The banquet at Princess Huasheng's mansion was very grand, and almost all the wives and daughters of powerful families in the capital were invited. Now that Gu Yuanfang was Princess Huasheng's adopted daughter, everyone treated her with respect.
It looks quite lively, but no one is sincere.
These ladies and young ladies valued family background the most and looked down on a concubine's daughter from the bottom of their hearts, let alone a concubine's daughter who had a bad reputation and was sent to a nunnery. Even if she was Princess Huasheng's adopted daughter, no one would really want to make friends with Gu Yuanfang.
Song had been with Qian's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Gu Yuanfang came over specially to sit with them and talked to them intimately.
Gu Yuanfang poured tea for Song and said, "Thank you for taking care of me over the past ten years, aunt. You have always treated me like your own daughter."
"I don't deserve that. Ever since your cousin fell into the water and got lost, I've been so focused on finding her that I've neglected you."
Song refused to admit it. "To be honest, I feel a little guilty. You have lived in the Marquis' Mansion for so many years, but I have no energy to teach you."
To put it bluntly, she was just a guest living in the mansion. The Anchang Marquis Mansion never treated her as a daughter.
Since it concerns the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion, the Song family does not want to have anything to do with Gu Yuanfang. He is just a guest who occasionally stays in the Marquis' Mansion, and his words and actions have nothing to do with the Marquis' Mansion.
This sentence left Gu Yuanfang speechless. She had never known Song to be so ruthless. She smiled awkwardly, "Aunt, you are too modest. I am very grateful to you."
"You really don't need to thank me. It's best if you're well." Song smiled. "Now that your cousin has been found, my heart is finally back. Seeing her happy makes me happy."
Mrs. Song said to the ladies she knew, "The next step is to find wives for my four disappointing sons. Once they get married and start their own families, I can rest assured."
"Your four sons are so good-looking and have such outstanding personalities that they won't have any trouble finding wives. If you spread the word, the matchmakers will trample down the door."
One lady said so, and the other ladies echoed it. The Anchang Marquis's Mansion was a favorite of the emperor, and it would be a good place to marry into the Anchang Marquis's Mansion.
Apart from other things, there were no women in the Anchang Marquis's backyard. From the old Marquis to the Marquis, and then to the four children, all of them were chaste. This was a rare man in the capital, a hot commodity.
My wife has already noted it down and has made plans.
Qian jokingly said, "It's a pity that there is no girl of the right age in our house, otherwise, I would have forced one upon you as a daughter-in-law."
Song smiled and said, "That's our loss. We missed it."
The ladies were chatting and laughing, and Gu Yuanfang had no chance to get a word in. He could only sit aside with a smile on his face.
The banquet began soon. After the meal, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Song and Qian, said goodbye to Princess Huasheng and left the princess's mansion.
As for the rest, the Song family didn't care at all.
Gu Yuanfang felt that this banquet was a complete nuisance to him. After sending all the guests away, he was extremely angry in his own yard.
Princess Huasheng had no time to deal with her. After the banquet was held and her identity was announced, she had to work hard on her own for what happened next. She had to go to the palace to have dinner with Concubine Jin and the Emperor, so she was in no mood to comfort her.
Princess Huasheng was very disappointed with Gu Yuanfang's performance today. If she was useless, she would not keep such a useless person in her princess mansion.
Compared to this, Li Guangping, who came from an ordinary family, was not as capable. Thinking of how the two brothers served her so well, she got on the carriage in a very good mood and went into the palace.
Knowing that Princess Huasheng had entered the palace, Gu Yuanfang began to worry about whether the princess had disliked her. It was all the fault of the Song and Qian families for not giving her face and distancing themselves from her in front of so many people.
And Rong Linlang and the old lady didn't even attend the banquet, which is really hateful.
Xiao Cui stepped forward to comfort him, "Don't be angry, miss. If it doesn't work this time, there will be next time."
"I don't know when the next time will be. This time, I was made a fool of myself. What the Song and Qian families said really pissed me off."
Gu Yuanfang put the teacup in his hand firmly on the table. "Especially that Song. Why didn't I realize she was so talkative before?"
"Don't be angry, young lady. Her glory won't last long." Xiao Cui stepped forward and whispered in Gu Yuanfang's ear, "When I went to the accounting office to collect my monthly salary a few days ago, I heard from the people around the princess that all the men in the Anchang Marquis's mansion will die this time."
Gu Yuanfang was startled. "Could it be that there's going to be a war at the North Gate? Is Northern Qi going to attack?"
Xiao Cui said she didn't know. "I only overheard that one sentence, but I didn't dare to listen any further and left quickly."
"It's right not to listen. The more you know, the faster you will die. Don't tell anyone this." Gu Yuanfang warned Xiao Cui. In fact, she was afraid of being implicated.
Xiao Cui said gratefully, "I understand." "So, Miss, don't be in a hurry to embarrass them now. Wait until all the men in Anchang Marquis' Mansion are dead and they have nothing to rely on. Then you can bully them however you want."
"If Northern Qi attacks, the capital will be gone, let alone the princess's mansion." Gu Yuanfang felt that the princess's mansion would be in greater danger. If that were the case, she would have to think of a way to retreat, preferably not in the capital.
But these were just hypotheses, and war wasn't certain to happen. She didn't know when the princess and Concubine Jin would go to Xiangshan to pray for blessings. When they did, she would go with them and stay there to avoid disaster.
Although he had an idea in his mind, Gu Yuanfang did not say it out loud. He just thought about saving some money recently for emergencies.
Gu Yuanfang asked Xiao Cui, "Do you think Northern Qi will attack us?"
"During the Wanshou Festival, those Northern Qi people were very arrogant and didn't take us seriously at all. Then they took so many things back to Northern Qi."
Xiao Cui didn't understand this. She was afraid of war and the barbaric people of Northern Qi. "It's better not to fight. It's too scary."
Gu Yuanfang knew the people of Anchang Marquis' Mansion too well. They would fight Northern Qi to the end with their last bit of strength, but Northern Qi had the thunder bomb, which was the most terrifying thing.
She wished that all the men in the Anchang Marquis' Mansion were dead. She estimated that the old lady would not survive, Song would become a widow, and Rong Linlang would lose her protection.
She was also afraid of war, and hoped that the men of Anchang Marquis' Mansion would fight to the death and all die in battle. Then, just like seven years ago, Jingchao would sign a contract with Northern Qi to keep the capital.
Su Nanting, who was far away at Beiguan, sneezed loudly. "Where is the envoy group?"
"Reporting to the Marquis, it will arrive in six or seven days."
"Too slow." Su Nanting walked out of the camp and stood on the city wall to look at the snow in the distance. "I can't go back to spend the New Year with my wife and daughter this year."
The old marquis walked steadily to his son's side and said, "I have heard a lot about that girl. I didn't expect that the daughter of my Su family is as capable as any man."
"Of course she is your granddaughter, so of course she is outstanding."
The old marquis smiled and said, "Hurry up and end the battle. I want to go back and see that girl."
The father and son were very confident about this battle and they would definitely pay back the humiliation that the Northern Qi had inflicted on them.
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