When Gu Jiu was walking through the corridor, she saw Liu Zhao.
The two of them looked at each other across the garden.
Gu Jiu hesitated to move forward, and Liu Zhao too remained standing where he was.
In the end, Liu Zhao only gave her a slight nod, then turned and left.
Gu Jiu’s heart settled, and her unease instantly faded into calm.
When she returned to the side hall, Wei san guniang had also returned.
Wei san whispered to Gu Jiu, “I asked around; tonight, we’ll definitely be able to leave the palace. Most likely someone will come for us soon.”
It had to be said, Wei san’s information was always sharp and reliable.
Sure enough, before the second round of mourning rites began, a eunuch arrived.
“Niangniang has passed, and the palace is in disarray. It would be improper for you guniang to stay here any longer. Several guniang, pay your respects to niangniang, then follow zajia out.”
[T/N: Zajia: self-appellation of eunuchs.]
Together with the others, Gu Jiu went to the mourning hall and kowtowed before the Empress.
After paying their respects, they followed the eunuch out of Liangyi Hall, heading toward the palace gates.
Gu Jiu was a little worried. Her family might not know she was leaving. If she reached the palace gate and there was no carriage to receive her, would she have to walk back on foot?
Hiring a carriage was one option. But around the imperial city, there were no rental carriages.
As her thoughts ran wild, they drew closer to the gates.
To her surprise, she saw Gu Yu, Gu si ge, and her elder brother Gu Ting waiting there.
The two had personally come to escort her back to the fu.
“Gu si ge, gege, why are you here?”
Gu Ting grinned widely. “Meimei, you have finally come out of the palace.”
Gu Yu explained, “The palace sent word that you would be released today. So san di and I came to fetch you. Er meimei, get in the carriage first.”
“Thank you, Gu si ge. Making you run this errand at such a time, I feel guilty.”
“Er meimei is too polite.”
Gu Jiu boarded the carriage, her long-held anxiety finally melting away.
Gu Ting climbed in after her, while Gu Yu took the driver’s seat with the coachman.
The carriage started to move, slowly leaving the imperial city behind, farther and farther away.
Gu Ting, still worried, asked, “Meimei, you’ve been alright these days, haven’t you? Just thinking of you alone in the palace, with no one to help you if something happened, makes me hate myself for being so useless. If I had already made a name for myself, honoured with a title, then if you were ever trapped like this again, I would stake my very life to protect you.”
Gu Jiu was very moved. She smiled. “Gege, don’t worry about me. See, I’m perfectly fine. And besides, if you threw your life away, how would that save me? Don’t think like that again.”
Gu Ting laughed and nodded heavily. “I won’t. But you must also take good care of yourself. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what reckless thing I might do.”
Gu Jiu pressed her lips into a smile. “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me. How are things at home?”
“Very well, nothing to worry about. The elders all went to the palace for mourning, so da ge is managing affairs at home. As for the hou fu next door, the eldest young madam passed away two nights ago. Originally, they planned to hold a proper funeral. But now, with the main figures absent, I don’t know how things will be arranged.”
Gu Jiu sighed. “Who would have thought, in just a few days, da tangsao would be gone.”
Lowering his voice, Gu Ting said, “I heard that when the young madam woke up and learned her child was gone, she didn’t utter a single word. She never once looked at da tang ge in the eye. They say she was consumed with resentment, no longer wanting to live, determined to go down and care for her child. Some are even saying that our tang ge may struggle to have heirs for the rest of his life.”
Gu Jiu frowned. “How did such talk get out?”
If even Gu Ting had heard it, that was bad. It meant the rumour had spread widely, passed from the hou fu to the Gu family, and likely already reached the Jia family. From there, it would spread across the whole capital.
This was dangerous.
Gu Ting said, “I only overheard others gossiping. As long as meimei understands the situation, that’s enough.”
Gu Jiu nodded. “I understand.”
When they neared the Gu fu, Qing Mei was overjoyed.
“Guniang, we’re finally home!”
Those few days in the palace had felt like a few lifetimes; half their lives had been scared away.
In the past, she had never thought the Gu fu was particularly wonderful. But after a trip to the palace, she realised just how good home truly was.
If nothing else, at least it was free, comfortable, with good food and restful sleep.
When the carriage stopped at the second gate, familiar sights and faces appeared before her; it felt like another lifetime had passed.
The pozi at the gate bustled forward, all smiles. “Er guniang has returned! We’ve been missing you so.”
Gu Jiu, in high spirits, smiled. “Thank you, daniang.”
Qing Mei slipped a small pouch into one woman’s hands. The money inside wasn’t much, but the pozi beamed with delight.
“Er guniang, safe and sound, you’re destined for boundless fortune.”
As Gu Jiu walked through the gate, several pozi sent her off with auspicious words.
At last, she returned to Zhilan Yuan. She quickly changed out of her unlucky palace clothes, scrubbed herself thoroughly in a hot bath, and collapsed onto the bed she had longed for over and over in her mind. She couldn’t help but roll twice across it.
Ah!
Lying on her familiar bed was bliss itself; she never wanted to get up again.
“Guniang, da shaoye requests your presence in the Council Hall. He says there is something to discuss.”
Reluctantly, Gu Jiu dragged herself up from the bed, changing into plain mourning clothes, leaving off all jewellery from her hair.
With the Empress gone and the empire in mourning, Gu Jiu dared not be careless about such details.
Studying the rules in the palace In these past few days, she had truly learned a great deal about proper conduct.
Dressed in simple attire, she made her way to the council hall, where da ge Gu Ban was already waiting.
Several sisters were also present.
When Gu Ban saw Gu Jiu, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Er meimei has come. Please sit. Before Mother left for the palace, she told me that once you returned, the fu’s matters would be placed in your hands. In the days ahead, I’ll have to trouble er meimei to shoulder more responsibility.”
After speaking, Gu Ban handed over the keys and the household token to Gu Jiu.
Gu Yue watched with wide eyes as the keys and token landed in Gu Jiu’s hands. Rage and resentment burned inside her; she was utterly unconvinced.
She bit back her temper for a moment, but in the end, couldn’t hold it in.
She spoke up: “Da ge, why is er jiejie the only one allowed to manage the household? Are the rest of us not capable? We’ve also studied domestic affairs by da bomu’s side. How are we inferior to er jiejie?”
Gu Jiu glanced at her with a half-smile. She had barely set foot back in the fu, and Gu Yue was already jumping out to challenge her, how very impatient.
Gu Zhen gave a cold laugh and muttered, “Always scrambling with er meimei for everything. Do you really think you have the qualifications to compete? Go take a look at yourself, see what you are.”
“Da jiejie, speak clearly! What exactly do you mean by that?”
Gu Yue was furious, pointing at Gu Zhen’s nose as she shouted.
Gu Zhen snorted and said harshly, “I mean, you should take a good look at yourself in the mirror, look at in what way you are a match for er meimei? Always trying to contend with her, let me ask you this: what gives you the qualification?”
“Why am I not qualified? In what way am I less than er jiejie?” Gu Yue shot back, her face full of defiance.
Gu Ban instantly felt his head swell. He had heard rumours that his tangmei didn’t get along, but hearing about it and witnessing it firsthand were two very different things.
Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he felt utterly overwhelmed.
As a man, he had no experience dealing with such domestic disputes.
He looked at Gu Jiu, silently pleading: er meimei, please step in and stop this.
Gu Zhen sneered. “You don’t know how you fall short of er meimei? You really don’t?”
Gu Yue gave a cold hum. “You can’t even explain yourself, just saying I’m not as good. Let me tell you, this isn’t over.”
Gu Zhen laughed mockingly. “Not over? So what, are you planning to sabotage my marriage again? Did you forget about chasing after erlang, still wanting to marry into the Zhang family?”
“You’re slandering me!” Gu Yue was so furious she could barely speak.
Gu Ban’s head was spinning into mush. They were all sisters. Why did they have to fight like this? Couldn’t they just talk things out calmly?
“All right, all right, let’s all say less.”
But no one listened to Gu Ban.
Gu Yue and Gu Zhen kept bickering fiercely. You accuse me, I accuse you, the quarrel went back and forth, loud and lively.
Gu Ban was miserable. What sin had he committed to be stuck in the middle of this?
He thought to himself, if only he were already married, all this could be left for his wife to handle.
With the taitai absent, it would be natural for the eldest young amdam to oversee household affairs.
But his wedding was still months away. It was too early to find a wife to take over now.
Gu Jiu couldn’t bear to see him suffering, so she finally spoke: “San meimei, just now you said you were unwilling for me to take charge of the fu, and asked why you weren’t qualified.
“Now, let me answer you. By seniority, I am elder and you are younger. Naturally, you should listen to me. By skill in accounting, I’m leagues ahead of you, ten streets apart, and you know it.
“By reputation, ask the pozi. Whose word would they heed, yours or mine?
“And lastly, da bomu personally named me to manage in her stead. If you object, what you mean is that you object to da bomu’s decision.
“Does san meimei think you are wiser than da bomu, that you can manage the fu better than she? Fine then, let me ask you. Who oversees the stables? Who is the pozi of the second gate? Where does her husband serve? Where is her daughter employed?”
Gu Yue gaped, speechless.
Gu Jiu’s string of questions left her dumbfounded.
How could she possibly know who managed the stables, or which servant worked where? She was the di daughter. How could she be expected to concern herself with some second gate pozi’s family? It was absurd.
Gu Yue forced a weak argument: “I don’t need to know these things. As long as I have the account books and tokens, that’s enough to run the fu.”
Gu Jiu let out a cold laugh, her gaze openly mocking.
“San meimei, you don’t even know who the stewards are, and yet you insist that having the account books and tokens is enough? Do you think managing a household is a children’s game of make-believe?
“All these days following da bomu to learn management, what did you actually learn? Did you feed it all to the dogs?
“Suppose today the sewing room ran short of cloth and thread, and someone had to be sent to purchase more. If you didn’t know the relationships of the sewing-room pozi, and accidentally sent her own brother or relative, have you thought of the consequences?”
“I–”
“You want to say it doesn’t matter, since it’s only temporary, right? Hmph. You finally get a chance to prove yourself, and you don’t even prepare or try to do well. Who would trust you next time? Who would dare give you a second chance?”
Gu Jiu’s sharp words left Gu Yue nearly choking, unable to reply.
Gu Yue seethed. “Er jiejie, in the end, you just mean I’m unworthy to manage, don’t you?”
Gu Jiu smiled. “Exactly right. In my eyes, even si meimei is more qualified than you.
“San meimei, you want to manage the household? You’re far from ready. When the day comes that you actually know the stewards’ names and their connections, then you can speak. At least you’d have some foundation.
“As for now, your so-called protest is nothing but a joke. A farce for others to laugh at.”
“Gu Jiu, you go too far!” Gu Yue roared.
Gu Jiu tapped her ear lazily. “Next time, remember to call me er jiejie. What, have you already tossed all your manners and etiquette lessons to the mama?”
Pfft!
Gu Zhen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Gu Yue flew into a rage. “You’re all bullying me! Each one of you is bullying me! Just wait until Mother comes back, I’ll tell her everything, and she’ll see justice done for me!”
Gu Zhen sneered. “San meimei, why are you still acting like a child? The moment you can’t win an argument, you run crying to the adults. What will people think of you?
“You’re already betrothed, and by the end of the year, you’ll be married into Haixi bo fu. What then? If you suffer some grievance there, will you throw a tantrum and shout, ‘I’ll run back to my mother’s house and tell on you’? Even if you don’t feel ashamed, I’d feel ashamed on your behalf.”
“Waaah…” Gu Yue suddenly burst into loud sobs. She stayed where she was, collapsed over the table, weeping bitterly, looking utterly aggrieved.
Watching her, Gu Ban could only sigh in exasperation. His headache grew worse. He cupped his hands to Gu Jiu. “Er meimei, I leave everything here to you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
Without waiting for her reply, he bolted out as if chased by spectres.
Gu Jiu could only laugh helplessly. Was that really necessary, da ge?
Meanwhile, Gu Yue continued sobbing, her wails full of misery. Yet no one paid her any attention, not even Gu Shan, who usually followed her lead, chose to remain silent for once.
Gu Jiu opened the account books and addressed the others. “I’ll first review the ledgers. If there are no issues, we can set the next few days’ tasks in order. That way, each morning we’ll only spend a short time handling household matters, and the rest of the day we can go next door to the hou fu to help with tangsao’s funeral arrangements.”
Gu Zhen nodded repeatedly. “I’ll follow er meimei’s lead. The hou fu is already chaotic, with tang bomu and the others summoned into the palace, and so many things to be managed, the place is in utter disorder.
“I went over there this morning, Mei jiejie was running about nonstop, and everything passed through her hands. Even if she had three heads and six arms, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Gu Shan also said, “Our two households are tied by blood. Now that the hou fu is in mourning, it’s only right that we go lend a hand.”
Gu Jiu smiled. “Da jiejie, si meimei, wu meimei, liu meimei, if you have time, help me settle the accounts. Will you?”
“Of course.”
Each sister took up a calculating board and began reckoning.
Gu Jiu was by far the quickest, not only swift, but graceful in manner. With the light flick of her fingers, the sums became clear at a glance.
In the council hall, only the clicking of abacuses could be heard… along with Gu Yue’s sobbing.
But after a while, Gu Yue’s crying began to lose momentum.
Because a person’s weeping, without an audience, soon becomes pointless, superfluous.
She had cried here in hopes of winning sympathy, hoping someone would comfort her, stand by her, and join her in accusing Gu Jiu.
But what did she gain? Nothing but everyone’s cold indifference, and a hall full of clattering abacuses.
The sound was so sharp and grating it drove her nearly mad.
At last, she stifled her sobs, biting down hard in frustration, her eyes fixed on Gu Jiu with burning resentment.
How had Gu Jiu gotten so lucky, to be chosen by the Imperial Grandson?
If not for her engagement, with her looks and bearing, perhaps she might have been chosen instead.
If that had happened, it wouldn’t be Gu Jiu entering the palace, but her. Then she, too, would have been courted and flattered by the entire fu.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, more and more convinced that Gu Jiu had stolen what should rightfully have been hers.
All of it, everything, it had originally belonged to her.
Gu Yue pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.
She would not concede defeat.
Fixing her eyes on Gu Jiu, she declared, “Er jiejie, I want to calculate the accounts with you as well.”
Her words stunned the entire hall into silence.
Everyone raised their heads and looked at her, astonished that she still dared to make such a request.
Gu Jiu gave a cold laugh. “If san meimei is bored, she should return to her room and rest. These matters are already in hand; we don’t need your help.”
Expressionless, Gu Yue replied, “I don’t want to return. I’ll stay here.”
Gu Jiu smiled faintly. “Then stay, but don’t make noise, and don’t disturb the others’ work.”
With that, she lowered her head again, focused on her calculations.
Gu Yue seethed, twisting her handkerchief in her hands until it was nearly shredded.
Yet she forced herself to endure, sitting in silence.
From the corner of her eye, Gu Jiu glanced at her, surprised she was able to hold back.
Since when had Gu Yue’s patience grown so strong?
It seemed she had indeed learned something these past days.
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