Chapter 266 Mutual Blame
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao simultaneously raised their heads and looked in the direction of the sound.
Qi Yunwen stared intently at Gu Jingxi, his eyes shining brightly, and strode towards him, like a destitute little beggar running toward a newly discovered mountain of gold and silver.
Qi Yunwen nodded to Gu Jingxi, his gaze falling on Meng Jinyao. He smiled and called her "sister-in-law," then looked at Gu Jingxi expectantly.
Meng Jinyao nodded in response: "Lord Qi."
Seeing his expression, Gu Jingxi roughly knew what he wanted, and silently took out a one-hundred-tael silver note from her purse and handed it to him: "Is this enough?"
Qi Yunwen took the silver note with a smile: "You really are a good brother, you understand me. But it's not enough. I just saw a little trinket that I like, but I'm still a little short of money."
Gu Jingxi asked, "How much is it?"
Qi Yunwen replied, "Not much, just two hundred taels."
Gu Jingxi: "?"
What kind of trinket costs two hundred taels?
He grumbled to himself, but still silently took out two hundred taels of silver notes and handed them to his troublesome friend.
Qi Yunwen smiled and accepted the silver note. Being quite tactful, he didn't want to disturb the couple. He said, "Thank you, Yaoling. I'll pay you back when I have more money. I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave now. You two continue reading."
Before leaving, Qi Yunwen put his arm around Gu Jingxi's shoulder and teased her in a low voice, "Not bad, Gu Yaoling, you're getting more and more savvy, you even know how to accompany your little wife to the cosmetics shop now."
Gu Jingxi glanced at him indifferently and did not reply.
Qi Yunwen didn't mind. He patted the man's shoulder lightly, took the silver note to settle the bill, handed the shopkeeper a hundred-yuan note, and said to the shopkeeper, "Here you go. We'll settle the new and old accounts together. Don't always think that I won't pay you. Do you think I'd be short of money? I'm just a little tight on cash lately."
The shopkeeper responded, quickly offering a few flattering words with a smile, then settled his accounts, gave him change, and he left with his things.
Meng Jinyao picked out a box of lip balm, as well as face and hand creams, and Gu Jingxi went to pay for it for her.
After leaving Zhu Yan Pavilion, Meng Jinyao suddenly asked curiously, "Husband, is Lord Qi's family really that poor? I heard him talking about old and new debts, and that he even needs to buy things on credit at the rouge shop?"
Gu Jingxi shook his head with a smile: "The Qi family is not poor, and they are quite wealthy. But once they have a wife, she will be under their control. It is common for her to be disobedient and have no money to spend."
Meng Jinyao was surprised. She had met A Ning's uncle many times before. He was a handsome man and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He looked quite dignified. A Ning had told her that he was a man who doted on his wife and had no concubines or maids. She never expected that he was afraid of his wife.
After a moment, Meng Jinyao asked curiously, "If he doesn't have money, why does he still buy things on credit? Isn't he afraid that Madam Qi will be unhappy and refuse to pay for him?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "He has private property. He runs a restaurant and inn with others. He can pay off his own income. He's not really short of money. Madam Qi won't interfere with his income, since that money is basically spent on Madam Qi."
Meng Jinyao nodded knowingly.
See? That's the difference between men.
Even if a capable man is tightly controlled by his wife, he will still find ways to earn money specifically to appease her.
Unlike her good-for-nothing father, who squandered his wife's dowry and schemed to take advantage of it—who used Sun's dowry to fill the hole left by her mother's dowry before—he was now divorced and had no wife. It was uncertain whether he would marry another sucker and continue to live off her.
Seeing that she was silent, Gu Jingxi smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about, Yao? Do you perhaps want to manage your husband like Madam Qi manages Mo Bai?"
Why should I care about my husband?
Meng Jinyao gave him a strange look, then said, "My husband is self-disciplined and doesn't need me to manage him. Besides, he knows more about everything than I do and has more life experience. He has his own reasons for doing things. It's me who needs to be managed."
Gu Jingxi was stunned. He glanced at Meng Jinyao. Although his little wife was very sensible, she did sometimes need him to keep an eye on her. But this "keeping an eye on her" was not the same as the other kind of "keeping an eye on her." It was not about controlling her, but about managing certain things. If he didn't manage her, things would be much more difficult for her.
He smiled and said, "Yes, I will take care of Ayao for the rest of my life."
Meng Jinyao raised her head and stared at him intently: "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. Only you, my husband, can keep my word. If you break your promise, no one else will care about me."
"Won't."
Gu Jingxi patted her head and reached out to hold her small hand. After getting off the carriage, he didn't bring a hand warmer, and the hand felt cold to the touch. He couldn't help but frown. Why did her hand get cold again after such a short time?
He frowned: "Ayao, why are your hands so cold?"
Meng Jinyao was already used to it and didn't think much of it. She replied, "It's like this when it's cold. It's nothing. I'll get on the carriage and bring the hand warmer with me. I was too lazy to carry it earlier."
Gu Jingxi said, "Be more careful in the future, so as not to catch a cold."
Meng Jinyao smiled and agreed, pulling him towards the carriage.
-
Meanwhile, in a private room of a teahouse.
Gu Jingze and Madam Kong were in no mood to enjoy their tea in the private room. Before the person they were waiting for arrived, the couple began to blame each other.
Kong glared at her husband and complained unhappily, "When you came to the wedding banquet last time Xuanyi got married, why didn't you have a proper talk with Xiuming?"
Being criticized for no reason, Gu Jingze also got angry and retorted, "Woman's view! Xiu Ming has finally regained the old lady's attention. If I, as his biological father, go up to him and talk to him, what if people misunderstand?"
Kong replied, "Then you can't just let him do whatever he wants. It's not good to get close to him in the Gu family. Why don't you invite him outside to talk to him?"
Gu Jingze was taken aback by these words, and said with a displeased expression, "Who knew he would fail the imperial examination? When he said he was sure of it, who would have thought of doing anything else? If he succeeds in the imperial examination, he will bring glory to his family, and his position as the heir will be even more secure."
Kong opened his mouth, but in the end he swallowed his words and gave a cold snort.
Gu Jingze pinched his brow in annoyance and said irritably, "Why are you getting angry with me about the child? If there's anything, just talk to the child properly later, won't that be fine? Why do you have to throw a tantrum at me? Where did your gentle and virtuous demeanor go in front of others?"
Kong glared at him: "Wasn't I gentle and virtuous when I married you? Didn't you ruin that?"
"This is utterly absurd!"
Gu Jingze, with an expression of disdain for arguing, picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Gu Jingze and Madam Kong exchanged a glance and immediately changed their expressions, both wearing smiles, like a loving couple who were respectful to each other. The tension was gone, as if the argument had never happened.
Gu Jingze gave Kong Shi a look.
Kong got up to open the door.
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