Lu Siniang blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.
Gu Qingyan, who was talking to Lord Zhang, saw this scene and thought that Gu Nanjiao had bullied his beloved.
He quickly stepped forward and put his arm around Lü Siniang, glancing at Gu Nanjiao, his tone a little nervous: "Jiaojiao, this is your fourth aunt. Haven't you always wanted your father to find someone who cares for you? Now that your father has found someone, aren't you happy?"
Gu Nanjiao glanced at Lü Siniang with a half-smile, then said to Gu Qingyan with a serious expression, "Father, I'm very happy!"
Both of them breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, especially Lü Siniang, whose hands were damp with sweat; she was both nervous and frightened.
What's nerve-wracking is the delicate relationship between the two. They were just becoming sisters last year, and now she's about to become her stepmother. The fear is that if Gu Nanjiao objects, their cooperative relationship and sisterly bond might not be able to continue.
Fortunately, she was happy to be with her father.
Zhang Yan, having changed out of his official robes, walked over. He paused for a moment when he saw Gu Nanjiao and asked Gu Qingyan, "Is this Jiaojiao?"
"It is indeed my daughter, Jiaojiao."
Gu Nanjiao was thrilled. The county magistrate actually knew her! And he even called her father a brother. It seemed her father was doing quite well!
Zhang Yan looked Gu Nanjiao up and down, then narrowed his eyes and said, "She looks just like her, really!"
Gu Nanjiao asked in confusion, "What does it look like?"
Gu Qingyan quickly said, "Just like your father, silly girl." He turned and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhang Yan, saying, "My daughter is ignorant of etiquette; I hope Brother Gu will not take offense!"
Zhang Yan waved his hand: "It's alright. I even held Jiaojiao when she was little. She's just like my own daughter."
Gu Qingyan couldn't help but sigh, "We've been classmates for many years, and now you've risen to the rank of eighth-grade county magistrate, while I'm still just a poor, penniless scholar. I'm truly ashamed!"
"Not at all, Brother Gu, why don't you continue your studies? You're sure to soar to great heights. Don't be discouraged!"
"I plan to take the imperial examination again and propose to Fourth Sister after I pass it."
Gu Nanjiao raised an eyebrow at Lü Siniang: "You have no idea, my father hasn't taken the imperial examinations for more than ten years since he passed the county-level exam. Now, for your sake, he has regained his confidence in taking the exams. You're amazing!"
Lu Siniang blushed slightly: "Stop teasing me. You don't blame me for marrying your father and becoming your stepmother?"
Gu Nanjiao said, "I've thought it all out. From today onwards, we'll treat each other as our own. I'll call you 'sister,' and you should treat me like your own daughter."
Lü Siniang...
She didn't sound like she had gotten the better deal at all.
Gu Qingyan and Lord Zhang had finished their discussion, and Gu Qingyan insisted on inviting Lord Zhang to dinner.
Men eat, drink, and chat; it's not appropriate for women to accompany them. Gu Nanjiao said to Gu Qingyan, "Father, I'd like to go with Fourth Aunt—no, Fourth Aunt Sister—to Jiaoniang Pavilion for a while, sleep there tonight, and maybe even cultivate our relationship."
"Go ahead, go ahead! Don't make things difficult for your fourth aunt!" Gu Qingyan said with a smile, then turned and looked at Lü Siniang with affection: "Don't be afraid, Jiaojiao said she wants to go to your shop to take a look, so take her there first. If she sees anything she likes, I'll pay for it!"
Gu Nanjiao: Don't be afraid? She hasn't even done anything yet, and her father is already protecting her!
Gu Qingyan wanted to say something more, but Lü Siniang said coquettishly, "Oh, I know, I know. Jiaojiao won't make things difficult for me, so don't worry."
By the time we arrived at Jiaoniang Pavilion, it was almost dark.
Liu, along with Zhang Xiaohu and Wenzhang, stayed in the shop, glancing towards the door every now and then.
Seeing Lü Siniang and Gu Nanjiao enter at the same time, Liu Shi quickly put down her needlework, checked Lü Siniang over, and seeing that she was not injured, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that you're alright!"
Gu Nanjiao laughed and said, "Look how worried Sister-in-law Meihua is."
That evening, Gu Nanjiao listened to Lü Siniang recount the general situation. Lü Siniang said that she and her father had known each other for a long time and had recently reached the point of discussing marriage. Her father came to Jiaoniang Pavilion every day to help out, and the county-level Jiaoniang Pavilion had hired two female workers to help look after it. To spend more time with Gu Qingyan, Lü Siniang had been staying at the town-level Jiaoniang Pavilion recently.
Jiaoniang Pavilion's business was booming, which made Old Madam Wen envious. She insisted that Lü Siniang hand over the shop, or she would take Wenzhang away. Wenzhang was a descendant of the Wen family, and the Wen family had the right to take him away.
Lu Siniang was unwilling to hand over the shop, and even more unwilling for the Wen family to take Wen Zhang away. So Gu Qingyan came up with an idea: he deliberately embraced Lu Siniang when Old Madam Wen appeared.
Old Lady Wen did not know that Gu Qingyan was a scholar, but only that he was a poor schoolteacher. So she called for people to block the two of them and use this as leverage against them.
Gu Qingyan turned the tables and led the people to Nanfeng Academy. Old Madam Wen, thinking she had the two under control, ordered her men to beat Gu Qingyan up.
Gu Qingyan's classmate Zhang Yan became a county magistrate. The two had a good relationship when they were studying. Gu Qingyan asked Magistrate Zhang for help beforehand. The two worked together from the inside and outside, and Magistrate Zhang caught Old Lady Wen in the act of beating up a scholar in Nanfeng.
The Chu Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, and the academy was the place to cultivate the pillars of the nation. The old lady Wen publicly insulted the scholars and beat the students, which was an unforgivable crime.
Gu Nanjiao was speechless. She never expected that her father, who looked so refined and gentle, was actually even more cunning than Lu Yanzhao.
What a brilliant move! If Old Lady Wen is flogged, her family will surely come to Lü Siniang to avoid exile. In this way, not only will the Wen family not dare to covet the Jiaoniang Pavilion, but they might even return the family property they embezzled in order to get Lü Siniang to drop the charges.
After having dinner, the group tidied up the shop and prepared to close.
Gu Nanjiao planned to share a bed with Lü Siniang and whisper some secrets. She was a little curious about the development of Lü Siniang's relationship with her father and wanted to gossip about it.
After listening to Lü Siniang recount her love story with Gu Qingyan, Gu Nanjiao said in a serious tone, "Sister Siniang, then we're family from now on. Could you give me a 10% cut of Jiaoniang Pavilion's profits?"
Lu Siniang scoffed, "You're quite the opportunist, aren't you? Dream on. We agreed to keep to ourselves."
Gu Nanjiao wasn't angry. She said with a grin, "Fine, fine, if you won't give it to me, then promise me you won't tell my father about our collaboration."
Lu Siniang thought for a while and said, "That's fine, it's okay not to tell him, so as not to put too much pressure on him."
Gu Nanjiao was finally relieved. Gu Qingyan knew exactly what the original owner of this body was like. If she knew that Gu Nanjiao could not only draw exquisite clothing patterns, but also had all sorts of business ideas, she would inevitably doubt whether the current Gu Nanjiao was real.
I've heard that people in ancient times were superstitious. What if... what if they found out that I wasn't the real person and burned me as a ghost?
...
After Wang Sang escorted Lu's mother home, he thought of Lai Fu. So he drove his carriage around to the vicinity of Yang Meiqin's house to see if his father had left.
It was already quite dark when Wang Dafu and Laifu decided to slip away under the cover of night.
Thinking that the carriage had been driven away by that brat Wang Sang, Wang Dafu felt both angry and scared.
What angered him was that he had to walk back, and what he feared was that if his son caught him having an affair with the widow and told his wife, the "tiger mom," he would surely cause a scene.
Fortunately, the foolish son drove off in the carriage and had no time to worry about anything else, so he could walk back on foot.
Seeing Wang Dafu about to leave, Yang Meiqin quickly wrapped her arms around his waist. Because Wang Dafu had too much fat on his belly, Yang Meiqin couldn't hug him properly, so she simply rubbed her face against the fat on Wang Dafu's chest and said in a seductive voice, "Master, what will I do if you leave? That Li woman will beat me to death, I'm scared!" After saying that, she pouted aggrievedly and shed a few tears.
Seeing the beauty's tearful face, Wang Dafu couldn't bear it: "Be a good girl and wait for me for a few days. I'll come back for you after I've dealt with this. Be good!"
The two of them being so lovey-dovey almost disgusted Laifu, who was standing nearby.
Lai Fu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Wang Dafu: "Master, it's getting late. If we don't go back soon, I'm afraid things will get out of hand..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Dafu's expression became much more serious. He patted Yang Meiqin on the back and said, "Alright, I'm leaving now. I'll come back another day."
“Master—” Watching Wang Dafu’s departing figure, Yang Meiqin bit her lip in grievance, her face full of grievance.
Laifu cautiously opened the door, looked around, and said to Wang Dafu, "Master, there's no one here. Let's go!"
Wang Dafu followed closely behind.
Wang Sang looked at the two figures in front of him, one fat and one thin, and they looked a lot like Laifu and his father.
He drove the carriage forward and tentatively called out, "Father?"
When Wang Dafu turned around and saw who it was, his heart skipped a beat.
It’s over!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com