CH 35

Chapter 35: Troubles

“Sister, do you really want to go to the second household of the Gu Family alone? It’s at the second uncle’s mansion of Gu Sicheng! Sister, do you remember? My wife and I already visited Qiangniang last night. Although she stayed on the bed, it was still inconvenient for her to move because of her injured foot, but she seemed quite happy while we were eating and drinking, and she will come back by herself in two or three days.” Tao Muxian anxiously reminded, after learning about his sister’s afternoon arrangements.

Tao Xinhe was sitting at the table with Lady Hong, while writing and discussing what they sent last night, they started talking about what Qiangniang was lacking and needed so she could bring it to her later in the afternoon. Tao Muxian was scratching his head, while holding back the words that he wanted to say further because no one seemed to be listening.

Yes, she has been worrying about Qiangniang ever since last night, but she knew that it would not be too late to meet with Second Aunt Gu after the separation. So why did she change her mind?

Tao Xinhe fell silent, and flicked the pen in her hand on the paper, which smeared a group of shapeless ink marks on the paper, perhaps it was like a knot in her heart that she couldn’t express.

Isn’t it because of Gu Ningxi? His behavior in the morning, even though he fainted without saying a word, Tao Xinhe still found that he was in a completely different state of mind than before.

Gu Ningxi said yesterday that he wanted to take a concubine. To her, the hidden worries in her heart had become a reality, but the dust had finally settled, so she quickly made up her mind to separate.

Naturally there was a lot of pain, but Tao Xinhe didn’t waver at all. After the wind and rain, the flowers have to regain their beauty. She is already calming down her mood, preparing for the separation and divorce and her life afterwards.

However, it was obviously Gu Ningxi who broke his promise first and formed a new love, so how could he act like he was let down because she asked for the separation?

If an outsider who doesn’t know the whole situation, sees the ridiculous scene of him calling her in front of the gate in the morning, maybe they will think that Tao Xinhe was the one who changed her mind, and asked for a separation because she wanted to marry someone else, while her husband came to try to make up.

‘Ah!’

Could it be that he, Gu Ningxi, never thought that every word she said before didn’t come from the bottom of her heart?

Yesterday she endured the discomfort in her stomach, and carefully wrote that separation letter, but for him, that letter was simply child’s play that can be torn up at will?

Could it be that Gu Ningxi thought that she was a clay figurine who could be manipulated by him, without any temper, and could not live without him for the rest of her life? Even her bottom line of “A Couple For A Lifetime” can also be compromised?

Tao Xinhe guessed with a headache. Gu Ningxi was nothing more than relying on the fact that she had treated him so well for more than three years, and was tolerant and considerate towards him. She was even known as a “Virtuous Wife” because of it. Is that why he thought that taking a concubine this time was just a small matter that won’t affect their husband and wife. So he can step over the threshold by lowering his stance, right?

‘No!’

Tao Xinhe felt even more embarrassed after hearing Gu Ningxi’s intention when he came here today. It was to “Bring her back to the house”. Tao Muxian told her about it himself. It was as if Gu Ningxi had just taken her for granted and given her alms. A surge of anger welled up in her heart spontaneously.

She felt that the words she left behind with Shihua in the morning were not harsh enough, and she was so angry that she couldn’t get enough of it. She wasn’t even able to enjoy her lunch, but she gritted her teeth while eating, which tasted like chewing wax.

Since she wanted to prove a point, Tao Xinhe didn’t want to lower her identity to go to the Gu Mansion to look for him, so she decided to entrust a middleman whom both of them knew well to relay her words again.

Naturally, she thought of Second Aunt Gu, since she can use the excuse of visiting Qiangniang at the second household of the Gu Mansion. Then it was simply killing two birds with one stone. This is also the reason why she insisted on going there alone.

She felt that speaking out about her own plans personally is quite petty, which is naturally inappropriate. Self-knowledge is enough for faint thoughts.

Tao Xinhe smiled lightly, and said, “I know, Muxian.”

She gently rolled up the stained paper, and spread another snow-white square paper again. She lowered her head and dipped her pen in ink, and asked Lady Hong softly.

“What did you just say? Bring Qiangniang two volumes of her bedside conversation book, right?”

Tao Muxian was worried for a while, and was infected by the calmness of his sister’s writing, and thought, “As an outsider, I am a little hesitant about how to get along with the Gu family this time, but my sister seemed quite confident, and I am relieved.”

He looked at us, and he couldn’t do much, so he went outside the courtyard to help prepare for the outing. He didn’t pay attention to their conversation after he had turned around. It turns out Tao Xinhe and lady Hong’s follow-up discussion in a soft tone appeared to be different this time, and Lady Hong herself asked if she wasn’t able to sleep well last night.

❖

Gu Ningxi’s body was getting hotter and hotter, his brows were wrinkled, breath was heavy, and his hands were clenched into fists and he was swinging wildly. His legs and feet were kicking left and right. However, his eyes were still closed tightly, he couldn’t hear the other people’s calls, since he was still in a coma.

He kicked a quilt away and Mo Qiqi once again went over to help him cover up, she pouted and reluctantly told the unconscious person in front of her and said,

“Brother Xi, the housekeeper is right, I have to go back and help with my older brother’s vigil, I can’t stay and take care of you. So I have to go, please get well soon, Qiniang misses you already.”

The housekeeper remained silent, and was maintaining his respect for the guest, but he looked down on Miss Mo in his heart.

She came to give gifts out of nowhere a year ago, and when they met again, it was the master who summoned the servants to help her arrange a memorial ceremony for her brother.

Although he doesn’t know the relationship between the master and their Mo family, the housekeeper has never heard of this brother and sister for many years, and they have never even paid tribute to each other.

Obviously, they are not very close. Well, it seems that their Gu family is helping Ms. Mo in a benevolent and righteous way, and she should be the one heading that funeral. However, the young girl’s face is already so swollen, her appearance unbearable, she walks timidly, and she is so petty. When dealing with affairs, she only knows to call “Brother Xi, how do you arrange this?”, “Brother Xi, how do you arrange that?” She’s always hovering around the master, like a little tail. The housekeeper really couldn’t look down on her even more. He cleverly forked it several times.

And the master is also very strange. He returned home in the rain yesterday afternoon, and he didn’t know what he said to his wife, which made her angry. After a while, he came to his senses and hurried out of the house. The housekeeper thought that he was going to chase after her, but he didn’t expect to see the master in a remote alley later, and even got an order to help with the funeral.

The master himself was present, he was sitting on the only chair in the deceased’s room, his mind was out of control, he basically didn’t move his feet, didn’t talk to anyone, as if his soul was wandering nine days away.

The feeling he was giving the housekeeper was that he seemed to be sad, distressed, and confused, as if he was wishing to leave this place in the next moment, but he seemed to be caught by something, like he was trapped in a nightmare, his shoulders are slumped and his legs are stiff, and he was even forcing himself to stay there numbly.

Sure enough, after a busy night, the housekeeper reported to the master, “The general appearance has been sorted out.”

After hearing this, Gu Ningxi seemed to finally come alive suddenly, he even looked refreshed and he rushed out of the courtyard immediately. According to the housekeeper’s thoughts, it was like a trapped bird coming out of its cage and a dragon entering the deep sea.

But who knows what happened, after half a day’s work, the coachman and Shihua carried the master who had fainted, back to the Mo family courtyard!

The small courtyard of the Mo family was already overcrowded. The servants of the Gu Mansion, the neighbors who were called as patrons but actually watched the fun, the owners of the coffin shop and incense and candle shop, and people who claimed to be Mo Qi’s classmates, fellow villagers, and classmates came and went to pray for the funeral. After seeing Gu Ningxi, buzzing voices resounded everywhere.

The housekeeper couldn’t take it anymore, it was too awkward. He reprimanded Shihua angrily, and forced him to take the master back to the mansion.

However, Ms. Mo is still under filial piety, because of her brother’s death she will be a so-called “Inauspicious Person” for forty-nine days, and there are all kinds of funeral affairs to be taken care of, but she still didn’t hesitate to leave her brother’s uncoffined body and turn around. She immediately got into the carriage and stayed by Gu Ningxi’s side.

The housekeeper sneered inwardly. He then left behind a few companions to guard Mo’s place, and followed the master to the Mansion. The mourner herself doesn’t care, so what does it matter for them if anything doesn’t go as smoothly?

Something must have gone wrong between the master and the Madam, and the housekeeper, as a servant, cannot intervene. However, seeing Miss Mo messing with the unconscious master, he can still try to persuade her with a few words.

The housekeeper thought that he should take good care of the master properly for the madam, and don’t let this unobtrusive Miss Mo take the opportunity to rely on the Gu mansion, so he invited her back to the Mo Family courtyard to preside over the funeral affairs.

Finally, the coachman arranged to send Mo Qiqi and another maid, Zhuiyun, so Shishu and Liu Guang could come out early. Since they haven’t had their rest for a long time.

Looking at the young servants who were obviously exhausted, they still performed their duties as soon as they returned to the mansion. They wiped the master’s body to cool down, boiled medicine and fed water, without a single complaint.

The housekeeper was both relieved and worried. According to the practice at this time, it is only natural for the servants to take care of the trivial matters for the master they serve, but if they contribute to the funeral for another family, they are always worried about bringing bad luck and misfortune to their own family. Therefore, usually the presiding family will generally ask about personal wishes in advance, and will not force others to help. Then they will give a few red envelopes to the servants who are willing to help.

If the Madam had been in the mansion, she would have handled such details properly, and would have instructed the housekeeper earlier on. He wouldn’t have to worry about anything and just follow suit.

Unlike this time, the master gave orders abruptly and didn’t even comfort the servants, so the housekeeper had to consider all aspects, brace himself, and sometimes he even acted as a substitute for the master.

It is not difficult to verbally encourage everyone, but if he even dares to distribute the red envelopes without authorization, no matter how much money he had, he is afraid of being calculated by other senior servants, saying that he used the money of his masters to buy people’s hearts for himself.

The master who kept murmuring “He Niang” on the bed but was still in a coma made the housekeeper feel sad, “Oh, master, you are really sick, why don’t you wait until you bring your wife back to get sick again, the house still can’t live without your wife ”

The housekeeper couldn’t stay in front of Gu Ningxi’s bed all the time, so he told the brothers Shishu and Shihua, and the maid, Liu Guang, to take good care of the master, and then turned around and left the room to get busy.

There are so many things going on, and the Gu family is full of troubles, while the Mo family is also a mess, the housekeeper is like a spinning top that can’t stop, he was constantly dealing with messy affairs, until late at night, when the moon and stars are thin, he just sits upside down and finally takes a nap.

Someone was poking him on the shoulder. As soon as the housekeeper opened his eyes, he could see which of the twin brothers was nervously calling out “The Housekeeper”. His big face was so close that it almost scared him to death.

“My master is awake, and he was calling you to come.”

At this time, a rosy glow appeared on the horizon, which reflected the bright red window sills with auspicious patterns of New Year’s Day on the thick paper of the windows more vividly. After a while, the rising sun will come out from behind the mountain. Today is also the ninth day of the first lunar month.

The housekeeper rushed to the main room in surprise, and saw Gu Ningxi sitting on the head of the bed, without a quilt, revealing a wrinkled light gray plain linen, with messy buttons, loose hair, and bare feet on the bed. On the edge of the bed, where his foot was, had legs with veins that seemed to want to burst out of it.

His cheeks were red, as if the fever had not subsided yet, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, and the tails of his eyes were scarlet. He fixedly stared at the other twin servant in the room. After pounding his chest for a few times, he finally made a hoarse and indistinct sound, it sounded like he was half crying and half laughing, which was noticed by the housekeeper,

“Shihua, did you really relay what my wife said exactly? Word by word?”

Shihua fell to his knees and said in a weeping voice, “How dare I pass it on? Master, Madam really wants to separate with you, otherwise I will die.”

The housekeeper heard about this for the first time, and he was surprised and said, “What? Madam wants to separate?”

“It turns out that He Niang really wants to separate. So I was wrong.” Gu Ningxi laid down slumped, all over his body. The strength he had just gathered was immediately exhausted, his limbs were spread out, and his eyes were fixed on the top of the bed tent.

The residual heat is still there, and his mind is dizzy, as if he heard Shihua whispering in his ears, “Master, please get better, it will be the tenth day tomorrow, and Madam said she will meet you at the court.” Those words, like a soul-returning curse, finally dragged him back from the void.

When Gu Ningxi first woke up, he was only vaguely aware that when he went to the Tao Mansion, he didn’t ask for his wife back at all. Instead, he messed up the matter and pushed He Niang farther and farther away, to the point where even calling “He Niang” seemed too presumptuous.

After listening to Shihua’s narration, where he even pinched his throat and imitated her voice, from the tone down to her body language. Gu Ningxi as If falling Into an Ice Cave, finally realized that the word “Divorce” is really irreversible.