Chapter 547 - 548: Attending the Banquet

Chapter 547: Chapter 548: Attending the Banquet

Gu Qianyi had long known that this errand would be difficult, but he hadn’t expected to be dealt such a hand right from the start.

The invitations had just been sent out, and the entire county town was already buzzing with gossip.

He had come to turn the situation around, yet his very first task was to clean up a mess.

"Yeshi, your previous handling of the matter was indeed quite sloppy," Gu Qianyi said. "How could you just have the butler bring some pastries over to apologize? That showed a complete lack of sincerity.

"If you had paid them a visit in person, we wouldn’t be in this situation today.

"Don’t let Madam Gu Jiu come out to host the guests that day. Let Ms. Ding handle everything at the banquet."

"But Ms. Ding is ultimately just a servant..." Gu Yeshi trailed off. If his wife couldn’t make an appearance this time, the two of them would completely lose face.

"Ms. Ding isn’t just an ordinary servant. She came from the late Empress Dowager’s palace and is a ranked female official.

"She was supposed to be enjoying her retirement in the Duke Mansion. Grandmother personally invited her to accompany me. Aside from helping us keep up appearances, she’s also here to teach Aunt Nine the rules again."

Gu Qianyi looked at Gu Yeshi, whose expression had suddenly turned ugly, and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy. His mother was right; a man should marry a virtuous wife. This illegitimate cousin of his had finally managed to build up a good reputation, only to have it completely ruined by his fine wife.

This time, their grandparents had flown into a terrible rage. They had initially wanted to summon him back, but after considering the several families glaring at them like tigers eyeing their prey, they decided to have Gu Qianyi make this trip personally.

They were no longer thinking about seizing any advantages in Lingnan; instead, they just wanted to salvage their reputation as much as possible.

"My deepest thanks to the Old Madam," Gu Yeshi said, bowing toward the capital. "I’ll have to trouble you this time, Qian Yi. It’s my fault for not teaching my wife well."

"Let’s not talk about that for now. Ms. Ding is getting on in years. The carriage ride was exhausting for her, and her body is struggling to hold up. She will rest for another day today. Tomorrow, remember to have Madam Gu Jiu hand over all the household duties.

"Grandfather left strict instructions that there cannot be any more mistakes this time. Otherwise, even I will be held accountable." He gave Gu Yeshi a warning look. "If anything else goes wrong, I’m afraid your branch of the family will no longer be allowed to stay in the Duke Mansion."

That last sentence was both a warning and an ultimatum. He was just afraid that Gu Yeshi would become hot-headed again and do something irreversible.

No matter how many ideas Gu Yeshi had before, he abandoned them all at this moment.

It seemed that this time, doing nothing meant making no mistakes. If he did something and messed it up, he would become the sinner of their branch.

He suspected that Gu Qianyi had come to catch him making a mistake. He made up his mind that this time, he would do whatever Gu Qianyi said. Regardless of the outcome, he would keep his hands completely clean of both the merits and the faults.

Thinking of this, his attitude became much more peaceful. He readily agreed to whatever Gu Qianyi said.

Seeing him so cooperative, Gu Qianyi breathed a sigh of relief. At least Yeshi could see the situation clearly.

As long as Gu Yeshi didn’t act like a dead weight, his subsequent plans would go much more smoothly.

The day of the banquet soon arrived. The Gu Family had clearly come well-prepared this time. Judging by the capable arrangements, the one in charge wasn’t Madam Gu, but rather the Ms. Ding who had been the subject of so much gossip over the past two days.

It was said that this Ms. Ding was a female official from the late Empress Dowager’s palace. Later, the Old Madam of the Duke Mansion personally went into the palace to invite her to teach the legitimate daughter of the Duke Mansion, who was now the current Empress.

Now that she was older, she was living out her retirement in the Duke Mansion. This time, because she was worried about the Second Young Master of the Duke Mansion, whom she had practically raised herself, she had made the long and arduous journey with him.

As a ranked female official, her status was much higher than that of the so-called Madam Gu Jiu. For her to host merchants like them was truly a condescension on her part.

The ladies didn’t dare put on airs. Upon entering and seeing the white-haired Ms. Ding, they immediately curtsied to her as juniors.

Ms. Ding stood there upright, exuding an innate trace of imperial majesty that made no one dare to underestimate her.

Bai Suihe followed the crowd. After exchanging greetings, she took her assigned seat.

She sensitively noticed that the moment she turned around, Ms. Ding’s gaze lingered on her back for a moment.

Gu Xingyang, who was being held by Zisu, took all of this in. Of course, she didn’t forget to tip off her own mother.

"Why does that old lady keep staring at you?" Gu Xingyang asked. "Did you know her before?"

"How is that possible?" Bai Suihe replied. "Even after marrying into the Gu Family, I rarely went out to banquets. I don’t even know which direction the doors of the Duke Mansion open."

Gu Xingyang looked thoughtful. "Then why is she staring at you like that and not at anyone else? Could it be that Madam Gu Jiu filed a false complaint against you? Mother, you need to be careful later."

"Don’t worry," Bai Suihe reassured her. "They are here today to salvage their reputation, so they won’t pull any other stunts.

"Besides, aren’t we going out again after today? No matter how much they scheme, if we aren’t here, it will all amount to nothing."

As the mother and daughter were talking, the other ladies came in one after another. Bai Suihe temporarily couldn’t attend to her little daughter and began greeting everyone.

This time, even Mrs. Lin, Hu Waner, came over. Moreover, she looked quite energetic, appearing even younger than the last time they saw her.

Seeing her sit down graciously opposite her, Bai Suihe nodded at her as a greeting.

"Are you surprised that Mrs. Lin came?" Mrs. Jiang, the center of all gossip, leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Why wouldn’t she be able to come?" Bai Suihe replied while acknowledging the people greeting her. "They sent an invitation. If she didn’t come, people would definitely gossip."

"That’s true. But how could a person change so drastically in an instant? She used to be such a gentle and mild-mannered lady, but she’s completely changed," Mrs. Jiang said.

She sighed. "It makes me too embarrassed to visit her now. If something else happens, people might think I was the one who instigated it."

After that incident, vague rumors began circulating in the area, all claiming that Hu Waner had been bewitched by someone with ulterior motives when she went back to the Lin Family to cause a scene last time.

Although no names were explicitly mentioned, Mrs. Jiang had already noticed several strange looks directed at her. It was truly impossible to explain; after all, she had indeed visited the Lin Family quite frequently during those two days.

But she was terribly wronged. How could she possibly have the ability to change a person so completely, as if they had been reborn?

Regardless of their speculations, the person in question had already arrived. Since she was sitting there gracefully and conversing with the other ladies, it wasn’t appropriate for anyone to say anything more.

Thus, they began chatting in groups of twos and threes about the recent novelties in their lives. Bai Suihe casually revealed that they had travel plans for the next day, though their return date was undecided.

The other ladies didn’t pay much attention to it. For merchant families like theirs, there were always some days of the year spent traveling abroad. It was just that unlike Gu Kaiyuan, not every husband was willing to bring their wife along wherever they went.

"You really have a good life. Your husband takes you everywhere," Mrs. Jiang said, feeling a bit bitter as she thought about her own unsatisfactory situation. "Unlike in my family, where he takes that delicate concubine of his out every time..."

"How about you find a place to go have fun by yourself next time, without bringing them?" Bai Suihe suggested.