CHAPTER 1600: CHAPTER 1600 GOOD LOOKING

Yu Wen called for a stop, Su Xuan opened her closed eyes and asked in confusion, "Why are we stopping?"

It was snowing outside, and had been for about half an hour. Yu Wen stared at the snow on the man’s shoulders; he had evidently been standing there for a while. She called over a young servant, "Go and ask the gentleman why he is standing at the gate?"

The young servant was a bit baffled, turned his head to look at the puzzled Fourth Madam, and only after seeing her nod did he leave the carriage and depart.

Su Xuan peered outside through the glass window and asked in a low voice, "Do you know him?"

Yu Wen replied, "I met him at the teahouse last time with Grandma. This is Mr. Gu, who competed with Zhuo Guyu."

Su Xuan had now seen the man’s face; his complexion was somewhat pale, clearly having been frozen for a long time. Looking at her daughter eagerly gazing outside, her heart was moved.

Gu Sheng was holding a painting in his arms, feeling terribly cold. He couldn’t bear to buy a thick cloak; although he was wearing cotton clothes, he had been waiting long enough to be frozen through.

The young servant approached, "Is the gentleman waiting for someone?"

Gu Sheng regained his senses, "Yes."

The young servant glanced up at the residence in front of him, "The young man sees that the gentleman has been waiting for a long time. Waiting like this is not a solution; let me call for someone to come to you."

These servants understood the hidden intentions just by looking at each other; clearly, this was to trouble the gentleman, but he wasn’t afraid.

Gu Sheng quickly extended his hand, "No need for trouble, I’m here to deliver a painting."

The young servant pretended not to hear, quickly taking two steps to knock on the door. The doorkeeper inside had already been listening intently to the outside; upon hearing the knock, he opened a small crack, not yet asking who it was.

The young servant already smiled and said, "I am a servant of the Marquis Zhou Residence. I know the gentleman outside. My master wants me to ask why the gentleman is left at the gate; has he offended the residence?"

The doorkeeper broke out in a cold sweat, "The small one, the small one will report immediately."

The young servant waited for the doorkeeper to leave, nodded at the Mr. Gu behind him, and then quickly ran back to the carriage, repeating what he had said. That’s why it’s said that the young servants of large households are all crafty.

Yu Wen signaled the maid to give a reward, "Well done."

The young servant received a gold bean, extremely delighted. Their fourth family’s master was the most generous. Many people wished to work in the Marquis Zhou Residence. There were no internal conflicts among the masters, and these servants didn’t have to worry about their lives; naturally, they lived comfortably, and those who did well could be released from servitude. Who wouldn’t envy them?

At the gate of the Du Residence, Mr. Du apologized, "The household servants saw me resting and didn’t dare to call, causing Mr. Gu to wait for so long."

Gu Sheng was very clever, showing nothing on his face, "I didn’t account for the time properly."

Mr. Du offered up the pouch in his hand, holding the painting in the other hand, and said, "Mr. Gu suffered from the cold because of me; here are twenty taels, ten for the painting, and the remaining ten as my apology."

Gu Sheng deftly accepted it, "The hour is late; I shall take my leave."

Mr. Du smiled and nodded, then looked at the carriage from the Hou Residence in the distance, taking a deep breath with a smile before closing the gate.

Gu Sheng, clutching his silver, ran quickly to the front of the Hou Residence carriage. He thought it was Mr. Zhou, hurriedly bowing to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, today."

Yu Wen heard this and drew open the carriage curtain, "Mr. Gu, my nephew is not in the carriage."

Gu Sheng was dumbfounded, only coming to his senses after a long moment, tentatively calling out, "Magistrate Anhe?"

Yu Wen raised an eyebrow, "You know me?"

Gu Sheng hung his head, not daring to look, "Yes, I’ve heard of the Magistrate."

Today’s tea banquet at the Duke of Yongan’s Residence, he had heard about it before, guessing it was the Magistrate.

Yu Wen lowered the carriage curtain, "Let’s go."

Gu Sheng only slowly raised his head after the carriage had left, clutching the pouch tightly in his hand. That was Magistrate Anhe just now? Recalling the fiery red cloak and the young girl adorned with ruby headpieces, he could only think of one word: dazzling!

In the main courtyard of the Marquis Zhou Residence, Zhulan carefully watched Yu Wen, confidently asking, "Yu Wen, are you happy?"

Yu Wen’s eyes sparkled, "Grandma, do you still remember the two handsome gentlemen from the teahouse?"

"Yes, I remember."

Yu Wen said, "I saw Mr. Gu Sheng today, and he looks even better up close, with a face like jade, a gentleman of noble character."

Zhu Lan, "???"

Su Xuan saw her mother-in-law looking at her and recounted the events, "That Mr. Gu was being troubled, and this girl helped out."

Zhulan for a moment regretted not going to the Duke Residence; she missed out on quite a show, tentatively asking her granddaughter, "Do you think he is very good?"

Yu Wen saw both her grandmother and mother looking at her nervously and smiled, "He’s good-looking."

Zhulan, "..."

Su Xuan, "..."

Why does this feel so familiar? Suddenly remembering herself back then, she ran after her husband regardless of the rules!

Zhulan lightly coughed, "You’re still young."

This girl took after Su Xuan in height, looking tall like she was fifteen or sixteen, but she was actually quite young.

Yu Wen rolled her eyes, "In two years, I’ll reach adulthood; not young anymore."

Zhulan, "..."

In ancient times, engagements and marriages happened early!

Su Xuan clutched her chest, "Don’t tease Mother."

Yu Wen laughed, "Mother, I’m teasing you; I won’t decide on marriage early, we’ll talk after I come of age."

Yu Wen truly thought of herself as young. Although many people had their eyes on her, she really hadn’t thought of marriage; she was simply admiring, that’s all.

In the evening, Jiang Sheng and his wife came over. Xue Mei talked about how the servants were dealt with, selling off the disobedient ones. Xue Mei was so angry it made her chest hurt, "Mother, I even found embezzled silver in their rooms!"

Zhou Shuren snorted, and Xue Mei instantly fell silent; she was quite afraid of her father, and Jiang Sheng shrank his neck, his father-in-law’s stern face intimidating.

Zhou Shuren said, "Embezzling silver should be reported to the government. Today they embezzle silver, tomorrow they might be bribed to harm their master."

Xue Mei hadn’t seen blood, ultimately soft-hearted, hung her head, "Father, they’ve already been sold."

Zhou Shuren glared at Jiang Sheng. Jiang Sheng, feeling wronged to death, could only bear it.

Zhulan asked, "You’ve sold more than half of the servants; is the household still manageable?"

Xue Mei sneaked a glance at her father, only raising her head when she saw he wasn’t looking at her, "Mother, I want to ask for the help of Qing Xue by your side to choose new servants."

While speaking, she also glanced at Qing Xue.

Zhulan said, "That’s good too; it will help you see things clearly."

Zhou Shuren spoke to Jiang Sheng, "You better not leave the capital recently."

Jiang Sheng replied, "Even if you don’t say so, your son-in-law isn’t allowed to leave the capital for the next year or two."

The first reason is he needs to slowly digest his travel experiences from past years, and secondly, he can’t be at ease with such a major incident at home.

Zhou Shuren gave a nod, "I heard from your mother-in-law that you’re going to participate in the painting competition hosted by the painting shop?"

Jiang Sheng touched his nose, "Indeed there is such a thing. They invited your son-in-law before, but he always declined. This time he couldn’t refuse, so he agreed to it."

Zhou Shuren didn’t know much about the capital’s painting shop, so he looked at his daughter-in-law.

Zhulan, being a frequent visitor to the painting shop, had much understanding, "The painting shop in the capital hosts a competition every year. Anyone who learns painting can participate, and the judges are reputable figures, very fair."