Yu Ge'er was beaten up and cried loudly.
The little guy hid in the bedroom, closed the door, and sulked in there alone.
Gu Jiu stared at Liu Zhao with disgust, "What kind of son did you give birth to?"
"I can't give birth alone." Liu Zhao said shamelessly.
Gu Jiu snorted twice, expressing his dissatisfaction, "I just asked you to teach him a lesson, why did you do it so cruelly? Is he your biological son?"
Liu Zhao said seriously, "If he wasn't my biological son, I would have thrown him out long ago."
Gu Jiu's mouth twitched, "Don't hit me so hard next time."
Liu Zhao dared to accuse him, "You always say one thing and mean another. You say you'll beat the child severely and won't spoil him, but when you actually hit him, you feel more distressed than anyone else. You can't educate the child this way. Yu Ge'er is a smart kid, he knows what's going on. We have to be serious with him, otherwise he won't learn his lesson."
Gu Jiu was speechless. "Go ahead and hit him. If you beat him until he's afraid of you, you'll be proud of yourself."
"Then have another one."
Gu Jiu gave him a decisive look.
Then she took out the gift list and said, "Take a look at it first. If it's suitable, give the gift to the third brother according to this gift list."
Liu Zhao glanced at the gift list and asked, "Why give him such an expensive gift?"
"It's his grand wedding, and it was personally arranged by our father, so it's only natural that the gift be expensive. After all, you're the eldest brother, and you should be friendly to your brothers."
Liu Zhao really wanted to say something about friendship.
He was talking too much, so he changed his words and said, "You decide on this matter."
Gu Jiu said, "Then give the gifts according to this gift list. We can't appear stingy."
That's all money, it's really depressing.
Liu Zhao turned his head away, thinking out of sight, out of mind.
…
The Marquis' Mansion is also discussing the gift-giving issue.
"The Third Prince is getting married. Should our mansion send gifts? And how much should we send? Please give us your advice, Madam."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, raised the problem.
Madam Wei thought for a moment and said, "Even if we don't go to the Third Prince's wedding, we still have to send gifts. We'll just reduce the annual gifts we send to other families by 10%."
Madam Wei frowned slightly, "Isn't the gift too small?"
Madam Wei said, "He is a prince, so we should give him gifts. But precisely because he is a prince, we cannot give him expensive gifts. A small gift will suffice to express our gratitude."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, agreed, "The daughter-in-law listens to the old lady and prepares the gifts according to her instructions."
Old Madam Wei hesitated again, "Why don't you ask Xiaojiu about this?"
"I'm afraid Xiaojiu is also unsure. After all, she has never experienced these things."
"I heard that the princes are not getting along well with each other."
Madam Xiao Wei said, "When several princes live under the same roof, there are bound to be clashes. To expect them to be in complete harmony would only arouse suspicion. No matter how they get along in private, they must maintain a brotherly relationship outwardly. Otherwise, His Majesty will not forgive them."
Old Madam Wei nodded and suddenly made a decision, "This year's annual gift to Xiaojiu will be increased by another 20%."
"This is not appropriate." The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, was a little worried. It was not because she cared about the money, but because she was afraid of being involved in the fight between the princes.
"The old lady just said that because he is a prince, he should be kept at a distance and not given expensive gifts. Adding 20% to Xiaojiu's annual gift is a small matter, but I am afraid it will arouse suspicion from others."
Old Madam Wei had a different idea. "I heard that this year we can get dividends from the project outside the South City Gate. Add 20% to the annual gift. If anyone asks, just say thank you to Xiaojiu for helping everyone make money."
Madam Wei nodded and said, "Alright then, I'll increase the annual gift by 20%."
"Do you know how much the dividend is this year?"
Madam Wei shook her head and said, "We won't get our dividends until the end of December."
"I heard that Xinmin County is bustling with activity all day long. It's amazing that Xiaojiu has built such a large industry on his own."
"Who says it's not? When we first invested money, who could have imagined she could create such a big scene?"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law expressed their feelings.
Madam Wei pointed to the Gu Mansion next door and said, "Please give them a heads up. The Third Prince is getting married, and as relatives by marriage, they should send a gift to show their appreciation."
Madam Wei nodded and said, "Send someone to warn them. Zhang is a decent person, but Xie is a little confused. I'm worried she won't understand the importance of this matter."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, smiled and said, "Old Madam, don't worry about that. Their family is now managed by her daughter-in-law, Hu. It's just that Hu is young and has not experienced these things. I'm afraid she won't understand."
Old Madam Wei felt relieved.
The Gu Mansion next door, after being reminded, remembered that the third prince's wedding was coming. As relatives by marriage, they could not attend in person but they had to send gifts.
"But our family hasn't finished mourning yet, is it appropriate to give a gift?"
Gu Yan was a little hesitant.
Master Gu was very excited, "Our family is only a little over a month away from the mourning period, it won't be a problem."
After he was done with mourning, he would seek reinstatement and resolutely leave the Taichang Temple.
The mourning period is twenty-seven months, and if you count the time, it will be almost time.
Gu Cheng said, "Just follow what the Marquis' Mansion said about the gift, a small gift, just to show your appreciation."
But Master Gu said, "Our family's situation is different from the Marquis's. The Marquis's family is afraid of violating taboos, but what are we afraid of? A generous gift won't be a problem."
Gu Cheng frowned, "Will it cause trouble for Sister Xiaojiu?"
"What are you afraid of?" Lord Gu said nonchalantly, "It's no big deal to give a generous gift to the prince for his wedding. You don't have to be so cautious. Just do as your father tells you."
Gu Yan agreed verbally, but in his heart he decided to write a letter to ask Gu Jiu.
Since it was a gift for the Third Prince's wedding, he didn't dare to act on his own.
Lord Gu was still immersed in the excitement of being out of mourning and being reinstated, and did not notice Gu Yan's reaction.
He added, "As for Gu Yue, we still need to find a way to arrange a marriage for her. A single woman can't always live like that."
"My third sister refuses to return home to get married, and there's nothing my son can do."
"Go and see her in person someday. You two have a good relationship as siblings, and she'll listen to you."
Lord Gu thinks things are very simple.
Gu Cheng frowned, he was not willing to take on this task.
According to him, if Gu Yue didn't want to get married, then she shouldn't. If she couldn't get used to living in the mansion, he would buy her a house in the city and let her live on her own.
It's just that Master Gu is determined to send Gu Yue away. In Master Gu's words, there is no old maid in the Gu family who can't get married.
Gu Cheng returned to his room and said to Hu: "When you are free, come with me to visit my third sister outside the city."
Mrs. Hu was not very happy about this. Who would want to go out of the city when the weather was so cold?
"Could it be that the master is bringing up the old matter again and wants to arrange a marriage for Third Aunt?"
Gu Cheng nodded, "That's right. My third sister refused to come back, and the New Year is almost here. As her brother, I have to go and see her."
Mrs. Hu said, "Why don't you ask Madam to come forward? Madam and Third Aunt have a deep relationship. Madam might be able to convince Third Aunt if she comes forward."
Gu Cheng shook his head. "We can't let the Madam show up. Her temper is getting weirder and weirder. Who knows what will happen when she meets the third sister. It won't be too late to let them meet after we bring the third sister back."
Seeing that Gu Cheng had made up his mind, Mrs. Hu had no choice but to compromise, "Very well, I'll go with you. I'll have the servants prepare a gift and take it to Third Aunt."
"Thanks a lot."
"My dear husband, please don't be polite with me. I am the mistress of the house. These are what I should do."
"I'm sorry for wronging you."
The couple chose a sunny day and drove out of the city in a carriage to the farm.
When they arrived at the farm, the headman became a little nervous when he saw the couple.
Gu Cheng asked directly, "Where is Third Auntie? Is she in the backyard?"
The village head felt a little guilty and said cautiously, "Young Master, you came at an inopportune time. Third Aunt is not here right now."
The couple, who were about to enter the house, were both surprised when they heard that Gu Yue was not there.
Gu Cheng turned around and stared at the head of the farm. "Where did Third Auntie go? The master placed her at the farm and specifically ordered you to keep a good eye on her. How are you supposed to do your job when she's not here?"
The village head was so nervous that he couldn't speak.
Mrs. Hu pulled Gu Cheng, then stepped forward and asked softly, "Don't panic. Tell us where Third Auntie went. If you behave well, it will be considered as atonement."
Zhuangtou was a little scared.
Gu Cheng was furious. "You bastard, you dare to hide this for Third Aunt? Who gave you the guts? Come on, get everyone out. I want to interrogate them one by one."
"Master, calm down." The village head finally found his voice. "The third aunt went to the farm over there."
"Which village? Explain clearly." Gu Yan waved his whip and scolded the village head.
The village head pointed to the other side of the mountain and said, "That's the small village owned by Third Aunt."
Gu Cheng frowned and looked at the low hillside. "Does Third Aunt often go there?"
The village head shook his head and said, "I go there once in a while."
"What are you going to do?"
"They said they were checking the accounts. Why don't the Sixth Young Master and the Young Mistress come in for tea first? I'll send someone to invite the Third Aunt back."
Gu Cheng shook his head and said, "No need, I'll go and take a look myself."
He then said to Mrs. Hu, "It's cold, so you stay here and warm yourself by the fire. I'll be back soon."
"Don't argue with Third Aunt. She must be feeling suffocated at the farm, so she's going out for a walk."
"I know, I know my limits."
Gu Yan brought a few people and rode towards the small village on the other side of the mountain.
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