The moment Song Qingshu entered the room, he saw two people supporting a silver-haired old matriarch as she came forward. He guessed that this was likely the "old ancestress" the maids had mentioned. Just as he was about to pay his respects, she swept him into her arms and began weeping, calling him her precious darling.
Song Qingshu's expression was quite a sight. He was a man in his twenties or thirties, yet someone was holding him like a child and lavishing affection on him.
Awkward though it was, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worrying over how to address her, but this saved him quite a bit of trouble.
"I've missed you so much." The silver-haired old lady took his hand, finding him more pleasing the longer she looked. Only after a while did she remember something and point to several people beside her. "Go and greet your aunt and your mother. And don't forget your sister-in-law."
Song Qingshu read the room and matched the people she meant by where she was looking. They were two typical middle-aged women. The greatest difference was that the aunt's eyes shifted uncertainly, clearly marking her as weak-willed. The Brocade-Robed Young Master's mother, on the other hand, carried herself with far more dignified elegance.
Song Qingshu carefully greeted the two women. When it came to the sister-in-law the old lady had mentioned, his eyes immediately lit up. A quiet, gentle young married woman sat there, her features graceful and beautiful. Yet though she was at the finest age of a woman's life, her eyes lacked their proper vitality, as though nothing in the world interested her.
"Greetings, Sister-in-law." Song Qingshu noticed that everyone else in the room wore brilliant reds and greens, their clothing extravagant and colorful, while she