Chapter 122

Sanniang is, of course, Gu Sanniang, the second illegitimate wife in the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion. She was originally Gu Erniang, and called the original owner "Big Sister". But after the legitimate daughter of the Gu family was mistakenly adopted and returned home, the original owner became Gu Erniang, and she was also called Gu Sanniang from then on.

Gu Sanniang was the only person who remembered to ask her family for a bag to leave with her when the original owner was exiled.

When the original owner was arrested and imprisoned, Gu Sanniang was the only one who secretly asked her family to send her food.

Before the original owner was revealed to not be the legitimate daughter of Ningyuan Marquis, she had a harmonious relationship with Gu Sanniang. Even after Ningyuan Marquis recognized his legitimate daughter, the sisterly love between the two did not diminish.

Because of this, after the original owner encountered misfortune, Gu Sanniang was the only relative who worried about the original owner.

"mother?"

The young woman next to him looked at Gu Ran curiously. When her eyes fell on Pei Liu, her face flushed slightly. Then she hugged Gu Sanniang's legs and whispered, "Mother, who is she?"

"Call me auntie, this is your second auntie!"

The young lady stared at Gu Ran with her eyes wide open. After a long while, she said obediently, "Hello, Second Aunt." Then she glanced at Pei Liu and whispered, "Hello, Second Uncle."

Gu Ran was about to respond, but when he heard his cheap niece call Pei Liuhou, he couldn't help laughing.

Looking back at Pei Liu, he saw that she also raised the corners of her mouth slightly, as if she was both amused and helpless, but she was not in a hurry to explain. She looked at the young lady and felt very happy.

"You called her the wrong name. She is your Aunt Pei!" Gu Ran explained to Gu Sanniang and his little niece.

Gu Sanniang also looked at Pei Liu in surprise.

This handsome man who follows my second sister is actually a... lady?

Although Pei Liu was choked by Gu Ran's words "Aunt Pei", he still nodded slightly to Gu Sanniang.

Gu Sanniang? Not bad.

Gu Sanniang's daughter is also very nice.

Gu Sanniang got married in the same year that the original owner married into the Qin Xiangfu. Her husband was a civil servant named Cheng in Jingzhao Prefecture, and his husband was Cheng Jiulang, a branch of the Cheng family in the capital.

Cheng Jiulang entered the officialdom through the imperial examination, and was later transferred to Jingzhao Prefecture as an official with his own abilities. Among the officials in the Cheng family who served in the same court as him, the highest official rank was the fourth-rank Shangshu Youcheng. At the beginning, the Ningyuan Marquisate also took a fancy to the support behind Cheng Jiulang, and married Gu Sanniang to Cheng Jiulang.

Next to Gu Sanniang was the first child she had after marrying Cheng Wulang. Her nickname was Youyou, and she was just over four years old.

The manager of Fusheng Trading Company was smart. When he saw that the distinguished guest invited by his young master was having a pleasant conversation with the customers of the trading company, he tried his best to invite the group to rest in the banquet hall.

"Ms. Cheng is a regular customer of our company. I didn't expect that she is also an old acquaintance of Ms. Gu." The manager smiled as he asked the waiter to prepare tea for them.

Regular customer?

Gu Ran was puzzled when he heard the manager ask this.

Is Gu Sanniang a major customer of Fusheng?

Gu Sanniang's face was embarrassed, but she finally calmed down and smiled faintly: "I usually bring some embroidery here and ask the company to help sell it. I'm not a regular customer!"

It seems that the family that Gu Sanniang married into is not very well-off, otherwise they would not have asked her to sell her embroidery.

It must be Gu Sanniang's help in supplementing the family finances.

Gu Ran glanced at Pei Liu, and Pei Liu understood that the Gu sisters wanted to chat a little during the reunion, which was inconvenient for others to hear, so he made an excuse to leave.

"Youyou, go, go downstairs with Aunt Pei."

Youyou glanced at Pei Liu, and Pei Liu looked at the blushing young lady and stretched out his hand.

Youyou opened her eyes wide, pursed her lips and smiled, then ran to Pei Liu and grabbed his hand.

"Aunt Pei, you are so beautiful!"

Gu Sanniang couldn't help but laugh when she heard her daughter's envious tone, "Youyou, you just like good-looking things."

Gu Ran also smiled as he watched the big and small person walk down the stairs.

"Second sister, you seem to have lived well in Minzhou these years."

She was not only the hero who wiped out the number one thief, but also the savior of General Qiao. It is said that she also planted many orange trees in Jianzhou. In the past, it was completely unimaginable that the second sister she knew before could do this.

But now, she is also a wife. She originally thought that after marrying Cheng Jiulang, she would be able to live a worry-free life with Cheng Jiulang's ability and the care of the Cheng family. But after she got married, she realized that Cheng Jiulang did have ability and the Cheng family did take care of her, but not much.

Cheng Jiulang was from a branch of the family and a concubine's son. The resources that the Cheng family could allocate to him were limited. Back then, Cheng Jiulang's parents lived frugally to support Cheng Jiulang's study and examinations. In the end, he stood out with his own abilities and earned a place in the Cheng family.

Relying on Cheng Jiulang's family background and his meager salary, they could initially barely support the daily expenses of a family of five and his official social circles. But two years ago, Cheng Jiulang's father fell seriously ill and spent a lot of money but saw no improvement. After he finally passed away, the family gradually became short of money and had to embezzle a lot of Gu Sanniang's dowry.

Gu Sanniang once thought about seeking help from the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, but her own mother was just a concubine of the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, with no status and no money. After receiving help for a while, rumors began to spread. Gu Sanniang did not want to embarrass her husband and her daughter, so she gradually went less and less.

Gu Sanniang was already a mother and knew that she could not live off her savings. It happened that she had excellent embroidery skills when she was still a girl, so she decided to sell her embroidery for money.

After comparing with several businesses and embroidery workshops, I found that Fusheng offered the highest price, so I chose Fusheng and was able to sell my embroidered items stably for half a week or a month.

What Gu Sanniang embroidered were not handkerchiefs or purses, but palm-leaf fans and screens. Therefore, she could earn several taels of silver by selling one piece a month. If it was a large embroidery that took two or three months to complete, she could also earn more than ten or twenty taels of silver at a time. This improved the family's poor situation of not being able to make ends meet. She even earned more than Cheng Jiulang's monthly salary, and became the main source of money for the family.

If she were still at home, Gu Sanniang would never have imagined that one day she would have to work, embroider, or do business. But now that her life circumstances have forced her to change, she understands that everything is possible.

Thinking about my second sister who is sitting opposite me now, if she had not married into Prime Minister Qin’s mansion, how could she have been imprisoned?

Even if she divorced Qin Silang, it must have happened during her exile, and she was forced to leave. Not to mention that in Fujian, she had to give up her usual music, chess, calligraphy and painting to learn how to be a farmer.

She now makes money by selling embroidery, and her second sister makes money by growing oranges. This is a common sense.

Gu Sanniang, who thought so, did not suspect Gu Ran at all because of his drastic change in personality.

Listening to Gu Sanniang's detailed account of the changes in her life over the years, Gu Ran also took the opportunity to talk about how he lived in Minzhou. When Gu Sanniang admired Gu Ran, Gu Ran couldn't help but look up to Gu Sanniang.

Although she was a concubine's daughter of the Marquis's family, she grew up in luxury. After marrying into the Cheng family, her family was in financial difficulty, but she never complained about the Ningyuan Marquis's family not finding a good marriage for her. Instead, she found ways to make money on her own and lived a down-to-earth life.

"Knowing that Second Sister is doing well now, I'm relieved." Gu Sanniang looked at Gu Ran and smiled. "At that time, I had just given birth to Youyou and was not feeling well, so I asked my cousin to pack some money for you to see me off. When she came back and told me that you looked unwell, she was afraid something might happen during your exile. I was worried for a long time."

Gu Ran was silent.

They were right to worry, the original owner had indeed died during exile.

"The Cheng family has been so busy these years. I have to take care of the old and the young, and I can't spare the time to find out where you finally settled down. I also don't have enough money to send someone to Minzhou to see you. Second sister, please don't blame me." As Gu Sanniang said this, her eyes were slightly red.

"How could that be? I'm living a good life now." Gu Ran felt warm in his heart.

This was the first time since coming to the Great Sheng Dynasty that she had met a sister who was truly kind to the original owner. She had not been shunned or despised by her when she was in trouble, and now she had not been eager to ask for benefits, which really touched her.

"Yes, I saw her. I saw her the last time I came here. She looks healthy and much prettier than before." Gu Sanniang said, "I wonder how long you can stay in the capital, Second Sister. If you don't mind, I'll bring my husband to meet you."

So that’s the original owner’s brother-in-law?

Wait, it seems that Gu Sanniang’s husband, Cheng Jiulang, works in Jingzhao Prefecture?

"Of course, but, you said, your brother-in-law is an official in Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"He's just a small official. Is there anything I can do for you, second sister?" Gu Sanniang looked at Gu Ran, feeling confused.

Now my second sister is General Qiao’s adopted granddaughter. If there is anything, isn’t it better to go to anyone else instead of going directly to General Qiao?

But when it comes to Gu Ran looking for Gu Sanniang's husband, Cheng Jiulang, only the officials in Jingzhao Prefecture can help.

She wanted to check on Ling'er's family.

Ling'er said that his father was a minor official in Jingzhao Prefecture, who committed a crime and was beheaded, and his whole family was exiled to Minzhou. She wanted to investigate the matter of this road official to see if it was true.

Although he had a very pleasant conversation with Ling'er at that time, he was still wary of himself and didn't know which of his words were lies and which were true.

If what he said about his family's situation was false, then the coordinate code of space grid No. 3 did not correspond to Minzhou. After she returned, no matter how hard she looked, she would not be able to find that place, and her efforts would be in vain.

But if there really is such a person in Jingzhao Prefecture, and if it is confirmed that what Ling'er said is true, then she will be more confident in finding the location of space grid No. 3.

She was thinking about whether she should ask someone to go to Jingzhao Prefecture to inquire before leaving Beijing. Now that her brother-in-law Cheng Jiulang is in Jingzhao Prefecture, wouldn’t it be convenient to ask him to go and check it out?

Yes, that’s right. Gu Ran decided that it was not impossible to accept Gu Sanniang as his sister based on her character and personality.

Anyway, I am going back to Jianzhou, so it’s okay to just treat it as if I have a distant relative in the capital.

Gu Sanniang didn't understand why her second sister wanted to investigate such a person, but when she heard that she had once been an official in Jingzhao Prefecture, she immediately agreed.

When Gu Ran and Gu Sanniang left the banquet hall, they saw Youyou walking around the store with Pei Liu, carrying a lot of things in her hands. The two, big and small, were talking and laughing, and it was obvious that they were getting along well.

"Yoyo!"

"Mom!" Youyou happily ran two steps with a bunch of things in her arms, and dropped two of the things she couldn't hold on to.

Gu Sanniang hurried over to pick it up and said, "Look at you, where did you get so many things?"

"Aunt Pei bought it for me. Aunt Pei is such a nice person." Youyou smiled, her mouth as sweet as honey, and turned back to look at Pei Liu while speaking.

Pei Liu had noticed it when they came downstairs. He was originally looking at Gu Ran, but after hearing what Youyou said, he glanced at her and happened to see a smiling face, so he nodded and smiled.

"This... you!" Gu Sanniang scratched Youyou's nose in annoyance, stood up and smiled at Pei Liu: "I'll let you spend money!"

Pei Liu shook his head to indicate that everything was fine.

"Second Aunt, Aunt Pei, remember to come to my house and play!" Youyou expressed her reluctance to leave these two beautiful and generous aunts.

"Sixth Mother, you like the young lady!" Gu Ran asked after watching Gu Sanniang and Youyou leave.

Pei Liu nodded and said slowly: "I like the young lady from the Gu family."

"Then Liu Niang will have to find a man from the Gu family to be her husband." Gu Ran said with a smile, and then immediately added: "But the Gu family in Ningyuan Marquis Mansion is not suitable."

Pei Liu glanced at Gu Ran, nodded, and thought to himself: I can’t find a husband from the Gu family, but I can find a wife from the Gu family.

Three days later, after receiving a message from Gu Sanniang who sent someone to the Hang family's villa, Gu Ran took Pei Liu to the Cheng family.

The Hang family's villa is actually in the outer city area of ​​Kyoto, and the Cheng family's villa is also in the outer city, but it is a little further away from Xifang City than the villa rented by the Hang family.

There are low-rise houses all around, and it is obvious that this is a place where ordinary people gather.

The Cheng family's house is a quadrangle courtyard, but there are not many people in the Cheng family now. Cheng Jiulang's mother, Cheng Jiulang and his wife, Youyou, and Cheng Jiulang's younger brother who has not yet married are more than enough to accommodate them.

Cheng Jiulang is a man with regular features. Although he appears very steady in front of Gu Ran, he still can't get rid of the childishness between his eyebrows. When he first saw Gu Ran, a trace of panic flashed across his face, but he quickly restrained it.

"Sixth Mother, go outside and help Third Mother look after Youyou!"

When Gu Ran said this, Pei Liu knew that she had something to say privately to her third sister and her husband, so she nodded tactfully. Youyou, who was waiting at the gate, looked up at her and held out her hand, "Pretty auntie."

Pei Liu's heart softened, and he grabbed Youyou's hand and went into the yard.

Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Pei Liu leave.

The fact that she knew Ling'er was a bit mysterious, and she naturally couldn't tell anyone about her investigation into the Lu family. Although Pei Liu had lived with her for several years and she was familiar with his character, she had no intention of telling anyone about the space, so she didn't want Pei Liu to know anything about the space.

But after sending the people away, Cheng Jiulang did not find out much information about Lord Lu, who once served as an official in Jingzhao Prefecture.

"So, in the past two years, didn't you have a man surnamed Lu in Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"Not to mention the past two years, even in the past five years, there has been no official named Lu serving in Jingzhao Prefecture."

Cheng Jiulang glanced at Gu Ran, the second sister his wife mentioned, who is now a prominent figure in the capital.

Five years ago, the matter of the real and fake daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion caused a sensation. Four years ago, the case of treason in the Qin Xiang Mansion also caused an uproar. Now she has returned and has attracted attention in the city as the person who eliminated the evil villains and savior of General Qiao. This second mother of the Gu family is really a person who cannot be underestimated.

But why did she find the official named Lu?

"No?" Gu Ran was stunned.

So, Ling'er hadn't really told her the truth. Her stories about her father being exiled for a crime and her sister being bullied by her stepmother were all lies? Then, weren't the coordinates of Space Grid No. 3 located in Minzhou?

"Not in recent years, but since it was Second Sister Gu who asked me to do so, I figured since I'd already done the research, I might as well do it more thoroughly. So I went through a lot of old volumes and discovered that there was indeed a man named Lu in Jingzhao Prefecture, but that was over ten years ago."

"More than ten years ago?" Gu Ran was stunned again.

No, this doesn't match!

The Ling'er she knew was just a child. If she was exiled to Minzhou, it should have happened recently... No, wait, Gu Ran thought about it, maybe, it is possible.

"Master Lu, what's the situation?"

"This Lord Lu was a military officer in charge of the Jingzhao Prefecture's revenue, a civil servant in charge of the prefecture's monetary income. However, he had a crooked mind and neglected his duties, even embezzling public funds to secretly engage in maritime trading for many years, making considerable profits. This went unnoticed by the then Jingzhao Prefect. It wasn't until a merchant ship was wrecked by a hurricane, destroying all its cargo. He failed to replace the embezzled funds and even accepted bribes and corruption. This was discovered by his superiors in Jingzhao Prefecture. After the report was made to the Jingzhao Prefect, he was sentenced to death due to the enormous amount of money he had embezzled and his inability to make up for the shortfall. His entire family was implicated and exiled."

Gu Ran's eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously reached out to touch them.

"Is this the Lord Lu you want to investigate?"

"Somewhat, similar?" Gu Ran asked uncertainly, "Where were the family of this Lord Lu exiled?"

"Minzhou. Although sea transportation was already prevalent at the time, many areas in southern Xinjiang were still uncultivated. The land was vast and sparsely populated, so, as is the case today, local governments sent criminals to reclaim the land."

A minor official in Jingzhao Prefecture was sentenced to death and exiled to Minzhou. It seems that it was right?

"What about Lord Lu's family?"

"Lord Lu's father passed away in prison a few days ago, leaving behind only his wife and five children."

"Is your wife a step-wife?"

Cheng Jiulang glanced at Gu Ran in surprise, "Indeed, for more resources, please join group 52. It is said that he took it after his ex-wife passed away. Lord Lu has three sons and one daughter, and the eldest son and daughter are both from his ex-wife."

"Do they have any names left behind?"

Cheng Jiulang shook his head.

However, Gu Ran was already certain that it was definitely Ling'er's father.

He actually didn't lie, so what he said about himself and his sister being in Minzhou was indeed true?

But for her, it was already more than ten years ago, and Ling'er, who lived in the same time and space as her, was probably not a little boy of seven or eight years old anymore, but a teenager in his teens!

And the coordinate code of space grid number three corresponds to a mountain in a village more than ten years ago?

Although time has passed, the coordinate code remains unchanged. If we can find the mountain when we return to Minzhou, we can also find the corresponding position of space grid No. 3.

At least it wasn't all in vain.

Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief after getting the information he wanted. When he came out of the house, he saw Pei Liu and Youyou sitting on a stone table and stone chairs in the yard, eating canned oranges with relish.

When she left Xiaxi Village, she took twenty cans of canned oranges and put them in space grid No. 8, intending to eat them on the way.

When I came to Cheng's house, I heard Pei Liu say that Youyou liked to eat canned oranges, so I took out six cans as souvenirs. I didn't expect that they would eat them so soon.

"Aunt, does your family grow oranges?" Youyou asked.

"Yes, my family grows oranges."

"Do you also make canned oranges?"

"Yes, is it delicious?" Gu Ran squatted down, looked at his niece who came for free, and asked with a smile.

"Delicious." Youyou looked at Gu Ran happily, "I really like canned oranges, but Mom never buys them for me." Youyou sighed, glanced at Mom and Dad who were busy in the kitchen, and whispered, "I know oranges are very expensive. When Grandpa was around, he would buy me oranges, but later on, we couldn't bear to buy oranges to eat. It turns out that your family grows oranges, so can you treat me to oranges in the future? I'll just eat them twice a year. Then when I grow up, I'll work for you and grow oranges!"

Gu Ran laughed and turned to look at Cheng Jiulang's family who were busy entertaining her and Pei Liu.

There is no need to grow oranges.

"Youyou doesn't need to help Second Aunt with work. Youyou should just be filial to your father and mother." Gu Ran said, "If Youyou can do that, Second Aunt will give you a portion of oranges and canned food every year, okay?"

"Okay." Youyou smiled and said, "Second aunt is really nice, unlike the first aunt who doesn't like me."

Aunt, is this the legitimate daughter of the Gu family who was mistakenly taken away and raised in the Yuan family?

In the original owner's memory, before marrying into the Qin family, the Ningyuan Marquis and his wife chose a family of equal status to marry into. Now she should be the eldest lady of a noble family. No wonder she doesn't like to associate with the Cheng family.

"If your eldest aunt doesn't like you, then she doesn't like you. As long as your father, mother and second aunt like you, it's good." Gu Ran comforted.

"Yeah, and Aunt Pei, Aunt Pei likes me too." Youyou said, pointing at Pei Liu and smiling, "Right? Aunt Pei likes me too."

Pei Liu glanced at Youyou, grabbed a handkerchief and wiped the sugar stains on the corner of Youyou's mouth, then nodded: "Be good, only if you're good will I like you."

"I'm very good, definitely very good." As she said this, Youyou straightened her back and sat up straight. "Youyou is the most good and lovely little girl in the world."

Gu Ran couldn't help but laugh.

Gu Sanniang poked her head out of the kitchen to take a look, smiled, and went back to busy herself helping her mother-in-law.

"Is that your second sister?" Cheng Jiulang's mother looked at her daughter-in-law.

Gu Sanniang nodded proudly.

"So that's General Qiao's goddaughter?" Cheng Jiulang's mother was surprised. "Didn't they say she severed ties with your mansion?"

"It's their mansion." Gu Sanniang corrected, "Second sister broke off relations with their mansion, not with me."

"Oh!" Cheng Jiulang's mother was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and was delighted, "That's good! You finally have a sister you can interact with!"

Gu Sanniang smiled, then immediately faded away.

I'm afraid this will be the only time we visit each other. My second sister will have to go back to Minzhou in the future. It's still far away from the capital!

If the two families want to communicate with each other, they will have to spend half a year traveling together, which means it will take a year to go back and forth. It’s not easy!

It would be great if I could stay in the capital.

Why doesn’t my second sister plan to stay in the capital?