(5)

Then he spoke word by word.

"The sky is high and the sea is wide. There is always a place for me. I don't want my granddaughter-in-law to stay in this backyard and fight with others for her whole life."

When she finished saying this, Madam Gu's slightly clenched fists finally loosened, but she still spoke with a suppressed tone.

"You really don't want to?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

The conversation between the two was brief and clear, but it made Madam Gu feel relieved.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter, and looked at Du Jingyi with eyes full of satisfaction and approval.

"Well, if Yunhe had your courage back then, Dongyuan would not have been suppressed to this extent. If Liu was as decisive as you, Ping'er would not be so cowardly. Anyone who can stand by Shaoyu should be like this!"

Seeing the transformation of Madam Gu, Du Jingyi finally understood.

Is this a test of her feelings?

She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had a little temper during lunch, which made her understand clearly what her husband was thinking.

Otherwise, based on her previous temper, I'm afraid she would really agree to it.

Originally, she had never thought of "exclusively enjoying" the rear house of the general's mansion, but now she and her husband have had several heart-to-heart talks and they have made promises to each other.

Since the back house was so quiet, she didn't want more people to disturb it.

"Are you scared?"

"I was scared."

At this moment, Du Jingyi had already determined what Madam Gu felt towards her, so she naturally revealed what she should reveal.

Sure enough, Madam Gu kindly pulled her to sit next to her, touched her hair and said.

"You are not chosen by me, so I am always worried. Although I know Shao Yu has chosen you, I am not sure whether you have chosen him as well. Life is long, and you two have just started. You will encounter many hardships in the future."

"If you can't even handle an old woman like me, then you are not fit to stand beside Shao Yu and accompany him."

"Today's test was just to see your determination. Now I, an old woman, have seen it. I'm glad that you will be with him in the future. This child has gone through too much hardship. I hope that you will have a happy life in the future."

Madam Gu's words were spoken sincerely and joyfully.

Du Jingyi could see that this was someone who truly cared about Shang Ji, so she was willing to respect and love this grandmother as much as her husband did.

So he nodded and answered affirmatively.

"Don't worry, grandma. Your granddaughter-in-law will definitely stand shoulder to shoulder with the general and stay with him for the rest of his life."

When Madam Gu heard this, she seemed to remember that many years ago, she had made a lifelong covenant with her husband.

It’s a pity that I couldn’t make it to the last step.

But she will never forget what Marshal Gu left behind.

After the two of them talked it out, Madam Gu did not hide anything and spoke to Du Jingyi.

"Let Lang'er handle her own affairs. She will eventually figure it out after being sick for ten days or half a month. Don't take it to heart."

The two of them knew what was going on.

Du Jingyi wasn't the type to get to the bottom of things, so he was happy to play dumb.

"Jinling City is warm, Sui'an City is cold, so it's normal for cousin Lang to be cold for a while. Just rest for a few days and you'll be fine. When you're well, granddaughter-in-law will arrange for everyone to go boating on the lake. The Lantern Festival is most beautiful when viewed from a pleasure boat on the lake."

Hearing this, Old Madam Gu felt as if she were in another world.

"I haven't seen the Lantern Festival for many years. Okay, you can arrange it this year."

"Yes, Grandma."

The two smiled at each other, and Du Jingyi felt the love and concern from his elders.

In Xitang Courtyard.

When Shang Ji woke up, it was already dark.

Du Jingyi beside him was not sleeping soundly. As soon as he moved, she woke up.

Then he propped himself up and asked with some concern.

"Is the General feeling better?"

This wine is aged, so although it is very intoxicating, it is not likely to give you a headache.

After drinking the sobering soup and having a good sleep, I naturally felt much more sober.

Then he shook his head and said.

"I'm fine, but you, how can you sleep with such a strong smell of alcohol? Tomorrow I'll ask Butler He to move a couch over from the wing room. If I drink too much, I can just leave it there, so as not to make you uncomfortable."

If it were in the past, Du Jingyi would have sent him to the study long ago without Shang Ji saying anything.

How could he possibly let Butler He help him into the bedroom?

But now, even though the smell of alcohol on him had not yet dissipated, it turned into an intoxicating fragrance to Du Jingyi.

"I'm fine, but General, do you want to wash up?"

Shang Ji looked up at the sky outside and then asked.

"Is it midnight?"

"Just after quarter past two."

Shang Ji didn't expect that he had slept until now, so he got up and spoke.

"It's better to wash it. I'll ask the maid to change your bedclothes."

After saying that, he turned over and got out of bed. The smell of alcohol suddenly hit Du Jingyi's nose, which was really not pleasant.

So she covered it with her hands.

Seeing this, Shang Ji felt annoyed for a moment, and then left quickly.

Cherry, who was on guard at night, woke up immediately when she heard the noise. She was still a little dazed when she got up, and then she listened to Shang Ji's instructions.

"Go change the bedding. The smell of alcohol is too strong and it's hard for the young lady to sleep."

"Yes, General."

Then he went next door to wash up, and soon he heard the sound of water splashing.

This time, not to mention his spirit, even Du Jingyi's was washed away.

Fortunately, she had taken a nap in the afternoon, so she wasn't very sleepy at the moment.

After turning on the lights again, she sat on the couch and watched Cherry change the quilt.

I felt quite sweet inside, but I still said it.

"You should get more sleep tomorrow, and let Lizhu come to take care of you. Your body won't be able to bear it if you keep going like this."

Cherry was quick and skillful and finished it in no time.

Then he smiled and said.

"I'm not tired. This is just a small thing. But Lizhu has to practice for two hours every day. She never stops even on a snowy day like this. So she always falls asleep right after lying down. It's really better to let her rest more."

Hearing this, Du Jingyi felt a little distressed.

"Poor little Lizhu..."

"Don't worry too much, Madam. When she becomes successful in the future, we will have a powerful female guard by our side. That will be so impressive."

Speaking of this, Cherry feels very confident.

The Du family never thought that they should be slaves for the rest of their lives, so when they taught the servants, they mostly hoped that they would have a skill.

Therefore, Lizhu was very happy that she could find it.

Even though she felt a little tired sometimes, she felt at ease following the Young Madam and serving her.

Hearing this, Du Jingyi also laughed.

I couldn't help but imagine Li Zhu in military uniform, looking so dashing.

(6)

As the master and servant were talking, they saw Shang Ji coming back after washing.

He felt much more refreshed than before, but the water stains on his hair were still dripping.

Yingtao went to help, but Shang Ji dodged.

Finally, Du Jingyi smiled and said.

"General, let Cherry do it. She can do it faster and we can rest first."

Du Jingyi wanted to help, but she had tried several times and was stopped by Shang Ji. She had no choice but to let Yingtao do it.

Hearing his wife say this, Shang Ji obeyed.

Cherry's movements were skillful and quick, and in a short while Shang Ji's hair was half dry.

The couple couldn't sleep at the moment, so they just started playing chess again.

It was the middle of the night and they were in a really good mood.

It's just that when two bad chess players play against each other, they won't make much progress even if they play for another three years.

Du Jingyi looked at his chess piece being eaten and muttered to himself.

"Tomorrow I will go find a chess master to teach me. Otherwise, it's really boring to play against the general every day and always lose."

After hearing this, Shang Ji really didn't know whether he should take the next step.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

But in the end, the desire to pamper his wife overcame reason.

So he took a random step and ended up getting himself surrounded and killed.

Seeing this, Du Jingyi was not very happy.

"General, you don't have to give up such a position to fool me. Isn't this just giving me chess pieces to eat?"

Now Shang Ji was helpless.

It's not okay to be too ruthless, nor is it okay to be too lenient.

So after thinking about it, he made a suggestion.

"Why don't you ask your fourth aunt to come over and teach us tomorrow? She was once a student of the chess master Mr. Li, so she should have no problem teaching our two stupid apprentices."

"My fourth aunt learned from the chess master?"

"Well, she was once a fierce general in the Gu family army."

But later, because all the men in his family died in the war, he became discouraged and never went to the battlefield again.

Hearing this, Du Jingyi was a little impressed.

No wonder she could drink so much, and no wonder Du Jingyi saw some boldness and generosity in her that was different from that of ordinary ladies.

I never thought that she was a female general!

"That's great! If Fourth Aunt is willing to teach me, I will definitely study hard. I don't believe that someone as smart as me can't learn to play chess!"

Hearing this, Shang Ji also laughed.

There are some things that you can't know just by being smart.

For example, he also thought he was a master at using troops, but for some reason he made no progress on the chessboard.

Otherwise, his fourth aunt must have taught him some things when he was in the army.

It’s a pity that a famous teacher may not necessarily produce a talented student.

After chatting and laughing, Shang Ji's hair was almost dry.

The couple then felt a little sleepy, so they put down the chess pieces, got on the bed, and soon fell asleep in each other's arms.

Sleep till dawn.

Shang Ji was already idle at home, so naturally he had nothing to do.

Du Jingyi was pregnant, so she had nothing to worry about.

The couple slept well, but they didn't know that the servants in the general's mansion were in a very difficult situation at the moment.

The Duke Shang Yukuan and his wife asked to see Old Madam Gu, so logically they should be invited in.

But they all came from Dongyuan, so how could they not know how tense the situation was before?

So I really don’t dare to put it in easily.

In the end, he had no choice but to report to Butler He and ask whether he should consult the general before making any plans.

Butler He hurried to Xitang Courtyard and heard that the two had not yet gotten up. After thinking for a while, he went straight to Xulai Courtyard.

Since they are here to pay a visit to Old Madam Gu, it depends on whether Old Madam Gu is willing to see them.

When Xu Lai came to the courtyard, Old Madam Gu got up early.

At this moment, he was having breakfast being served by Nanny Qin and Gu Xiaolang.

After listening to what Butler He said, his expression remained calm as usual.

However, Gu Xiaolang next to him seemed a little unhappy and said with a cold face.

"How dare the Duke come to our house? When my aunt's body was still warm, he hurried to ask Wei to be his wife. In all these years, I have never seen him go to Jinling City to express his condolences to our family. Now he remembers that there is still my grandmother, my mother-in-law? Why are you pretending?"

Gu Xiaolang’s anger was not directed at his cousin and cousin’s wife, nor at his family members.

Naturally, they would vent their anger on Shang Yukuan and Madam Wei. Some even wanted to go up and whip them a few times to vent their anger.

This is actually what Butler He meant. After all, Dongyuan has now become an independent business.

There is no need to have much contact with the people in the Duke's Mansion, as long as you can save face.

So he also agreed that there was no need to meet.

However, no matter what they thought and said, the final decision would still be made by Madam Gu.

But after she finished the porridge in her hand, she said lightly.

"Please come in, my Lord."

"grandmother……"

"yes."

Gu Xiaolang's face fell when she saw that she couldn't stop it, but she was helpless.

All they could do was watch Butler He leave in a hurry.

This is the first time that Duke Shang Yukuan and Madam Wei have entered the general's mansion.

In comparison, their Duke's Mansion is not even worth mentioning.

Mrs. Wei looked at the scenery and furnishings along the way, with a gentle smile on her face, but a burning hatred in her heart.

I guess all the gold that Your Majesty bestowed upon me has been engraved on this general's mansion like spring breeze and drizzle.

Otherwise, they would not have insisted on burning down Dongyuan and leaving no way out for themselves.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the voice of Butler He sounded faintly.

"My Lord, Madam Wei, Xu Laiyuan has arrived."

Shang Yukuan felt a shudder in his heart when he thought about meeting his mother-in-law, whom he hadn't contacted for many years.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to go through this.

However, he couldn't pretend to be ignorant for a few days about Madam Gu moving north to live in the general's mansion.

No matter what, the Gu family and the Shang family are always in-laws.

Whether it's one day earlier or one day later, you still have to pay your respects.

So, following Mrs. Wei's suggestion, I went out early this morning.

He took a deep breath, glanced at Mrs. Wei, and then saw her nod, which relieved a lot of his tension.

"Let's go, let's go meet our mother-in-law."

"Yes, sir."

After he said this, Mrs. Wei followed.

After a while, they reached the door of the main house and Butler He shouted loudly.

"The Duke is here, Madam Wei is here."

No matter when or where they were, they had never called Madam Wei the Lady of the Duke. After all, this was the position of Madam Gu.

Even if she has left, it cannot change.

Hearing the voice, the curtain opened from the inside, and Nanny Qin stood inside and said calmly.

"My Lord, please."

Shang Yukuan smiled and walked inside with a bit of embarrassment and nervousness.