Chapter 411 Returning to the Capital
A few days later, the merchant ship arrived at Tongxian Wharf, and Gu Jingxi and his party disembarked, hired two carriages, and rode home.
For the past two weeks, none of them have dared to let their guard down, but now they can finally relax.
After the carriage entered the city, the lively sounds reached inside. Meng Jinyao lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked out. Looking at the bustling streets of the capital, she felt a sense of nostalgia.
They went to Huzhou in the summer, and now that they have returned to the capital, it is already autumn.
Meng Jinyao lowered the curtain and turned to Gu Jingxi, saying, "Husband, autumn has arrived. In a few more months, another year will have passed."
Gu Jingxi nodded, but the thought that he would be thirty-one after the New Year made him feel a little depressed. He suddenly wished that time would slow down, even more.
Seeing that he remained silent, Meng Jinyao asked again, "Husband, what's wrong?"
Gu Jingxi shook her head slightly and smiled gently: "It's nothing, I just feel that time has passed too quickly and there are still many things I haven't done."
Meng Jinyao said, "I used to think that time passed very slowly, and sometimes it even felt like an eternity. Now I feel that time passes quickly. This also reflects a problem: happy times always pass quickly. If possible, I wish time could always pass this quickly."
Gu Jingxi paused for a moment, then pulled her into his arms.
The carriage stopped in front of the Changxing Marquis's residence. Meng Jinyao gave the driver some money, and Zhou Yun went to knock on the door.
A moment later, the gatekeeper opened the door and saw five people in disguise. At first glance, they all seemed unfamiliar, and the gatekeeper was momentarily stunned. He was about to ask them who they were looking for.
The next moment, Fang Ce said, "What are you staring at? Don't you even recognize the Marquis and his wife?"
"My lord, my lady?"
The servant glanced at Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi. At first glance, they seemed quite unfamiliar, but upon closer inspection, they looked alike. He wondered how this good-looking couple had become so ordinary after returning to their hometown.
The servant quickly bowed and said, "This humble servant greets the Marquis and the Madam."
After returning home, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao went back to their own courtyard, washed up briefly, and changed into clean clothes. They looked much more refreshed before going to Shou'an Hall to pay their respects to Old Madam Gu.
When Madam Gu saw that the couple had returned safely, she was relieved. Knowing that they were tired from the journey and seeing the weariness on their faces, she did not keep them for long. After asking them a few words of concern, she told them to go back and rest.
However, Gu Jingxi could not rest yet. Fang Xuan had returned to the capital earlier than them and had successfully brought back the account books and letters. He needed to see Fang Xuan, then go to the palace to tell the Emperor the whole story, present the evidence, and wait for the Emperor's decision.
Meng Jinyao could sleep, but she didn't want to sleep right now. Despite being tired from the journey, she wasn't sleepy at all.
Ningdong, not seeing Qingqiu and Chan'er, asked curiously, "Madam, where are Qingqiu and Chan'er? Why haven't I seen them?"
Meng Jinyao didn't want to talk too much about the danger she encountered, so she downplayed it by saying, "Chan'er was injured while saving Qingqiu and is still recovering. Qingqiu stayed to take care of her. They will come back once Chan'er is healed."
Ning Dong asked in surprise, "If you need to recuperate and can't travel, then your injury must be quite serious, right?"
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly, not wanting to say anything more, and immediately changed the subject: "By the way, have you received all the things we had sent back?"
Ningdong nodded repeatedly: "We've received everything. It's in our yard. Would you like to move it in?"
Meng Jinyao said, "Have someone move in."
Before long, several maids brought the things in.
Meng Jinyao instructed her maid to tidy up and pack all the things that belonged to her and Gu Jingxi. She also sorted out the gifts that were to be given to relatives and friends and sent them to each courtyard. She even prepared gifts for Princess Jingning and Song Xinning, planning to bring them to them when she visited her friends in a couple of days.
Then, Meng Jinyao asked, "Ningdong, has anything happened while I was away from the capital?"
Ningdong replied, "Madam, nothing much has happened in the manor. The second young master has secured a position in the Ministry of Revenue and is now working there, which means he has entered the court as an official. The second master and madam are very happy about this, and even the old madam has praised him."
Meng Jinyao nodded, then asked, "Besides that, has anything else happened in the capital?"
Ningdong picked out a few stories from other families and told her about them. For example, a certain official was over fifty years old. On the surface, he was honest, dutiful, and henpecked, but he secretly kept a young and beautiful mistress. When his fierce old wife found out, she made a huge scene and even set fire to the house, almost burning the mistress to death. The official was then impeached by the censor. When the emperor learned of this, he severely reprimanded him, saying that he was not upright and could not even manage his own household. How could he serve the court? He was directly dismissed from his post and sent home to cultivate himself and manage his household.
For example, if a widowed daughter-in-law remarries, but to the family's arch-enemy, the family is furious. Why did she have to marry into the family of her former husband's arch-enemy? Although she hasn't married into the family yet, she has already returned to her parents' home to await marriage.
Ning Dong suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Madam, Princess Jingning got engaged just a few days ago."
"Ayan is engaged?" Meng Jinyao was astonished. This was something she hadn't expected. She only knew that the heir of the Duke of Shen was in love with Ayan, but Ayan was in love with the heir without realizing it. Could it be that she was engaged to the Shen family?
Ning Dong nodded and said, "Princess Jingning is engaged to the heir of the Duke of Shen. It was the Duke of Shen who brought his heir to propose to Princess Jingning as his wife. The Prince of Liang and his wife also agreed to the marriage, and Princess Jingning did not object."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was also happy for the couple who had finally become a couple. However, Shen Shizi's stepmother was not someone to be trifled with. Ayan was a royal princess, the emperor's own niece, and the empress dowager's own granddaughter. Madam Shen certainly wouldn't dare to act like a mother-in-law and give Ayan a hard time. However, Madam Shen was wicked.
Ningdong added, "There is another matter. Lady Shen is ill, and her illness is severe. It is estimated that she will not live to see next spring. The two families have decided to hold the wedding before the end of the year so that the young couple's marriage will not be delayed due to the mourning period. The main concern is that it might delay the princess. The princess is sixteen this year. If we wait until the young master Shen's mourning period ends, she will be nineteen."
Meng Jinyao was stunned after hearing this. She subconsciously thought of Prince Shen. Prince Shen was probably afraid that his stepmother would cause some trouble later, so he simply made her fall ill to save trouble. In this way, when Madam Shen would die would be in Prince Shen's hands.
A few months ago, she heard Ayan gossip that Lady Shen was heartbroken after losing her only son and was seeking a doctor for a remedy to have another child.
In this way, Prince Shen could conceal whatever he wanted to do.
Lady Shen, in her desire to conceive again, would certainly resort to folk remedies, which can harm her health. Coupled with the pain of losing her child and being immersed in grief, her mental state was not good. This illness would not arouse suspicion; people would only think that she was obsessed with having a child and would take any folk remedy, ultimately making herself sick.
It must be said that the timing was excellent, and Prince Shen was decisive and ruthless, seizing the opportunity to strike.
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