Chapter 124 Leaving the Capital (08) Anyway, I'll hate her in the future...
Jiang Xu's carriage was supposed to drop off Xiu Zhi and head towards the inn where they would stay, but unexpectedly, another carriage stopped across the street. The curtain of the carriage was lifted slightly, and the people inside watched as Jiang Xu paid the driver and sent him into the inn.
“This is Chen Jia, the second master’s attendant. I saw him before at the yamen’s residence. His name is Jiang Xu,” Niangzhuang said softly.
Youjun lowered the curtain, told the servant to start the carriage again, and slowly swayed her body while smiling, "It seems my guess was right, Chen Jia really did have bad intentions towards the Yu family."
"Was that Second Master Chen seeking revenge or something else?"
"I don't know." Youjun shook her head slightly. "No matter why, he definitely wants to use Guo Xiuzhi to harm the Yu family."
"Shall we go and tell Mr. Yu?"
Youjun pondered for a moment, then shook his head again, “I’m afraid of offending Chen Jia. If our Guan family wants to become imperial merchants, we can’t afford to offend anyone in the officialdom or the palace, let alone someone like the Chen family who can control everything in the court and the palace. Mr. Yu is very capable, so even if someone plots against him, he can probably handle it and turn bad luck into good.”
"But didn't Mr. Yu ask us to find out Guo Xiuzhi's background? How should we answer him?"
"Just brush it off. Mr. Yu will find out sooner or later."
"I'm afraid that if something happens to the Yu family, Mr. Yu will hold us responsible."
Youjun turned her smiling eyes to her face, "No, Mr. Yu is clear about his grudges and debts. It's not like we wanted to harm the Yu family. Why would he hold a grudge against us?"
“But—” Niangzhuang hesitated, “If Mr. Yu harbors resentment towards you, wouldn’t that ruin this good match? You like Mr. Yu, don’t you? It’s rare to find a man who can touch your heart. If you make enemies because of this, I’m worried that you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Without hesitation, Youjun smiled and said, "What is a good marriage? I am destined to have no husband and wife. Rather than being troubled by love, I would rather focus on business. Love is invisible. Only money can be weighed every penny. In this life, you can't necessarily get everything you like. Why bother with such an ethereal thing?"
As the two talked, the city was gradually covered in snow, and everything was a vast expanse of white. After dinner, Yu Qi and the other two came out of the Bao family's house. Although it was dark, the moonlight reflected off the snow and made it seem bright. It wasn't too late, so the Bao family arranged for a carriage to take the three of them. Along the way, because there was a servant driving the carriage, no one dared to say anything to Bao Guilan Pingping.
After holding it in all his might until he got home, Du Zhong finally couldn't contain himself any longer and said as soon as he entered the ceremonial gate, "I don't like that Bao Guilan!"
Yu Qi glanced back at him, pretending not to hear, and walked into the cave. Jiu Li could only quietly advise Du Zhong to talk about it tomorrow, as it was getting late and they didn't want to cause a scene. Du Zhong reluctantly obeyed and went back to his room, waiting for Xiu Zhi to boil water for him to wash up before explaining the day's events to her.
After rambling on for a while, Xiuzhi turned around and advised him, "You've been sitting at the Bao family's house all day, and it's so late now, why are you still rambling on and on about all this nonsense? Aren't you tired? Go to sleep first, and we can talk about it tomorrow."
Seeing that she was about to leave with the basin of water, he quickly went to guard the door. "How can this be nonsense? I was afraid you would be angry. I've been on tenterhooks ever since you left, but you act like nothing happened. Are you angry with me or not?"
Xiuzhi had no choice but to put the basin on the ground and sit on the couch, laughing, "What's there to be angry about? It's only natural for men to marry when they're of age and women to marry when they're of age. If there's no Miss Guilan today, there will be other girls tomorrow. How old am I? Don't I understand this principle? Why would I be angry about something like this?"
These words angered Du Zhong. He walked over and sat down, sneering, "You are truly magnanimous, not even angry that I am looking at other girls."
She glanced at him for a moment, then chuckled softly, "What's the use of me being angry? Do you think that if I hold a grudge, Master will agree to let you marry me? I know that all those vows you made before were sincere, but while your heart may be true, things may not always go as planned. I don't blame you for not being able to keep them."
Du Zhong took a breath and lightly pounded his fist on the kang table. "A man's word is his bond! I mean what I say! Tomorrow I'll make it clear to my master that even if you beat me to death, I won't marry Bao Guilan. The person I want to marry is you!"
"That's just your own opinion. The master always keeps his word. What can you do if he doesn't agree?" Xiuzhi gave a slow, bitter smile. "Besides, what will happen to my family if I marry you?"
“If you marry me, your family will naturally become my family in the future. I know what your old lady is worried about. Anyway, I don’t have parents, so I’ll treat her like my own elder and take care of her. How about that?”
Xiuzhi couldn't help but look up at him, "You can treat her as an elder, then can you treat my son as your own son?"
He spread his hands, "Why can't I?"
“Raising a son is not easy. It not only costs money, but also takes a lot of energy. You have to teach him to read and teach him to be a good person. When he is hungry, you have to cook for him. When he is sick, you worry about him day and night. You have to worry about everything and take care of everything. When he finally grows up, you still have to plan for his marriage and career. Every penny you earn is for him. You are willing to do all these things?”
He nodded vigorously. Xiuzhi smiled and stood up, walking slowly towards the window. "I believe you have the heart for this right now, but who can do these trivial things if it's not their own son? Unless—" She stood by the window and turned to look at him, "Unless you don't want your own child. Once you have your own child, you'll naturally spend all your energy and money on him first, and you won't care about someone else's child."
Du Zhong was speechless for a moment. After careful consideration, he stood up and walked towards her, saying, "I can divide everything in two."
“People who have several children might still favor one over the other, let alone one of them who wasn’t even yours. Do you think life is like accounting, where everything can be calculated fairly?” Especially for a child like Gou’er, who is naturally a little slow-witted, he is bound to suffer. Just thinking about it made her feel a little sorry for him.
She stared at him, her eyes involuntarily becoming somewhat aggressive.
Du Zhong blinked and said, "Then what do you mean? You want me to not have children of my own?"
Impossible. She could tell from his expression that men who didn't want to carry on the family line were extremely rare. Even if he agreed now, he would likely go back on his word when he got older. She couldn't drag Gou'er into another conflict for no reason. Weren't there countless cases of brothers fighting and sisters turning against each other in this world?
In truth, their relationship was laughable from any perspective. He couldn't marry her, and she couldn't marry him. Their past affection couldn't withstand careful scrutiny.
She smiled faintly and said, "Let's just treat the past as a dream and not mention it again."
After saying that, she picked up the basin of water, opened the door, and went out. Du Zhong watched her back helplessly, thinking that she was still angry. He decided that he must rebel against Yu Qi this time, and he might succeed!
So he waited a few days, thinking that the matter had probably faded somewhat from Yu Qi's mind, and that if he brought it up again, Yu Qi probably wouldn't get angry. So he went to the kitchen that day, personally brewed a bowl of morning tea, and eagerly brought it to the east wing, hoping to please Yu Qi.
Yu Qi had just finished washing his face, tossed the towel into the basin, walked to the table, sat down, glanced at him sideways, and then picked up his tea to drink. Taking advantage of the situation, Du Zhong, following the same approach as Jiu Li, smiled and said, "Master, after much thought, I still feel I'm too young. There's no rush to settle down; establishing a career is more important. I want to study medicine with you for a few more years. As for marriage—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Qi put down his teacup and interrupted, "I said you should settle down and start a family whenever you feel like it."
Hearing his tone, Du Zhong knew there was no room for negotiation, so he straightened his back, clasped his hands in front of his abdomen, and said in a crooked voice, "If we're going to get married, I won't marry Bao Guilan. The person I love is Xiuzhi."
Yu Qi glared at him angrily, "Calling someone 'Xiuzhi'? You're shameless! You're more than ten years younger than her, how can you even bring yourself to call her that! There's no room for discussion. If you keep bothering me, I'll kick her out immediately."
These words were spoken with such force and clarity that they reached Jiuli's room. She was washing her face and couldn't help but peek at Xiuzhi in the mirror embedded in the washbasin stand. Xiuzhi was behind her, behind the curtain hanging on the screen, so her face was not visible. She could only see Xiuzhi's hands pause for a moment before continuing to arrange the gauze curtain.
Jiuli knew she had heard, and felt embarrassed. She threw off her face towel, turned around, and smiled, "Sister Guo, didn't Du Zhong send some chickens and ducks to your house last time? Don't be stingy. Kill them often to nourish Gou'er. He's a bit weak, so he needs to eat well so he can grow stronger in the future."
Xiuzhi turned around and nodded, her smile weak but lacking energy. "I know, I'm making money for him, what's there to be reluctant about?"
As Jiuli changed her clothes, she looked at herself in the dressing mirror. "Actually, Du Zhong is sincere towards you, it's just that your uncle—"
Xiuzhi walked straight to the mirror and tied her skirt sash. "I understand, Miss, you don't need to say anything more. If it were me, I wouldn't agree either. You should persuade Du Zhong not to be impulsive in his youth, or it would be bad if he quarreled with the master."
After speaking, he straightened her clothes, took the basin of water, and went out, leaving Jiuli in the room in awe. How could people in this world be so open-minded about matters between men and women, while she and Du Zhong were the only two lovesick fools!
Just as she was cursing herself for being so useless, Du Zhong pushed open the door and came in. He walked over and lay down on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and sighed, "I thought that after these few days, Master would soften up a bit, but who knew that it was still no use."
Jiuli walked to the bedside and kicked his dangling foot. "Let me tell you the truth, Uncle doesn't agree not because she's old and has a son, but because—"
He hesitated again when this topic came up, which prompted Du Zhong to sit up. "If it's not for this, then what is it for? Tell me!"
She plopped down next to him. "Anyway, it's good to tell you to keep an eye out. Uncle suspects that Sister-in-law Guo came to our house for some other purpose. She seems to have a close relationship with the former county magistrate, Wang Shanfeng. Wang Shanfeng was promoted by the two Chen brothers."
"Wang Shanfeng is Wang Shanfeng, and Xiuzhi is Xiuzhi. What could they possibly have to do with each other? Just because Xiuzhi used to work in the yamen, does that mean they have some kind of relationship?! This suspicion is utterly baseless! I think Master has been handling too many cases and has become a bit paranoid!"
“You can’t say that. I think Uncle’s suspicions are not without reason. Think about it carefully. Working in the kitchen of the yamen is not a job that an ordinary woman can just do. There are so many minor officials and clerks in the yamen. Their families must have relatives who are vying for the job. Why would they give this job to a complete stranger like Sister Guo?”
Du Zhong's eyes lit up. "That means Xiu Zhi and Wang Shan Feng are relatives."
"Why does she never say she's a relative?"
"Perhaps it's because Wang Shanfeng committed a crime and they were afraid of being implicated, so they didn't say anything."
“You forgot, when Sister Guo came to our house, Wang Shanfeng’s matter hadn’t been exposed yet. Having a relative who is an official, what’s wrong with that?” Jiu Li got up and slowly paced around the bed. “I guess there was some connection between them, but Sister Guo didn’t want to use that connection, either because she was afraid of owing favors or because she didn’t like the connection. She only came to Wang Shanfeng for this job because she had no other choice. She didn’t like it in the first place, so naturally she didn’t mention it.”
Xiuzhi, who happened to be outside the window, overheard these words and was startled, clutching her pounding heart. It turned out they suspected her behind her back. Suspicion breeds resentment, and regardless of whether she had done anything to wrong them, once they discovered her connection to the Chen family, they would surely harbor hatred towards her in the future.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading. This second update is late, but I will update again tonight.
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