Trading Barbs in the Street

—Xu Weibei had sent for her to attend to him.

Fourth Concubine was utterly unwilling.

"Go back and tell the Marquis we'll talk when I return tonight," she told Gao Lan.

Gao Lan said, "Nanny Chu will be watching tonight. The Marquis has to return to his chambers."

"Nanny Chu!" Fourth Concubine shouted. "The Marquis wants me to attend to him!"

Anyone who stopped her from going out today was her sworn enemy. They couldn't blame her for being ruthless!

Heaven knew she was going stir-crazy in the Marquis's Residence.

Gao Lan: "..."

This was bad. Very bad.

Then Nanny Chu came, and Gao Lan beat a defeated retreat.

First Concubine whispered to Fourth Concubine, "How can you be so bold? Even if you don't want to go, you should be more tactful."

Fourth Concubine said aggrievedly, "Even if there's nothing but a dead end waiting for me when I return tonight, I'm going out today. No one is stopping me!"

Gu Wanning was also wondering what Xu Weibei wanted with Fourth Concubine.

Now that Jiang Qiubai was gone, had he thought of the women in the residence?

But why had he set his sights first on Fourth Concubine, who was so full of childishness?

Did the old ox want to eat tender grass? Old thing!

Meanwhile, Gao Lan returned to report, his face clouded with worry.

To avoid being scolded, he immediately proposed an alternative.

"In that case, I could say I was ordered to protect Fourth Concubine. How would that be?"

"Wouldn't that make her a target? Just say you're protecting Gu Wanning."

Xu Weibei had never thought of Zhou Yaya in a romantic way.

He had been forced to let her stay in the first place, and was looking after her for someone else. In the future, he would have to return the jade intact to Zhao.

So, for "Zhao's" sake, he didn't want Zhou Yaya to become the target of everyone's arrows.

"If you say I'm protecting Madam, she'll know it's a pretext for watching her," Gao Lan said, his face long.

"Then just go and tell her I sent you to watch her. Let's see what she can do about it!"

The Gu family could forget about stirring up trouble right under his nose.

"Ah, yes, sir."

And so Gu Wanning was delighted to acquire a little shadow.

The party set out in a grand procession, making quite a lively scene.

Gu Wanning first took the others to a shop selling goods from north and south, but this time she found nothing exciting, so she bought nothing.

First Concubine had brought some needlework to sell. She had originally planned to find an embroidery shop, but to her surprise, the goods shop took a fancy to it. A double-sided embroidered table screen alone sold for sixty taels of silver, and the other assorted little pieces fetched over twenty taels.

Fourth Concubine laughed and called on her to treat everyone, and First Concubine agreed with a smile.

Second Concubine, meanwhile, kept asking about prices and watching the flow of customers, secretly murmuring to Gu Wanning about the shop's profits.

Third Concubine was quiet as usual, her presence barely felt.

Gao Lan kept a few paces away from them, but he didn't dare leave.

"If there's nothing you want to buy, let's go," Gu Wanning said.

"Yes, Madam," the women quickly agreed, crowding around her as they headed outside.

They had just stepped through the door when a child in rags came up begging for money.

He looked only five or six, so thin his bones showed, making his eyes look especially large. His clothes barely covered him, and he was barefoot—a pitiful sight.

Gu Wanning told Er Ya to give him five copper coins.

Er Ya was reluctant. "Madam, most of them are swindlers. A lot of these little beggars have adults behind them pulling the strings..."

"Give it to him. Even if it's just as you say, keeping him from being beaten today would still count as a good deed on our part."

They had met by chance, like duckweed drifting together on the water. They couldn't tell truth from lies, and had neither the time nor the energy to investigate.

Those five coins would put her own mind at ease, so she wouldn't have to keep thinking about it later.

"Madam is right." First Concubine took out two coins as well.

Seeing this, the others each chipped in two copper coins.

Having received the money, the child bowed to them with his hands clasped, then ran off happily.

"You can't stand to see your own sister doing well at home, but you come out here pretending to be a living bodhisattva." A cold, mocking voice suddenly came from ahead.

Chapter 21: Trading Barbs in the Street

Gu Wanning looked up and saw a young woman of fourteen or fifteen, her hair covered in pearls and jade. Her skin was very fair, and her face still had a little baby fat.

At first glance, she looked quite cute.

But her eyes were scornful and mocking. She was plainly up to no good.

What was her name again?

Gu Wanning thought for a while before remembering that she was Lu Baozhu, the Duke of Jingguo's legitimate granddaughter. She was doted on and had a bit of chunibyo.

Lu Baozhu was close to Gu Wanqing and followed her around like a little tail.

The original owner had often clashed with Gu Wanqing, and Lu Baozhu had naturally sided with Gu Wanqing.

So when she saw Gu Wanning now, she deliberately spoke to provoke her.

Gu Wanning couldn't be bothered with a little brat like her, although the original owner's consciousness was already furious and itching to strike back.

"Let's go," Gu Wanning said calmly.

She wanted to tell the original owner, Silly girl, whether it's family affection or love, neither can be forced.

The depth of the bonds between people is fated, at least in part. You can't beg for them.

Since they don't love you, just love yourself.

She wanted to let the matter rest, but Lu Baozhu felt slighted and insulted. She reached out to stop her, stamped her foot, and shouted, "You stop right there!"

Quite a few people around them turned to look.

Some even gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"What do you want? A fight?" Fourth Concubine rolled up her sleeves. "A good dog doesn't block the road. Get out of the way!"

Second Concubine covered her lips and laughed. "Madam, could this younger sister also want to enter the Marquis's Residence to attend to the Marquis? Are we getting another sister?"

Oh, that little mouth of hers was truly delightful.

Gu Wanning looked at the red-faced Lu Baozhu with the faintest hint of a smile. "Although I'm the mistress of the Marquis's Residence, the Marquis likes pretty faces. Someone like you might want to be his concubine, but he wouldn't fancy you. Why make things difficult for me? You'd do better to go home and ask your father and brothers to give you a larger dowry and beg the Marquis to do them the favor. Perhaps then you could become Fifth Concubine at the Marquis's Residence."