However, this incident made Madam Hou realize that the people of Qizhou seemed to be too fierce.

According to Uncle Zhong, whether they are young ladies from wealthy families or ordinary girls walking on the street, they will start fighting at the slightest disagreement.

Even the old women selling steamed buns on the street dared to smear the gentry, landlords, and relatives of officials without the slightest fear.

Therefore, Madam Hou planned to keep Gu Yun and Gu Chang in the Hou residence.

Some will study and live in the capital for a few years to gain more experience, while Gu Yun plans to arrange a marriage for someone in the capital.

The old lady of the house was very fond of this gentle, polite, sensible and well-behaved girl.

Moreover, the Marquis also kept the two old masters and their family here. They are so old, they can live out their retirement in the Marquis's mansion.

Upon hearing this, Zhongbo sat down on the ground with a thud, hugged the old marquis's leg, and burst into tears.

We've finally waited for this day! We can finally come back!

He suffered terribly over the years, enduring no shortage of anger and hardship from his second grandfather.

It's not that the second grandfather had a bad temper; on the contrary, although he was mild-mannered, he was very kind to people.

Once outside, everyone who sees him wants to step on him. Over the years, Uncle Zhong has honed his tongue to a level that's almost as good as a storyteller.

“My lord,” Zhongbo cried, then hiccuped, “the old Marquis!”

The old Marquis was left both amused and exasperated. How many years had it been? Zhongzi was still the same.

"Zhongzi, get up quickly, stop crying. The cook at the Marquis's mansion made wontons with preserved egg and pork filling. Don't you love wontons the most?"

The second old man chuckled awkwardly and pulled him up. When he heard there was food, Uncle Zhong took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.

I went back to Qiufengyuan with my second grandfather to eat wontons.

These wontons are an upgraded version of the bubble wontons that Aunt Sun and Wang Yan had previously developed.

Wang Yan had eaten it once in modern times: minced pork mixed with peppercorn water, white pepper, and salt. It was used to make a light filling.

Crush two preserved eggs, then add a spoonful of preserved egg and a spoonful of fresh meat, wrapping them in the same way as bubble wontons.

The two old men ate a bowl of it every day, along with a plate of mixed preserved eggs.

…………………………………………………………

Half a month later, early summer arrived again, and Gu Yun was even less able to stand the heat than the Lady of the Marquis.

He couldn't even eat properly every day and was the first master in the entire mansion to use ice.

Wang Yan and the others also delivered some cold food such as iced soy milk and noodles to them every day.

Xu Shaoqing has recently started coming to visit Gu Yun three times a day for some reason.

However, Gu Yun had already received a reminder from Aunt Deng, Zhongbo's wife, and had begun to have some reservations about what the couple was doing.

When Xu Shaoqing came, she treated her to good tea and snacks, keeping a respectful distance. She didn't try to build a close friendship with her.

After several such incidents, Xu Shaoqing began to feel somewhat embarrassed.

Gui Xiang has become increasingly silent these past few days, and even Gui Lan has changed her personality quite a bit.

Seeing Xu Shaoqing so humble and trying to curry favor with Gu Yun, Guilan still felt a pang of pity and spoke frankly.

"If you ask me, why does the young mistress need to go to social events with Miss Biao? It's just those banquets anyway."

We've been going there since we were little, it's always the same few things, and didn't Miss say it was boring before?

To her surprise, these words did not comfort Xu Shaoqing; instead, they made her feel even worse.

Previously, at the Earl's residence, invitations would be sent in every few days, and I would attend banquets everywhere.

Attending banquets at this place, going sightseeing at that place, and even hosting banquets at my own home—it's all so annoying all day long.

But ever since he entered the Marquis's mansion, he has hardly ever gone out, not because the Marquis's mansion couldn't receive invitations.

Rather, when people go out, they bring young, unmarried children like Gu Yun with them.

The wives who had already married in various places rarely exchanged invitations or made friends, after all, Gu Ting's official position was not high at present.

Most families do not recognize the young mistress of the second wife's son.

Even when invitations were sent to the second wife, she declined them all.

She hasn't even married her own daughter-in-law yet, why should she pave the way for Gu Ting's family's wedding?

As a result, Xu Shaoqing only received invitations twice, both of which were small banquets hosted by officials of the sixth or seventh rank, which she looked down upon.

Not to mention that there were also family members from all over the country at the banquet, some of whom spoke in the soft Wu dialect of Jiangnan. The tone was pleasant to hear, but not a word of their speech was comprehensible.

Xu Shaoqing was very annoyed, but his family was only a relative of a sixth or seventh-rank official, so how could he just turn his back on them like that?

If someone invites her again, she simply refuses. But Gu Ting is angry. This is clearly a good opportunity to connect with colleagues and superiors, but his wife keeps turning her away.

But why would Xu Shaoqing listen to that? She was spoiled, domineering, and had a bad temper; she was willing to go along with him.

If she doesn't want to, even if Gu Ting gets angry, he can't order her around.

After staying at home for a while, she felt bored and wanted to go out to a banquet with the Lady Hou and the Old Madam, but no one responded to her request.

Lady Hou has been bringing Gu Yun with her to every banquet lately, even though Gu Yun is still a bit young. There's no rush to criticize her.

But the old lady was determined to keep her in the capital to get married, and she would have to take her out to make a name for herself two or three years in advance. She wanted to observe and see how she fared with the other ladies.

After being given the cold shoulder several times, Xu Shaoqing, concerned for her reputation, gave up on the idea of ​​having the Lady Hou bring her back into the circle of nobles.

But the person hosting this banquet was Jiang Shiyi. Since she married into the Marquis's mansion, it has been so long, and she has never seen Jiang Shiyi before.

"Is my sister going to the Anbo Mansion by invitation? Then we should set up two tables by the lake at Qingfeng Pavilion."

At this time of year, sitting and enjoying the breeze, playing some music, is the perfect way to spend time.

Xu Shaoqing took Gu Yun's arm and introduced her to her in a warm and friendly manner.

“My second sister has a stringed zither made by Master Song. If you are interested, I can play a tune for you.”

Gu Yun gave an awkward smile, withdrew her hand, picked up a cup of fragrant tea, and hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

She herself was merely a young lady staying in the household, and she was already extremely grateful that the Lady Hou was willing to take her along when she went out for social engagements.

She didn't have the face to bring more people along, but the third young mistress would come to her place every day.

What exactly happened between the Third Young Mistress and the Anbo Mansion, what twists and turns there were in the story, was no longer relevant to her.

In the end, it was Kouqi, the maidservant sent by the old lady to serve Miss Yun, who came to the rescue.

"So we have such good fortune? I know that Master Song only makes one zither every five years."

Should we send a formal invitation to the Madam beforehand? We need to make it clear to the household that the Third Young Mistress will be taking our young lady to play the zither.

Such precious instruments, crafted by renowned masters, are rarely obtained.

Otherwise, it would be quite impolite for our young lady to rashly suggest playing a piece.

Xu Shaoqing smiled and replied excitedly, "That's wonderful."

She thought Kouqi had agreed, but Kouqi really didn't object.

They went to Lady Hou's residence and actually sent a letter to inquire whether it was possible to send out another invitation.

Granny Gui personally delivered the message, "This time, all the ladies who came were accompanied by some young girls."

The third young mistress has no connection to either side, so she'll definitely find it boring if she comes.

"Why not wait until the next banquet, when the opportunity is right, and then write a separate invitation and invite them."

Xu Shaoqing was rebuffed by those two sentences, especially since they were delivered in front of Gu Yun, an outsider, making her feel even more embarrassed.

She couldn't even manage a couple of polite replies. Kou Qi politely stepped forward and saw the pale-faced Xu Shaoqing out.

Now we can finally have some peace and quiet. Even if the Third Young Mistress wants to go again, they won't send out invitations. There's no point in bothering her anymore.