Gu Jiu rode back to Gu fu in a carriage.
As soon as she got off, someone pulled her straight into the main hall.
Everyone was already there, and the hou fu had also sent people over.
Gu daren was the first to ask: “What did His Majesty summon you into the palace for?”
Gu Jiu bowed slightly and said: “His Majesty asked whether nü’er has had any marriage arrangements.”
“Just that?”
Everyone frowned.
Xie shi clutched her handkerchief tightly, her eyes fierce as she stared at Gu Jiu. “Could it be His Majesty wants er yatou to enter the palace?”
“Shut up! If you don’t know how to speak, then don’t speak!” Gu daren scolded her harshly.
Xie shi’s face flushed with humiliation. Seeing Gu daren’s fierce expression, she immediately felt wronged.
Gu daren lowered his voice and berated her: “You dare to spread rumours about His Majesty? Are you tired of living?”
Xie shi’s heart jumped, and she quickly said: “Qieshen was only guessing casually.”
Gu daren snorted coldly and ignored her.
“Xiao Jiu, did His Majesty ask anything else?” Zhang shi asked gently.
Gu Jiu glanced at everyone, thought for a moment, and figured that by tomorrow at the latest, the truth would be known to all.
She cleared her throat and said: “His Majesty also asked whether I was willing to marry one of the imperial grandsons as his wife.”
Ah?!
Everyone was shocked.
First, astonished that His Majesty would actually show Gu Jiu special regard, summoning her into the palace solely to ask whether she would marry a grandson of the Emperor.
Second, shocked that Gu Jiu might actually marry an imperial grandson!
The more they thought about it, the less sense it made. Too strange.
Gu daren hurriedly asked: “Did His Majesty specify which imperial grandson?”
Everyone turned their full attention to Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu shook her head slightly. “His Majesty did not say.”
Gu daren frowned. He couldn’t make sense of it no matter how he thought.
He asked again: “How did you reply to His Majesty?”
Gu Jiu said: “Nü’er replied that marriage is the mandate of parents and arranged through the words of a matchmaker.”
Everyone let out a breath of relief.
That response wasn’t wrong, but it also wasn’t particularly impressive, merely the standard, proper answer.
“His Majesty really didn’t say which imperial grandson?” Xie shi didn’t believe Gu Jiu, convinced she was hiding something, and pressed her.
Gu Jiu nodded. “Indeed, he did not.”
Before the imperial edict of marriage came down, she didn’t want to stir up trouble.
Everything could wait until the decree arrived. Once that happened, even if people wanted to make a fuss, with the edict in hand, she had nothing to fear.
Gu daren’s head was full of worries. “Da ge, what do you make of this?”
Gu Zhiming shook his head slightly. “I can’t make sense of it. By rights, His Majesty shouldn’t even know Xiao Jiu. Yet he summoned her into the palace precisely over this matter of choosing wives for the imperial grandsons. No matter how I think about it, I can’t figure it out.”
“I can’t either.” Gu daren furrowed his brows tightly, almost sick with worry.
Zhang shi suggested: “Why not go to the hou fu and ask? They’re well-informed, perhaps they’ve already heard news from the palace.”
Gu daren nodded. “Yes, we should ask the hou fu. Da ge, will you come with me?”
The eldest master agreed. “I’ll go. We can also pay New Year’s respects to da bo and da bomu. Who knows, maybe they’ll even give us a red envelope.”
Everyone laughed.
The eldest master, already so old, still talking about receiving red envelopes, it was clearly meant as a joke.
Zhang shi laughed and scolded: “Always so unserious. When you see the old houye and lao furen, be respectful.”
Gu Zhiming nodded. “Don’t worry, I know my manners.”
As the two men left, only the women remained in the hall.
Xie shi fixed her eyes on Gu Jiu. “Er yatou, what’s really going on? You can tell us now.”
Zhang shi gave her a puzzled look. “Dimei, I don’t understand your words. Xiao Jiu has already said everything there is to say. But from the way you speak, it sounds like you think she’s hiding something. Why would that be?”
Xie shi sneered faintly at Zhang shi. “Dasao, this is our second branch’s family matter. Could you refrain from interfering?”
Zhang shi smiled. “Dimei, I’m sorry, but this is something I must interfere in. Yes, er yatou belongs to your branch. But if she is to marry an imperial grandson, this won’t just be your family’s matter. It concerns the entire Gu family, even the hou fu. As the matron of this household, tell me, shouldn’t I concern myself with it?”
Xie shi was so furious she nearly fainted, but not wanting to spar endlessly, she turned directly to Gu Jiu. “Er yatou, why exactly did His Majesty summon you into the palace?”
Gu Jiu’s expression remained calm. “Replying to taitai: exactly as I said before. His Majesty asked whether I had any marriage prospects and whether I wished to marry an imperial grandson. Nothing more.”
“Why you, of all people? There are so many noble young ladies in the capital, what virtue or ability do you have to deserve His Majesty’s special notice?”
Xie shi was filled with anger, her voice sharp as she questioned Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu frowned. “The question taitai asks is the very one I want to ask. I would also like to know why His Majesty summoned me.”
“You–!”
Xie shi was nearly driven mad with rage.
Zhang shi waved her hand. “Xiao Jiu, you’ve had a long day. Go and rest.”
“Thank you, da bomu.” Gu Jiu turned and left.
Xie shi still wanted to call her back, but Zhang shi stopped her.
“Dimei, I know your thoughts. Xiao Jiu isn’t your own child, so naturally you’re unwilling to see her marry into the imperial family, outshining Yue’er and Shan’er.”
Xie shi’s face stiffened, her expression cold. “Dasao, don’t speak nonsense.”
Zhang shi pressed her lips into a smile and waved the maids away.
Then she said to Xie shi: “Dimei, let me speak to you frankly today. Just listen, if you will. What do you say?”
“Dasao, please speak.” No matter her irritation, Xie shi still had to give Zhang shi face.
Zhang shi took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, then said: “Even though Xiao Jiu isn’t your own child by birth, in name you are her mother, and she is your daughter.
“Dimei, you can’t always pick at Xiao Jiu’s faults. You should think of it the other way around: if Xiao Jiu really marries the imperial grandson, regardless of what the future brings, just consider the next two years. When it’s time for Shan’er’s marriage talks, wouldn’t having an elder sister who has married an imperial grandson be advantageous?
“And even for you, when people hear you’re the mother-in-law of such-and-such imperial grandson, won’t they also look at you with more respect?”
Xie shi kept her face stiff. “After saying so much, what is it that dasao actually wants me to do?”
Zhang shi gave her a half-smile. “In the end, Xiao Jiu securing a good marriage brings no harm to you. Even if Yue’er and Shan’er cannot compare with her, what does it matter? You can’t only see Xiao Jiu’s glory in public, while ignoring the bitterness behind it.
“To marry into the imperial household as the wife of a grandson of the emperor is no easy matter. In good times, one enjoys endless wealth and honour. But if fortune turns against her, death and ruin could come in the blink of an eye.”
Xie shi frowned.
Zhang shi went on in a low voice, “This time the imperial grandson is choosing a wife, and all the leading families in the capital are keeping their distance. Do you know why? It’s because the risk is too high. That position belongs to only one woman, and only one can sit there.
“Which means, most princes and grandsons of the emperor are fated to have no good end. No one dares to gamble family survival on such odds. To protect their clans, they’d rather step aside. Do you understand now?”
Xie shi knit her brows and looked at Zhang shi. “Dasao doesn’t think well of the Crown Prince’s household?”
Zhang shi raised her brows and smiled. “State matters on the court, how could a mere woman like me presume to understand them? Let’s not talk of such things.”
She waved her hand as she spoke, clearly unwilling to continue about the Crown Prince.
Xie shi bit her lip. “So, you mean er yatou really will marry the imperial grandson?”
“Perhaps. If the palace truly issues a decree, dimei must quickly prepare a generous dowry for Xiao Jiu.”
Xie shi let out a mocking laugh. “Preparing a dowry for the second girl is hardly my responsibility.”
Zhang shi was puzzled. “What do you mean by that? How could I not understand you? Are you saying Xiao Jiu’s dowry will have to be prepared by herself?”
Xie shi snorted coldly. “Dasao, do you not know? Su jiejie’s dowry has always been under my husband’s control all these years. I’ve never once had a hand in it.
“Before Su jiejie passed away, she said clearly that her dowry was to be left to sanlang and the er yatou, to be divided equally. With the portion Su jiejie left behind, why would I need to worry about er yatou’s marriage?”
Listening to all of Xie shi’s complaints, Zhang shi sneered. She didn’t know what to say of Xie shi, her heart was as narrow as a needle’s tip. Xiao Jiu was already on the verge of being married off, and Xie shi was still fussing over trifles.
No wonder, after the second branch returned to the capital, Gu daren had so many dissatisfactions with her.
When Gu daren was posted out as a local official, Xie shi’s temperament caused no trouble. Among the local ladies, her status was the highest; everyone had to flatter her. So long as she wasn’t too excessive, others endured her.
But now in the capital, where third-rank officials are as common as dirt, and nobles are as numerous as dogs, Gu daren carries the burden of ten thousand mountains above him, watching his every step, gauging every expression.
Meanwhile, Xie shi is still as willful as ever, thinking she’s back in the provinces where everyone must defer to her. Continue like this, and the first to lose patience will be none other than Gu daren himself.
Gu daren has already adjusted his mindset to deal cautiously with the capital. Yet Xie shi remains stuck in the past, with her attitude of “I am the mistress, everyone must listen to me.”
Sooner or later, this would cause offence, and bring disaster.
Unfortunately, she has no awareness of it, still brimming with misplaced confidence.
As for Gu Jiu’s marriage, if it were someone else in Xie shi’s position, even if Gu Jiu were not their own flesh and blood, they would prepare the dowry openly and cheerfully.
If Gu Jiu married well, the whole family gained honour.
Even if one could not directly rely on Gu Jiu for help, one could still benefit indirectly.
Just as Zhang shi had said earlier, when the time came for Gu Shan’s marriage talks, using Gu Jiu’s name would surely secure a better match. The sons could also marry into finer families.
Zhang shi herself was already planning that once the imperial decree came down, she would leverage Gu Jiu’s name to arrange better marriages for her two sons.
No matter how much people feared marriage to the imperial household, if someone from their family truly entered it, at least until the struggle for succession was settled, for a household like the Gu family, it would be a matter where benefit outweighed harm.
Of course, for a hou fu, it would be the opposite, more harm than good, because they’d be forced to take part in the succession struggle.
The Gu family, however, was just an ordinary bureaucrat’s clan, with limited ability. The princes and imperial grandsons might not even consider them worth using.
Having said all that could be said, seeing that Xie shi remained obstinate and unwilling to listen, Zhang shi had no patience to waste more words.
She sipped her tea. “If Xiao Jiu is truly decreed to marry the imperial grandson, the dowry must be at least one hundred and twenty chests, and not less than thirty thousand taels. You had best make early preparations.”
Upon hearing of a dowry of one hundred and twenty chests and more than thirty thousand taels, Xie shi’s face turned green.
“Dasao is surely joking. Thirty thousand taels? I don’t believe the dowry Su jiejie left behind is worth that much. Even if it is, half of it still has to go to Gu Ting. How could all of it go to the er yatou?”
Zhang shi smiled. “This matter is between dimei and er di, I won’t get involved.”
Xie shi kept a stern face. “Our families haven’t split up yet. For er yatou’s marriage, how much silver will the household provide?”
“According to the rules, for a di daughter, it’s three thousand taels, for a shu-born daughter it’s fifteen hundred. Doesn’t dimei already know this? Just a few days ago you even sent someone to ask me about Gu Yue’s dowry silver. I told you it would be sent after the fifteenth of the first month. Have you really forgotten?”
Zhang shi gave Xie shi a half-smile, half-mocking look.
Xie shi grew angry. “Three thousand taels? What’s that good for? It’s not even enough for my daughter’s bottom-of-the-chest savings.”
Zhang shi chuckled. “That’s something I can’t help with. Even in a hou fu, the household only provides five thousand taels for a di daughter’s dowry; the rest, each branch has to contribute themselves.
“Dimei, we can’t compare to a hou fu, but three thousand taels is already plenty. It’s ten times better than what many official families in the capital can manage. We should thank our ancestors for leaving us this legacy.”
Xie shi was left speechless, her face turning green with frustration.
Zhang shi stood up. “Ah, tomorrow the household is hosting a banquet, and there’s still much to prepare. Dimei, you’re busy too, I’ll be going.”
With her maids and servants, Zhang shi departed.
Xie shi snatched up her teacup, ready to smash it on the ground. But halfway through the motion, she remembered, it was communal property. If she dared to break it, Zhang shi would certainly make her pay for it.
Grinding her teeth, she set the cup back down.
Standing up, she told Chun He, who had just entered, “We’re leaving.”
Weiyang Palace.
Fang shaojian stood at the bedside, reporting.
The Empress had her eyes closed, as if asleep. But once Fang shaojian finished, the Empress’s eyes snapped open.
Her gaze gleamed, bright as stars.
“Liu Zhao wants to marry Gu Jiu? Is this true?”
“Absolutely true. His Majesty summoned Gu Jiu. It’s said her performance was quite good, and His Majesty has essentially approved of this marriage. Most likely, the imperial edict will be issued tomorrow.”
The Empress laughed softly. “So tell me, Liu Zhao choosing Gu Jiu, is he truly foolish, pretending to be foolish, or hiding some deeper scheme?”
Fang shaojian considered. “Niangniang has met Gu Jiu. What kind of girl is she?”
The Empress recalled. “A steady, composed girl.”
Fang shaojian’s expression turned odd. “There are so many noble daughters in the capital, yet Gongzi Zhao chose an obscure girl like Gu Jiu. Strange indeed.”
“Exactly! Liu Zhao is a treacherous man. Before, he deliberately stirred up trouble so the Jinwuwei would have an excuse to investigate the Eastern Palace. If I hadn’t detected it in time and rooted out the parasites there, he would have succeeded. I underestimated him before.”
Fang shaojian said, “Indeed, in the past, we underestimated Gongzi Zhao. But choosing this moment to make a move, there’s something peculiar about it.”
The Empress sneered. “He must think I’m on my deathbed, and couldn’t resist stepping out to test the Eastern Palace’s strength. It’s also a way to probe whether I still have the power to suppress it.”
“Niangniang surely can suppress the Eastern Palace.”
“But the Crown Prince cannot. Once bengong is gone, the Eastern Palace will be in danger with only him. Liu Zhao clearly sees this. By marrying Gu Jiu, he only wants to lull bengong into letting down my guard. Hmph, bengong won’t fall for it.”
“What should be done next?”
The Empress frowned, her mind racing with countless thoughts.
“Niangniang, should we perhaps allow it? After all, the Gu family is no match for the great nobles. If Liu Zhao marries Gu Jiu, it means he gains no support from his wife’s family. Perhaps the Gu family will even become a burden to him.”
The Empress asked, “And how would they become a burden?”
Fang smiled. “The current Gu furen was a concubine elevated to wife. She reportedly dislikes Gu Jiu very much. Does niangniang not recall? Xie Mao, an official under the Crown Prince, is Gu furen’s elder brother.”
The Empress’s eyes lit up with realisation. She had finally remembered.
“These days my head is dull, my reactions slow. I actually forgot this matter.”
“Niangniang must take care of your health.”
The Empress waved a hand. “Bengong doesn’t have many days left. Early death or late death, it’s all the same. Bengong only wish to settle matters properly before the end.”
She paused, then continued. “It seems Xie Mao is still useful.”
“Exactly. Xie Mao may be useless in other things, but in underhanded dealings, he’s an expert.”
The Empress gave a cold, mocking smile. “Once the storm dies down, tell the Crown Prince to reinstate Xie Mao. His sole task, make life difficult for the Gu family. Liu Zhao wants to marry Gu Jiu? Then bengong will grant his wish. If he’s dragged down by the Gu family afterwards, that will be his own fault.”
“Niangniang is wise!”
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