Thirty-six mantises

  The cold wind outside was biting, and the draft that came in with the curtain brought a chill, making Ma Niang shiver.

  She frowned and looked at the arrangement in the house, then glanced into the large copper stove in the center of the house, and scolded the maid: "How do you serve your young lady? The charcoal fire is not replenished, nor is the incense! Where did you go to fool around?"

  Just as Ru Hua was about to apologize, Gu Yan rubbed her brow and said in a low voice, "Alright! It's my fault for not letting her add more. The person who smoked it has a headache!"

  Gu Yan's expression seemed to convey a hint of impatience, so Ma Yiniang stopped talking and thought for a moment before continuing: "This matter, how confident are you? If it doesn't work out..."

  "It won't work!" Gu Yan sneered, "Auntie doesn't trust me? In the past two years, who has Father gone to see the most? Isn't it because of my teachings! How is it that now that the timing is ripe and we should be seeking something bigger, Auntie's courage has shrunk?"

  She had been Ma Niang's daughter for several years and naturally knew what Ma Niang was thinking, also knowing what kind of words could effectively provoke her.

  As expected, Madam Ma saw that she was unhappy and hastily waved her hand, saying: "Where did you say I didn't believe in Miss? It's just... it's just that this matter is too important after all! Miss, have you thought it through clearly? After all, the young lady's maternal family has a great deal of power. If there's any deviation in this matter, we'll all be finished!"

  Gu Yan furrowed her brow, after coming to ancient times, she had gotten into the habit of frowning.

  Left is also maternal home, right is also maternal home! Is it destined to be superior if you can cast a good fetus?

  But she Gu Yan didn't believe it, in the modern world where wolves are lurking everywhere, she could take over the family business and stand firmly at the top, looking down on everyone. How couldn't she do it in such a backward ancient times? She insisted on letting everyone see that Gu Yan was creating the legend of a humble daughter turning into a phoenix!

  "Are we going to fall behind? If we don't hurry up and make plans, that's when we'll really fall behind!" Gu Yan understood the current situation and knew that Madam Ma's family was a useful tool, so she suppressed her dissatisfaction and explained: "Does Auntie really want to be content with being an aunt for the rest of her life? Does Auntie really want to spend her whole life serving the mistress and making her bed?" Gu Yan asked one question after another, not giving Madam Ma any time to catch her breath: "Or is Auntie willing to watch me marry a mediocre man or be casually given away to some man, or let Brother live with his head hung low for the rest of his life?"

  Every sentence struck a chord in Ma Niang's heart. She rolled her eyes and understood that Gu Yan was telling the truth. She wasn't a contented person, or else she wouldn't have hooked up with Gu Bo Qi. Since there was a better path to take, why not give it a try?

  "Is... is that old lady really reliable?" Ma Yinniang thought of the arrogant and domineering Gu Yun, and her heart felt a little uneasy. She wasn't afraid of anyone, but she was afraid of Gu Yun, who had never put Wang Shi in his eyes. Now, she still had to join forces with Gu Yun, and she didn't trust him.

  She coldly laughed and said: "Of course, she can't be relied on. The young lady isn't a good person. At that time, it was because she wanted to get close to Liu Zhi-fu first and also wanted to please her father, so the young lady would think of giving her father a gift. Now... now that the young lady's troubles are over, and it was still solved by relying on Madam's natal family, she wants to rely on her father and Madam's natal family to plan a future for her husband, naturally she won't be so enthusiastic about it."

  "What can we do? Won't our plan be completely ruined?" She couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart when she thought of Liu Zhifu's relative, Ma Fangpi. It was a thousand times difficult to get connected with Liu Zhifu back then, and if this matter didn't work out and affected Liu Zhifu's future prospects, he wouldn't let it go easily!

  "Are you kidding me?" Gu Yan took over the needle and thread, found a shoe pattern and began to draw a flower pattern. With a confident expression, she said: "Liu Zhi Fu is a greedy person, he even cheats his poor relatives out of their money, will he be willing to give up on the big fish that is the Hou Fu? Even if Father can only make that Sixth Miss be a concubine, Liu Zhi Fu will still eagerly send her over."

  Old Mother Ma recalled the fifty taels of silver that Manager Ma had borrowed from her when he first joined the firm, and she felt a pang in her heart. "Isn't it so?" she cursed. "He's just a master who recognizes money but not people!"

  Gu Yan glanced at Ma Niang with a hint of anger on her face, shook her head with a smile, and continued: "Does Father have any intention of bringing the Sixth Young Lady back now?"

  "No!" Madam Ma suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit and hastily said: "I was just about to tell you this, but it seems that Master doesn't care much for Sixth Miss. He didn't even mention bringing her back when we talked. Even Cui Cheng is anxious like a monkey, but he didn't react!"

  "It's not that he doesn't care." Gu Yan thought for a moment, then said: "I'm afraid this time's events made him realize the severity of his wife. If his wife is unhappy, the Wang family will be even more unhappy. In the future, he'll have to rely on the Wang family's affairs even more, how dare he offend them at this time? Moreover, above them are his grandparents, these two are not easy to deal with, they can still agree to father marrying a concubine to come back and annoy his wife?"

  "If that's the case, then how can Master bring Sixth Sister back?" Madam Ma thought to herself that she really had been too dependent on Yiniang, and habitually asked for her opinion.

  "It's not that difficult, is it? Father and Grandmother are indeed trying to keep it under wraps, but what about Liu Zhi-fu? We know that Sixth Sister can't possibly become a legitimate wife, but Liu Zhi-fu doesn't know that! Just send someone to mention it to him, and he'll be beating the drums and proclaiming that his daughter is marrying into the Hou household. Once the news gets out, Father won't be able to avoid giving them an explanation, will he? After all, she's also a high-ranking official's daughter!"

  What a clever idea! Madam Ma couldn't help but praise her, and the big stone in her heart was unknowingly lifted, making her whole person more lively. She hurriedly said: "Miss is right, it's indeed like this! At that time, I'm afraid Master won't be able to make up his mind about whether to accept or not! Speaking of which, if this matter were to blow up, even with the mistress's good temper, she wouldn't let Master off easily!"

  "It's not going to end naturally." Gu Yan glanced at Ru Hua, who was changing the quilt, and sneered: "But what can she do even if she doesn't give up? When Sixth Miss comes, she'll probably won't even have time to feel sad."

  "Mantis catches cicada, yellow sparrow behind." Madam Ma clapped her hands and laughed: "Madam probably never thought that we would be eager for Sixth Sister to come and fight with the mistress to the death! This time, Madam is going to have her eyes pecked out by a wild goose!"

  I am a divider line.

  Thank you very much!