"This..." Madam Han was speechless.
Beside them, hearing what they said, the newly entered concubine Madam Sun smiled and said, "I never knew that the young lady of the mansion was spoiled to such an extent of shamelessness. With her parents present, she wants to take charge of the household affairs. What kind of logic is this? Sister, do you think your sister-in-law is right?"
Concubine Sun, Madam Sun, was a concubine of the Sun family, a庶女 (shu nü - daughter of a concubine) over twenty-eight years old.
This woman had caused the death of two husbands in her family. Her acquaintance with Gu Kun this time was purely by chance.
They were both frequent visitors to the Liyuan Theater. One day, while listening to a play, the theater caught fire and everyone fled.
Due to the crowd, Gu Kun's servants behind him were scattered, and Old Master Gu was also pushed out of his wheelchair, falling to the ground.
It was Concubine Sun who saved Gu Kun at that time.
Thus, they met, developed feelings for each other, and afterwards, Gu Kun brought Madam Sun into the mansion and promoted her to the rank of concubine.
As she spoke, Concubine Sun glanced at Madam Bai, Bai Qiangwei, who was standing silently beside them.
"Mm, yes."
Madam Bai responded simply.
Madam Bai was wearing a green pleated skirt with scattered water mist and grass patterns, her makeup exquisite, and her hair styled in a bun, accentuating her beauty and fair skin.
She was a famous actress at the Liyuan Theater, whom Gu Kun had the good fortune to notice, and thus entered the Gu mansion as a concubine.
"This嫡女 (di nü - legitimate daughter), after all, is just a young lady of the mansion. How can she inquire about the affairs of her elders? Master, I have not seen the eldest young lady since entering the mansion. Why don't I go and see her today? If I can persuade the eldest young lady to let go of her obsession, it would be good. If the eldest young lady has no intention of taking charge, can the Old Master still force the power of the mansion upon her?"
Concubine Sun followed Madam Bai's words and proposed to go to the Garden Pavilion to see Gu's eldest young lady.
"Handle this as you see fit. This master is tired. Push me back to my room."
Gu Kun tacitly allowed Concubine Sun to go to the Garden Pavilion to persuade Gu Qianying.
He knew that the nominal persuasion was actually a way to cause trouble.
If the dignified legitimate daughter obeyed a concubine, she would naturally be making a fool of herself.
If she refused to be persuaded, it would be openly telling everyone that she had the intention of replacing him, her father, in managing the household affairs.
And he, her father, was merely indisposed, not deceased. Doing so would also be a great act of rebellion.
For this reason, no matter how his good daughter chose, it would be an act of self-destruction of her reputation.
This would also be revenge for his unfortunate second daughter.
Clearly, the identity of "State Father-in-law" was within reach, yet now it was out of sight. Naturally, he was angry.
"Yes, Master. When I go, I will definitely invite my two sisters to go with me. With them there, I won't be too nervous. I heard that the eldest young lady has vicious methods and is easily angered. I am still a little afraid. However, I believe that no matter what the eldest young lady's disposition is, a young lady raised in our mansion would be willing to listen to reason."
After receiving Gu Kun's tacit approval, Madam Sun began to think about how to "persuade" the Gu family's eldest young lady, Gu Qianying, whom she had only heard of but never seen.
Having been brought into the mansion by Gu Kun and promoted to concubine, she had already decided to live well in this mansion.
The way to survive in this household was to first find a capable person to be her backing, and then use the assistance of this "backing" to gradually solidify her position in the mansion.
In her opinion, the useful backing was Madam Han, the third concubine.
When she arrived, she had already sent people to inquire about everything.
In the Gu mansion, although the First Madam was gentle and generous, she was too weak. She could neither capture the Master Gu's heart nor gain favor with others. She was not a useful "backing."
However, Madam Han, the third concubine, had been favored by Master Gu for several consecutive years, so she must have some means.
Thus, after entering the mansion, she naturally had to stand on Madam Han's side.
Flattery, pleasing, and offering advice, as long as it made Madam Han happy.
If she had a piece of meat, she would naturally have a sip of soup.
"Mm."
Gu Kun said nothing more, only responded with a sound. As he was pushed back to his room by the maids, he specifically sent people to find some maids to warm his bed.
With three maids accompanying him, he smiled and ordered for a short whip and some private items for pleasure.
Among the three concubines lingering in the pavilion, Madam Han left early, citing indisposition.
Madam Bai wanted to leave, but Madam Sun stopped her: "Sister, the Master has already agreed. Don't you want to see what kind of legendary figure our capable eldest young lady is? I heard that she is the most beloved younger sister of the Gu family's eldest young master, Gu Yefeng."
A few days before entering the mansion, she accidentally bumped into the actor Bai Qiangwei.
The scroll within Bai Qiangwei's sleeve fell to the ground.
The moment the scroll landed, the painting unfurled. She caught a glimpse and saw that the person depicted in the painting was a handsome young man dressed in purple, with a scar on his face.
Originally, she had not paid attention to such a small matter. However, when she learned that Bai Qiangwei was a concubine who entered the mansion with her, she became more vigilant. She sent people to thoroughly investigate Bai Qiangwei's family background and even sent people to investigate the purple-clothed youth in the painting that Bai Qiangwei was holding.
It turned out that the purple-clothed youth in the scroll that Bai Qiangwei was holding was Gu Yefeng, the eldest young master of the Gu family!
Looking at Bai Qiangwei's very cherished and careful demeanor.
She could see Bai Qiangwei's affection for Gu Yefeng, the eldest young master of the Gu family.
When Gu Yefeng was mentioned, Bai Qiangwei paused, a flicker of panic flashed in her eyes, and then she refused Madam Sun's suggestion again.
"Sister-in-law, I'm not feeling well. I'm going back to my room. You go by yourself."
Bai Qiangwei walked out of the pavilion with her maid.
Madam Sun watched her retreating figure and said leisurely, "Sister, I heard that our Gu family's eldest young master, Gu Yefeng, should be of marriageable age, but he has been slow to bring a woman from outside the mansion into the family.
Some say he hasn't met someone he likes, so he won't get married. But some also say that he doesn't want to get married because he can't marry someone he likes.
And the maids in the mansion see this young master going to the Garden Pavilion to linger for a long time every day, sometimes even spending the night there!
It is natural for a brother and sister to play together, but excessive intimacy is another matter. They are both young man and maiden. If there is something between them, it is not a strange thing in this world, don't you think, sister?"
Upon hearing Madam Sun's words, Bai Qiangwei's footsteps suddenly stopped. She turned around abruptly, her eyes filled with hatred, but it quickly disappeared.
"Sister-in-law, I'll go with you."
"Alright, please."
Garden Pavilion.
After returning to the mansion, Gu Qianying had not left her residence for several days.
She had run out of the medicinal pills sent to the military camp, and the poisonous herbs and leaves used to make the pills were also used up and needed to be replanted.
In addition, the Poisonous Doctor Saint Hall's triennial disciple recruitment ceremony was approaching.
There were still many things to prepare, so she was naturally extremely busy.
As for Nangong Xuanning, with whom she had a bet, for some reason, he had been bothering her elder brother, Gu Yefeng, for the past two days. He would either deliberately meet her brother in the palace every day or often follow her brother on the street. Although this pair of enemies would often get into fights,
This pair of enemies was very cute. Verbally, neither would admit defeat, nor would they yield to each other.
However, fortunately, her troubles were temporarily gone, and her ears were much quieter.
"Miss, Miss, the two new concubines the Master has taken in have come to pay their respects to you."
Lu Zhu ran in with a cage of small buns.
Gu Qianying finished her work at hand at a leisurely pace before turning around and looking at Lu Zhu: "Pay respects? Have they gone to my mother's place?"
Lu Zhu thought for a moment and shook her head: "I don't think so."
Gu Qianying went to wash her hands: "Drag them out for me. Give them twenty strokes of the cane. The person who should have gone to pay respects was my mother, the First Madam, but they don't understand the rules and came to me first. If they don't understand the rules of the mansion, I, the legitimate daughter, will have to teach them a good lesson on behalf of my mother, the First Madam."