This is truly a case of someone trying to outwit someone else; there's no way to avoid it.
Gu Baozhu cursed inwardly, but managed a forced smile on her face.
This truly exemplifies what Mr. Songshan meant when he said, "It's easy to dodge a visible arrow, but hard to guard against a hidden one."
I wonder how my third sister-in-law is doing.
Could it be that he's also been bothered by these shameless bastards?
Gu Baozhu's smile became somewhat distorted.
Song Wenyu, standing to the side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly a case of "better to sacrifice a friend than oneself." This was clearly aimed at Gu Baozhu.
No one wants to marry this sickly crown prince. Who knows when he'll kick the bucket and close his eyes, leaving him a widow.
Miss You, seeing that she had already lured the girl into her trap, happily chimed in, "Princess Jiu doesn't know yet, but these days Baozhu has been learning manners from her third sister-in-law at home. The two sisters-in-law are very close. Today, she came to my house as a guest, and after only a short time apart, she was already talking about going to see her."
The Ninth Princess said "Oh," raised her eyebrows slightly, and looked at Gu Baozhu with a half-smile. "That's strange. Didn't you not think much of her before? You said she had your third brother completely under her thumb, punished you with confinement, and stood up for her. How come you're so close to her now? These daughters of minor officials really know how to charm people."
This is incredibly arrogant, but no one can say anything about it.
Although the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy was highly respected by scholars, he was not considered a significant figure by nobles. Moreover, who could compare to the high status of a member of the royal family?
But that's not how you should put it.
Gu Baozhu pouted and defended her good third sister-in-law: "Ninth Princess, this happened a long time ago. My third sister-in-law is well-educated and reasonable. Now she is in charge of the household affairs. Everyone in the mansion and clan praises her. My mother naturally wants me to learn from her. I didn't know how to manage my dowry before, let alone how to manage the household affairs. The maids and servants in the courtyard didn't know these things either, and the accounts were a mess. Now I am slowly learning."
Song Wenyu exclaimed in surprise, "You're only just starting out? I was managing the accounts for my own courtyard when I was seven or eight years old."
The Ninth Princess stretched and said dismissively, "Gu Baozhu is the only girl in her family, so it's inevitable that she's a bit spoiled. I've heard that her sixth brother is also clueless about household affairs, and the Marquis of Dingbei is even less likely to care about these things. So, as soon as the Marquis of Dingbei's wife married into the family, she started managing the household. As for her abilities, she's about the same age as us. Even if she's a few years older, how much ability could she possibly have? It's just that Old Madam Gu is magnanimous and loving towards her daughter-in-law, and there's no one else in the mansion who can take charge, so the servants like to flatter her."
Song Wenyu remained silent.
Miss You smiled and chimed in, "That's right. It's because the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion has fewer people, plus the old lady of the Marquis of Dingbei and the Marquis of Dingbei are influential. Otherwise, even just the old people in the mansion wouldn't be able to keep order."
The Ninth Princess snorted, "Take the palace for example. The Empress Dowager oversees the six palaces, and the affairs are numerous and complicated. Moreover, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager advocate frugality, so they made me, the princess, manage the affairs of one palace early on. I'm still praised by the people in the palace, but it's all just worthless flattery. Behind my back, they're still thinking of ways to cheat and line their own pockets. Can you believe it? An egg costs one coin in the market, but in the imperial kitchen, it's worth one tael of silver. I, the princess, have to count every egg I eat."
Everyone strained their ears to listen, feeling that the Ninth Princess didn't treat them like outsiders.
Song Wenyu laughed and said, "The Empress Dowager and the Empress are extremely frugal. Even Empress Zhangsun of the Tang Dynasty was no more frugal than them."
Gu Baozhu twitched her lips but didn't say anything.
Everyone chimed in with a few words of agreement.
The prince gently raised his hand, and the zither player on the other side stopped playing.
The chattering young ladies immediately fell silent. The Ninth Princess asked respectfully, "Are we disturbing His Highness the Crown Prince's listening to the zither by talking here?"
The Crown Prince's sickly, pale face was full of doting affection as he smiled and said, "I was afraid that the music would disturb your conversation. What you were saying was quite interesting, so why did you stop? If the Empress Dowager knew that you were comparing Empress Zhangsun to her, she would feel quite ashamed. The Empress Dowager comes from a commoner background, and my grandmother was not from an aristocratic family either. She often said that the common people suffer hardships, and that every thread and every piece of clothing is hard-earned. We should cherish resources and not be greedy for wealth and extravagance."
The crowd showered him with compliments and echoed his sentiments.
The Crown Prince coughed a few times, gently adjusted the Confucian hat on his head, and said with a smile, "It is rare for my grandmother to agree to celebrate her birthday this year. It was only after listening to the advice of my father and mother that the world is at peace and there is no more war in the north. My grandmother should not be too frugal. The whole world should celebrate together. That is why she agreed to share the joy with the people."
Song Wenyu sighed, "The Empress Dowager and the Empress are exemplary mothers of the nation, and their every action is a model for women. We should also be more frugal in the future."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Crown Prince smiled and looked at Gu Baozhu: "If it weren't for your third brother's outstanding military achievements, the Empress Dowager wouldn't have been in the mood to celebrate her birthday, and the Emperor and Empress Dowager wouldn't have been able to fulfill their filial duties."
Gu Baozhu said with a blank face, "It was thanks to the Emperor's wisdom and the blessings of our ancestors that my third brother was able to drive the Yelü clan out of the northern frontier."
The Ninth Princess rolled her eyes and smiled, "The Marquis of Dingbei has made such great contributions to the war. Why didn't Father Emperor grant him a marriage? I heard that the Marquis of Dingbei has not married because he was in the process of defeating the Yelü clan. He is still childless at the age of thirty. Father Emperor should grant him a few more beauties."
Gu Baozhu couldn't help but glare at the Ninth Princess, gritting her teeth as she said, "My third sister-in-law is wonderful. My mother always says that it's a blessing that my third brother was born in his past life to marry her."
The Crown Prince hurriedly apologized to Gu Baozhu: "Baozhu, my ninth sister was just joking. Don't take it to heart. If you want to blame someone, blame me instead. It was I who brought up your third brother."
Gu Baozhu immediately said, "How could I dare to ask His Highness the Crown Prince to apologize? It's just that I didn't mean anything by it, but the listener took it to heart. If these words reach my third sister-in-law, they will anger my third brother. Besides, my mother said that my third brother can't be like my sixth brother, taking one woman after another into the family and wasting other people's daughters' time. Now even my sixth brother isn't taking any concubines. He publicly swore to observe three years of mourning before considering marriage."
Upon hearing this, everyone...
Marquis Dingbei was indeed injured.
Otherwise, if Old Madam Gu doted on the Marquis of Dingbei so much, she would have even handed over the household management.
Anyone would try to coax and flatter them in this situation.
The Ninth Princess covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at Gu Baozhu with the other, her voice trembling as she asked, "You, you, is this really true?"
Gu Baozhu nodded seriously: "It couldn't be more true. My third brother will not take a concubine, nor will he even glance at other women."
The Ninth Princess glanced at Miss You.
Miss You nodded quietly.
The Ninth Princess lowered her hand from her mouth, her face clouded with gloom.
With Gu Baozhu talking so much, the whole capital will probably know that the Marquis of Dingbei is really no good, and the Empress Dowager's plan to have her marry into the Marquis of Dingbei's household is doomed.
After all, the royal family can't afford to lose face like that.
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