As soon as Gui Xiang returned home, Jiang Shiyi, who had heard the news, summoned her into the inner courtyard.
Even Guilan couldn't leave; the two of them went into the inner courtyard together, with Guilan helping her in.
She cried all the way back, and even when she got to the courtyard, she couldn't stop breathing! She was sobbing intermittently.
Granny Gui rushed forward to support her and coaxed her in a low voice, "Be good, don't be disrespectful in front of Madam."
Gui Xiang nodded, but she couldn't stop crying. She managed to control herself, but she was still breathless when she spoke, each word escaping her lips.
"Miss, Miss said that she wants me to come back and report to Madam, and she will go and collect the ten thousand taels of silver herself."
"Madam, you need not worry!"
After replying with sobs, Jiang Shiyi, seeing her crying so heartbrokenly, couldn't bear to ask any more questions.
"Granny Gui, take Gui Xiang back and rest for a couple of days. You don't need to come to work these two days."
He then turned to Guilan and said, "Don't rush back to the Marquis's residence. Stay here."
When Xu Shaoqing heard Gu Ting slap Gui Xiang in front of her and then argue with Granny Lin, she was shocked.
Jiang Shiyi smashed a tea set in anger! That despicable scoundrel!
…………………………………………………………………
At the Marquis's residence, Gu Xiao was severely injured by the old Marquis and was unable to get out of bed. The old Marquis sent someone to find a doctor to treat him and even sent a letter to invite the imperial physician.
However, after the wound was bandaged and he had taken the medicine twice, Gu Xiaoxiang's request to recuperate in the mansion was denied, and his family was told to get out before the New Year.
The family assets were divided more than a decade ago and are all in the hands of the second wife, Zheng Jin.
If the furnishings in their personal rooms are too valuable, they should be returned. As for ordinary items, unless they are imperial gifts, they can take them if they want.
The second wife didn't want to take advantage of the situation, but Gu Xiao, still half asleep on the bed, was able to instruct the servants to pack up everything that could be taken away.
Zheng Jin was furious. "Master! We've only separated from the Marquis's mansion, not severed all ties with it!"
How could you be so inconsiderate? If the servants start gossiping, Father and Mother will lose face and resent us. What will we do then?
Gu Xiao waved his hand, "What face or not? I got beaten up like this on New Year's Eve, so I have face!"
Let the servants say what they want. Did they really not treat me harshly? I only took all those bottles and jars because I was short of money.
After all, isn't all the money in our second wife's family in your hands, Zheng Jin? You're not short of money, so why are you pretending to be a good person here?
"If you're truly generous and selfless, return all the farmland and shops belonging to my second wife to me!"
Give it back to him? What a pipe dream! These things are meant to be left to Gu Jing and Gu Yan in the future. If the Second Master takes this money, it won't be long before it's all wasted in brothels and theaters!
Unable to reason with him, the second wife simply stopped talking to him and turned away.
After coming out, he instructed his wet nurse, "Go open our storeroom and take my celadon carved plum vase to the old lady's courtyard."
Then take that pearl crown and deliver it to your sister-in-law's courtyard.
The second wife's wet nurse was somewhat reluctant. "Forget about the pearl crown, but the celadon carved vase is a gift from the Emperor, specially given to the young lady by our master (Zheng Jin's father) as part of her dowry. This...?"
"Enough nonsense. The old lady is an elder, and it's only right to show respect to elders. Hurry up and send it over." The second wife was also a little annoyed. She composed herself but still couldn't help but scold the wet nurse in a low voice.
The wet nurse returned shortly afterward.
The old lady also felt that things had gotten a bit awkward, so she not only accepted the jade bottle but also gave the second wife a flower crown in return.
The First Madam was all smiles as she sent Granny Hua to receive them, but she didn't accept any of the gifts sent.
Zheng Jin looked at the two crowns that the wet nurse had brought back and sighed inwardly.
"Pack this up. Also, check all the boxes and crates. We might be heading out in the next couple of days."
The Marquis's mansion also allocated a residence to the second branch of the family, located on Xilou Street. This is why the old Marquis did not allow the second branch to go out so early.
Gu Xiao was someone who loved listening to opera and playing music. If he went out, he would spend all his time in the opera house.
However, the old Marquis has now come to a realization: only by beating this troublemaker to the point of bedridden will he stop going out and causing trouble.
Just wait. Once he's better this time and can get up, we'll find an excuse to beat him up again.
The second branch of the family can no longer stay in the Marquis's residence, otherwise it will implicate their eldest son, and if someone reports them to the authorities, it will be a terrible situation.
Sending him out will give him a buffer if he gets into trouble.
If they separate from the family and move out, and someone is found to keep a close watch on them, perhaps that will be able to keep them in check.
Sigh! We also need to prepare generous gifts and make a trip to the Earl's residence. So many things to do, one after another.
When the master is in trouble, the servants are the first to suffer.
The second wife's family is leaving, so what will happen to the servants in each courtyard?
Will she stay and guard the courtyard like Hanqiao and Zhou Mama, or will she go with the young master and madam?
The second wife's side was alright; the servants she used were all brought from her own family, and even if more people were added, they were all purchased by her later.
But Mo Yuanyuan and Gu Xiao are different. They are originally from the Marquis's family, and the servants they are assigned are all directly transferred from the Marquis's family.
But to be honest, no one in either of those two courtyards was willing to go with them.
Needless to say, Gu Xiao's courtyard in the outer compound is so bad that Mu Jin and her husband would probably hate him to death and have no desire to go out and get involved in this mess.
No matter how loyal Lin Mu was in Mo Yuan Courtyard, and how much he wanted to make a name for himself, he was unwilling to leave the manor with the Third Young Master!
Needless to say, Fang Li and Man Jing naturally didn't want to go out.
Liu Xiang'er, on the other hand, was quite happy. She heard that once they went out, the mansion they would be staying in would be bigger.
But they had no say in the matter; the master made all the decisions regarding personnel deployment.
Fortunately, Fang Li and Lin Mu were all favored by the second wife, so it was just a matter of the account books!
So, apart from Liu Xiang'er, all the maids and servants in Mo Yuan Courtyard were kept in the mansion.
The servants from the second master's outer courtyard all stayed there. Even though Gu Xiao had been driven out of the Marquis's mansion, it was only a peaceful separation on the surface.
This is also his courtyard, so he left a few servants to look after it.
Gu Ting didn't care much about the servants in his courtyard.
Lin Mu knew a lot about him and found him quite useful, so he wanted to try to take him out with him, but the second wife spoke up.
If you can't take him with you, then you can't take him with you! He's just a lackey! It's obvious that Lin Mu, with his personality, wouldn't bite or lash out randomly.
And even if they try to take action, we're not afraid, because now all the things that happened have been exposed.
Mo Yuanyuan still needs to keep two trusted confidants here to maintain good relations with everyone in the Marquis's mansion, which will also be helpful to him.
Thinking about it that way, it didn't matter anymore, but! There was one person that Gu Ting was determined to take away no matter what.
Granny Zhou! That audacious old servant! She actually dared to spread bad rumors behind their backs and even leaked information about the account books!
If it weren't for the fact that Gu Ting and the others had met Aunt Yang at the manor last time, they would have been kept completely in the dark!
Gu Ting is determined to get rid of that scoundrel Zhou Mama!
The second wife glanced at Granny Zhou and nodded in agreement, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
She never did anything for the second wife. Because Dezi was beaten, she spread rumors about the second wife outside and revealed information about the account books on her own initiative!
To vent her anger over Dezi being beaten and kicked out of the mansion, the second wife also felt very disgusted by this!
Moreover, Zheng Jin also rewarded her for revealing the information about the ledger. Hadn't he already made arrangements for Dezi as well?
That old hag has done a lot of bad things for Aunt Yang! The Second Madam disliked Granny Zhou a lot, so she didn't interfere.
A few days later, the second branch of the family left looking disheveled and went to their house on Xilou Street.
The second master was first placed on a frame and carried away, and then carried into a carriage which was slowly driven to the opera house street.
The location there is really good; just three streets away is Fengchunlou, and it's close to the commercial street.
For the first time in all these years, the second wife is living in her own house with her head held high, which must be very satisfying.
I'm in an incredibly good mood, but I still have things to do!
"In a couple of days, call Gu Jing and Gu Yan back so the three of you brothers can discuss the division of the family property!"
Gu Ting was also curious about the house; it looked quite large!
Upon hearing the second wife's words, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.
No matter how big or exquisite the house is, it has nothing to do with Gu Ting after the family division!
"Mother, let's wait until Father has recovered and Gu Yan has finished taking the imperial examination before we discuss the division of the family property!"
"My father is seriously injured, yet I have separated from the family and left the household. If outsiders find out, I will be criticized for being unfilial!"
Zheng Jin gave a mocking smile, "Whatever! But I think your father will agree to the division of the family property."
Gu Ting looked at her, his mind racing. Ah, that's it! Because of the division of the family property, the second wife would definitely not be able to hold all the assets of the second wife's family alone.
They would definitely have to take it out and divide it among the three brothers. In this way, their father would have a chance to fish in troubled waters and make a profit. How could he not agree?
Gu Ting's face turned pale, and he remained stunned for a long while before bidding farewell to Zheng Jin.
When they returned to their assigned courtyard, they ran into Gui Xiang being picked up by Gui Lan.
Xu Shaoqing was worried that Guixiang would not adapt well to the new house and would have trouble dealing with interpersonal relationships if she returned after a while, so he brought her back early.
That's good. Now that we're in the new house, Gu Ting can have more people in his courtyard.
Xu Shaoqing also wanted Guixiang to return to the Marquis's residence and bring Yingchun and the others over.
"Miss can write a letter to the Madam, but I personally think that Yingchun and the others can keep an eye on Yiqingxuan for you while they are at the Marquis's residence."
Xu Shaoqing thought about it briefly and realized that it made sense, so he gave up on the idea.
"Then let's buy some new servants. Guixiang, you and Granny Lin go and keep an eye on them! Pick out a few good ones for our courtyard."
"yes!"
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