mtl008 Chapter 217 Half of the betrothal gifts were taken back.
Chapter 217 Half of the betrothal gifts were taken back.
Gu Ziming started to have a fever at night and was up all night. Even the doctor couldn't leave. Fortunately, Gu Ziming's fever subsided just before dawn.
With dark circles under his eyes, Gu Hanqing was very sleepy but dared not leave at this time. He stayed by Gu Ziming's side until he woke up. However, Gu Hanqing was indeed too tired and fell asleep on the table.
"Cough cough cough, someone, water..."
Just then, Gu Hanjiao quietly came over to visit Gu Ziming. She heard Gu Ziming's voice, glanced at Gu Hanqing who was still sleeping, and then personally went to the table to pour a glass of water and brought it over.
"Cough cough cough, why is it cold?"
"Father, please bear with it. The manor is currently... How about I ask you to get another pot of tea now?"
Gu Ziming's memory returned, and he remembered what had happened. He shook his head and said, "No need. Why are you here all alone?"
“No, Father. When I arrived, you were still fast asleep. And I wasn’t alone; Qingdi was here with you the whole time.”
As he spoke, Gu Hanqing woke up with a start. He rubbed his eyes and saw that Gu Ziming was already awake and Gu Hanjiao was talking to him. His mind immediately cleared up.
"Father, your son is unfilial; I failed to notice in time that you had woken up."
"It's alright, you've worked hard too. What about the others?"
"Father, Aunt Rou's pregnancy was not going well yesterday. After the doctor examined her, my aunt persuaded her to go home and rest. However, she didn't leave until late at night when her fever subsided. My aunt was here, but she was called away by the servants just now because there was a problem in the kitchen and the servants needed to be taken care of. She just left."
Gu Ziming nodded. He knew that these two concubines were with him. Who would have thought that in the end, these two would be the ones who stayed by his side? There were also many maids in the backyard, but none of them were truly cared for.
Batu entered at that moment.
"Master, you're awake."
Gu Ziming was injured from behind, so he could only lie there. Gu Hanqing took a pillow and helped him elevate himself a little so that it would be easier for him to talk while lying down.
"Batu, how is things at the manor?"
"Reporting to you, sir, some servants ran away on their own, and some who signed indentures are still afraid to leave. Those who wanted to take advantage of the situation have already been dealt with by me."
"There's no point in keeping these people around. Let those who want to leave go. Is everything settled at the house?"
"Sir, you own several houses, but they are all relatively small."
"I remember there were two large ones, and you arranged them yourself?"
"Yes, there are, but they are quite far from the capital, so it's not very convenient to go in and out to shop. However, the environment there is indeed very good."
Gu Ziming shook his head and said, "No, if we go far away from the capital, it won't be easy to come back. How much silver do we have left in our account?"
Batu hesitated for a moment, but still honestly said, "There isn't much money left in the public account. We spent a lot on clothes for the young ladies and gentlemen, and the old lady's family is constantly receiving tonics. The dowry money for the second young lady's marriage has already been spent from the public account. In addition, there was the compensation money for the eldest young lady's and late madam's dowry, and a sum of money was also spent from the public account when Young Master Changfeng passed away a while ago..."
Gu Ziming closed his eyes. Batu had already been quite cryptic; it was probably already a good thing that the public accounts weren't in debt. Right now, there really wasn't much money left for him to manage.
Gu Hanjiao, who was sitting to the side, naturally heard these words and spoke softly.
"Well then, Father, let's forget about my dowry for now. Let's focus on household expenses first. As for the house, it doesn't need to be too big. I remember we have one nearby. It's a bit small, but it's very nice. Besides, I'll be getting married soon, so there's no need to worry about that. My eldest sister doesn't live with us anymore either. There are only a few people left in the house now. We can keep enough servants."
Hearing Gu Hanjiao's thoughtful words, Gu Ziming couldn't help but feel a pang of tenderness in his heart. She was indeed the daughter he had cherished since childhood, a truly considerate little angel. So the more Gu Hanjiao said this, the more Gu Ziming felt sorry for her.
"How can that be? You've already suffered enough by going from being the primary wife to a secondary wife. If your family still criticizes your marriage, what kind of behavior is that? Your dowry money is yours, and the house can't be too small or too far away. If it's too far away, people will look down on you when you get married."
"Master, should this money be distributed according to the legitimate heir or..." Batu knew he shouldn't ask this, but the public funds were so limited that not clarifying the matter would cause trouble later.
Gu Ziming glanced at Gu Hanjiao. Her identity was indeed special. It seemed that Gu Hanjiao could not be placed in the position of legitimate daughter. If he insisted on making Gu Hanjiao legitimate daughter, he would either have to acknowledge Wang Ruyan's identity or place her under Ning Jingxian's name. But it was clear that the emperor did not support either of them. It was better not to slap the emperor in the face.
“My dear, I know you’re feeling wronged, but for now you can only be a concubine’s daughter. But don’t be sad, I will still prepare your dowry according to the standards for a legitimate daughter.”
"Father, don't worry about this matter. I don't care about whether you are a legitimate daughter or a concubine's daughter, as long as you still want me as your daughter."
"How could I not want it? From now on, you'll be registered under Aunt Han's name, which will be considered repayment of the karmic debt that Wang Shi owed back then."
Upon hearing this, Gu Hanjiao couldn't help but feel resentful. What kind of person was Aunt Han? Why should she have to repay the debt? And she was already dead. Why should she, Gu Hanjiao, have to be the daughter of a dead person?
But Gu Hanjiao couldn't say anything, nor did she have the right to refute anything; she could only silently accept it all.
“It’s alright, Father…” Gu Hanjiao’s eyes were filled with tears. “Before I came here, I was very anxious and couldn’t eat or sleep. I thought that Father didn’t love me and didn’t want me anymore.”
Gu Ziming patted Gu Hanjiao's arm with difficulty to comfort her.
"How could that be? The mistake your mother made has nothing to do with you. I know you are a good child."
What to do? Watching the tender moment between the father and daughter, Gu Hanqing felt an urge to vomit up her dinner from the night before. It seemed she wouldn't need to eat anything this morning either.
Fortunately, Gu Hanjiao has also become a concubine's daughter. She used to always complain about being born out of wedlock, but now that she is, she is a concubine's daughter, and a dead one at that. What is there for her to be proud of?
"Ahem, Father, yesterday someone from the Ning family came and said we have to move out within three days. What should we do..."
Gu Hanjiao thought for a moment and said, "Father, could we talk to my eldest sister and ask her if we could stay here for the time being? After all, this house was bought by the Ning family. I think it would be possible if my eldest sister put in a good word for us, right?"
"I'm afraid the old Duke won't agree. Yesterday, he sent the two young masters of the Ning family over to vent his anger. He's only being lenient for three days because of your eldest sister."
"Well...youlan Courtyard belongs to eldest sister, right? Youlan Courtyard is quite big. Why don't we stay there for now and move out when we find a suitable house?"
Although Gu Hanqing was the only heir of the Gu family, she couldn't help but curse Gu Hanjiao's words in her heart. She was shameless and always tried to take advantage of her older sister.
Gu Ziming thought about it and it seemed feasible. He glanced at Batu, who understood.
"If Miss can grant my request, that would be wonderful. We live very close to Youlan Courtyard, so moving and packing won't be a problem. This way, I'll have time to look for a larger house, but the money I have..."
At this point, Gu Hanjiao stopped talking. What a joke! How could she possibly take money out of the family? She couldn't possibly use the dowry money she had painstakingly saved to fill her own family's debts, could she? What would she do in the Third Prince's mansion then?
Gu Ziming said, "If you have found a house you like, choose two smaller ones to sell, and that will be enough money. Alternatively, you can resell the one further away."
"I know what to do, sir. Is there anything else you need?"
"That's all. You can go now. If anything happens, I'll have Qing'er pass on a message to you."
"Yes, sir. Please rest well. I will go and take care of the matter right away."
Gu Hanjiao watched Batu's departing figure, seemingly muttering to herself but actually speaking to Gu Ziming: "If only eldest sister could agree. Actually, as Father's daughter, if it were me, I would just give this garden to my family..."
Gu Hanqing wanted to leave. He didn't want to hear anything Gu Hanjiao said anymore. She was just lying through her teeth. He didn't believe Gu Hanjiao was so generous. Especially recently, he had heard that Gu Hanjiao had even taken away the curtains and draperies from the place where Wang Shi used to live. In short, she took everything that could be moved, except for the bed.
Chunlu saw a maid peeking around outside. She went up to the maid, grabbed her ear and pulled it off. Only then did she realize what had happened. She quickly went inside to find Gu Hanjiao.
Upon reaching the door, Chunlu slowed her pace and hesitated before speaking to Gu Hanjiao. Gu Hanjiao noticed this and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"It's like this, Miss. Someone from our courtyard said that the Ning family sent a maid to check the items in our mansion."
"Just investigate. They can't take our things away."
"But right now they're checking your things, Miss, and they've found quite a few that don't belong to us..."
"What!" Gu Hanjiao was shocked. She could investigate anyone else, but why was she being investigated first?
"It must have been Gu Qingwan's idea!" Gu Hanjiao noticed that she was still in Gu Ziming's room and that Gu Hanqing was watching her. Gu Hanjiao quickly composed herself and said.
"It must be because I offended my eldest sister yesterday. She did it on purpose. Father, please rest first. I'll go and see what's going on."
Before Gu Ziming could speak, Gu Hanjiao hurriedly headed towards the embroidery pavilion, cursing as she went.
"Damn it! The plan was to move everything to the outer house yesterday, or at least half of it, but... how could Gu Qingwan act so quickly, and while I was away? What were you all doing! You couldn't even stop her from bringing people in!"
Chunlu, who was standing nearby, suffered the consequences. Gu Hanjiao pinched her several times for no reason, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Please forgive me, Miss! Please forgive me, Miss! I didn't know either!"
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! What do you know! All you know is eating! You're as stupid as a pig!" Gu Hanjiao scolded and quickened her pace.
Chunlu bit her lip, her eyes filled with tears, afraid to blink, lest the tears fall and upset Gu Hanjiao, who would then torment her even more. But through those tears, one could see that Chunlu's eyes were filled with hatred.
“Mrs. Fang didn’t expect that Grandmother would send you here in person this time. You’re getting old, it’s time for me to run errands.”
Gu Qingwan knew that someone from the Ning family would be coming today, but she was surprised to find that it was Fang Mama, the most capable person by her maternal grandmother's side.
"Oh, Miss, what are you saying? This old servant missed you, so I volunteered to come. You didn't go back yesterday, and the old lady kept nagging about it."
"It'll be soon. I won't go out anymore and will stick to my grandmother every day. I hope she won't get tired of it."