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

Gu Kaiyuan was still thinking about his wife and daughter in the next private room. Since the matter to be discussed had been finished, he prepared to get up and say goodbye.

Chen Dafu hesitated for a moment, but still said, "You are also buying land legitimately, so don't follow behind and scout the place. Come with me."

Gu Kaiyuan said, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Chen, but I think it was fine the way it was before. We relied on our own abilities and bought things at normal prices. We wouldn't dare to make things difficult for you, Lord Chen."

Just kidding. He finally got a favor, so of course he has to use it wisely. He's buying land now not only to accumulate some assets, but more importantly, to take his wife and daughters to have some fun in the neighborhood. What kind of business is it to follow Chen Dafu?

If the seller gives a discount later, Chen Dafu might feel uncomfortable and think he's abusing his power.

After Chen Dafu finished speaking, he regretted it. If he really let Gu Kaiyuan follow him, who knows what the people sent by His Majesty would think? They might even think that he was colluding with officials and merchants.

Gu Kaiyuan cupped his hands in greeting and left directly. He turned around and went to the next private room, where he found his wife leisurely sipping tea and watching the pedestrians downstairs.

If you were to add a song for her at this point, it would be even more enjoyable.

"Would you like someone to sing a little tune for you, Madam?" Gu Kaiyuan suggested, remembering the young girl who used to sing for money near the entrance.

Bai Suihe saw her daughter sleeping soundly in Zisu's arms. "The child is still asleep."

In fact, she had been thinking about it for a long time. She certainly wanted to try such a rare ancient pastime, but she had a lazy cat who made her restrain herself.

Sipping tea and listening to folk songs in a teahouse, you might even stumble upon a familiar scene from a classic story—that feeling is truly...

She couldn't think about it anymore; if she kept thinking about it, she wouldn't be able to resist shaking the baby awake.

"Has it been resolved over there?" Bai Suihe decided to shift her focus.

"Everything has been taken care of, but in a while we'll have two more people around us."

Bai Suihe understood. "It seems Lord Chen is still not giving up. What can we teach them if they stay by our side? We might end up doing a thankless job."

Gu Kaiyuan had thought the same thing before: "He's already cornered us, and given his new status, there's no need for him to make another enemy."

These close advisors to the emperor have many ways to deal with people, and they don't even have to lift a finger.

"It seems we need to speed up the shipbuilding process. You sent out to find some craftsmen, what do you think?" Bai Suihe felt that they had to find a backup plan as soon as possible, otherwise, once they expanded their business, they would become fat pigs waiting to be slaughtered in the eyes of others.

"We haven't received any news in the past few days. There are quite a few craftsmen, but good craftsmen are hard to find." Gu Kaiyuan is also troubled by this problem. The real master craftsmen have long been controlled by a few aristocratic families. They make a lot of money every year from shipbuilding. How could they let these craftsmen wander outside?

There are some in the local area, but for various reasons, they are quite difficult to find, so it takes time.

Bai Suihe said, "Then do you think we should prepare the raw materials first? At this time, we shouldn't hesitate. If it really doesn't work out, we can afford the losses."

Right now, they have plenty of money, and their manpower is constantly increasing. If all else fails, they can always switch to another business or change their career path.

Gu Kaiyuan said, "I'll have someone arrange it later. Since we're not going to listen to music, let's go to the inn first." They had already sent someone to the inn to make arrangements before they came, so they could just go and check in. Because of Chen Dafu, they were delayed for so long. Otherwise, they would have already finished washing up and were resting comfortably in the inn.

They were quite comfortable here. Chen Dafu returned to the yamen and began to write books. He needed to arrange for two of his sons to come over as soon as possible. However, when deciding on the candidates, he hesitated. Should he give those sons a chance and let them choose for themselves?

He sighed and finally counted a few people. It wasn't that he didn't want the children to make their own decisions, but he was afraid that if they kept passing the buck, it would only delay things.

He might as well call over a few more people. If Gu Kaiyuan is willing to take them in, that would be great. If not, he plans to keep two of them by his side as servants to do odd jobs and temper their temperament.

The guards sent by the emperor glanced at it, said nothing, and went to deliver the message without a word.

Chen Dafu said, "There are too many unfilial children and grandchildren in my family. I am so old and I always have endless worries. I hope my brothers can be more tolerant of me."

Those following him were all His Majesty's personal guards, so even if Chen Dafu was straightforward, he dared not overstep his bounds.

The other party smiled but didn't say anything; they were only responsible for sending people to keep an eye on things and wouldn't offer any advice.

Having served His Majesty for so long, they have their own ways of surviving. They pretend not to know what they shouldn't know. This is Lord Chen's private matter, so why should they gossip?

However, Gu Kaiyuan and his wife would also report on this in their reply, since it was related to the Third Prince and the former Lord Gu.

☆

Gu Baijiang is very distressed. The family's household expenses are almost gone, and his eldest son's wife has already made a scene in front of him.

This family has plenty of food, clothing, and daily necessities, especially in the capital city.

Since arriving in Beijing, Xu Shuanghong has no longer concealed her true nature. Under the title of Madam Gu, she has become familiar with all the neighbors and has also caused a lot of jokes.

Now, some acquaintances in Beijing are probably laughing at them behind their backs.

Originally, the Third Prince had shown them goodwill outside the palace gates, and some merchants had sent them some more things, which eased their financial situation a bit. However, these spendthrift women were always buying clothes or jewelry, and now they were short of money again.

What angered him even more was that Gu Kaichen and his group had arrived. A group of people dressed in rags appeared at the gate, and tomorrow would definitely be another topic of conversation for their family.

"Father, I've finally found you." Gu Kaichen rushed over to hug Gu Baijiang, but Gu Baijiang dodged with unprecedented agility.

"Stand there and speak properly," Gu Baijiang said with a tone full of disdain. Didn't he know his own worth? The whole courtyard was filled with their smell even before they got close.

Furthermore, it's one thing for this foolish couple to come alone, but they also brought so many members of their tribe. Do they think he's having too good a life?
“Father, you have no idea how hard my life has been since you left. You and my elder brother didn’t even send anyone to pick us up. We had no money for the journey and had to walk all the way here.”

Although the journey was much safer this way, it was still more arduous than their exile. During exile, they could occasionally ride in an oxcart for a while, but this time, they had to rely entirely on their own two feet to measure every step of the way. (End of Chapter)