Chapter 214: Each with a Guilty Conscience

Gu Fei and Gu Qing went back next door. Gu Qing continued sweeping the courtyard. Seeing no one around, Gu Fei took an old piece of clothing out of her storage space, wrapped it around her head and face, tied a bamboo pole to a broom, and started knocking down the dust and cobwebs.

The siblings worked all day, managing to mostly clean up the front building and the courtyard. Seeing that the city gates were about to close, the two of them hurried home.

Dinner was served as soon as they got home.

At the dinner table, Mrs. Chen couldn’t help but start gossiping about what was happening at the other estate.

"Sigh, I went to see that girl Xing’er this afternoon. I hear she’s doing much better. Not only has she been conscious for a while, but she’s also stopped vomiting so much."

"Now, Xing’er is insisting she’s still a virgin and refuses to marry Shanzi."

"Shanzi knelt on the ground and begged her this afternoon, but she absolutely refused."

Gu Fei picked up some food with her chopsticks. "Then what does Eldest Aunt have to say?"

Mrs. Chen snorted. "She’s demanding ten taels of silver in compensation from Shanzi’s family, and she’s asking around everywhere, trying to find a suitable family to quickly marry Xing’er off to."

Li Chunhua said faintly, "Eldest Aunt is afraid Xing’er will be stuck on her hands."

"Isn’t that the truth!" Mrs. Chen agreed wholeheartedly. "It’s not my place to say, but that sister-in-law of mine only has eyes for silver. How can she find a good family in such a rush?"

Mrs. Chen glanced at the girls at the table and said meaningfully, "So you see, a young woman must never take a wrong step. Sometimes, one mistake can ruin your entire life."

Gu Fei felt her mother’s gaze sweep over her and tensed up. ’What did I do? I didn’t do anything, did I?’

’I just... I just went to see the lanterns with someone during the Lantern Festival. We didn’t even hold hands.’

’She can’t be talking about me, right? Right?!’

Lan Zhi’s heart was in turmoil. ’Mother is definitely talking about me! Er Lang is always trying to talk to me. I have to stay away from him from now on.’

Lian’er calmly shoveled rice into her mouth. ’Mhm, from now on, I’ll do my best to avoid the men of the household.’

Mrs. Chen glanced around the table. Seeing some lowering their heads and others avoiding her gaze, she knew her indirect warning had been somewhat effective and nodded in satisfaction.

For the next few days, Gu Fei was as busy as a spinning top.

She started by giving the place a thorough cleaning. Then she went to a furniture shop to custom-order what she needed, bought ready-made pieces like tables, chairs, and benches, and then had a lacquerer paint everything black.

She planned to paint the furniture herself. Hiring a craftsman who could paint would be too expensive, and Gu Fei couldn’t bear to spend the money. She had some painting skills of her own and could handle simple floral designs.

She also went to a fabric shop and ordered a batch of fine cotton bedsheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, and bed canopies, all in light colors to look clean.

Silk was too expensive, so Gu Fei only ordered a few sets, reserving them for guests in the Heavenly Room.

Various repairs were made around the shop. Gu Fei also had a tiler completely rebuild the latrines, adding more stalls, separating them for men and women, and paving the floor with stone slabs. She placed water buckets inside so the stalls could be easily flushed, making them much cleaner than before.

Seeing that everything was on track, Gu Fei asked Gu Zhang to write a recruitment notice for her on a large sheet of red paper. She posted it outside the door first thing in the morning. She needed to hire a chef, an assistant chef, several helpers, and older women for the laundry and for dishwashing and cleaning.

After posting the recruitment notice, Gu Fei stood at the entrance, tilting her head to look at it. She felt like she was about to become a CEO and reach the pinnacle of her life.

As she was looking, a shadow fell over her. Gu Fei turned around and saw Xiao Yu on horseback. Today, he had changed into a different cloak of purple sable, faced with black jacquard brocade. It complemented his handsome face, making him look both stunning and imposing.