On the day when she had gone to Marquis Ningyuan"s mansion to talk about Gu Tingcan"s engagement, she had only made things difficult for Minglan because she couldn"t bear watching this young couple living such a wonderful life. After she had met setbacks, she had also regretted for being unable to restrain himself. Nevertheless, no matter how much she had mentally prepared herself, she still couldn"t repress her anger when she met this nephew of her whom she resented a lot.

Gu Tingye had been listening to her the whole time. Only until then did he give out a smile, “You don"t need to worry about that, aunt. Tingcan"s engagement with Young Master Han is a fixed thing.”"

“How… can you know that?” Old Madam Yang asked curiously.

“After what have happened, as long as the Han family agreed with the engagement, both sides would be satisfied.” Gu Tingye said that with a slightly ironical tone, “My seventh sister couldn"t spend more time on picking her husband anymore since she is already old enough. Also, Old Madam Qin who aims high would never allow her daughter to choose a man from a not so n.o.ble family.”

He lifted the curtain lightly and looked to the outside, “Old Madam Qin will definitely know what the best for her daughter is.”

“Was this…” Old Madam Yang suddenly realized something, “your plan the whole time?”

Gu Tingye threw a glance at her, making the latter feeling cold deep down for no reason. Even her fingers shivered. However, she heard him saying, “Aunt, do you think Old Madam Qin was wronged?”

Old Madam Yang fell into silence. Gu Tingye had only stated the truth and there was nothing Old Madam Qin could feel wronged about.

“It"s the best that we can be blunt to each other today.” Gu Tingye put down the curtain and put one of his hands on the table, “There shouldn"t be deep hatred between families. Even though we have some misunderstandings with each other, it"s still possible for us to resolve the past issues. Please do come to my Seventh sister"s wedding.”

Old Madam Yang chewed those words carefully and then nodded, “You are the master of the Gu family, I know what I should do.”

She only felt she would live ten years shorter after such an exhausting and nervous day. She was well aware of Gu Tingye"s purpose of coming. Actually, she was no longer considered a Gu"s people after she had got married. He didn"t mind having a relative, but he really didn"t want to have an annoying aunt. After all, if he pushed all his elders aside right after he had inherited the t.i.tle, his reputation would also be influenced.

Since he had already said everything he wanted to say, as long as she didn"t put on airs as an elder, Gu Tingye wouldn"t bear grudges against her. What had happened in the past would never be mentioned again. Although Gu Tingye was too proud to bond with his relatives, he still didn"t want another enemy.

“It"s already late. I"ll leave then, aunt.” Gu Tingye gave his obeisance and bid farewell to Old Madam Yang.

After Old Madam Yang lifted the curtain and called the coachman to stop, she saw two maids who were shedding tears and a timid servant who had supported Old Madam Yang to get one the coach. The coachman also seemed terrified, with a group of strong cavalries behind him.

“Old Madam, I, we…” The coachman and the servant hurried to explain for themselves.

Old Madam Yang waved her hand impatiently, “Let"s go back first.”

It was already very dark right now and there was no one in the quiet alley. A calvary got down from the horse and pulled a fine horse over. As he was handing Gu Tingye the rein respectfully, Old Madam Yang suddenly called out, “Wait.”

Gu Tingye was a bit surprised and turned his head to look at her. After he took a few steps toward her, he heard her saying in a hurry, “I know you don"t like her. She did have evil intentions against you and have done a lot of things wrong. However, over the past decades, she has worked very hard on taking care of everyone in the family. You should show mercy on her at least for you father"s sake.”

Gu Tingye burst into laughter, “Aunt, you can rest a.s.sured about his. If she stopped making troubles for me from now on, I won"t hold on to what that woman has done to me. However, if she still wouldn"t let me go, then…” He gave out a hallow laughter.

Old Madam Yang suddenly got dejected. She had also been through all the plots in the big families and knew how those things worked. Old Madam Qin was a smart woman. She would be nice to her relatives who would do no harm to her. However, as for the ones who stood in her way, she would also show no mercy on them. Old Madam Yang and Old Madam Qin had been sisters-in-law for so many years, the former had had to put on some words for the latter.

Hearing Gu Tingye"s words, Old Madam Yang said in a low voice, “That would be the best.”

“Aunt, you don"t need to worry. The past grudges don"t deserve my attention!” Seeing the worried look on Old Madam Yang"s face, Gu Tingye walked away while snorting. After he got on the horse quickly, he said, “A man should never rely on his ancestors. We should build our career with our own strength! To put it more bluntly, if my third brother is a promising guy, Old Madam Qin"s position in the Gu family will never be shaken!”

Hardly had his voice faded, Old Madam Yang heard the him spurring the horse. With the clear sound of the horses stepping on the green blue flagstones, those calvaries disappeared at the end of the allay like a gust of wind. Old Madam Yang watched them leaving in the coach, choked up with emotions.

There were already two sets of cutleries being placed on the small delicate table with blooming begonia flowers carvings. Minglan was resting on the bed in the inner room while reading a novel which called "Jin Yunu Beat the Betrayer" in her hands with relish. Right at this moment, Danju walked in from the outside and reported to her in a soft voice, “Madam, should we serve the dishes now?” Minglan waved one of her hands, “No, Master hasn"t come back yet.”

Danju tried to persuade her, “We don"t know when Master would come back. Madam, you are carrying a baby right now. Why don"t you eat something first?”

Minglan still wouldn"t let go of the book and only joked without raising her head, “My good girl. I have already eaten five meals today. You have to let me rest for a while even if I am a pig.”

Xiaotao was stoked the fire with a purple copper pincher the handle of which was wrapped by a piece of brocade cotton in one of her hand and a mesh protector inlaid with flower stones in the other hand. Hearing Minglan saying that, she snorted with laughter. Danju rolled her eyes to Xiaotao and took over a small white jade handwarmer from Minglan"s arms. After that, she walked over to Xiaotao to add new charcoal in the warmer. As she was picking up two pieces of small silver charcoal, the curtains by the door was lifted. Mama Cui went in with a tea tray.

Mama Cui walked to Minglan and said, “It doesn"t matter if you want to wait for Master. Madam, you should eat these things first. They won"t make you feel full, so you can still eat dinner later.”

On the tea tray was a bowl of steaming soup. As Minglan lifted the lid, she smelled a strong scent of milk and fruit, giving her an appet.i.te at once. This was the egg-milk soup. After adding a bit of mayonnaise and some apple pulp in the fresh milk, a dash of amber longan crumbs would be used for decorating this dish. At last, the soup would be steamed until it was well cooked.

“This soup was newly presented from the estate today only after two hours it was made. It"s still very fresh right now. You should drink it when it"s still warm.” Mama Cui grabbed Minglan"s book authoritatively and put a spoon in the latter"s hand with a stern look on her wrinkled face. The egg-milk was very tasty. Also, under the fierce gaze of Mama Cui, Minglan then started to eat even though she wasn"t hungry at all.

Seeing Minglan enjoying the soup a lot, Mama Cui put on a smile on her serious face. Then she couldn"t help but add, “Madam, since you haven"t had any pregnancy sickness right now, you should eat more. When Old Madam Sheng was pregnant, she nearly threw up everything she ate in…” Speaking of that, she suddenly shut up. The sad story about Old Madam Sheng"s child who had died an infant was forbidden to be talked. No one dared to mention it.

Mama Cui was good at serving and nursing people. After all, she had been capable of raised Minglan who had been like a little cat to be a chubby, fair and strong girl. The egg-milk soup bowl was as big as the size of a human"s palm, so it didn"t take Minglan long to finish it all.

After that, Mama Cui took a glance at the two maids and said, “I save some for you two. Now the rest of the soup is being warmed on the stove. You should go get it.” Xiaotao had been starving long ago. Hearing that, she took an empty bowl out with joy right away.

Danju, sensible as she was, knew that Mama Cui wanted to talk privately with Minglan. Then, she put the white jade handwarmer back to Minglan"s hand. After she put down the thick curtain and closed the door, she went outside to guard the door. Xiaotao had already walked to the door. Seeing that, Danju felt a bit embarra.s.sed. Then she approached to Danju and whispered to the latter"s ear, “Dear sister, I"ll fetch you some soup.”

“Wicked girl, you do have a conscience.” Danju poked Xiaotao"s forehead with a smile.

Inside of the room.

“Madama…” Mama Cui was not the one for words. After she had uttered that word, she didn"t know how to continue.

Minglan sensed something from Mama Cui"s voice and waited with a smile, “Mama, please go on.”

Mama Cui then nerved herself and said, “Madam, I heard that Third Madam Wei sent another girl to Third Master.”

Minglan was a bit startled, “I remembered that when my third sister-in-law was pregnant, she has already sent a girl to her husband.” Also, it was not like Gu Tingwei didn"t have any Tong Fang or concubines. It was impossible for him to have no woman to sleep with when his wife was pregnant.

Mama Cui put on a disdainful look at once. Still, she continued, “It was said that that girl couldn"t serve Third Master anymore due to her health condition. Then Third Madam Wei sent another girl to him.”"

“Due to her health condition?” Minglan asked curiously, wondering whether Gu Tingwei"s wife had injured the maid out of jealousy.

Mama Cui smashed her lips helplessly and kept her voice down, “I heard the maid was pregnant.”

Minglan got dazed first and uttered "oh". Both of them didn"t speak for the moment. After a long while, Minglan murmured, “I know what you mean.”

Mama Cui was also very frustrated now. She had raised Minglan and never would she want to see the girl suffer. However, Mama Cui didn"t have another solution this time. She sat beside Minglan and held the latter"s hand, saying with difficulty, “Madam, now that you are pregnant, it would be better for you to send an honest and reliable girl to serve Master in case someone you don"t know would come between you and Master in the future.”

Minglan gave out a wry smile. She knew this was bound to happen.

Seeing that Minglan remaining silent, Mama Cui thought that she was feeling sad, then she continued, “Madam, I know that you are upset, but there"s no other way.” She remembered all those disputes Old Madam Sheng and Old Master Sheng had had because of the concubines the latter had married. At last, the couple had fallen apart. Thinking of that, Mama Cui said concernedly “Over these years, I have observed your maids. They are all good girls. Xiaotao is honest, Danju is loyal, Lvzhi, as eloquent as she is, is still a reliable person. Why not…”

Minglan shook her head slowly and sighed, “Mama, you have worked for the Sheng family for a long while. Do you still remember Sixth Brother"s blood mother, Concubine Xiang?”