"Dad, Uncle Gu isn’t like that. He won’t feel embarrassed at all. In fact, he’ll probably feel incredibly proud because his daughter is so amazing..."

"..."

Watching his son ramble on, Mr. Li was speechless, a stifling frustration welling up inside him.

"Dad, you should be out entertaining the guests with Uncle Gu. Our Family Head is in the private room next door with my brother-in-law’s brother-in-law. Everyone in there is a major VIP..."

"You’re a grown man, how can you still be spouting such reckless nonsense?" Mr. Li quickly cut his son off.

’How did I end up with such a tactless son?!’

The Li family had some standing in the Imperial City, but they were a side branch of the main family and could only be considered mid-tier at best.

Compared to the true titans of the city, they were nothing.

The man they answered to was the Family Head of the Li family’s direct line—his grandfather’s cousin. Though elderly, he was the pillar of the Li family.

’And his son dared to secretly gossip about their Family Head. If anyone overheard, it would be courting death!’

"Hehe, I’m just happy for you! Haven’t you always wanted to climb the social ladder? The people my brother-in-law’s brother-in-law knows are even more powerful than our own Family Head..."

"Let’s go. Go entertain the guests." Seeing his son getting more and more out of line, Mr. Li quickly pushed him out the door.

He was fuming internally. ’It’s true that I want to climb the social ladder, but having this little rascal say it out loud is just mortifying.’

’Sigh! What a troublesome kid.’

"My dear in-law, where did you disappear to? I was just looking for you!" Mr. Gu said, grabbing both of Mr. Li’s hands the moment he saw him emerge.

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Li knew what his in-law wanted to talk about, but he forced himself to remain composed.

"Just now, Jiaojiao threw your second brother-in-law and his family out. His daughter is a real piece of work.

To think she’d try to cause trouble at Jingtai and Lanlan’s wedding—the sheer audacity!

Good thing our Jiaojiao is so capable, haha... She doesn’t tolerate any nonsense. My dear in-law, please don’t be angry, okay?"

"..."

Mr. Li was dumbfounded. His blockhead son had actually been right.

His in-law’s focus wasn’t on his brother-in-law at all; it was all about bragging about how incredible his daughter was.

When Mr. Gu saw that his in-law was silent, he thought he was upset and quickly tried to find a lighter topic.

"My dear in-law, please don’t blame your second brother-in-law. It’s just his bad luck to have such a worthless daughter.

If our Jiaojiao hadn’t shown up in time, he was about to start crying in public. It was quite a pitiful sight."

"Haha... Jiaojiao is truly amazing. My second brother-in-law certainly is a bit unlucky." Mr. Li could only force a laugh.

’As long as I’m not the one getting blamed, anything is fine. I can praise Jiaojiao to the heavens if I have to.’

"My daughter is just that amazing. She pulled our whole family out of the abyss and even helped her second brother find a way to make money..."

Once Mr. Gu started talking about his daughter, he could go on for three days and three nights without stopping.

"Congratulations, Professor Gu! Congratulations, Director Li! What are you two in-laws discussing so cheerfully?" a guest asked, coming over to greet them.

"The joy is mutual! Please, everyone, find a seat. The banquet is about to begin," Mr. Gu said, beaming as he greeted the guests.

The two in-laws continued to move through the crowd, greeting people. Hearing everyone comment on what a good relationship they had, Mr. Li’s earlier gloom was swept away.

The crowd was full of praise for his son-in-law and their families, so he completely forgot about his brother-in-law’s family.

"Well, neither of the in-laws is a simple character. One is a high-level intellectual, and the other is from the Li family."

"The Li family? That name sounds a little familiar..."

"Don’t you remember? From the engagement party, that elder Mr. Li."

"My god, the Gu family’s second son really knows how to pick a wife, huh?" a young man said with envy.

"Well, his grandfather and father are no slouches either. Both of them are talented professors."

"Really? That’s incredible. As a professor, his knowledge flows without holding anything back, nourishing the minds of his students like a tide."

"Yes, and they say Professor Gu’s talents aren’t just confined to the lecture hall; he also holds a respected place in the world of literature."

"Wow, the Gu family’s second son has such an impressive background. No wonder he was able to marry a granddaughter of the Li family."

"So that’s how it is. And here I thought the Gu family’s second son was just really smooth!"

"Hehe, so he just comes from a good family."

"What do you guys think? Should we go suck up to him a bit? We might be able to benefit from the connection later on."

"Of course! This could affect our children’s futures!"

"Right, right, this is a very important issue. Let’s go give a toast to the groom."

"Okay, okay, let’s go over now."

A clamor rose from the crowd, and then a dozen or so figures were seen pushing their way toward the bride and groom.

Each one was impeccably dressed, their faces plastered with "sincere" smiles.

"Second Brother Gu, congratulations on marrying such a beautiful wife!"

"Thank you. Please, eat and drink your fill."

"Second Brother Gu, Sister Li, I wish you a hundred years of happiness together!"

"Who... who’s that distinguished guest? Why is he following Second Brother Gu everywhere?"

"Haha... Come, let’s drink."

Second Brother Gu also had many young men around him to take drinks on his behalf, so by the time the wedding ended, he wasn’t drunk.

Su Shuochi also took many drinks for him, but he didn’t get drunk either, because Gu Jiaojiao would occasionally give him a sip of spiritual spring water.

Mr. Gu also drank, but he had always been good at restraining himself and would stop drinking once he felt he was getting tipsy.

Instead, it was Mr. Li and the bride’s older brother who got drunk. The father and son were in high spirits, and most of those urging them to drink were their superiors.

Second Brother Gu’s wedding was lively—and that’s an understatement. Yuetai Restaurant could only fit a little over twenty tables.

They had to borrow the ground-floor storefront to set up several more tables and even placed about ten tables out on the street, for a total of nearly fifty tables.

"Ziquan, we probably won’t have this many tables when we get married," Xiao Jiyan said, holding Mu Ziquan’s hand.

"Yanzi, do you mind?" Mu Ziquan asked uncertainly.

If she minded, he would go and invite everyone from the electronics factory his uncle managed.

’He didn’t have many relatives left. Forget fifty tables—all of his relatives combined might only fill five!’

"I don’t mind at all. Most of these guests are here for our Auntie anyway. Who in the Imperial City can possibly compare to her?"

"Yanzi, you’re such a sensible and good girl. I’m so lucky to be able to marry you," Mu Ziquan said, squeezing her hand.

"Ziquan, did you know? Marrying you has been my dream for as long as I can remember."

Xiao Jiyan clasped one of Mu Ziquan’s hands with both of hers, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the tall, slender man standing before her.

"Yanzi, we’re already engaged. Grandpa said we’ll get married after the New Year. You promised me you’d take care of me for the rest of our lives."

"That’s wonderful, Ziquan!" Xiao Jiyan jumped up in excitement and threw her arms around Mu Ziquan’s neck.

She gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek.