Minglan's prediction was correct. The more she looked gloomy and restless, the more the women in the mansion seemed to see hope. They cried and complained more fiercely, and kept pestering her. But when she put on an expression of "a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water", they were helpless.
About five or six days later, the world became quiet again.
This is like a little hooligan who is teasing a girl. He originally just wants to take advantage of her. If the girl covers her collar tightly, with watery eyes, and shouts "Yamedie" like a little white rabbit, the hooligan may be encouraged and immediately upgrade his teasing level; if the girl opens her clothes, with a fierce and ferocious face saying "Hey boy, if you have the guts, come on, if you don't, you're not a real man", maybe the hooligan will be scared away.
Minglan felt that she was very smart, so she showed off the above insights to Gu Tingye. The man was very interested and immediately closed the door and windows. He asked to test the effect of this theory on the spot in an academic manner, and even helped her pull her collar.
Encountering a big gangster, she had no choice but to flee.
As soon as she had some free time, Minglan remembered something urgent that needed to be done, so she walked to Kouxiang Garden on purpose.
Ever since Minglan punished a gossipy old woman with twenty strokes of the cane and immediately drove her out, no one in Kouxiangyuan dared to underestimate Rong Jie'er anymore. They took care of her food, clothing, housing and transportation with all their heart. As the saying goes, living in a new place changes your spirit and nourishing your body. After a month or so, Rong Jie'er's face became rounder, she grew taller, and she became less timid.
Minglan looked Rong Jie'er up and down like a diligent breeder, then smiled at Gong Qiu and the others with satisfaction: "Rong Jie'er looks much better now, you are so thoughtful."
Qiu Niang smiled woodenly, her eyes filled with sorrow. Gong Hongxiao, on the other hand, was much more lively and said immediately, "Look at what Madam said. My sister is the master's first daughter. How can we not take good care of her?"
Minglan glanced at her indifferently, stirring the tea leaves with the lid of her bowl. "It doesn't matter which daughter you are. Just remember, no matter what happens in the future, Sister Rong will always be the eldest daughter of this mansion, the real mistress."
Rong Jie'er quickly glanced at Minglan, then lowered her head. Gong Hongxiao was stunned for a moment. Madam was usually very easy to talk to, so why was she suddenly so sharp today? She smiled awkwardly and stood aside honestly.
Minglan smiled gently and asked them both to sit down. She asked a few more questions about Rong Jie'er's daily life and then asked about Rong Jie'er's homework. Gong Qiu and Gong Qiu were both stunned and looked at each other. Rong Jie moved her feet awkwardly.
Qiu Niang looked uneasy, but she quickly took out a small cage from the inner room and showed it to Minglan with a few pieces of cloth. She couldn't hide her fear in her voice: "This...it's not been long, and my sister has only learned this..."
Minglan took a few pieces of cloth and looked at them carefully, nodding slightly. You know, when Rong Jie'er first came to Chengyuan, her needlework skills were limited to just being able to sew a few small tears, but now she can embroider a few crooked leaves. Sewing and embroidery are actually two very different concepts. Although the progress is not big, at least she has gotten the hang of it.
"You don't have to be so restrained. I think this is a good idea. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Sister Rong is not stupid. As long as you put your heart into it, you will definitely make progress." Minglan comforted Qiuniang with a smile, and then said earnestly, "I've seen the clothes you made for the master. You are indeed skilled. If Sister Rong can learn even half of what you have, it will be beneficial to her future."
Qiu Niang responded softly, and her complexion looked much better.
Then it was Gong Hongxiao's turn.
When Rong Jie'er first came, Minglan had asked her carefully and found out that she could only recognize about 20 or 30 words. She knew a third of them but could not write them, and she could recognize a third of them when put together, but not when separated. She could only recite the first two lines of "Quiet Night Thoughts" and the first line of "The Goose" (Minglan secretly complained: She is quite like her father). From the perspective of educational theory, under such circumstances, there should be a lot of room for the development of cultural education, so Minglan looked at Teacher Gong with anticipation.
Gong Hongxiao's face paled as her maid, Jin Xi, slowly handed her a thin stack of paper. Minglan took a look and immediately frowned—the handwriting was the same familiar faces, the strokes were still so poor, and even the typos were in the same old places. Undeterred, Minglan carefully counted the words again, finally letting out a tantrum.
"It's been a month, and you've only learned eleven or twelve new words, huh?" He trailed off the last word, his voice cold. "Is it because you didn't teach me enough, or is it because I just can't grasp it?"
It takes three days to recognize a single word? Gu Tingye's genes aren't that bad, right?
Madam Gong forced a smile, trying to smooth things over: "Sister is smart and clever, but she seems to have no interest in books, so..." Sister Rong suddenly raised her head, her face full of stubbornness, as if she was not convinced. Gong Hongxiao saw it and paused awkwardly, "It's my fault too. I didn't have the heart to teach her. The mansion has been busy lately..."
She was also in a difficult situation. She had an average relationship with Rong Jie'er to begin with, and she couldn't persuade her as softly as Qiu Niang. The entire Kouxiang Garden was Minglan's eyes and ears, so if Rong Jie'er moved a finger, Minglan would know immediately.
She couldn't beat her, couldn't coax her, and couldn't persuade her. She thought it was too troublesome, so she took a break. Who knew Minglan would suddenly come to check.
Minglan said calmly, "Oh, what are you busy with?"
Gong Hongxiao's eyes flickered, and she seemed to be at a loss for words. She bit her lip and said, "Although I am insignificant, this is the Gu family's business after all. Now all the ladies are anxious and panicked, going in and out all day long. I just can't let go of this..."
She couldn't continue because Minglan looked at her coldly.
Minglan said nothing, motioning Danju to lead Rong Jie'er out first. She slowly set down her teacup, the bottom of the teacup making a crisp sound against the plate, and then she said, "Madam Gong is indeed very perceptive. Even I can't get involved in this matter, and I didn't realize you were so worried."
"You worry about so much!?" Minglan looked at her coldly.
Gong Hongxiao stood up in panic, and Qiu Niang, who was standing beside her, saw her and stood up as well.
Minglan gently withdrew her gaze, glanced at Gong Qiu and the other man, and spoke in a slower tone, "I'm young and have never raised a child, so I didn't think too much about it. A few days ago, I went to the Zhongqin Marquis's residence and saw that my little niece, who was only a little over five years old, could already write and speak very presentably!"
Thinking of how young Zhuang Jie'er was, a delicate little person like a porcelain doll, who spoke clearly and articulately, had a graceful attitude, answered questions promptly, and was neither timid nor arrogant, and then looking at Rong Jie'er who was almost nine years old, Minglan felt a headache.
According to Hualan's training plan, a lady from a noble family should have completed her elementary education around the age of five, and could be shown off to a judge at the age of ten (for needlework, conversation, posture, and cultural level). When she was around fifteen, her marriage should have been arranged.
When Minglan heard this, she felt guilty and thought that Rong Jie'er was not her own child after all. She had not thought so much or so far ahead. She thought that it would not matter if the child, who was only in the second grade of elementary school, could live happily for two more years. She had not anticipated the severity of the situation at all.
Minglan sighed and said earnestly, "I'm not expecting you to teach me a talented poet, but you can't just neglect it. In a family like ours, it's not right for a girl to be unable to read a copy of 'Instructions for Women' or 'Trainings for Girls', right?! Telling it to others would be a joke!"
Minglan paused, then spoke more emphatically, "Madam has entrusted Sister Rong to your care, so you should pay more attention to her! Sister Rong's studies are doing so poorly, do you still have time to meddle in other people's affairs?!"
Speaking of which, something happened in the Marquis' Mansion recently. Qiu Niang was relatively honest (perhaps because she was disappointed in love and felt disheartened), but Hong Xiao was running around in and out, making a lot of noise. It seemed like it was time to give her a lesson.
Gong Hongxiao's face turned pale and cold sweat broke out on her forehead. This time she was scolded so badly that she couldn't even utter a word. Her knees went weak and she knelt down, admitting her mistakes repeatedly and admitting that it was her negligence.
Minglan felt a little relieved after what she said, and vented some of the frustration she had been feeling for the past few days. After giving a few final instructions, she got up and went back to her own yard. When she arrived at the gate of Kouxiang Garden, she saw Hua Mama leading Rong Jie'er standing there.
Rong Jie'er raised her head slightly to look at Minglan, biting her lips. Minglan was waiting for her, but she didn't say anything in the end. She turned around and ran away again. Mother Hua looked at Rong Jie'er's back, sighed slightly, and bowed to Minglan.
"Madam, please don't take it to heart, my dear..." She didn't know what to say. "I saw her coming into the mansion. All these years... Alas, she is also a poor child, but she is not confused. She knows that you treat her very well."
Minglan gave a wry smile. She hadn't been very kind to the girl, but she'd been reluctant to take responsibility, so she delegated her responsibilities and authority, fulfilling only her duty of constant supervision. Sometimes, she was even thankful that Rong Jie'er had always been distant and wary of her. If she really did get close to her, how would she treat this child?
Children of this generation mature early. Most girls of eight or nine actually already know it. What's more, their biological mother is still alive and well. If Minglan rushes to show her warm and comforting maternal love, people will think that she is very interested in replacing her mother's position.
Minglan sighed helplessly.
Her maternal love was scarce to begin with, and over the years it had been preempted by Hualan and Hai's children. Those chubby, adorable little ones would call her sweetly, hug her neck softly, and flutter around her with a milky scent to kiss her cheeks. Whenever Minglan thought of them, she felt a warm, tender feeling in her heart, a suffocating fondness. As for the angular Rong Jie'er, Minglan felt she had no way of getting along with her. Her life was already full of excitement and challenges, and she didn't need to create any more problems for herself. She just wanted to take good care of her and have a clear conscience.
There was nothing she could do about not liking the child. Feelings were not like running water. You couldn't express them just by wanting to.
Well, she is indeed a selfish person.
After reflecting on herself, disciplining the concubine, and caring for her husband's illegitimate daughter, life had to go on; although the people from the Marquis' Mansion didn't bother her much anymore, the situation was getting worse and worse.
The envoys who came to ask questions became more and more impolite and more and more frequent. By the end of May, the Dali Temple simply took the people to the government office for interrogation. After being questioned, the brothers Gu Tingyang and Gu Tingdi were released with pale faces.
On the second day of June, Liu Zhengjie personally led a team of guards and took away the fourth old master and Gu Tingbing and his son. The fourth old lady and Mrs. Xuan and Mrs. Bing went to question the two brothers of the fifth house about what they had said in there and whether they had put all the blame on the fourth house. The women became more and more excited as they spoke, and started cursing at them. In the end, the quarrel led to a fight, and it was a very serious fight.
It is said that in the chaos, Gu Tingyang's face was scratched by someone's nails, and blood was flowing. He could not see anyone for a while. Now he is hiding at home to recuperate. Half of the Fifth Old Master's beard was also pulled out.
When he heard the news, Gu Tingye just curled the corners of his lips, smiled sarcastically, and said nothing.
Two days later, Gu Tingwei was also taken away.
The next day, someone from the Marquis' Mansion came to invite Gu Tingye and his wife to come over. The person who came was Mrs. Shao's mother.
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