The husband who forced her to marry her couldn't keep her warm, and she didn't want him to

In the west room, the wives of each household and several girls were all dressed in their best clothes, sitting together and it was very lively.

After Gu Jinchu paid his respects to Old Madam Jiang who was sitting on the Arhat bed, the sisters-in-law greeted each other, and the younger generations also bowed and greeted Gu Jinchu.

For a moment, the room was filled with the innocent voices of children, as clear and sweet as silver bells.

Madam Jiang waved and asked Gu Jinchu to come over and sit next to her. She smiled and said, "Yongle will be here soon."

Gu Jinchu smiled and replied, "No wonder mother is laughing so happily."

Wang held her eldest grandson in her arms, with a gentle smile between her eyebrows, and said to Madam Jiang: "The eldest princess treats you sincerely, which is also the honor and favor of the emperor to Concubine Shu."

"Come to think of it, when my fifth brother got married last time, I didn't have the chance to have a deep conversation with the eldest princess, and mother hasn't seen the eldest princess for a long time." Liu said from the side.

When Wang heard her words, she raised her eyes and looked in Liu's direction, and the smile in her eyes faded a little.

Madam Jiang seemed to remember something, and whispered to Gu Jinchu beside her, "Xiaowu has two older sisters. Your eldest sister married into the Kang family in Nanzhili, and is now following your eldest brother-in-law back to her ancestral home to mourn for her father."

"I didn't come to the wedding because I was in mourning. I can start mourning on New Year's Eve. I don't know if I can return to Shengjing smoothly and become an official in the capital."

The eldest sister that Old Madam Jiang mentioned was the eldest daughter of the Duke. Although she was a concubine's daughter, she was able to marry into the Kang family in Nanzhili thanks to the matchmaking by Old Madam Jiang's family.

Gu Jinchu had only met this elder sister once in his previous life. After his elder sister-in-law finished mourning, the new emperor ascended the throne. He failed to become an official in Beijing and returned to Nanzhili.

She smiled and said, "Then our family will be reunited on New Year's Eve."

At this time, a servant lifted the door curtain and reported: "Madam, the eldest princess has arrived in person and has passed through the courtyard."

Old Madam Jiang stood up. Even though she knew the eldest princess would come today, she was still visibly happy.

The sunlight shines through the carved window lattices and spills into the main hall of Minghui Hall.

The velvet curtain embroidered with scattered flowers at the main door was lifted, and a cold wind blew in, but the women who were dressed in their best did not feel cold.

Gu Jinchu took the cloak from Xuezhu's hand, which she had just asked the maid to bring.

She smiled and put the cloak on Madam Jiang, and said softly, "Mother, you are facing the wind here, you must not catch a cold."

Old Madam Jiang took her hand with a smile and looked towards the gate of the courtyard with some eagerness.

Not long after, a small oil cart with a green curtain slowly stopped, and the eunuchs and palace maids on both sides came over.

The curtain of the carriage opened, and the eldest princess walked out of the carriage holding Cuiguo's hand.

She walked in wearing a white fur cape. The sunlight shone on her, and the decorations on the edge of the cape sparkled with colorful light.

Every step she took was with an elegant and calm demeanor, revealing her full charm.

Jiang Miaohan and Jiang Yiyun stared at the eldest princess with wide eyes. The posture that Nanny Yuan described became concrete in their minds, and they suddenly felt discouraged.

This is not something that can be learned.

Zhao Xuan showed a proper smile on her face, and quickened her pace as she stepped onto the stone steps of the veranda. She walked up to Old Madam Jiang and said with a smile, "Grandma, Sister Xuan is here to see you."

Old Madam Jiang's eyes were slightly red. She held her granddaughter's hand and said "OK" several times.

Wang was covered in jewels and the smile lines on her face made the dimples on her cheeks look extremely friendly. She took two steps forward to greet him:

"Knowing that the princess is coming today, the old lady has been smiling from ear to ear since early morning." Holding Chen Ge'er in her arms, she coaxed him to greet people: "Chen Ge'er, this is auntie, hurry up and call someone..."

Zhao Xuan nodded slightly, with a dignified look: "In the blink of an eye, Brother Chen has grown up so big."

Bai Zhi, who was standing by, saw her master looking at her, so she walked to the door and let down the curtain. The cold air was instantly blocked, but it could not stop the enthusiasm of the female relatives.

Zhao Xuan seldom came back to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and she could hardly distinguish the names of her several cousins.

I remember the last time I saw them, the youngest one was still timidly hiding behind her mother, but today she looks much more cheerful.

After greeting each other, Zhao Xuan asked Cuiguo to distribute the gifts to each room, and ordered someone to put the cakes she brought on plates.

Meng received a golden hairpin and said with a flattering smile, "Thanks to the eldest princess, this is the first time I have seen such an exquisite golden hairpin. It's a pity that I don't have a daughter, otherwise it would have been passed down from generation to generation."

Zhao Xuan was sitting next to Madam Jiang. When she heard this, she looked up at her and smiled calmly, "Isn't Sister Yun also the daughter of my third aunt? Aren't you afraid of hurting my third uncle and Sister Yun's feelings by saying this?"

Of the five branches of the Jiang family, except for Gu Jinchu who had just married into the family, the other four branches only had Zhang. She was a legitimate wife but she only gave birth to a daughter.

Meng was used to bullying Zhang, but she didn't expect the princess to seize on her linguistic flaws.

He explained anxiously, "I just feel bad for Sister Yun..."

Zhao Xuan glanced at her, then looked at Gu Jinchu and said, "Luckily you told the shopkeeper, otherwise I wouldn't be able to buy this cake today."

Pulling Madam Jiang like a spoiled child, showing the tenderness of a little girl:

"You are so lucky, old man. The owner of the pastry shop is right next to you. You can eat whenever you want. I am just borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha."

Old Madam Jiang smiled lovingly and handed the egg tart to her granddaughter.

"Eat this, your cousins ​​all said it's delicious." He pointed at the puff and said, "Sister Zhu said this is sweet and delicious too..."

The old lady was showing off a treasure, and she didn't forget to say, "This egg yolk pastry suits my taste best, but it's a pity that your aunt-in-law doesn't let me eat more."

The expression on his face was one of pride and satisfaction, and there was no sign of complaint in his words at all.

Wang looked at the pastries on the plate and only today found out that the Jinsu Pastry Bureau, which had been doing extremely good business since its opening and far surpassed Xixiangzhai, was opened by Gu Jinchu.

It's really hidden deep enough.

Meng's eyes flickered. It was the first day she ate the pastries brought by her fifth brother's wife, so she wanted to get the recipe from her. However, she was interrupted by her several times.

Jiang Miaozhu, who was beside Liu, heard what Old Madam Jiang said, and ran to her and said seriously, "Grandma, Fifth Aunt is doing this for your own good."

Madam Jiang held Jiang Miaozhu and sat her on her lap. She lowered her head and asked her with a smile, "Why does your fifth aunt not let you eat delicious food just for my own good?"

Jiang Miaozhu's black and white eyes were full of seriousness. "Fifth Aunt also warned me that although these cakes are delicious, they cannot be eaten in excess. If you damage your teeth, you won't be able to eat these good things even if you want to in the future."

As if giving himself confidence and faith, he nodded and said, "Yes! So in order to satisfy our appetite, we should protect our teeth well."

The innocent look made all the women in the room laugh. Zhang said softly, "I'll take Fifth Brother's words to heart. I'll take the initiative to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth before going to bed every night."

He looked at Gu Jinchu and smiled faintly, not affected by Meng's words at all.

Liu smiled and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. "Even if you say nice things, you don't eat any less."

Zhu Jieer took the egg tart from her grandmother and held it in her two small hands, her eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled, "Mother, this is from my grandmother, a gift from an elder cannot be refused~"

After saying that, he jumped off his grandmother, knelt down, saluted his grandmother and the eldest princess, and walked back to his mother obediently.

Seeing this, Mrs. Meng rolled her eyes without leaving a trace. It's true that children are like the person they are raised by, they are all good at sweet talk.

At this time, another servant came over to report, "Madam, the old lady of the Zheng family and the wife of my in-laws are here."

Gu Jinchu stood up upon hearing this, retracted her steps and looked up at Madam Jiang. Her bright and fair face could not hide her joy, and she smiled and asked, "Mother, I want to go and greet my grandmother and mother."

Madam Jiang raised her hand, and Gu Jinchu hurried forward to support her. She said, "We can't let our in-laws think we are neglecting them."

Unlike when the eldest princess came, Old Madam Jiang personally took the daughters-in-law out to greet her.

No one noticed that the dignified and graceful eldest princess was following the other female relatives with a red face and some discomfort.