Chapter 391: Returning to Her Parental Home
Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Returning to Her Parental Home
Gu Antong handed over the gift list. Liu Yun skimmed it, her heart sinking. The items were neither pleasant to look at nor practical to use. The Third Prince was slapping them in the face.
"Father, see for yourself," Liu Yun said, pushing the list directly in front of Gu Baijiang. Her movements were somewhat rough, venting her dissatisfaction. She had said it back then—they shouldn’t have let Gu Antong take so many chests over. They should have held back at least one or two. Now look what happened: they had lost so much silver and sacrificed a daughter for nothing.
After reading the list, Gu Baijiang remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. "An Tong, stay quietly in the Third Prince Mansion from now on, and give birth to an Imperial Grandson as soon as possible."
Only with an Imperial Grandson would the Gu Family have hope.
He was now disfigured, making it impossible for him to stand in court again. These past few days, he had been trying to pull strings to push his eldest son back into officialdom. But as the saying goes, when the tea cools, the guests leave. Who would remember their past friendship? Some people, out of a desire to save face, still had tea with him and exchanged a few superficial pleasantries. However, others flat-out refused to see him. It was a blessing if they didn’t utter mocking remarks right to his face.
Looking at the Third Prince’s attitude now, they likely wouldn’t receive much help for the Gu Family in the future either. After all, the man had already obtained what he wanted. His next step would be to win over the hearts of others. Given the Third Prince’s personality, he probably wouldn’t pay much attention to people like them who were already naturally tied to him.
If Gu Antong wanted to secure a future in the inner courtyard, her only option was to raise a son.
Gu Antong knew all this, but she didn’t want to fight alone. In the future, she would still have to support this large family. She turned her gaze to her two younger brothers hiding in the back and waved them over. Since returning to the capital, their grandfather had immediately sent them to the academy. However, how could the family’s ups and downs not affect them?
They had probably endured their fair share of ridicule at the academy, as she could sense that Gu Anliang and her other brother had become somewhat timid and hesitant lately.
"Then let us siblings work hard together," she said. "I will strive for a future within the imperial family, but you two must also live up to expectations. It would be best if you could earn official scholarly ranks so we can support each other."
These words greatly satisfied the Gu Family father and son. This was exactly how it should be. They immediately subjected Gu Anliang and his brother to another round of lecturing. Only after receiving their guarantees did they let the boys leave.
After returning from her bridal visit that day, Gu Antong kept a low profile upon heading back to the Third Prince Mansion. She didn’t fight or compete with the other women in the inner courtyard, and she remained unconditionally respectful to the main wife and the secondary wives.
The other women observed her for a while and found that the Third Prince didn’t dote on her as the rumors had suggested. He continued his usual practice of spreading his favors evenly among the women in the inner courtyard. Consequently, they slowly stopped keeping such a close eye on her.
Over at the Gu Family estate, it was the second day of the second lunar month—the traditional day when the dragon raises its head.
Gu Baijiang and his son, who had been lying low at home for a long time, got up early and dressed in fresh attire. Today, the Emperor would leave the palace to preside over the Dragon Head Festival. Every year on this day, it was a tradition for "the Empress to deliver food and the Emperor to personally till the land." Therefore, they wanted to wait at the palace gates early. Regardless of whether His Majesty would reinstate them, they had to display the proper attitude.
When they arrived early at the palace gates, they found that all the good spots were already taken. They could only walk a few steps further, finally finding a spot in an inconspicuous corner. The father and son both sighed inwardly. They thought they had arrived early enough, but unexpectedly, others were even earlier. It seemed their previous plans were going to fall through this time.
The Emperor’s royal carriage soon emerged. The moment the sound of cracking whips cleared the way, everyone respectfully knelt on the ground.
Gu Baijiang quietly pushed his son a half-step forward. Protruding half a body’s length past the people beside them, he looked noticeable but not overly conspicuous.
However, as the procession moved further away, the carriage did not pause for even a moment. Gu Baijiang sighed to himself. His Majesty hadn’t even lifted the curtain. It seemed everyone’s efforts had been in vain.
Just when they thought they would return empty-handed again today, a horse stopped in front of them.
"Lord Gu," Rong Ruiyuan’s voice rang out from above them. "It’s cold today. Head back early."
"This guilty subject greets the Third Prince," the Gu Family father and son respectfully kowtowed. They hadn’t seen him in days and hadn’t expected the Third Prince to stop for them today.
"The royal carriage has already left. You two can rise," Rong Ruiyuan said, dismounting to personally help them up.
The onlookers watched this scene with varying thoughts. Everyone knew the Gu Family had entered the capital, and they also knew the Gu Family’s granddaughter had entered the Third Prince Mansion. However, many people still looked down on them. Since the Third Prince hadn’t even accompanied the Gu Family daughter on her bridal visit, his attitude seemed clear. So what was the meaning of today’s performance?
"Your Highness, you should hurry and catch up. We cannot let you delay your duties because of us," Gu Baijiang said. He was already quite accustomed to people’s scrutinizing gazes. Since his disfigurement, he had experienced all sorts of looks. Anyway, as long as he didn’t feel awkward, others would be the ones feeling awkward. If he really took it to heart, he would be too ashamed to face anyone and wouldn’t be able to survive in this world.
Rong Ruiyuan cupped his hands in greeting toward Gu Baijiang. "I’ve been occupied with many matters lately. Once this busy period is over, I will visit your estate to formally apologize."
With that, he hurriedly rode off. The Gu Family father and son were left standing there, pondering the underlying meaning of Rong Ruiyuan’s actions. He had ignored them previously, so why was he suddenly so warm and attentive?
Before they could figure it out, a few familiar faces approached to greet them. This would have been completely impossible in the past, as these people used to avoid them from afar. But the father and son couldn’t let such a good opportunity slip by, so they enthusiastically began chatting with everyone. They understood exactly why this was happening, but since the Third Prince had built up momentum for them, they would be fools not to seize it.
After spending half the day there, their faces were nearly stiff from smiling by the time they managed to excuse themselves and return to their estate.
Seeing them rubbing their cheeks, Liu Yun couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong? Are your faces uncomfortable?"
"We ran into too many people coming to greet us today, and we talked a lot. Hurry up and pour us some water."
Liu Yun’s eyes lit up. She had previously sought out those noble madams, but they had all used various excuses to avoid seeing her. If her father-in-law and husband could rekindle their past connections, it would be much easier for her to socialize in the future. She poured water for them and considerately brought out a plate of pastries. "You’ve been busy outside for half the day. Hurry and have a bite to settle your stomachs."
After drinking some water and eating the pastries, the father and son joyfully recounted the progress they had made today. Although they hadn’t left the slightest impression on the Emperor, the Third Prince’s actions today had sent a clear signal to everyone: they were still valued by the Third Prince.
"It seems we misunderstood the Third Prince before. He really has been busy lately." Gu Kaiping felt that he was not far from returning to officialdom, and his mood was exceedingly cheerful.
While Gu Baijiang was happy, he was already pondering the reason behind Rong Ruiyuan’s actions.