Chapter 9

Yunrong

“…” Granny Xu flicked her sleeve fiercely. She really couldn’t stay in this damn place for a moment longer.

Just as she turned around, she heard Gu Yanfei say slowly, “By the way, Granny, remember to leave your monthly salary before leaving.”

Granny Xu paused and turned back. She met Gu Yanfei’s eyes and said sarcastically, “Didn’t you refuse to return to the Marquis Mansion? I thought you wanted to cut ties with the Marquis Mansion!”

A country girl was indeed a country girl. She was simply greedy for money and was still thinking about the money in the Marquis Mansion!

Gu Yanfei took off a jade bracelet with a carved swallow pattern on it and stuffed it into Juan Bi’s hands. “Take it and pawn it.”

Of course, Granny Xu recognized this bracelet. All of the Second Lady’s jewelry had been prepared by Madam, and every piece had the mark of the Dingyuan Marquis Household.

She had yet to redeem the pair of earrings that had been pawned. If he were to pawn this bracelet again, wouldn’t it confirm the rumor that the Marquis Household had declined?!

Granny Xu gritted her teeth indignantly. “I’ll get someone to get the monthly payment now.”

“Juan Bi, accompany Granny Xu and withdraw my monthly salary for the next three months,” Gu Yanfei instructed her with a smile.

Granny Xu’s face was ashen, and veins appeared on her neck.

She’d thought a month’s pay would be enough, but the country girl was greedy enough to ask for three months.

Those silver taels should have been hers!

Granny Xu’s heart was bleeding as if a piece of her heart had been gouged out. She huffed and left in frustration.

She had to return to the capital as soon as possible to report to Madam. Otherwise, if anything really happened to the marriage between the Gu and Fang families, she would be finished!!

An hour later, Granny Xu’s carriage left Danyang City. They traveled at full speed, day and night.

As soon as she returned to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion in the capital, she did not bother to wash up. The first thing she did was rush to the Benevolent Harmony Hall and cry aggrievedly.

“Madam, although I don’t dare to say that I’ve racked my brains recently, I’ve really done my best to teach the Second Lady. However, the Second Lady misunderstood me and thought that I was deliberately making things difficult for her!”

“…”

“The Second Lady grew up outside and is used to the old days. She always likes to go out and not come home. That day, the carriage met with an accident. I only persuaded her a little, but the Second Lady attacked me…”

“This is how I lost my front tooth.”

Granny Xu vividly described Gu Yanfei as a vulgar, ignorant, and ill-bred wild girl.

A cloisonné enamel incense burner stood in the east corner of the room, quietly belching smoke.

A graceful old woman in her 50s was sitting on a rosewood bed with a swastika pattern on it. She was wearing a purple brocade floral jacket and twisting a string of prayer beads in her hand. Her gaze swept across the black hole in Granny Xu’s front teeth with an unreadable expression.

At the side, an old granny with silver hair advised gently, “Madam, calm down. The Second Lady is still young.”

“Young? She’s almost of age.” Madam Gu sighed softly. “What an evildoer.”

There was silence for a moment.

This matter was a scandal in the Marquis Household.

The Dingyuan Marquis Household had been martial artists for generations. The former Marquis, Gu Ce, was the eldest son of Madam Gu.

In the sixth year of the Reign of Ren and Xuan, Gu Ce and his wife, Xie Shi, guarded Qiushui County in Yangzhou. They did not want to be ambushed by the South Vietnamese. Xie Shi, who was seven months pregnant, was arranged by Gu Ce to leave Qiushui County.

It was unknown where the South Vietnamese got the news from, but they sent people to chase after Xie Shi and tried to threaten Gu Ce to surrender.

Xie Shi was frightened and gave birth prematurely. After giving birth to a baby girl, she died. The wet nurse, Mother Su, carried the baby girl and fled all the way back to the capital.

No one expected Mother Su to secretly pretend that her biological daughter was the legitimate daughter of the Gu family and exchange the fake for the real one. This secret lasted for 14 years.

It was not until half a year ago when Mother Su’s gambling addict husband came looking for her and secretly blackmailed her that the truth was revealed.

“Madam.” Granny Xu pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief as she glanced at Madam Gu from the corner of her eye. She said uneasily, “There’s something else about Crown Prince Fang…”

“Mingfeng?” Madam Gu stopped twirling the prayer beads and frowned.

“Yes, the British Crown Prince.” Granny Xu swallowed her saliva and dropped the last bomb at the right time. “The Second Lady bumped into Crown Prince Fang in Danyang City. She… She actually went to tell Crown Prince Fang privately that the marriage between the two families is over!”

“The Second Lady also said that she won’t be returning to the capital. Unless… unless you personally go to Danyang City to pick her up.”

Granny Xu avoided the main point and pushed all the blame to Gu Yanfei. She lowered her head and clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly.

“Slam!”

Madam Gu slammed her palm on the coffee table and pursed her lips. Her entire body was shrouded in a thick dark cloud.

Madam Gu could not say that she liked or disliked this second granddaughter whom she had never met.

To her, Gu Yunrong was the granddaughter she had personally raised and was proud of.

Gu Yunrong was good at everything. From her appearance, temperament, and talent, she was top-notch. She was praised by everyone in the capital and was even favored by Kang Wang.

Kang Wang was the son of the current Empress Dowager. After he ascended the throne, he would be conferred the title of Prince. If Gu Yunrong could become Princess Consort Kang, it would naturally be the icing on the cake for the Dingyuan Marquis Household.

However, the Gu family and the Fang family had long been engaged. When the Old Marquis was still alive, he had betrothed his eldest daughter to the British Crown Prince, Fang Mingfeng.

Once the engagement was broken off, the Gu family would inevitably be said to be treacherous for clinging to the powerful.

After thinking about it, Madam Gu decided to find the “real” eldest daughter of the eldest branch.

In this way, she could fulfill the marriage between the Gu and Fang families and also not implicate the reputation of the Gu family and Gu Yunrong.

Madam Gu had already thought about the pros and cons repeatedly and was mentally prepared. This second granddaughter of hers had grown up in the countryside. If she did not train her carefully for half a year or a year, she would probably not be able to meet anyone. She did not expect this second granddaughter of hers to be so vulgar!

It was fine if she was vulgar and stupid, but the problem was that this girl still did not know her limits. She actually dared to run to Fang Mingfeng and spout nonsense. She was simply an embarrassment to the Gu family!

Madam Gu looked up and said slowly, “I told you to take good care of the Second Lady. Is this how you do things?!”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

Granny Xu cursed Gu Yanfei a thousand times in her heart. She quickly knelt down and apologized, “I’m ashamed. The Second Lady is beyond my reach.”

After that, there was an oppressive silence in the room. The air seemed to be frozen still.

...

The servants at the side all lowered their heads in silence.

At this moment, a servant girl’s clear voice broke the silence. “Third… Third Lady!”

The air in the room suddenly relaxed.

In the next moment, the curtain was drawn from the outside and a beautiful, slender young woman entered from the main room outside, carrying a tray of tea.

The gentle lines outlined a well-defined oval face. Her skin was as fair as jade, her eyebrows and lips were pink, and even her eyes were as bright as stars. When she smiled, a pair of cute dimples appeared on both cheeks. Her temperament was smart and amiable, making people like her at a glance.

The girl’s hair was combed into a double bun, and she wore a pair of ruby-embedded gold-threaded butterfly-pearl flowers on her head. She wore a red dress embroidered with branches of begonia. When she walked, her figure was slender and graceful, and her steps were light and elegant.

Her arrival was like a warm spring breeze blowing into the house that was originally as cold as the wind.