Chapter 59 Housewarming Party Female Guard
The Gu family moved into their new house on September 24th. In addition to inviting close families from the neighboring village to their home for a banquet, they only invited the Guo and Duan families from Songjiang City.
It was also a coincidence that the Duan family sent an invitation to the Gu family a few days ago on this day, which happened to be the day when the Gu family moved to a new house. The two families happened to sit down and talk about their children's marriage.
Although it was the Duan family who invited the Gu family first, it was the Gu family that hosted the banquet. Since the Gu family was the men's family, they naturally had to take the initiative. That morning, before the Duan family came to the door, Gu Wenqing rode to the Duan family to pick them up.
Gu Wenqing is well-mannered and considerate. Even though the sun was very hot today, he still rode his horse beside Duan Wanniang's carriage. Lord and Lady Duan were very satisfied with Gu Wenqing.
Duan Wanniang also became bolder. On the way to the neighboring mountain village, she deliberately lifted the curtain and asked him, "Is it hot?"
Gu Wenqing smiled and shook his head: "It's not hot, don't worry about me, I'll be there soon."
Wanniang lowered the curtain and saw her mother looking at her and smiling. Wanniang asked embarrassedly, "What are you looking at, mother?"
Mrs. Duan smiled and said, "Look at my lovely daughter. In a few days she will become the daughter-in-law of the Gu family."
"How can it be so soon? I remember Dad said that we have to wait until next year..." Wan Niang was shy and couldn't say the rest of the words.
Mrs. Duan smiled but said nothing. Things are different now than before.
Everyone in Songjiang City knew that the prince was anxious to get married, and the young lady from the Gu family was his younger sister. If there was time, the brother would definitely get married first, and then the younger sister would get married.
The reason why the Duan family sent an invitation to the Gu family was to discuss the marriage of their two children.
Not only did the Duan family prepare for the wedding date in advance, but the Gu family did too. They have been busy these days because of the two happy events in the family.
Gu Wenqing worked in the city defense army all day and couldn't help, but he still knew what was going on at home. Knowing that the wedding date was approaching, when he spoke to the two young masters of the Duan family, he respected them as his brothers-in-law.
The Gu and Duan families had a tacit understanding. When the Duan family's carriage arrived at the Gu family's gate, the entire Gu family came to greet it. When Mrs. Du saw Mrs. Du get off the carriage, she even helped her with her own hand. Mrs. Duan hurriedly said, "You are too polite."
Mrs. Du smiled as she ushered Madam Duan in, saying joyfully, "In a few days, our two families will become one. We should be this close. Could it be that Madam dislikes me?"
Mrs. Duan also took Mrs. Du's hand and said with a smile, "I was afraid you would dislike us, but with just one invitation, you asked me to bring my whole family here to eat and drink for free."
Mrs. Du laughed and said, "Eat as much as you want."
Ah Xuan followed her sister and looked up at Duan's sister. She whispered, "Your face is blushing."
Gu Youan covered her mouth with his hand and told her to be good and not talk nonsense.
Over there, Gu Wen invited Lord Duan in. Gu Wenqing was talking to the two young masters of the Duan family. As a junior, Gu Youan went over to talk to Duan Wanniang and her two sisters-in-law.
Gu Youan had just called out "Sister Duan" when Duan Wanniang smiled at her, "Miss Gu, I haven't seen you for a few days. You look even more radiant."
"Sister Duan, you're welcome."
Gu Youan looked at the two young women beside Duan Wanniang. Duan Wanniang said hurriedly, "Miss Gu, these are my eldest and second sister-in-law."
"Greetings, my two sisters-in-law." Gu Youan bent his knees slightly.
Duan Wanniang's two sisters-in-law met the legendary Princess Qi for the first time. How could they dare to accept her courtesy? They quickly supported her and said with a smile: "Miss Gu, please don't be polite to us."
Having said that, Gu Youan still performed his duties with due courtesy, giving face to both Duan Wanniang and her elder brother.
Gu Youan asked Axuan to come over and call for help. Duan Wanniang looked at Axuan and smiled, "Axuan is so good."
Gu Youan placed his right hand on A Xuan's shoulder and smiled, "When she's well behaved, she's really well behaved. When she's noisy, she's annoying. But don't be afraid of her making a fuss. Just send her to mother, and she'll take care of her."
Ah Xuan looked pitiful and pretended to be good, pulling Duan Wanniang's hand: "I'm not making trouble, I'm being good."
Duan Wanniang covered her mouth and smiled: "I know you are well behaved."
A Xuan was satisfied. She tilted her head to look at her sister and blinked proudly. My future sister-in-law praised me for being well-behaved.
Duan Wanniang's two sisters-in-law thought to themselves that Wanniang's younger sister-in-law would be married soon, and the youngest sister-in-law would have to be raised at home for another ten years. The little girl looked like someone who was easy to get along with.
Gu Youan smiled and touched Axuan's little head, then invited Duan Wanniang and others in.
When he entered the door, Gu Youan saw Master Guo and his family coming from afar. Gu Youan winked at Tian Erlang, who had nothing to do, and asked Tian Erlang to pick up his master.
From a distance of more than ten steps, Tian Erlang made a small gesture to Gu Youan to show his understanding, and went out to greet the Guo family.
At this time, many people from each household in the village have come. They are all acquaintances from the same village. There is tea and snacks in the front yard. Everyone gathers together to talk about the crops in the fields and guess whether there will be heavy snow this winter. They chat and laugh and it is very lively.
The Duan family was different from the other villagers. Gu Wen and his son personally welcomed the male guests from the Duan family to the main courtyard and sat them down. Gu Wen also invited Tian Qingde to accompany them.
The female members of the family were not in the main courtyard, but were being received in the flower hall in the right-hand courtyard. Although it was called a flower hall, the furnishings inside resembled a study, except that there were many flowers and plants, and the decoration was more elegant. Mrs. Duan and her mother-in-law liked it as soon as they entered, and praised it repeatedly.
A Xuan said, "This is Big Brother's yard."
Mrs. Duan was surprised and said, "Oh, this room is well decorated."
Duan Wanniang looked around. Not to mention the spacious courtyard outside, there were several pots of orchids in the corners of the flower hall. Flowers and plants were swaying outside the window. There was a set of desk and chairs under the window inside the room. Facing the desk was a wall of bookshelves filled with classics, history books, and several military books.
There was a hint of pride in Mrs. Du's eyes. She invited Mrs. Duan here to let the Duan family know that her son was not a rough warrior at heart. It would be a good thing for your Duan family's daughter to marry my Wen Qing.
Gu Youan naturally knew what her mother meant. She led Duan Wanniang to the bookshelf and pointed out to her that this book and these other books were the books her eldest brother often read recently.
Duan Wanniang took note of it silently, stood for a moment, and then went to sit next to her mother.
Mrs. Du and Mrs. Duan had different backgrounds and different personalities and hobbies. The only thing they had in common was their satisfaction with their future daughters-in-law/sons-in-law. With the two daughters-in-law of the Duan family joining in the fun, the two of them seemed to be in perfect harmony when they talked and laughed.
Gu Youan sat with the guests for a while, and then Liu Zhong came in and walked over to report in a low voice that the Guo family was in the west wing, and the young masters of the Zhang family and the two young masters of the Hetian family were entertaining the guests.
Gu Youan just said, "I understand."
Liu Zhong bowed and withdrew. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Duan family then pretended to be casual and asked, "Who was that just now..."
Mrs. Du smiled and said, "His name is Liu Zhong, and he is a servant in Prince Qi's mansion."
Madam Duan smiled and glanced at Gu Youan, saying, "Prince Qi really cares about our young lady. He sent servants to serve her before she even got married. Our young lady is so lucky."
Liu Zhong was wearing clothes of a certain rank, had a fair complexion and no beard, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice, clearly from the palace. Besides Prince Qi's mansion, who else in Songjiang City could use a eunuch from the palace?
The Duan family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law already had the answer in their hearts, and they asked this question just on purpose.
Mrs. Duan said this affectionately. Mrs. Du said, "Hey, you said it well. After all, it's hard to be kind. As elders, it's hard for us to control them. We can only let them be."
Mrs. Duan smiled again and said, "Has the date been set?"
"It's settled, the eighth day of next month."
Madam Duan had also vaguely heard that this was the date, but Prince Qi's mansion hadn't leaked the information, so they weren't sure. Now that they heard it confirmed from Madam Du, they said, "The eighth day of next month would be a good day."
For a family like theirs, it's normal for the process of marrying off their daughter to take half a year or a year, from proposal to wedding. However, special cases can be handled specially, as long as there are no mistakes in etiquette.
Speaking of dates, Mrs. Du also turned the conversation to the date of Dalang and Wanniang's wedding.
These words were not pleasant for an unmarried young lady to hear. Duan Wanniang made an excuse to go for a walk in the yard, and Gu Youan also stood up and left with her.
As soon as the two young ladies left, Mrs. Du and Mrs. Duan opened up. Back in the main courtyard, Gu Wen was also discussing the matter with Mr. Duan, and soon they had reached an agreement, setting the wedding date for the sixth day of the next month.
After the date was set, Lord Duan also felt relieved.
Alas, it was clearly his Duan family that was marrying off their daughter, but who would have known that Prince Qi's Mansion would send his familiar friends to urge him in a roundabout way, asking the Duan family to marry off their daughter faster. Lord Duan was also helpless.
However, Lord Duan was very satisfied with this marriage. Besides, his daughter was not young anymore, so it would be fine to marry her off two months earlier.
Gu Youan took Duan Wanniang to her yard to sit for a while. Axuan came over and said that her elder brother had just asked her where Sister Duan was.
Duan Wanniang said embarrassedly, "Why are you asking me?"
Gu Youan asked A Xuan: "Where is my brother?"
"I just went to see Master Guo."
Gu Youan said, "Then go call my eldest brother over and tell him I have something to talk to him about."
"Why."
Ah Xuan ran off with a thump, thump, thump. Duan Wanniang stood up and said to avoid suspicion, "Since you two siblings have something to say, I'll be leaving first."
Gu Youan stopped her and said with a smile, "Sister Duan, don't be embarrassed. Let me tell you, you've even set a wedding date. You're already a legitimate engaged couple. Why don't you take this opportunity to meet?"
Duan Wanniang also wanted to meet him. After just one word of persuasion, she sat down, picked up her teacup and took a sip. She found an excuse for herself and said, "It's good to meet him. I want to ask him what book he's been reading recently, and he can teach me too."
Gu Youan stood up with a smile and asked Xiaoju to wait in the room while she went outside to take a look.
As soon as Gu Youan left the courtyard, she saw her elder brother striding towards her. She pointed to the guest room, and Gu Wenqing said with a smile, "You go and do your own thing. I'll take care of the guests for you."
Gu Youan snorted, thinking he was being ungrateful after getting the advantage.
Gu Youan really had something to do at the moment, so she didn't bother with her elder brother anymore. She wanted to go meet the Guo family.
Gu Youan met Master Guo mainly for one thing. After she got married, she wanted Guo Su to follow her and be her personal bodyguard. It would be best if she could train a team of powerful female bodyguards for her in the future.
Although the guards at Prince Qi's mansion were good, they were not as trustworthy as her own people. In addition, her future status would be different, so it would be more convenient for her to be a female guard than a male guard.
Gu Youan went to talk to Master Guo about this. Master Guo seemed to have been prepared for this. He said, "I can't make the decision for her. Since you are interested, you can tell her in person when she comes back."
Gu Youan nodded. She would tell Guo Su in person, but she just wanted to mention it to Master Guo in advance.
Because she knew that as long as she proposed it, Guo Su would definitely agree.
Guo Yuanchun was still able to remain stable, and several of Master Guo's adopted sons were envious. If he followed Princess Qi, Guo Su would become a guard of a legitimate family, and might even be able to get an official position of a high rank.
They also want to be chickens and dogs. Can Princess Qi take them with her when she ascends to heaven?
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