Gu Cheng Yao wanted to explain himself but the words couldn’t leave his mouth. When Lin Wei Xi saw how quiet he was, she became bitterly disappointed. She smiled grimly and didn’t want to look at him anymore. She walked around him and looked at the Granny who was bowed on the other side of the partition, trying in vain to hide herself, “I’d just taught you a lesson earlier today and this is how you reflect? Not only did you not admit your mistakes, you brought an inner courtyard matter to Shizi and even provoked him to argue with me. Your trickery is truly astounding!”
The estate granny had long been afraid to look up. When she heard Lin Wei Xi’s frosty words, her legs trembled with fright and she knelt down, “Princess Consort, please calm your anger. This slave doesn’t dare incite conflict between Shizi and Princess Consort! This slave just didn’t have any other option. This slave’s entire family is bound to the Prince Yan Residence and two generations of our family have served the residence for ten years. If the Princess Consort drives us out, we don’t even have land and no way to make a living. Our only option is to starve to death!”
Lin Wei Xi laughed angrily, “So you’re going to blame me?”
Gu Cheng Yao didn’t like her expression for some reason. He said, “I met them by chance, so I brought them over to clarify the situation. Don’t drag them in.”
He should’ve stayed silent. As soon as he opened his mouth, Lin Wei Xi’s anger, which she’d suppressed with great difficulty, came rushing back. The one she wanted to scold the most out of everyone here was Gu Cheng Yao.
“By chance? Shizi, say that again? I dare you to say that these slaves didn’t wag their tongues in front of you before you entered the room.”
“I… ” Gu Cheng Yao was at a loss for words. Granny Bu had indeed informed him of this and the manager had taken the opportunity to complain. He knew that they might harbour ulterior motives. But Lin Wei Xi had postponed the submission of the estate offerings and even fired the manager because the weather was so cold that the fishery froze over. It was too arbitrary and callous.
Shizi and the Princess Consort clashed with each other. All the maids in the room bowed their heads and held their breath. Only Granny Bu looked around feeling proud of herself. She stepped forward and said, “Princess Consort, this old slave knows that you’re young and full of life and want to achieve something for everyone to see. But no matter how urgent it is, there’s no reason to harm our own people, let alone loyal servants who’ve served the residence for more than ten years. If Princess Consort sends them away, it will frighten the servants.”
Lin Wei Xi ignored Granny Bu and looked straight at Gu Cheng Yao, “do you think so too?”
Gu Cheng Yao wanted to say yes, but seeing Lin Wei Xi’s disappointed and cold gaze, he couldn’t speak for some reason. Granny Bu was like his mother. She’d done her best for him all these years, so of course she wouldn’t lie. Furthermore, Gao Ran had agreed with her. So after listening to the two of them, Gu Cheng Yao’s first reaction was that Lin Wei Xi had done something again. After listening to Granny Bu’s report, Gu Cheng Yao couldn’t help but frown. Lin Wei Xi’s punishment was too heavy. After all, she was an old servant who’d served the residence for many years. How could she be sent away just because she said so?
This was Granny Bu’s, or perhaps Gao Ran’s brilliance. They didn’t directly say that Lin Wei Xi wanted to overturn the regulations left by Princess Consort Shen, but went around and used the previous matter as a tool to block her. As long as Lin Wei Xi’s punishment was turned down, would anyone follow her changes for the New Year’s feast menu?
Lin Wei Xi laughed, full of doubt. At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside the door and the person who stood at the doorway bowed and said, “Miss.”
She restrained her anger and said, “Come in.”
Gu Cheng Yao unconsciously frowned. Who was this person to actually call Lin Wei Xi ‘Miss’ and not ‘Princess Consort’? When the person entered, he only kowtowed to Lin Wei Xi. She pointed her finger at Gu Cheng Yao and said, “Don’t be rude. This is the Prince Yan Residence’s Shizi.”
Only then did the person greet him. No one knew who this person was to have the cheek to be so arrogant. Lin Wei Xi explained, “This is a vassal under the Marquis Zhongyong Residence who manages the estate in the suburbs for me. Coincidentally, he also manages the southern suburbs, including Daxing County.”
Only then did Gu Cheng Yao remember that when the imperial court conferred Lin Yong as Marquis Zhongyong, aside from thousands of acres of fertile fields, he was also bestowed some slaves. This was most likely one of them. It wasn’t just Gu Cheng Yao, everyone else was in a daze. Although Lin Wei Xi brought an astronomical dowry with her when she married into the residence, everyone in the residence was still under the impression that she was a helpless orphan. They’d almost forgotten that she was also the daughter of a Marquis.
Lin Wei Xi continued, “After I received the estate manager’s report this morning, I felt it was strange. My estate is around the same location, so why is it fine? I sent someone to notify the estate in the southern suburbs and had them take a trip to the Prince Yan Residence estate.”
The estate Granny’s expression changed a bit. The Lin family vassal received the command and said, “This slave received the order from our young lady and came to the residence. It’s true that the fish in the pond aren’t very active, but it’s not because of the cold weather or a disaster. It’s because the estate management is bad. The pond water wasn’t changed for seven to eight days and there is a lot of filth and debris in the water. No wonder the fish aren’t active. If this continues for several more days, I’m afraid all the fish will die.”
After he finished speaking, Lin Wei Xi looked at Gu Cheng Yao, her eyes gleaming with cynicism, “Do you understand now? I didn’t abuse the servants. They were the ones who deceived their master to line their own pockets! The estate ended up like this under their management and with the excuse of a cold wave, actually asked me for a hundred taels of silver to solve this crisis. Shizi, should we be sympathetic to such a slave and not severely punish them?”
Gu Cheng Yao watched the estate Granny shiver and tremble as she knelt on the ground, and didn’t dare reply. There was nothing left to understand right now. If the vassal were lying, the estate Granny would’ve jumped up long ago to make a fuss. But she didn’t dare do anything, which meant this was true.
Gu Cheng Yao suddenly doubted himself tremendously. Before he came here, he genuinely thought that Lin Wei Xi had gone astray and he was here to correct her. But in a short period of time, it was verified that it wasn’t Lin Wei Xi who was harsh, but him who was ignorant. He’d been deceived by a few wicked slaves into running around in circles!
Gu Cheng Yao’s expression didn’t look good. Granny Bu felt something was wrong and ditched her original plan. She hurriedly stepped forward and said, “This Granny is too deceitful. Shizi is sincere and benevolent, and never expected that she’d lie so outrageously today! But in the end this granny was just an excuse. Because of her, the Princess Consort took her anger out on everyone, and even wanted to get rid of the rules and regulations meticulously set by Princess Consort Shen. How is that reasonable?
Lin Wei Xi snorted. When she looked at Gu Cheng Yao, her eyes contained a mocking smile, “does Shizi also feel the same way? As long as it’s something your birth mother left behind, I can’t change it?”
Gu Cheng Yao’s throat seemed to be blocked. He indeed respected his birth mother, but he was different from Granny Bu and the other womenfolk. He didn’t regard the rules left by Princess Consort Shen as important. Now that Lin Wei Xi was the Princess Consort, she should change them if she wanted to. Gu Cheng Yao more or less understood why Granny Bu especially came to find him today. It wasn’t about feeling sorry for people who were barely getting by, nor was it being unable to see her friends get hurt. Granny Bu clearly did this for the power she held. The shock Gu Cheng Yao felt couldn’t be described with words. How could the Granny Bu that he’d respected and trusted since he was a child do such a thing? Had a similar situation happened before?
Granny Bu started panicking when Gu Cheng Yao stayed silent for a long time. Gao Ran originally planned to hide behind the scenes but got really angry when she saw Granny Bu making things worse. The room was in a mess when suddenly, a powerful and dignified voice sounded from outside, “What are all of you doing?”
Prince Yan?!
Everyone was startled. When had Prince Yan returned? To everyone’s surprise, there’d been no announcement about his arrival at all. Everyone in the room hurried to school their expressions and turned around to greet him in a flurry. Lin Wei Xi was also surprised. She walked past the bookcase and stood by the table to give a Wanfu salute. Gu Cheng Yao happened to be standing near her, so the two of them seemed to salute side by side.
This was what Gu Hui Yan saw when he entered the room. His heart sank for some reason and without being aware of it, his subconscious mind completely and utterly rejected this. He inexplicably felt a kind of unnatural anger, an anger that came so fast, he didn’t even have time to suppress it under his usual calm demeanour.
Everyone in the room clearly felt Prince Yan’s imposing manner become increasingly terrifying after he entered the room. They didn’t dare look around but had many conjectures about this rarely seen anger. Granny Bu felt a glimmer of hope and Gao Ran was even more ecstatic. She’d guessed right. Prince Yan really held deep affections for his previous wife and Lin Wei Xi, who’d rashly touched Princess Consort Shen’s things, had triggered a land mine.
Of course Lin Wei Xi also noticed the change in Gu Hui Yan’s mood. What was even more unimaginable was that something seemed to attract his attention after he glanced in her direction. There was only her and Gu Cheng Yao here. Who was he looking at? Could it be that she’d been too careless and Prince Yan preferred his son over her without hesitation?
Lin Wei Xi remained crouched, feeling confused. Fortunately, Gu Hui Yan withdrew his oppressive aura in an instant and returned to being His Highness Prince Yan who could remain calm and steady in the face of any situation. He glanced at Lin Wei Xi and Gu Cheng Yao, but still felt it was too offensive to his eyes and said, “Get up.”
Only then did Lin Wei Xi stand up. After she stood up, she realized that Gu Cheng Yao was actually standing by her shoulder. Lin Wei Xi rolled her eyes inwardly and immediately pretended to accidentally step back.
Although Gu Hui Yan indifferently looked forward, he was constantly paying attention to this area. The unfathomable and unnatural fire in his heart settled down and he stood in the middle of the hall. A maid gathered her courage to bring Gu Hui Yan a chair, but was stopped by him. He glanced across the quiet room and asked again, “What’s going on here?”
Granny Zhao looked around in confusion but Granny Bu kept calm as she lowered her head silently. Gao Ran glanced at Granny Bu, her eyes calculating. Everyone had a lot of small tricks, but no one dared to speak.
Lin Wei Xi only struggled for a moment, before stepping forward and whispering, “my Prince… “
Gu Hui Yan finally had a chance to say this. He opened his palm to Lin Wei Xi and said heavily, “Come here.”
She didn’t even think about it before quickly walking past the crowd towards Gu Hui Yan. Gu Cheng Yao stayed where he was. She seemed to stir a gentle whirlpool when she walked past him. Coincidentally, the lampstand next to the table flickered and seemed to dim as she walked away.
Since Gu Hui Yan entered the room, Gu Cheng Yao hadn’t said a word. He didn’t have time to react before Lin Wei Xi, who’d been squabbling with him just now, quickly walked past him towards his father without hesitation. Gu Hui Yan opened his palms, and when Lin Wei Xi neared him, she was gracefully pulled into his embrace, unable to resist.
Gu Hui Yan lowered his head. He said the same words as before, but his tone had dropped several levels, “What’s going on here?”
Lin Wei Xi glanced at the estate Granny who was prostrating on the ground, and then at Granny Bu, whose expression was tense and righteous. She felt her tone was frosty and cold, but to Gu Hui Yan she sounded like she was complaining about her grievances, “Today, the Granny from southern Daxing County came to deliver offerings from the estate. She was incompetent but wanted to use her master’s silver to cover up her misdeeds. I removed her from her managerial position. I never thought that in the same afternoon, they’d bring Shizi over and say that I treated her unjustly.”
Lin Wei Xi’s remarks were fair and just, but when Gu Hui Yan looked at her tone and expression, he felt that what was written on her face was, “my Prince, they bullied me.”
It was true that Gu Hui Yan was often absent from the residence these few years, but it’d be a huge mistake to think that he knew nothing about the residence. After all, the residence had Prince Yan in its name. Since young, he’d been immersed in the art of war and politics, but how could he neglect control over his own house? He knew very well the ins and outs of what Granny Bu and others had been up to. He used to think that it wasn’t important enough compared to the war and government affairs at hand, that it really wasn’t worth diverting his attention to. But it’d be too arrogant and stupid to try in vain to use underhanded tricks because they’d been deceived into thinking that he knew nothing.
Gu Cheng Yao wanted to explain himself but the words couldn’t leave his mouth. When Lin Wei Xi saw how quiet he was, she became bitterly disappointed. She smiled grimly and didn’t want to look at him anymore. She walked around him and looked at the Granny who was bowed on the other side of the partition, trying in vain to hide herself, “I’d just taught you a lesson earlier today and this is how you reflect? Not only did you not admit your mistakes, you brought an inner courtyard matter to Shizi and even provoked him to argue with me. Your trickery is truly astounding!”
The estate granny had long been afraid to look up. When she heard Lin Wei Xi’s frosty words, her legs trembled with fright and she knelt down, “Princess Consort, please calm your anger. This slave doesn’t dare incite conflict between Shizi and Princess Consort! This slave just didn’t have any other option. This slave’s entire family is bound to the Prince Yan Residence and two generations of our family have served the residence for ten years. If the Princess Consort drives us out, we don’t even have land and no way to make a living. Our only option is to starve to death!”
Lin Wei Xi laughed angrily, “So you’re going to blame me?”
Gu Cheng Yao didn’t like her expression for some reason. He said, “I met them by chance, so I brought them over to clarify the situation. Don’t drag them in.”
He should’ve stayed silent. As soon as he opened his mouth, Lin Wei Xi’s anger, which she’d suppressed with great difficulty, came rushing back. The one she wanted to scold the most out of everyone here was Gu Cheng Yao.
“By chance? Shizi, say that again? I dare you to say that these slaves didn’t wag their tongues in front of you before you entered the room.”
“I… ” Gu Cheng Yao was at a loss for words. Granny Bu had indeed informed him of this and the manager had taken the opportunity to complain. He knew that they might harbour ulterior motives. But Lin Wei Xi had postponed the submission of the estate offerings and even fired the manager because the weather was so cold that the fishery froze over. It was too arbitrary and callous.
Shizi and the Princess Consort clashed with each other. All the maids in the room bowed their heads and held their breath. Only Granny Bu looked around feeling proud of herself. She stepped forward and said, “Princess Consort, this old slave knows that you’re young and full of life and want to achieve something for everyone to see. But no matter how urgent it is, there’s no reason to harm our own people, let alone loyal servants who’ve served the residence for more than ten years. If Princess Consort sends them away, it will frighten the servants.”
Lin Wei Xi ignored Granny Bu and looked straight at Gu Cheng Yao, “do you think so too?”
Gu Cheng Yao wanted to say yes, but seeing Lin Wei Xi’s disappointed and cold gaze, he couldn’t speak for some reason. Granny Bu was like his mother. She’d done her best for him all these years, so of course she wouldn’t lie. Furthermore, Gao Ran had agreed with her. So after listening to the two of them, Gu Cheng Yao’s first reaction was that Lin Wei Xi had done something again. After listening to Granny Bu’s report, Gu Cheng Yao couldn’t help but frown. Lin Wei Xi’s punishment was too heavy. After all, she was an old servant who’d served the residence for many years. How could she be sent away just because she said so?
This was Granny Bu’s, or perhaps Gao Ran’s brilliance. They didn’t directly say that Lin Wei Xi wanted to overturn the regulations left by Princess Consort Shen, but went around and used the previous matter as a tool to block her. As long as Lin Wei Xi’s punishment was turned down, would anyone follow her changes for the New Year’s feast menu?
Lin Wei Xi laughed, full of doubt. At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside the door and the person who stood at the doorway bowed and said, “Miss.”
She restrained her anger and said, “Come in.”
Gu Cheng Yao unconsciously frowned. Who was this person to actually call Lin Wei Xi ‘Miss’ and not ‘Princess Consort’? When the person entered, he only kowtowed to Lin Wei Xi. She pointed her finger at Gu Cheng Yao and said, “Don’t be rude. This is the Prince Yan Residence’s Shizi.”
Only then did the person greet him. No one knew who this person was to have the cheek to be so arrogant. Lin Wei Xi explained, “This is a vassal under the Marquis Zhongyong Residence who manages the estate in the suburbs for me. Coincidentally, he also manages the southern suburbs, including Daxing County.”
Only then did Gu Cheng Yao remember that when the imperial court conferred Lin Yong as Marquis Zhongyong, aside from thousands of acres of fertile fields, he was also bestowed some slaves. This was most likely one of them. It wasn’t just Gu Cheng Yao, everyone else was in a daze. Although Lin Wei Xi brought an astronomical dowry with her when she married into the residence, everyone in the residence was still under the impression that she was a helpless orphan. They’d almost forgotten that she was also the daughter of a Marquis.
Lin Wei Xi continued, “After I received the estate manager’s report this morning, I felt it was strange. My estate is around the same location, so why is it fine? I sent someone to notify the estate in the southern suburbs and had them take a trip to the Prince Yan Residence estate.”
The estate Granny’s expression changed a bit. The Lin family vassal received the command and said, “This slave received the order from our young lady and came to the residence. It’s true that the fish in the pond aren’t very active, but it’s not because of the cold weather or a disaster. It’s because the estate management is bad. The pond water wasn’t changed for seven to eight days and there is a lot of filth and debris in the water. No wonder the fish aren’t active. If this continues for several more days, I’m afraid all the fish will die.”
After he finished speaking, Lin Wei Xi looked at Gu Cheng Yao, her eyes gleaming with cynicism, “Do you understand now? I didn’t abuse the servants. They were the ones who deceived their master to line their own pockets! The estate ended up like this under their management and with the excuse of a cold wave, actually asked me for a hundred taels of silver to solve this crisis. Shizi, should we be sympathetic to such a slave and not severely punish them?”
Gu Cheng Yao watched the estate Granny shiver and tremble as she knelt on the ground, and didn’t dare reply. There was nothing left to understand right now. If the vassal were lying, the estate Granny would’ve jumped up long ago to make a fuss. But she didn’t dare do anything, which meant this was true.
Gu Cheng Yao suddenly doubted himself tremendously. Before he came here, he genuinely thought that Lin Wei Xi had gone astray and he was here to correct her. But in a short period of time, it was verified that it wasn’t Lin Wei Xi who was harsh, but him who was ignorant. He’d been deceived by a few wicked slaves into running around in circles!
Gu Cheng Yao’s expression didn’t look good. Granny Bu felt something was wrong and ditched her original plan. She hurriedly stepped forward and said, “This Granny is too deceitful. Shizi is sincere and benevolent, and never expected that she’d lie so outrageously today! But in the end this granny was just an excuse. Because of her, the Princess Consort took her anger out on everyone, and even wanted to get rid of the rules and regulations meticulously set by Princess Consort Shen. How is that reasonable?
Lin Wei Xi snorted. When she looked at Gu Cheng Yao, her eyes contained a mocking smile, “does Shizi also feel the same way? As long as it’s something your birth mother left behind, I can’t change it?”
Gu Cheng Yao’s throat seemed to be blocked. He indeed respected his birth mother, but he was different from Granny Bu and the other womenfolk. He didn’t regard the rules left by Princess Consort Shen as important. Now that Lin Wei Xi was the Princess Consort, she should change them if she wanted to. Gu Cheng Yao more or less understood why Granny Bu especially came to find him today. It wasn’t about feeling sorry for people who were barely getting by, nor was it being unable to see her friends get hurt. Granny Bu clearly did this for the power she held. The shock Gu Cheng Yao felt couldn’t be described with words. How could the Granny Bu that he’d respected and trusted since he was a child do such a thing? Had a similar situation happened before?
Granny Bu started panicking when Gu Cheng Yao stayed silent for a long time. Gao Ran originally planned to hide behind the scenes but got really angry when she saw Granny Bu making things worse. The room was in a mess when suddenly, a powerful and dignified voice sounded from outside, “What are all of you doing?”
Prince Yan?!
Everyone was startled. When had Prince Yan returned? To everyone’s surprise, there’d been no announcement about his arrival at all. Everyone in the room hurried to school their expressions and turned around to greet him in a flurry. Lin Wei Xi was also surprised. She walked past the bookcase and stood by the table to give a Wanfu salute. Gu Cheng Yao happened to be standing near her, so the two of them seemed to salute side by side.
This was what Gu Hui Yan saw when he entered the room. His heart sank for some reason and without being aware of it, his subconscious mind completely and utterly rejected this. He inexplicably felt a kind of unnatural anger, an anger that came so fast, he didn’t even have time to suppress it under his usual calm demeanour.
Everyone in the room clearly felt Prince Yan’s imposing manner become increasingly terrifying after he entered the room. They didn’t dare look around but had many conjectures about this rarely seen anger. Granny Bu felt a glimmer of hope and Gao Ran was even more ecstatic. She’d guessed right. Prince Yan really held deep affections for his previous wife and Lin Wei Xi, who’d rashly touched Princess Consort Shen’s things, had triggered a land mine.
Of course Lin Wei Xi also noticed the change in Gu Hui Yan’s mood. What was even more unimaginable was that something seemed to attract his attention after he glanced in her direction. There was only her and Gu Cheng Yao here. Who was he looking at? Could it be that she’d been too careless and Prince Yan preferred his son over her without hesitation?
Lin Wei Xi remained crouched, feeling confused. Fortunately, Gu Hui Yan withdrew his oppressive aura in an instant and returned to being His Highness Prince Yan who could remain calm and steady in the face of any situation. He glanced at Lin Wei Xi and Gu Cheng Yao, but still felt it was too offensive to his eyes and said, “Get up.”
Only then did Lin Wei Xi stand up. After she stood up, she realized that Gu Cheng Yao was actually standing by her shoulder. Lin Wei Xi rolled her eyes inwardly and immediately pretended to accidentally step back.
Although Gu Hui Yan indifferently looked forward, he was constantly paying attention to this area. The unfathomable and unnatural fire in his heart settled down and he stood in the middle of the hall. A maid gathered her courage to bring Gu Hui Yan a chair, but was stopped by him. He glanced across the quiet room and asked again, “What’s going on here?”
Granny Zhao looked around in confusion but Granny Bu kept calm as she lowered her head silently. Gao Ran glanced at Granny Bu, her eyes calculating. Everyone had a lot of small tricks, but no one dared to speak.
Lin Wei Xi only struggled for a moment, before stepping forward and whispering, “my Prince… “
Gu Hui Yan finally had a chance to say this. He opened his palm to Lin Wei Xi and said heavily, “Come here.”
She didn’t even think about it before quickly walking past the crowd towards Gu Hui Yan. Gu Cheng Yao stayed where he was. She seemed to stir a gentle whirlpool when she walked past him. Coincidentally, the lampstand next to the table flickered and seemed to dim as she walked away.
Since Gu Hui Yan entered the room, Gu Cheng Yao hadn’t said a word. He didn’t have time to react before Lin Wei Xi, who’d been squabbling with him just now, quickly walked past him towards his father without hesitation. Gu Hui Yan opened his palms, and when Lin Wei Xi neared him, she was gracefully pulled into his embrace, unable to resist.
Gu Hui Yan lowered his head. He said the same words as before, but his tone had dropped several levels, “What’s going on here?”
Lin Wei Xi glanced at the estate Granny who was prostrating on the ground, and then at Granny Bu, whose expression was tense and righteous. She felt her tone was frosty and cold, but to Gu Hui Yan she sounded like she was complaining about her grievances, “Today, the Granny from southern Daxing County came to deliver offerings from the estate. She was incompetent but wanted to use her master’s silver to cover up her misdeeds. I removed her from her managerial position. I never thought that in the same afternoon, they’d bring Shizi over and say that I treated her unjustly.”
Lin Wei Xi’s remarks were fair and just, but when Gu Hui Yan looked at her tone and expression, he felt that what was written on her face was, “my Prince, they bullied me.”
It was true that Gu Hui Yan was often absent from the residence these few years, but it’d be a huge mistake to think that he knew nothing about the residence. After all, the residence had Prince Yan in its name. Since young, he’d been immersed in the art of war and politics, but how could he neglect control over his own house? He knew very well the ins and outs of what Granny Bu and others had been up to. He used to think that it wasn’t important enough compared to the war and government affairs at hand, that it really wasn’t worth diverting his attention to. But it’d be too arrogant and stupid to try in vain to use underhanded tricks because they’d been deceived into thinking that he knew nothing.
