Seven Sharp Machines

  Mrs. Fan was a kind and loving person, the young masters and misses in the mansion all liked her, and she had always been good to them. However, since she knew that this hairpin was liked by her own daughter, it was hard for her to take it out and let others choose.

  She had heard from Mrs. Fan that Gu Boxuan brought back several exquisite hairpins from Nanfu, planning to keep only one for Gu Qing and give the rest to the girls in each room.

  It can be seen that Fan Shi did not intend to give it all away at the time, but this Jiu Meizi had been spoiled since childhood and must have taken a liking to it, so Fan Shi gave it all to her.

  Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel that it was Wang who had spoiled her to the point where she didn't know what was good for her, and she grew more and more disgusted with him.

  "Your mother indeed knows how to use your father's things as favors!" The old lady rinsed her mouth, washed her hands, and then took the handkerchief handed over by Tulin, saying: "You're also foolish, not knowing to stay behind? Anyway, Jiu Mei doesn't lack those few trinkets. Never mind, your mother doesn't know how to care for you, but I do. Tinxin, go get that pair of golden longevity hairpins I just received the other day and give them to Fourth Miss."

  Gu Qingxuan smiled and helped the old lady onto the kang, then sat down beside her: "Old lady is so generous, if my daughter declines it would be impolite, so I'll just have to obey! Please also ask the old lady to put in a good word for me with my mother later, or else my mother will say again that I come to your house every day to beg for things."

  The old lady just wanted to save face, and at this moment, she heard Gu Qing say so, and couldn't help but be even more delighted. She laughed: "You little monkey, you're quite clever, not only did you take my things, but now you also want me to speak up for you."

  The two of them chatted happily, completely ignoring Wang's presence. Poor Wang had rushed over early in the morning without even having breakfast. At this moment, she was both hungry and angry, and too embarrassed to mention leaving.

  " Ninth Sister is here!" Before long, a maid lifted the curtain outside and smiled back: "Old lady, Ninth Sister has arrived."

  The old lady took a look at Wang Shi and saw that Wang Shi's face was full of worry, so she sank her face.

  What's going on? The granddaughter came to pay respects to her grandmother, and Wang's face showed a worried and fearful expression. Can she still eat that little girl?

  Just then, a lovely little girl darted out from behind the curtain.

  The old lady looked up and saw that Gu Man was wearing a white padded jacket, with a pink silk jacket outside, a white satin skirt underneath, and a red sash around her waist, with a jade pendant tied to it, looking clean and pretty.

  Looking at her, the young girl's face still had a hint of childishness with a faint smile, and she moved quietly without making a sound, after all, she still looked like a young lady from a noble family. The old lady's anger in her heart dissipated slightly, and she said to her: "Today is really surprising, our Ninth Miss actually knows to come and pay respects to her grandmother, and she came so early."

  Gu Man's expression was respectful, pretending not to understand the sarcasm in her words. He first paid his respects to the old lady with a deep bow, then bowed to Wang Shi before smiling and saying: "A'Man has been ill for some time now, wanting to come see Grandmother, but also afraid of passing on the illness to Grandmother. Delaying paying respects to Grandmother is A'Man's fault, please forgive me this one time!"

  She could say such things, which really surprised the old lady. The former Gu Man wouldn't even say these polite words. She glanced at Wang Shi and thought of Gu Zhao who had just finished serving her and returned to her room. Her heart moved. This Wang Shi was indeed a good teacher for her daughter, knowing that she didn't like it, so she asked Gu Zhao to urge this maid to come and pay respects. Presumably these words were also taught by Gu Zhao.

  "You'd better just come to pay your respects to Grandma, it's already a rare occurrence. How could I bear to scold you? Just get up and sit down." She casually responded with a few words, then turned her head to chat with Gu Qing about some family matters.

  Although she had expected that the old lady wouldn't like her and guessed that Gu Qing would give her a cold shoulder in front of her, she still couldn't help but feel surprised for a moment at the old lady's chilly attitude.

  Look at that old lady's expression, it seems like she really likes Gu Qing.

  This is unreasonable. Even if this granddaughter is very good, can she be as close to her as her own flesh and blood? The old master is not born from her own womb after all, doesn't she have any misgivings at all?

  This old lady is also too strange, right?

  Madam Gu was chatting with Gu Qing, and they were having a lively conversation. She didn't even have the opportunity to interrupt Wang Shi, but she noticed that Wang Shi's complexion looked rather pale. Suddenly, she remembered that in her previous life, Wang Shi had passed away this year.

  She felt a little uneasy, her eyes reflexively looking at Wang's belly. If she remembered correctly, Wang should now be two months pregnant, and it was because of a difficult labor that she had died.

  It's enough to show off in front of this little girl, so Old Lady Gu turned her head to look at Gu Man and said lightly: "I heard from your mother that you haven't been feeling well lately? I discussed it with your grandfather, and we were just saying that we should send you to the countryside to rest for a while."

  "Look at Jiǔ's little face, it's become so thin! She should take good care of herself." Gu Qing's face was full of worried expression.

  If she said that her illness was serious, then she would have to stay at the Zhuangzi for a long time. But if she said that she wasn't ill, then Wangshi would definitely be scolded. Gu Man was startled and saw that Wangshi's face had turned even paler. She quickly spoke up before Wangshi could say anything, laughing: "At first, I just caught a cold, but later on, for some reason, I kept having nightmares. A few days ago, Father went to the Qingliang Temple to ask for some calming medicine for me, and after taking it for several days, I've gotten much better. That's why I got up early today to come and attend to Grandmother getting out of bed, but then Fourth Sister came to my place asking for a hairpin, so I was delayed for a while. Don't worry, Grandmother, your granddaughter is all better now."

  Old Lady Gu no longer wants to see herself and Wang, it's already very clear. But for her own son, there should still be some affection left? Since the medicine her son found is useful, can she still insist on sending herself to the Zhuangzi?

  Besides, she didn't explicitly say that the reason Gu Qing couldn't come today was because Gu Qing came to the house looking for trouble. The old lady wouldn't be so biased, would she?

  But who would have thought that Old Lady Gu simply snorted and said, "Since it's fine, then so be it. You're also too clueless. Your aunt gave you the hairpins to choose from, and you could've just picked one, but instead, you didn't even give your fourth sister the leftover ones. What would people think if this got out? Those who don't know would think that all the young ladies in the Hou Manor are so ignorant of etiquette."

  How strange, Gu Man thought to herself, could it be that the two old masters had mistaken their identities? Why did she feel that the big old master seemed more like he was born from this old lady's belly?

  This hairpin was sent by a member of the Fan family, and they didn't even ask her to choose one, nor did they wait for her to decline politely before throwing it down and leaving. Can she still return it? It's just that I didn't expect there would be a follow-up.

  Is this old lady really as clever as Pei Yin said? But she almost didn't say it clearly that Gu Qing came to her room to cause trouble, how did this Gu old lady turn around and accuse herself as if she hadn't heard anything?

  She looked somewhat helpless, and apologetically said to the old lady: "What you say is true, it's all my fault. When Aunt sent someone over that day, I originally said there was no need to give them to me, just leave them for Fourth Sister and Sixth and Seventh Sisters to play with. But the servant who brought the things said that all of the sisters already had some, so Aunt said to give them all to me. So I accepted them, and today when Fourth Sister came to my place asking for a hairpin, I couldn't find it at first, but afterwards someone sent it over. Could it be that Fourth Sister didn't receive it?" The last sentence was directed at Gu Qing.

  Although Gu Qing had won the favor of Old Lady, she didn't dare to be too presumptuous. Seeing that Gu Man was already weak and humbled, she quickly went down to help her up, laughing: "You're being too cautious! I got up early thinking about wearing that hairpin, but couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't until my maid told me that Mother had given it to you that I thought of coming to borrow it from you, with a thick face. Who knew you'd be so timid and return the hairpin? This is really embarrassing for me!"