The Carefully Prepared Birthday Gift

Although she did make her own contributions to the stability and unity of the Marquis's Marquis's Residence, perhaps the Marquis's Residence's inner circle would be even better if someone else had been in her shoes!

So Xu Weibei, oh Xu Weibei, don't be so stubborn. You can't fight city hall.

And it's really not worth it.

Three-legged toads are nowhere to be found, but two-legged men are everywhere.

From a mathematical perspective, assuming an equal male-to-female ratio, women with two legs are everywhere...

From a linguistic perspective, it means there are plenty of fish in the sea, so why be hung up on just one flower, especially one that never blooms?

Unexpectedly, the Gu family has now started doing these sneaky things.

Even his own father knew how to "tailor his approach to people," and he had a good grasp of Xu Weibei's temperament.

"That's right," Wei Shi sighed, "Are you going to stay at home these next few days, or go stay at the house your older brother found for you next door?"

Living at home, there's also Gu Xiaoxiao, who's always at odds with Gu Wanning.

But if she stayed outside, she would have to worry about Xu Weibei harassing Gu Wanning.

"I'm moving out!" Gu Wanning said decisively.

When she came in just now, the window in Gu Xiaoxiao room was cracked open, clearly someone was spying on her.

The feeling of being secretly watched by rats in the gutter really annoyed Gu Wanning.

Moreover, not only that, she also didn't want to live under the same roof as the Gu family.

Too much friction is worse than having a bowl of soup between you; that way, your relationship will be more harmonious.

"That's fine then. As for the Marquis's situation... let's not worry about it unnecessarily. We'll talk about it when your father gets back. By the way, it's your birthday today, so I'll make you longevity noodles."

"Good."

"And another thing," Wei Shi secretly observed Gu Wanning's expression, and only dared to tentatively speak after seeing that she was in a stable mood, "Your sister also had someone send you a birthday gift... Originally, she was afraid you wouldn't accept it, so she sent it home and asked me to send someone to deliver it to you..."

If Gu Wanning refuses the gift, the person who delivered it will be turned away, and if word gets back to the Prince's Residence's residence, Gu Wanqing will likely become a laughingstock.

For Gu Wanqing, reputation was more important than anything else; she couldn't bear to hear a single bad word about her.

"Okay." Gu Wanning recalled the three times she had encountered Gu Wanqing while distributing porridge, each time with a pale face, and once even needing a maid's support to stand. She couldn't help but think, why bother?

"Mother, has my sister been unwell lately?" Gu Wanning finally couldn't help but ask, "We did see each other, but we were too busy to talk. She didn't look well."

Wei Shi sighed upon hearing this.

"Your sister just had a miscarriage. It was only ten days after she miscarried when we started distributing porridge. No matter what I said, I told her not to go out, but she insisted on going anyway. Your sister is just too strong-willed."

Miscarriage? How could you have miscarried?

"She said it was an accident, but Mother thinks that the Prince's Residence... is not as close as the Marquis and you few in terms of relationships."

Gu Wanning: "..."

Isn't it because they had no desire to compete for favor?

Where there is competition, whether it's for men, status, or money, the struggle is fierce, okay?

For women of this era, a husband's success brings honor to his wife; a man is their greatest achievement.

It would be unreasonable if they didn't break their heads.

"She always reports good news and never bad news, which I felt was a bit off. She didn't even send anyone back to deliver gifts for your Ling Ge's birthday... That's how I found out about her miscarriage when I asked your sister-in-law to go see her."

Gu Wanning: It's worrying when my older sister doesn't send anything home; but when she does send something home, it's the family that should be worried.

"What angered Mother even more was that after we found out about this, Xiaoxiao actually... actually..."

Gu Wanning perked up her ears.

Chapter 131 A Carefully Prepared Birthday Gift

"She... she actually said she wanted to help your sister with her worries."

Even with her usually good temper, Wei Shi trembled with anger when she talked about this matter.

"Share the burden?" Gu Wanning sneered. "Should we thank her for that?"

The Prince of Qin probably wouldn't object then; after all, the more women he had, the better.

However, if word got out that the two sisters shared a husband, and that they were both Gu family sisters, their father and brother would be humiliated.

If it were anyone else, the eldest brother would have already taken action, or rather, he would have acted much more ruthlessly.

I just didn't expect Gu Xiaoxiao to be so shameless.

She would do anything to marry into a wealthy family.

Gu Anqi previously won her over with a good marriage proposal from outside the Capital, but just before the engagement was finalized, Gu Xiaoxiao changed her mind.

Gu Yuanshi felt that treating his niece badly would be a slap in the face to his younger brother, so he indulged Gu Xiaoxiao quite a bit.

"She relies on my father."

Mentioning Gu Yuanshi, Wei Shi immediately calmed down and explained on behalf of her husband, "Your father is a good man, and your uncles and aunts have done a good job taking care of your grandparents. It's only right that we arrange marriages for their children. Gu Wanning, things can't always go as planned. If you don't endure it here, you might suffer elsewhere..."

Gu Wanning disagreed, but she didn't argue with her.

Wei Shi changed the subject, taking out the birthday gift Gu Wanqing had prepared for Gu Wanning, and said with a smile, "Open it and take a look. I wanted to see it but didn't, just waiting for you to come back and open it."

Gu Wanning opened the palm-sized brocade box, revealing an exquisitely carved purple jade double fish pendant, shimmering with light.

"She actually gave you this jade pendant," Wei Shi exclaimed in surprise.

What's wrong with this jade pendant?

I don't think the jade pendant is something the Gu family would own, because it looks very expensive.

Could it have been a gift from the Prince of Qin to Gu Wanning?

No, Gu Wanning isn't that kind of person who lacks discretion.

"This jade pendant was bought for her by your elder brother when he went to Yunnan years ago, using all the dozens of taels of silver he had saved over the years. That's why she cherishes it so much. At that time, you hadn't returned yet..."

Gu Wanning could figure it out. Before the truth about the real and fake heiresses came to light, the family cared for each other, and Gu Wanqing, as the youngest sister in the family, was the darling of the group.