Chapter 216 - Gu Fangzi Has Returned
Chapter 216: Gu Fangzi Has Returned
Once she was back in Peony Park2, she got changed and tidied her hair properly. Her complete makeover made her seem like she had been reborn. She was prettier than before now that she was in an elegant pale yellow robe and had some light makeup on her face.
Gu Fangzi packed up and went to greet Wang Shi. Wang Shi was delighted and made her stay for lunch.
Even though the mourning period had ended, Gu Fangzi still went for the dishes with only vegetables. Seeing that, Wang Shi’s heart ached and she ordered the servants to bring in a bowl of ham and bamboo shoots simmered in chicken broth for her. Wang Shi smiled gently and said, “Have more of the good food to replenish your body. How do you expect your body to grow if you only eat vegetables? You might end up spoiling your body! Things have already passed, so don’t think about them anymore. We should always be looking ahead!”
“Aunt Wang, thank you for caring about me!” Gu Fangzi’s eyes reddened and she gently tugged Wang Shi’s sleeves before she said intimately and dependently, “I only have one elder in this world and that is Aunt Wang! I hope that Aunt Wang can live a long life that is full of blessings so that I can continue to be filial to repay your kindness.”
“Aunt Wang knows you’re kind-hearted! Hehe, I’m always here if you need anything!” Wang Shi was touched and patted Gu Fangzi’s hand before she hurried her to drink the soup before it turned cold.
Gu Fangzi smiled brightly, and drank the soup obediently. After resting for a while and chatting with Wang Shi, Gu Fangzi smiled and said, “Aunt Wang, since I’m now back from the temple, shouldn’t the things in Peony Park be restored? Otherwise, it looks very ominous! But since everything is now in the storehouse, putting them back will take at least two to three days. I was thinking that maybe I could rest at an inn first! During those days, I’ll come visit Aunt Wang to have my meals, I hope Aunt Wang won’t find me annoying!”
Wang Shi laughed and said, “Why would I find you annoying! When you were young, you had all your meals together with me! You are right about the restoration to give it a new ambiance from what it now is. Not just inside the house, but the garden should also be tidied and planted with new flowers. Now’s the right season to do so too! I think there’s also no need for you to stay in the guest house. You can just rest at my place at night! It’ll save you the trouble!”
Gu Fangzi had that thought as well, which was why she purposely guided Wang Shi into saying that. Delighted when she heard Wang Shi, she smiled, “If Aunt Wang doesn’t find me annoying, then I’ll gladly accept your offer!”
“There you go again!” Wang Shi smiled and chided. While gazing at each other, they burst into laughter.
When Wang Shi was taking her afternoon nap, Gu Fangzi brought along Lan Xiang to Ning Garden1.
Nanny Li’s face immediately darkened when she heard that Gu Fangzi was coming and she sneered coldly, “I’m sure she’s here to make trouble! If she was already back, then she should have visited Young Mistress right after visiting Old Mistress. Coming here at this hour, she’s clearly trying to display her might! This old servant suggests leaving her outside for an hour before letting her in. That’ll show her who’s the young mistress here. Otherwise, she would only have her eyes on her head!” With that, Nanny Li instructed Zhide to tell Gu Fangzi that their young mistress was not free and have her wait outside!
“Forget it, just let her in!” Sang Wan shook her head, and gave a slight smile to Nanny Li, “Even though she never came, she has been accompanying Mother all the while. Isn’t she just being filial? Could I have argued with Mother about it? If I don’t let her in, who knows what she would say! When that happens, Mother won’t be too happy either! Just let her in and I’ll entertain her for a while. It’ll soon be over!”
Nanny Li smiled in spite of herself and said, “Young Mistress has thought it through clearly. Forgive this old servant for being blinded by rage!”
Zhide finally left to pass down the message.
Gu Fangzi and Lan Xiang waited outside for quite some time. Seeing that no one came out to receive them, Lan Xiang became a little worried and she whispered to Gu Fangzi, “Missy, do you think Young Mistress is angry and purposely trying to embarrass you here?”
Gu Fangzi laughed coldly and said, “That’ll be even better! She’s the wife after all, it’s only proper for her to do so!”
But before she could finish, Zhide could already be seen from afar. She headed towards them hurriedly and invited them in with a smile. Gu Fangzi nodded and followed behind Zhide.
On careful thought, it had been quite some time since she last came to Ning Garden. Looking at this familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar place, Gu Fangzi was suddenly in a daze. There were many roses along the corridors, around the well, on the ground, and in the pots. They were all blooming with bright colors of red, yellow, and orange. There were especially many red roses, and all the roses were blooming to their fullest as they swayed with the wind. The sight in itself was extremely pleasing to the eyes.
Gu Fangzi stopped in her steps shortly after and she asked Zhide with a smile, “When were all these roses here? Ning Garden looks so vibrant now!”
Zhide smiled gently and she replied, “To answer Miss Gu, they were here before the new year. Because Young Mistress liked them, Young Master purposely brought them from everywhere he knew. You should’ve seen them during the new year, there were more of them then! The entire house was decorated with many pots of roses that there was a strong and sweet fragrance.”
The smile on Gu Fangzi’s face froze as she acknowledged uncomfortably. The bitterness that was spreading in her heart felt like an invisible hand grasping onto her heart. Oh why did she ask? She really deserved it!
Gu Fangzi suppressed the bitterness in her heart, and entered the house calmly. After entering the warm room, she bowed to Sang Wan and said, “My greetings to Sister Sang Wan! I should have come earlier, but I was accompanying Aunt Wang and spoke too much with her. Aunt Wang also invited me to join her for lunch, which was why I came at this hour! I hurried here soon after leaving her place because I was worried that you might be unhappy! I hope that Sister Sang Wan won’t blame me!”
“Why would I blame you for such a small matter? Mother is fond of you, so you should accompany her more. That is the same as helping me and my lord in doing our duties. I can only be grateful to you!” Sang Wan smiled lightly.
Gu Fangzi felt extremely uncomfortable when she heard Sang Wan, and she smiled, “I’m glad that you don’t blame me for it! I am indebted to Aunt Wang so it is only natural for me to be filial to her! I won’t dare to receive Sister Sang Wan’s thanks!”
Sang Wan did not rebut and smiled, “Since your mourning period is over, Peony Park should be decorated again. Everyone has different preferences, and thus the help that I can provide you is limited. I have other things to worry about in the household as well, so I’ll have to trouble you for most of the restoration! The things that belong to you are still in the storehouse. I’ve already passed the list of items to you, so assign a few servants to move your things from the storehouse. I will assign Nanny Li to help you. After all, she was the one who helped you clean up your place. Sister Fangzi, what do you think?
Since Sang Wan had already made herself clear, what can Gu Fangzi do? She could not possibly request Sang Wan to help her personally to restore the place. She could let that go, but Sang Wan even assigned Nanny Li to monitor her. Gu Fangzi was secretly infuriated.
But before she could speak, Nanny Li bowed to Sang Wan and said, “Young Mistress, you don’t have to worry, this old servant will do my best to arrange everything properly and not trouble Miss Gu at all! Even though this old servant is old, I am not senile. I may sound like I’m bragging, but even Young Mistress cannot find any faults to pick on for everything that I was assigned with!”
“That is only natural,” Sang Wan smiled and looked at Gu Fangzi, “What do you think?”
Gu Fangzi smiled gratefully, “Since Nanny is doing it personally for me, I really cannot ask for more, so why would I suggest otherwise? Oh right. Before I forget, Aunt Wang has let me stay at her place for a few days because it’ll be inconvenient to stay in Peony Park when it isn’t ready yet. It might be inconvenient for me to give my greetings to Sister Sang Wan then, so please forgive me!”
Nanny Li creased her brow slightly. She was feeling both angry and startled. Who’d have thought that Gu Fangzi would fawn over Wang Shi immediately after she returned today?
Sang Wan remained unperturbed about it. Her mother-in-law had nagged countless times about how to treat Gu Fangzi as her ‘sister’. Wang Shi had always shown favoritism towards Gu Fangzi, so it was not a big deal for her to stay with Wang Shi. Sang Wan calmly responded before seeing Gu Fangzi off.
“What a shameless vixen!” Nanny Li spat as she watched the back of Gu Fangzi, “When Young Master isn’t around, she’s sparing no effort to bring Old Mistress to her side!”
“Nanny,” Sang Wan smiled and sighed, “Please don’t be angry, it isn’t worth getting angry because of this! Mother dotes on her a lot in the first place, and Peony Parks needs to be restored. Letting her stay for a few days isn’t much to make a fuss about!”
“What do you mean by not much!” Nanny Li said anxiously, “The servants are looking! Young Mistress, just think about it. She was asked to stay and eat with Old Mistress as soon as she’s back, isn’t that the same as being favored in the eyes of the servants? Those who don’t know may misjudge the situation and think that you’ve lost your place! She has always been wily, and it isn’t as if she’s someone without a history in our Shi family. Who knows what she’ll do again!”
Sang Wan did not think about it that way at first. She froze after hearing what Nanny Li had to say.
Nanny Li saw how she reacted and regretted causing her distress. She quickly smiled and said, “This old servant is only expressing my thoughts. The situation may not be as dire as what I’ve said! But we can tell that she’s not a simple person to deal with. We’ll need to keep alert and guard against her! You mustn’t put what I’ve said to heart and focus on taking care of your body instead! For everything else, just let this old servant, Zhide, and Liu Ya handle them!”
Sang Wan’s heart softened and she smiled appreciatively, “Nanny treats me the best!”
Nanny Li smiled and said, “Young Master mentioned to take good care of Young Mistress! This old servant remembers very well!”
Sang Wan’s eyes dimmed but she forced a smile. Who knew where he was now?
Nanny Li regretted her words again. Mentioning Shi Fengju only raised the load on her young mistress’s mind, so she quickly changed her attention to something else.
As for the restoration of Peony Pavilion, Gu Fangzi did not cause much trouble and instead went to inspect it once every day. After making sure that all her belongings were accounted for, she let Nanny Li decide everything else. Even though Gu Fangzi remained reluctant, she was clear about the numerous times her cousin had reminded her to remember her place. Since he wanted her to always take that to heart, then she would so that no one could fault her when he was finally back.
Nanny Li kept her guard up, but she was perturbed seeing the way Gu Fangzi was behaving.
However, something neither big nor small happened in the household while the restoration was ongoing.
It started with Gu Fangzi accompanying Wang Shi when they unknowingly started talking about cone puffs. It was one of Wang Shi’s favorite desserts, but because it required a lot of effort to make, it was not a dessert she would often ask for. However, when Gu Fangzi evoked her craving today, she could not help but complain a little. Gu Fangzi smiled and said, “Aunt Wang seldom asks for something that you want. If you want to eat it, then you should order the kitchen to make it. And maybe I’ll get to enjoy it because of Aunt Wang too!”