Gu Ying sighed, "Grandmother, we should investigate this. If our Bo Manor doesn't look into this strictly, today it's Jiang Gongzi, tomorrow it will be some other Gongzi. How can we protect the reputation of the young ladies of our manor?"
Mrs. Liu was rendered speechless by Gu Ying's response.
She had deliberately concealed what happened with Dr. Liu, wanting to treat it as a misunderstanding and hoping that Gu Ying would agree to marry into the Jiang family and make a clean break.
But she didn't expect that the usually silly Gu Ying would now stubbornly pursue the matter.
"Mother, just look at how Ying doesn't even care about Jia's life! How can we possibly investigate such a thing? Making a big fuss about it will just make us a laughing stock!" Mrs. Liu said angrily as she wept off to the side.
In her previous life, Gu Ying would have felt bad for her uncle's wife and comforted her.
But now, her heart and mind were filled with only hatred. She felt that Mrs. Liu was hypocritical, pretentious, disgusting, hateful, and vicious.
Gu Old Madam coughed a few times and said to Gu Ying, "Ying, the young master of Yong'an Marquis Manor has a natural disposition for womanizing. Over the years he has slept with many flowers and willows, and his back courtyards are not clean either. I heard earlier that one of his concubines is pregnant with his son, and his illegitimate eldest son will be born in two months."
She paused and continued, "With such a family, their status is already higher than our Bo Manor to begin with. Unequal marriage leads to unhappiness; marrying into that place will only cause you grief as a inferior wife."
"Moreover, we've heard that the young marquis doesn't like you, his betrothed fiancée matched by elders. He's been thinking of calling off the engagement for some time now. If you are really rejected by the marquis manor in the future, which household in Bianjing would dare marry you then?"
The old madam kindly smiled, "Jiang Gongzi is exceptional in both talent and looks. With our Bo Manor's support, it wouldn't be difficult for him to obtain an official position in Bianjing. Ying, are you willing?"
At that moment, silence filled Yongshou Hall as the elders gazed at Gu Ying expectantly.
Jiang Yin was also gripping his heart tightly, a trace of imperceptible brilliance flashing in his narrow eyes.
He knew Gu Ying wouldn't refuse. She had feelings for him and would definitely choose to marry him.
Gu Ying's shapely eyebrows were knitted together, seemingly vexed but also contemplative.
She knew everyone was waiting for her reply.
So she deliberately played hard to get.
The longer she remained silent, the more anxious they became.
When she felt enough time had passed, and they were worked up enough, she slightly curved her lips and lifted her head.
Just as she was about to loudly declare "I'm unwilling", a panicked servant suddenly rushed in from outside.
"Old Madam! Master! This is bad!"
Gu Boyan irritably scolded, "Foolish slave, why are you causing a commotion?"
That servant was sweating profusely, clearly having rushed over urgently to report, "Master, this is bad! Someone from Yong'an Marquis Manor is here!"
Like a bolt from the blue, this news created an uproar.
Gu Old Madam and Mrs. Liu immediately shot up, "What did you say?"
The servant swallowed and said, "It's Uncle Fu Gui, the head steward of Yong'an Marquis Manor. He brought four or five other manor stewards with him, people we're familiar with."
Gu Boyan was shocked. For Yong'an Marquis Manor to make such a big show, could it be they've come to break off the engagement?
At a loss, he turned to look at Gu Old Madam, "Mother, what should we do about this?"
Gu Old Madam leaned on her cane, a perplexed look flashing in her eyes. But as someone who had seen storms, she was much calmer, "Don't panic. After all the marquis manor is our in-laws. What could go wrong? You're overreacting. Let us go see what this is about."
Although she spoke as such, her heart was also thumping.
Comparing a Bo Manor with merely wealth to the Yong'an Marquis Manor of prestigious military lineage was like heaven and earth.
Although they were in-laws, the marquis manor had never associated with them before.
For them to personally send someone as esteemed as Uncle Fu Gui today, there must be something fishy.
Just as she was pondering the matter, the sound of overlapping footsteps suddenly came from the doorway of Yongshou Hall.
A sonorous male voice rang out, "Old Madam! Today I've come unannounced to pay my respects. I hope Old Madam does not blame me for this impropriety!"
The situation abruptly turned awkward.
Although the Gu family wanted to blame them, they didn't dare to openly do so.
With Jiang Yin still inside Yongshou Hall, Uncle Fu Gui had already entered with his people - four young stewards standing ramrod straight in the snow, each holding a red cloth-covered wooden box.
It looked like they've come to break off the engagement!
Seeing this formation, the Bo Manor masters all tensed up, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Catching sight of the young men and women inside, Uncle Fu Gui was surprised. He blinked his sharp old eyes and exclaimed, "Oh my, what's going on here?"
"This is..."
Gu Boyan and Mrs. Liu were already at a loss for words from embarrassment.
Mrs. Liu was annoyed that the marquis manor people didn't understand propriety, barging straight into the back residence. But she didn't dare speak up, only kept tugging Gu Boyan's sleeve and signaling urgently with her eyes, "Dear, say something!"
But Gu Boyan was a leisurely civil official. How could he talk back to the marquis manor people?
Moreover, Uncle Fu Gui was a great hero who had followed the old marquis into battle and saved his life.
He shrank back like a quail, not daring to say a word.
Gu Old Madam cast a reproachful glance at the couple. It seemed only she alone could uphold the Bo Manor's dignity now.
So she hid Jiang Yin behind herself, changed the subject, and politely laughed, "Oh it was merely a servant who stole the young lady's jewelry to pawn, and we caught him. We're interrogating him presently. I wonder why Uncle Fu Gui is here today? Does the young marquis have any instructions?"
Jiang Yin wrinkled his brows in displeasure.
Gu Old Madam actually called him, an exalted top scholar, a thief. He was quite unhappy but kept his head lowered on principle to avoid causing more trouble.
Uncle Fu Gui laughed heartily twice. As a candid and shrewd man, he wouldn't deliberately overstep boundaries to investigate the back residence affairs of another household.
"Ha ha! I wonder if the second young lady is in? Please may Old Madam summon her out."
Everyone's hearts tightened again, their minds confused.
They had no idea what the marquis manor was up to, and feared they knew something and deliberately came to pick fault.
After all, if such an ugly affair spread, it would not only damage the Gu family's reputation, but also make it very difficult for Gu Jia to marry into the marquis household again in the future.
They absolutely could not make any mistakes in front of Uncle Fu Gui today.
Gu Old Madam's expression flickered uneasily, just about to find an excuse to gloss things over.
But unexpectedly, Gu Ying walked forward and bowed slightly to Uncle Fu Gui, "Uncle, I am the second young lady of this manor, Gu Ying."
Gu Ying sighed, "Grandmother, we should investigate this. If our Bo Manor doesn't look into this strictly, today it's Jiang Gongzi, tomorrow it will be some other Gongzi. How can we protect the reputation of the young ladies of our manor?"
Mrs. Liu was rendered speechless by Gu Ying's response.
She had deliberately concealed what happened with Dr. Liu, wanting to treat it as a misunderstanding and hoping that Gu Ying would agree to marry into the Jiang family and make a clean break.
But she didn't expect that the usually silly Gu Ying would now stubbornly pursue the matter.
"Mother, just look at how Ying doesn't even care about Jia's life! How can we possibly investigate such a thing? Making a big fuss about it will just make us a laughing stock!" Mrs. Liu said angrily as she wept off to the side.
In her previous life, Gu Ying would have felt bad for her uncle's wife and comforted her.
But now, her heart and mind were filled with only hatred. She felt that Mrs. Liu was hypocritical, pretentious, disgusting, hateful, and vicious.
Gu Old Madam coughed a few times and said to Gu Ying, "Ying, the young master of Yong'an Marquis Manor has a natural disposition for womanizing. Over the years he has slept with many flowers and willows, and his back courtyards are not clean either. I heard earlier that one of his concubines is pregnant with his son, and his illegitimate eldest son will be born in two months."
She paused and continued, "With such a family, their status is already higher than our Bo Manor to begin with. Unequal marriage leads to unhappiness; marrying into that place will only cause you grief as a inferior wife."
"Moreover, we've heard that the young marquis doesn't like you, his betrothed fiancée matched by elders. He's been thinking of calling off the engagement for some time now. If you are really rejected by the marquis manor in the future, which household in Bianjing would dare marry you then?"
The old madam kindly smiled, "Jiang Gongzi is exceptional in both talent and looks. With our Bo Manor's support, it wouldn't be difficult for him to obtain an official position in Bianjing. Ying, are you willing?"
At that moment, silence filled Yongshou Hall as the elders gazed at Gu Ying expectantly.
Jiang Yin was also gripping his heart tightly, a trace of imperceptible brilliance flashing in his narrow eyes.
He knew Gu Ying wouldn't refuse. She had feelings for him and would definitely choose to marry him.
Gu Ying's shapely eyebrows were knitted together, seemingly vexed but also contemplative.
She knew everyone was waiting for her reply.
So she deliberately played hard to get.
The longer she remained silent, the more anxious they became.
When she felt enough time had passed, and they were worked up enough, she slightly curved her lips and lifted her head.
Just as she was about to loudly declare "I'm unwilling", a panicked servant suddenly rushed in from outside.
"Old Madam! Master! This is bad!"
Gu Boyan irritably scolded, "Foolish slave, why are you causing a commotion?"
That servant was sweating profusely, clearly having rushed over urgently to report, "Master, this is bad! Someone from Yong'an Marquis Manor is here!"
Like a bolt from the blue, this news created an uproar.
Gu Old Madam and Mrs. Liu immediately shot up, "What did you say?"
The servant swallowed and said, "It's Uncle Fu Gui, the head steward of Yong'an Marquis Manor. He brought four or five other manor stewards with him, people we're familiar with."
Gu Boyan was shocked. For Yong'an Marquis Manor to make such a big show, could it be they've come to break off the engagement?
At a loss, he turned to look at Gu Old Madam, "Mother, what should we do about this?"
Gu Old Madam leaned on her cane, a perplexed look flashing in her eyes. But as someone who had seen storms, she was much calmer, "Don't panic. After all the marquis manor is our in-laws. What could go wrong? You're overreacting. Let us go see what this is about."
Although she spoke as such, her heart was also thumping.
Comparing a Bo Manor with merely wealth to the Yong'an Marquis Manor of prestigious military lineage was like heaven and earth.
Although they were in-laws, the marquis manor had never associated with them before.
For them to personally send someone as esteemed as Uncle Fu Gui today, there must be something fishy.
Just as she was pondering the matter, the sound of overlapping footsteps suddenly came from the doorway of Yongshou Hall.
A sonorous male voice rang out, "Old Madam! Today I've come unannounced to pay my respects. I hope Old Madam does not blame me for this impropriety!"
The situation abruptly turned awkward.
Although the Gu family wanted to blame them, they didn't dare to openly do so.
With Jiang Yin still inside Yongshou Hall, Uncle Fu Gui had already entered with his people - four young stewards standing ramrod straight in the snow, each holding a red cloth-covered wooden box.
It looked like they've come to break off the engagement!
Seeing this formation, the Bo Manor masters all tensed up, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Catching sight of the young men and women inside, Uncle Fu Gui was surprised. He blinked his sharp old eyes and exclaimed, "Oh my, what's going on here?"
"This is..."
Gu Boyan and Mrs. Liu were already at a loss for words from embarrassment.
Mrs. Liu was annoyed that the marquis manor people didn't understand propriety, barging straight into the back residence. But she didn't dare speak up, only kept tugging Gu Boyan's sleeve and signaling urgently with her eyes, "Dear, say something!"
But Gu Boyan was a leisurely civil official. How could he talk back to the marquis manor people?
Moreover, Uncle Fu Gui was a great hero who had followed the old marquis into battle and saved his life.
He shrank back like a quail, not daring to say a word.
Gu Old Madam cast a reproachful glance at the couple. It seemed only she alone could uphold the Bo Manor's dignity now.
So she hid Jiang Yin behind herself, changed the subject, and politely laughed, "Oh it was merely a servant who stole the young lady's jewelry to pawn, and we caught him. We're interrogating him presently. I wonder why Uncle Fu Gui is here today? Does the young marquis have any instructions?"
Jiang Yin wrinkled his brows in displeasure.
Gu Old Madam actually called him, an exalted top scholar, a thief. He was quite unhappy but kept his head lowered on principle to avoid causing more trouble.
Uncle Fu Gui laughed heartily twice. As a candid and shrewd man, he wouldn't deliberately overstep boundaries to investigate the back residence affairs of another household.
"Ha ha! I wonder if the second young lady is in? Please may Old Madam summon her out."
Everyone's hearts tightened again, their minds confused.
They had no idea what the marquis manor was up to, and feared they knew something and deliberately came to pick fault.
After all, if such an ugly affair spread, it would not only damage the Gu family's reputation, but also make it very difficult for Gu Jia to marry into the marquis household again in the future.
They absolutely could not make any mistakes in front of Uncle Fu Gui today.
Gu Old Madam's expression flickered uneasily, just about to find an excuse to gloss things over.
But unexpectedly, Gu Ying walked forward and bowed slightly to Uncle Fu Gui, "Uncle, I am the second young lady of this manor, Gu Ying."
