Xie asked cautiously, "Master, you are not satisfied with my method. What do you think?"
Lord Gu narrowed his eyes slightly, "If you care about your children's marriages, why haven't you started preparing Zhen's dowry yet?
It's clear that your claim of treating all children equally is just talk, a deception. From the beginning, you have always discriminated against relatives and strangers.
Yue'er, Shan'er, they are your biological children, so of course you made plans for them early on.
The other children are not your own, so you think they are an eyesore and are naturally unwilling to put in the effort to prepare dowries for them."
Mrs. Xie was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears, "I feel wronged. Master, these words are really hurting me. I have been with you for so many years, bearing you children, and even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. Now that I am old, you are killing me. What's the point of me living? I'd rather die."
"That's enough! You keep doing this every time. If you're not tired of it, then I am tired of it too."
Xie's tears were about to come out, but after being scolded by Lord Gu, the tears did not fall, but just hung in the corners of her eyes.
Xie looked at Master Gu in disbelief and asked aggrievedly, "Master, what is it about me that you dislike? I'll change, okay? You've been finding fault with me since I walked in. Could it be that it's because I'm old and my looks are gone that you've started to dislike me?"
Master Gu frowned, "Don't talk nonsense and make trouble."
"I'm not being unreasonable. I just want to get the truth. Master, do you really despise me because I'm old, so whatever I do is wrong?"
Xie stared at Lord Gu blankly, demanding an answer.
Lord Gu frowned, feeling very disgusted, and also vaguely disgusted.
He didn't know why this happened.
Could it be that he really dislikes Xie's old age and that's why he does this?
Master Gu shook his head slightly. Definitely not. Is he such a superficial person?
Yes, that's right. Lord Gu is just that superficial.
Lord Gu said sternly, "Since arriving in Beijing, I've been walking on thin ice every day, leaving early and returning late. I basically don't ask about the affairs of the mansion, and leave it all to you to handle.
It is because I trust you and believe that you can handle my internal affairs and share my worries.
But look at you, what have you done? I won’t even mention the third girl’s marriage. It’s so embarrassing that I don’t even bother to mention it.
Zhen's age is obvious. She's almost an old maid, and you haven't even started preparing her dowry. Is this how a wife of the house should behave?
I work hard outside, and when I return home, I have to take care of the household chores for you. Do you deliberately want to tire me to death? If you can't manage this household well, then let someone who can do it."
Lord Gu's words were harsh and every word struck Xie's heart.
Mrs. Xie couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears.
"I have been wronged!"
"Bullshit, what grievance have you suffered? Isn't it your fault that Zhen's dowry wasn't prepared in advance?"
Xie's tears fell.
If this scene was performed by the young Xie, it would definitely be extremely beautiful and endearing.
However, Xie is now old and ugly, and her appearance can no longer arouse any ripples in Lord Gu's heart.
Lord Gu frowned in disgust. It was not proper for someone of his age to cry at every turn.
Sure enough, if you hate someone, it is wrong for them to laugh, cry, talk, remain silent, and even breathe.
When men become cruel, they are always more decisive, crueler and more ruthless than women.
"Since returning to the capital, I have a clear conscience and have never dared to bother you with household affairs. Why does you insist on finding fault with me?"
Lord Gu sneered, "You mean, if you're wrong, I can't point it out?"
Xie lowered her head and sneered, "Master, you find all sorts of reasons to blame me, but I refuse to accept it."
Lord Gu was furious. "How dare you disobey? Who gave you the courage?"
Xie looked up and faced Master Gu. "I am old and my beauty has faded, and Master dislikes me because of this. Why don't you just say it directly? If you say it directly, I will accept it. But Master accuses me of not taking good care of the household affairs, and implicitly and explicitly accuses me of not being worthy of being the mistress of the house, so I don't accept it."
Xie was determined to do whatever she wanted. Her heart was broken, and she would never again be humble.
She relied on her two sons and two daughters, and the fact that she had attended to the old lady's funeral, and was certain that Lord Gu would not dare to do anything to her. Therefore, she was even more confident.
Bang!
Lord Gu slammed the table and said, "You are outrageous! You actually dare to question my words."
Xie straightened her back and said, "Master, what you said is wrong. Why can't I question it?"
Master Gu laughed in anger, "Miss Zhen hasn't prepared her dowry yet, and you still think you're right."
Xie said calmly, "I did make a mistake by not preparing Zhen's dowry in advance. However, I have already proposed a solution, so why is Master still dissatisfied? Could it be that Master has a better idea? I didn't know there was still this unused new furniture in the mansion."
"It doesn't matter whether there are new, unused furniture in the mansion. What matters is that you, as the legitimate mother, are wrong to treat a concubine's daughter harshly."
"What did I do wrong?"
Mrs. Xie was furious. "Needlework, etiquette, housekeeping, reading and writing, which one hasn't Gu Zhen learned? How can you say she's being treated harshly? Compared to the other concubines in the mansion, Gu Zhen's learning and attainments are more than ten times better. And yet, Master still has the nerve to accuse me of mistreating a concubine. This is simply a pretext for accusing me of something."
Lord Gu pointed at Xie and said, "You, you..." He was so angry that he couldn't speak.
Xie became increasingly calm, "Master truly despises me. In the past, Master always praised me for my good work and said I was a skilled steward of the household. But now, because he despises me, he finds me displeasing and critical of everything I do.
Is it true that because Aunt Bai gave Master a son, Master no longer cares about us, mother and son?"
Bang!
Lord Gu raised his hand and slapped Mrs. Xie in the face.
Xie covered her beaten cheek and stared at Lord Gu in disbelief.
Tears hung in the corners of her eyes, she felt wronged and angry, "You actually hit me?"
After the fight, Lord Gu actually felt a little regretful.
But when he met Xie's angry gaze, Lord Gu instantly determined that he was not wrong and that Xie deserved to be beaten.
Master Gu scolded him harshly, "I'm going to hit you. What's that look in your eyes?"
“Hahaha…hahahahaha…”
Xie suddenly burst into laughter, "Master, you beat me well. You finally woke me up."
Bang!
Xie picked up the teacup and smashed it hard to the ground.
The tea splashed everywhere, landing on Lord Gu's robe.
Lord Gu was furious.
But Xie did not stop there.
She not only smashed the teacups, but also the teapot, the vase on the shelf, and cut up the clothes.
Her eyes were red and she was furious. Like a mad lioness, she stared at Master Gu intently, "Master, hit me! Do you want to kill me? If you kill me, you can marry another beautiful woman."
I am just a concubine promoted to the wife of a wife, and the Xie family is just a nouveau riche. Who am I? What are the children I gave birth to? They are not even as good as those born out of wedlock.
A child born out of wedlock can still get some care from the master, but how much care can my child get from the master?
There is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, is this just a casual remark? Gu Zhen is a concubine's daughter, so does she have to be on par with legitimate children?
Why not take Gu Jiu's dowry as the standard, and each person prepares a dowry of 40,000 taels, and hire someone to make furniture with meticulous craftsmanship, okay?"
Xie went crazy and mad, venting all her inner dissatisfaction and resentment towards Lord Gu.
She doesn't care about the consequences or the impact.
She had had enough of this frustrating life.
She wants to shout hard so that everyone can hear her voice.
Lord Gu gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, very good. You are quite right. You even dare to smash things in front of me."
Xie chuckled.
Master Gu shouted angrily, "You'd better take care of yourself."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.
Aunt Hu hid outside Furong Courtyard and heard Xie and the master arguing from afar, so she didn't go in.
Seeing the master coming out of Furong Courtyard, Aunt Hu hesitated for a moment, but still went to greet him.
"master!"
Master Gu looked at her unhappily, "What's the matter?"
"My maid, Zhen girl..."
Aunt Hu regretted that she had chosen the worst opportunity. Looking at the anger on Master's face, now was not the right time to talk.
Master Gu said with a stern face, "Are you talking about Miss Zhen's dowry?"
Aunt Hu nodded repeatedly.
Lord Gu was intimidating without being angry. "I have my own opinion on this matter. Please withdraw."
After saying this, Lord Gu left without caring what Aunt Hu thought.
In Furong Courtyard, Xie was like a deflated ball, slumped in a chair with a blank expression.
The room was in a mess, with all kinds of debris scattered everywhere, leaving no place to step.
Chunhe walked in timidly with her maid and ordered the maid to clean the room quickly.
She walked forward and came to Xie's side.
"Ma'am, calm down."
Xie laughed at himself, "Am I finished?"
"No. It's common for couples to quarrel. This time, the mistress and the master just had a big fight."
Xie shook her head. "I can't take his heart back anymore. Haha..."
Xie was angry, frightened, and heartbroken.
Although she was old and ugly, Lord Gu rejected her without hesitation.
She was the legitimate mistress of the house, but Lord Gu refused to give her even the most basic respect.
Could it be that in Lord Gu's mind, after all these years, she is still the concubine he used to be, and he can abuse her at will?
This is too much.
If the person today was Su, Xie could be 100% sure that Lord Gu would never scold Su harshly.
Even if he was dissatisfied with the Su family, Lord Gu would always be polite when speaking, leaving room for both parties.
Xie laughed again, her eyes full of sarcasm.
"Once a concubine, always a concubine. Has the master ever treated me seriously as the mistress of the house?"
"Are you confused, Madam? Of course you are the mistress of the house." Chunhe said.
Xie slowly shook her head, "No, in the master's mind, I am still the concubine I was back then. That's why he dares to treat me so despised."
"Madam, please be more open-minded. There is still room for improvement. I will send someone to invite the Sixth Young Master right away."
"Don't go."
Mrs. Xie didn't want her precious son to see her embarrassing side.
But she didn't want to think about the fact that there were no real secrets in the Gu Mansion.
The news of the big quarrel between Lord Gu and Mrs. Xie spread quickly throughout the mansion and even reached the ears of the neighboring marquis' mansion.
The old lady Wei said, "You two are an old couple. Why don't you discuss things properly? Instead of quarreling, you make a fool of yourself for the younger generation."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, was well-informed and said, "I heard it was about Zhen's dowry. The Xu family wants the wedding in July because Xu Sanlang will be deployed north after the New Year for a rotation, which will take at least two to three years."
Getting married earlier will give the young couple more time to get to know each other, and it would be even better if they could conceive a child.
But because Sister Xie hadn't prepared a dowry for Zhen beforehand, and time was tight, the couple started arguing.
Old Madam Wei frowned, "Xie is also confused. Even if Zhen is a concubine's daughter, she shouldn't be ignored. Have they agreed on the dowry?"
Madam Wei shook her head. "They were just arguing and didn't get anything done."
Old Madam Wei scolded softly, "That's ridiculous!"
…
At the Gu Mansion, Gu Zhen lay on the bed and cried.
Aunt Hu was heartbroken.
"My father and my wife are arguing over my dowry, and I'm afraid no one will prepare it. My wedding is in July, what should I do? Am I supposed to marry into the Xu family empty-handed?"
Aunt Hu patted Gu Zhen on the back and said, "Don't cry yet. Things haven't come to that point yet."
"The Madam and the Master have had a big fight, so they definitely don't have the energy to prepare a dowry for me. My father is busy with government affairs every day, so naturally he has no time. Aunt, who would care about my dowry? Just because I'm a concubine's child, I deserve to be ignored, wuwu..."
Aunt Hu frowned, "Don't talk nonsense. The master won't ignore you. The master has already said that he has his own opinion on your dowry."
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it." Gu Zhen was just sad, she was in deep despair and felt like she had no desire to live.
…
Lord Gu returned to the study in the outer courtyard in a rage. Thinking of all the evil deeds done by Xie, he felt even more disgusted with her.
What's more, the Xie family is sworn enemies with him.
As expected, everyone from the Xie family has a black heart.
Butler Gu Quan hesitated to speak several times.
Lord Gu scolded, "If you have anything to say, say it quickly."
Gu Quan said boldly: "Sir, the news of your quarrel with the wife has spread throughout the mansion."
"Who spread it? How outrageous!"
Gu Quan said nothing. How could such a thing be hidden?
When the couple quarreled, people would come and go at the entrance of Furong Courtyard, and they would take a detour just to pass by, just to hear what they were arguing about.
This kind of thing may stop one person, but it can't stop ten people.
Rumors can melt metal. Before the couple had even finished their quarrel, the news had already spread.
Lord Gu was extremely angry, but at least he still had some sense.
He now felt a little regretful that he shouldn't have quarreled with Xie.
There are no secrets in the mansion. If he had known that quarreling would be embarrassing, he would have endured it.
However, under the circumstances at that time, it was really unbearable.
Xie didn't look like the mistress of the house at all. She was simply a mad woman. And an ugly one at that.
Lord Gu held his breath and couldn't feel relieved until he spoke out.
Butler Gu Quan reminded him again: "Master, the eldest daughter's dowry has not been settled yet, what should we do?"
Lord Gu wanted to say "cold dish", but swallowed the words back when they came to his lips.
Seeing that Master Gu was silent, Gu Quan asked, "Would you like Madam to prepare a dowry for the eldest daughter?"
Lord Gu snorted coldly, "No need. I'll leave this matter to you."
Gu Quan complained repeatedly, "Master, I can't do this. I'm also busy preparing the second daughter's dowry. I don't know what to do and I'm worried. Add to that the eldest daughter's dowry, and I can't do anything. I can't help you with your worries."
Master Gu slammed the table and said, "If you can't even prepare a dowry, what use are you?"
Take into account the grievances.
It is not easy to prepare a dowry. Every detail needs to be considered carefully.
In order to prepare a dowry for the second daughter, Gu Quan felt that he would shorten his life by three years because of worrying too much.
He had an idea. "Master, everyone says the second young lady is very capable, a good housekeeper, and a master of accounting. Why not ask the second young lady to come forward and arrange the dowry for the eldest young lady? As long as you give her enough money, I think the second young lady will be able to handle the matter properly."
Master Gu frowned at first, "How can a little girl like Erya buy a dowry for someone else?"
"Master, think carefully. The second young lady will marry into the palace and become the eldest young lady in the future. Take advantage of this opportunity to gain more experience. Once you arrive at the palace, the second young lady will be able to manage the palace's internal affairs calmly."
Lord Gu thought that the wedding date of Prince Yi of the royal palace was in July, which was four or five months earlier than the wedding date of Prince Zhao and Gu Jiu.
In this case, Gu Jiu really needs more experience.
Otherwise, once I get to the palace, I will probably be unable to move forward and won’t have any idea what to do if something happens.
Master Gu nodded secretly and said, "Go and call the second young lady."
"As you command."
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