Chapter 45: County Lady
The maid of the Jiang family was full of pride: "My county lady is the younger sister of the late wife of Duke Yong."
Gu Huan nodded: "So she is my brother-in-law's mother's sister. I am so lucky."
The maid of the Jiang family felt something was not right, looked at her, and went back to report.
Gu Huan ignored him and smiled at Shopkeeper Qiu: "Shopkeeper Qiu, I really want to see the jewelry you mentioned."
Shopkeeper Qiu signaled the maid to bring out a wooden box covered with velvet. Inside was a set of silver jewelry inlaid with amethysts, which was elegant and special.
Gu Huan was amazed: "It's so beautiful."
I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
"Last time, Manager Zhou said that he would give you two more sets of jewelry. This set is specially prepared for you."
Gu Huan was surprised.
But this was arranged by Manager Zhou, so she couldn't refuse.
It was originally given to save face for the Duke Yong's Mansion, and it does not belong to her. If she leaves the Duke Yong's Mansion in the future, she will not take it with her.
Shopkeeper Qiu ordered the maid beside him: "Wrap it up and send it to the Duke of Yong's mansion."
Gu Huan figured it out.
I accepted it calmly and didn't refuse.
"Wait." A crisp female voice came.
The three of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jiang Ruoxi walking in arrogantly and glancing at Gu Huan indifferently.
I inexplicably dislike her.
Although she is the junior of Duke Yong, she is too charming in appearance and lacks the modesty that a noble lady should have.
As the wife of Duke Yong and the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, she would nip certain women's extravagant hopes in the bud.
Due to her status, Gu Huan nodded and bowed: "Greetings, County Lady Jiang."
Jiang Ruoxi didn't even look at her, and pointed at the amethyst jewelry without hesitation: "I want this set of jewelry."
Shopkeeper Qiu frowned and said, "Sorry, this set of jewelry belongs to Miss Gu."
Jiang Ruoxi smiled and said, "How much is this set of jewelry? I'll give you double, or even triple."
Gu Huan raised her eyebrows.
Would Mu Junyan like someone with this kind of personality?
I wonder what the late lady’s personality was like.
Shopkeeper Qiu said calmly, "It's not about the money. This set of jewelry is not expensive, and the style is simple, which is more suitable for Miss Gu. If County Lady Jiang likes it, she can choose the one that suits her best."
Gu Huan looked at Shopkeeper Qiu in surprise.
He has a very tough personality and is not afraid of offending the Empress Dowager's family, the Jiang family.
Jiang Ruoxi looked unhappy after being criticized.
Seeing this, the second shopkeeper hurriedly smiled and coaxed, "Shopkeeper Qiu meant that County Lady Jiang is of noble status, so she is suitable for more luxurious jewelry. This set of amethyst looks rare in color, and it is paired with silver jewelry, so it is indeed not expensive."
The second shopkeeper winked at the maid beside him, and the maid hurried to get more luxurious jewelry.
Jiang Ruoxi was an old customer of Linlanglou and knew that Shopkeeper Qiu had a bad temper. If the jewelry did not fit the buyer, she would refuse to sell it no matter how much money the buyer offered.
Shopkeeper Qiu's clients are either rich or noble, and she doesn't want to offend them.
He glanced at Gu Huan, and the more he looked at her, the more displeased he became.
When I go to the palace tomorrow, I must ask Mu Junyan to drive this young lady's concubine sister out of the Duke's Mansion.
Leaving such a scourge in the house would easily lead to criticism.
Jiang Ruoxi held her head high with the dignity of a noble lady, and looked at Gu Huan with pride: "Shopkeeper Qiu is right, you should wear jewelry that suits your status. If it's not yours, don't covet it, or you'll embarrass yourself."
Gu Huan smiled and said, "County Lady Jiang is absolutely right. I appreciate your advice."
Jiang Ruoxi felt uncomfortable hearing the word "junior".
She was only eighteen years old, but why did she feel several years older when she was called a junior?
Donghua didn't read much, but she could tell that Jiang Ruoxi was targeting the second Miss Gu.
Miss Zhou repeatedly told her to protect Miss Gu Er well and she couldn't stand this.
She stepped forward and gave a standard bow.
"County Lady Jiang, I am from the Duke's Mansion, and Miss Gu is a female teacher hired by my master himself. The jewelry in Linlang Tower was bought for the young lady by the Duke's order, and it is indeed not something that anyone can covet."
Jiang Ruoxi's face suddenly darkened when she was confronted by a servant in public.
"May I have your name?"
Donghua raised her head and said, "My name is Donghua."
"Donghua, right? I'll remember that."
Jiang Ruoxi sneered and turned away.
When she marries into the Duke's Mansion, the first thing she will do is beat to death this ignorant servant!
Gu Huan looked at Jiang Ruoxi's back speechlessly.
He looked at Donghua again and whispered, "Aren't you afraid that she will really become the master's wife?"
"Her? Is it possible?" Donghua widened her eyes.
Gu Huan wanted to laugh: "Why not? Didn't you hear the Empress Dowager grant the marriage?"
"No one can force the master to marry someone he doesn't like." Donghua was full of confidence.
"How do you know the master doesn't like it? Wasn't the marriage between the late wife also arranged? They are sisters, maybe the master loves her too."
"The former wife is different. She has liked the master for many years. She is gentle and quiet, well-educated and well-mannered. She is very kind to the servants after marrying into the Duke's Mansion. What kind of personality does this person have? Not to mention the master, even the servants in our Duke's Mansion look down on her."
The two of them walked out of Linlang Building while whispering.
Gu Huan had a clear idea in her mind.
Donghua followed Gu Huan into an alley, and not far away was a small bookstore.
There is a plaque hanging in front of the door: Guqing Bookstore.
"Wait outside for a while. I'll get some notebooks for calligraphy practice."
"Okay." Donghua stood guard at the door.
When Gu Huan stepped over the threshold, the shopkeeper, who was sorting books on the shelf, turned back when he heard the voice.
"Oh, Miss Gu, you haven't been here for more than a month. I was planning to have someone quietly go to the Gu Mansion to ask what happened to you."
The shopkeeper told the servant to pour tea.
Gu Huan bowed and said, "The shopkeeper is very thoughtful. I recently went to the Yongguo Mansion with my elder sister and I don't have time to come out for a while."
"I see. The manuscripts you copied are the most popular. Students all say that your handwriting is beautiful, and you copied carefully, clearly, and without any mistakes. Everyone wants to buy your copy."
Gu Hua blushed slightly: "If you want to copy, you have to copy carefully."
"Are you here to get the blank copy?"
"Exactly."
"How much will you take this time?"
"Ten, please. And give me two brushes."
Gu Huan curled her fingers.
In the past, copying a book could earn ten cents, and copying three books could be exchanged for a bushel of fine rice.
She worked on copying books for a year and a half and earned just over five taels of silver, which she spent almost all on finding out Mu Junyan's whereabouts.
She knew very well that her dependence on Mu Junyan was only temporary.
One day, she will leave and live the life she wants.
As the saying goes, without money you can't do anything, but money makes the world go round.
Money must be earned.
The waiter brought the tea and the shopkeeper ordered him to fetch ten blank books.
The surface of this kind of book has normal blue pages, and the title of the book copied inside is written on the page.
The servant wrapped ten blank books in orchid cloth and rolled up two brushes in oil paper and handed them to Gu Huan.
"Shopkeeper, I would like to ask, if it is an ancient book or a rare copy that is hard to find in the world, how much is the price?"
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up: "That depends on which ancient books they are. If they are rare copies that scholars have been searching for, the price will be ten times higher than the ones you copied before."
Gu Huan was excited.
There are many rare ancient books in Duke Yong’s study, including unique copies that are worth a fortune.
She had been thinking about this for a long time, and fortunately she had the opportunity to ask about it today.
She silently calculated that if she could earn a hundred coins for copying one book, she would only need ten books, which would be one or two taels of silver.
As long as she copied the manuscripts of the Duke's late wife, she would try to copy more rare copies of ancient books.
If she copied for three months, when Mu Junyan died in battle, she would at least have enough money to escape from Pei's clutches.
"Please write down the title of the rare ancient book you want. If I can find it, I will copy one or two for you to try first, okay?"
"Okay, okay."
The shopkeeper immediately picked up a pen, wrote down a few book titles, and handed them to Gu Huan.
Gu Huan carefully folded it up and put it away: "Then I'll go first."
Donghua saw her carrying a large bag and quickly went over to take it: "It's so heavy, are they all calligraphy practice books?"
Gu Huan nodded vaguely.
She didn't want the people in the Duke's Mansion to know about the copying of the books.
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