshadowing the main wife."

"Yes, look at that concubine, she's like a nouveau riche, covered in gold jewelry. Hairpins, bracelets, earrings, the glittering gold hurts my eyes, I wonder what her taste is."

……

The atmosphere in the main hall was just right. Pei Yuan bowed to the old lady, but Miao refused to kneel and just stood there in a daze.

Xiao Shirong had been secretly gathering strength, and when he saw the opportunity, he slammed the table and shouted angrily, "How dare you! You dare to act like that in front of the old lady? Do you think that everyone will tolerate you just because you are favored by the master?"

(End of this chapter)