Qin Yuan comforted him, "Mr. Songshan is a great Confucian scholar, and his temperament is different from that of ordinary people. It is a pleasant surprise that he agreed to teach my sixth brother to write poetry. Didn't you see how envious my father was?"
Sixth Master Gu became happy again and said, "I think so too. Mr. Songshan doesn't seem like the kind of person who fawns on the powerful these days. He would rather tell stories than become an official in the court, and he has no respect for officials. He can teach me to write poetry because of Third Sister-in-law. I should be content."
Qin Yuan suggested, "Sixth Brother can also take the painting to Mr. Songshan for a look and learn from him. There's no need for a formal master-disciple relationship."
A few words from him made Sixth Master Gu suddenly understand.
In an instant, I was no longer sleepy.
Gu Jinghui didn't bother to look at him and said, "Alright, you should go back and rest."
Sixth Master Gu was kicked out, and then Gu Baozhu arrived.
As soon as he came in, he asked, "Third Sister-in-law, have all your family members left?"
Gu Jinghui was a little annoyed and frowned as he asked, "What? Didn't you have enough fun yesterday? How's your embroidery practice going? The Qixi Festival is coming soon, let's see how you make your entrance."
Gu Baozhu said, "I was just concerned about my sister-in-law, but Third Brother is acting like he's on fire. Does my father know that you, as my older brother, are bullying me like this?"
Gu Jinghui fell silent.
Seeing Lord Gu's discomfiture, Qin Yuan suppressed a laugh and asked, "Thank you for your concern, Sister Baozhu. How did you end up in the front yard?"
Gu Baozhu said, "I went to Wutong Garden to look for my sister-in-law. The maids said you came to the front yard, so I came to take a look."
Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, the Marquis had breakfast with me and my family. They have already gone back. Yesterday you played with Heng-ge and the others, and I thought it was quite fun. It must have been hard for you guys to catch so many fireflies."
"Everyone was so busy having fun that we didn't notice how many we caught. We can't even use them all to make lanterns or anything, so I thought I'd share them with you to add to the fun," Gu Baozhu said after exchanging a few pleasantries. Then, her eyes darted around, and she said, "I'll go back and do my embroidery now."
"Go on," Gu Jinghui waved impatiently.
Gu Baozhu secretly pouted and didn't linger. On the way back, she complained to her maid, "Third Brother is like a completely different person now. He keeps a close eye on Third Sister-in-law. It's like if I say something, Third Sister-in-law will run away with me. If he had been like this earlier, I would have thought he was going to take that Zhao woman as a concubine. I wonder who doesn't stay with his new bride on their wedding night."
The maidservant hurriedly said, "Miss, please be careful what you say. You should avoid certain people. If you anger the Marquis again, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
“Who’s afraid of him?” Gu Baozhu said defiantly, but then changed the subject: “Speaking of which, we still didn’t let those twins out yesterday.”
The maid whispered, "Miss, I heard that when the princess came to visit, they tried to break out to see her. Luckily, the madam had them blocked at the second gate. They even beat up one of the gatekeepers, and he was sick for a month or so. The Marquis knew that all the men in that servant's family had died on the battlefield, leaving only his blind old mother, so he brought her into the mansion to treat her. When we all found out, who wouldn't curse those twins and remember the Marquis's kindness?"
Gu Baozhu exclaimed in surprise, "There's such a thing!"
"That's right. We've been locked up in the yard these days and don't know a lot of things. This is what the old woman who tends the fire in the kitchen told us last night when Ping'er was fetching water."
Gu Baozhu frowned and said, "What are they doing barging out? Do they think they can see the princess?"
The maidservant said, "That's right. Even if Young Master Kang and Young Master Fu were at home, they would never run out to see guests without being told, let alone barge out to see the princess."
Gu Baozhu paused for a moment and said, "You know what, when we were in the courtyard, Cheng-ge'er couldn't see us, but Yu-jie'er often came to learn needlework. She never mentioned these things, and always looked pitiful, as if others had mistreated her."
The little maid pouted.
"Zhao Niangzi may look delicate, but she does things that we clumsy people could never do. Zihe doesn't know how she offended her. She served her so well, but didn't get any thanks. If we hadn't found out quickly, who knows what state our mansion would be in now. No wonder everyone in the mansion hates them. If they didn't live in the main room and be protected by the old lady and the marquis, how could they live so comfortably?"
Gu Baozhu's striking eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
“Sigh, I’m not as shrewd as a child. Just a few days ago, she was crying pitifully in front of me, saying that the servants and old women in the mansion didn’t treat them well and looked down on them. If I wasn’t worried about my third brother punishing me, I would have stood up for her.”
The little maid smiled, pursing her lips.
Gu Baozhu grew angrier the more she thought about it. She kicked some pebbles as she returned to the courtyard, where she saw Zihe standing in front of the porch talking to her old woman.
Upon seeing her enter, Zihe quickly bowed and greeted her.
"Seventh Miss is back. This servant is here learning needlework from Miss Yu."
Gu Baozhu nodded and said, "You guys learn first. I'm tired from playing last night, I'm going to rest."
She stepped inside, and Yu Jie'er heard her through the window and said in a clear voice, "Auntie is back. I just finished sewing a pouch, which is perfect for catching fireflies for you."
Gu Baozhu gave a perfunctory "hmm" and walked straight into the inner room, instructing that no one was allowed to enter without her permission.
Yu Jie'er found it boring and went back after studying for a while. Before leaving, she came to say goodbye, but was stopped outside by the maids, who said that the Seventh Miss was resting and that she should play by herself.
Yu Jie'er became increasingly unhappy and returned to the main room with Zi He. Upon seeing Cheng Ge'er, she said, "I don't know why Aunt Baozhu was so cold to me today."
After listening to her complaints, Cheng Ge'er said, "After we move out, this mansion will no longer be our home. Although the old lady said that we can still interact as before, it will definitely be different from before."
Yu Jie'er pouted as if she was about to cry.
Cheng Ge'er said, "Nanny is right. A child without a mother is worth less than grass. Look how good our godfather used to be to us. After he married his wife, he became more and more indifferent to us. Now we can't even live in the same mansion. We're crying and wailing here, but no one will care. They might even scold us for being ungrateful and for making the old lady upset by crying."
A moment later, Xiao Hong came in and saw that Yu Jie'er's eyes were red, so she asked, "Yu Jie'er, what's wrong?"
Yu Jie said, "I'm a little scared thinking about living with my adoptive parents."
Xiao Hong said, "I heard that the Marquis specially chose a good family for you, so they will definitely not treat you badly. If you cry now, the old lady and other people will think that you are disgusted. Stop crying."
Cheng-ge'er winked at Yu-jie'er, as if to say, "See? I was right."
Yu Jie pouted and looked at Xiao Hong with an unfriendly gaze.
Cheng Ge'er asked with a playful tone, "Sister Xiao Hong, are you really willing to come and live with us at your adoptive parents' house?"
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