“Yun Chu is right. It’s Da Hua’s good fortune that this boy is with her. There’s no question of whether he’s climbing the social ladder or not,” Gu Lili said gently.
Before Old Mrs. Gao could say anything more, Old Mr. Gao quickly nudged her with his elbow, signaling her to shut up.
As Gu Lili spoke, she nodded to Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang, signaling them not to overthink things.
Both of them were deeply moved; Gu Yun Chu was indeed a trustworthy person.
"Come on, everyone, don't stand there. Come in and rest in the main room. Dinner will be served soon." Gu Lili smiled and welcomed everyone into the main room, ending the unpleasant topic.
The Gao family had been observing Gu Lili's family ever since they entered her courtyard.
Gu Lili's courtyard was extremely grand; even the roofs of the stables and cattle pens were made of blue tiles.
Fang Chuntao, Zhang Dahua's aunt, looked at her daughter Gao Fangfang with a mixture of envy and jealousy. Gao Fangfang was no less beautiful than Zhang Dahua.
If she could find someone like Gu Yun Chu, she would be just like her sister-in-law, never having to worry about food or drink for the rest of her life.
Upon entering the main room, Fang Chuntao was so surprised that she could hardly close her mouth.
She had never seen such a grand house before; the county princess truly lived up to her reputation.
I heard that the Emperor also rewarded Gu Lili with five hundred taels of gold, something she never dared to dream of.
When Old Man Li saw Gu Lili enter with her entourage, he quickly stood up to greet her.
"Lili, these must all be relatives of the Zhang family. Come, come, please have a seat," Old Man Li said with a smile.
Everyone took their seats in turn, and Gu Chenxi poured tea for everyone.
Since it was in the countryside, there was no distinction between men and women, and everyone sat in the main room waiting for lunch.
After exchanging pleasantries, Fang Chuntao set her sights on Han Mingyue.
Han Mingyue had fair and delicate skin and looked much more handsome than Gu Yun Chu.
"Princess, is this also your younger brother?" Fang Chuntao asked happily.
His own plans were already in full swing.
Her beautiful face had blossomed into a graceful young lady, more than a match for the young master before her.
Gu Lili, having lived two lifetimes, could clearly see the undisguised emotions in Fang Chuntao's eyes.
She looked at the girl sitting next to Fang Chuntao, and if she wasn't mistaken, she should be her daughter.
Fang Chuntao probably has her eye on Han Mingyue and wants him to be her son-in-law.
"This is Young Master Han from the capital, who came here to study under Master Yuan. He is not my younger brother," Gu Lili answered truthfully.
Moreover, he deliberately emphasized the words "capital city" to discourage Fang Chuntao.
It wasn't that Gu Lili looked down on Gao Fangfang, but Gao Fangfang seemed like the kind of girl who was simple-minded.
If he really got together with Han Mingyue, living thousands of miles away from his parents in that kind of ruthless mansion wouldn't be easy.
This is also why Gu Lili rejected Han Mingyue so decisively; she still prefers this kind of idyllic rural life.
Gu Lili had absolutely no interest in the intrigues and power struggles within the grand mansions.
Upon hearing that Han Mingyue was from the capital, Fang Chuntao's eyes gleamed even brighter.
Han Mingyue's moon-white brocade robe was clearly very valuable, and the jade crown he wore to tie his hair up further emphasized his wealthy and noble status.
Even if Fang Chuntao was ignorant, she could tell that Han Mingyue's family was definitely wealthy.
I've heard Gao Yuanchun (Aunt Zhang) boast about Gu Yunchu for a long time, saying how amazing he is. If her daughter could marry into the capital, let's see if Gao Yuanchun would still be so smug!
As Han Mingyue listened to Gu Lili introduce herself to others, she politely stood up and cupped her hands in greeting to Fang Chuntao.
After exchanging greetings, Han Mingyue turned her head back to continue chatting with Master Yuan and Old Man Li.
Seeing this, Fang Chuntao became even more satisfied, as if Han Mingyue was already her son-in-law.
"Young Master Han is truly a handsome man. I wonder if he is married yet?" Fang Chuntao asked Han Mingyue with a smile.
Upon hearing that Fang Chuntao had mentioned her by name, Han Mingyue stopped chatting with Old Man Li and the others.
"I am still young and unmarried. We can discuss marriage after I pass the imperial examination," Han Mingyue replied truthfully.
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Gu Lili.
Gu Lili was chatting with Zhang Dahua, the two of them laughing together, seemingly not noticing him at all.
Han Mingyue felt a little disappointed. Fang Chuntao wanted to ask Han Mingyue something more, but Han Mingyue stood up irritably, said she was going out for a walk, and left.
Fang Chuntao's gaze made him feel uncomfortable.
Seeing that Han Mingyue had left, Fang Chuntao had no choice but to shut her mouth in frustration.
Anyway, it's still early, we can ask around later.
Gu Lili chatted with the group for a while, then got up to help with the cooking.
The aroma of roasted duck wafted from the earthen kiln in the courtyard, and the dishes in the kitchen were almost ready.
There were many people today, so Gu Lili divided the meal into two tables, one for the men and one for the women.
This made Fang Chuntao a little uneasy, since she still needed to find out about Han Mingyue's family situation.
However, she temporarily put the matter out of her mind when Gu Chenxi served the first dish.
Gu Lili prepared a total of eighteen dishes for today.
It symbolizes that Zhang Dahua and Gu Yunchu will become a couple.
There's braised chicken, roast duck, braised pork belly, stir-fried spicy snails, and a combination of braised meats...
The table was piled high with these dishes, leaving the Gao family members speechless with astonishment.
"My goodness! This is just like Chinese New Year!"
With so many dishes, even during the Chinese New Year, their family wouldn't be able to afford them.
The Zhang family of three was deeply moved; the dishes alone demonstrated how much the Gu family valued Zhang Dahua.
Because Gu Lili has no parents, she asked Old Mrs. Li to represent the Gu family elders in entertaining the Gao family.
Grandma Li smiled and said, "Oh, the engagement between Da Hua and Yun Chu is even more joyful than the New Year! Everyone, please don't be shy, sit down and eat."
Before everyone had even sat down, Fang Chuntao had already picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of braised pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Gu Lili specially cut the braised pork into very large pieces so that everyone could enjoy the meal.
Fang Chuntao stuffed the chopsticks in, filling her mouth to the brim. With each chew, oil oozed out from both sides of her mouth.
She hurriedly wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, muttering as she did so, "What a pity, what a pity, such a lot of oil, and it just dripped out."
Zuo Xiuhong couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Huh!
No wonder I wasn't well-liked before; it turns out that's how she was perceived by others.
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