The atmosphere in Ruyi Courtyard was gloomy. Song Wanru sat in front of the dressing table with a sad face. She put a small piece of paper on her eyelids in front of the bronze mirror, raised the corners of her eyes with her hands, and said to Aunt Dong: "Mom, the corners of my eyes There are wrinkles all over, and I’m getting older.”
Aunt Dong looked in the mirror and said: "Miss, you are not old. At first glance, you are in your twenties. You look haggard these days just because you haven't slept well."
Song Wanru turned around, took Nanny Dong's hand, and frowned: "Hey! Father, I don't know who I offended. The granary was stolen last time, and the weapons that were just transported this time were also missing inexplicably. Why?" I can’t even find any clues.”
Aunt Dong lowered her head and put her mouth to Song Wanru's ear and whispered: "Have you put away the portrait that the prince sent you?"
Song Wanru nodded, shook her head and made a gesture to stop her from continuing. She changed the subject and said, "My eyelids are always twitching. Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen."
"As the old saying goes, if your left eye twitches, you will make money and the right eye will bring disaster. Miss, if your left eye twitches, you will get rich, which is a good thing." Aunt Dong advised her.
Nothing good has happened recently. Song Wanru's face didn't look happy at all, and she said, "I hope so!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Xing opened the curtain and came in, saying: "Madam, the old Marquis please go to Xuanzangyuan immediately."
Song Wanru and Aunt Dong looked at each other and said, "I understand, let's go now!" She took off the paper from her eyelids, straightened her appearance, stood up and walked outside.
When she arrived at Xuanzangyuan, many people had gathered in the hall. The heads of each yard and the shopkeepers of the shops were standing in the hall. The old marquis was sitting at the head seat, and the other masters were sitting on both sides. The second wife, who rarely appeared in public, was also in the queue. When she saw Song Wanru walking in surrounded by the maids and wives, she waved to her and asked her to sit at the top of her seat.
The old Marquis glanced around and saw that everyone who should be there had already arrived. He said, "I have gathered everyone here today. I have something big to announce."
Everyone in the hall looked solemn and looked at the old marquis. The old marquis paused and then said: "Due to the construction of my wife and I's cemetery, a lot of money was spent. There are so many servants in our Zhongyong Marquis' mansion that we can no longer make ends meet." In order to save money, Jing Zhi and I discussed the situation and decided to release most of the servants. Anyone who wants to leave the Zhongyong Hou Mansion can report it tomorrow morning. There is no need to redeem money, and each family's assets are allowed to be taken away by themselves. "
The Zhongyong Marquis Mansion has always been strictly managed, but the incident happened suddenly. The principal and the stewards just looked at each other and did not dare to discuss it. The old Marquis asked them to step aside, and everyone said: "Yes." After bowing and saluting, they left the Xuanzangyuan and dared to ask each other. No one knew why the old marquis took this action.
Song Wanru stiffened after hearing what the old Marquis said. Aunt Dong put her hands on her shoulders to relax her.
The old Marquis continued: "You guys in each yard will handle it yourself. It's up to you to decide who you want to release or who you don't want to release."
Gu Huainan stood up and saluted the old Marquis and said, "Everything is entirely up to my father."
Others stood up and said together: "Everything depends on my father (grandfather)!"
The old Marquis waved his hand, "It's okay, let's all leave!" He stood up to leave.
The second wife, Cai Shi, suddenly said: "Father, please stay here. My daughter-in-law has something to report."
The old Marquis knew very well that this second daughter-in-law had lived in seclusion and ignored world affairs since his second son died in the battle. It was an accident that he came to Xuanzangyuan today. He did not expect that he had something to say, so he said to her: "Second daughter-in-law, do you have anything to say?" Just say whatever you want."
Cai Shi walked up to the old Marquis, prostrated on the ground, kowtowed, and said, "Father, my daughter-in-law wants Hui'er and Li Da to return home, and I hope my father will allow it."
The eldest granddaughter Gu Jinghui married into her uncle's family. Her husband Cai Cheng'an was a Jinshi in the 18th year of Qiantai's reign. He is currently serving as a supervisor in the Military Ordnance Department of the Ministry of Industry. He is good-looking and has a bright future. At that time, he wholeheartedly wanted to marry Jinghui. Both families are very satisfied.
"Second daughter-in-law, could it be that Jinghui has been wronged in some way? Why do you want to get back together with Li?" asked the old Marquis.
"Father, Jinghui has been married for three years and has been childless. My sister-in-law wants to marry a common wife for Cheng'an. Jinghui is the legitimate daughter of Zhongyong Hou Mansion. She doesn't want to delay the growth of his family's heirs, but she is also unwilling to accept this. It’s an insult, and I’m willing to ask myself to be thrown out of court.”
Gu Jingzhi knew this very well. In the previous life, his second aunt had asked the old marquis to allow Jinghui to reconcile. She also said the same thing. The old marquis said that there was no daughter in the Gu family to remarry and would not allow Jinghui to reconcile, so he personally came forward to beat her up. Home. That's when Chengan was forced to stop marrying an equal wife and took her as a noble concubine.
After the failure of Prince Xian's rebellion, the Gu family was implicated and exiled thousands of miles away. The second lady's brother personally handed the divorce document to the second lady, and the brother and sister severed all ties.
Gu Jinghui stayed in Caifu, but within three months she fell seriously ill. The second aunt was abandoned by her natal family, and her only daughter also passed away. She felt that there was no one else in the world she could love, so she committed suicide by drowning herself in the river on her way into exile.
Gu Jingzhi suspected the cause of Gu Jinghui's death at that time. After establishing a foothold in Beidi, he sent people to investigate the cause of her death. After an investigation, he found out that Cai Chengan, the nephew of her second wife, accidentally met the wife of his subordinate Kang Ping. When did the two of them hook up and commit adultery, setting up a trap that put Na Kangping in jail and marrying that prostitute as his wife?
The old marquis's face changed after hearing what his second husband said, and he said: "Jinghui has been childless for three years. He can take a concubine, but he cannot marry an equal wife. A small official from the Ministry of Works, who is not even a sixth-rank official, can actually take a concubine." You are so bold and dare to bully my girl from the Zhongyong Hou Mansion."
He paused for a moment and said to the second husband: "The second daughter-in-law will starve to death. A small indiscretion will lead to a big deal. In my Gu family, there is no daughter to remarry. Jinghui cannot make peace with her."
Turning to Gu Huainan, he said: "Fourth brother, Jinghui has no father. As an uncle, you will go to the Cai family to negotiate tomorrow and tell them that my Zhongyong Hou Mansion has not fallen yet. If you want to bully the girl from my Gu family, you must first weigh your weight. See Is it his neck that’s tougher or my knife that’s tougher?”
Gu Jingzhi sighed, the family would compromise only if the Zhongyong Hou Mansion fell. When the Zhongyong Hou Mansion fell, they would kill Jing Hui and said, "Grandpa, there is no need for my father to come forward. Let the grandson handle this matter." Bar!"
Gu Huainan could only recite poems and paint. He was good at romance, but he had no experience in interpersonal communication. He was relieved when he heard his son's words.
The second grandson is the future head of the family, and the old Marquis fully supports all decisions. He nodded and said, "Okay, you will handle Jinghui's affairs." He did not forget to glare at his useless son.
Gu Jingzhi raised his hands to everyone and said, "Second Aunt, please stay, everyone else can leave." He waved his hands to signal the servants waiting on him to retreat.
There were only three people left in the hall, the grandson of the old marquis and the second lady. Gu Jingzhi said to the second lady: "Second aunt, I only found out about Cai Chengan yesterday. I wanted to inform you, but I didn't expect you to know first." That's all he could say. It can't be said that he knew it in his previous life!
The second wife was stunned. She concealed the fact that her son-in-law had an affair with a married woman and wanted to marry her into the family, for fear that the Gu family would look down upon her natal family.
Gu Jingzhi then said: "Second aunt, that prostitute is a married woman, and she just took the wife from someone else. She also planned to put Na Kangping into prison and bribed the jailer to kill him. How could she have such vicious thoughts? A good match for sister Jinghui."
The second lady didn't know about this. She was so ashamed and angry when she heard that. She covered her face with her hands and said, "Auntie didn't know that he was so vicious. If my Zhongyong Hou Mansion remains standing, the Cai family will not dare to do anything. If one day If we lose, they will kill sister Jinghui.”
After saying that, he bowed to the old Marquis and said, "Father, Jing Hui must be reconciled. The Gu family has only one daughter to marry. It is better for my daughter-in-law to raise her for the rest of her life than to leave her in that den of tigers and wolves."
The old Marquis was also shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect that a scholar's conduct would be so low. Look at the second grandson to see how he makes decisions.
Gu Jingzhi nodded to his grandfather and said to the second wife: "I don't want sister Jinghui to stay in the Cai family. If I want her to return home with Li Da, my nephew has a condition. I wonder if you can agree to it?"
The second lady said firmly: "Jingzhi, no matter what the conditions are, for the sake of my Jinghui, I agree!"
Gu Jingzhi stared into her eyes and said something that shocked the second lady, "My grandfather will write the release letter for my second uncle. Second Aunt, you take sister Jinghui and leave the Gu family."
