It lingers in this spacious and bright room.
"Grandma," Gu Yunzhen met Madam Gu's dignified eyes and said calmly, "Granddaughter will follow your arrangements."
It's just a marriage. Every woman has to go through this kind of life, and she can live a good life.
In other words, there won't be the mutual love described in the storybooks.
This is not all of life. Mother can do it, grandmother can do it, and of course she can do it too.
Although she had made the decision, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. The strange smell at the tip of her nose became stronger, and she sighed: But, she was going to make her sister worry about her again.
Hearing Gu Yunzhen's agreement, Mrs. Gu's expression suddenly turned from gloomy to bright, and a kind smile appeared on her graceful face again.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly brightened.
Madam Gu said to Madam Li with satisfaction, "Quick, send someone to invite the Third Madam over."
Nanny Li immediately responded and quickly went out to send someone to pass on the message.
Madam Gu called in the head maid Bai Lu, and in front of Gu Yunzhen, asked Bai Lu to open the storeroom and get a box of jewelry from her private storeroom. She also ordered another maid to bring the dowry list from the eldest aunt's wedding.
If the marriage is scheduled before the New Year, it means that the dowry should be given tomorrow.
Cihe Hall suddenly became busy, with maids and old women coming and going in a hurry.
After Gu Yunzhen finished saying that, he fell silent again, as if his soul had been pulled out of his body.
Madam Gu was in a good mood and kept talking non-stop: "Zhenjie'er, your family will not let you down. Your second aunt will help your mother with your dowry, and it must be done properly."
"Grandmother will give you more dowry. In addition to this box of jewelry, I will also give you 10,000 taels of silver and land."
"Grandma still has a lot of good fabrics here, just right for making your wedding dress. Let the sewing room work day and night."
“…”
Gu Yunzhen pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time, his whole body seeming to be detached.
Madam Gu's voice was clearly right next to my ear, but it seemed so far away, as if it came from thousands of miles away.
However, in the eyes of Madam Gu, Gu Yunzhen's silence was considered as being well-behaved and obedient.
People are in high spirits when they are happy. The wrinkles at the corners of Mrs. Gu's lips and eyes turned into a smile. She discussed some details of the wedding with Wang in high spirits.
Wang calmly winked at her housekeeper, indicating that she should find someone to inform the Marquis of the good news.
Wang smiled and said, "Mother, my eldest brother-in-law is less than 20 years old, but he is already a fifth-rank captain in the Shenji Camp. He has a bright future. If he doesn't have to observe mourning, he will be able to rise to the top in a few years and wear a fourth-rank red robe."
In the Dajing court, officials of the fifth rank and below wore blue or green robes, while officials of the fourth rank and above wore red robes.
This bright red robe is in full swing, and is itself a symbol of status and future.
Mrs. Gu agreed with it and nodded repeatedly with a look of joy on her face.
The words "Fifth-rank Captain of the Shenji Camp" were like several sharp needles piercing Gu Yunzhen's ears.
Her originally dead expression showed a slight fluctuation for the first time, and her long dark blue eyelashes trembled rapidly twice.
She slowly turned to Madam Gu, her eyes like a cold black pool, and asked word by word: "A fifth-rank captain in the Divine Machine Battalion?"
"Yes." Madam Gu smiled and said, "There is a hurdle between the fifth and fourth ranks. Once you pass this hurdle, your son-in-law will have a bright future..."
Madam Gu wanted to have a good talk with Gu Yunzhen, but was interrupted by Gu Yunzhen: "Grandmother, the fifth-rank commander of the Shenji Camp, isn't this eldest brother's job?"
The news that Gu Yuan had been transferred to the Shenji Battalion and promoted to the rank of Qianhu by the Ministry of War was known to everyone in the mansion, and of course Gu Yunzhen knew it too.
But this was my eldest brother's job, why did it become Murong Yong's? !
What about my eldest brother? In order to follow in the footsteps of my great uncle, my eldest brother has worked hard for so many years, gradually gaining a foothold in the army at the cost of blood and sweat, and finally got to where he is today...
The relaxed and cheerful atmosphere just now suddenly stagnated and became somewhat subtly awkward.
Madam Gu and Wang looked at each other, their faces stiffened, and they realized the problem.
During this period of time, Gu Yunzhen followed Yan to his maternal grandfather's home and just returned yesterday. I'm afraid he didn't know that it was Murong Yong who finally got the job of the captain of the Shenji Camp.
Gu Yunzhen's pair of dark eyes were bottomless. He stared at Madam Gu's old and graceful face without blinking, as if he wanted to penetrate the hypocritical shell and capture the subtle changes on her face in an instant.
It was as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head, and Gu Yunzhen felt a chill from head to toe, penetrating deep into his bones.
Gu Yunzhen's usually gentle eyes now flashed with an almost sharp light. He said coldly and clearly, "He... stole my eldest brother's job?"
She was asking, but her expression was very determined, as if she already had a clear answer in her mind.
She thought that since they all had the surname Gu, the family should support each other, and her grandmother and second uncle would definitely help her eldest brother Gu Yuan.
It turned out that she was too naive.
Her hope was nothing but a self-righteous extravagant wish, just like the seemingly gorgeous soap bubbles in the sun, which would burst with a slight breeze.
In the east side room, the scene was frozen and the atmosphere became even colder.
Madam Gu frowned unhappily and said calmly, "How can this be called 'robbing'?"
The eldest girl really learned bad things from Gu Yanfei, and she can't even speak! Madam Gu said confidently: "Brother Yuan was transferred to the Imperial Guard, and the position of the Thousand Household of the Shenji Camp was voluntarily given up by Brother Yuan."
After all, without Gu Yuan, no matter how much money the Marquis' Mansion spent, it would be impossible to conjure up a job in the Shenji Camp for Murong Yong out of thin air.
The more Madam Gu thought about it, the more she felt justified. She added, "Zhen Jie'er, the Murong family will not treat you unfairly. Your eldest brother gave up the job, and you helped his old lady to get married. From now on, the Murong family owes you. They will look up to you in the future. In this life, your position is stable, and no one can surpass you."
"Grandma and your second uncle did all this for you."
Wang nodded frequently. The biggest beneficiary of this incident was Gu Yunzhen.
"It's for Gu Yunmeng!" Gu Yunzhen pointed out Madam Gu's thoughts incisively, and a suffocating feeling filled his heart.
"Big brother wants to fight on the battlefield, like big uncle, instead of living a peaceful life in Beijing."
"And for Gu Yunyan, you helped Murong Yong snatch Big Brother's job and even ruined Big Brother's future!"
Gu Yunzhen's voice was filled with disappointment and sorrow, her lips were pale and her pupils were as dark as the night.
It felt like a string in my heart was tightening little by little.
She could accept her grandmother's arrangement of a marriage for her for the sake of the family's interests, and give up pursuing the Emperor Taizu's advocacy of mutual affection; she could bring good luck to her future husband's family;
She could be like all other women like her mother, respecting her parents-in-law, serving her husband, managing the household, disciplining concubines, and educating her children.
But she also has a bottom line.
“Zheng!”
Gu Yunzhen vaguely heard the sound of the string breaking, and his heart trembled violently.
She stood up without warning, and this abrupt action caused Madam Gu and Mrs. Wang to frown.
Facing the surprised or dissatisfied eyes in the room, Gu Yun's voice no longer had the usual gentleness, and he uttered three words firmly:
"I won't marry!"
These three words were neither light nor heavy, but they sounded like thunder.
Everyone was stunned and couldn't believe their ears.
The room was filled with silence.
…
"Miss, I just heard that the eldest girl is not going to get married."
At dusk, the news of Gu Yunzhen's refusal of marriage was passed on to Gu Yanfei by Juanbi.
Gu Yanfei gently turned the needle on the compass, and the needle was spinning...
The pointer first moved faster, then slower, and finally stopped.
The setting sun shone through the window and onto the small compass, and the needle and the surface of the compass glowed with a pearl-like luster.
Juanbi knew that the girl was telling fortunes, and she stared at the compass with bated breath... until the needle stopped, she took a breath and asked curiously: "Girl, have you finished your fortune telling?"
"The hexagram has changed." Gu Yanfei looked at the hexagram displayed on the compass and raised the corner of his eye happily.
And then? Juanbi stared at Gu Yanfei intently, waiting for her to continue.
Gu Yanfei held his chin with one hand, lowered his eyes to look at the compass, and tapped the knuckles of his right hand lightly on the table, as if thinking about something.
Before today, she had predicted Gu Yunzhen's marriage several times.
The results of the hexagrams have always shown that "fate is irreversible."
Therefore, Gu Yanfei did not dare to intervene rudely. She herself was a person abandoned by heaven. If she forcibly intervened in the cause and effect of "heaven's predestined fate", it would harm Gu Yunzhen instead.
But the current hexagram shows a turning point -
"Break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly." Gu Yanfei murmured to himself.
Juanbi didn't know what Gu Yanfei meant by this, but she could guess from the four words "breaking out of the cocoon and becoming a butterfly" that the result of the hexagram should not be bad.
"Young lady," Juanbi was happy at first, but then she became a little worried, and said, "Will the Madam make things difficult for you? And will the Murong family..."
Everyone in the mansion knew the Madam's temperament. She was always high and mighty and would not tolerate anyone in the mansion questioning her decisions. Perhaps only the Marquis and Gu Yunyan had a say in front of the Madam.
The Murong family is Gu Yunzhen's future husband's family. If Gu Yunzhen refuses to celebrate the wedding, it will be equivalent to offending the Murong family. Will the Murong family let it go? !
Compared to Juanbi's worry, Gu Yanfei seemed nonchalant.
A butterfly emerges from its cocoon, but the cocoon is itself a trap.
If the cocoon is broken by external force, the result will only be destruction. Gu Yunzhen must tear apart the things that bind her body by herself before she can break out of the cocoon and experience the beauty of turning into a butterfly.
From this hexagram, we can see that
A crack appeared on the "cocoon" on Gu Yunzhen's body, and her fate was no longer "irreversible".
(End of this chapter)
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