"Did mother leave any words when she passed away?"
Gu Jiu asked softly.
Aunt Gui recalls the past.
"A few days before Madam left, she had a premonition. She called me over and told me to take good care of the young lady and the Third Young Master. She also said..."
Aunt Gui looked hesitant, as if she had something to hide.
Gu Jiu picked up the teapot and refilled Aunt Gui's teacup with water.
"Madam, have some tea. Before Mother left, did she make any arrangements for my marriage?"
Aunt Gui looked at Gu Jiu in disbelief, "How could the young lady know that?"
Gu Jiu lowered his head slightly and said calmly, "I guessed it. When my mother left, the ones she was most worried about were my brother and me.
My father will take care of my brother's future. As for my lifelong affairs, my mother is probably afraid that my father will not take it seriously and will just send me away, so she asked Mammy to take care of it."
After saying that, Gu Jiu raised his head and looked at Aunt Gui, "Aunt, please tell me what mother said."
Aunt Gui burst into tears, "The girl has not only grown up, but also become so smart. If Madam is still alive, she will definitely be pleased."
Gu Jiu took out a handkerchief and wiped away Aunt Gui’s tears.
"Don't cry, Mammy. My brother and I will get better and better."
Nanny Gui nodded repeatedly, finally stopping her tears. "Before she died, Madam instructed me to remind Master to keep his promise after the young lady reaches marriage age."
"What promise?" Gu Jiu asked.
Nanny Gui looked at Gu Jiu and thought, the girl really looks like the lady.
She said excitedly: "Before she died, Madam had a premonition that the Master might make Mrs. Xie his wife.
The lady was worried that Xie would do something to mess with the girl's marriage, so before she died, she begged the master to marry the girl off to a distant place after she came of age, and not to keep her in the capital.
Madam came up with this idea because she was worried that the girl would be tortured by Mrs. Xie and would not have peace after marriage."
"ah!"
Qingmei and Qingzhu were both startled and screamed out loud, then quickly covered their mouths.
What should I do if my wife actually wants to marry my daughter to someone else?
Aunt Gui said, "Young lady, you must understand Madam's painstaking efforts."
Gu Jiu nodded. "I understand my mother's painstaking efforts. However, in my opinion, her plan seems too cowardly. Can you live a good life by marrying far away? Whether a person can live a good life often depends on themselves."
Aunt Gui was very surprised. She looked at Gu Jiu with surprise. She was surprised that Gu Jiu would say such a thing.
Gu Jiu laughed, "Mammy, my mother and I are different people."
After saying this, she nodded heavily, emphasizing the difference between her and Su.
Nanny Gui suddenly let out a long sigh, "The young lady and the lady are indeed different. I can see that the young lady is stronger than the lady."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Thank you, Ma'am. I want to take you away from here and live in the city. Are you willing?"
Nanny Gui was excited but also in disbelief. "Of course I am willing. But I am old and frail, my hands and feet are clumsy, and I am afraid I can't serve you well."
Gu Jiu said: "Madam, you don't need to serve me. I want to take you back to the city to enjoy life."
Nanny Gui was stunned, then waved her hands again and again, "No, no. I cannot add burden to the young lady. The Xie family is now in charge of the mansion. If the young lady brings me back, it will only anger the Xie family. This will be disadvantageous to the young lady."
Gu Jiu laughed, "Madam, don't worry about these things. I plan to rent a house in the city. Madam, take Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang with you and live outside the mansion to handle some things for me."
Nanny Gui was stunned and didn't move. She didn't quite understand what Gu Jiu said.
Gu Jiu took a sip of tea and said, "The Xie family is in charge of the mansion. I want to do something, but it is very difficult. Therefore, I need someone outside to be my eyes and ears. I wonder if Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang are willing to leave the manor and work in the city."
Aunt Gui suddenly burst into tears and said while crying, "Yes, yes. If the young lady is willing to use them, they are a hundred percent willing.
I dare not say anything about other servants, but you don’t have to worry about the loyalty of Dazhuang and Erzhuang. "
After crying, Aunt Gui wiped her tears and said, "I thought that I would never be able to make a breakthrough in this life. I didn't expect that the young lady would come and take us three mothers away. Young lady, your kindness is something that I can never repay even if I work like a slave."
thump!
Nanny Gui knelt down in front of Gu Jiu and kowtowed repeatedly.
Gu Jiu quickly helped Nanny Gui up, "Nanny, please don't do this. My brother and I came too late, and you have suffered so much over the years."
"That's not the case. It's because I didn't take good care of the girl, and instead made her worry about me."
Nanny Gui looked at Gu Jiu and asked, "Young lady, you want to take me, your third servant, away with you. Does Mrs. Xie agree?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Don't worry about this, Madam. I will take care of it. Big Brother Zhuang and Second Brother Zhuang, what are you busy with right now? Can I see you?"
Aunt Gui said, "They must still be working in the fields. They won't be back until nightfall."
Gu Jiu asked curiously: "Aren't you coming back for lunch?"
Aunt Gui shook her head. "You can't come back at noon. You can eat lunch in the fields. Someone will bring it to you."
I see!
Gao Erfu treated Dazhuang and Erzhuang as coolies.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Madam, go and rest first. I will take you away from here today at the earliest, or in two days at the latest."
Nanny Gui looked at Gu Jiu, her eyes full of expectation and worry, "Will it embarrass the young lady?"
Gu Jiu smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, Mammy."
How could Aunt Gui not be worried?
This was the Xie family's farm, and the steward, Gao Erfu, was a Xie family member. It would be difficult for them to leave.
Qingmei stepped forward to persuade her, "Madam, please trust the young lady for once. She will definitely accomplish what she promised."
Aunt Gui was half-believing and half-doubting, but more worried.
But she also knew that she couldn't help and staying here would only cause more trouble.
So she nodded and said, "Take care, young lady. I am already old, and it doesn't matter whether I leave or not. Young lady, please don't offend Xie for me, it's not worth it."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Ma'am. I understand."
Aunt Gui left.
Qingmei asked, "Girl, what should we do next?"
Gu Jiu said: "Let's eat first, and then we can talk about things."
Gao Erfuming's kitchen prepared a table of food and wine, mostly game.
Gu Ting greeted, "Master, come eat with us. Come drink with me."
Gao Erfu waved his hand to refuse, but Gu Ting pressed him firmly onto the chair and filled his glass with wine again, "Drink!"
In this way, Gao Erfu drank one cup after another, and soon he was drunk because he couldn't hold his liquor.
When Gao Erfu woke up from his sleep, the sky had changed.
Gu Jiu sat upright on the chair, and Gu Ting sat next to her.
There is a stack of account books on the table.
Gao Erfu was still confused, "Second Miss, Third Master, what are you doing? What time is it now?"
Gu Ting raised his eyebrows, "Master Manager, you haven't forgotten everything you've done, have you?"
"I, what did I do? Didn't I just drink?"
Gu Jiu patted the account book on the table and said softly, "In the 30th year of Kaiyao, the manor produced 1,800 taels of grain and had 50,000 kilograms of grain in stock.
In the 31st year of Kaiyao, the senior management took over the manor. That year, the manor produced 1,200 taels of grain and had 30,000 kilograms of grain in stock.
In the 32nd year of Kaiyao, which was last year, Zhuangzi produced 880 taels of grain and had 15,000 jin of grain in stock.”
Having said that, Gu Jiu laughed sarcastically.
Gao Erfu's eyes were filled with panic as he stared at the account book on the table in disbelief. "How did you get the account book? How is that possible?"
Gao Erfu touched his waist, where was the key? The key was gone.
He suddenly realized and pointed at Gu Ting, "Third Young Master, how dare you plot against me? You took advantage of me being drunk, stole my keys, and even stole the account book."
"Bah! You've done all those rubbish, and you still need me to plot against you."
Gu Ting snorted coldly, "May the best of luck to you."
After Gu Jiu finished laughing, he continued, "The output is getting less and less every year, and the grain reserves are also getting less and less every year.
At first I thought it was a famine.
I think that's how the senior officials report it. The weather is dry, the water supply is insufficient, and the yield in the fields is getting smaller every year.
My wife had never been to this farm before, so she didn't know what was going on there. Plus, with Gao Sanfu backing you up, naturally, whatever you said was true. My wife wouldn't even question it.
It wasn't until I opened the account book that I realized that despite the bumper harvest every year, the output was getting less and less.
A rough calculation shows that in two or three years, the senior manager embezzled at least four to five thousand taels of silver.
If I tell my wife what's going on here, guess what will happen?"
"No, I can't tell my wife."
Gao Erfu panicked, his eyes fierce. For a moment, the thought of killing the witness flashed through his mind.
But when he saw the guards outside the door looking at him eagerly, Gao Erfu became scared again.
"Third Master, Second Miss, I beg you, please give me a chance to live, and don't tell Madam what happened here. You and Madam don't get along, right? I embezzled Madam's money, and you should be happy."
Gu Ting shouted angrily, "Shameless!"
Gao Erfu didn't care.
As long as he could keep his position and his money, he wouldn't mind being scolded with words ten times more vicious.
Once his embezzlement is discovered by the Xie family.
With Xie's temper, she would definitely skin him alive.
Even if his younger brother Gao Sanfu pleaded for him, it would not work.
"Second Miss, please, let me go. We have no grudges in the past, and no enmity in the present. If you let me go this time, I will definitely repay you double."
Gu Jiu chuckled softly, closed the account book, and asked, "If I keep this a secret, will the senior manager really be willing to reward me?"
Gao Erfu nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I do!"
“Very good!”
Gu Jiu smiled with satisfaction.
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