Chapter 863 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 24
She knew long ago that this day would eventually come.
The secret she and her sister had kept for decades was finally revealed at this moment. For her, it was not the prelude to a storm, but a relief and a sense of ease.
"Have the betrothal gifts from the Ji family been sent?"
The old lady was asking about the old mother who had been with her in the Marquis's mansion for decades.
"Reporting to Madam, it has been sent as you instructed."
"Okay, that's good. I'll be at ease once Jin'er is married."
To outsiders, the old lady's words might have sounded like a blessing, but as her dowry maid, the old woman knew that she didn't mean it that way.
"The old lady is still young. After the young master gets married, the old lady will enjoy the blessings of her granddaughter-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, the old lady waved her hand and said, "I'm already this old, and I've had enough of the blessings I've had for so many years."
"Madam, you mustn't say anything discouraging. Madam is of noble status and should naturally enjoy a life of luxury."
The old lady merely smiled at the old woman's advice and made no comment.
The next day, Gu Jin, feeling better, went to pay his respects to the old lady. Just like the previous two days, Gu Jin had a long private conversation with the old lady.
Fortunately, this time, Gu Jin didn't look as bad as he did last time when he came out.
Life went on as usual, as if nothing had ever happened in the Marquis's mansion. Of course, apart from Gu Jin and the old lady, no one knew what had happened before.
The arrival of a neighboring country to pay tribute was an extremely important event for the Great Zhou Dynasty. To show respect, the Great Zhou Emperor sent his eldest and third sons to personally lead the officials out of the city to welcome them.
The Wei delegation arrived at the same time as the Jin delegation. Upon seeing the ceremonial processions of both sides, the eldest prince and the third prince exchanged a glance and then walked in opposite directions.
"Welcome, Crown Prince of Wei."
"Welcome the Crown Prince of Jin."
The envoy's report stated that the two crown princes had come in person to arrange the marriage, and the Wei Kingdom even said that its daughter would also be sent for the marriage, but it did not mention that the Wei princess would come along. Therefore, the eldest prince did not mention Princess Baiyun when he spoke.
After hearing what the people outside were saying, Bai Xu and Xu Menglong both lifted the carriage curtain and got out.
"Thank you all for your help."
Since neither of them had ever met the prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they naturally couldn't directly address each other by name.
The two men each led a group of people, introducing themselves and the emperor's arrangements.
However, the two people involved did pause slightly when they looked up and met each other's eyes. But they quickly resumed their conversation and laughter with the people around them, just like the other fifty people.
Inside the palace, preparations for a banquet to entertain the envoys from both countries began early in the morning. As female relatives of officials from prominent families, they were obliged to attend such an important occasion.
Originally, according to the old lady's previous wishes, she was too old to need to make this trip to the palace.
But after hearing Gu Jin mention Bai Xu's identity that day, the old lady felt it was still necessary to make the trip herself. At least, she wanted to see for herself what the Crown Prince of Wei was really like.
There weren't many women in the Marquis's household, except for one daughter who was not yet ten years old. To prevent the child from being too young to understand, Miss Gu did not go to the palace with her.
"Why does Mother want to go to the palace again today? Isn't Mother usually the one who hates these banquets the most?"
Lady Hou was quite pleased that the old lady was coming to the palace with her. In the past, she always attended banquets alone, but today, at least she had someone to talk to.
Lady Hou was personally chosen as the daughter-in-law by the old lady. After she married into the family, the old lady entrusted her with managing the backyard of the Hou mansion. The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was better than that of ordinary families.
“I didn’t want to go either, but your aunt just passed away, and staying at home all day is bad for your health. It’s better to go out for a walk and clear your head.”
Although the old lady trusted her daughter-in-law, she believed that the fewer people who knew about certain things, the better, as this would be beneficial and harmless to their manor.
Upon hearing the old lady mention the Duchess of Zhenguo, the Marquis's wife couldn't help but sigh, "My aunt has been unwell for a long time. Now that she's gone, it will be less of a torment for her. Mother, please don't be too sad."
"Yeah, that's why I'm shamelessly coming out with you to beat you up!"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted and talked about everyday things, and soon arrived outside the palace. Seeing that it was the carriage of the Marquis of Gu, someone immediately came forward and led the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law into the palace.
As officials, the first thing noblewomen did upon entering the palace was naturally to pay their respects to the Empress, after which the Empress would organize everyone to proceed to the banquet hall.
As soon as she entered the Empress's palace, before the old lady could even see who was there, a young woman walked towards her.
"Greetings, Madam."
The speaker was none other than Ji Xiangwan, the eldest daughter of the Ji family.
"Miss Ji has arrived too!"
As the future mother-in-law, Lady Hou was very happy to see Ji Xiangwan, and even took her hand affectionately.
"Madam, Madam, Her Majesty the Empress has not arrived yet; we should wait a while longer."
After telling the two what she had learned, the old lady nodded and said, "Her Majesty is in charge of the inner palace and is very busy. We will wait a little longer."
No sooner had the old lady finished speaking than a sarcastic voice said, "Eldest sister disappeared in the blink of an eye. I never imagined she would curry favor with her future mother-in-law."
The newcomer's voice was quite loud, and his first sentence immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
"Second sister, please be careful with your words."
Ji Xiangwan already disliked her stepmother's younger sister, and now that she heard her sister deliberately slandering her, her face immediately darkened.
"Did I say something wrong? The moment she saw the Lady of the Marquis's mansion, she rushed over. What else could it be but fawning over her?"
As she spoke, Miss Ji gave Ji Xiangwan a disdainful look.
Ji Xiangwan was furious at what she said, but she couldn't retaliate, so she could only gasp for breath.
Lady Hou knew about the Ji family's situation. Seeing Ji Xiangwan swallowing her anger, she couldn't help but step forward and shield her behind her.
"Miss Ji, the eldest young lady is now betrothed to my Gu family. What law would it be against her to be close to me, her future mother-in-law? Besides, the eldest young lady will be coming to my Marquis's mansion in a month. Since she is a member of my Marquis's mansion, wouldn't it be a deliberate act of slander to say that she is trying to curry favor?"
Miss Ji clearly did not expect that Madam Hou would stand up for Ji Xiangwan in front of so many people, showing no fear of being accused of bullying the younger generation.
"My daughter only said one extra word, why is the Lady Marquis so relentless!"
Just as Miss Ji was at a loss, the General's wife slowly walked in from outside.
"Mother, my sister... she bullied me."
As soon as Miss Ji saw her mother, she rushed over, looking extremely aggrieved.
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