Daily Life of a Powerful Official Supporting His Wife

Chapter 8

chapter eight

At the Gu Mansion, servants were busy bringing fresh steamed cakes to the silk table for the wives of officials who would come to the mansion later to taste.

Mrs. Gu wore a Roman-style skirt of crabapple silk, a gilded royal blue jacket with a fox fur lining, and a new ruby headpiece, looking jeweled and youthful. She was supported by her maid, Yafang, as she went to look for Li Jiao, her beloved granddaughter.

Mrs. Gu had two daughters. The eldest daughter ran away with a servant and gave birth to a bastard like Xie Junling. The younger daughter, Gu Xiaoyun, followed her wishes and married into the famous Li family in Tongzhou. Unfortunately, she had difficulty giving birth and died due to excessive blood loss after giving birth to Li Jiao.

Three years later, the Li family married another wife from the owner's family. Mrs. Gu felt sorry for her granddaughter because no one had arranged her marriage, so she took her back to Kyoto before she arrived. She said that she wanted to personally hold the wedding ceremony for her granddaughter, but in fact, she saw that Li Jiao had a reputation as a talented woman at a young age and was also very beautiful. She was the daughter of the previous wife. Now her mother had died and her stepmother had given birth to a son. Her status was awkward and it must be embarrassing.

Mrs. Gu wanted to win her over, to mend the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, and to make her understand that only by relying on the Gu family could she achieve prosperity and wealth, so that she could marry her off to someone who could bring support to the Gu family. That way, after she got married, she could also make more plans for the Gu family.

Madam Gu even considered sending Li Jiao to the palace, but the emperor's mind was not so easy to guess. Moreover, the emperor already had eight or nine princes, so how could Li Jiao compete for his favor? A woman's favor was naturally not as reliable as a prince's.

But even if Li Jiao gave birth to a prince, the other brothers were already old, so how could she compete for the throne? Fearing she would be adding fuel to the fire, Madam Gu waited and watched for a while. Later, she heard that the current emperor was not involved in the harem much, and even had a tendency to suppress the daughters of powerful officials in the harem. Her interest gradually faded.

Later, when she learned about Xie Junling's affairs, she looked down on him and was furious at Lord Gu's marriage proposal. But when she finally understood, that bastard actually dared to refuse!

Don't you see who you are? If you don't think highly of him, how can he be worthy of coveting the Gu family's bloodline!
Mrs. Gu's mind raced, feeling that Li Jiao's marriage was truly wasted. Today's fragrance appreciation meeting was also held for Li Jiao. She wanted to take her granddaughter to explore the backgrounds of various wives, find a suitable match, and perhaps even win some support for the Gu family.

As soon as she entered Li Jiao's room, Li Jiao came running over eagerly, holding her flowery skirt and saying, "Grandma, why are you here in person?"

She was dressed up today, charming and charming, with a gorgeous peony pinned in her hair. Not only was she not gaudy, but she also added a touch of elegance and beauty. With such a pretty girl, was there any fear of losing a man's heart? Madam Gu secretly regretted not sending her granddaughter to the palace.

Madam Gu patted her hands and said with a smile, "It's more beautiful to wear it this way. Those petty and simple outfits like pear blossoms and apricot blossoms are not as comfortable as this bright red and purple outfit."

"That's right, Grandma." Li Jiao pursed her lips and smiled, but in her heart she disagreed. If she hadn't wanted to please her grandmother, why would she dress so gaudy like a butterfly all day long?
Li Jiao was furious when she thought about Madam Gu trying to send her to the palace a few days ago. The current emperor was as old as her father, and she didn't want to serve such a man! On the other hand, Xie Junling, who had been paraded through the streets with a flower crown, was her favorite. A man like that, as gentle as the wind and bright as the moon, was what she had been longing for all her life.

She had previously extracted information from Yafang, saying she wanted to marry her to Xie Junling and that she would get rid of Xie Junling's country wife. Because of this, she blushed several times at night, waiting for Xie Junling to send a matchmaker to propose marriage. But within a few days, Xie Junling's country wife returned! When she tried to inquire about Mrs. Gu again, she had not mentioned Xie Junling at all, and even told her not to mention her other husbands, saying that she would ruin her status as the legitimate daughter of the Li family.

What a country lady! She actually managed to instigate Xie Junling to reject her marriage proposal! Li Jiao suddenly felt jealous and wanted to see what this lady looked like at the fragrance appraisal meeting. Was there anyone prettier than her?

Mrs. Gu naturally didn't know that Li Jiao was interested in Lu Baoer. She just came to bring Li Jiao to the event to give her some confidence and let the ladies think carefully about whether to marry into the Gu family.

On the other hand, on the day of the incense appraisal meeting, the old nanny picked out a chrysanthemum-patterned brocade jacket and skirt for Lu Baoer, and a crane-patterned cloak with snow-white rabbit fur on the outside.

Normally, Lu Baoer was young and dressed too simply. Now she dressed in a more noble style, wearing a small and exquisite pearl headpiece, and looked quite decent. Although she didn't look like a rich and noble lady, she had the delicate beauty of a beautiful girl from a small family, and was still a very pretty beauty.

The old nanny had once worked in the palace and had seen the world, so she was now qualified to give Lu Baoer some advice. Liu Xiang, who had grown up in a low-class family, was stunned when she saw Lu Baoer dressed so elegantly for the first time. She stammered, "Madam, you look so beautiful in this outfit..."

Lu Baoer smiled slightly, took a piece of pastry and handed it to Liu Xiang, saying, "I like to hear that. I'll give you a pastry as a reward."

The old nanny was helpless about Lu Baoer's intimacy with the servants. Although there was nothing wrong with it, the wife of the main house always had to establish some authority so that she could control the people under her.

She changed her mind and thought that maybe Xie Junling valued her natural cuteness and innocence, which was a good fortune, so there was no need to force her to change.

Lu Baoer rode the family carriage all the way to the Gu Mansion. She originally thought that as long as she arrived at the Gu Mansion, entered the house to greet the ladies of each family, and then sat at the very end to have tea and wine, she would be able to go home.

However, the carriage was stopped outside the Gu family's house, and the servants had to deliver invitations one by one before they were allowed to enter the house.

She was a little bored, with nothing to do, and she actually thought of Xie Junling. She wondered if he had returned home from the Hanlin Academy, and if he would miss her. Lu Baoer shuddered. Xie Junling thought she definitely hadn't, and might have gone to bed early, and told others not to let her disturb his sleep.

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(End of this chapter)