Chapter 436 Not Short of Money
The Changxing Marquis's Residence.
As soon as Gu Jingxi returned home, he went to Shou'an Hall to pay his respects to his elderly mother. The mother and son had not seen each other for nearly three months, and his mother must have missed him very much.
Madam Gu received the news this morning that her son had returned, but he went to the palace to meet the emperor early in the morning. She didn't mind, as important matters were at hand, and it wouldn't matter if mother and son met later.
Inside the Buddhist hall, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.
Madam Gu tapped the wooden fish with one hand and gently plucked the prayer beads with the other, chanting scriptures.
Granny Feng hurried in and reported, "Madam, the Marquis has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu paused in striking the wooden fish, turned to look at Granny Feng, and asked, "He's back from the palace?"
Granny Feng nodded: "Indeed, this servant has already invited the Marquis to wait in the hall."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu smiled and said, "I'll go right away." With that, she stood up and left the Buddhist hall with Granny Feng to see her son in the main hall.
Upon entering the hall, Madam Gu looked at her son, who had also stood up. She examined him closely; although he hadn't changed much in the nearly three months since she last saw him, he looked somewhat tired, likely from the long journey and the difficult time he had in Hangzhou.
Gu Jingxi stepped forward and bowed: "Your son greets Mother. How have you been lately?"
Madam Gu nodded gently, her smile kind: "I'm fine. Ayao is such a filial child. Look at the clothes I'm wearing, they were made for me by Ayao. I told her not to do these things before, so she wouldn't get tired, but she's so filial that she made me two more sets. Not to mention these clothes, even the shoes and socks I'm wearing now were made by her. When I go out and meet my old friends, they all envy me for having such a filial daughter-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi looked at his mother's clothes and his smile deepened. When he was not at home, his mother and A Yao got along very well. He said gently, "A Yao is being filial to you, so please accept it."
Madam Gu replied, "I was just worried that she would get tired, since she's pregnant. Fortunately, she hasn't had any pregnancy symptoms, and the doctor said the fetus is doing well when he examined her." As she spoke, she added, "Don't stand there, let's sit down and talk."
Gu Jingxi responded, took two steps forward, and helped his elderly mother to sit down in the seat of honor, while he himself sat in the seat below her.
Madam Gu asked with concern, "Yaoling, did you encounter any trouble while you were in Hangzhou?"
"No," Gu Jingxi replied without hesitation. "Everything is going smoothly, Mother, you don't need to worry."
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu glared at him: "You always report good news and never bad news. Even if the sky were to fall, you would tell me that nothing happened. No matter what, you must ensure that you are safe and sound. You are not alone now, you also have A Yao and the child who need your care. If anything happens to you, I, a person with one foot in the grave, cannot help you take care of them for long."
Gu Jingxi gently comforted her, "Mother, don't worry. Don't you know your son? He always acts with discretion and would never put himself in danger."
Madam Gu disagreed, saying, "I don't think so. When you're being reckless, you can scare me out of my wits."
Gu Jingxi choked, coughing twice to ease the awkwardness: "Mother, that's all in the past. I was young and impetuous back then, but now that I'm this old, how could I act so recklessly?"
Madam Gu glared at her son again. Her son had been intelligent since childhood and was a favorite student of his teacher. He learned everything quickly, but he also had his share of headaches. He often secretly went out with his friends to play, drink, race horses, and even go hunting deep in the forest. He was very daring. When she found out that her son had disappeared in the forest, she was terrified.
As a result, she and her husband were terrified and went to search for Yao Ling themselves. When they found Yao Ling, he was covered in blood and ran towards them, saying that he had not gotten lost. He had only gone deeper into the area to hunt a black bear, and in the end, he actually found a black bear, fought with it, and hunted it. The blood was from the black bear. Her son spoke of it lightly, but she and her husband were terrified.
When she got home, she and her husband gave their troublesome son a severe beating, and he only became more well-behaved afterward. They say like father, like son, and they wondered if their grandson would be like that in the future.
Madam Gu asked, "What exactly did the Emperor send you to Hangzhou this time? I asked you before, but you didn't say. Now that the matter has been resolved, you should be able to tell me, right?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "The governor of Zhejiang was corrupt and accepted bribes, and many of his subordinates were also involved."
Madam Gu asked in surprise, "The Governor of Zhejiang? Isn't that Han Jin, the Duke of Zhenguo's uncle?"
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly: "That's right. The Han family is going to fall this time. When the Emperor sent me to Hangzhou Prefecture, he was already determined to take down the Han family."
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Gu sighed softly. The Gu family and the Han family had a relationship. The current Duke of Zhenguo's father was a friend of her husband. The old Duke was a good man, but his son was not so good. He was somewhat arrogant. Otherwise, Yao Ling would have had dealings with the current Duke of Zhenguo. Now that Han Jin, the most promising member of the Han family, was like this, the Han family was doomed to collapse.
Madam Gu said, "Yaoling, when educating our children and grandchildren, ability is secondary, and character is paramount. That way, even if they are mediocre, they won't bring the family down."
Gu Jingxi replied, "Mother, rest assured, I understand."
Suddenly remembering something, Madam Gu asked affectionately, "By the way, Yaoling, do you have enough money?"
Gu Jingxi was bewildered: "???"
Does he look like someone who would be short of money? They've been mother and son for thirty years, doesn't the mother know him well enough?
Fearing he might feel embarrassed, Madam Gu continued, "I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years. Your maternal grandparents also gave me a generous dowry back then. If you need money, just tell me. Don't be shy."
Gu Jingxi shook his head: "Mother, I don't lack money. I don't usually need to spend money, and I also have private property. Why would I lack money?"
Hearing her son say this, Old Madam Gu believed him. In the two months since she started raising her daughter-in-law, she had experienced what it meant to spend money like water. However, she was happy and felt that the money was well spent.
Even though Gu Jingxi said he didn't lack money, when he left, Old Madam Gu still stuffed the silver notes she had prepared in advance into his hand without allowing him to refuse, and said, "Mother knows you have enough money to spend, but this is from Mother. You don't need to spend money, so spend it on Ayao and the children."
Gu Jingxi couldn't refuse, so he had to accept it. After leaving Shou'an Hall, he was still a little dazed. From childhood to adulthood, his mother had never given him money on her own initiative. She had always taught him not to be extravagant and to be frugal. He was not a spendthrift, so his monthly allowance was enough for his expenses.
Now that he's grown up, he not only has private property, but also rewards from the emperor for his meritorious service. He's quite wealthy, and his mother gave him 10,000 taels of silver right away. What's the reason for this?
His mother had always doted on him, but this time, her love left him somewhat bewildered.
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