Tonight's meal counted as a reunion banquet, held in the large dining room.
Everyone who had been in the living room during the day was there, seated around an enormous rosewood dining table.
Song Yutang finally sorted out who these people were-
Of the two middle-aged couples in lavish clothes, one was naturally her husband's adoptive uncle, Jiang Qingyu, and his wife, Wu Caixia.
The other was his aunt and her husband.
Several young men and women sat nearby, all siblings and cousins of this generation.
Li Xiulan, her husband, and Song Yutang's yellow-haired brother-in-law, Jiang Boyan, had also changed into clean, presentable clothes, but they still looked very ill at ease among these people who lived in pampered luxury.
Wanting to look out for Song Yutang, the couple deliberately seated her between them.
Jiang Guoqiang eagerly ladled her a bowl of chicken soup. "Try this soup. I went to the market early this morning to pick out the chicken and simmered it all afternoon. I skimmed off all the fat for you, so it isn't greasy, and it won't make you gain weight."
Song Yutang graciously took a sip and smiled. "Thank you, Dad. It tastes wonderful."
Both husband and wife breathed a sigh of relief.
They had long heard that their daughter-in-law was the daughter of a wealthy family.
Ever since the marriage had been arranged, they had worried that, like the Jiang family, she would look down on their ordinary little family.
To their surprise, she was unexpectedly easy to get along with.
Not only had she shown no disdain for them from beginning to end, but she had also been unfailingly polite.
Deeply touched, Li Xiulan fished out a chicken drumstick for Song Yutang. "As long as you like it. We'll have your dad buy another tomorrow."
Warmth filled Song Yutang's heart.
Before she could take a bite of the drumstick, Chen Ruyin, seated across from her, suddenly covered her nose with a silk handkerchief. "Country chickens bought out in the countryside are far too dirty, and the smell is too strong. I'm more used to organic chickens raised on French farms. The meat is delicate, without any unpleasant odor."
Jiang Guoqiang and his wife immediately looked embarrassed.
There this old green tea went again.
Apparently, she hadn't had enough of a lesson earlier today.
Song Yutang's eyes turned cold. Just as she was about to show her a thing or two, a young woman beside her stood up. "I think it smells lovely. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle, but could you ladle me a bowl too?"
Song Yutang looked up and glanced at her.
She seemed to be Wen Jingyan, the wife of Jiang Qingyu's second son, Jiang Sinian-the Jiang family's third young master.
She did not seem to talk much.
Song Yutang had not expected her to step forward to defuse the situation.
"Of course, of course..." Jiang Guoqiang seemed quite warm toward her too, happily ladling out some soup and handing it over.
Wen Jingyan elegantly took a sip and thanked him with a smile. "It really is delicious. Thank you, Uncle."
Jiang Guoqiang waved a hand with an honest, good-natured air. "You're welcome, you're welcome. As long as you enjoy it."
Just as the atmosphere was about to ease, a young woman nearby suddenly began to weep, looking like pear blossoms drenched in rain. "I'm so envious of you, Jingyan. You have Sinian to cherish you, and Uncle to serve you chicken soup. Unlike me... I'm just a driver's daughter. I know I'm nothing but a burden alive. I might as well die..."
Song Yutang was a little puzzled. "Who is this?"
Li Xiulan explained quietly, "She's your second uncle's adopted daughter, Jiang Shiya. Her father used to be your second uncle's driver. Back then, both her parents died protecting him, so he adopted her."
Song Yutang had only just sorted out the relationships when Jiang Sinian abruptly stood and lashed out coldly at Wen Jingyan. "You know perfectly well that Shiya has depression and is sensitive, yet you deliberately provoked her. Apologize to Shiya, or don't blame me for getting nasty."
Jiang Qingyu and his wife also spoke up with frowns:
"Jingyan, you're in the wrong here."
"This is a reunion dinner, after all. How could you behave like this?"
Chen Ruyin elegantly set down her chopsticks and said mildly, "Jingyan, as her sister-in-law, you should be more tolerant. This is Muyan's wife's first day in the family. What sort of example are you setting for her by bullying your younger sister-in-law like this?"
Wen Jingyan's eyes widened in shock. "I... what am I supposed to apologize for? All I did was drink a bowl of soup."
Jiang Shiya cried even harder, her shoulders heaving. "Jingyan must not want me here... I knew it. Someone as lowly as me doesn't deserve to stay in the Jiang family... much less drink the chicken soup Uncle made... It's only right that Uncle and Aunt should hate someone like me..."
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became. Suddenly, she stood and rushed outside. "I should just die... All I do by staying alive is offend everyone's eyes..."
Terrified, Jiang Guoqiang and Li Xiulan hurriedly rose to hold her back. "Shiya, don't do this. I... I... we don't hate you..."
Jiang Shiya would not let it go, struggling as she sobbed and shouted, "Let go of me... I know you despise my lowly background too and look down on me... I miss my mom and dad... If they were still here, they'd never let me suffer like this..."
A question mark slowly appeared over Song Yutang's forehead. "?"
Chen Ruyin, Jiang Qingyu, and his wife seized the opportunity to darken their expressions and scold them over one another:
"Guoqiang, Xiulan, you're elders. You should act like it. Even if you don't understand proper manners, you can't favor one person and slight another."
"Poor Shiya has suffered enough already, and you still treat her like this."
"Honestly, our Jiang family has such vast wealth and holdings, yet you hoard even a bowl of chicken soup. You really are used to being miserly paupers..."
Under their onslaught, Jiang Guoqiang and Li Xiulan flushed scarlet, stammering without managing to get a word out.
Furious, the yellow-haired Jiang Boyan stepped in front of his parents and pushed Jiang Shiya away. "Enough! What does this have to do with my parents? My dad kindly made chicken soup for you, and somehow even that's a crime?"
As if she had no bones, Jiang Shiya collapsed onto the floor at the lightest push, weeping like pear blossoms drenched in rain. "Boo-hoo... Boyan... I know a young master like you looks down on someone as lowly as me... Boo-hoo... I'll go die right now, so I won't offend your eyes or Uncle's and Aunt's. Don't hit me..."
Heartbroken, Jiang Qingyu and his family scrambled to help her up while angrily accusing him:
"Jiang Boyan, how could you hit your older sister? You have no upbringing at all."
"Elder Brother, is it an adopted daughter you can't tolerate, or is it me? If you can't tolerate us, just say so. I'll take my mother and move out right now..."
Jiang Boyan's face flushed red under their scolding, while Jiang Guoqiang and Li Xiulan were even more at a loss.
Song Yutang understood in an instant.
Jiang Shiya did not have a persecution complex.
She was using depression as an excuse to deliberately make trouble.
Today was the new bride's first day in the family. Jiang Shiya took the lead, and the others seized on the pretext to deliberately make trouble for Jiang Guoqiang's family.
The whole family worked together so seamlessly that they must have done this sort of thing plenty of times.
Song Yutang had seen plenty of petty tricks like these in the imperial harem in her previous life.
She turned calmly toward the old man. "Grandpa, what do you think?"
The old man had something of a headache too. Rubbing his temples, he said, "Shiya is a pitiful child. She lost her parents at such a young age. After living under someone else's roof for so many years, it's only natural that she's sensitive. You two are her elders. Be more accommodating."
On the surface, he was talking about Jiang Shiya.
In truth, he was talking about Jiang Qingyu.
Of course he knew that ever since Guoqiang's family had been found and brought back, Qingyu and his wife had stirred up plenty of trouble.
But after all, this was a son he had raised for so many years, no different from his own flesh and blood.
And precisely because he was not his biological son, he was always anxious to prove his standing in this family, anxious to confirm how much he mattered in his father's heart.
So Old Master Jiang always kept one eye open and the other shut, giving him a pill of reassurance.
"Mm, understood."
Song Yutang naturally grasped his meaning too and nodded to show her understanding.
Then she suddenly stood, walked straight up to the still-wailing Jiang Shiya, and raised her hand to deliver two resounding slaps. "Who are you wailing in mourning for at this hour? If the neighbors heard you, they'd think the old master had ridden a crane to heaven."