Chapter 22
When her married daughter returned for a short stay, Madam Gu was overjoyed.
She busied herself giving a string of orders, making the servants run around in circles, and then had someone bring the storeroom's ledgers, picking and choosing from them.
After Aman finished drinking the fruit syrup in Gu Zhizhuo's arms, Granny Zhu happily brought over a large bunch of keys. The Grand Madam tucked the keys away in a flurry of activity.
"Let's go, let's open the warehouse!"
"Pick a nice glass screen for Aman."
"Which is prettier, flowers and birds, or flowers and the moon... Never mind, I'll have both!"
Madam Gu found Gu Liaoliao a nuisance and casually sent her off to chase butterflies by herself.
Play? Good heavens, my daughter is almost four years old, and you want me to go chase butterflies? Gu Liaoliao stared dumbfounded as the Grand Madam walked away surrounded by maids and servants, and couldn't help but want to laugh.
Her brows relaxed; indeed, she felt most comfortable at home.
"Let's go for a walk in the garden!"
As they left Ronghe Hall, Gu Liaoliao said with a smile in her eyes, "Don't be afraid. No matter what anyone from the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion says, your grandmother will help you scold them back."
"Mmm-hmm," Gu Zhizhuo responded repeatedly.
She looked at her niece gently, her gaze falling on her veil. Gu Zhizhu leaned closer and whispered, "Just pretend." As soon as she said this, Gu Liaoliao's heart pounded wildly. She didn't ask anything and continued as if nothing had happened: "...Your grandmother is timid and easily influenced. It's not that she doesn't love you."
"I know."
Gu Zhizhuo will always remember the time when she was exiled and the official lashed out with his whip, but it was her grandmother who shielded her behind him.
A gentle spring breeze caressed his face, and the setting sun cast its light on Gu Zhizhuo's profile, his eyes and brows brimming with smiles.
Aman tugged at her sleeve, pointed to the colorful butterflies flitting among the flowers, and looked on with anticipation.
Gu Zhizhuo then released her small hand and patted the top of her head encouragingly.
Ah Man happily ran over.
A butterfly landed on a blooming flower. Aman tiptoed closer, then obediently squatted down and carefully reached out her delicate white fingers to touch the butterfly's wings.
The butterfly flew away at the touch.
Ah Man didn't mind at all, and laughed heartily, a silent laugh.
The two sat down on the chaise lounge nearby and watched her play. Gu Liaoliao brushed a stray hair behind her ear and smiled slightly: "Your grandmother's family was a merchant family in the previous dynasty."
Gu Zhizhuo knew that the Jiang family would send people to deliver gifts during festivals, and the two families had a reciprocal relationship.
Gu Liaoliao recounted some past events in detail.
The patriarch of the Jiang family was a shrewd and insightful man, adept at handling affairs with shrewdness and maturity. Even in the chaotic end of the previous dynasty, he ensured the Jiang family's continued prosperity. At that time, there were over a dozen rebel armies, large and small, among which the founding emperor was insignificant. However, after the founding emperor captured Cangzhou, the patriarch of the Jiang family resolutely took all his family's wealth and joined the rebellion.
With this merit in hand, after Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he secured the title of Marquis of Zhaoyi for the Jiang family. Later, he even petitioned Emperor Taizu for a marriage, betrothing the youngest granddaughter of the eldest branch to the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo.
“Your grandmother was the youngest daughter in her family. She was rich and pampered. She had eight older brothers who managed the business and household affairs. The biggest trouble she ever encountered in her youth was when the maids would tear her hair and make a scene, begging her to intervene.”
"After marrying into the family, the Gu family had military achievements to rely on and the trust of the founding emperor, making them one of the top families in the Great Qi Dynasty. Your grandmother never needed to put in any effort to maneuver around; others were too busy currying favor with her."
"Later, your mother took over the management."
Gu Zhizhuo understood what she meant.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Until her exile in her previous life, my grandmother never suffered any hardship or injustice.
"Your grandmother is actually very easy to coax. Just go along with her a bit. At most, you can coax her, but you should just do what you're supposed to do and not take it seriously."
Gu Zhizhu blinked. So, his aunt was teaching him how to fool his grandmother?
She looked at Gu Liaoliao, and Gu Liaoliao looked at her too. Well, that's exactly what her aunt meant.
Gu Zhizhuo couldn't help but laugh out loud, leaning on her shoulder and laughing so hard he almost fell over.
Aman tilted her head and looked over, then wiggled her chubby little legs and ran over, throwing herself into Gu Liaoliao's arms. She laughed along, her rosy little face revealing shallow dimples, making her so cute that you wanted to kiss her.
Gu Zhizhuo touched her face and found it was a little hot, so he told Qiongfang to get a cup of honey water. When he looked up, her eyes darkened.
"Great-aunt, Great-uncle is here."
Gu Liaoliao was wiping the fine sweat from her daughter's forehead with a handkerchief when she heard the maid's report. Without even looking up, she said, "I won't see her."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a helpless male voice rang out: "Ah Liao."
Qin Su, with his black hair tied up in a crown and his upright posture, possessed a composure honed by the years, befitting a man nearing thirty.
Gu Liaoliao looked up and found that the maid had not come to announce their arrival, but had already brought the person over.
Seeing the displeasure on her face, the maid was at a loss.
Gu Zhizhu gently waved the maid away: "It's alright, you can go now."
The son-in-law was not a guest, so he didn't need to wait in the flower hall to be announced like other guests. Just like Gu Liaoliao didn't need to be announced when she returned, the maid simply led him in as usual.
She stood up and curtsied, saying, "Uncle."
Qin Su looked straight ahead, walked over and sat down next to Gu Liaoliao, then went to hug Aman.
Aman wrapped her arms around Gu Liaoliao and pressed her face against her chest.
Qin Su laughed: "Are you throwing a tantrum at your father again? You're so young, but you're just as stubborn as your mother."
Gu Liaoliao didn't want to hear him say such things. She patted Aman and told her to go play by herself, saying indifferently, "What are you doing here?"
Qin Su spoke gently: "I didn't see you when I returned to the manor. I heard from Mother that you had another argument with her."
Gu Liaoliao gave a cold laugh and ignored him.
“Mother is being overly worried and anxious,” Qin Su said gently. “Fifth Brother is seriously injured this time. The doctor came to examine him and said that Zhuo’er’s arrow injured his bone and tendons. Even if the wound heals, he won’t be able to lift a sword or draw a bow. If he doesn’t recover well, he might not even be able to hold a pen. His right hand will be essentially useless.”
As Qin Su spoke, his eyes were fixed on Gu Zhizhuo.
Since the two families are related, and Gu Zhizhuo's face was covered by a thin veil, it would have been fine if Qin Luo hadn't recognized her. How could she not recognize Qin Luo? Knowing who the other party was, she still used such a heavy hand.
That's really going too far.
His gaze was sharp, like a drawn blade: "Zhuo'er, don't you have anything to say about what happened today?"
When Gu Zhizhuo performed the curtsy, Qin Su ignored her, so she was still standing. Upon hearing this, she smiled, gracefully smoothed her skirt, and sat down on her own.
"So, the young master has come to question us." Gu Liaoliao's red lips curled into a cold laugh as she mocked, "Heh, go out and ask around. People like Zhou Liu and Liu San, the whole capital knows they were beaten up by my Can Can. Did the Zhou and Liu families come to complain? When you're outmatched, you resort to crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide. Doesn't your Jing'an Marquis's mansion feel ashamed?"
"The Duke of Zhenguo was still alive then, who would dare to complain?!" Qin Su thought to himself, though he didn't say it aloud, but a hint of displeasure crept in: "A-Liao, don't be unreasonable. Zhuo-jie is your own niece, and Luo-ge is my own brother!"
“If Zhuo’er hit someone, she should at least apologize.”
Gu Liaoliao sneered repeatedly: "Impossible." Why should a girl from the Gu family bow down to someone else?
Her unyielding attitude stirred an indescribable heat in Qin Su's heart. He could understand A Liao's protectiveness, but if Miss Gu were any sensible, she wouldn't have stood in front of her aunt and instigated her aunt to make trouble with her husband's family for her sake.
"Why are you staring at Yao Yao?"
Gu Liaoliao sneered, "Don't tell me you don't know what kind of person Qin Luo is. He's an idle, extravagant, and dissolute scoundrel who only knows how to bully men and women. What, you rush over to confront him after he got beaten up, but when he beats someone else, why don't you bring him to apologize?"
She said sarcastically, "I heard that kid from last month is lame now."
"What did you do back then... Oh right, I think you gave them one hundred taels of silver?"
Qin Luo, relying on the reputation of the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion, never did anything decent outside. Last month, he took a fancy to a young woman who sang in a teahouse. When he failed to forcibly take her, he crippled her brother.
At that time, Qin Su personally instructed the steward to settle the matter with one hundred taels of silver.
Gu Liaoliao's red lips curved into a smile: "Since there's a precedent, let's follow that rule. Qiongfang, go and get your young lady one hundred taels of silver."
Qiongfang glanced at Gu Zhizhuo and saw her lower her eyelids. Then she took out a one-hundred-tael silver note from her purse.
Gu Liaoliao took the silver note, slapped it against the beauty with a "smack," raised her chin, and said coldly, "You can leave now."
Qin Su's temper flared up, and he stood up abruptly, glaring at her angrily: "You!"
Gu Liaoliao raised an eyebrow and sneered.
He paced back and forth a few times, his anger simmering within him.
Qin Su suppressed his anger and said stiffly, "Because of Fifth Brother's injury, Mother cried so much that she almost fainted."
The old woman sent by the mother to demand an explanation was scolded back by Madam Gu. Those words angered the mother so much that she even said, "If Madam Gu doesn't bring her niece to kowtow and apologize, she can forget about coming back."
If Mother doesn't vent her anger now, she'll definitely take it out on Ah Liao later.
Ah Liao is the same. It's really outrageous that a married woman like her is always siding with her own family.
Qin Su stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes filled with icy coldness: "Don't forget, you are now a member of the Qin family! If the Qin family is in trouble, it's because of you."
"You can turn your back on your parents now, but how long can you stay there? Half a day, a day, two days? Ha, do you think you can just stay there forever and never go back?"
These words were quite harsh, and Gu Liaoliao felt a chill run down her spine.
“My aunt’s surname is Gu! The Gu family is my aunt’s own home. She can live there however she wants. There’s no need for you, Your Highness, to worry about it.” Gu Zhizhuo affectionately took Gu Liaoliao’s arm, breaking the deathly silence. “I heard that my cousin’s wife is about to give birth. It’s really inconvenient for my aunt to stay at your residence, so I won’t go.”
With a flick of her phoenix eyes, she exuded a captivating aura.
Gu Zhizhuo's heart was churning with turbulent emotions that he couldn't suppress.
In her previous life, her brother Gu Yican "failed to suppress bandits and fled to avoid punishment." Her face was ulcerated and she had a persistent high fever. The only adult male in the mansion was her third uncle Gu Baibai, but he was crippled and suffered from various ailments. Her aunt was overwhelmed with work, having to manage things and inquire about her brother's whereabouts. She couldn't spare the time to take care of Aman.
Lady Jing'an secretly took Aman away, saying she was going to Taiqing Temple, but Aman got lost.
A few days later, Aman was found drowned in the river. Her face was swollen and grayish-white, and her small body was already rotting. Flies were flying everywhere. In the end, her identity was recognized from her clothes and the safety lock.
On the same day, Qin Su's aunt and cousin gave birth to a son.
Qin Su did shed a few tears for Aman, but how could a daughter who died young compare to a chubby, healthy son in his arms? He quickly forgot about it.
For the sake of this son, the entire Jing'an Marquis's family hung red banners and held a joyous baby shower.
In the end, Ah Man was buried in a small, thin coffin.
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