Chapter 388 - 338: Packing Up and Leaving
Chapter 388: Chapter 338: Packing Up and Leaving
(Although apologizing after the fact feels a bit insincere, I still have to say sorry to all my dear readers. There was another thunderstorm yesterday, it was so scary, so scary, for real... I’ll be updating with 6,000 words today and 6,000 tomorrow to make up for it. The author is working hard to stockpile Chapters and aims for a big release to speed up the main couple’s reunion.)
Tian Xueqin nodded. "I know, I’m not worried. Sisi, you should eat slowly too. You were just starving, and it’s so late at night. Eat less meat and have more soup."
"Okay! Auntie, you have some soup too. This soup is especially fragrant today, it’s delicious!"
Tian Sisi ladled another bowl of hot soup for her aunt and went back to eating.
Tian Xueqin watched her niece nibble on a chicken wing. With her stomach half-full, the worst of her hunger had passed, and her table manners were still quite elegant. ’Although my niece’s disposition can’t compare to Shaoling’s, she still has the air of a well-bred young lady. Her years living with the Gu family weren’t for nothing.’
She recalled the instructions from her mother and sister-in-law. She herself had promised to take full responsibility—to look after Sisi, help her finish her studies in Beijing, find her a respectable job, and then marry her off to a young master from a prominent family...
’But now, the Gu family is insisting on sending Sisi away. The poor child. I might be able to find her a good job in the future, but without the Gu family as her background, marrying into a high-ranking official’s family will be very difficult.’
’A mother’s status depends on her son. Those matriarchs of powerful families go through so much to bear and raise a son. Who wouldn’t want their son to marry a wife with a powerful background? An extra bit of help makes their future path smoother and more brilliant. Even if they can’t marry up, they still hope for a match between equals. Having lived with the Gu family for so long, Tian Sisi is basically the adopted daughter of the second branch. That gives her some value. But once she returns to the Tian family, even if she’s called a relative of the Gu family, it’ll be useless.’
’Among the children of the rich and powerful, very few can make their own decisions about marriage. Most are strategic alliances between two families for mutual benefit. As for all that nonsense about love being supreme, ignoring family status, and marrying for love—that’s just something young people do for fun. How many of those ever succeed?’
Tian Xueqin had lived in these circles for over twenty years. She had seen and heard it all. She didn’t even need to learn it intentionally; she could effortlessly use the same methods other noble ladies employed to deal with disobedient children. When that incident with Gu Shaofeng happened last year, Tian Xueqin wasn’t the least bit flustered. She handled it for him with ease.
Of course, it was only with the tacit approval of the old master and old madam that Tian Xueqin could interfere so forcefully in Gu Shaofeng’s marriage. At first, Gu Qiyuan had supported his son, but when he saw Tian Xueqin stepping in, he said nothing more, using the excuse of being too busy with official duties to avoid his son. Furthermore, the marriage application Gu Shaofeng submitted was deliberately delayed. Unbeknownst to her son, Tian Xueqin flew to the H Province Provincial Military District hospital herself. She found the girl and laid out the stakes. The girl was just a naive twenty-year-old nurse who had never seen the world. Upon learning Shaofeng’s true identity, she was scared stiff and readily agreed to cut off all contact. She also accepted the arrangements made for her to return to school for further studies.
The opportunity to improve herself and advance her education wasn’t something everyone gets. It was both compensation and hush money. The girl was smart; she accepted it and truly vanished completely from Gu Shaofeng’s world. Before Gu Shaofeng went abroad, he couldn’t contact her at all.
A mother knows her son best. Tian Xueqin understood him. His personality was cold and hard, and he never did things sloppily. But his stubbornness was also terrifying. If he said he would get married, he would get married. When his marriage application wasn’t approved, he started to understand what was happening. He pulled some strings himself and quickly traveled from Beijing to Lian City, insisting on a face-to-face talk with Gu Qiyuan. Tian Xueqin, showing no emotion, immediately called the Zeng family’s mother and daughter and told them to hurry over. That girl, Zeng Rong, had liked Shaofeng since they were children. And while the Zeng Family wasn’t on par with the Gu family, their influence was not to be underestimated. If Shaofeng married Zeng Rong, it would be beneficial for both Qi Yuan and Shaofeng.
Tian Xueqin had even considered it. ’I’m a doctor; I can control the dosage. With a little tampering and the right drugs, I could just force the issue and make it a done deal. Shaofeng wants to get married, doesn’t he? Zeng Rong is such a great beauty, a ready-made bride, countless times better than that little nurse. And once the deed is done, all I’d have to do is change the name on Shaofeng’s marriage application, and they could get registered and hold a banquet right away!’
’If Zeng Rong were lucky enough to get pregnant with a son, then the second branch would be the first to produce a great-grandchild for the Gu family!’
Tian Xueqin’s mood at the time had been excellent: the plan was not only simple and easy to execute, but its success rate was also 100%! What a shame it was all ruined by Gu Shaojun. For some unknown reason, Gu Shaojun made a single phone call, and Gu Shaofeng left immediately, without even waiting for his father.