Chapter 432: Chapter 433: Excitement

The Gu family tossed and turned all night. When dawn finally broke, Gu Yuanjin and Gu Yuanshui personally led a group of men and hurried to the county town.

They rushed in the very moment the town gates opened.

Housekeeper Fu was surprised to see them arrive. "Eldest Master, Fourth Master, what brings you here so early?"

Gu Yuanjin glanced up at the brightening sky. "Are my sister-in-law and the children still asleep? Has Seventh returned?"

From their solemn expressions and the nature of their questions, Housekeeper Fu immediately guessed the reason for their visit.

He replied with a smile, "To answer you, Eldest Master, our Madam has brought the children back to spend the winter here.

As for the Master, he is now the Magistrate of Lu City and is currently on his way to assume his post.

We were supposed to send someone back to inform you yesterday, but the town gates closed shortly after we entered.

We were planning to head back to the village first thing this morning, so we weren’t expecting you."

Gu Yuanshui’s face lit up with excitement. "Seventh was assigned a post so soon? Didn’t he say it would probably be after the new year? He didn’t even send a letter! We were worried sick for nothing."

Gu Yuanjin smiled as well. "This is wonderful news. I never thought Seventh was so capable. In such a short time, he’s become a city’s parents official."

Seeing how happy they were, Housekeeper Fu decided to hold his tongue.

’The Master’s new post is in a dangerous place, but he has so many men with him this time. There shouldn’t be any major issues, right?’

Upon hearing the news, Jin Qianqian quickly got up and ready, then went to the front courtyard to meet the Gu Family Brothers.

"Eldest Brother, Fourth Brother, you came so early, you must not have eaten breakfast yet. I’ll have Housekeeper Fu prepare something, and we can all head back to the village together after we eat."

Gu Yuanjin replied, "Sister-in-law, please don’t go to any trouble. The family was just worried about your sudden return. They were afraid something might have happened, so they sent us to check on you.

Now that we know everything is fine, we should be getting back. The family is waiting for news from us.

You’ve all had a long journey, and the weather is cold. Let the two children rest a while longer. Fourth and I will head back to the village first."

Without another word, he began dragging Gu Yuanshui out the door, not caring whether he was ready to leave. "Let’s hurry back and tell Mother the wonderful news."

Jin Qianqian watched their hurried departure and asked Housekeeper Fu curiously, "What was all that about so early in the morning?"

Housekeeper Fu shared his speculation, then looked at Jin Qianqian cautiously. "I didn’t tell the Eldest Master and the others about the current situation in Lu City."

Jin Qianqian fell silent. After a long moment, she finally said, "Tell everyone in our residence to be careful. Try not to mention the situation in Lu City to the rest of the family."

"Yes."

"Qing Mei, have someone check if the two young masters are awake. If not, wake them. We’ll head back to the village as soon as they’ve had breakfast.

Qingzhu, go and get all the gifts we prepared ready. Also, have the kitchen go out and purchase more groceries."

＆

「Gaoling Village」

Li Cuicui and the others had been waiting at the village entrance ever since Gu Yuanjin left. Word had gradually spread, and many curious villagers had gathered around as well.

"Still no news?" Gu Sanbu asked, his face etched with worry.

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Gu Lejia replied, "Third Great-Uncle, it won’t be that quick. The town gates have probably just opened."

Gu Sanbu felt it was unseemly for so many people to be crowding around, so he decided to disperse them. "Don’t just stand around here. Go on about your business."

"..."

Everyone could see the Old Clan Leader wasn’t as calm as he appeared, so no one dared to defy him. They offered a few words of comfort to Li Cuicui before dispersing in twos and threes.

Gu Sanbu’s legs were still a bit unsteady, so he found a nearby rock and sat down.

Hiding in the crowd, Song Xiuxiang watched everyone on tenterhooks and couldn’t help but feel a secret sense of glee.

’In her opinion, the best outcome would be for Ancient Wen Heng to have offended some powerful noble and been demoted. Then she’d get to see how smug Jin Qianqian could be.’

In a complete reversal of her gloating expression from the previous day, Wang Caiyue’s brow was now tightly furrowed.

After a night of reflection and a stern talking-to from Gu Lexi and Gu Yuanmu, she now understood just how important it was for the clan to have a member with an official post.

’If Seventh wasn’t there to back the Gu Family Brothers, they probably wouldn’t be able to hold onto their businesses.’

’She didn’t get a share of the profits, but having been back for a while, she understood that her own family would only prosper if the brothers prospered.’

’And while she always wanted more for herself, she didn’t want to see the Gu family fall back into their former dire straits.’

Suddenly, someone shouted, "They’re here!" and everyone could hear the rumble of ox-cart wheels.

Seeing the crowd at the village entrance, Gu Yuanjin cracked his whip in the air with a flourish. The old ox picked up its pace, and before long, the cart arrived before them.

In stark contrast to the crowd’s solemn faces, both Gu Yuanshui and Gu Yuanjin were grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing their two smiling faces, the Gu Family members relaxed a little. It meant everything was fine.

"Eldest, hurry up and tell us what’s going on! Why did they suddenly come back?" Li Cuicui didn’t care about the subtleties; she just wanted to hear the news from her son.

"Mother, it’s good news! Wonderful news!" Gu Yuanjin announced. "Our Seventh has been promoted to Magistrate!

Do you know what a Magistrate is? That’s an official several ranks higher than a County Magistrate!"

Not to be outdone, Gu Yuanshui chimed in, "Seventh has already left to assume his new post! His wife is bringing the children to spend the winter in Fu County, and since they were planning to come back, they didn’t send a messenger ahead of time."

"The ancestors are watching over us!" Gu Sanbu stood up so abruptly in his excitement that Le Xi and the others nearby rushed over to support him.

"I’m not dreaming, am I?" Li Cuicui pinched her own arm. Before, when Seventh was an official in Shangjing, she had heard he only handled paperwork.

As an old woman, she had no real concept of these things. Besides, in Shangjing, you couldn’t turn around without bumping into a First or Second Rank official, so she had never felt her son’s position was anything particularly impressive.

But a Lord Prefect... she knew what that was. That was well and truly a city’s parents official, responsible for so many people.

"Mother, it’s the absolute truth. I wouldn’t dare joke about something like this," Gu Yuanshui said, walking over to support the old woman. "It was just bad timing yesterday. His wife and the children reached the town right as the gates were closing. Even if we hadn’t made this trip, they would have come back shortly.

Since it’s still early, let’s have someone tidy up their courtyard again and get the kang heated."

Gu Yuanshui had once again successfully diverted the old woman’s attention. "Yes, we should get the kang heated! We can’t have my two little darlings freezing when they get back.

Eldest Daughter-in-law, hurry and have someone slaughter a chicken. Get some chicken soup simmering. We’ll cook some noodles in it for our Cancan later."

Her eyes landed on Wang Caiyue, but she skipped right past her. "Third Daughter-in-law, Fourth Daughter-in-law, have someone go into the village and get more vegetables. There will be a lot of people with them, and what we have in our own garden won’t be nearly enough.

Fifth Daughter-in-law, go check on the quilts at Seventh’s house and see if they’re still usable. I wonder if they’ve gotten musty after all this time."

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