叭哒漫画

Now he has become a bystander!

Although his face still bore a smile, Wei Minghong’s gaze was even gloomier than before.

Madam Yun, however, couldn’t bring herself to smile. Although both of them were her daughters, her relationship with them wasn’t good at all. The sight of their faces made her heart sink.

How should she treat her two daughters?

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The carriages from King Rui Residence and King Yu Residence almost arrived at the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence at the same time.

When the queens returned to the residence, the Loyal and Righteous Duke Residence opened its main gate and lined up to welcome them.

All the members of the Wei Family, except for the old duke and the old madam, were waiting at the gate.

They stood straight, focusing on Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan as they stepped down from the carriage.

Upon seeing the two, the expressions on the faces of the Wei Family members varied.

When the Bai Family, Wei Yifeng, Wei Yipeng, and the others saw Wei Qingwan, their faces were filled with love and joy, but they displayed disgust and resentment when they saw Wei Ruo.

The expressions on Wei Yichen and Wei Yilin were different from them.

Especially Wei Yilin, he couldn’t hide his emotions at all. The anticipation on his face was clearly directed at Wei Ruo, while his gaze towards Wei Qingwan was indifferent.

Madam Yun looked at her two daughters, both of whom were dressed gorgeously and held prestigious statuses, but this didn’t bring her any comfort at all; instead, she felt lost.

When Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan reached the front of the stairs, everyone came forward to pay their respects.

After Wei Ruo said they could dispense with the formalities, the Wei family welcomed the two into the residence.

Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan walked at the front with the Wei Family members following behind.

Technically Wei Ruo held a higher rank than Wei Qingwan, so Wei Qingwan should have consciously taken a few steps back. But she seemed to do it on purpose, choosing to walk side by side with Wei Ruo.

Wei Ruo didn’t pay attention to Wei Qingwan walking beside her and just kept striding forward.

“Sister, you seem to have a lot of free time lately.” Wei Qingwan’s voice rang out, cold and full of mockery.

“Aren’t you just as idle? Has King Yu favored you?” Wei Ruo counter-questioned.

Wei Ruo was not very informed about Wei Qingwan’s situation in the King Yu Residence and did not make any special effort to inquire.

However, she knew that King Yu was currently occupied in his power struggle with King Jing, especially after King Jing had nabbed Sheng Tong; King Yu and the Qi Family were probably so worried that they couldn’t even eat, how could he find the mood to care about the women in the inner quarters?

Therefore, Wei Ruo deduced that Wei Qingwan must be feeling neglected in the King Yu Residence.

Hit to her sore spot by Wei Ruo’s words, Wei Qingwan’s face turned a tad pale, her teeth clenched and she maintained her haughty demeanor fitting for King Yu’s concubine: “Sister, rest assured, King Yu is in the prime of his life, unlike King Rui who is frail. Even as a concubine, I’m sure to receive more favors than you.”

“You shouldn’t speak so certainly. My prince may be frail, but the favors he can bestow upon me may not be less you know.” Wei Ruo responded with a teasing smile, her tone smacking of insinuations.

Upon hearing these words, Lin Fang and Xiumei, who accompanied Wei Ruo, almost couldn’t suppress their expressions.

The young miss really dares to say it! It would be great if this were true! The master might really want it to be true!

Thereafter, Wei Ruo ignored Wei Qingwan and entered the main hall after passing through the corridor.

The old duke and the old madam were seated high up in the hall.

Old man Wei showed a gratified smile when he saw his two granddaughters, and immediately requested them to be seated.

Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan, one to the left and one to the right, sat in the positions closest to the head seat.

Following Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan, the younger members of the Wei family entered in single file, taking their places on both sides of the hall according to seniority.

Then, the people of Wei family began to offer longevity blessings to the old man one after another, presenting longevity gifts while conveying their blessings.

The order of blessings started with the eldest, beginning with the couple Wei Minghong from the eldest branch of the family, then to the generation of sons, and finally, the grandchildren.

It continued until all the grandchildren were done, and then it was time for Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan.

Wei Ruo prepared some porcelain and tea for old man Wei, all of which were tribute items that ordinary people wouldn’t have access to.

Whether the tea tasted good was another matter; what mattered was that they were tribute items, which pleased old man Wei.

Wei Ruo hadn’t really prepared anything special. Given that the old couple had given her many gifts and prepared her dowry before, she felt it necessary to prepare a longevity gift and just picked out some things she didn’t need from the rewards she had received.

The gifts were of course valuable, but they hardly required any thought.

Wei Qingwan watched Wei Ruo present her gifts, and her hand tightened in her sleeve, then she cautiously stepped forward to present the longevity cake she had made herself.

Upon seeing this, the expressions of the Wei family members were slightly surprised.

However, they quickly gathered their thoughts. Old man Wei laughed and said, “Queen Yu has really put in a lot of effort, this longevity cake must have taken a lot of thought.”

The old lady of the Wei family also agreed, “Indeed, a product of the queen’s own hands is worth thousands of gold pieces.”

Straight after, Old man Wei spoke a few words with his people and then asked his three daughters-in-law to take the women to the backyard.

The old lady of the Wei family was already in her advanced years and couldn’t participate at such a time, so she let her personal maid assist her back to Shou’an Hall.

Upon entering the backyard, Wei Ruo found that the other female relatives were all gathered around Wei Qingwan, asking about her life at King Yu Residence.

These women included the ladies of Bai Family, Wei Yifeng’s wife, Wei Yipeng’s newlywed wife, several young ladies from the Wei family clan, and Wei Minghong’s two concubines.

It seemed that Wei Minghong, realizing that his wife Mrs. Mo wasn’t articulate and always held him back, had specifically dispatched his two eloquent concubines to accompany them.

It appeared that he was truly desperate now, unashamedly bringing his concubines to the gathering and completely disregarding Mrs. Mo’s dignity.

Mrs. Yun simply walked indifferently on one side, with no one particularly close to her.

There was a stark contrast between the treatment of Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan. It seemed the strict instruction of old man Wei was not only useful, but it even created a disparity in favor of Wei Qingwan.

Their attitude towards Wei Qingwan, the concubine, was much warmer than towards Wei Ruo, the official wife.

On the contrary, Mrs. Mo came to Wei Ruo’s side and whispered, “Queen Rui, you don’t need to care about them. They’re all confused, failing to recognize the hierarchy.”

Wei Ruo looked at Mrs. Mo’s calm face and smiled lightly, “I don’t care about these things.”

She could understand why all these people were so keen on Wei Qingwan today. It wasn’t solely because Wei Qingwan was a concubine in King Yu’s residence; they didn’t really need to give her a cold shoulder for that.

But since she didn’t get along well with Wei Qingwan, if they wanted to please Wei Qingwan, they naturally had to show some indifference towards Wei Ruo, which could clearly convey their goodwill to Wei Qingwan.

Mrs. Mo nodded slightly, then her eyebrows furrowed as if she still had something to say to Wei Ruo.

Wei Ruo, sensing her unusual behavior, intentionally quickened her steps, putting some distance between her and Wei Qingwan and the others behind her.

“You can speak now, they won’t hear you.” Wei Ruo said.

Mrs. Mo was taken aback, surprise flashing in her eyes, then she whispered, “Queen Rui, be careful with Bai Family today.”