Chapter 78: Infamous

"No problem."

Chang Xixi walked towards the long, winding corridor. Just to the left, there was a passage leading to the small courtyard where they were temporarily staying. The three of them walked away and disappeared.

Zhou Zhiwei walked out from a corner of the garden, followed by a maid. "Miss, do you need me to take care of the people down there?"

"Go ahead."

After a pause, Zhou Zhiwei beckoned the maid to lean over and whispered something to her. Both of them had vivid expressions on their faces, with a hint of triumph on their faces. After a while, the words were finished, and the maid left through the back door of the Zhou Mansion and did not return until late at night.

The second day.

I don't know which servant was gossiping, and the person who was having breakfast in the room heard it.

Chang Xixi was holding a steamed bun made of fine flour. This was the best steamed bun she had ever eaten since she traveled through time. The fragrance and softness were absolutely amazing. Gu Rongyu also heard this, but he believed that Chang Xixi would handle it well and he didn't need to worry.

"You come."

Chang Xixi waved at the man.

The gossiping servant was stunned at first, but then he was still a little afraid of his former master. He lowered his head and stepped forward to greet her, "Greetings, Miss Chang."

"Get up! There's no need to go through all this formality in front of me. Tell me what you were saying just now. Tell it again. If you do it well, I'll give you some money. My husband and I can't finish all the food we just served, so I'll give it all to you later."

"Thank you Miss Chang for the reward."

Chang Xixi asked Xiaohong to bring her a stool in the corridor outside the door. She drank a bowl of porridge and listened to the servant telling her the stories she heard on the street today about the wrongly adopted daughter, which were widely circulated.

There is only one version, as follows.

The Zhou family had mistakenly taken the child, and only realized their mistake when the child was fifteen or sixteen years old. The Zhou family then swapped the child. It's clear that the real daughter of a wealthy family in the countryside was illiterate and didn't know the rules. She was terrified when she entered the mansion, and her life was like walking on thin ice.

The fake daughter lived a fairy-like life in Zhou's house for several years, but suddenly fell from grace and became completely destitute.

She married a scholar in the countryside and was going to Beijing to take the imperial examination with her own money. She passed through Ruzhou and, thanks to the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, she took up residence in the Zhou Mansion. She was just there to beg for money, but Mr. and Mrs. Zhou were kind. As the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The little money the Zhou family gave her was enough for the two of them to live on for most of their lives.

It simply means that Chang Xixi brought her sick husband to the Zhou family to beg for money and she won't leave!

Chang Xixi just laughed when she heard it. These rumors didn't exist yesterday, but they appeared on the second day after she moved into the Zhou family. It was obvious that someone was spreading them deliberately. It was really funny.

"Very good, I'll give you this ounce of silver. You can take the remaining food and eat it."

After hearing this, Chang Xixi finished the porridge in her bowl, stood up and left these words.

Xiaohong took out a tael of silver from her sleeve, threw it to the servant, and snorted coldly. She followed Chang Xixi in small steps and said softly, "Miss, how can you let this person just take the money and leave? You even gave her a table full of food."

Chang Xixi smiled and handed the bowl in her hand to Xiaohong, "A thousand people have a thousand mouths, and ten thousand people have ten thousand mouths. Can we really shut their mouths? It's impossible. The mouth is on someone else's body. What they say is their business, and it has nothing to do with us. Just listen to these words, who hasn't been said that to you? Don't be angry, it's your own health that will be hurt. Who can still feel sorry for you?"

Xiaohong was surprised at the young lady's magnanimity. In the past, she would have torn these people's mouths to pieces and would have been merciful if she hadn't kicked them out of the Zhou Mansion.

Young ladies nowadays always prefer to keep their affairs to themselves. The care and love given to her by the master and mistress is no less than that of Zhou Zhiwei. Even if the young lady wants to live in the Zhou Mansion all year round, it is possible. The mistress has given herself to the young lady, so what is impossible?

She was filled with resentment.

Gu Rongyu just smiled and waited for Chang Xixi to return to the room. He had almost finished eating, so he stood up and gave Chang Xixi a faint smile. "Master Zhou, I need to go somewhere. Do you want to come with me?"

"Have you invited me?"

"I mentioned it yesterday, and I said I'd take you to pay your respects today."

The two dressed neatly and headed towards Master Zhou's study. Over there, Zhou Zhiwei's spy quickly informed her that the two had gone to Master Zhou's study early in the morning. She could only go there once a month! How could Zhou Zhiwei not be jealous?

I was in a state of crazy jealousy, and the flames in my heart were burning fiercely.

Zhou Zhiwei sat up and dropped the teacup beside her. She sneered, "Now, I am the real Miss Zhou. She is just an imposter. How dare she fight me? She will die. Tell those people outside to make more noise."

"Miss, the money is gone."

"Isn't it just money? Here, take this silver note worth one hundred taels. I want to see Chang Xixi become infamous. Oh, and send someone to investigate the Wanfu Village incident. They must investigate every detail."

"yes."

The maid took the money and left. Soon, the story spread throughout the streets and alleys about Chang Xixi's support for Gu Rongyu, saying that she couldn't get married, so she had to pay for the sickly man. This story was spread so loudly that it alarmed the eldest lady, who had no choice but to summon the two to question them.

The eldest lady also didn't believe what those people outside said. As the saying goes, flies don't bite seamless eggs. There should be some signs.

Therefore, when Chang Xixi heard that the lady had called them away for this matter, she was mentally prepared.

The first one was to extort money, and now he is raising a gigolo! This is stealing bamboo shoots!

Chang Xixi took out the pair of mandarin duck jade pendants from her own space, placed them on the table, and inserted the hairpin given by the lady. There was not a single silk flower on her head. She carefully drew her eyebrows and then put on rouge. Her eyebrows and eyes complemented the rouge.

Gu Rongyu was standing not far away. Seeing her carefully putting on his clothes, he was shocked and his fingers trembled slightly. He was excited and happy. He didn't know why, but he couldn't hide the trembling in his eyes.

"My wife." He called out softly, and felt that the person in front of him seemed to be in a dream, just like a yellow millet dream, and he didn't know when to wake up. He was still in the dilapidated house, with his eyes open, waiting for rebirth after death.

Chang Xixi turned around and smiled, then walked over slowly with the pair of jade pendants and handed one of them to him. "This is a wedding gift from the Madam, one for each of you and me. The Madam has already called us over, and you and I should both wear it as a sign of respect for her."