Chapter 395: Visiting Card
Chapter 395: Chapter 395: Visiting Card
When Mrs. Bai heard the news sent over from the gatekeeper, she immediately had her maid deliver a purse to him, stating it was a reward from her.
The gatekeeper spent the entire day grinning foolishly. He decided he must keep a close eye out for that ugly face and the man surnamed Gu in the future. They were his source of wealth now! He sincerely hoped they would visit more often so he could repeatedly shut them down.
In the main courtyard of the Bai Mansion.
Mrs. Bai chuckled lightly. Just as she had suspected, the Gu Family had come knocking. It had happened even faster than she anticipated, which meant the Gu Family was having a hard time. If that was truly the case, she was quite satisfied. Her son-in-law had little affection for the Gu Family anyway, so there was no need for her to be polite to them.
"How are things on the master’s end? Is there any news?" she asked.
Bai Jingwen really wasn’t in the mansion, but he hadn’t gone out to simply inspect their properties. He was consolidating them. It was obvious that a storm of trouble was brewing in the capital. They needed to leave and lay low for a while. Until the empire stabilized, they would not return.
Ms. Qingshui replied, "To answer you, Madam, the master has already traveled through two counties, and the silver has been securely returned to the main storehouse. I’ve also contacted several escort agencies. Once the master returns, we can set off immediately."
Mrs. Bai nodded. "The mansion is very busy these days. I’ll have to trouble you to keep a closer eye on the backyard. Other than our own people going out to purchase supplies, absolutely no one is allowed in or out."
"Yes, Madam," Ms. Qingshui said. "I have already ordered the guards to start patrolling along the outer walls of the compound. I guarantee that not even a single bird will be able to fly out."
Mrs. Bai nodded again. She had great trust in Wu Qingshui’s capabilities. With her around to help manage things, Mrs. Bai could save herself a lot of trouble.
Soon after, the butler in charge of the outer courtyard came in to report that several managers from her farming estates had arrived. Knowing that another busy day was about to begin, she took a sip of water and stood up to head outside. Before leaving the room, she didn’t forget to remind her senior maids, "Sort through my belongings properly again. Pack the non-essential items into chests first."
As a merchant, she was adept at weighing the pros and cons. Therefore, even though they were hastily selling off their properties now, Mrs. Bai felt no reluctance. Sometimes, taking a small loss was actually a gain in the long run.
Back at the Gu Mansion, the father and son had initially left home full of high hopes, only to return with their tails between their legs. They were seething with anger but didn’t know how to vent it. They could only blame themselves for not preparing properly beforehand. If they had submitted a calling card yesterday, they wouldn’t have been in such a passive position today.
As for seeking out Mrs. Bai? Out of habit, neither man took women seriously at all. To them, that was the realm of wives’ diplomacy. Now that Xu Huizhen was gone, they felt no need to meet with Mrs. Bai.
Knowing what they were planning to do today, Xu Yun saw them return shortly after leaving and immediately realized they had hit another wall. She didn’t approach them, instead silently making her way to the backyard to order the kitchen to prepare some light dishes for the meal. Even though the meal was light, it still made her heart ache. Meat was expensive, but leafy green vegetables weren’t cheap either.
When she set the food on the table, Xu Shuanghong jumped out to complain. "We just arrived yesterday, and this is what you’re feeding us today?"
They had suffered greatly on their journey, and she had been counting on eating well upon reaching the capital to nourish and nurse her body back to health. Otherwise, who would be attracted to her scrawny figure?
Seeing her jump out, Liu Yun actually breathed a sigh of relief. This was perfect; someone else was taking the heat.
Sure enough, her father-in-law’s face immediately darkened. He slammed his chopsticks heavily onto the table. "Don’t look for trouble where there is none. You should be grateful you even have food to eat! If you’re not willing to eat it, feel free to leave."
"Master, what are you saying?" Xu Shuanghong pouted aggrievedly. However, despite retaining a bit of her looks at her age, playing coy and innocent was too much of a stretch, making people inevitably feel a bit disgusted.
"Who do you think I’m doing this for? Isn’t it for this entire household? The woman from the Liu Family is the future wife of the Family Head. How can she act so stingily..."
Since she was here, she had to find a way to seize the managing authority over the household. Otherwise, who knew how many hidden losses she and her daughter would have to suffer?
Liu Yun remained silent. Let her make a scene; it was best to let her father-in-law vent all his frustrations.
"So you want to manage the household?" Gu Baijiang stared at Xu Shuanghong with a half-smile. Seeing her face light up with joy, he directly and mercilessly pointed at her nose and scolded, "I told you to learn the rules, have you learned them yet? With your short-sightedness, you still want to run the household? You are nothing but a second wife I took in. What contributions have you made to my Gu Family? What qualifications do you have to manage this household?"
If these weren’t unusual times, he wouldn’t have even wanted them to enter the doors. After the spectacle they caused at the entrance yesterday, there was no telling how long they would be laughed at. Although the women didn’t know the current financial situation of the household, their greed was far too ugly to look at.
Xu Shuanghong knew immediately that her attempt today had failed. She had also managed to test the waters: all those sweet words Gu Baijiang had told her back in Lingnan had just been to coax her. In truth, he probably wished she and her two daughters didn’t even exist!
Originally, she still harbored some expectations of Gu Baijiang, but now she gave up completely. Since she had returned to the capital, it was time to go and meet her master.
She had also walked around the mansion today and noticed that something was amiss. All the daily necessities used here were merely the most basic ones. Even the hair ornaments on Liu Yun’s head were the same ones bought back in Lingnan, without a single new piece added. Yet she had heard that when the eldest miss got married, there were dozens of chests of dowry. She feared all that silver had already entered the Third Prince Mansion.
There was no way to conceal this news, and her master’s side must have known about it long ago. This was precisely why the three of them—mother and daughters—were treated like abandoned pawns, with no one reaching out to contact them anymore.
After his father had vented his anger, Gu Kaiping finally offered a few words of persuasion, and the situation calmed down. After quietly finishing their meal, the father and son returned to the study together.
"Do you think that guy surnamed Bai is truly not at home, or is he deliberately avoiding us?"
Neither of them believed that a lowly gatekeeper would dare to tell such a lie. Most likely, the man genuinely wasn’t in.
"Father, if it were the day before yesterday, I would have thought the other party was deceiving us. But after yesterday, I don’t think the Bai Family would have the guts to do so."
In just the half-day they were out of the mansion, several new calling cards had arrived. Even though they weren’t from particularly important households, it was still a crucial signal: their Gu Family could once again start socializing with certain families in the capital.
"I also don’t think he has the nerve. Since we don’t have any formal calling cards in the mansion, arrange for someone to go out and get some prepared."
Gu Baijiang actually felt a little embarrassed. He had rarely managed household affairs and had genuinely forgotten about the necessity of calling cards. No wonder when he sought out his colleagues previously, they either avoided him or dismissed him with a few perfunctory words. It turned out he had breached etiquette.
He didn’t know whether he should resent today’s gatekeeper or thank him. At the very least, when he had visited other mansions before, no one else had bothered to point it out; they had simply turned them away politely.
Although that gatekeeper had a foul mouth, he had essentially scolded them awake. It turned out that during their entire time in the capital, they had continuously been committing a major blunder without even realizing it.