Chapter 380 He's the one who suffered.
Gu Jingxi came out of the study in the front yard and ran into Butler Liu.
Upon seeing him, Butler Liu quickened his pace and walked towards him, presumably wanting to speak with him about something.
When Butler Liu approached, Gu Jingxi waved his hand, indicating that Butler Liu did not need to be so polite, and asked directly, "Butler Liu, is there something you need?"
Steward Liu replied, "My lord, the branch of the Gu family who remained in Huzhou learned that you have returned to your hometown to pay respects to your ancestors and came to inquire whether you may accompany them on the day of the ceremony."
Originally, he shouldn't have bothered the Marquis with such a matter, but going to pay respects to the ancestors with the Marquis was different. The Gu family's collateral branches that stayed in Huzhou were all unambitious and lived peacefully in their ancestral home. Going to pay respects to the ancestors with the Marquis this time would make him look good and enhance his reputation in Huzhou.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi replied without hesitation, "Of course."
The ancestors weren't just his own. Although the collateral branches were distant and had no contact with each other, they shared the same ancestor as the direct line of the Gu family. He originally returned to his hometown under the pretext of ancestor worship, and the more people who came with him to visit the ancestral graves, the better. The greater the commotion, the more advantageous it would be for him to cover up another matter.
Steward Liu nodded and said, "Then I'll send someone to deliver a message shortly."
Gu Jingxi gave a faint "hmm" and then asked, "How are your preparations for the ancestral worship coming along?"
"It's almost ready, Your Excellency. Rest assured, everything will be ready by the day after tomorrow, so it won't affect the ancestral worship ceremony." Steward Liu replied respectfully. His master had only come back once in a long time, so he naturally had to do his best to make a good impression. The ancestor had sent a dream to ask His Excellency to return to his hometown to worship his ancestors, and he not only had to handle such an important matter properly, but also in a respectable manner.
After a moment, Steward Liu asked again, "My lord, a distant relative of yours, whose eldest grandson is ten days away from his one-month birthday celebration, has sent an invitation. He passed the imperial examination at the county level but hasn't gone any further and is now a teacher at an academy." With that, he presented the invitation in his hand.
Gu Jingxi took the invitation and glanced at it, then instructed, "I will not be in Huzhou City in ten days. Prepare a gift and send it over then."
Steward Liu replied, "Yes, Your Excellency."
Gu Jingxi suddenly remembered something and instructed, "Madam likes Taihu silver fish. Have the kitchen buy some for lunch or dinner."
Steward Liu replied, "My lord, we had someone buy this boy yesterday, and he should have been brought back by now."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi glanced at him in surprise and praised him generously, "Well done."
Steward Liu was delighted. To win his master's favor, he had to put in the effort. In the past few days, he had noticed that the Marquis treated his wife very well, putting her first in everything, including the dishes. When his wife was happy, the Marquis was naturally happy too.
So when he learned that his wife liked Taihu silverfish, he immediately had someone buy some. In addition to Taihu silverfish, his wife also liked Taihu white shrimp and Taihu whitefish. In addition, there were some Huzhou specialty snacks that his wife also liked.
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Over the next two days, Gu Jingxi took Meng Jinyao out to play, showing her local sights and letting her experience the local customs and culture.
Meng Jinyao had a great time these past two days. Huzhou Prefecture was far from the capital, so the rules and regulations were not as strict, and the local customs were more open and free.
But there's another upsetting thing.
For the past two days, Yu Chuan had been keeping a close eye on Lord Wei, stubbornly trying to find out something from him, but to his surprise, he made no progress and instead listened to gossip for two days.
Ever since their lord and his wife attended Old Madam Wei's birthday banquet, including the night of the banquet, Lord Wei and Madam Wei have argued four times, and each time it was related to their lord.
Those who didn't know better would think that their lord had done something to seduce Lady Wei.
To be honest, Madam Wei is really something. She's been married for so many years, why is she still thinking about the Marquis? She's just making trouble for her husband. Every time she's in front of Lord Wei, she praises the Marquis and belittles Lord Wei, making Lord Wei furious and resentful of the Marquis.
But one has to admire that this couple is different from other couples. Other couples who argue so fiercely would definitely not be able to have sex again, and they wouldn't even feel disgusted to see each other. But this couple is different. They can still have sex after arguing, and they can even have sex while arguing.
Of course, this was initiated and forcefully carried out by Lord Wei. Lady Wei did not resist, but only mocked Lord Wei afterwards, which angered him so much that he secretly took his medicine before the next time.
Even he, an observer, was bewildered. What kind of lunatics were these?
They hated each other, yet they still did such things. Lady Wei had her heart set on someone else and had even plotted to harm her children and concubines. Lord Wei knew this perfectly well, and could have easily divorced her and married a truly virtuous and kind woman to ensure peace in the household. But Lord Wei did not do that; he insisted on entangled with her and tormenting each other.
Meanwhile, Gu Jingxi listened to Yu Chuan gossip about Lord Wei and Madam Wei, and felt increasingly depressed. How could he, who was perfectly fine, become the main reason for other people's marital discord?
Lord Wei is useless, and Lady Wei mocks him. In the end, he is dragged down by Lord Wei and called a good-for-nothing.
His face darkened: "Yu Chuan, can't you ask about something else? What does it matter to me whether they're arguing or not?"
Yu Chuan glanced at him and replied nervously, "My lord, their quarrel is related to you. Madam Wei is in love with you, and Lord Wei thinks you are deeply in love with his wife. He even said that you two are a pair of loveless lovers who are destined to be apart."
Gu Jingxi: "..."
He had seen lovey-dovey couples before, but he had never seen a lovey-dovey couple he didn't know well, let alone one where the person was him.
After a moment, he replied, "That's just their delusions. Besides that, didn't you find out anything else?"
Yu Chuan replied, "I secretly sneaked into Lord Wei's study and searched it carefully. There were no hidden mechanisms or secret compartments in the study. He must be a cautious person. There were some letters in the study, but they were only correspondence with relatives and friends, nothing about anything else."
Gu Jingxi frowned slightly. He knew that Lord Wei had accepted bribes to do favors for others. Even if he knew this, it would be difficult to find solid evidence unless he found the private accounts. All the money and valuables were recorded in the ledgers, and each item had a source. However, some of the money and valuables were obtained through embezzlement or bribery, and these would appear in the private accounts. Generally, corrupt officials would keep a private ledger. This private ledger was the real ledger, not the public false ledger.
Never mind whether we've found evidence of Lord Wei accepting bribes; let's put that aside for now. The matter in Deqing County is more important. If we find clues there, and those clues point directly to Lord Wei, we can naturally follow the trail and investigate further.
Yu Chuan suddenly said, "By the way, Lord Marquis, Lord Wei also asked his confidants what you have been doing and where you have been these past two days. Lord Wei knows all about your and your wife's whereabouts."
Gu Jingxi paused upon hearing this. Was she inquiring about his whereabouts because she had something to hide and was afraid of being investigated?
He said calmly, "I understand. You don't need to tell me about their troubles anymore."
Yu Chuan: "Yes, Lord Marquis."
At first, he was disgusted by the gossip about Lord Wei and his wife, but after eavesdropping a few times, he suddenly found it interesting. Every time the couple quarreled, their Marquis would suffer. If Lady Wei praised him, Lord Wei would criticize him.
Gu Jingxi's expression darkened: "Yu Chuan, what are you thinking?"
Yu Chuan hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency is wise; I didn't mean anything by it."
Gu Jingxi warned, "Keep your mind in check. Don't think about things you shouldn't, and don't let them reach Madam's ears. Otherwise, I'll find you a woman with a temperament like Madam Wei and marry you off to her."
Yu Chuan: "..."
What a cruel punishment! How could an upright and honorable Marquis do such a thing? Could an ordinary person tolerate a madwoman like Madam Wei? Unless that person is Lord Wei.
Gu Jingxi narrowed her eyes and asked in a low voice, "Yu Chuan, did you understand?"
Yu Chuan nodded vigorously: "I understand, Your Excellency. I am only interested in uncovering Lord Wei's secrets and have no interest in anything else."
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "Alright, you may leave."
Yu Chuan withdrew from the study. After leaving, the image of Lord Wei and Madam Wei arguing flashed through his mind. He also thought of what the Marquis had just said and felt a chill. He completely lost interest in this kind of gossip.
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