Mrs. Jiang found herself in a quandary. Here, her husband held a lowly status, and hence, she usually refrained from speaking much in such gatherings. Moreover, she contemplated forging marital ties with the He family. But Mrs. He's targeted criticism of Chen Afu compelled her to speak up. Now, her fate was intertwined with Chen Afu's—they would share in glory or in defeat.
She reluctantly said, "Fu'er is my daughter, and our family, the Chens, indeed come from humble origins—we have little to boast about." She then smiled at Mrs. Fu and said, "But without bragging, I can say that my daughter Fu'er is always well-behaved and sensible. She treats the child of her husband's late wife as if she were her own. Not only is her husband satisfied with my daughter, even my son-in-law's grandfather too commends Fu'er as a virtuous daughter-in-law, hard to come by."