The night passed without incident.
The next day, the sun hung high in a clear, cloudless sky.
Gong Zhijing had slept well the previous night, only waking twice to nurse, tasks she could complete without even opening her eyes.
After a good rest, she felt refreshed and invigorated.
Ling Leyou had been exceptionally cooperative the night before, not crying or fussing. As the confinement nanny had said, once the baby passed the hundred-day mark, they would be a bit older and gradually easier to care for.
Separated for a night, mother and daughter were exceptionally affectionate upon reuniting.
Ling Leyou could already lift her little neck with effort. She nuzzled enthusiastically against Gong Zhijing's face, overjoyed.
"Oh, my dear baby, I love you so much."
Gong Zhijing’s maternal love overflowed, and she couldn’t resist kissing Ling Leyou’s face several times, making her giggle with delight.
After a brief period of affection, she began to feed the baby. Once the child was full, the family of three headed to the front courtyard.
Today was Ling Leyou's hundredth-day celebration. Although they hadn't planned a grand event, a banquet was prepared for the family to celebrate.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the front courtyard, they heard lively chatter from within. Clearly, many people had arrived.
This puzzled Gong Zhijing. Hadn’t they agreed not to invite guests?
With her mind full of questions, she could only enter with her daughter in her arms and Ling Yu by her side. The living room was already quite full.
Aside from the members of the second branch of the family, she had met most of the others.
The aunt from the second branch, Su Jinhua, exclaimed with unprecedented enthusiasm, "Oh, Yucheng and his wife are here."
Thanks to her, all eyes in the room turned to Gong Zhijing.
Gong Zhijing felt a prickle on her scalp. She wasn't good at socializing, let alone in a gathering filled with distant relatives.
"Good girl, come to Mama. Mama will introduce you to some elders."
Zhu Yunfei’s face was wreathed in smiles, her eyes twinkling with genuine happiness.
"This must be cousin-in-law! Yucheng has good taste."
At this moment, a woman sitting beside her spoke with a smile.
Gong Zhijing looked at her and saw a resemblance to Zhu Yunfei in her features.
Hearing her address, Gong Zhijing immediately figured out her identity – the divorced cousin!
This was because Ling Yucheng only had one cousin.
Gong Zhijing graciously smiled and nodded in greeting, taking the opportunity to size her up.
She saw the woman had long, wavy, milk-tea colored hair, delicate and beautiful features, and very light makeup. However, her attire was quite bold.
A short, navel-baring white t-shirt hinted at her good figure, paired with black denim shorts.
On her feet were black high heels. She was dressed as a total hottie, appearing to be in her early twenties, but Gong Zhijing knew she was over thirty.
Zhu Yunfei smiled and introduced, "This is your cousin."
"Hello, cousin, I'm Gong Zhijing."
"Haha, sister-in-law, hello. I'm Zhu Liyue," Zhu Liyue said with a cheerful laugh, clearly a straightforward person.
"Cousin."
Ling Yucheng offered a simple greeting and then sat down beside Gong Zhijing.
As everyone was still looking, Zhu Yunfei introduced them one by one: "That's Uncle and Auntie, and the two elder cousins..."
As Zhu Yunfei introduced them, Gong Zhijing followed suit and addressed them. It turned out all the guests present were from her mother's side of the family.
After greeting her uncle and aunt, Gong Zhijing presented four red envelopes, two of which were from her maternal grandparents.
They were too old to travel, so they couldn't attend, but they had sent their well wishes.
After she received them, Ling Leyou received hers. Together, mother and daughter collected eight red envelopes.
Then came auspicious lockets and gold bracelets, and most extravagantly, a diamond necklace worth over a hundred million.
As gifts from elders were not to be refused, Gong Zhijing could only accept them with some reluctance.
However, looking at the four children brought by the two older cousins, she felt a pang of difficulty. She hadn't prepared any red envelopes for them!
Just then, something was placed into her hand. She glanced sideways and saw it was Ling Yucheng.
He had prepared red envelopes, exactly four, no more, no less.
Gong Zhijing quickly took them and smiled at the children, "Cousin-in-law has prepared red envelopes for you. Ziqing, Zihan, Ziyuan, Ziyu, do you want them!"
Children, who doesn't love red envelopes?
They eagerly rushed forward to Gong Zhijing and snatched them up, but after receiving their envelopes, they politely said thank you.
With children present, the atmosphere was guaranteed to be lively.
The little Ling Leyou was passed from one person to another, and everyone adored her.
She behaved herself admirably, not crying or fussing, looking incredibly cute and well-behaved.
Because the Zhu family members were kind, spoke with consideration, and were very well-mannered,
Gong Zhijing quickly became familiar with them.
The family was harmonious, while the second branch found themselves unable to interject, feeling somewhat excluded.
Gong Zhijing didn't know why they had come, especially after they had been told in the past not to come to their home for meals.
So, she suspected they might have come uninvited.
This time, only the second uncle, second aunt, and cousin Ling Yuhong had shown up.
Gong Zhijing suddenly remembered something: after this cousin divorced, the second aunt had expressed a desire for him to marry the mother’s niece.
So, was this…?
As she thought this, she saw Su Jinhua smiling at Zhu Yunfei and saying, "Sister-in-law, your niece is about the same age as my Yuhong.
Now that fate has brought them together, why not let the young people get to know each other a little…"
Her intention was quite clear: she wanted the two of them to get acquainted.
Zhu Yunfei was in a good mood today, having met her family, and didn't want to be soured. However, upon hearing Su Jinhua's words, her expression darkened.
"Today is Leyou's hundredth-day celebration. I don't wish to discuss other matters. We can talk about other things later."
Her words left some room for maneuver, but the meaning was clear: a rejection. Anyone with sense wouldn't bring it up again.
Moreover, she was already somewhat displeased by the second branch's uninvited arrival.
"A hundredth-day celebration is a joyous occasion. Adding more joy is also good," Su Jinhua frowned slightly but had no intention of giving up.
Although the Zhu family couldn't compare to the Four Great Families, their influence was not to be underestimated. If Ling Yuhong could marry Zhu family's only daughter.
He would gain significant benefits in both the Ling and Zhu families.
Zhu Yunfei, as his aunt, would certainly help her niece, and the Zhu family wouldn't let their only daughter live poorly.
Hearing this, Zhu Yunfei's expression grew even more displeased. How could she not see Su Jinhua's intentions?
Let alone whether Zhu Liyue liked Ling Yuhong, even if she did, Zhu Yunfei wouldn't agree to such a marriage.
Jiang Shiyou's fate was still fresh in her memory!
Immediately, she said coldly, "I said, we are not discussing other matters today…"
Before she could finish, Zhu Liyue interrupted, "Aunt, don't be angry. Today is Leyou's big day!"
Then, she turned to Su Jinhua, smiling sweetly, "Excuse me, Madam, I don't like your son. Please stop talking. Thank you."