With the shocked expressions on the faces of the few present, the others quickly understood the true intention of Gu Mingyue, the second daughter of the Gu family.
It turned out she wanted to find a way to drive out Gu Qianying, the eldest daughter of the Gu mansion.
"Second Miss, at this moment, your mansion should prioritize protecting your unborn child. If there is anything in the mansion that affects you, I believe Old General Gu will not neglect you."
"Yes, Second Miss, everything should be focused on the child in your womb. Be careful."
"If Second Miss is timid and fears punishment, today, we sisters present will help you drive out Miss Gu."
At this moment, one person suddenly spoke.
As this person finished speaking, the others chimed in, "Yes, Second Miss, don't be afraid, we will help you."
Everyone present were young ladies from various families who understood the schemes and intrigues within noble households. Since they understood the true intention of the second daughter of the Gu family today, they naturally understood the real purpose of inviting them here.
Learning etiquette was a pretense; being the "weapon" in the hands of the second daughter of the Gu family was the truth.
Although some among them secretly disdained Gu Mingyue's actions today, thinking what right did a concubine's daughter have to use them, the legitimate daughters and young ladies, yet, no one revealed their dissatisfaction on their faces.
After all, Gu Mingyue was no longer the lowly concubine's daughter with no leverage as she was before.
Now, although Gu Mingyue might not be the legitimate Crown Princess, she could be a concubine, and if she gave birth to a prince in the future, her rank would surely rise.
In short, Gu Mingyue's current status was one to curry favor with.
And to curry favor, one had to understand the ways of doing so.
"Thank you, sisters. You are right. Even if Mingyue is afraid, for the sake of the child in my womb, I must be brave this once."
"It is good that Mingyue thinks this way. Rest assured, Mingyue. If the Old Master finds out about today's events and punishes you, your aunt will go to stop him and ask your father to come, explain the whole situation to him, and have him protect you."
Look at that, Han Shi's words mimicked the tone of the First Madam, the matriarch, very closely!
Her demeanor and her specially chosen attire today made everyone feel that in terms of speech and conduct, she was more suited to be the mistress of the Gu mansion's back courtyard than the First Madam.
For this reason, as soon as she finished speaking, some among the crowd praised her, and Han Shi was overjoyed and extremely satisfied.
After a while, under the instigation of the governess and the third concubine, Han Shi, everyone accompanied Gu Mingyue to the Garden Pavilion.
During this time, Gu Ziran, who had been following behind Han Shi, secretly sent her personal maid to the Garden Pavilion to secretly inform Gu Qianying.
At this moment, inside the Garden Pavilion.
Gu Qianying was preparing a potion to treat the plague. Although she had not heard of the plague breaking out in her grandfather's military camp, it was good to be prepared.
While preparing the potion, Gu Qianying suddenly remembered the letter she had sent to Prince Jiu's mansion through Hu Biao. Although Hu Biao had been injured, he had returned safely.
This showed that Nangong Mo had some regard for her people.
So, did this mean that Nangong Mo had taken a liking to her, fallen for her?
Thinking of this, Gu Qianying's gaze drifted towards the window.
In the corner outside the window, a patch of bright and beautiful autumn begonias bloomed year-round. The more vibrant their appearance, the stronger the toxicity of their roots.
In her past life, she only believed that people's faces were friendly and their hearts were kind. But after living one life, she realized that you can know a person's face but not their heart. The human heart is the most unfathomable thing! True feelings do not necessarily earn true feelings in return. Nangong Mo might have taken a liking to her simply because of her appearance!
"Miss, Miss, they're here!"
Lu Zhu rushed in.
When Lu Zhu ran in, she was carrying a thick wooden stick on her shoulder. Her green dress was stained with dirt, and her hair was messy. It was clear she had been fighting.
Gu Qianying turned around. Seeing this, her expression was as usual. Without even frowning, she said, "Who is here?"
Lu Zhu carried the wooden stick and ran to the round table, picked up the long-cold tea on the table, and gulped it down in one go. After roughly putting down the teacup, she hurriedly said, "Miss, the second miss and the third concubine have brought some young ladies, whom they invited from who knows where, to our Garden Pavilion. After a little inquiry on the way, I learned that they are here to drive you out of the mansion."
Hearing Lu Zhu's words, Gu Qianying's expression showed no joy or anger, but her voice sounded a little cold, "Oh? Interesting!"
As she spoke, Gu Qianying looked at Lu Zhu, a slight smile on her lips, "So, why did you go and fight with people?"
Speaking of this, Lu Zhu scratched her head, put down the wooden stick obediently, stood straight, lowered her head, and looked at her shoes, saying meekly, "I also heard that this is because the second miss has been unable to sleep well these past few days and felt unwell. Later, she invited a master to examine her. The master said that there was something unclean attached to the second miss in our Garden Pavilion, which is why the second miss is feeling unwell."
Lu Zhu suddenly looked up, indignant, "I was so angry when I heard that! What unclean things? In my opinion, this is entirely the second miss and the third concubine deliberately looking for trouble! The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I was so angry that I wanted to find the master to plead for you, Miss. But before I could see the master, I was beaten back by the guards in the master's courtyard. However, I didn't suffer. When I was fighting with that fellow, I kicked his private parts with one foot, and he fainted on the spot from the pain. I was afraid the master would blame me, so I got scared and ran back immediately."
Listening to Lu Zhu's words, Gu Qianying's mouth twitched, and then she said, "My second sister's amnesia hasn't fully recovered, yet she knows how to join forces with the third concubine to attack me, her legitimate elder sister? She even knows how to make friends with young ladies from other mansions to pave her way.
I never knew that amnesia could make someone like my second sister change her ways and become such a scheming person. I suppose the third concubine must have done a lot of preparation. I wonder if the third concubine will be raising a tiger to harm herself in the future, or if she can be used by her?"
Gu Qianying said this, then raised her slender fingers and pointed to another willow branch swaying in the wind outside the window, her tone extremely faint, "Look at those annoying and unsightly things. If they are cut off, the courtyard will appear empty and lose its vitality. If they are ignored and allowed to sway in the wind, back and forth, in the future, the falling catkins will also be extremely annoying. Lu Zhu, what do you think we should do?"
Lu Zhu, who couldn't understand the hidden meaning in Gu Qianying's words, said, "Miss, what can we do now? You have to come up with an idea!"
Saying this, Lu Zhu picked up the wooden stick from the ground again and carried it on her shoulder, "I don't care anymore, I'll go and beat them all out! Today, even if I die, I won't let them drive you out of the mansion!"
Lu Zhu, carrying the wooden stick, was about to rush out. Gu Qianying turned and stopped her, "Stop! You haven't answered my question yet?"
Gu Qianying pointed again to the catkins falling all over the sky outside the window.
Lu Zhu was stunned for a moment, and followed the direction Gu Qianying pointed. Her tone became a little anxious, "If Miss dislikes these catkins, then let me cut down the willow trees! If Miss feels the courtyard will be empty, then I will plant the plants that Miss likes, so why worry about it?"
Lu Zhu's direct and blunt words made Gu Qianying laugh. She raised her hand and poked Lu Zhu's forehead, "You girl are quite straightforward, but your method is the most comfortable one. However, to cut them off, you must pull them up by the roots. Otherwise, they will grow again with the spring breeze, and they cannot be burned away by wildfires, which will only cause trouble for ourselves. But before that, we must let them grow well, grow fully, and then - cut them off inch by inch, so that you, I, and she will all remember that those unpleasant experiences existed!"
After speaking, Gu Qianying went to the desk, picked up a brush, and wrote a line of words on the Xuan paper. After writing, she sealed it and called Hu Biao in, handing him the letter in her hand, "Deliver this letter to my brother, and tell him that this play is more interesting with more people watching, otherwise it will be bland and uninteresting."
Hu Biao accepted the order, "Yes, Master."
After Hu Biao quietly left, Lu Zhu became even more anxious, "With Brother Hu Biao gone, who will protect you, Miss! Miss, the second miss is about to break in, and you still want me to..."
Gu Qianying ignored her and directly handed the pills she took from her purse to Lu Zhu, "Take these pills to my grandfather for me and tell him they are the same auxiliary pills for strengthening the body as before."