Cui was stunned by what she heard.
Qin Yuan couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
But no one around her seemed surprised at all; it was as if Gu Baozhu's words and actions were nothing unusual.
Madam Gu laughed angrily: "Which civil official's family doesn't have rules? Which aunt can tolerate your unrestrained speech? You're still young now, but if you still talk like this in a year, you won't be ashamed, but everyone else will be ashamed to death."
Only then did Cui realize that all daughters of military families were so unruly and rough. If Qin Yuan hadn't married into the Gu family, she really wouldn't have imagined it.
Although Gu Baozhu stopped talking, she was still dissatisfied and muttered to herself, "Can't I just find someone whose parents are both dead and who doesn't have a sister-in-law at home?"
Qin Yuan secretly gave Gu Baozhu a thumbs up in her heart. She quickly took the playbill and handed it to Old Madam Gu, changing the subject.
"Mother, this time we've invited the best opera troupe from Tongjia Wazi. They've recently come up with a new play, but the whole performance will take several days. Fortunately, they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and the troupe leader has specially prepared a playlist. Why don't we choose a few of their favorites for them to perform? If it's still early after they finish, we can add some more. Once they're satisfied, we can let them go."
The women all loved listening to opera, and upon hearing this, they all looked over.
Madam Gu, not caring about her anger towards Gu Baozhu, smiled and took the playbill, handing it to Cui Shi and letting her choose first. After some back and forth, Cui Shi finally gave in and chose "The Dream Interrupted." Madam Gu, who enjoyed lively performances, chose "Drunkenly Beating the Mountain Gate," and then let the others choose their plays.
Qin Yuan couldn't help but laugh when she saw the playlist.
Gu Baozhu asked secretly, "Third Sister-in-law, what are you laughing at?"
Qin Yuan said, "Is Mother referring to this play to you? When you threw that hairpin away, were you drunk and too happy? And what you said just now, Mother is afraid you've gone mad."
"Drunkenly Beating the Mountain Gate" tells the story of Lu Zhishen, who, after committing murder, hides in a temple as a monk. Unable to bear the hardship, he sneaks out, gets drunk, and starts beating people at the mountain gate, damaging the statues and injuring the monks. The monks then demand that the elder monks expel Lu Zhishen.
Well... it's quite fitting for the occasion.
Gu Baozhu retorted angrily, "Is Third Sister-in-law laughing at me for being like the Flower Monk Lu Zhishen?"
Qin Yuan said, "Didn't you want to learn martial arts to beat up your future brother-in-law?"
Gu Baozhu couldn't help but laugh, but then she pouted, her eyes darting around. She found a moment to slip downstairs and had the servant next to Master Gu call him out.
Sixth Master Gu, his face flushed with drink and his steps unsteady, staggered out and asked, "Baozhu, why are you calling me at this hour?"
Gu Baozhu said, "I heard that Third Sister-in-law's cousin has also come. Who is he? Can you point him out to me?"
Master Gu sobered up instantly, stood up straight, and asked, "What are you trying to do?"
Gu Baozhu gritted her teeth and said, "Didn't Xu Zhen take a fancy to him? I want to see what kind of person he is."
"Hey, what's wrong with a child like you learning these shabby things?" Master Gu said unhappily. "I always said that the Xu family is no good. Xu Shi insisted on bringing Xu Zhen here to coax you into learning needlework. What has she taught you? Go back and watch the play."
Gu Baozhu stood still, hands on her hips, and asked, "Sixth Brother, let me ask you, is Young Master Qin a scholar?"
"That's natural."
"Is he handsome?"
"certainly."
Gu Baozhu said, "Since you like him so much, why don't you make him your brother-in-law? That way, you can stay close to him for a long time."
The other half of Gu Liuye's drink was also sobered up by the fright.
"I said no to Xu Zhen, so what about you? Just leave. I'll pretend I didn't hear you. He's such a handsome man, how can I let a beautiful flower be stuck in cow dung?"
"What?"
Gu Baozhu was about to explode with anger. Shaking her body, she glared and shouted, "Sixth Brother, am I still your real sister?"
“Yes,” Sixth Master Gu looked at her strangely and said, “I saw with my own eyes as Granny Yin carried you out of the delivery room.”
Gu Baozhu stomped her foot angrily, and Sixth Master Gu coaxed her in a low voice, "Little darling, let's go quickly. What are you making a scene here for? What if someone hears us?"
Unable to appease her, Sixth Master Gu said, "If Third Brother comes out later and sees you making such a fuss, he might lock you up again."
Gu Baozhu didn't want to go back to watch the play, so she turned around and went to the martial arts training ground, where she could hear several boys shouting incessantly from afar.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be two nephews leading two children of unknown surname on horseback.
Kang Ge'er ran over and shouted, "Auntie, why didn't you go to watch the show and came here?"
Fu Ge'er was talking to Xiao Dong while riding his horse, while Qin Heng, whose riding skills were not good, only dared to ride slowly.
Gu Baozhu said, "I'm too lazy to watch. I'll just ride a horse for a while. I'm going to play polo on Mid-Autumn Festival. I haven't practiced in a long time, and I'm afraid I'll be rusty."
"Playing polo?"
The little ones stared wide-eyed with envy.
Gu Baozhu proudly raised her chin and ordered the servant guarding the training ground to call her groom to bring her horse.
Fu Ge'er immediately said to Xiao Dong with pride, "My aunt is really good at riding horses. She goes to play polo every year and is a fierce player on her team. We can't do without her."
Xiao Dong looked on with envy and said, "When can we play polo too? Can your aunt teach us a few moves?"
Qin Heng remained silent and continued to slowly steer his horse.
Fu Ge'er didn't dismount either, and from a distance, he coaxed Gu Baozhu, saying, "Auntie, teach us a couple of moves, and we'll go cheer for you together on Mid-Autumn Festival."
Gu Baozhu snorted, "There are plenty of people watching your aunt play polo, you're not needed."
Fu Ge'er sat up straight, crossed his hands in a salute on horseback, and pleaded, "Good aunt, show Qin Heng and Xiao Dong how well the Gu family rides horses."
"Qin Heng?" Gu Baozhu asked, "Is he a member of the Qin family?"
Kang Ge'er said, "Yes, Aunt, when the mansion was sealed, Fu Ge'er and I were at the Imperial Academy, and it was the two uncles from the Qin family who took care of us. Qin Heng is Third Aunt's younger brother."
Gu Baozhu asked quietly, "What does Qin Siyuan look like?"
Kang Ge'er, though small in stature, was quite shrewd. He said, "Of course it's the handsome young man. Everyone in Third Aunt's family is good-looking. Father says he's gentle and refined, a true gentleman. I've seen him all. There aren't many in the Imperial Academy who are better looking than him. Father says he'll definitely pass the imperial examination next year."
Gu Baozhu was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Kang Ge'er asked, "Haven't you met Auntie before? She's come to our house several times already, and she's good friends with Dad."
“Never seen it before,” Gu Baozhu said through gritted teeth.
This really hit a nerve with her; she'd been in solitary confinement for months and had only just been released.
Kang Ge'er immediately offered a brilliant plan.
"They're going to recite poems to the fireflies in the mansion tonight. We'll go with them to watch. Dad says they're poetry insects, and you have to write a poem after watching them. We don't need to write a poem, we can just watch the insects."
Gu Baozhu touched his little face and said, "You really are my good nephew. Auntie will take you for a ride later."
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