Chapter 681: Not Disdaining a Down-and-Out Relative [Thanks! Thanks again! 37 chapters owed]

Morning.

The sky was clear blue, and the morning sun was just rising.

In the backyard of the Sheng family residence in Jingying Lane, the spring scenery was bright and clear.

"Chirp, chirp."

Two birds stood on a branch, chirping crisply.

"Creak."

The window sash was pushed open from the inside. Wei Shuyi, standing before the window, looked at the scenery in the garden, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Da Niangzi, this servant is going to the main kitchen."

Wei Shuyi turned her head: "Mm, Qiujiang, see that you bring back more food. What we ate yesterday wasn't quite enough for the two of us."

"Sigh, this servant understands."

After speaking, Wei Shuyi turned back to continue standing before the window, gazing toward the distant eaves, green trees, and the vaguely visible city wall.

While gazing into the distance, Wei Shuyi would also look at the birds in the courtyard, her line of sight moving as the birds moved.

The room door opened, and the maid Qiujiang carried a food box as she walked toward the main kitchen.

After resting her eyes for a while, Wei Shuyi sat on the embroidery stool before the embroidery frame, pondered for a moment while holding the embroidery needle, and then began to embroider intently.

A quarter of an hour later,

"Da Niangzi, this servant has returned." Qiujiang said as she entered the room.

"Mm."

Wei Shuyi gave a hum without lifting her head.

Placing the food box on the table, Qiujiang smiled: "Da Niangzi, when I was coming over just now, Caihuan, who is by the Eldest Madam's side, told me that the Ni family has sent a post to our residence, saying they want to come over this morning."

Wei Shuyi stopped the work in her hands, turned to look at Qiujiang, and smiled: "Xiaodie is coming?"

"Yes, Da Niangzi."

Hearing this, Wei Shuyi put away the embroidery needle and stood up with a smile to walk to the table.

Early Si hour (after 9:00 AM)

Xiaodie lowered her head as she passed through the door curtain and walked out of Shou'an Hall.

After leaving the room, Xiaodie nodded: "Cui Cui Mama, please don't see me off. Just let this younger sister lead me over."

Cui Cui Mama smiled: "Eh, that won't do. Xiaodie, you are now the Eldest Madam of the Ni family; how could I let a little maid lead the way? Besides, this is what the Old Madam ordered."

Upon hearing this, Xiaodie smiled: "Then I will trouble you."

"Eldest Madam, what are you saying? Please."

As they spoke, Xiaodie led a maid carrying a bundle and walked toward Jin'an Study.

After arriving and exchanging pleasantries, Cui Cui Mama returned to Shou'an Hall.

Xiaodie, meanwhile, took Wei Shuyi's arm and entered the room.

"Give me the bundle, and you go accompany younger sister Qiujiang in the courtyard."

Xiaodie said, reaching out.

"Yes, Eldest Madam."

The Ni family maid bowed and exited the room.

After pouring a cup of tea, Wei Shuyi looked at Xiaodie, who was unwrapping the bundle, and smiled: "Why did you send the maid away?"

Xiaodie smiled. After unwrapping the two layers of the tied bundle, she took out a pouch from the very inside.

Opening the pouch, Xiaodie pinched out an object and smiled: "Da Niangzi, look."

"Is this a gold ring?" Wei Shuyi said with some confusion.

Xiaodie nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Da Niangzi! The embroidery piece you gave me at the beginning of the month was taken a fancy to by a woman who often does business in the inner courtyards of high-ranking families, and it sold for an excellent price."

"Along with the silver sold last month, I exchanged it for gold and had a gold ring cast for you."

Wei Shuyi shook her head: "Two embroidery pieces in total, how could there be so much gold?"

Xiaodie turned to look around. Seeing no one nearby, she leaned toward Wei Shuyi and said in an extremely low voice: "Da Niangzi, I suspect that the one from the beginning of the month was bought by some noble family, who took your embroidery piece and treated it as their own legitimate daughter's work, displaying it to make it convenient to discuss marriage."

Wei Shuyi frowned: "This, Xiaodie, how did you guess that?"

Xiaodie smiled and said: "There are many such things in the capital; it's just that you, Da Niangzi, don't know about them. Who knows, there might be more business coming in the future."

Wei Shuyi nodded repeatedly, then said with concern: "In doing such business, Xiaodie, you must still be very careful in your heart. It is better to say less than to say more."

"Da Niangzi, I understand. You should put it away quickly! Besides, my family is not without foundation; nothing will happen." Xiaodie added.

"Good!" After Wei Shuyi nodded, she stood up: "Come, look at this new one I'm embroidering."

Walking to the embroidery frame and looking at the semi-finished product, Xiaodie's eyes were full of surprise: "Da Niangzi, is this a jade-faced civet cat you are embroidering?" (Three-colored cat)

"Mm! How is it?"

Xiaodie withdrew her gaze from the embroidery and smiled: "Da Niangzi, once this embroidery piece comes out, I'm afraid the threshold of my shop will be trampled flat."

Wei Shuyi shook her head and smiled: "How could that be?"

Xiaodie frowned: "Da Niangzi, you don't know how sought-after such embroidery is in the capital."

As she spoke, Xiaodie glanced outside the room and said indignantly: "Hmph, even if Master Sheng is biased toward that Lin Qige, you have me! The two of us will definitely be able to set up an industry for the Sixth Da Niangzi and the Seventh Young Master."

Wei Shuyi looked at Xiaodie: "You are now a mother yourself, and an eldest sister-in-law! Don't always think of me; you must think more of the children."

Xiaodie nodded: "Da Niangzi, I know."

Wei Shuyi nodded and smiled: "In a few days, the Third Da Niangzi of the Ningyuan Marquis's Gu family will be married. Will you be going?"

"Mm! My eldest sister-in-law will be taking me." After Xiaodie finished speaking, she looked at Wei Shuyi's movements and hurriedly reached out to press her hand, saying: "Da Niangzi, don't worry. All the congratulatory gifts have already been prepared by my sister-in-law; I'm just going along to go through the motions."

Wei Shuyi looked down at the back of Xiaodie's hand and said: "In such matters, it is always bad to keep letting a sister who has become someone else's daughter-in-law spend money. I will finish embroidering this piece as soon as possible, and once it's sold for money, you must also show some gesture to your eldest sister-in-law."

Xiaodie hurriedly nodded: "Good, Da Niangzi, I will remember."

Mid-April,

On this day,

Xingguo Lane, Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion.

Although the wedding was still a day away, the entire Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion had already been busy for several days.

Many precious ingredients were placed in ice chests and transported to the Marquis's Mansion, prepared for the banquet the next day.

Fortunately, because of Gu Tingye's wedding before, the Marquis's Mansion could be considered busy but not chaotic.

Gu Tingyi's maternal grandfather's Bai family was a wealthy family in Yang Zhou Prefecture, and the Bai clan had brought countless dowries back then.

Bai Shi clan's dowry filled the holes in the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion. Apart from some expenses that were wasted, much of it was invested in businesses where the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion had put in a lot of silver.

Because the imperial court required the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion to return silver at that time, the businesses that had invested money faced a shortage of funds and could not continue, turning into deficits for no reason.

And with the support of the Bai clan's mountain of gold and sea of silver dowry, those businesses could naturally continue. Over so many years, the Bai clan had long since recouped their capital and earned quite a bit more.

Old Master Bai of Yang Zhou had only one daughter, the Bai clan, so the salt farms and shops in the future would naturally be the Bai clan's as well.

Among the group of noble ladies, titled ladies, and official wives in the capital, there were really few whose family wealth could compare with the Bai clan's; only the Chai family, the Xiangyang Marquis's Mansion, and the Liang family could be mentioned.

Previously, the Bai clan had pulled the Sun clan into many businesses, allowing the Xu family's family power to improve. Now that the Xu family had the preferential treatment of selling horses, the Bai clan naturally had a share in it, and the annual dividends were also quite substantial.

Evening,

Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion,

In the main hall of the backyard,

Ningyuan Hou Gu Yanka stroked his beard with a beaming smile, looking at his granddaughter Yan Jie'er, who was talking in the hall.

"I just rolled on the bed and shouted out the auspicious words I had memorized, and that lady gave me these gold beans."

"Hahaha, my Yan Jie'er is truly amazing." Gu Yanka smiled and opened his arms: "Come, come to Grandfather here."

"There was also a little older sister in the Huang family who kept staring straight at Brother, making Brother shy." Yan Jie'er, sitting on Gu Yanka's lap, continued.

"Hiss, which family's young lady is that?" Bai Shi clan looked suspiciously at Mother Chang, who had gone to the Huang family's shop.

Mother Chang squeezed out a smile: "Madam, it is the young lady of the Yuan family, a relative of the Earl of Shoushan."

Gu Tingye, sitting to the side, had his smile freeze on his face, and he frowned: "Yuan, how did their family come!"

The Ningyuan Marquis glared at his son: "This Huang family really doesn't disdain a down-and-out relative."

Gu Tingye curled his lips, but was glared at by Yu Yanran, who was to the side.

Bai Shi clan also nodded: "The Marquis is right. I heard the Sun family sister say before that the Yuan family father and son are doing quite well in the Northwest now."

The Ningyuan Marquis said: "Mm, I have also heard of it! It's a pity that their reputation is ruined. Even if they do well, their official positions might rise, but there is no hope for the restoration of their title."

Everyone in the hall nodded.

Pingmei, holding her son Xing Ge'er, looked at Gu Tingyi, who was somewhat distracted, and gave her mother-in-law, the Bai clan, a look.

Bai Shi clan, having received the look, was startled and followed Pingmei's gaze to look at her youngest daughter.

Subsequently, the Bai clan stood up and said: "Marquis, I will take Yi'er to her room first."

Gu Yanka looked at Gu Tingyi kindly and nodded: "Good."

"Yanran, let's go."

As she spoke, Pingmei handed her son to Qingxia and accompanied the Bai clan and her sister-in-law Tingyi to leave the hall together with Yanran.

On the way back,

Lanterns were hung everywhere in the courtyard, and servants were still walking back and forth, busy with the work in their hands.

Seeing the Bai clan's group, they would all stop and bow to pay respects.

Along the way in silence, the group entered Gu Tingyi's room.

Inside the room,

The magnificent wedding dress was held by a clothes rack and placed to the side.

Various jewelry to be worn the next day were also placed in order on the table.

After entering the room and sitting down, Pingmei and Yanran smiled and said a few words to Tingyi, then left with the maids.

Only the Bai clan, Mother Chang, Gu Tingyi, and her personal maid remained in the room.

Bai Shi clan glanced at the table under the candlelight, where a precious wooden box the size of a food box was placed, containing Gu Tingyi's dowry.

In the morning, the Bai clan had already roughly told Gu Tingyi about the various land deeds and house deeds in the wooden box.

Withdrawing her gaze, the Bai clan looked at her only daughter before her, reached out to touch Gu Tingyi's cheek, and sighed: "In the blink of an eye, you have grown so big."

"When I was pregnant with you back then, those two boys, Ye Ge'er and Jing Ge'er, were both children with braids."

"Think about it, when your maternal grandfather rushed from Yang Zhou to Bianjing thousands of miles away, you had already come into this world."

Mother Chang, who heard this to the side, also had quite a look of reminiscence on her face.

Gu Tingyi rubbed her cheek against the Bai clan's palm and said: "Mother, why are you so sentimental today? When you saw the Pei Erge marrying the sister-in-law, you were very happy."

Bai Shi clan rubbed Gu Tingyi's tender face with her thumb and said: "Can marrying off a daughter be the same as taking in a daughter-in-law?"

"By the way, the family property your maternal grandfather gave you is of great value, but it is a bit far from Bianjing. Remember to have people check it often to avoid any trouble."

"Mother, daughter knows."

Bai Shi clan nodded and continued: "Your eldest sister-in-law, Pingmei, apart from the things she gave you, also specially asked the family's horse official to select a few good horses from the North."

Gu Tingyi raised her eyebrows and said with a smile on her lips: "I thought she would choose a horse from the Xu family brother."

Bai Shi clan glared at Gu Tingyi: "Xing Ge'er has an excellent horse there, and in a few years, it will be able to reproduce the next generation. When the time comes, if you want one, I will just save a foal for you. Why must you look at Jing Ge'er's few fine horses?"

"The Xu family brother's horses are good! If they weren't good, daughter wouldn't even look at them!"

Bai Shi clan, hearing this, shook her head helplessly and said: "Yi'er, do you know why your sister-in-law sent you horses?"

Gu Tingyi's expression became more serious, and she nodded: "Mother, daughter knows. If I am wronged at the Earl of Shoushan's mansion, I should let a little servant ride a horse back to report the news."

Bai Shi clan smiled: "Right! That's it!"

"Now your father and brother are in their prime, your own brother seems to have some prospects in the imperial examination, and your two sisters-in-law are not ordinary people."

"Although you must respect your elders and love your juniors in your husband's family, you cannot be a punching bag! You are not marrying up."

"If there is really anything, just return to your maiden home, and Mother will make the decision for you."

"Also, that boy has a very good relationship with the Duke of England's mansion and is the deputy of the Duke's heir, but our family's relatives are not bad either."

"Your own brother and Jing Ge, who grew up together, both made contributions in Beizhou; they are amazing."

Looking at the nagging Bai clan, Gu Tingyi's nose felt slightly sour. After gripping the Bai clan's palm tightly, she said: "Mother, daughter has a very good relationship with the Zhang family's Fifth Da Niangzi! It's not like you don't know the position of the Fifth Da Niangzi in the hearts of the Duke and Duchess of England. Where would I need the Pei Erge and Jing Ge."

Bai Shi clan took a deep breath, nodded with a smile: "Right, Yi'er, you are right."

Taking another deep breath, the Bai clan said: "Speaking of which, Jing Ge'er, this boy, also treats you as his own sister; the congratulatory gift he sent is quite heavy!"

"There is a big box of all kinds of excellent furs, all looking like tribute quality. I think I didn't dote on him in vain all these years."

Mother Chang had some smiles on her face and said to the Bai clan: "Da Niangzi, the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family has been close to you since he was young. I still remember the scene when he was a full month old and wouldn't let go of you when he held you."

Bai Shi clan, hearing this, had a look of reminiscence in her eyes and smiled: "That was how many years ago."

Gu Tingyi smiled to the side: "Mother, of those two boys from the Xu family, which one is more like the Fifth Xu Brother?"

Bai Shi clan thought for a while, and after looking at Mother Chang, smiled: "Neither Dai Ge'er nor Zhong Ge'er is very much like him; Anmei's son is actually a bit like him."

Mother Chang nodded: "Madam, as the saying goes, a nephew is like his uncle!"

Gu Tingyi, hearing this, had a smile on her face and nodded repeatedly, saying: "Just now Mother said the Fifth Xu Brother's congratulatory gift was quite heavy. I also heard from the eldest sister-in-law that the Xu family set up a separate warehouse, which contains all the Fifth Xu Brother's things. I don't know how many rooms were emptied today."

Mother Chang shook her head with a smile: "Da Niangzi, later when the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family gets married, you will also have to send a gift."

Tingyi was startled and said blankly: "Oh, right!"

As she spoke, Gu Tingyi's eyes turned, and while several ideas flashed in her heart, the faces of two good friends also appeared.

Shaking her head, Gu Tingyi shook out the idea of 'who to send more congratulatory gifts to in the future' and said: "Mother, the things Anmei sister sent are also not few; it looks like she is living very well in the Huyan family."

Bai Shi clan smiled: "It's not like you don't know, that girl Anmei already has six or seven large ocean-going ships under her name, and the hope of the Huyan family's resurgence also lies in Anmei's husband."

Gu Tingyi said: "Mm, daughter heard that Anmei sister's husband is very hardworking."

Bai Shi clan nodded, and after taking a deep breath, looked at Gu Tingyi before her again and said: "Yi'er, there are some things Mother wants to give you."

Mother Chang, hearing this, turned and walked to the side, holding a beautifully decorated scroll and walking over.

Seeing this,

Gu Tingyi's cheeks turned red instantly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 682 =====