At noon (11 o'clock), Guixiang ended her holiday early and returned to the Marquis's residence by carriage.
When they returned to Moyuan Academy, Xu Shaoqing was eating: lotus root with floral fragrance, lily bulb and sliced pork, stir-fried pigeon with wild vegetables, three-delicacy duck, plum blossom tofu, crab dumplings, chilled white fungus, and milk and water chestnut flour cake.
Gui Xiang went back to her room to change her clothes, took over the tasks from Gui Lan, and personally served her a meal.
"Gui Xiang, don't you always love iced white fungus soup? Why don't you take this bowl of white fungus soup home and drink it yourself?"
Gui Xiang smiled and thanked the young lady, her mind racing, trying to figure out a suitable way to remind her and convince her, without doing anything rash that would ruin the Earl's plans.
After a long silence, he sighed and decided to say nothing, but to subtly impart some wisdom.
After finishing her meal, Xu Shaoqing rinsed her mouth and went to take a walk by the lotus pond to digest her food.
Gui Xiang followed behind, circling half of the lake. Gui Xiang hesitated, carefully considering her words several times.
"Miss, it seems that the master and madam are going to investigate where the two merchants who didn't deliver the goods to the shop are from. Perhaps we'll have news soon."
"Really!" Xu Shaoqing exclaimed in surprise. "Did Mother say she wanted to come and see me?"
"...Does the master mean that these two merchants really don't recognize the Third Young Master?"
If they knew each other, what do you think should be done?
Upon hearing this, Xu Shaoqing immediately stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing.
"Guixiang, you went back and spoke ill of your husband to your father and mother, spreading rumors and gossiping! How have you become so unreasonable!"
I know that the events before our marriage have caused you to misunderstand your husband. But if you continue to look down on him like this, and if you continue to have such thoughts, I will not tolerate it!
Why did you do this? No matter how I explain it to you, you won't listen? When my husband was looking for those two merchants, he was just trying to be helpful to our shop!
Don't let me hear such words again. You know I won't tolerate such backbiting and false accusations against my master!
Gui Xiang: "...Yes!"
Guilan felt upset when she saw her mistress scolding Guixiang again. "Young mistress, please don't be angry. I know that the young mistress is trying to comfort us."
Sister Guixiang will remember your teachings, but you must not let anger towards the servants harm your health.
Xu Shaoqing calmed down a bit and then led Guilan around in circles. Guixiang followed closely behind.
When Gu Ting returned that evening, Xu Shaoqing was overjoyed. "Husband, Mother has relented and said she will help us find out where those two merchants have gone!"
Gu Ting's heart skipped a beat. "Why would Mother agree to help? I even asked my colleagues for help. Could it be that you don't trust me, which is why you went back to the Anbo Mansion to deliver the message?"
"No, it was Guixiang. Guixiang went back and put in a good word for us."
Xu Shaoqing still wanted Gu Ting and Gui Xiang to be less hostile towards each other, so that the atmosphere wouldn't be tense as soon as they met.
Unexpectedly, a ruthless glint flashed in Gu Ting's eyes after hearing these words. He then looked up at Gui Xiang and Granny Lin.
"In that case, I must thank Guixiang and Granny Guixiang!"
Gui Xiang was caught off guard by Xu Shaoqing's sudden words and was flustered inside. She tried to remain calm on the surface and spoke in a cold voice.
"Young Master, there's no need for thanks! I only mentioned it when I got back to the manor, but Madam said that she should handle the matter herself."
Therefore, we'll have to trouble you to put in the effort, since these are the people you've brought in! The Earl's mansion probably can't offer you much help!
Gu Ting didn't reply and turned back to eating, but he was feeling guilty and quickly finished his meal absentmindedly.
Then, as soon as she finished eating, she rushed to find Gu Xiao.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiao broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't dare to think about what would happen if the Marquis's mansion found out.
He was also aware that after the interest payments, the old man had been looking for an opportunity to kick their branch of the family out. He didn't want to discover his mistake and then be humiliated and forced to leave.
So, without delay, he rushed out to see if the two young men he had hired from the gambling house were still there.
Once they arrived, the two of them diligently went to work.
After testing them further and finding no problems, he gave each of the two servants 20 taels of silver and told them to go back to their hometown to avoid trouble for a while and come back later.
Upon learning that nothing was wrong, Gu Ting finally felt relieved. He then resumed his leisurely days, waiting for the transfer order to arrive.
Ha! Gui Xiang glanced at Gu Ting, who was leisurely sipping tea. Then she looked at her young mistress. Kind words were useless—forget it, she decided to just leave it at that!
……………………………………………………
In Yangjia Village, the family rested and tidied up for three days. Three days later, Jiang Lanling brought her elderly parents and nephews and nieces to the capital.
My brother and sister-in-law will come next year, and they will all live in the capital from now on.
Right now, firstly, the work for the family in town hasn't been finished yet, so we have to wait until after the New Year to let them find new workers before we can quit.
Secondly, I need to save some money so I can rent a place in the capital next year. I can't keep living at my sister's house, can I?
Now that we've found my sister, the money we used to throw into the caravan each year is enough to rent a house in the capital.
Housing prices in the capital are too high to afford, but renting is cheaper. I'll rent a large courtyard house with several families living there first, and then save up to move to a better place.
I'm sure I'll be able to save up this time.
The family, laden with belongings, rented an oxcart and headed towards the capital. They hadn't saved much money over the years, so they hadn't bought any land. They also didn't have many utensils or clothes, just enough for their needs.
This has become a blessing in disguise, as the family can now travel light.
The prosperity of commerce in this dynasty led to a slight improvement in the status of merchants; even the sons of merchants could participate in the imperial examinations.
Of course, the changes brought about by the commercial boom were not limited to this. Before that, urban residents and rural residents could not move freely between each other.
Previously, even businessmen had to obtain a "pass" (similar to a road permit) when going out to do business.
The people basically stayed in their registered place of residence, farmed and paid taxes, and were not allowed to travel without special permission.
But this was not the case in this dynasty. At that time, the residents of towns were called "fangguo households" and the residents of the countryside were called "xiangcun households".
But is the relationship between the two fixed and unchangeable based on household registration status? No!
Its mobility was very lenient and relaxed. To give a simple example, the city gates of the capital were open year-round, without soldiers guarding or checking them. People could come and go freely.
In the capital, a household registration system is implemented every three years. If someone has lived in the capital for three years and has a legitimate job, they can voluntarily choose to join the capital's household registration.
What does the promulgation of these systems signify? It means that residents of this dynasty can go wherever they want without needing any kind of "passage".
We can go wherever we want. Even if we travel to a place and think it's nice, we can get local residency as long as we stay there for three years.
It's even freer than in modern times. In modern times, if you want to buy a train ticket, you need your ID card, but they don't!
Therefore, based on this, the family only needed to pack their luggage to return to the capital with Jiang Lanling.
This time, unlike when I went to see Aunt Yang, I didn't deliberately stop and stroll around admiring the scenery to waste time.
However, considering that Grandma Jiang and Grandpa Jiang were both there, they slowed down their pace and didn't rush to get somewhere, stopping frequently as they went.
If they couldn't reach the inn by noon, they would cook their meal in the wilderness by the roadside.
After walking for three and a half days, I returned to Willow Alley on the afternoon of the third day.
As soon as they arrived home, Yang Shu and Yang Mei were ready. Old Man Jiang and Old Woman Jiang lived in the house that used to belong to their grandparents.
I bought new quilts and sheets, and the bed is warm and cozy. The room is spotless, with good sunlight, good air circulation, and good ventilation.
My two younger cousins lived in a guest room on the right side of the house. The room was divided in the middle by a blue cloth curtain.
There was a bed on each side, a cabinet on the kang (heated brick bed), and a table placed against the wall.
My cousin stayed in a separate guest room, which also had a table, cabinets, a washstand, and everything else she needed.
They even bought new window paper to re-paste. Jiang Da-nephew is twelve years old this year, and Jiang Er-nephew and Jiang Cousin are twins, both ten years old this year.
Upon arriving at their new home, the children were filled with curiosity, running around and looking at everything, appearing very lively.
The family had just arrived home, having traveled for days and dared not eat anything too greasy.
Yangmei went to the street and bought a plate of fried clams, a plate of braised pork head, a plate of Dongpo tofu, along with a plate of homemade pickled cucumbers and a pot of bean porridge. After a simple dinner, they all went back to their rooms to rest.
Yang Mei didn't go back to her husband's house today; instead, she rested at her own home.
After everyone had fallen asleep, she took a bag of jewelry and went to Jiang Lanling's place.
Jiang Lanling took the jewelry and looked at it, then looked up and asked Yang Mei, "Where did all of this come from?"
"Hmm, wasn't I cleaning my cousin's room today? I found it in a hole behind a loose brick against the wall."
"Dad must have asked Aunt for it before, and then hid it from us."
Jiang Lanling flipped through them and saw that they were just ordinary gold and silver jewelry, the kind that would probably be given as a reward to servants in the Marquis's mansion.
However, the sheer number of items was a major drawback. Besides a pile of gold and silver hairpins and delicate bracelets, there was even a ruby the size of a fingernail.
This ruby alone must be worth several tens of taels of silver, right? Jiang Lanling still couldn't believe it. How could Aunt Yang give this to her brother?
It wasn't given by Aunt Yang; Uncle Yang took a liking to it and forcibly took it back.
This is the hat that Gu Ting wore when he was a child. It had this pendant on it, and Aunt Yang cherished it very much. She sewed it on herself stitch by stitch. Later, it was lost, and she searched for it for a long time.
It's a pity that Uncle Yang hid it for so long, but it still ended up being given to Jiang Lanling.
Jiang Lanling has been in high spirits these past few days, and she was overjoyed to see these pieces of jewelry.
That's another sum of money!
"In a couple of days, I'll melt down these gold and silver bracelets and make you a new set of jewelry to send over."
"Don't feel disgusted. This is what that wretched woman Yang owes your mother. It's repayment for the dowry she saved up over several months, wearing blisters on her feet."
Yang Mei paused for a moment, then said, "Then you should keep more for yourself, and only take a few out to melt down and exchange for a silver jewelry set."
"No need, this little ruby alone can get you a set of fine gold jewelry."
"……,OK."
"Hahaha." Jiang Lanling laughed heartily, she was in a really good mood!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com