Grand Secretary Gu grabbed her hand, pulled her from behind, and hugged her tightly.

"Tell me, what are you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything."

"No, you must be thinking about something, something related to me, and it's probably not good news!"

"This concubine..."

"I've already said, you're not allowed to call me 'this concubine,' we should address each other as 'you' and 'me'!"

"I...I wasn't thinking anything!" Held in his arms, she felt the beast's bared teeth and claws, poised to pounce.

Seeing her blush and her ears turn pink, Gu Shaoyu said dangerously, "Shall we have a more in-depth sparring session?"

"No." She struggled to get down; how could this person be like this?

"Then tell me what you're thinking? We're husband and wife, husband and wife for life. I hope that my wife and I can be more than just a loving couple; we can be soulmates. Xie Zhaozhao, are you willing?" The man became serious again.

Xie Zhaozhao hesitated, wondering whether she should reveal all her thoughts.

In her previous life, Gu Chengyan acted her whole life, and she lost so completely. Gu Shaoyu is his uncle. Could it be that the Gu family is full of acting masters?

He must be a very good actor, otherwise, how could he have entered the cabinet at such a young age?

Xie Zhaozhao's eyelashes trembled violently. Gu Shaoyu knew that this was how daughters were raised in large families, and he couldn't correct them in a short time, but she would understand in time.

"Of course I hope to be of one mind with you for a lifetime, to be honest with each other and never hide anything from one another," Xie Zhaozhao said, her eyes lowered.

She was destined to be unable to keep it a secret; her rebirth was a secret she would never reveal.

Seeing her expression, Gu Shaoyu realized that she might not trust him, so he said, "I can promise to never hide anything from you or deceive you for the rest of my life. Also, I will not take concubines, arrange for maids, or keep mistresses."

Upon hearing the words "keeping a mistress," Xie Zhaozhao abruptly looked up at him. His eyes were clear and bright, reflecting the pure and selfless heart within.

Suddenly I felt a little moved, and for some reason my eyes turned red.

Gu Shaoyu immediately understood; this little guy was probably worried that he was keeping a mistress!

He hugged her tightly and said, "You know I care about the people and the prosperity and decline of the nation. The reason I didn't marry before wasn't because I was determined to dedicate myself to the common people, but because I really hadn't met anyone I liked."

"It was on the Shangsi Festival that His Majesty went out of the palace incognito. I was with His Majesty. We were both at Huguo Temple. We saw you praying for blessings that day."

Xie Zhaozhao's eyes widened.

"You didn't expect that, did you?" Gu Shaoyu patted her head and said with heartache, "The abbot said that you never play in the water with others during the Shangsi Festival every year, but always pray for blessings in the temple, and that's when I was tempted."

Not only on the Shangsi Festival, but also on her birthday and all the major festivals, she would pray for blessings in the temple.

Xie Zhaozhao lowered her eyes: "My mother died because of me. I hope that my mother can be blessed by God, have an afterlife and be able to live out her days in peace."

Gu Shaoyu hugged her tighter and said, "I'll go with you to pray for your mother-in-law from now on."

Xie Zhaozhao hugged his neck and whispered, "Thank you..."

She won't be alone anymore.

By the end of the Yin hour, Xie Zhaozhao and Gu Shaoyu were both awake.

Xie Zhaozhao's biological clock is like this; she gets up early every day to pay her respects to her grandmother. Gu Shaoyu, on the other hand, has to go to court and habitually gets up at this time.

Yuan Yuanman got up early and ground the soybeans that had been soaking overnight with a small mill. She then filtered out the soybean residue with cheesecloth and started making soy milk in the small kitchen.

Manman is good at making tofu. She made several bowls of savory tofu pudding, adding some dried shrimp, scallions, and sesame oil.

In the main kitchen of the public school, steamed buns, steamed cakes, rice porridge, and glutinous rice balls were prepared. Nanxing and Moyan went to collect them and arranged them perfectly for Gu Shaoyu and Xie Zhaozhao.

Breakfast was much more substantial than what was usually served at the Marquis's residence.

Xie Zhaozhao asked Gu Shaoyu, "I want to open a small kitchen. Will my mother agree?"

“Why would she disagree?” Gu Shaoyu said. “Just drive, don’t worry about who agrees or disagrees.”

Xie Zhaozhao said shyly that she would need her mother's permission first.

After Gu Shaoyu left for court, Xie Zhaozhao went to sit with the old lady. Tu Shi, Gu Boyu's concubine Wang Yiniang, and Lu Shi from the second branch of the family, along with other female relatives of the Marquis's household, were all there.

The granddaughters, including Gu Jiaojiao, Gu Xuanxuan, Gu Huanhuan, and other legitimate and illegitimate daughters, were all present.

Xie Zhaozhao greeted the old lady, said hello to her sisters-in-law, and then obediently sat down next to Madam Lu from the second branch of the family.

The old lady originally wanted to call Xie Zhaozhao to the head of the table, since she was now a first-rank imperial consort, and Xie Zhaozhao had the highest status among those present.

However, Xie Zhaozhao was modest and sat next to Madam Lu.

Xie Xiangxiang arrived not late and sat down next to Madam Tu.

The old lady smiled and asked the two new brides, "Are you settling in well in the manor? I told my in-laws that I would treat you as my own daughters, and you must also treat the manor as your own home."

Xie Zhaozhao nodded: "Mother is right, I will definitely obey."

Xie Xiangxiang thanked the old lady, but she smiled and asked, "Grandmother, everything else is fine, but could the food in the manor be a little more varied?"

That means the food in the manor is not good.

The second wife, Madam Lu, and her concubines all nodded vigorously; who wouldn't want better food?

Madam Tu's face was extremely unpleasant. She wanted to eat something better? She wanted to too!

She was in charge of the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion. The mansion was not wealthy to begin with. Now, after marrying two wives, she had lost 15,000 taels of silver to Yin Jin'an, and was also implicated by Guan Yingying's ice shop, losing another 4,000 taels of silver (60,000 taels came from the Cheng'en Duke's mansion, and Gu Chengyan lost 4,000 taels for losses). The accounts were already empty.

The old lady was well aware of the difficulties in the household, and she actually wanted Xie Zhaozhao to take over the management of the household affairs.

Even if the rest of the Marquis's family had no income, Xie Zhaozhao's dowry alone would be enough to support them for decades.

However, you can't say that. Who would think of swallowing their daughter-in-law's dowry?

Besides, with both the first and second wives still alive, there's no reason for the third wife to take charge of the household affairs.

Madam Tu looked at Xie Xiangxiang and spoke sarcastically: "The Marquis's mansion is not like the Xie mansion. It doesn't have as much resources. Nowadays, it's not making ends meet. Being able to afford six dishes is already a huge challenge."

Xie Xiangxiang frowned: "What about the income from the shops in the manor? The weather is pretty good these days, but is the harvest on the estate not good?"

Madam Tu angrily retorted, "Does the Crown Prince's wife intend to take control of the household?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Xie Xiangxiang hadn't originally intended to, but Tu's question sparked her interest.

Her mother fought her whole life but never managed to take full control of the household affairs.

The management of the Xie family's household affairs has always been in the hands of the grandmother, as well as that of Granny Xu.

My mother would often lose her temper in the yard. Although she was nominally in charge of the household affairs, she was kept under close watch. Whether my mother was there or not made no difference to the household affairs.

If she were to take charge of the household affairs, she would be the head steward of the Marquis's mansion, and everyone in the mansion would have to act according to her wishes.

Especially Xie Zhaozhao, she has to see if Xie Xiangxiang is willing to give her any of the dishes she wants to eat!