Chapter 619 - 621: Idle Talk
Chapter 619: Chapter 621: Idle Talk
He Gaofei was too frustrated to keep fiddling with the object. He finally set it aside. "What’s wrong with being merchants? The ones who are truly living well are the merchant families."
"Don’t be so full of your stuffy, old-fashioned ideas. Our old aristocratic families have been families in name only for a long time now. What’s the use of clinging to that empty reputation?"
"Surely you must have noticed a few things after more than a year in Lu City?"
Mrs. He retorted, "Am I the one being stuffy? Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—this hierarchy has existed since ancient times. Look at all those famous merchants. Don’t they all have to rely on the patronage of official families to survive?"
"Much of it is just a veneer of prosperity. The moment real trouble strikes, a single word from an official family can strip them of everything they have."
"I know what you’re referring to. But Mrs. Gu is a unique case; no one else can replicate her success."
"Putting aside Mr. Gu’s boundless prospects, she herself is a natural-born merchant. Everything she touches turns a huge profit."
"With a mind like that, which one of our children do you think could possibly compare? I’m not saying they need to be her equal—if they had even a fraction of her ability, I wouldn’t stop them from going into business."
"You’re being foolish! Don’t you know it’s good to have a big tree to lean on for shade?"
"An aristocratic family like ours can still manage to hang on for a few more decades."
"With this connection, if they could just learn a few things from Mrs. Gu, it would be enough to benefit them for a lifetime."
"Look at Minister Cao. Others call him a brutish martial artist, but he was able to swallow his pride. His children worked as clerks, and one even became a Shopkeeper, in Mrs. Gu’s establishments."
"And look at them now. Thanks to that connection, their family has a stake in the sea trade, and his children can now hold their own. They’ve become respected figures in Lu City."
At this, the puzzle in He Gaofei’s hands suddenly lost its appeal. "And you think leaving the children in Shangjing was for their own good?"
"With the two of us gone from the manor, how many people there do you think will genuinely look out for them?"
Mrs. He was rendered speechless. In truth, she had long since come to regret her decision.
She had considered bringing them before they left.
But ultimately, she was afraid the children would suffer and face danger if they came along, so she had steeled herself and left every one of them behind.
"Sigh. What’s the use in talking about this now?" He Gaofei stretched his arms. "I wonder if we’ll ever have the chance to travel with Mr. Gu again. If we’re ever that lucky, I’m definitely bringing our children along. It’s high time we started thinking about their futures."
For a family like theirs, a clan so large with so few members holding official posts, living by slowly depleting their ancestral wealth... he simply couldn’t understand where his wife’s faint sense of superiority came from.
In another carriage, Lu Shenggen wore a deeply wronged expression. His wife had commandeered the puzzle he had worked so hard to borrow.
"Just let me play with it for a little while. I haven’t even figured it out yet," Mrs. Lu said, turning sideways to avoid his gaze. ’How can I enjoy this if he keeps staring at me?’
"Can you even put the puzzle back together?" Lu Shenggen asked, growing anxious as he watched her make another wrong move.
"Don’t talk! You’re breaking my concentration..."
"Are you getting anywhere with that? If not, how about you let me have it, and you can try again after I’m finished?"
"...I can definitely do it! Just stop distracting me..."
...
Wu Yichen fiddled with his own puzzle as he remarked to his wife, "I thought I had come to understand Mr. Gu quite well after all these years."
"I never expected to be so wrong. To think he’s capable of such ingenious ideas."
Lady Wu mused, "We’re all born with a brain. How is it that some people are just so clever?"
"Are you suggesting that I’m a dullard, my dear?"
"I wouldn’t dare," Lady Wu said, lifting the window curtain to look at the scenery. "It’s just that he’s too clever. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have any ill intentions, otherwise you wouldn’t even know how you were being fleeced."
Wu Yichen was speechless. ’You don’t have to be so blunt, my dear...’
"You were truly lucky this time. I thought we would live out the rest of our days in Lu City, but who would have thought we’d be able to return to the capital in such style."
Lady Wu smiled. "I can only imagine how furious my sisters-in-law must be. What a pity I won’t get to see their faces when they get the news."
Wu Yichen knew the different branches of his family had been at odds for a long time. The current surface-level harmony was only maintained for the sake of the old patriarch.
He suddenly recalled something. "The shares in the sea trade—remember, we invested in those with your dowry silver."
"When I left, the family’s communal fund only gave me enough for travel expenses. All those Silver Taels we invested came from what you pressed into my hands."
Lady Wu let the curtain fall, her expression even more delighted. "Of course. I’ve already converted some of the Silver into imported goods to be sold at the shops from my dowry. With this double stream of income, we’ve finally managed to build up a small fortune for our children."
"I’m just worried that when we get back, those people will try to make an issue out of this. You have to stand firm and not let the truth slip."
Wu Yichen sighed. "That’s another reason I was reluctant to return to the capital. I really hope we can continue to follow Mr. Gu after this."
"My mother wrote and asked about it before, and I wrote back telling her it was your dowry silver. A family this large can’t possibly expect a wife to use her own dowry to subsidize the household, can it!"
Lady Wu shot him an appreciative glance. "Then you’d better stand your ground. You’re well aware of the situation at the main residence. You can’t sacrifice our own little family for the sake of your larger one."
...
「Gaoling Village」
Just as Gu Lehuan had expected, as soon as the wedding festivities were over, the family elders quickly lost interest in the newlyweds.
Gu Yuanjin had even started packing his bags, preparing to return to Shangjing with them.
"We don’t even know when your Seventh Uncle and the others will return, yet everyone is already getting antsy," Wang Caiyue complained again during dinner.
She had wanted to lay down the law for her new daughter-in-law and have the girl wait on her during the meal. But the moment she opened her mouth, Gu Yuanmu stared at her in astonishment and asked, right in front of their daughter-in-law, "Since when do we have a rule like that in this family?"
Wang Caiyue’s expression turned utterly foul. ’This Gu Yuanmu is going to be the death of me!’
That rascal Gu Lehuan immediately seized the opportunity. "Wife, hurry and eat. We still have to go pay our respects to Grandfather later."
’Does he really think I can’t take a hint?’ she fumed internally. ’The boy is indirectly warning me. If I keep pushing this, who knows what complaints he’ll lodge with his grandmother when he sees her later.’
’Ever since the matriarch last put her foot down, all of the daughters-in-law had come to a profound realization. All their past troublemaking had only been possible because she couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. Otherwise, on the grounds of filial piety, she could have had them held down and beaten, and they wouldn’t have been able to say a word in their defense.’
Gu Yuanmu said, "Seventh has been gone for so many years. So what if everyone’s a little eager for his return?"
"Stop bringing it up every time we sit down to eat. Are you trying to ruin everyone’s appetite?"
Wang Caiyue snorted. "Am I the one looking for trouble? It was just one piece of news, and it’s thrown several households into chaos."
"How long have Le Huan and his wife even been married? They haven’t even been here a full month, and now they’re being rushed to leave."
"As his mother-in-law, am I not allowed to complain a little?"
As she spoke, Wang Caiyue shot a glare at Xu Nuo, who was sitting opposite her. ’This must suit her just fine,’ she thought bitterly. ’She gets exactly what she wanted.’