The lie was full of holes, but Xie Xiangxiang believed it.
She said disappointedly, "Why did they run away? I had already planned their future."
Qingpuyuan.
Manman quietly reported the information she had gathered.
"I heard that the young master was angry with the second young lady, and the two of them locked themselves in the door and argued. But later the young master coaxed the second young lady into a good mood and said that he wanted to adopt a child!"
"I heard it's a boy. His family has gone through a misfortune and they're looking for a good family to adopt him. They don't want money, they just want a good adopter."
Xie Zhaozhao thought to herself, "Could it be that they adopted Gu Yuebai?"
He asked Manman, "What does the Second Miss mean?"
"The second young lady was very unhappy at first, but then she became very happy for some reason and asked the young master to bring the child to see her."
Aunt Cui asked in surprise, "Newlyweds, she actually wants to adopt someone else's child? And she's so happy about it?"
“Yes, isn’t it strange?” Manman spread her hands and said, “Many things that the Second Miss has done this year are incomprehensible.”
Xie Zhaozhao thought back to when she married into the family, it took at least three years before she adopted Gu Yuebai. They were in such a hurry, wanting to adopt a child so soon after their wedding.
Suddenly realizing that Xie Xiangxiang was reborn, she understood immediately!
Is Xie Xiangxiang absolutely certain that the child she adopted will become the top scholar in the imperial examination?
Just like in her previous life, her adopted son, Gu Yuebai, became the top scholar in the imperial examination during the reign of Emperor Xiao of the Great Qian Dynasty (after the crown prince ascended the throne, the reign title was Xiao).
She was the wife of a duke and the mother of a top scholar; who could compare to her wealth and status?
Xie Zhaozhao understood, so she just smiled and didn't tell Yuanyuan that the child they wanted to adopt was most likely the one in Tianhou Alley.
On this day, when she went to pay her respects to the old lady at Ci'en Courtyard, Madam Lu was in a good mood and wanted to push the matter of inheriting the title to the second branch of the family.
The eldest son of the main branch only has one legitimate son, Gu Chengyan, while there are two illegitimate sons. However, the second branch has a legitimate son, so the title will naturally be passed on to the legitimate son.
"Has the young master had his health checked? The sooner he gets treatment, the easier his recovery will be." Madam Lu said "recovery," but what she was really thinking was hard to say.
Madam Lu said this, but Madam Tu naturally disagreed. She knew perfectly well whether Gu Chengyan had any problems or not. Her grandson was almost four years old, how could he not be able to do it?
"The young master is perfectly healthy, why is he seeking medical treatment? Is he just throwing money away?" Madam Tu said angrily. "They've only been married for a few days, what's the point of investigating!"
Madam Lu said innocently, "Why are you angry, sister-in-law? Didn't we find that prescription in the Crown Prince's wife's room a couple of days ago? I was just concerned about the Crown Prince."
"It was that slut Xiangxing who caused all this trouble. She's the one who got that whole box of stuff. What does it have to do with the young master?"
Gu Chengyan did not tell Madam Tu about the deaths of Xiangxing and the other two. Madam Tu assumed that the three had been sold off and that there was no way to verify the facts.
Madam Lu looked at Xie Xiangxiang. She looked somewhat haggard, probably because she had suddenly lost three capable assistants from her family and was in a daze.
Lu reluctantly shut up.
Xie Zhaozhao was just a background figure throughout.
After the second and third wives left, Madam Tu was left behind by the old lady.
The old lady instructed Taxue to close the outer gate: "Taxue, you guard the gate. I have something to discuss with the Marquis's wife."
Tu was filled with unease and asked, "What are your instructions, Mother?"
The old lady asked the young master if there was a problem. There's no smoke without fire, so why was there such a prescription in the young master's wife's room?
Madam Tu was about to use Xiangxing as a shield again, but the old lady said, "Don't say they did it, I don't believe you. Tell me honestly what happened."
Madam Tu spread her hands and said, "I really don't know what's going on. I've already asked Yan'er, and he said it's only wrong with Madam Xie. I swear on my life, he's definitely right..."
The old lady laughed as if she were looking at an idiot: "You guarantee it? You'd even guarantee it with your life? Did you get confirmation from the doctor?"
You can't exactly see him having sex with your own eyes, can you?
Unable to bring Guan Yingying into the picture, Madam Tu could only say, "Mother, I can guarantee that Yan'er will be fine. Besides, we've only been married a few days, how can you say that there's a problem with having children? We don't even know whose prescription that medicine is, how can you blame it on the young master?"
The old lady couldn't help but remind her, "Miss Xie is still a girl."
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's the young master's fault. Perhaps she's having her period!"
Seeing that Madam Tu was lying through her teeth, the old lady angrily said, "I also checked Madam Xie's menstrual cycle. She hasn't had her period yet, and her body is perfectly healthy. If the young master were a man, he would have already consummated the marriage."
The old lady meant that the Tu family, mother and son, were lying together in order to keep their titles.
Tu cried out that she was wronged.
Unable to get any information from the old lady, she could only say, "Give the young master half a year. If he cannot produce a child, then we will adopt one from the second wife's family or from the eldest son's illegitimate son."
Empress Tu was very unhappy. How could she be so insistent on having a great-grandson? There was no throne waiting for her to inherit!
The old lady trembled with anger and pointed at her, saying, "A person who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. What good is it if everything is done in the present? It doesn't matter if you don't consider it, I have three sons, any of whom can inherit the title."
Madam Tu was well aware of the situation and paid no attention to the old lady's concerns, simply saying that the old lady should take good care of herself as she gets older.
After discovering the prescription for treating kidney deficiency, Gu Chengyan suddenly felt afraid.
Xie Xiangxiang and Guan Yingying are very similar in some ways. He can fool someone once or twice, but he can't fool someone three or five times.
Just as he was feeling troubled, Shi Xiu came to find him.
"Young Master Gu, His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence." Shi Xiu said with a grin, "That's good news, Young Master Gu."
"What good news?"
"His Highness has decided to entrust you with the task of procuring materials for the Grand Canal project. Prince Gu, this is an incredibly lucrative position."
Gu Chengyan's bad mood vanished, and he said excitedly, "Really? It's finally settled? Your Highness's great kindness will never be forgotten."
Shi Xiu smiled and said, "I knew the young master would be happy."
The Crown Prince was in charge of the Grand Canal project, and the person in charge of the project was Wei Shixun, the seventh grandson of the Duke of Chengen. He was responsible for the subcontracting of the Grand Canal project.
Wei Shixun had already communicated with the Crown Prince, and he didn't act arrogantly, assigning the task of procuring grain for the extended section of the Grand Canal to Gu Chengyan.
"Your Highness, this river dredging project will employ 500,000 laborers over three years. At one jin of grain per person per day, that's 500,000 jin per day. The current market price of grain is three to four wen. His Highness is kind, so I'll give you eight wen. You can also claim four wen for transportation and loss costs. That way, you can easily earn two to three thousand taels a day."
Gu Chengyan said gratefully, "I am deeply grateful for the help I received from His Highness the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince."
Wei Shih-hsun signed a contract with him and readily accepted his bribe of three thousand taels of silver.
After leaving the Duke of Chengen's mansion, Gu Chengyan felt all his previous frustration vanish and wanted to shout at the heavens.
Since the establishment of Da Gan, grain prices have been relatively stable, generally around two to four copper coins per kilogram for several years. He also knew about the transportation costs. At twelve copper coins per kilogram, even if the Crown Prince took the lion's share of the profits, he would still make a fortune.
He went to Nancheng excitedly to tell Guan Yingying the good news.
Pushing open the door to Tianhou Alley, you see Gu Yuebai cursing a chicken in the yard: "You bastard, you actually pecked my butt..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com