Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 279. Offering a Plan
Bai Suihe still holds firm to her principles: "From now on, all of us should develop the habit of not drinking unboiled water."

On this small matter, Gu Kaiyuan naturally went along with Bai Suihe, and Bai Suihe had previously explained to him the dangers of drinking unboiled water. "There's no problem with that. We can start by making small changes and then gradually influence others."

Bai Suihe also knew that some things couldn't be rushed. She couldn't change everyone, but she could slowly influence the people around her.

Zhu Ziqiang moved quickly, and soon four women came to them.

"Don't be nervous," Bai Suihe said, trying to reassure them when she saw their helpless expressions. "I believe the village chief has already told you that he asked you to come and help. It's just to boil some water for everyone so that you can have something hot to drink, and also to cook three meals a day. I don't know if you can manage it."

“We can manage, we’re all very efficient at our work,” Tian Cuifang, as the village chief’s wife, stepped forward and replied.

This time, in addition to her eldest daughter-in-law, she also brought two of her close old friends, both of whom are capable people.

"Then let's give it a try. Don't worry, I won't let you work for free. In addition to eating with us, I'll give you ten copper coins every day."

They just asked a foreman, and he said that a strong laborer sometimes earns about this much for a whole day's work.

Of course, those with some skills will be paid more, and such people are never afraid of not having work.

Tian Cuifen and the others were pleasantly surprised. Before coming, they thought it would be good enough if they could just make a living, but they didn't expect to get such high wages.

"Don't worry, we'll definitely get the job done." The four of them said one after another, forgetting their previous shyness and awkwardness.

Bai Suihe wanted to chat with them, but seeing their expressions, she decided to give up for now, figuring there would be plenty of time in the future.

He told Dongmei to take them away and tell them what they were supposed to do, and then left them to their own devices.

As for whether these people are diligent or not, the choice is between the two parties, and I believe the village chief wouldn't betray him.

Sure enough, a short while later, Dongmei returned excitedly, "Miss, they are really capable. I only said a word, and they were able to get started. They are even more capable than the nannies in our mansion."

Bai Suihe smiled. Although the old nannies did some rough work, the work in the mansion was not heavy or plentiful. How could they compare to these people who dealt with the land all day long?

The work was in full swing, and the Gu family finally managed to get rid of the Chen family, but they also lost fifty taels of silver.

They bought so many things today, but it was less than fifty taels of silver, and now they've been swindled away by Chen Dafu. They're really upset about it.

But this was a mess caused by Gu Baijiang, and no one dared to say anything.

But after they finished dealing with their business and had their meal, Gu Kaichen, who had contacted people, still hadn't arrived. "Second brother, didn't you find people? Why haven't they come yet?"

"I've already told them the location, and they said they'd come today, but they might be delayed on the way," Gu Kaichen explained, and then didn't worry about it anymore.

But when it got dark and smoke rose from the village chimneys, the person they were waiting for still hadn't arrived.

"Maybe they've got the wrong place..." Gu Kaichen didn't know what to say, because his family was staring at him with distrustful eyes.

Gu Baijiang: "You can't even handle a simple task, what else can you do?"

Gu Kaichen said, "I've already contacted them, and they agreed. If it doesn't work, I'll go see them again tomorrow." What else can they do now? The family can only endure the cold and huddle under the oilcloth.

☆

The Third Prince's Residence in the Capital
The study was brightly lit all night, and the staff standing in two rows were trembling with fear. Since the Third Prince returned to the mansion today, they had been summoned and scolded.

They had actually done their best these past few days and had helped win over many ministers, but who knew that a few of them would suddenly turn against them and contradict the Third Prince in court.

We could have persuaded His Majesty to pardon the Gu family today, but because of those few people, it all ended in failure.

“That Lord Liang is the Imperial Concubine’s maternal uncle,” one of the aides said tremblingly. “Isn’t there some misunderstanding?”

Because of the Third Prince's wife, Lord Liang is now naturally aligned with the Third Prince's faction. His opposition today is likely due to ulterior motives.

Rong Ruiyuan had a gloomy face. What angered him the most today was Lord Liang. He was the Third Prince's wife's uncle, and he actually dragged him down in court today, making his brothers laugh at him.

"Go and find out what the reason is. And while you're at it, spread this news to the inner court. I'd like to see how the Third Princess Consort explains it."

"Your Highness, could this be related to Miss Gu?" These advisors all knew that Rong Ruiyuan's trip to the capital was all about his romantic affairs with this Miss Gu. They heard that the women in the inner quarters even made a big fuss about it. If it weren't for Ming Peifeng guarding the place, Your Highness might have lost a beauty.

"They're all talk and no action," Rong Ruiyuan cursed. He had warned those women before, but they were disobedient and waiting for him here.

If it weren't for their family background, why would he have welcomed them into his home? Not only can he not help them, but now he dares to hold them back like this.

In the end, it's all the fault of the third son of the Gu family. Why did he have to bring this up? Now look what's happened, it's caused a huge uproar and brought a lot of trouble upon himself.

His father even summoned him over for this matter and gave him a severe scolding. How could he not harbor resentment?
What's even more infuriating is that Gu Baijiang still refuses to budge, which shows a great lack of trust in him, but he can't just let it go.

Besides being reluctant to part with the money, he also wanted to send a message to the court that following the Third Prince was the right thing to do, and that he would not abandon or mistreat anyone who had pledged allegiance to him.

"What do you think we should do now?" Rong Ruiyuan was in a real bind. If he didn't get that money back, he wouldn't be able to bribe more people. He had so many subordinates waiting for him to feed them, and he couldn't just ask them to do things without giving them any benefits.

"Your Highness, since His Majesty refuses to pardon the Gu family, and your affair with that Miss Gu is now common knowledge throughout the city, this could be a breakthrough," suggested Ding Ke, an advisor.

"You mean Gu Antong?" Rong Ruiyuan's voice was icy. She was indeed a beauty, but not enough to make him care.

But since Ding Ke brought it up, he was curious to hear what good ideas he had.

"Now everyone in the capital is saying that Your Highness is willing to endure hardship and toil with the exiled troops in order to pursue the beauty relentlessly."

"That's utter nonsense..."

"Your Highness, please listen to me. Why don't we make the best of a bad situation and go to the palace to ask His Majesty for a favor?"

(End of this chapter)