The capital is in sight.
Towering city walls, a constant stream of carriages and horses, and crowds of people waiting in line to enter the city.
Everything looks so different from the Northwest.
The Gu family's convoy was blocked at the city gate and could not move.
Gu Jiu lifted the car window curtain and looked outside.
It is worthy of being the territory of the capital. The population size alone is dozens of miles ahead of Jinzhou City.
"The car is moving, girl, please lower the curtain quickly."
Qingmei was afraid that Gu Jiu would be seen by others.
Gu Jiu followed suit and lowered the car window curtains.
The car moved forward slowly and finally entered the city gate and entered the capital.
Gu Jiu lifted the car curtain again and looked at the scenery of the capital.
The streets were crowded with people, and there were shops on both sides of the street, with waiters shouting their wares.
Xiao Cui sighed, "The capital is so lively!"
Gu Jiu smiled softly. A big city with a population of over a million is naturally extraordinary.
The convoy continued on its way and arrived at Baiyi Lane in the capital.
Baiyi Lane is not an alley, but a large area in the north of Beijing.
Without exception, all the wealthy nobles and royal relatives in the capital lived in Baiyi Lane.
In other words, those who can live in Baiyi Lane are all rich and powerful.
Just having money is not enough to get you past the threshold of Baiyi Lane.
Money is just one of the requirements for living in Baiyi Lane.
The most critical and important conditions are status and power.
Baiyi Lane is very different from other places in the capital.
Along the way, Gu Jiu and his friends have already witnessed the hustle and bustle of the capital.
After entering Baiyi Lane, the surroundings were quiet, no one could hear anyone talking, only the sound of wheels rolling forward.
On both sides of the road are wealthy families.
After an unknown amount of time, the carriage slowly stopped.
Gu Jiu said, "It seems we are home."
After saying that, Gu Jiu looked outside through the car window.
The doorman confirmed their identities, hurriedly opened the side door, and welcomed the carriage in.
Gu Jiu and other female relatives got off the carriage at the second gate.
As soon as I got off the bus, I saw a lady dressed in rich clothes standing in the middle of the crowd.
Could this be my great aunt Zhang?
Just as Gu Jiu was guessing the other party's identity, Xie was helped down from the carriage by the maids.
When Mrs. Xie saw the person in front of her, she immediately put on a smile and called out affectionately, "After so many years, I finally get to meet my sister-in-law."
Zhang nodded slightly, her attitude neither cold nor warm. "Your sister-in-law and her family are finally back. You must have had a hard time on the journey. Come to the flower hall for tea. We haven't seen each other for many years, we must have a good chat."
Xie didn't care about Zhang's attitude and said with a smile, "I'll listen to my sister-in-law. Go ahead."
Zhang nodded, walked in front, and led everyone to the flower hall.
Gu Jiu walked with her sisters, looking at the scenery in the mansion calmly.
It is winter now, the trees in the garden are withered, and there is not much to see.
But the place is really big.
The surrounding houses and courtyards also look spacious enough.
As expected of being separated from the Marquis' Mansion, it is different.
Gu Yue looked so excited that she wanted to shout.
She reached out and pinched Gu Shan's hand to stop herself from doing anything rude.
Gu Shan's hand was pinched and she felt pain, and she couldn't help but frown.
She whispered, "Third sister, let go of my hand."
Gu Yue smiled at Gu Shan and let go of Gu Shan's hand.
"Don't be angry, Fourth Sister. I was just too excited."
Gu Yue also spoke in a very low voice.
Gu Shan rubbed the place where she was pinched and hurt, and complained in her heart: If you are so excited, why don’t you pinch your own hand.
snort!
Finally arrived at the flower hall.
Zhang finally smiled and welcomed everyone from the second house in.
Zhang sat in the main seat, looking at the girls from the second house, and said to Xie, "My sister is so lucky. There are so many girls, all of them are as beautiful as flowers."
Xie's smile gradually spread. "Sister-in-law, you are too kind. Girls, why don't you hurry up and meet your aunt?"
Gu Jiu and her four sisters stepped forward, bowed, and said in unison: "Niece greets aunt."
"They are all good kids."
Zhang burst into laughter. "Your sister-in-law is so lucky. You have five daughters. You're really enviable. Unlike me, I wanted a daughter, but all I got were sons."
The eldest wife had six sons, three of whom were born to Zhang.
Zhang gave birth to three children in total, all sons.
The eldest wife had only one illegitimate daughter, who was the sixth child in the family and a few months younger than Gu Lin.
"Jun'er, come and meet your second aunt and all the sisters. Haven't you been clamoring to see your sisters?"
A young girl walked out from behind Zhang. She was the eldest wife's daughter, the sixth lady Gu Jun.
Gu Jun has a round face and looks very cute when she smiles.
She bowed to Mrs. Xie and said, "My niece greets Second Aunt. Thank you for your hard work on the journey."
Mrs. Xie laughed. "Good boy, come here and let me see you. When your aunt left Beijing, you were still in her belly. I didn't expect you to have grown so big in the blink of an eye. Come, meet your sisters. This is your eldest sister Gu Zhen, your second sister Gu Jiu..."
Xie was introducing the girl from the second house to Gu Jun, and was also introducing one to Zhang.
Zhang smiled and looked at the five girls from the second house.
The eldest daughter, Gu Zhen, was pretty, but had a petty air. After all, she was born out of wedlock.
The third girl, Gu Yue, has a bright appearance and seems to be very strong-willed.
Fourth Miss Gu Shan couldn't compare to Gu Yue's appearance. She was generous and calm. Zhang nodded secretly.
The fifth daughter, Gu Lin, was still a bundle of childishness. She was only a few months older than Gu Jun, and she lacked Gu Jun's cheerfulness and generosity. Both of them were born out of wedlock, so there was still a big gap between them.
Finally, Zhang's gaze fell on Gu Jiu.
This is the child left by my younger brother and sister-in-law, Mrs. Su, who has been weak since childhood.
Zhang waved towards Gu Jiu, "You are the second girl, right? Come here quickly and let your aunt take a good look at you."
Gu Jiu stepped forward and bowed, "Niece greets aunt."
Zhang held Gu Jiu's hand and said, "My dear, I didn't expect you to have grown so big. When you left Beijing with your father, you were only this big."
Zhang gestured and saw that Gu Jiu at that time was thin and small, weak and fragile, and looked like he could not be raised.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, auntie."
Zhang sighed, "When your mother gave birth to you, I was standing guard at the door of the delivery room. It's a pity that your mother was not blessed."
Gu Jiu lowered his head, his eyes red.
Xie's expression froze, thinking that her sister-in-law must have done it on purpose, bringing up Su at this time to upset her.
Zhang pulled Gu Jiu and continued, "Luckily, you've grown up and become a big girl. Jun'er, come here. This is your second sister, the one I often talked about with you before."
"Second sister!" Gu Jun bowed.
Gu Jiu returned the greeting and said, "Sixth sister, I have prepared a gift for you and will send it to you later."
Gu Jun smiled sweetly, "Thank you, second sister. You must have worked hard on the journey. I'll come visit you after you settle down."
Gu Jiu nodded, "Okay! That's exactly what I wanted."
Gu Jun pursed her lips and smiled, "It's really a pleasure to talk to my second sister."
Zhang interrupted and said, "Jun'er, spend more time with your second sister in the future."
Gu Jun blinked, "A daughter listens to her mother."
Zhang's behavior of valuing Gu Jiu and ignoring Gu Yue and Gu Shan made Xie extremely unhappy.
Xie coughed lightly and said, "Yuer, Shaner, you should get along well with Juner. Sisters should interact more often and not be petty."
Gu Yue and Gu Shan responded in unison.
Zhang raised an eyebrow and said perfunctorily, "You are so lucky, sister-in-law. Yue'er and Shan'er have grown up so much. Yue'er is such a beautiful child."
Gu Yue lowered her head and smiled. She was naturally happy to be praised.
Mrs. Xie also laughed, "Sister-in-law, please don't praise her. I'm almost spoiling this girl."
Zhang smiled and said, "Children should be spoiled. Yue'er is not young anymore, right? I remember she is only half a year younger than Xiaojiu. Is she married?"
Mrs. Xie shook her head. "I want to keep the child for a few more years. He hasn't married yet."
Zhang nodded and asked curiously, "Have the children's marriages been decided yet?"
Xie nodded, "Exactly."
Zhang said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, please hurry up. We can't afford to waste the youth of these girls."
Mrs. Xie said, "Thank you for your advice, sister-in-law. We have been away from Beijing for many years and don't recognize many people here. I still need your help with the children's marriages."
Zhang said readily, "If you have any difficulties, please tell me. We are all family, and I will definitely help you if I can."
After saying that, Zhang took Gu Jiu's hand and said, "When my sister-in-law passed away, I promised her that as her aunt, I would at least help look after Xiaojiu's lifelong affairs."
Xie's face froze, and she smiled unnaturally, "Sister-in-law is thoughtful."
But he was cursing madly in his heart. What did Zhang mean by mentioning Su again and again?
Is it intentional to make her unhappy?
Xie's hands were clenched into fists in her sleeves, and she was extremely angry.
At this moment, a maid came in from outside. She first glanced at the people in the second house, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Zhang suppressed her smile and asked seriously, "What happened?"
The maid bowed and said, "Madam, the old man is making a scene in Concubine Chen's room."
Zhang's expression suddenly turned ugly. "Is the old man drunk and crazy again?"
The maid nodded, "Exactly."
Zhang's face was gloomy. "Old Master, what a fool! He knew today was the day when the second wife's family would be back, but he didn't even pick a time to drink."
Mrs. Xie hurriedly asked, "Why is the old man drinking in broad daylight?"
Zhang snorted coldly, "As a daughter-in-law, it's really not appropriate for me to discuss the old man's affairs. But it's different for my sister-in-law. You will know these things sooner or later."
The old man hasn't attended the morning court in the past two years. He has nothing to do all day and just hangs out with those concubines.
At other times he was just a little bit absurd, but once he drank and started acting crazy, he would turn the whole family upside down.
"Sister-in-law, I'll have someone take you there first. I have to go and see the old man myself. Don't let him cause unrest in the whole family and ruin everyone's mood."
"Sister-in-law, go quickly."
Xie was also shocked.
I never expected that the old man would become more and more absurd. Not only did he hang out with women and take concubines into the house one after another, he even started drinking and acting crazy.
Will the children’s marriages be affected by having such an old man around?
Xie began to worry.
She had made up her mind that when she met the master, she would have a good talk with him about this matter.
We must not let the old man’s affairs affect the children’s marriage.
Zhang left in a hurry with a few sturdy maids.
The maids led the second wife to the backyard to settle down.
The Gu family's first and second branches are clearly divided.
The first room is located on the east side, and the second room is located on the west side.
There are few girls in the eldest house, and there is an idle courtyard.
There are many daughters in the second house, and every courtyard is full.
Gu Jiu followed the maid to his own courtyard, Zhilan Courtyard.
It turns out that the courtyards of the Northwest Governor's Mansion were all named after the capital.
"Second Miss, we have arrived at Zhilan Courtyard. It has everything you need. Please settle down first. I will come and invite you when it's time for dinner."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Qingmei stuffed a purse into the maid's hand.
The maid didn't refuse and skillfully put the purse in her sleeve. "Second Miss, please have a good rest. I will take my leave now."
Gu Jiu looked at the three characters "Zhilan Courtyard" on the courtyard gate and said with a smile, "Let's go in."
The courtyard is very spacious and has two more side rooms than the Zhilan Courtyard in the Governor's Mansion.
Gu Jiu toured the yard and was quite satisfied.
"Miss, please sit down first. I will go boil water and make tea."
"Go ahead and get busy."
There was a small kitchen in the yard, which was fully equipped with everything. Qingzhu went to the small kitchen and boiled water to make tea.
Qingmei asked with concern: "Miss, are you cold?"
Gu Jiu shook his head, "It's not cold."
Qingmei looked out the courtyard gate and said, "Our luggage hasn't been delivered yet. How about I go out and take a look?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the maid in the mansion brought the luggage over.
With box after box of luggage, Qingmei called out to the servants and asked them to handle them with care.
The maid came again and again, and delivered all of Gu Jiu's luggage.
Qingmei gave everyone a purse and began to check their luggage.
"One, two, three, four..."
Qingmei counted them several times and frowned, "Some luggage is missing. I'll go find them."
Xiao Cui volunteered, "Sister Qingmei, let me go."
Qingmei nodded and said, "Okay, go to the second gate and ask if they sent the girl's luggage to the wrong place."
"Don't worry, Sister Qingmei, I will definitely find the girl's luggage."
Gu Jiu was sitting in the empty study, reading a book. When he heard the noise, he asked, "Qingmei, what's going on?"
"Girl, there's one piece of luggage missing."
Gu Jiu put down the book and asked, "Do you know which piece of luggage is missing?"
"I know. I have marked each piece of luggage. The missing piece of luggage contains ornaments for the young lady's study."
Gu Jiu frowned slightly. "Since Xiao Cui has gone to ask about the situation, let's wait for Xiao Cui to come back first. It would be best if Xiao Cui can find it smoothly. If not, let Li Chuan go and ask."
"I will listen to you, young lady."
Half an hour later, Xiao Cui came back from outside.
Qingmei asked hurriedly, "Have you found the girl's luggage?"
Xiao Cui shook her head. "The maids at the second gate said they didn't see anything. I asked the maids, but they couldn't explain. I also went to the eldest, third, fourth, and fifth young ladies' places, but I didn't see any of their luggage either."
Gu Jiu frowned, "Xiao Cui, go to the outer courtyard to see Li Chuan. Ask Li Chuan to find out who transported these luggages and whether any luggage was lost during this period."
Xiao Cui agreed, "I will go find Li Chuan right away."
Qingmei was in a bad mood because one piece of luggage was lost.
Gu Jiu said to her, "Pack your luggage. The lost luggage can always be found. Even if it can't be found, there are only some worthless ornaments in it. It doesn't matter if it is lost."
Qingmei blamed herself, "It's all my fault. I should have been more careful and watched them carry the luggage."
Gu Jiu said: "This matter has nothing to do with you, don't blame yourself."
Qingmei nodded, and took the maids to take out the luggage from the boxes and put them away one by one.
The news that Gu Jiu had lost a piece of luggage reached Xie's ears.
Xie looked at the messy courtyard and saw the maids and servants busy packing their luggage.
Mrs. Xie asked, "Do you know what luggage the second girl lost?"
Chun He said, "I heard it's a decoration for the study."
Mrs. Xie said, "If they're just some worthless ornaments, they're lost. Send someone to tell the second girl not to make a big fuss about looking for the luggage.
On the first day back home, one piece of luggage was lost. We didn’t think much of it, but we were afraid that the people in the first house would think too much.
What if the First House thinks that we, the Second House, suspect that the First House’s people are dishonest? Then something filthy will happen again.”
Chun He nodded, "Madam, you are very thoughtful. However, this opportunity is rare. Isn't Madam going to do something?"
Mrs. Xie said with a stern face, "I've already said that we just returned home, so we shouldn't cause any trouble now. The master still has to rely on the eldest wife's support. If we offend the eldest wife and it affects the master's career, it will be more trouble than it's worth."
Chun He hurriedly said, "I am such a fool that I didn't even think of this."
Xie snorted coldly. She also wanted to use this opportunity to make trouble with the eldest wife.
Anyway, if there is a commotion, it's the responsibility of that little bitch Gu Jiu.
But last night, the master repeatedly warned her, and she dared not disobey.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
My eldest son had acute enteritis yesterday, so I was busy all day and didn’t have time to write. That’s why I’m late today.
Starting tomorrow, update schedules will return to normal.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
