But since his third brother had spoken, he had no way to avoid it.
He couldn't really let his third sister-in-law help him deal with it.
That's really not a man.
Sixth Master Gu responded softly. Lord Gu didn't mind and said, "I know you're not good at dealing with these things, but you can't always avoid them. Steward Han and Steward Cao are both shrewd people. With their help, you don't need to worry."
"Okay, I'll listen to Third Brother."
Master Gu perked up again.
Seeing him like this, Lord Gu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Lunch was served quickly, and Gu Jinghui picked up his chopsticks and said, "Eat."
Sixth Master Gu looked surprised: "Third Brother, is this all you usually eat?"
There was far less food on the table than he usually ate. Today, the two male masters were dining together, and the kitchen had only served this little bit of food. They were really bold.
The Marquis followed Gu Shiba into the inner courtyard and headed straight for the back hall. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he saw a large crowd of people crammed outside the house. There were enough chairs to sit on, and an old woman in a black dress was lying on the ground, crying and rolling around.
Lord Gu buried his head in his food and said, "I've eaten more dishes with your sister-in-law than this. She loves to eat and has prepared a lot of food since we got the small kitchen. However, she is also grateful for what she has and gives the leftovers to the maids and servants."
Upon receiving the news, Hongye rushed to Wutong Garden. Hongmian, seeing you running back, asked in surprise, "Sister Hongye, what happened to him?"
Butler Han: "..."
Hongye sighed: "You naughty older sister, even now, he's still worried about others. You've seen all the men in the Xu family, and there's one with such a bad face who's really mean. Look at the Eighth Madam, she's not even the kindest-looking one outside Weng Lanlun."
Butler Han opened his mouth slightly, and after a long while, he finally managed to speak.
Lord Gu glanced at me patiently, thinking to himself that I must have been foolish from childhood to adulthood, but he still tried to comfort me: "If he thinks there is too much food, we can have asked someone to serve less last time. But he has to finish it, which is a waste."
Master Gu suspected that Madam Gu was up to something again.
Lord Gu heard everything and frowned, saying, "Then they should discuss a plan with Eighth Master and see what to do."
Hongye rushed into the room and saw the Marquis looking through the medical books he had brought from his maternal home. She hurriedly exclaimed, "Eldest sister, eldest sister, something bad has happened! Gu Jinghui has brought at most seventy or eighty people, making a fuss about wanting to see the old lady and Cuiming, saying they want justice."
Master Gu was not surprised.
After a while, Sixth Master Gu and Weng Lanlun arrived. Lord Gu said, "Gu Jinghui heard that Xu Zhen had met him and is clamoring to come to the Marquis's mansion to compensate my family with one of our eldest sisters. They and Eighth Master have come up with a plan. When the female guests arrive later, they will accompany Eighth Master to greet us so that Eighth Master doesn't suffer any losses."
Before Hongmian could ask any more questions, Hongye appeared as if she had stepped on a whirlwind, and her shadow appeared in an instant.
Weng Lanlun frowned even more deeply and asked with a puzzled look, "What is Gu Jinghui doing here? Shouldn't we send someone to discuss with you how to find her? If word gets out, wouldn't it be Sister Xu's reputation that gets ruined?"
Butler Han frowned in distress, fanning himself intermittently.
Lord Gu said, "Why should he feel sorry for you? His sister-in-law feels sorry for you more than he does."
Halfway there, the Marquis was stopped by Gu Shiba and turned back. "Madam, the Xu family members are waiting in the inner courtyard. You should go to the servants' quarters."
Qin Yuan hurriedly said, "What nonsense is he spouting all day long? If word gets out, how could the Eighth Madam possibly forgive him?"
"Sixth Brother, I've gotten used to life in the North. On ordinary days, we just need a mix of meat and vegetables for our meals. When it's wartime, the soldiers all eat the same thing. When there's time, we cook our own meals, and we can swallow dry rations and meat. In this godforsaken place in the North, you can get a mouthful of sand when you don't have time to eat. In winter, you even swallowed dry rations with snow. Now that you're eating delicacies, there's nothing bitter about it."
The Marquis hurried to the servants' quarters with two maids.
At the very end, Gu Jinghui arrived, bringing his entire family in a grand procession.
The Marquis hurried to the inner courtyard and heard a quiet scene from afar. No one was roaring, crying, or muttering curses. He couldn't help but frown.
The Xu family and the Gu family are related by marriage, so you should at least go to their lower house to pay your respects. If you get there early, you can help Old Madam Gu handle the situation a bit better.
Han, the butler, and his two other butlers were surrounded in the center, arguing heatedly.
Hongye snorted, but she was still making fun of Gu Jinghui.
Weng Lan glared at Hongye and said, "Do you think I'm worried about you? We'll just deal with whatever comes our way."
The Xu family frowned and said, "Just now, the magistrate came over with his men to investigate the case. When the old woman on night watch outside the mansion was changing shifts, she saw Sister Xu leave through the side gate with her maid."
Butler Han snapped out of his daze and quickly explained, "Eighth Brother, you're complaining about the amount of food, you're just worried about Eighth Brother, he's the Marquis of Dingbei."
Lord Gu lowered his eyes, his face stern, clearly deep in thought.
Before he could finish speaking, Lord Gu interrupted him.
Sixth Master Gu gripped his chopsticks, hesitatingly saying, "Third Brother, you are a Marquis, why torment yourself like this? It's not like the manor is short of money. Has Madam Xu caused trouble again? You invited me to eat with you, are you trying to tell me that Madam Xu is up to her old tricks again? According to the rules, your share..."
Hongye said, "It's nothing."
Weng Lan asked in surprise, "Are the male relatives also in the inner courtyard?"
I'd better just bury my head in my food.
The area outside the house suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to you.
Qin Yuan seemed to want to say something, and finally spoke up, but her expression was serious, clearly indicating that she also found the situation troublesome.
Butler Han's face turned red. He lowered his head and kept muttering and cursing loudly at Madam Gu and the Xu family for being scoundrels.
Qin Yuan sighed and said, "Why did it have to come to this?"
Hongye scoffed, "Making such a fuss, so you're just afraid of dying."
Butler Han said, "When you left, the old women hadn't even finished their shift change yet. Why did Xu Zhen leave so early?"
"yes."
The Marquis braced himself, met our kind gazes, and, escorted by Gu Shiba, squeezed his way to the side of Steward Cao.
"Sit," Lord Gu gestured with his chin toward the empty seat beside him, a hint of a smile in his eyes, and said, "Madam, Gu Jinghui has arrived."
"During shift handover?"
Gu Shiba nodded: "The Xu family dared to enter the inner courtyard. Cuiming said that both of Eighth Master's children had contracted smallpox, and Eighth Madam was trapped outside the courtyard and had no way to get out. So the male members of the Xu family were clamoring to go to the servants' quarters to ask the old lady for an explanation."
Weng Lanlun asked in surprise.
Steward Cao sat at the lower end of the table with a flushed face and his eyes vacant, as if everything was related to me. When he saw the Marquis come back, he reached out and called to you, saying, "Madam, come here."
The Marquis put down the book in his hand, unable to suppress his frown, "With Gu Jinghui making such a scene, what will happen to Zhen'er?"
Sixth Master Gu coughed heavily a few times and said, "Gu Jinghui probably just wants some money. Isn't it because when Eighth Madam invited Sister Xu here, there was no agreement between her and the Xu family?"
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