Chapter 1314 - 1150: Affairs in the Residence
Chapter 1314: Chapter 1150: Affairs in the Residence
"Senior Brother! We’ve finally arrived at the Capital!" The constant travel over the past few days had left Gu Chengyu and Yin Kun exhausted. To quicken their journey, they had spent all these days in a carriage.
"At last, we’ve arrived. It’s already late today, let’s return to the residence to rest a bit, and enter the palace to report tomorrow!" Yin Kun truly breathed a sigh of relief. Although Gu Chengyu’s carriage was quite comfortable, it was ultimately not as comfortable as flat ground, and there was still some bumpiness.
"Yes! I’ll have Ming Yan take you back, and tomorrow, after we report to the palace, we can visit the teacher’s residence together!" Gu Chengyu was also eager to return, so after discussing with him, the two parted ways.
"Lai Fu, open the door, the master has returned!" Ming Mo stepped forward to knock on the corner door. It was already a bit dark by now, and the corner door of the residence had already been closed.
Lai Fu opened the door, and upon seeing Ming Mo, a smile immediately spread across his face, "The master has returned?"
With the threshold drawn from the corner door, once Gu Chengyu entered the residence, the servants of the house began to busy themselves.
"Xiao Bao!" Mrs. Lv came to the front courtyard holding Qingxia’s hand. Xiao Bao had been away from the residence for several months, and naturally, she and the old man missed him.
"Mother!" Gu Chengyu stepped forward and grasped Mrs. Lv’s hand, his face also full of smiles.
Mrs. Lv gazed at Gu Chengyu with slightly moist eyes, "Why do you always seem to lose weight every time you leave home? You don’t know how to take good care of yourself while you’re out."
She lightly patted Gu Chengyu’s arm. Although her tone was full of reproach, it was not hard to hear the care in her words.
"How could I be thinner? Mother, don’t worry about me, I ate well and drank well while out!" In these past days on the road, he indeed looked a bit travel-worn now, not looking particularly well, and definitely appeared somewhat haggard.
"Where’s Father? Are you and Father still in good health these days?"
"Mother, what are you doing? Xiao Bao just got back, shouldn’t you let him freshen up? Can’t you see Xiao Bao is exhausted?"
Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Mr. Gu also entered the outer courtyard at this moment. Upon coming in, he saw Mrs. Lv asking questions incessantly with their youngest son, and he hurriedly stopped her.
"Father!" Gu Chengyu called out with a smile.
"Ah!" Mr. Gu responded somewhat bashfully and said no more.
"Oh! Look at me, Xiao Bao hasn’t had a meal yet, has he? Quickly go wash up, and we’ll have dinner together later!" Right at the hour of dining, Mrs. Lv simply urged Gu Chengyu to wash up first.
Gu Chengyu agreed, actually eager to soak in a hot bath. He hadn’t bathed for several days and was feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
Unable to help it, he and Yin Kun shared a carriage, and in the following days, they didn’t stop at any inns, so there was naturally nowhere to bathe. Originally, such a phenomenon was still quite common during ancient journeys, but he still found it somewhat unbearable.
"Has everything been fine in the residence these days?" Gu Chengyu allowed wintergreen to dry his hair, and asked Steward Chen beside him.
"Reporting to the master, Young Master Wan Fang got married last month, and the relatives staying at our residence have all returned to Shangling Village now. Only the Second Young Master and his fiancée’s family didn’t want to return to Shangling Village. Last month, they just rented a small courtyard in the Capital, and now both families are living there."
Steward Chen was the chief steward of the outer courtyard, responsible for the affairs of the house.
"Well done, when the lease on the courtyard expires, don’t renew it for them, and they’ll naturally have to move out. Keep an eye on them, and if there’s anything amiss, report to Ming Mo early. If worse comes to worst, just throw them back to Shangling Village."
Gu Chengyu did not wish to spend his energy on these people; as long as they didn’t hinder him, he saw no need to bother with such individuals.
"Moreover, Second Master’s concubine Mrs. Wang wants to leave the Sixth Young Master in the Capital for the old master and mistress to raise. The old master agreed, so now Mrs. Wang has returned to Shangling Village alone!" This matter needed to be reported to the master, as he knew the master did not have a good impression of Mrs. Wang.
"Let him stay! The residence can certainly afford to raise a child, and if Mrs. Wang can be more peaceful, raising the child in the residence is nothing significant."
This matter had already been agreed upon by his father, so he was not in a position to oppose it further. Moreover, Wang Yue had the heart to leave the child behind while she returned to Shangling Village, showing she had made a decision.
Wanting the child to be close to his grandparents, enduring her own longing for the sake of the child’s future, this woman’s mind was certainly clearer than those muddle-headed ones.
Although Gu Chengyi indeed disgusted him, now that he was dead, Gu Chengyu was not about to take it out on a child.
Gu Chengyu sighed, his parents in the Capital probably felt lonely, didn’t they? Even though Third Brother and the others were all in the Capital, they couldn’t visit the residence often either. Those younger ones even more so couldn’t frequently stay at an uncle’s house that had already separated, so it was also good for his parents to have a child by their side.
"Additionally, I discovered that Young Master Wan Hua’s concubine Yan Bi was acting somewhat strange. Before she returned to Shangling Village, she seemed to have frequent contact with Miss Liu! The two seemed to have known each other before."
"Miss Liu?" Gu Chengyu was a bit puzzled, and after a moment, he recalled who Miss Liu was; wasn’t she Xue Shuyao?
"Yes! They met several times, and later after Yan Bi returned to Shangling Village, Miss Liu came to the residence to look for her. Miss Liu said Yan Bi was an old acquaintance of hers, but Yan Bi did not bid farewell upon leaving, so she inquired about Yan Bi’s address from me, but I did not disclose it."
"Even if you didn’t say anything, she could find out, it’s not hard to inquire about." Gu Chengyu speculated that Yan Bi might be related to the case of the Xue Family’s extermination, but he didn’t have the energy to handle these matters now.
"Yes! And one more thing, last time the old madam went out to the hot spring manor and met a young lady along the way. The two had a very pleasant conversation. Who would have thought this young lady, after introducing herself, turned out to be a family member of Mrs. Lv, and her father and the old madam were actually cousins."
Steward Chen thought this matter was quite coincidental, but he also went to verify it afterward and found the identity indeed had no issues.
"Is her family head Lv Yuan?" Gu Chengyu recalled the incident in the plum grove, when Lv Yunqing and Gu Wanqian were present, and afterward, he sent people to investigate Lv Yunqing, so he long knew the relation between the Lv family and their residence.
"It turns out, you already knew. These days, that Miss Lv frequently visits the residence to chat and relieve the old madam’s boredom." Steward Chen was somewhat surprised that his master even knew of this, but in the end, he did not question further.
"Has she done anything out of line?" Gu Chengyu thought that Lv Yunqing was not a simple girl, with certain scheming skills. Although his mother had a sharp tongue, sometimes, she was quite naive and might fall victim to others’ calculative plans.
"There hasn’t been any, the old madam is quite fond of her, welcoming her with a smile every time she comes." Steward Chen shook his head. This girl was sweet-talking, charming and pleasing, easily winning the favor of the elders.
"Keep an eye on her, don’t let her cause any mischief. Since I’m back, prepare a gift for her as a token of gratitude, saying it’s for thanking her for visiting the residence these past days to accompany the old madam."
Winning his mother’s heart, as long as the intent wasn’t excessive, Gu Chengyu would not mind, not when he wasn’t lacking in Silver.