Chapter 337: Chapter 338: Sisters Scheming

He had intended to find someone to vent his frustrations to, but he ended up getting sidetracked by Gu Wenheng. The two of them debated in the study for what felt like half the day. In the end, he just had a simple meal with the Gu family before being sent out the gate, still in a daze.

Bai Jinglie glanced back at the two words "Gu Mansion" on the plaque, shook his head with an amused smile, took the horse Ye Yi led over, and started for home.

Jin Qianqian stood in the courtyard, smiling as she watched Gu Wenheng. "You made a promise to Luo Luo earlier. Now you can go and coax him yourself."

Seeing the gloating expression on his wife’s face, Gu Wenheng slapped his forehead. ’I promised to take the little guy out on the streets. Looking at the sky now, I’ll have to break my promise again.’

"Where’s the child?"

"He’s playing in the backyard," Jin Qianqian said, though she left one thing unsaid. The truth was, their son had already forgotten all about going out. ’Maybe I should forget to remind my husband, too?’

"..."

「The Huang Mansion, Residence of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice」

Xiao Shiyu pressed her temples. "Why have you come running here? Shouldn’t you be at home, properly observing the mourning period?"

Xiao Wanyu toyed with the cup in her hands. "We are both daughters of the Xiao Family. We should look out for each other.

This life as a widow is far from easy. I’ve come here today to beg you, my sister, to help me think of a solution."

Xiao Shiyu snorted. "You should be at the Niu family home, dutifully mourning and upholding your widow’s virtue, helping to manage their household affairs. You shouldn’t be running here to cry to me.

The mourning period isn’t even over. Showing up at my residence so openly... are you trying to drag me down with you?"

’Who makes social calls in the midst of deep mourning? Now the Old Madam and my mother-in-law will surely summon me for another lecture.’

Xiao Wanyu said brazenly, "Back when you and Father married me off to the Niu family, wasn’t the whole point that we sisters would be here to support one another?

Now your little sister is in a desperate situation. Are you, my elder sister, really going to sit by and do nothing?"

"That’s completely different! Lord Niu passed away from illness, and then your mother-in-law died of grief. You’re in a double mourning period! Even if you don’t consider it bad luck, we do! Who makes social calls at a time like this?

I don’t want to discuss this further. Leave. Now. Through the back gate!"

Xiao Wanyu didn’t move. "It’s precisely because I’m in deep mourning that I came to you for help, Sister. You know my life with the Niu family these past few years hasn’t been easy. Besides, my visit isn’t without its benefits for you. Aren’t you even a little curious to hear what I have to say?"

Xiao Shiyu eyed her with suspicion, a sneer playing on her lips. "From the time we were children, have you ever been anything but trouble? What good could you possibly bring?"

"That’s why you should listen. Do you remember Gu Wenheng from back in Dao City?"

"The name sounds a little familiar... but that is the name of a man outside our family. How can you speak it so freely?..."

Seeing Xiao Shiyu about to launch into another lecture, Xiao Wanyu quickly cut in, "It should sound familiar. Back then, I was almost betrothed to him..."

"Stop!" Xiao Shiyu slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet. "Raised by a concubine, indeed! Have you no sense of propriety?

Even I, living secluded in the inner courtyards, heard whispers of that affair.

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That Scholar Gu was already married, and Father was completely against it. Don’t you dare bring this matter up again! If you ruin the Xiao Family’s reputation, Father will be the first to punish you."

"Why are you so angry? We were having a perfectly fine conversation. I haven’t even finished speaking. How could you possibly know if this would ruin our reputation?"

Xiao Wanyu was completely unfazed by Xiao Shiyu’s furious glare. "He’s no longer a simple Scholar. He’s this year’s top Imperial Scholar. And not long after entering the Hanlin Academy, he was promoted to Standard Fifth Rank Imperial College Doctor. His future is boundless."

Xiao Shiyu said, "So what? We are complete strangers with no connection to him. Are you thinking of trying to latch onto him now?"

"If we have no connection, we must create one." Seeing a thoughtful look in her older sister’s eyes, Xiao Wanyu leaned in closer. "I don’t mind becoming his concubine. With my family background and my looks, I’m certain I can put that country bumpkin of a primary wife in her place.

Think about it, Sister. If you had a brother-in-law with such a promising future, wouldn’t that be a great help to your husband’s family? And surely your husband would gain more influence in his own household!"

Xiao Shiyu stared at her in disbelief. "You would actually scheme something like this?"

"I have no other choice! As a widow, I’m just a useless piece on the board to the Xiao Family and to you. But Gu Wenheng... he’s different. If his official career takes off, he might even be able to help our father."

Looking at her younger half-sister’s smug expression, Xiao Shiyu wanted to refuse her outright. But in her heart, she knew she was tempted by the proposal.

Her mother and mother-in-law may have been childhood friends, but her sisters-in-law all came from better families than she did. To make matters worse, her husband had been dropping hints lately, complaining that her family was useless to him. All of this left her feeling increasingly insecure.

’This plan Xiao Wanyu has proposed... it might actually work.’

’A top scholar with a boundless future... he was certainly worth an investment.’

But seeing her half-sister’s despicable attitude, she didn’t want to agree so readily. "This will be difficult. We have no connection with Gu Wenheng. What do you plan to do, just throw yourself at his door?"

Xiao Wanyu rolled her eyes at her. "Don’t think I’m completely ignorant. It’s common for a superior to bestow a concubine upon a subordinate. For Lord Huang, it would be a trivial matter."

"...Let me think about it."

"Well, you’d better think fast. And you need to help me settle things with the Niu family quickly. I don’t want to leave any loose ends that could cause trouble later."

"..."

Gu Wenheng let out a series of sneezes. Jin Qianqian glanced at the blazing sun outside. "Were you sitting too close to the ice bucket at the Hanlin Academy? You’re a grown man; you can’t be so careless about getting a chill."

"Impossible," Gu Wenheng said. "I’m only allotted half a bucket of ice each day, and it’s gone by noon. It’s not enough to get much of a chill, even if I tried."

Jin Qianqian glanced at the two buckets of ice in their bedroom. ’He has a point,’ she thought. In this heat, even the ice in the bedroom only provided a bit of comfort; it was hardly enough to make one feel cold.

"I bet someone’s talking ill of me behind my back," Gu Wenheng said. He figured it was normal enough; some people were even brazen enough to make snide remarks to his face.

Jin Qianqian’s thoughts returned to the ice bucket. "They only give you half a bucket of ice for the entire day?"

Gu Wenheng pointed to a small ice bucket in the room. "A bucket about that size, and we only receive our ration once a day."

Jin Qianqian thought about the ice they were using at home. The steward had rushed to have it harvested and stored last winter. With so few masters and servants in the household, they had barely used a fraction of what was in the icehouse.

"Why don’t you start taking some ice from home with you each day? The weather is only getting hotter. If this keeps up, you’ll get heatstroke."

"We’ll see," Gu Wenheng replied. "Everyone else is just making do for now. It wouldn’t be good for me to stand out."

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