Chapter 368: Chapter 369: Stirring Up Trouble

But it was like a foul wind, blowing stronger and stronger. Eventually, even the old women out buying vegetables had heard a thing or two.

Jin Qianqian certainly wasn’t going to sit back and wait for disaster. She already had a good idea who was behind the rumors.

She had thought they would target Gu Wenheng, who had been extra cautious these past few days. She never expected they would come after her instead.

"Madam, these people are despicable! How can they say such absurd things based on mere rumors?" Liu Chunmei said indignantly.

"Have new stories started making the rounds?" Jin Qianqian raised an eyebrow, looking at her with curiosity. ’To frame me, these people have really gone all out, even concocting a few short tales to go along with it.’

Something about breaking up a happy couple and separating childhood sweethearts.

Something about beating a servant girl just for exchanging flirtatious glances with Mr. Gu.

Something about controlling the household finances and forbidding Mr. Gu from taking concubines.

...

"These people are too vicious. They say Madam is unfilial to her elders, that you’ve abandoned the old madam and the others in the countryside, and they even say you..." Liu Qingmei couldn’t bring herself to finish. ’Madam is such a good person, why would they slander her like this?’

Jin Qianqian just smiled, unconcerned. "Let them. Let them keep making things up. If we don’t let this blow up, they’ll never stop."

The rumors had spread so quickly because the old madam of the Huang Mansion had put in a great deal of effort. These past few days, she had bribed quite a few storytellers to spread thinly veiled attacks about her in the teahouses.

She’d heard so many versions these past few days. Some were even more dramatic than the tales written by scholars. It was clear they had put their hearts into it.

"Madam, are we just going to let them be? If this goes on, it’ll be bad for us," Qing Lan said through clenched teeth. "Business at all the shops has been worse than before, and some people are even standing outside the doors, pointing and whispering."

Qingzhu poked her on the head. ’This girl talks about nothing but business these days. It’s a good thing Madam doesn’t hold it against her. If it were any other master, they might start to question her loyalty.’

"Isn’t that exactly what they want? To slander us and, at the same time, save their own struggling shops." Jin Qianqian looked at Qing Lan with amusement. "It seems like you’ve practically taken root in the shops lately. It’s rare to see you in the mansion today."

Qing Lan said, "This servant was getting anxious and wanted to come back to ask Madam for a plan. People have been going into those shops again these past two days. We can’t let them succeed."

"Don’t rush," Jin Qianqian said, taking a sip of her tea. "There are still people watching from the sidelines. We’ll wait for them to jump out so we can see who are people and who are ghosts."

...

Just as Jin Qianqian had expected, the ripples eventually reached Gu Wenheng.

Some people had already come forward to mock Gu Wenheng, both openly and subtly, calling him henpecked, weak-willed, and unfit for important duties.

"Wenheng, if things get any worse, you should just take a concubine. If you let them keep talking like this, you’re going to become infamous in Shangjing City," He Nan said, having made a special trip to see him that day.

Gu Wenheng replied, "Let them say what they want. It’s not like I’ll lose a piece of my flesh over it."

He Nan grew anxious. "Aren’t you afraid these rumors will reach the ears of your superiors? When it comes to the year-end evaluations, they won’t go easy on you."

Gu Wenheng said, "It’s all baseless speculation. They’re just rumors, and they’ll eventually fall apart on their own."

He Nan replied, "It’s not as simple as you make it sound. My wife told me this has been going on for over half a month. Life is even harder for your wife; she’s constantly surrounded by women gossiping and making snide remarks.

Honestly, the solution isn’t difficult. Just pick any servant girl, elevate her status, and this whole thing will blow over."

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He Nan wondered why Gu Wenheng wouldn’t solve such a simple problem so easily.

’Could the rumors be true? Is Gu Wenheng really henpecked?’

Thinking about the man’s daily routine—no hobbies to speak of, just shuttling back and forth between home and the Hanlin Academy—he couldn’t help but look at Gu Wenheng with a hint of suspicion.

"Wipe that look off your face," Gu Wenheng said, seeing right through him. "There will never be anyone else between my wife and me."

"Why? It’s perfectly normal for a man to have three or four wives and concubines." He Nan believed that all that talk of deep devotion and a single perfect pair was just nonsense from books meant to deceive people.

Even though he and his wife were deeply in love, he still had two concubines, both of whom his wife had proactively arranged for him.

Yang Wenlan: `...` ’If I hadn’t arranged them, your mother would have stuffed women into your room herself.’

"Hah," Gu Wenheng scoffed. "That’s how *you* think. Why are you trying to force it on me?

Besides, I imagine the relationship between the legitimate and illegitimate children in your esteemed household isn’t as harmonious as it appears on the surface, is it?"

Thinking of his half-brothers and their mothers in his own mansion, He Nan’s expression stiffened. He had lost count of how many times he had suffered at their hands. If his own mother hadn’t protected him so fiercely, the grass on his grave would have grown and withered many times over by now.

"See? You yourself have suffered greatly from it, so why would you want your own children to go through it again?" Gu Wenheng looked at He Nan with utter disdain. "You don’t really believe the wives and concubines in a household can live in harmony, do you?"

He Nan: `...`

Gu Wenheng didn’t want to waste any more time on him, leaving him to continue deceiving himself.

「 」

As the situation continued to develop, Li Cuicui and the others arrived in Shangjing that very day.

"Mother, this place is so lively!" Gu Yuanshui said, his eyes sparkling as he watched the endless stream of carriages passing through the gates.

To others, they were just insignificant passersby, but in Gu Yuanshui’s eyes, they were all walking moneybags.

The sheer number of cargo carriages traveling to and fro also symbolized the immense opportunities available here.

Li Cuicui swallowed hard. This truly was the land at the foot of the Emperor. Look at how these people dressed, how they carried themselves—they were all exceptionally different.

Thinking of the reason her fourth son had come along this time, Li Cuicui turned and glared at him. "I’m warning you again: you must ask your seventh brother before you do anything. If he doesn’t agree to you stirring up trouble here, you will obediently come back with me."

"Don’t worry! I know what I’m doing.

Besides, it’s not like I’m going to commit any crimes. You think I’d actually harm my own little brother?"

Li Cuicui said, "You’d better not."

As for Gu Lehuan, who was staring intently out the window, Li Cuicui simply rolled her eyes. ’That boy thinks he can hide things from an old woman like me. He must have a sweetheart in Shangjing, acting all mysterious like that.’

This time, everyone had been clamoring to come along. Li Cuicui had put her foot down, bringing only Gu Yuanshui and Gu Lehuan. She had even left her two granddaughters, who were usually raised by her side, in the care of her eldest son’s wife.

If she had relaxed her stance even a little, she probably would have had a huge, disorderly crowd on her hands for this trip.

"Mother, we didn’t send a letter ahead of time. Showing up at their door like this will probably give Seventh Brother and his wife a scare," Gu Yuanshui said, just now realizing a serious problem.

"That would have taken too long. Besides, we’re not staying for good, just for a couple of days," Li Cuicui said. She wanted to see the splendor of Shangjing for herself, but she knew she was better suited to life in Gaoling Village.

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