Chapter 40 Cousin
Aunt Pei raised her eyebrows: "Do you still remember that poor boy?"
Gu Huan tightly grasped her handkerchief and said calmly, "I just want to know whether he is dead or alive."
"He dared to instigate you to elope and covet the young lady of the Marquis' Mansion. Of course he must die."
"Dead?" Gu Huan was speechless.
"We wanted to capture him and beat him to death on the spot, but he fell off a cliff and died."
Aunt Pei said it easily.
Gu Huan felt a tearing pain in her heart.
It was she who killed Brother Ji, the only one who was kind to her.
Aunt Pei glanced at her and said, "Whether you marry your brother-in-law or your eldest cousin, which one is better than that poor childhood sweetheart? You have no future at all."
Although the sun was shining brightly outside, Gu Huan felt cold all over.
From the moment she was born, she was surrounded by the web of Pei's conspiracy, which trapped her tightly until her death.
She would extinguish even a little sunshine and hope.
Gu Huan suppressed her grief and said calmly, "There is no such thing as childhood sweethearts. We are just classmates. Mother is right. A poor man is not worthy of the daughter of the Marquis's mansion."
Aunt Pei smiled.
A hairless sparrow hopes to fly to the tree branch and turn into a phoenix?
Don’t even think about it!
The carriage stopped downstairs of the noisy building.
This is the Pei family’s property in the capital.
Aunt Pei got out of the car, and the waiter at the door saw that it was her and greeted her enthusiastically.
"The eldest aunt is here, and the eldest master is waiting for you in the private room on the second floor."
Gu Huan and Pei got off the carriage and entered the building one after another.
Donghua caught up, sweating all over, and was about to go in when she was stopped by the waiter.
"I'm Miss Gu's maid." Donghua glared.
The waiter was used to seeing dignitaries, and seeing that her clothes were more luxurious than those of the maids in Marquis Gu's mansion, he naturally did not dare to neglect her.
"Please wait on the first floor, young lady. I will make you a cup of tea."
Donghua still wanted to break in, but Nanny Lu arrived and grabbed her.
Panting for breath, "Masters, the masters are talking, slaves, don't follow in."
Donghua looked anxiously at Gu Huan who had gone up to the second floor, and Gu Huan turned back and gave her a comforting look.
"Girl, shout if you have anything to say."
Donghua didn't care that a group of people were watching her and just shouted at the top of her voice.
Under the astonished gaze of the waiter, Donghua rolled up her sleeves, pulled a chair, and sat astride her horse at the stairs.
He put on an attitude of one man blocking the way for ten thousand.
The waiter looked at Madam Lu with wide eyes, but Madam Lu didn't dare to do anything.
This girl is very fierce, but the people in the Duke's Mansion can't beat her.
Xuanhua Building is located in the busiest street in the commercial center of Bianjing. At this moment, the building is filled with people drinking tea and eating snacks, and it is bustling and lively.
It was for this reason that Gu Huan boldly followed.
Her target is the current head of the Pei family, the eldest son of the Pei family, Pei Yi.
He is Aunt Pei's greatest support and patron.
After entering the private room, Gu Huan saw a slender figure standing by the window, looking out.
Hearing the noise, the man turned around, and was filled with amazement when he saw Gu Huan.
Gu Huan was the first to bow and called out in a tender voice, "Cousin."
Pei Yi retracted his gaze, his ears slightly red, and he smiled and bowed to hide his embarrassment.
"Aunt, second cousin, you are here."
Aunt Pei caught Pei Yi's thoughts and said with a smile: "You have been waiting for a long time. Huan'er has nothing to do today, so I brought her along."
Pei Yi adjusted his mood and smiled: "I haven't seen my cousin Huan'er for a long time. You have grown up a lot."
"Yes, for several years."
Gu Huan smiled brightly, which made Pei Yi's heart pound and his face flush.
The first time he met Gu Huan was when Pei Yi personally delivered the banknotes to the Marquis' Mansion. Little Gu Huan was only ten years old.
The little face had not yet fully grown and was as delicate as a porcelain doll, as if it would break if touched.
She peeked at him timidly with her little eyes, like a cautious kitten.
That year, Pei Yi was only seventeen years old. He entered the city of Bianliang for the first time and lived up to everyone's expectations by ranking 58th in the imperial examination, becoming the first son of the Pei family to enter an official career.
In the same year, with the introduction of Lord Gu, the Pei family found the best location through a middleman in Bian Jing and opened their first restaurant.
The second time I saw her was five years later, when Aunt Pei took her to the Pei family’s newly opened clothing store to choose dresses.
It just so happened that Pei Yi, who was the eighth-rank envoy of the Ministry of Revenue, was also there.
He was still unmarried at the age of 22 because the Pei family had extremely high requirements for his marriage.
Pei Yi has been traveling around the capital for five years and has met many different kinds of daughters of officials. Some officials' families also want to propose marriage to him, but the Pei family is generally looked down upon by officials' families, and the merchant families will definitely not marry him. He also has a vague crush on someone.
When we met that day, the fifteen-year-old Gu Huan had grown into a graceful young lady, like a bud about to bloom, with the appearance of a peerless beauty.
But he was sure that he was attracted to this cousin, so he immediately wrote a letter home and asked his mother to propose marriage to his eldest aunt.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, his aunt's mother came to see him.
It was said that she was the legitimate daughter of the richest man in Jiangling and married into the capital as a concubine. She sacrificed her happiness for the Pei family in order to gain a place for the Pei family in the capital and consolidate their status as imperial merchants.
As the eldest son of the Pei family, he gathered the strength of the entire family to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination and become an official. Only by marrying the daughter of an official family in the capital can he truly step into the path of officialdom and help the Pei family to rise to prominence.
Pei Yi was also responsible for the important task of helping the Pei family's children enter officialdom.
From that day on, he had no chance to see his cousin Gu Huan again for three years.
Unexpectedly, her aunt suddenly brought her here today.
Thinking of the two times they met and the impression left by his little cousin in his heart, Pei Yi felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.
Now he already has a wife, and he and his fairy-like cousin are separated by thousands of mountains, so they are destined to be apart.
Pei Yi took out the box of silver and handed it to Aunt Pei with both hands: "Aunt, this month's dividend is eight hundred taels, and the additional gift is one thousand taels."
Aunt Pei accepted it with a smile: "It's more than last month."
Pei Yi tried hard not to look at Gu Huan and said, "Yes, business is getting better and better. It's a rare opportunity to see my second cousin today, so I have to give her a gift. Please sit down for a while, I'll go get it."
Gu Huan watched him stagger as he turned around and walked out, almost tripping over the door frame, and the corners of his lips curled slightly.
Thank you Aunt Pei for raising her to be so charming.
She didn't do anything, just stood there and smiled politely.
Aunt Pei was so angry that her teeth were itching.
Naughty fox!
However, the only way to control Gu Huan now is to give her to Pei Yi.
If Pei Yi refuses to accept her, she will take Gu Huan back to her hometown and marry her to a local government official, making her a stepping stone for the Pei family!
In short, she must not be allowed to become a stumbling block for Ruer.
This is Gu Huan’s first time coming to Xuanhua Building.
She knew that this was the Pei family's most profitable industry in Bianjing City.
Because of Gu Yuan's help, the business was opened, so the Marquis' Mansion got 30% of the dividends without spending a penny.
She walked to the window curiously and looked around, observing her surroundings.
Downstairs is the busiest street market in Bianjing, with all kinds of business around, even Linlang Tower and Jixiangzhai are not far away.
In her previous life, Gu Huan had no chance to see a wider world, let alone dare to think about competing with the Pei family.
In this life, she wants to give it a try.
No matter what happens, it is better than being slaughtered by others.
I saw the bustling crowd downstairs, people doing business walking along the streets, and people coming and going in the restaurant.
They are all businesses that make money.
If she wanted to completely defeat Aunt Pei, she must first cut off Pei's supply to Aunt Pei.
She looked up inadvertently and found that there was an exquisite small building directly opposite her. The large windows on the second floor were hung with bamboo curtains, so she could not see what was going on inside the house from her position.
The door downstairs was closed, it didn't look like a shop but rather a private house.
Gu Huan was surprised. How could a private house be placed in the downtown area?
I'll go downstairs and check the house number later.
Very curious.
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