CH 20

Chapter 20: Back to Old Gu Mansion

After seeing off the Gu Family butler, who she had only met for the first time, Mo Qiqi stood in front of the only desk in Mo Qi’s room, and began to eagerly examine the return gift sent by her brother Xi.

There are four small silver barley seeds with a peanut-sized ruyi1, which can be hung up as decorations, or used to complement flowers. There are two neat pieces of cloth in peach pink and tender willow green, and they are for girls at first glance.

She draped it on her body and made a couple of gestures. Although she slightly regretted that there was no bronze mirror in the room, she thought sweetly, Did brother Xi think she looked better in these two colors?

What kind of dress should be cut to her liking? Did he ask a tailor what clothes would suit his special person?

Mo Qi looked at his younger sister, who was smiling happily as a butterfly, and echoed:

“We still have a lot of silver taels brought from our hometown. Although Qiniang can only use the works of ordinary embroidery mothers, their works must still be more in line with the current fashion of the capital.”

After he finished talking, he recalled the reply he received from his righteous’ brother’s return gift, which was probably also a polite greeting for the New Year. He opened it casually and glanced at it, and read that Gu Ningxi wanted to invite them to visit the door on the seventh day of the new year.

After reading the last part of the content, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He read the words carefully again, and he felt that someone had slapped him in the face. It was hot.

[Read only on Salmonlatte.com]

He coughed and was out of breath for a long while, then he waved away his younger sister who was patting him on the back. He stared at the girl while he was out of breath and asked,

“You, You… Did you send shoes to Brother Xi?”

Mo Qiqi immediately pouted, and covered the back of her hand that was hit by her brother and blew at it lightly.

After hearing his question, she started feeling a bit guilty. She didn’t dare to complain about her hand, and let out a soft “Hmm”.

After thinking about it for a while, she tentatively asked her brother,

“Did Brother Xi talk about it in the letter? Did he like it?”

“Shameless!”

Mo Qi got the strength he didn’t know, then leaned up forcefully, He reached towards Mo Qiqi who was sitting beside his bed, and slapped the girl hard on the shoulder.

Mo Qiqi’s eyes were quickly welled up with tears. She covered her shoulder with one hand and trembled slightly. Although her brother had been ill for a long time and the beating was not painful, she couldn’t stand the scolding.

Mo Qi was heartbroken:

“Have I not explained clearly enough to you? He, Gu Ningxi, doesn’t have that kind of thoughts towards you, can’t you understand that? As long as I’m alive, Don’t even think about it! I can’t have a younger sister who is a concubine!”

Mo Qiqi couldn’t help but talk back coquettishly: “Brother Xi looks at me differently, I can feel it. Brother, can’t you help us?”

Mo Qi gasped and coughed again after saying “You”, a mouthful of phlegm came up and stuck in his throat, Mo Qiqi stomped her feet and moved closer to pat his breath, rolling around with grievances in her stomach.

He managed to spit the phlegm out into the basin, then took a deep breath, but heard a sharp scream from Mo Qiqi. He took advantage of the situation and saw that this time it was a mouthful of thick blood clots. It was brownish red almost black, which was an ominous sign.

***

It was an Old custom in the country, where married woman are not allowed to return to their natal home until it was the second day of the new year. Tao Xinqiang grabbed her sister’s sleeve and begged her to go back with her to see her father, but to no avail.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Gu Ningxi sent his sister-in-law with the finished Phoenix painting back to the Tao Manor. He felt relieved because he can finally be alone with his wife.

But the atmosphere was obviously not right, so he had no choice but to resort to all sorts of coaxing tricks. He even made a small fuss, and finally said that he would not go to the Mo’s house ever again. So it won’t cause anymore misunderstandings between them. Only then did he get a smile from his wife.

“Are you willing to do that? That’s the only woman in the world whose face you can see clearly.”

Tao Xinhe was dismantling her hairpin in front of the bronze mirror. Gu Ningxi waved the maid back and stood behind her to help. It’s already New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow is the new year.

Gu Ningxi thought for a while, then pointed to the Old Luan mirror with a bit of patina and rust on the edge, and said, “I’m serious. Me being able to see Qiniang’s face naturally surprises me. However, looking at her is like how I would look at this mirror. She is similar to a brand new bronze mirror with all the finesse. However, Mirrors, although the others are polished and not so clear, why can’t I use them?”

Tao Xinhe patted the table with her hands, withdrew her smile, then frowned and said, “Gu Ningxi! You used to say that I have a tiled face, but now I’m like a worn mirror. In short, the new one is very good, right?”

Gu Ningxi embraced his lovely wife from behind, buried his head on the side of her neck, then took a deep breath of the fragrance emanating from her body. He grinded his teeth, and said in a breathy voice:

“Lady, listen to me. I mean, I don’t mean it at all. I don’t have any relationship with any other women other than you. Qiniang sent shoes and it was inappropriate, after all, she probably got misled by my previous indiscretion. After the seventh day meeting, I will not see this girl again, so my attitude is clear. Let’s talk about it after the situation has passed.”

The man’s hot breath made Tao Xinhe itch, and her voice softened: “Really?”

Gu Ningxi immediately bit her tender white earlobe, and gently squeezed his teeth together slowly, and silently mumbled to her ear.

The beautiful woman’s body was crisp and soft, and even the slightest groans were covered up under the other person’s indiscriminate attacks. After that, the warm red silk tent covered the clouds and rain the entire night, and the harmony of water and milk just effected the strong love of mandarin ducks.

***

On the first day of the first lunar month and the third year of Yongsheng, the sky was sunny, and there was the smell of sulfur which were remnants from the firecrackers used during the occasion.

Red decorations were everywhere and the aroma of fried fish and boiled meat wasps in the air, which is an aftertaste of the New Year.

Everyone put on decent new clothes, with big smiles on their faces. Congratulations were first heard  everytime they meet, and no bad words were used, hoping for a good omen.

Gu Ningxi and Tao Xinhe got up early in the morning, both drank strong tea and smiled at each other.

Tao Xinhe looked at her delicate neck in the mirror. It was originally as white as jade, but now it was full of red marks, like blooming flowers.

She bit her lip and complained that her husband is promiscuous. She put down the round-neck jacket she had prepared, and went to look for  undergarments with a high collar and put it on. It was still clothes with the same ginger-yellow flowered butterfly material.

Gu Ningxi may be the only one who can wear a serious dark blue quilted gown with a romantic and suave look. He waited for the lady to dress up, and they went to the old Gu’s mansion together hand in hand.

***

Tao Xinhe carefully whispered to her husband’s ear: “The third uncle is walking from a distance.”

“The person in the bright blue robe behind him is the second uncle.”

“It is the third aunt who is about to jump over and grab your hand to greet you.”

“The person looking at us, um, the one in the red long dress is my sister-in-law, she’s holding her seven-year-old son in her arms.”

The whole place was full of people wishing each other a happy new year, and after having refreshments, it is time to worship the ancestors and pray.

A group of men from the Gu family walked into the ancestral hall one after another, and the female relatives sat around in the main room of Old Mrs. Gu’s courtyard, joking and chatting.

Old Mrs. Gu’s new favorite person today is Gu Runing. She grabs her granddaughter who she barely meet, and praises her for her upcoming marriage. This made Gu Runing very uncomfortable, and frequently looked to her mother, and her cousin-in-law Tao Xinhe for help.

But when Old Mrs. Gu heard that Tao Xinhe was going to contact Ji Changbo’s mansion as her family’s representative, She shook Gu Runing’s hand, pointed at Second Aunt Gu’s nose, and complained unceremoniously that she had entrusted her to a nobody.

Among the elders is Old Aunt Gu, and the eldest brother and daughter-in-law of the same generation are also justifiable. She found it frustrating to find someone who lost his mother before marriage to host.

Tao Xinhe answered her accusatory words politely,

“If grandma can find someone who is more familiar with the process of welcoming a daughter-in-law and marrying a daughter into a third-rank official family then we can have her represent instead, although it might be too late for us if we were being picky. Furthermore, Gu Runing’s parents are still alive, so it is logical that it is not the grandmother’s turn to criticize their marriage, but it would be a different matter if grandfather was still alive.”

The female’s voice was crisp and sweet, and her words were respectful, but the implication made Old Mrs. Gu choke and scold her grandaughter-in-law for being unfilial.

Tao Xinhe knelt down to plead guilty to the elders according to etiquette. Her shoulders straight and head bowed. She then said,

“Please don’t get angry with this wife, but this one will never let go of the matter of presiding over Gu Runing’s marriage.”

Second Aunt Gu was very grateful, she was the last person who didn’t want the old Gu’s mansion to interfere with her own daughter’s marriage, so she bit the bullet and pleaded with her mother-in-law. Although she had always been afraid of her.

Third Aunt Gu acted accordingly, thinking that her husband and son were planning to harass Gu Ningxi in the ancestral hall, so here she might as well sell some favor to his wife. Slap a sweet date, and come to smooth things over.

As soon as Tao Xinhe stood up, she heard someone report that Gu Ningxi had a quarrel with her third uncle and older cousin at the gate of the ancestral hall. Old Mrs. Gu was immediately angered again, and she reprimanded her to kneel down.

***

TL NOTE:

Oh noes, I seem to have a bad premonition with Mo Qi’s illness getting worse.. Hopefully it doesn’t affect the relationship between Gu Ningxi and Tao Xinhe.