Chapter 73 Jiangnan Found Mrs. Gao

As night fell, although Raocheng was not as prosperous as the capital, it was also brightly lit. The closer to County Magistrate Guo's residence, the brighter the lights became.

"Do you want your husband to accompany you to the banquet?" Qin Yanheng was immersed in his new identity and kept calling him "husband".

"No need. Tonight is the ladies' banquet. Madam Gao should be here too. If you come, it might alert the enemy." Luo Qingling stood up and got off the carriage without looking back.

He didn't notice at all that Qin Yanheng's mouth curled up behind him.

If the two of them didn't have important matters to attend to right now, Qin Yanheng would definitely find a reason to maintain the identity of Heng Yang for a few more days, at least to give him the illusion that he was really married to Luo Qingling.

She had just said that she was his wife. Qin Yanheng was secretly delighted. He drew aside the curtain and stared at the beautiful figure, which did not leave his sight for a long time.

Guo Mansion.

The servant holding a lantern led Luo Qingling into the house. The two of them walked through the corridor. Not far away, the sound of stringed instruments and a few faint sounds of playfulness could be heard. Outside the Begonia Gate, there were shadowy figures, all of them were ladies in gorgeous clothes.

"Madam Heng, the seats for the female guests are in front." The servant said with his head lowered as he stood under the flower tree, the shadow of the lamp swaying on his face.

"Thank you very much."

Luo Qingling nodded slightly, lifted her skirt and stepped over the threshold. A gentle-looking lady came to greet her, and the fragrance of flowers immediately filled her face. She must be the Madam Guo who was good at making incense as mentioned by the servant of the Guo family.

"I hope you are well, Madam Guo. I am the young lady of the Heng family. I have come to bother you tonight." Luo Qingling knelt down and saluted, her golden hairpin swaying on her head.

"It turns out to be Madam Heng. She is indeed a beauty." Madam Guo was very enthusiastic. She took small steps forward and held Luo Qingling's wrist with her hand, gently stopping her from bending her knees.

Several ladies who had arrived early gathered around him, looking him over with curiosity, but not a hint of rejection. They introduced themselves to each other in a friendly manner, and Luo Qingling secretly memorized the ladies' names to build good relationships; he might need them to find someone in the next few days.

The ladies chatted and laughed as they walked into the courtyard.

As a newcomer, Luo Qingling couldn't fit in with them right away. Plus, she was a slow-warm person, and if others didn't take the initiative to talk to her, she would have to eat cakes in the corner all night.

But she had important matters to attend to tonight, so she had to cheer herself up and chat with the ladies.

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a tall woman who did not look like someone from Jiangnan sitting at the table behind the gauze curtain. She was drinking tea by herself and not talking to anyone else at the table.

There is no such person among the ladies just introduced. I wonder which noble family she is from.

"That's Madam Gao from the Gao family," a lady nearby raised her chin towards them. "She attends banquets every year, but never speaks much to us. She always sits alone, and I don't know what she's thinking."

"But Gao Yu's wife?" Luo Qingling's eyes lit up.

Found the person.

"That's right. That Gao Scout, the ancestor of the Gao family... well, let's not talk about him. Fortunately, the Gao family's ancestors were quite wealthy. Even if Gao Yu couldn't become an official, he was more than qualified to be a wealthy businessman."

She knew she had to come to this flower banquet, and she found out Gao Yu's whereabouts by just asking around! Luo Qingling picked up the wine cup and took the initiative to pour wine for the lady in front of her. She smiled and motioned for the lady to continue.

"Gao Yu's whereabouts are erratic, even Madam Gao may not be able to find him," the lady said, taking a sip of wine. "But I advise you not to get close to Madam Gao. She's not an easy person to get along with."

"Thank you, ma'am, for the reminder."

Luo Qingling raised her cup to toast, then tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp. No matter how eccentric Madam Gao's temper was, she had to give it a try anyway.

Several female relatives around Madam Gao left while chatting and laughing, leaving a few seats empty. Seeing this, Luo Qingling hurriedly stood up and walked forward, brushing his sleeves and slowly sitting beside her. Without saying a word, he just accompanied Madam Gao to eat cakes.

After a moment, Madam Gao couldn't help but turn her head to look at her, and asked with a puzzled look on her face: "There are so many cakes over there, why did Madam Heng come to grab mine?"

"There are too many people there. I like quietness just like Madam Gao." Luo Qingling lied with his eyes open.

Who knew that after she finished speaking, Madam Gao scoffed, picked up the plate in front of her, and moved away, looking like she didn't want to talk to Luo Qingling. Luo Qingling didn't care and continued to reach out for the cakes with such a thick face.

"Mrs. Heng, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you so persistent?" Mrs. Gao moved the plate of pastries away again.

"I just want to have some cakes with Madam Gao." Luo Qingling made up his mind and pretended to the end.

"You want to ask about Gao Yu." Mrs. Gao's voice was cold and her expression was indifferent.

How would she know!

Luo Qingling suddenly turned his head to look at Madam Gao, his eyes wide open, not knowing how to answer.

"She has a Beijing accent, an extraordinary demeanor, and looks noble," Madam Gao looked Luo Qingling up and down, and said slowly, "No matter how rich the Heng family is, they can't possibly marry a young lady like this."

Oh no, it turns out that Mrs. Gao had already seen through her identity!

Luo Qingling's heart skipped a beat, and she was about to open her mouth to explain herself, but she heard Madam Gao continue to make things difficult for her.

"Before this young lady changes her name to Madam Heng, could you please do your homework first? Married women are supposed to wear their hair in a bun, but no one would wear a girl's bun like you. Besides, Madam Heng can't afford the brocade clothes bestowed upon you by the emperor in the palace."

At this point, even if Luo Qingling didn't want to admit it, there was nothing she could do. Madam Gao obviously already knew her purpose, and if she continued to pretend, it would probably only make Madam Gao even more annoyed.

"Mrs. Gao's eyes are indeed sharp." Luo Qingling stood up, saluted, and solemnly introduced herself, "I am Luo Qingling, the daughter of the Luo family in the capital."

"I believe Madam Gao must also know Qing Ling's purpose for coming here this time."

The reason why she came to find Gao Yu at this critical juncture was obviously because of what happened to Gao Chuhou back then. Otherwise, why would a young lady from the capital look for a wealthy businessman far away in the south of the Yangtze River?

This doesn't make sense at all. It would be better to state your purpose directly.

"How could I not know?" Madam Gao curled her lips. "You and Prince Rong An entered Rao City under false names, wasn't it just for Gao Yu?"

"How does Madam Gao know so much?" Luo Qingling was truly shocked.

After she finished speaking, Madam Gao glanced at her lightly, with an ambiguous look in her eyes, but Luo Qingling could always see some confusion in her eyes, as if her identity should be known to everyone.

"Madam Luo, why are you so surprised? Back then, Prince Rong'an publicly acknowledged you as his only little princess in Si'an Prefecture. So many people in the city clamored to see your portrait. I took a quick look, so isn't it normal that I remember you?"

When did this happen? When did Qin Yanheng publicly say that she was the princess?

A few drops of sweat appeared on Luo Qingling's forehead. Her eyes wandered for a few times and finally returned to Madam Gao's face. Her red lips moved for a moment, and she took a deep breath and spoke.

"Is what Madam Gao said true?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Madam Gao said with a puzzled look on her face. "Could it be that Prince Rong An hasn't proposed to you?"

What does this have to do with anything?

Luo Qingling was a little upset. She had only come to see Gao Yu, so why was she being gossiped about? Besides, she still didn't know if Madam Gao was deceiving her. She didn't believe Qin Yanheng would do such a thing.

"Then Madam Gao, could you please pass on a message for me, asking me to meet Gao Yu?" Luo Qingling forcedly changed the subject.

"cannot."

Mrs. Gao said firmly, picked up the plate and walked out of the yard, leaving behind a sentence "I don't know where Gao Yu is", and her figure disappeared from Luo Qingling's sight.

As expected, she knew Gao Yu wouldn't be easy to find. Fortunately, despite her sharp tongue, Madam Gao didn't seem to have any intention of revealing her identity.

Luo Qingling felt relieved and drank his tea.

Not far away, several maids lifted the gauze curtain and walked in one after another. Each of them held a glass plate in their hands, which was filled with different flower petals of various shapes and colors, and was extremely gorgeous.

The air was filled with the aroma of mellow wine, and after the maids came in, the fragrance of flowers instantly filled the entire courtyard.

Mrs. Guo is going to make incense for the female guests!

"I heard that Madam Guo is not only good at making incense, but also at taking pulses and diagnosing diseases. She can put medicine into the sachet and cure the disease without anyone noticing. She is much better than those doctors who can only prescribe bitter medicine." Someone whispered behind him.

Luo Qingling put her ear behind her back, leaned back silently, listened carefully to what the man said, and had her own thoughts in mind.

Even the most famous imperial physician in the capital cannot cure diseases without taking any medicine. Mrs. Guo is just an ordinary woman. No one in her ancestors was a doctor. Where did she learn the medical skills? Let's wait and see.

Thinking of this, Luo Qingling could no longer show any doubt. She put on a standard smile and watched Mrs. Guo making incense without blinking.

"Madam Heng has just arrived in Raocheng, so why not give this first sachet of sachets to Madam Heng." Madam Guo's hands kept moving, and in a short while she had prepared the spices and handed a complete sachet to Luo Qingling.

It smelled refreshing at first, but had a strong flavor upon closer inspection. She didn't know what therapeutic effect the sachet Mrs. Guo made for her had, but it did smell a bit strange.

"Thank you, Madam Guo..."

"I want this sachet. Please ask Madam Guo to make another one for Madam Heng." Madam Gao pushed the crowd aside and walked forward. She grabbed Luo Qingling's sachet and stuffed it into her arms. Without waiting for everyone to react, she turned around and left.

At the table, everyone looked at each other, unsure how to react. The Gao family's wife had always had a strange temper, and every lady in Rao City was dissatisfied with her. Now that Mrs. Gao was publicly ridiculing the new Mrs. Heng, everyone was naturally unable to bear it. One of the ladies in the yellow skirt stood up.

"Madam Heng, don't take it to heart. Madam Gao is just acting wildly because her husband's father is an important official in the court." The lady in yellow held Luo Qingling's arm affectionately, wanting to take her to Madam Guo's side.

"Thank you ladies."

Luo Qingling took a step back, made up an excuse, and then turned around to catch up with Mrs. Gao.

She had a hunch that Mrs. Gao didn't really want the sachet, nor was she deliberately trying to embarrass her in public. Perhaps Mrs. Gao had some difficulties that she couldn't express.

She'll take a look!

Luo Qingling lifted her skirt, stepped over the threshold and walked straight towards the figure outside the yard.

After passing the Begonia Gate, the figure stopped at the corner of the corridor. The shadow fell on Mrs. Gao's face, half bright and half dark, making her look extremely bad.

Luo Qingling didn't care and stepped forward to call out to Madam Gao: "Madam Gao, do you have something to say to me?"

The people in the corridor handed the sachet to Luo Qingling. In the moment she was stunned, she saw Madam Gao suddenly kneeling down with a flick of her sleeves, looking up at Luo Qingling with her head tilted back. Her expression was forlorn, unlike the arrogant and domineering look she had at the banquet.

"What is Madam Gao doing?" Luo Qingling bent down to help Madam Gao up, but she dodged him.

Compared to Mrs. Gao's sudden action, her next words made Luo Qingling feel like a bolt of lightning.