Chapter 493: A Good Thing
Chapter 493: Chapter 493: A Good Thing
Another half a month passed. Every day brought new stories, though some people continued to live their lives in quiet mundanity.
Liu Yun was in high spirits today. Good news had arrived from her daughter’s end. Lately, the Third Prince had been spending the nights in her courtyard and had bestowed many rewards upon her. Today, she even specially had her maid deliver some of these gifts back home.
As for her maiden home, the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion—which had previously given her the cold shoulder—had also sent her an invitation today, asking her to return for her grandnephew’s one-month birth celebration.
In stark contrast, Xu Yulan looked at her smug, triumphant expression and spoke with a mouth full of sourness. "Liu Yun, your struggles have finally paid off. You’ll have endless blessings from now on. Just remember not to forget to give me a hand as well."
"Of course, of course," Liu Yun replied dismissively. When it came to the second branch, she now wished she could quickly split the household and kick them out. However, her father-in-law still had the final say in this family; it wasn’t her place to make the decision.
Still, she didn’t dare get tangled up with the second branch. Gu Kaichen’s health had barely improved before he impatiently rushed out to stroll the streets. If her father-in-law hadn’t had the foresight to send someone to tail him, he probably would have plunged headfirst into the gambling dens again.
Now that he was locked up in the estate with strict orders forbidding anyone from letting him out, Liu Yun finally felt a bit more at ease. Otherwise, she genuinely feared that one day they would end up saddled with a mountain of his debt for no reason.
Xu Shuanghong, accompanied by Fan Meilin, also appeared exceptionally affectionate today. "Liu Family, you are truly blessed. If An Tong can bear a child for His Highness, no one will dare look down on our Gu Family."
"We will have to trouble you to look after us in the future, Liu Yun!" Fan Meilin chimed in.
Liu Yun felt deeply satisfied by the flattery from Xu Shuanghong and her daughter. She felt this was exactly how life should be.
"Madam Xu, you make a good point," Liu Yun said. "I am now counting on my daughter to help support the family, but I also don’t want anyone holding her back from behind. When you are out and about, remember to restrain yourselves. You must not ruin the Gu Family’s reputation."
Fan Meilin couldn’t bring herself to voice the rest of the pleasantries she had prepared. She really couldn’t stand Liu Yun’s smug face. Nothing was set in stone yet, but look at how arrogant she was acting! Anyone who didn’t know better would think her grandson had already ascended the throne.
Xu Shuanghong also seethed with secret resentment. For the sake of reputation, the Gu Family had changed how they addressed her, but their underlying attitude remained exactly the same.
She had tried several times to seize the household management rights to gain some authority in the family. However, Gu Baijiang rejected her every time, using the excuse that Liu Yun better understood the rules and customs of the capital.
What kind of excuse was that? She had done her fair share of investigating lately, and the previous wife, Xu Huizhen, hadn’t known a thing either!
Right now, her only disadvantage was that she hadn’t borne Gu Baijiang a single child. She had tried hard these past few days, but her belly simply refused to cooperate.
In this estate, aside from being well-fed and well-dressed, she had absolutely nothing else.
Now that the eldest branch was visibly on the rise, she, despite being an elder, had no choice but to bow her head and curry favor.
After showing off for a while, Liu Yun finally returned to her own room. At this point, she stopped hiding her true feelings, and a look of worry surfaced in her eyes.
When Cai Hua returned earlier, apart from delivering the good news, she had also mentioned something else. For some unknown reason, An Tong had been growing increasingly plump over the past few days.
The Third Prince had been spending consecutive nights in her courtyard, praising her current fleshy figure and saying he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
Liu Yun didn’t know exactly how plump her daughter had become, but she knew this meant she was gaining weight.
If she could keep it within a certain limit, it would be fine. But generally, when people started gaining weight, it quickly spiraled out of control.
She had already told Cai Hua to go back and warn An Tong to be careful, ideally by controlling her diet.
After all, once a person got fat, even the most beautiful face would be ruined by at least thirty percent.
The Third Prince might find it novel right now and favor her for a few extra days, or perhaps he genuinely liked this type of figure and would stick around a bit longer.
Another issue was the two maids they had bought back then. Cai Hua seemed clever enough, but she heard that Cai Li was somewhat dull-witted. When Cai Hua returned, her tone carried obvious disdain. She relayed Gu Antong’s request, asking if they could help pick out a better maid to replace her.
But how could it be that easy? At the time, the two maids had entered the prince’s estate as dowry maids. For the sake of her reputation, Gu Antong couldn’t just dismiss someone on a whim.
Furthermore, a satisfactory maid was hard to find. The capital had been peaceful lately, with no official families committing crimes and falling from grace, so trying to pick up a bargain servant wasn’t easy either.
"What are you thinking about?" Gu Kaiping walked in, brimming with high spirits. Who could blame him for having such a good daughter? The moment she gained favor, she had whispered some pillow talk to the Third Prince. Today, the Third Prince had specially summoned him over and arranged a position for him.
"I’m just thinking about our daughter. I don’t know what’s going on with her lately, but she seems to have gained weight."
"Gained weight? So what? The Third Prince certainly wouldn’t mistreat his own woman. Eating a little better and gaining some weight is perfectly normal."
"How is that normal? Has anyone in our Gu Family ever gotten fat? Have you ever seen a favored concubine who’s as round as a ball?"
"It can’t be that bad," Gu Kaiping said, sitting down and pouring himself a cup of water. In the past, he would have dared to order Liu Yun around, but now that her maiden family was reconnecting with her and her daughter was successful, she was not someone to be trifled with. "Don’t sit at home all day worrying about nothing and letting your imagination run wild. You’ll think all our good luck away."
"I hope I’m just letting my imagination run wild," Liu Yun said, having no choice but to convince herself of that.
When that maid Cai Hua first mentioned that An Tong had gained weight, she had actually thought there was happy news of a pregnancy.
Who knew Cai Hua would then clarify that a doctor had just checked her pulse for a routine health examination yesterday, and everything was normal. Only then did Liu Yun drop the subject.
"Gu Kaiping, why are you so happy today?"
"The Third Prince summoned me to his estate today and arranged a position for me."
Liu Yun immediately sat up straight. "That’s wonderful news! Did he arrange for you to return to the Hanlin Academy?"
"Not exactly," Gu Kaiping said, his joy fading slightly. "It just so happens that one of his subordinate advisors was appointed as an official, and he wants me to follow him and work as a clerk."
"What kind of official rank is that?"
"It’s just drawing up official deeds, writing case records, and that sort of work.
"It doesn’t have an official rank. You also know that my rank has been stripped away. Restoring it won’t be that easy. Right now, the Third Prince wants me to go down and accumulate some experience first. He’ll help arrange something better for me in the future when there’s an opportunity."
"If it doesn’t even have a rank, then why are you so happy?" Liu Yun couldn’t understand. That was it? And he was still grinning like a fool.
"It’s not a question of rank. This position is quite lucrative. By greeting and seeing off people every day, they’re bound to slip me some benefits.
"We’re in such a difficult spot right now. If I have an income and we have Silver, it will be much easier for us to grease the necessary palms."
Gu Kaiping was desperately eager to earn Silver right now. Otherwise, if he came empty-handed, who would give him any face?
"Where will you be taking up this post?"
Gu Kaiping pursed his lips. "Shao County."
"Where is Shao County?" Hearing this unfamiliar name, an ominous premonition inexplicably surged in Liu Yun’s heart.
"First of all, it’s in Lingnan!"
"What?" Liu Yun abruptly sprang to her feet. "We finally managed to escape from that place, and now you’re actually going back?"
"Have you just decided this on your own? Did you tell your father?" Liu Yun still wanted to put up a struggle.