Six troubles

  It was just past the hour of the tiger, and the coarse maidservants at De'an's residence had only just opened the door with sleepy eyes when Fourth Miss burst in, her face full of anger. They didn't dare block her way; Fourth Miss was notorious for her bad temper, but Old Mistress doted on her, so naturally the servants below her were accustomed to reading people's faces and acting accordingly, and now they all busied themselves clearing a path for her.

  The old lady lived in a two-story courtyard house, the main hall of the first floor was used to receive guests or occasionally for wine parties. The two side rooms on the east were used to store miscellaneous items, while the two side rooms on the west were where the rough servant and little maid lived.

  Gu Qingfang entered the second gate of the courtyard, and her footsteps became much more restrained. The rough servant women behind her had already stopped in their tracks.

  A little girl came out to greet her and said respectfully: "Fourth Miss has arrived quite early today."

  The old lady's house came out with cats and dogs, others also had to give three points of face, Gu Qing slowed down her expression, forced a smile and said: "Getting up early, having nothing to do, I'll come to serve the old lady."

  Xiao Yatou's face changed, and she hastily flattered: "Fourth Miss is such a filial daughter, Old Lady will be overjoyed if she knew. However, Second Madam and Third Miss have already arrived today, and they are attending to Old Lady's grooming."

  What a coincidence, it just so happens that she is in time to catch this clever trick. She had just been bullied and humiliated by Gu Man, and now Second Madam has arrived with Third Young Miss Gu Zhao. Her resentment towards the second household deepened even further.

  "That's clever, I'll just be lazy today!" After speaking, he rushed to the side and respectfully told Mo Qi: "Reward eight cents of silver for this sister to buy tea."

  Mo Qi hurriedly took out a silver ingot from her purse and handed it to the little maid, while glancing at her own master. She said to the little maid, "Then please trouble Sister to take us to the side hall to wait for Old Lady!"

  Xiao Yatou accepted the silver and was overjoyed, but upon hearing this, she hastily nodded and said: "Of course, Miss, please follow me. I'll go upstairs to ask Huaiyu sister when Old Madame will serve breakfast, then I'll call you."

  Gu Qing nodded and followed the little girl to the side hall to drink tea, but her mind couldn't calm down.

  The second house is actually a good abacus, wanting to please the old lady also depends on whether there is this ability. The old lady has many children, and although the second master is the eldest son of the old lady, he was raised by his grandmother who had passed away since childhood, so his mother-son relationship with the old lady is not considered important. On the other hand, the several sons who grew up in front of the old lady are more loved by her, especially the fifth master, who is simply the apple of the old lady's eye.

  The Second Master has always been unpopular, and it's likely that the people of the second house have also caught on, thinking to come here to win some favor from Old Lady.

  She twisted her handkerchief, thinking of Gu Man's expression just now, and felt uncomfortable. She couldn't help but urge: "Hurry up and see if the old lady has delivered food yet! Since Second Madam wants to show off her virtuous name this time, let's just cooperate with her!"

  Mo Painting suddenly realized that the host's temperament was not to be trifled with, and couldn't help but hesitate. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Miss, is the second lady still in charge of this household? If we were to humiliate her in public, I'm afraid it would be difficult for the lady to do things later."

  The Hou Mansion has not been divided yet, so all five branches of the family still live in the mansion, and their food, clothing, and expenses all come from the common fund.

  Mo Qi saw Gu Qing's hesitant expression and also echoed: "Mo Hua said that there is also a reason, although the second lady has a good temper, but the third girl is not easy to offend. There are times when revenge is sought, and the girl should not take this opportunity to find trouble for the second lady now. The second lady and the lady have been at odds since childhood, are you afraid that the lady will easily let go of the second lady?"

  The maternal family of Madame Gu Yun was the family of Lu Feng, a general of the Liao dynasty who had once been the Marquis of Anping. He was the second son of Lu Mo, and at that time, he was quite famous for a while. However, as the second son, he did not inherit the title, which went to his older brother instead. When his brother inherited the title, General Wu's rank was reduced by one grade, making him only a fifth-grade general. Lu Mozi took the imperial examination himself and became a jinshi. Through his connections with the Dingyuanhou Mansion, he was assigned to the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing as the chief official.

  This time, however, it was because Lu Mo's three-year term had expired and she accompanied him back to the capital to report on his duties.

  This young lady was the darling of the marquis and the old lady before she got married, and at home, she was treated with great respect and luxury. It's not clear whether it's because she looked down on Wang Shi, who had a similar noble status, but when she was at home, she often quarreled with Wang Shi.

  It's said that Lu Mo has been very diligent in the South Mansion for three years, and his political achievements are also impressive. It's likely that he will be promoted soon. With a temperament like that of the young lady, who would let go of the opportunity to suppress the Wang family when she's on top? Gu Qing smiled with satisfaction, and upon hearing that dinner had been served in the old lady's quarters from a little maid outside, she took Mo Qi and Mo Hua there.

  When she arrived, Wang was standing behind the old lady, serving her food and drink. Seeing her come in, he smiled and said, "Fourth sister, you've come so early today?"

  Although Gu Qing was very disgusted with Wang's family behind his back, he didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of the old lady. He politely greeted the old lady and paid respects to Wang: "I heard that Auntie couldn't sleep last night because she was too excited about coming back today, so I woke up early. Originally, I wanted to come over and help the old lady get up and wash up, but Second Aunt is much more diligent than me, so I can only be a idle person."

  The old lady was a person who valued her reputation, and she liked to use rules to get things done. At this moment, seeing Gu Qing come so early, she felt a few points of satisfaction, and pulled her into the seat: "You girl are too diligent, anyway, there are your mother and second aunt upstairs, can't you just let others serve me? Why do you have to be busy serving me every day?"

  Gu Qing smiled coquettishly and pretended not to see Wang's blushing face behind her.

  Wang was in charge of a large number of things in the mansion, but unfortunately, she had fallen ill recently and hadn't come to serve Old Lady's meals for several days. Old Lady wasn't someone who cared whether you were tired or not, or whether you had time; if you came, you came, and if you didn't, you didn't.

  The Wang family was of high status, and the old lady always felt that Wang Shi, relying on her status, didn't put herself in her eyes. At this moment, seeing Gu Qing, a young girl, knew to come and serve, but she, as the legitimate daughter-in-law, wanted to shirk and be lazy, which made her even more displeased.

  Gu Qing saw Wang's family being humiliated and felt a lot more relieved in her heart, so she continued to lead the old lady into conversation.

  The two of them chatted and chatted, and eventually they started talking about their attire. Seeing that Gu Qing only had a few pearl flowers adorning her hair, the old lady scolded: "You're dressed too plainly, what's the point of just these few pearl flowers? In my youth, I loved to dress up, and whenever I went out, everyone would compliment me. You young people are at a good age now, don't waste this beautiful time."

  Gu Qing smiled indifferently: "This is enough, my mother also knows I don't like such things. It's funny to say, the other day my father brought back several beautiful hairpins from Nanfu, among which there was a jade hairpin carved into a lotus shape that I actually liked, thinking that my mother would definitely keep it for me. Who knew that my mother gave it away on the same day? I didn't know until today, and I originally wanted to wear it to show off, but Mo Qi just told me that the hairpin was given to Ninth Sister by my mother."

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  Sorry sorry, I'm a bit confused, don't know why until now still haven't updated the post, I keep feeling like there's something I haven't done... tears

  Everyone, I'm speechless, just... Please collect and recommend this book to more people who read it, thank you very much~~~