Cousin Liao?
Liao Xiaodie?
Jiang Yushu and Nanny Pan heard this from the inner room. They exchanged a puzzled glance. Jiang Yushu asked in surprise, "Why did Cousin Liao come here so suddenly? What's going on?"
"I don't know." Guo Hongzhe answered loudly, across half the room and the screen. "I was going to the street to pick out some books, but just as I left the house, I ran into a procession of carriages. My cousin had come with Magistrate Pan. Since we're relatives, Magistrate Pan asked me to entertain the guests. He asked what the matter was, but she wouldn't answer. She just cried and urged me to invite my second brother."
Guo Honglei thought for a moment and said, "Azhe, you entertain them first. I'll be there later."
"Okay." Guo Hongzhe turned around and returned to the living room.
"Third Young Master!"
"What?" Guo Hongzhe stopped.
Nanny Pan hurried out to stop them. She faced Guo Hongzhe but glanced at Guo Honglei. She warned him worriedly, "I heard you say that Madam Gong and her daughter are both ill. Whatever it is, you must be careful not to get sick and interfere with your studies."
"Oh, I understand." Guo Hongzhe nodded, turned around and left without thinking too much.
Guo Honglei knew full well: the nurse was actually reminding me to be careful not to pass on the disease to my wife and children. He stepped into the inner room and said gently, "She's probably come here because of Brother Gong Shi."
Jiang Yushu had a good impression of Gong Yipeng and asked in surprise, "What happened to my cousin's husband? Did something happen? In the middle of last year, I went to the county government office to discuss matters and happened to meet him. When we parted, he quietly gave me some ginseng. It was very thoughtful."
"Brother Shi, I've always trusted you." Guo Honglei helped his wife sit up with one hand and brought the kang table over. He spoke slowly, "Prince Ning was deposed for his rebellion, and the imperial concubine was banished to the cold palace. They were completely defeated. How can the eggs in an overturned nest remain intact? We share the same fate. Officials who were once closely attached to Prince Ning's faction never met a good end. Take, for example, Wan Bin, the prefect of Xicang."
Jiang Yushu felt relieved. "Serves him right! That Magistrate Wan is so greedy and bribe-prone. His reputation is in tatters and the people are resentful. He should have been investigated and punished long ago! But I wonder what this has to do with my cousin-in-law?"
"Wan Bin is the prefect, and Brother Gong Shi is the governor. They have served in Xicang for several years. Over the years, some things in the officialdom cannot withstand scrutiny." Guo Honglei turned sideways and helped Nanny Pan place the food one by one on the kang table.
Jiang Yushu couldn't help but sigh, "It's not easy to be an official. The prefect is extremely corrupt, and he once had the imperial concubine as his backer. He uses his power to act tyrannically. To keep his official hats, the officials under him can't help but flatter him a bit."
"Don't worry about it. Have breakfast." Guo Honglei handed her the chopsticks. "I'll go out and take a look. I'll help if I can. After all, the Guo family received care from the Gong family when they were in trouble. My mother is far away in Changping, and my brother has visited her many times and provided assistance. For this reason alone, we can't just stand by and watch."
Jiang Yushu nodded, "Okay, go ask and see what's going on."
Guo Honglei stood up and went to the hall to meet the guests.
After a while, Nanny Pan closed the door and ladled out some soup. "Eat, eat more. Take advantage of your confinement to strengthen your body so that you will have the energy to serve as a court lady in the future."
Jiang Yushu still felt a pain in her waist and dull pain in her body. She managed to sit down and eat her fill. She observed the old woman's expression and asked with concern, "Mammy, you seem to be worried. Is there something wrong with the child?"
"No! The young master is fine."
Nanny Pan cleared the table from the kang and brought her some water to rinse her mouth. After a long hesitation, she said, "I'd like to go to the living room to check, but I'm afraid I might come back sick, so I'm not so bold."
"Explore? Explore what?" Jiang Yushu was puzzled.
Nanny Pan looked solemn and hesitated to answer, "It's an old matter, and I shouldn't gossip about it, but I don't want to see my wife suffer in silence."
Jiang Yushu's eyes changed and she asked hurriedly, "What's the matter?"
"Alas." Nanny Pan frowned, thought for a moment, and then cautiously reminded, "Madam, please remember that Miss Liao is very scheming, but unfortunately she doesn't use her scheming in the right way. She has lived in the Marquis's residence for many years, appearing docile but actually harboring evil intentions. She once caused chaos in the mansion and almost became the Crown Prince's concubine, but fortunately it didn't happen. Unwilling to give up, she tried to seduce the Second Young Master, which infuriated the Marquis so much that this old lady hastily betrothed her to the Young Master of the Gong Family."
Jiang Yushu said vaguely: "Well...my sister-in-law mentioned these things a few times."
"Oh, you don't know. Back then, everyone in the mansion knew that the Crown Prince's wife had always disliked Miss Liao!"
Nanny Pan scoffed and put the dishes into the lunch box while saying, "Think back to when we first arrived in Xicang, we planned to stay in the suburbs and farm. The old lady trusted her so much, but what happened? She didn't get anything done at all!"
"I don't know if it's because I'm prejudiced, but I always feel like Miss Liao is gloating over her relatives' misfortune. When her relatives were in trouble, she put on makeup, jewels, and wore a bright red dress. Is that appropriate?"
Jiang Yushu recalled it, hesitated, and finally said, "Thank you for reminding me, Ma'am. I'll remember it."
"As the saying goes, 'It's easy to change a country, but difficult to change one's nature.' I'm really worried that Miss Liao is still restless. We must be cautious and keep our guard up."
Nanny Pan spoke frankly and kindly, "After spending so much time together, we've already seen clearly that Madam is a true lady from a noble family, dignified and kind. The rumors that spread before you married were nothing but malicious slander! Alas, I don't know who plotted against you, but you've suffered so much abuse for nothing."
Jiang Yushu couldn't help but feel warm in her heart, and sighed, "Even if I had a hundred mouths, I couldn't explain what happened back then. It's better not to talk about the past."
"Yes! Let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it."
Jiang Yushu sat for a while, threw off the quilt and got off the bed, lowering her head to look for her shoes.
"What do you want to do, Madam? Lie down, lie down quickly." Nanny Pan was startled and hurriedly stopped her.
Jiang Yushu got up a little faster, felt dizzy, and said with a pale face, "Lying down all the time will cause blood and qi to stagnate, which is not good for your health. I want to go out and walk around a few times to stretch my muscles."
"...That's fine. Don't worry, wrap yourself in your cloak first. I'll support you, and go slowly."
So, the two of them walked back and forth in the narrow inner room for more than a dozen times. Jiang Yushu was weak after giving birth, and sweat broke out at the slightest movement. She sat on the low couch, leaning against the cushions.
Nanny Pan was diligent and considerate. She first helped her change her clothes, and then helped her wash her face and comb her hair.
"I can't go out for the time being, so I don't need to put my hair in a bun, just a random bun will do." Jiang Yushu thought: I'll take a break and go to the next room to see the kids later!
Matron Pan disagreed, and pondered the bun carefully, full of energy. "If the young master hadn't come back, I could do it however was convenient. But now that he's back, how can I just do it 'just like that'? I have to dress it up neatly."
Jiang Yushu laughed dumbly, "Did you dress up specially for him?"
"Of course! It's rare for a young couple to get together. If the lady doesn't dress up now, when will she?"
Nanny Pan chatted, "He rushed back home last night, so excited that he wanted to come in to see you, but I stopped him. A woman who's just given birth is sweating and has messy hair. Wouldn't her husband be surprised to see her? So, I called the midwife and cleaned up everything thoroughly before I dared let him in."
Jiang Yushu suddenly realized, "So it was you who helped me clean it up? When I saw him in the room this morning, I thought--" Her face turned red and she stopped talking in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Nanny Pan misunderstood and comforted her, "The young master didn't see your messy hair."
Jiang Yushu hesitated and said, "It's nothing serious, right? Although it's a mess, it's not so embarrassing that you can't see anyone."
Nanny Pan, loyal and sincere, whispered, "It's best for a woman to avoid looking disheveled in front of her husband. What man in the world doesn't like his wife to be always neat and pretty?"
"forever?"
"That's impossible! People will gradually age. No matter how rich you are, you can't expect to stay young forever."
Nanny Pan said solemnly, "That's indeed impossible. What the old woman meant is: before you grow old, do your best to hold on to your husband's heart, give birth to many sons, and consolidate your position. Then you will enjoy endless blessings in the future."
I heard that men tend to become bad when they have power and money. The rest of our lives are long. I wonder if he and I can grow old together?
Jiang Yushu couldn't predict the future and felt inexplicably melancholy. "I understand. Mammy, thank you for taking the trouble to teach me."
"What are you thanking me for? I just hope that Madam won't blame the servant for being too talkative."
This was the custom of the Qian Dynasty. Jiang Yushu remained calm and said, "How could I blame you? I know you are truly thinking about me."
At this moment. Living room
"Others may not understand Yipeng's character, but don't you know it? He is honest, hardworking, and has never been involved in corruption with Wanbin!" Liao Xiaodie's almond-shaped eyes were red, her chin was pointed, and her voice was naturally hoarse. She sobbed and expressed her grievances.
She was surrounded by her wet nurse and maids. The wet nurse sat at the back, holding a little girl in her arms, blowing her nose frequently and coughing sickly.
Guo Honglei sat side by side with his brother and asked seriously, "The imperial court sent an imperial envoy to investigate Wan Bin. Has he already dismissed him from his post and confiscated his property?"
"Yeah." Liao Xiaodie frowned, holding a silver-red embroidered handkerchief in her hand, wiping her tears from time to time, and said bitterly: "Wan Bin is guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and rape of women. The evidence is irrefutable. The imperial envoy sent people to search and find a large amount of gold, silver, treasures, house deeds, and other items from his name. He is such a worthless person. He dares to do things but not to take responsibility. He makes random accusations and falsely accuses Yi Peng of being an accomplice. Before I left, Yi Peng had been suspended and was on trial." She stared at him with tears in her eyes and pleaded:
"Honglei, the Gong family is weak and I have nowhere else to turn. I rushed here with my daughter overnight. Please, beg Yipeng!"
Guo Honglei felt the situation was quite difficult and said sternly, "It's not that I don't want to help, but the Guo family is really no longer what it used to be. As my cousin knows, we have only just escaped the charge of exile and are equally weak."
"How could that be?" Liao Xiaodie's eyes sparkled with tears as she sobbed, "Besides General Mu, a long-time friend of the Guo family, I heard that General Dou of the Heqin Guards admires you very much. Moreover, His Highness the Ninth Prince has a long-standing friendship with you. If we can get a word from His Highness, the imperial envoy won't wrongly accuse an innocent person."
Guo Honglei pondered cautiously, "We're friends? I can't claim that. This is a serious matter, please allow me to consider it."
Liao Xiaodie rose gracefully, tears streaming down her face as she choked with tears. "Yipeng is tongue-tied and inarticulate, and he panics when things get tough. I'm afraid Wan Bin will find fault with him and send him to jail. Now, I'm alone with my child, and I'm in a constant state of panic." She quickly took a few steps to Guo Honglei, bent her knees, and pretended to kneel. "Honglei, please, think of a solution!"
"Hey - don't, don't kneel." Guo Hongzhe was startled and stood up.
Guo Honglei was also startled and subconsciously helped him up——
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This cousin, do the little angels remember me? 【doge】
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