Chapter 17) Family Banquet

As she lifted the silk cloth, all her excitement went into the water.

"Tsk tsk. To think, the second Madam of the Gu family will send such clothes and accessories for the eldest daughter on her return after a decade. I've never thought, she would be so stingy even after receiving such a valuable gift as a high grade yellow jade from you, miss." Yang xumei sneered after seeing the chip quality clothes and out of date accessories Madam Yun had sent for Gu Yanyan.

"It's fine Xumei. That high grade yellow jade was not ours, anyway." Gu Yanyan chuckled after thinking about the owner of the jade.

"It was not even the one tenth of the original jade we had taken from her, you should not care about the jade anymore. And about these clothes and accessories... we can let others see what my good 'mother' had given me on the welcome banquet. Then it won't be us who would be embarrassed instead them... who wants to embarrass us." Gu Yanyan took the clothes in her hand and clenched her fingers around it. Her eyes turned cold and evil and an evil smirk appeared at her lips when she turned to Yang Xumei and asked, "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Yang Xumei pointed a finger towards and repeated her question and then giggled.

"What I think is...." Yang Xumei giggled her brows and a playful smile appeared at her face.

Three days later...

At family banquet.

To celebrate Gu Yanyan's return, Madam Yun had prepared a welcome feast for her from her own pocket.

All members of the Gu family were present. Even Gu Shandong was present there too.

After seeing his handsome and talented eleven years old son, Gu Tianhao's ever so stern face also had a subtle pride and smile in his eyes.

Gu Shandong had only turned eleven years old this year but was already ahead of his peers in his school and because Gu Shanjing had always hidden his talent, Gu Shandong's charisma shined even more.

So since young Gu Tianhao had started grooming him as his only successor and so far Gu Shandong had also made his father satisfied and proud.

It's just that... everything would have been better if there would be no comparison, but as Gu Yanyan had past Yanyan's memories, from what she knows from 'her' memories, when Gu Shandong would participate in imperial examination for first time, he would be eliminated in his provincial exams and when he would partitions for second time, he would clear the exam and even would be in top fifty but Gu Tianhao's second son Gu Shanjing whom he had never cared about would top the exam I his first imperial examination, making an record for the entire Gu Clan.

It would Gu Tianhao a good reputation in the capital city but only he would feel that he had been slapped in his face by his own second son who had kept him in the dark all these years and he would even start to resent his own son.

Such a narrow minded man...

Gu Yanyan twitched her lips at the distant memories at entered in to the hall accepting everyone's attention because of how and what she had dressed in.

A pale yellow dress from head to toe, looking like mustard flower with an old and ugly Hairpin holding her hairs high.

And the makeup Yang Xumei had put on her, it only made Gu Yanyan look even more weak and miserable.

Looking at her gloomy and sickly sight, everyone's mood turned dark.

Amd it turned even darker when Gu Yanyan went to Old Madam Gu to greet her as before she kneel and greet, her body swayed and she almost went to ground if not for Yang Xumei's timely rescue.

"Cough.. sorry grandmother... Cough... for not being ... Cough.. able to.. cough-"

"Enough." Gu Yanyan was still trying to complete her sentence between her fake coughs when old Madam Gu waved her hand and Interrupted her.

"What happened to you? And why are you wearing such plain clothes at family banquet?" Old Madam Gu was old and liked to see people in red and green the most as they were bright and auspicious to see. Looking at Gu Yanyan's pale and plain clothes made old Madam Gu frown amd even a little irritated.

Just as she said that, Gu Yanran, third miss of the Gu family stepped forward and greeted old Madam Gu.

"Grandmother." Gu Yanran called out to old Madam Gu. Wearing lotus green skirt with red colour shirt and Lotus green jacket. With her cherry red lips with white pearly teeth when she smiled, it made her look like the pure lotus in spring pond.

"Good good child." Looking at her third granddaughter's bright and smily face in contrast to her pale and sickly eldest granddaughter, it was clear, whom old Madam Gu would appreciate the more.

After smiling at her third grand daughter, old Madam Gu turned to Gu Yanyan and asked with frown.

"Why are you still silent? Why don't you answer?"

But even after that Gu Yanyan didn't say anything and just covered her face and coughed slowly.

Seeing Old Madam Gu's face going darker, Yang Xumei plopped to her knees and cried.

"It's not young miss' fault old Madam. May be young miss couldn't adapt the capital's water and air, the night she returned she fell ill. After eating dinner, she felt dizziness and numbness all over her body and in the night she even caught cold and fever. She was worried about disturbing you, old Madam and second Madam so she didn't let us informed other's in the Residence. Please don't blame her for not being and appearing in front of you all in such state. Actually she was just worried that you'll not have a good impression of hers if she didn't appeared in her own welcome feast and let you wait for her for nothing." Yang Xumei sobbed loudly, letting everyone know about Gu Yanyan's illness and the symptoms of her illness.