Chapter 548 - 549: Instigation

Chapter 548: Chapter 549: Instigation

Bai Suihe had only made a casual remark, but Mrs. Jiang’s eyes lit up. "You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that? I have so many sisters and female cousins married off to different places. I could easily go out and visit relatives."

Bai Suihe blinked. She really was just tossing the idea out there. Was this going to stir up trouble again?

Sure enough, Mrs. Qian immediately joined in on the excitement. "That’s a great idea. Let’s put our heads together later. If we all have relatives in the same areas, we can travel together."

"True," Madam Li agreed. "We spend our whole lives trapped in the back courtyard. At most, we get to attend banquets like this. It’s truly a stifling way to live.

"I’ve learned a lot from Mrs. Lin. As long as we don’t take those men seriously, they mean squat."

After saying that, Madam Li quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had just cursed. "You all didn’t hear anything just now, did you?"

The other women covered their mouths and shook their heads with a smile. "We were just discussing where we should travel to."

"Right, right, right! Lingnan is very safe right now. At the very least, there are soldiers patrolling every official road. Who knows how long that will last? We have to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to travel."

Their lives were comfortable now, and they all had some silver on hand. Naturally, they wanted a change of pace. Why should they just sit around their mansions, waiting for those men to return from gallivanting around?

The men always claimed they were out earning hard money to support their families... It was laughable. It wasn’t as if they were laborers or craftsmen relying on physical labor to survive. When these men traveled, they were accompanied by carriages, servants, bedmaids, and beautiful concubines. How could that possibly be considered enduring hardship?

"We aren’t too far from the ocean," Bai Suihe said. "Have any of you gone to see the sea?"

The ladies’ eyes burned with curiosity as they stared at Bai Suihe in unison. They shook their heads. "We haven’t. Is the ocean beautiful?"

"Beautiful isn’t the right word for it. That would be too superficial," Bai Suihe said. "The ocean represents vastness, power, and depth. You have to see it with your own eyes to truly appreciate its majestic presence..."

Bai Suihe’s eyes sparkled as she spoke of the sea. Suddenly, she felt that living by the coast would be absolutely perfect.

"But I heard that living by the sea is very dangerous. When the storms are fierce, the waves can sweep people away," Mrs. Qian said doubtfully. "Besides, you haven’t been to the coast yet, right? I heard it’s constantly plagued by bandits."

Bai Suihe replied, "It’s true that the wind and waves can be fierce. But we don’t fish for a living. We can just pick a calm, sunny day to take a stroll along the beach. It really opens up your mind and broadens your horizons to see such beautiful and unique scenery.

"As for the bandits you mentioned, they’ve always been around. But those lowlifes are like rats in a gutter—they only dare to sneak ashore in secret. Besides, with His Majesty sending troops over, they’ve surely caught wind of it and gone into hiding."

Bai Suihe had enjoyed her little speech, but as soon as the words left her mouth, a twinge of regret hit her. Was she deliberately driving a wedge between these women and their husbands? She was practically egging them on to run away from home!

Gu Xingyang caught her mother’s thoughts and giggled. "Mother, why would you think that?

"Who knows? Those men might be thrilled if their wives left the mansion. It would give them a chance to live footloose and fancy-free.

"And once they don’t have their wives managing the home front for them anymore, they’ll finally appreciate how hard it is. Their family lives might even become more harmonious!" she added, sounding almost gleeful.

Bai Suihe replied in her mind, "Don’t bring your modern theories into this. The idea that ’absence makes the heart grow fonder’ absolutely does not work here.

"Believe me, the second the lady of the house leaves, those concubines in the backyard will start stirring up trouble. If these women go on a trip only to come back and find their homes usurped, I’ll be the one to blame."

"What were you just thinking about?" Mrs. Jiang nudged Bai Suihe gently. "We all want to go see the sea and try some of that freshly caught seafood. You have to give us a proper introduction to it."

"I was just saying it casually," Bai Suihe said. "Can you all really leave such massive households behind? Managing the back courtyard is no simple task. You don’t want anyone taking advantage of your absence."

Having known them for so long, Bai Suihe didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the crux of the matter.

"Oh, I thought you were worried about something serious, but it’s just that?" Mrs. Qian waved a hand dismissively. "We’d only be gone for a short trip. It’s not like we’re never coming back.

"With so many concubines in the house, I just need to elevate two evenly matched ones so they can fight it out between themselves. Add in my own trusted servants to keep an eye on things, and those women will never escape the palm of my hand."

When it came to back-courtyard scheming, Bai Suihe was a total novice. Every single woman present had far more experience than she did.

Seeing that their minds were made up, Bai Suihe mentioned a few places she had been to with decent scenery, leaving the choice up to them. Although she was also heading to the coast this time, the shipyard absolutely had to remain a secret. She used the excuse that Gu Kaiyuan would be deciding their exact destination.

The rest of the banquet proceeded without any drama. Nanny Ding proved to be quite capable; she delivered a few diplomatic and polite remarks to the crowd before inviting everyone to enjoy the delicacies they had specially prepared.

Word had it that the chef for today’s feast was brought all the way from the Duke Mansion, and even the Empress herself was fond of his cooking. Perhaps influenced by this lofty reputation, everyone genuinely agreed that the food tasted quite excellent.

The banquet ended with both host and guests thoroughly satisfied. Notably, upon departure, everyone was gifted an assortment of presents brought over from the capital.

As their carriage rocked gently on the way back to the mansion, Bai Suihe finally asked, "Things went pretty smoothly on our end. How about yours?"

Gu Kaiyuan replied, "The Second Young Master of the Duke Mansion is quite the character. He didn’t put on any airs today. Instead, he kept a very low profile and mingled with everyone seamlessly. He looks completely harmless right now, but I’m afraid he’s not someone to be trifled with."

Bai Suihe nodded. "Of course. The Duke Mansion probably has ulterior motives. Either way, we won’t get involved."

Knowing they would be leaving tomorrow anyway, the couple tossed the topic aside.

Back at the mansion, Nanny Pang brought up another matter. "The Zhuang Family and the Huang family came looking for us today."

Bai Suihe stopped in her tracks. "How are Dongmei and the others?"

"I didn’t let them in. I told Zhuang Datou and his people to handle it themselves," Nanny Pang said, shaking her head. "Madam, you’ve already helped them plenty. They need to deal with the rest on their own.

"I know your heart aches for those two girls, but at the end of the day, it’s their own family matter. We’ve provided them with a safe environment so they can give birth in peace, and that is more than enough."

Bai Suihe sighed. "I know that makes sense. After all, they will be the ones living as a real family from now on. I respect their decision."