The Difference Between Riding a Horse and Riding a Donkey

"Let's go, let's go," Er Ya said. "If we go with the Marquis later and see his cold face, won't you eat half a bowl less rice today?"

Gu Wanning couldn't help but chuckle. "Then let's pack up, get the carriage ready, and head back."

They said they'd go back first, but it took Er Ya a long time to pack her things.

It wasn't that she was dawdling, but rather that before leaving, she felt that whatever she could get from the Marquis's Marquis's Residence, whether it was a little here or a little there, she would end up taking it all from the Gu family.

Gu Wanning was both amused and exasperated by her. "Alright, alright, it's not like my family is starving. There's no need to take advantage of such a small thing."

"It's not about taking advantage," Er Ya said, "It's about helping the Marquis's Residence reduce waste. The little bit of money the Marquis spends out of his pocket could support more than a dozen Gu Residence, really..."

For example, if only one teacup of the finest tea set is broken, the entire set is given away as a reward to the servants.

Er Ya couldn't stand it.

"Although you mean well, you can't make your family feel uncomfortable," Gu Wanning sighed. "My father and brothers are both proud and aloof people."

"Being aloof doesn't put food on the table! Don't worry, don't worry, this servant didn't bring tea sets or such. These are things that the masters can't see, but they're still useful."

For example, the scraps of cloth left over from the embroidery room—those scraps were so big—they could make a whole outfit for your Ling Ge!

She collected a lot, intending to take it all back to the First Madam.

Only women who manage a household know how difficult it is to spend money on everything in daily life.

"And this is the satin left over from the last dress you had made. It's such fine material; it'd be perfect for making purses and handkerchiefs. The First Madam always wears the same few outfits when she's out socializing, which makes people say she looks shabby. It would be good if she had a few more fashionable purses and handkerchiefs. I also made her a new pair of shoes; they're made with the leftover beads from making your shoes—you can't tell at all, they look beautiful!"

From the moment Gu Wanning prepared to leave until she boarded the carriage, she listened to Er Ya's excited chatter the whole time.

She felt a growing curiosity about the Gu family she was about to meet.

In particular, was her biological father Gu Yuanshi, a true pioneer who cared deeply for the country and its people, even unto death, or a sycophant who sought fame and fortune by exploiting others to embellish his political achievements?

She hoped it was the former.

"Madam, we've arrived," Er Ya said excitedly.

Gu Wanning lifted the curtain and realized that her family lived in a cramped two-courtyard house with no back gate; everyone entered through the unimpressive main gate.

Let alone the hanging flower gate, even the main gate is too narrow for a carriage to pass through.

The entrance to the Gu family was so narrow that only one carriage could pass through at a time.

The Emperor did offer Gu Yuanshi a luxurious mansion as a reward, but Gu Yuanshi firmly declined.

Gu Wanning rolled her eyes silently as she looked at the doorway, which was probably only wide enough for two people to pass through at a time, and would be too crowded for three.

The plaque bearing the name "Gu Residence" was written by someone else and looks quite mediocre.

--There's no other way. Aside from my third brother's calligraphy being unbearable to look at, if my father and brothers were to write anything, I'm afraid the plaque would be stolen overnight.

After all, the Gu family was poor and couldn't afford to hire guards.

Ling Ge, standing at the door, saw the carriage and excitedly shouted, "Auntie's back! Auntie's back!"

The child, at home, was clearly less reserved than at the Marquis's Residence, displaying more of the liveliness expected of someone his age.

Er Ya helped Gu Wanning down from the carriage, and then they saw their family members come out to greet them.

Mother Wei Shi, elder sister- He Shi, and also nephew He Ge all came out, their faces showing joy.

There was only one "outsider," a young woman supporting Wei Shi, dressed in a brand-new pale yellow dress, fresh-faced and pretty, at the perfect age of fifteen or sixteen, with a hint of fawning eagerness in her eyes.

Gu Wanning: Did her father take a concubine, or did her brother break the taboo?

This girl looks quite out of place standing among the simply dressed members of the Gu family!

Chapter 65 The Difference Between Riding a Horse and Riding a Donkey

"Gu Wanning is back!" Wei Shi excitedly stepped forward and grasped Gu Wanning's hand. "Let me take a good look at you. You've lost a lot of weight. Today, I'll make you some braised pork knuckle with rock sugar."

Socially awkward Gu Wanning managed not to pull her hand back. "... Thank you, Mother."

The eldest sister-in-law, who was frantically giving Wei Shi meaningful glances and looking embarrassed, was stunned when she heard this. She looked at Gu Wanning with a hint of surprise, followed by the relief of "my sister-in-law has finally grown up and become sensible".

Seeing her like this, Gu Wanning immediately realized the reason.

When the original owner of the Gu family, she had suffered too much hardship before, so when Wei Shi asked her what she wanted to eat, she said she wanted meat.

Then, every day, Wei Shi would stew a braised pork knuckle with rock sugar for her separately.

The Gu family is well-off enough to eat meat every day, but they can't eat it as freely as she does.

Even though Chief Grand Secretary Gu always talked about "being thrifty and managing the household well," he tacitly accepted this compensation for his biological daughter, and sometimes even brought breakfast home to cook special meals for Gu Wanning.

Gu Wanning felt like she was living a life she never dared to dream of.

However, on one occasion when she went out with Gu Wanqing, someone deliberately showed off their clothes and jewelry to her. Gu Wanqing was probably a little embarrassed, so she pulled her away and said, "There's no need to talk to irrelevant people. People with different values shouldn't associate with each other."

But the original owner of this body was most averse to being ridiculed, so she loudly proclaimed, "My mother stews braised pork hock with rock sugar for me every day."

The result was obvious: "Braised Pork Knuckle with Rock Sugar" became a running joke that would be ridiculed every time the original appeared.

Lu Baozhu didn't mention it last time, probably because she felt it might be seen as suppressing Gu Wanqing. I'll thank her for that.

So the Gu family later realized that this matter should not be brought up.

Even Wei Shi, who was so excited to see her daughter that she blurted it out, belatedly realized her mistake and looked at Gu Wanning nervously.

Seeing that Gu Wanning didn't get angry, Wei Shi breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The young woman beside her quickly changed her expression, saying, "I thought it was my older sister coming back, but it's just my second sister."