The next morning, Gu Jiu took a carriage to the Marquis' Mansion.
Gu Cheng brought his wife, Hu, and waited at the Marquis' Mansion.
"Sister Xiaojiu is here. Let's go pay our respects to the old lady first."
"Thank you, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law, for accompanying me on this trip."
"Sister Xiaojiu is too reserved."
The three of them went to Songhe Hall in the backyard together.
Old Madam Wei looked very haggard, her eyes were extremely tired, and she had lost a lot of weight.
She was quite happy to see Gu Jiu, but she just couldn't muster up the energy.
"Madam, please take care of yourself." Gu Jiu walked forward and held Madam Wei's wrist.
Madam Wei patted the back of Gu Jiu's hand and said, "I'm glad you can come. Are you okay?"
Gu Jiu said, "Thank you for worrying about me, Madam. I am now in good health."
"I see that you look better than last year. Health is the most important thing. Nothing else is as important as your health." Old Madam Wei was very emotional.
Gu Jiu nodded. "I'll listen to you, Madam. You should also take care of yourself. We are all very worried about you."
Madam Wei smiled and said, "Don't worry, I can still hold on. Even for the sake of this family, I can't fall down."
"Old lady!"
The daughters-in-law of the marquis's family all had sad faces.
The old lady Wei's face turned serious and she scolded softly: "Why do you have such a sad face? It's unlucky!"
Several daughters-in-law in the Marquis's mansion quickly wiped their eyes.
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, said, "Madam, your daughter-in-law will take Xiao Jiu to visit the old marquis."
"Go ahead. Mrs. Hu, stay and talk to me, and Gu Cheng, go to the outer courtyard and chat with the brothers."
Everyone obeyed the order.
When Gu Jiu followed the eldest lady, Xiao Wei, out of Songhe Hall, he heard a sigh from the other party.
"Thank you for your hard work, Auntie in the lobby!"
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, gave a bitter laugh and said, "It doesn't matter if I have to work a little harder, I'm just worried that this family will be in turmoil and can't hold on."
"Why is it so?" Gu Jiu was shocked.
The Marquis' Mansion has strong connections in the court, so even if the old Marquis is gone, it should be able to survive.
Madam Wei held Gu Jiu's hand and said as they walked, "I won't hide it from you. Once the old marquis is gone, it's still uncertain whether the title can be smoothly passed on to my master."
"How could this be? Uncle Da Tang is the crown prince, and he should inherit the title."
"That's true, but the court intends to reduce the title. Logically, my master should be a second-class marquis if his inheritance rank is reduced by one level. However, a few days ago, there was a rumor from the Ministry of Rites that the succession of the title will not be so smooth. Everything depends on the will of Your Majesty."
The eldest lady, Mrs. Wei, was worried.
Gu Jiu asked, "Does the old marquis know about this?"
Madam Wei nodded, "The old marquis knows everything."
"What did the old marquis say?"
"The old marquis said that when he inherited the title, the late emperor showed him mercy and allowed him to inherit the first-class marquisate without being demoted. This time, I'm afraid His Majesty will settle the score. If my master wants to inherit the title smoothly, he can only be demoted to the third-class marquisate. By the time your eldest cousin inherits the title, he will only be a general."
After saying this, the eldest lady, Mrs. Wei, sighed heavily.
I originally thought that my husband would be able to smoothly inherit the title of second-class marquis. When my son Gu Rui inherited the title, it would be the third-class marquis.
Now it seems that Gu Rui can only inherit the honorary title of general.
Gu Jiu frowned, "Old Marquis, didn't you come up with a solution?"
Madam Wei shook her head. "The old marquis is getting weaker and weaker, and he's no longer able to manage things. Furthermore, the old marquis also said that this is the general trend, and we can only go with the flow. Even the hereditary title of Duke of the State has been downgraded to a title that ends in death after five generations. We're still better off than the Cui family."
Gu Jiu hummed and didn't say much.
She followed the eldest lady, Xiao Wei, to the outer courtyard to visit the old marquis.
The old marquis is very thin, very thin!
This was Gu Jiu’s first impression.
Looking at the old marquis who was so skinny that his bones were visible, Gu Jiu's tears suddenly fell.
"Silly child, why are you crying?"
The old marquis could still speak, but he couldn't get up.
Gu Jiu stepped forward and bowed deeply, "Granddaughter is here to visit the old marquis."
The old marquis nodded, "Okay, okay! Good boy, you thought of coming to visit me. That's very thoughtful of you."
"My granddaughter is late." Gu Jiu felt a little guilty.
The old marquis waved his hand and said, "What nonsense! I have lived to this age and I am already content."
Gu Jiu felt very uncomfortable.
When facing the natural laws of birth, aging, sickness and death, people always seem so insignificant.
She held the old marquis's hand. He was indeed old and at the end of his life. He estimated that it would only take two weeks.
Gu Jiu felt very uncomfortable. She let go of the old marquis's hand and asked quietly, "Does the old marquis have any unfulfilled wishes? As long as your granddaughter can do it, I will do my best."
The old marquis smiled and said, "You are so thoughtful. It's not easy for you either. How can we, a young man like you, be embarrassed by the affairs of this large family? When I am gone, you will keep an eye on them for me and make sure they don't do anything wrong. Then I will rest in peace."
Gu Jiu wiped away her tears and nodded heavily, "Uncle Da Tang's title..."
The old marquis glared at the first wife, Xiao Wei, with dissatisfaction.
If the eldest lady, Xiao Wei, had not mentioned this matter, how would Gu Jiu have known about it.
The eldest lady, Mrs. Wei, felt a little guilty, but she did not make any excuses.
The old marquis shook his head and said to Gu Jiu, "Don't worry about the title. We will do whatever the court decides."
Gu Jiu opened his mouth, but no words came out.
The old marquis coughed lightly, smiled and said to Gu Jiu: "You are thoughtful."
Gu Jiu shook her head repeatedly, she did too little.
The old marquis said, "It's not easy for you either. Just take care of yourself and don't worry about the affairs of the marquis' mansion."
Gu Jiu nodded heavily, "I will listen to the old marquis. If there is anything I can help with, please let me know."
The old marquis nodded and responded.
He was too tired and slowly closed his eyes.
Gu Jiu followed the eldest lady, Xiao Wei, out of the bedroom.
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, sighed, "Don't blame me, Xiao Jiu. I can't help it."
"I understand that Auntie is worried that Uncle will not be able to inherit the title smoothly. I will send someone to inquire about this matter. If there is any news, I will inform Uncle's Mansion in time."
Madam Wei was pleasantly surprised. "Thank you! Having you help us get the information is much better than us running around like headless flies."
Gu Jiu added, "Don't hold your hopes too high, Auntie. No one can change what His Majesty has decided."
"I know, I know everything. I don't dare to hope that your uncle will inherit the title of Second Class Marquis. I just hope that everything goes smoothly and that the Ministry of Rites won't make things difficult for us. People are indifferent to each other, and once the old marquis is gone, it's hard to say how many of the old relationships will continue to interact."
Gu Jiu said, "Don't worry too much, Auntie. With the old lady here, the situation should be manageable."
When a person dies, it is like a light going out.
Some personal relationships will also leave the Marquis' Mansion with the passing of the old Marquis.
It is normal for everyone in the Marquis' Mansion to be worried.
The old marquis is the pillar of the mansion. Now that the pillar is gone, it will take some pain before things can calm down.
Gu Jiu hesitated for a moment and subtly reminded Madam Wei, "If the old Marquis passes away, everyone in the Marquisate will observe mourning. During the mourning period, remind my eldest cousin and the others not to forget to practice martial arts and train their personal guards."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Gu Jiu's eyes.
"The aunt can tell this to the old marquis and the uncle. They have their own opinions."
The eldest lady, Xiao Wei, nodded repeatedly, feeling uneasy.
Gu Ji suddenly reminded me of this without any context. Could something big have happened?
She felt uneasy and a little panicked.
After seeing off Gu Jiu, Gu Cheng and Hu, the eldest lady, Xiao Wei, hurriedly found her husband, the eldest son of the Marquis' Mansion and also the head master of the Marquis' Mansion, Gu Zhiwen.
She said uneasily, "After seeing the old marquis, Xiaojiu suddenly said something out of the blue. She said that if the old marquis is gone, during the period of mourning, don't forget to remind Gu Rui and the others to practice martial arts and train the personal guards. I felt something was wrong with what she said. She also specifically reminded me to pass this on to you and the old marquis, saying that you and the old marquis have your own ideas. Master, has something big happened in the court?"
"Nothing major is happening in the court, at least not yet." The eldest master, Gu Zhiwen, frowned in thought. "If there's anything major going on, it's the Jinwu Guard's recent increased activity, which is a bit unusual. Also, Life Show's verbal spat with the Imperial College has sparked controversy within the court and the public. And yet, there's been absolutely no movement in the palace."
"What exactly did Xiaojiu mean by this?"
The eldest master, Gu Zhiwen, was unsure, so he said, "I'll go ask my father, maybe he knows something."
"Go quickly, go quickly. Why not call Gu Rui as well? Xiao Jiu specifically mentioned him, there must be a deep meaning."
The eldest master, Gu Zhiwen, nodded. "Where is Gu Ruiren?"
"He should be in the front yard. I'll send someone to call him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
