After Transmigration, Her Whole Family Are Villains

Chapter 314

The wind was strong today.

Even wearing thick clothes didn't feel warm enough.

The wind was like hands, prying open gaps in clothing and blowing forcefully inside.

Although many families' children had gone off to the battlefield,

The capital was still bustling.

After all, the New Year was approaching.

To show favor to the Meng family,

The Emperor summoned the Meng family to the palace again.

Those called for an audience today were Jiang Yu, Jiang Yu's two children, Meng Qingshe, and Madam Meng.

In fact, the Emperor was a bit curious.

He wondered what Jiang Yu looked like.

The rumors about the young Madam Meng in the capital were no less than those about Princess Huiyun.

She was also Princess Huiyun's granddaughter, but had married early.

There was no morning court today.

Eunuch Yan's leg condition had improved somewhat, so he also came.

The Emperor saw that Wenxin's face looked a bit haggard, and reproached him: "I told you to take the elixir with me, but you had to mind the difference in status. Why do we need to make such clear distinctions between us?"

Eunuch Yan smiled and said: "Those elixirs were carefully concocted for Your Majesty. If they knew they were to be given to this lowly servant as well, I fear those people might not put their heart into it. Besides, my condition is an old one - a few days of rest and I'll be much better."

"Today we'll be receiving the young Madam Meng. You haven't seen her in a long time, have you?"

"Indeed. When this servant left, she was still a naive young girl. Now I can't imagine she's already a mother of two children. I wonder if she's changed."

The Emperor noticed Wenxin's lips curled in a smile.

He became even more curious about what his grand-niece was like,

To make Wenxin look so happy just thinking about her.

On this day,

The Meng family was to enter the palace.

Since Meng Shaoxia had gone off to war, Aunt Yin stayed behind to look after the eldest daughter.

Aunt Yin had become very zen lately.

After being surprised so many times, she was no longer surprised.

Today she was to accompany the eldest daughter into the palace, knowing this trip would likely be uneventful.

The Emperor wanted to show favor, so at this time it would certainly be to receive rewards.

There wouldn't be any ill-intentioned people causing trouble either.

The Meng Qingshe couple was quite calm.

Meng Qingshe often went to the palace and was used to it.

Although Madam Meng didn't go often, she was also from a prominent family. Her elders were all leaders in the Ministry of Justice - a proper second-generation official's daughter, quite dashing and unafraid.

Jiang Yu had now transformed, directly becoming the Emperor's third generation descendant.

However, she grew up in the countryside. By the time her family's circumstances improved, it was already much later.

A person's personality, shaped by their early growth environment, is almost impossible to change.

If you're dating and your partner asks you to change your personality, know that it can't be changed. You can only pretend temporarily out of love for them. If the love isn't enduring enough, the pretense becomes very tiring.

Or if you want the other person to change their personality, it can't be done either... Forcing a square peg into a round hole will make your foot bleed and hurt. At that point, it's better to consider that you may not be suitable for each other.

Jiang Yu had simply married into the Meng family. The Mengs were of military style - although well-off, they weren't picky.

If she had married into a family of civil officials, like the Liu family, with all their pomp and circumstance and various rules, it would have tortured Jiang Yu to death, driving her directly into depression. In ancient times, women were often sent to nunneries, with depression and madness being a major reason.

When Aunt Yin taught the eldest daughter, she wasn't teaching her to change her personality. Changing a person's personality is like landscaping a potted plant - twisting and fixing changes, grinding out scars one by one to form a fixed landscape. It's a cruel aesthetics.

Aunt Yin taught the eldest daughter to broaden her knowledge, still letting her live according to her preferences. She simply increased her knowledge, cultivated her strengths, let her be confidently radiant, playing to her strengths and avoiding her weaknesses.

If we're unfamiliar with etiquette and can't be elegant, we do what we're good at. If I'm good at cooking, good at tasting food, good at livening up the atmosphere - all of these are fine. If I have a childlike heart, if I'm naive and unaffected, I won't put on airs.

In short, Jiang Yu lived very smoothly in the Meng family.

In the capital, she hadn't yet unfolded the map of the capital.

But that was unavoidable in the future.

At first, because the children were young, she could avoid going out to socialize.

But as the young Madam Meng, once Meng Shaoxia became the head of the household, Jiang Yu would inevitably have to go out.

Going out to socialize sounds complicated, but it's actually simple.

It's just dealing with people and catering to their interests.

Entering the palace, Jiang Yu was still a bit nervous.

"Just go in for a turn and come back, treat it like going out to play. Don't worry," said Aunt Yin.

In the past, they might have worried about Jiang Yu being intimidated or something, but now she had the added identity of Princess Huiyun's granddaughter.

With the cautionary tale of the recently retired Minister Lu, people shouldn't provoke her.

Today, the one in charge of receiving them was the Fifth Prince's mother, Consort Zhang.

The Fifth Prince had always been fond of Buddhism, muttering about it all day. The Emperor didn't like this - he hated anything related to Buddhism.

However, the Fifth Prince being this way was also quite safe in some aspects.

The Emperor didn't need to suspect him of anything.

The Fifth Prince's mother also lived very peacefully in the palace, not implicated by her son.

Consort Zhang had weathered many storms in her life. Now in her later years, she no longer needed to compete for favor.

She was like a senior employee in a company, directly receiving dividends without having to work hard. Working hard would only offend people. She was older now and didn't want to be the CEO (Empress), so she just relaxed.

Occasionally helping the Emperor with receptions, she was quite at ease.

The reception was just a brief meeting, since there were women present.

Consort Zhang looked at Madam Meng - wow, living the good life, with a round face and not a wrinkle. Lord Meng must have good skills.

Tsk tsk~~~

And she's already a grandmother.

Then looking at the young Madam Meng, rumors indeed couldn't compare to seeing in person.

What talk of rivaling Daji or bringing ruin to the country, of peerless beauty - it wasn't like that at all.

Consort Zhang didn't like Princess Huiyun, probably the typical discord between sisters-in-law. Even royal sisters-in-law were still sisters-in-law.

Princess Huiyun was too flamboyant. When Consort Zhang was young, she was also flamboyant, so they clashed and naturally disliked each other.

As for the young Madam Meng, her appearance could be said to somewhat resemble Princess Huiyun if you looked for it, but her personality seemed completely opposite.

Knowing Consort Zhang would be receiving them, Jiang Yu had prepared a gift for her.

Jewelry and such were out of the question - anything costly was only for extremely close relations, like a future sister-in-law.

For outsiders, it was naturally better to do something creative that could save money while still maintaining face.

Consort Zhang received a pillow, one to aid sleep, filled with various beans and grains.

This was extremely low-cost, but actually very good for noble people.

Noble people who lived too refined lives actually slept better using somewhat coarser things, things closer to nature.

Because they often used various incenses and such, those things were too precious and actually had additives.

But you'd only know if the pillow worked after trying it.

However, when Consort Zhang learned that Jiang Yu had also given this to Princess Huiyun, she was very pleased.

It meant her status was about the same as Princess Huiyun's.

Looking at the two children again, she really adored them.

The twins didn't look alike at all, easily distinguishable at a glance.

But the two little boys holding hands and dressed so festively looked very nice.

Older women just loved children and lively scenes.

Consort Zhang's son, the Fifth Prince, liked Buddhist studies. Although he was married, he didn't have many offspring.

Who would complain about having too many children?

More children meant more blessings.

In the past, everyone had mocked the Meng family.

Now looking at Jiang Yu's appearance,

She was just the type of girl the older generation liked - one who would bear many children, with a plump figure and a likeable face.

As soon as Jiang Yu opened her mouth,

Consort Zhang understood that she was very straightforward.

Consort Zhang had just said she envied the twins.

Jiang Yu immediately replied: "Consort, do you still want to have children? Should I send you a set of clothes the two children have worn? They say children attract children."

Madam Meng: ...

Aunt Yin: ...

Consort Zhang covered her mouth and laughed.

She laughed for quite a while before stopping.

What children could she have at her age?

How long had it been since the Emperor had summoned the harem consorts?

If she could get pregnant, it would scare people to death.

But it had been a long time since she'd seen such a naive girl.

Consort Zhang still found it very interesting.

"That would be wonderful. I thank you on behalf of my daughter-in-law. When she has children, I'll have her come thank you personally. She has no shortage of treasures," Consort Zhang said with a smile.

Jiang Yu nodded happily.

Clothes worn by children would be a waste to throw away. Giving them away - she now realized these noble people didn't wear others' clothes.

Actually, clothes worn by other children were better for children to wear. Previously worn clothes had softer fabric, and had also been tested, so there wouldn't be any strange things. On the contrary, they could help children grow up healthy.

Some children raised too preciously, using all new things, were constantly sick without knowing why.

Seeing a traditional Chinese doctor, taking the prescribed medicine, and wearing some old clothes would cure them.

If so, giving away clothes wasn't wasteful. Whether someone had children or not was a matter of probability - someone would eventually have children, so it was a win-win.

Jiang Yu felt very happy thinking this way.

She agreed very seriously.

"So, should I deliver the clothes to the palace or to your daughter-in-law? Which daughter-in-law, and what's the address?"

At this moment, Consort Zhang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

She had never seen such an earnest child before.

When told to deliver, she really intended to do so.

It wasn't just a polite gesture.

She even asked for the address. Although... well, it was still quite amusing.

...