Chapter 521 - 522: Speculation
Gu Kaiyuan’s eyes lit up. "You know, that really is a possibility." The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Bai Suihe had probably guessed Rong Ruiyuan’s true purpose. If that was the case, it really made sense.
In his previous life, the Gu family followed them back to the capital. Perhaps because they had only handed over a portion of their silver and kept the majority for themselves, Rong Ruiyuan wanted more. To get it, he naturally had to offer his dedicated assistance, and soon both father and son returned to court as officials. It wasn’t that the Gu family’s father and son were particularly capable, but rather that everything went too smoothly without triggering this series of chain reactions. At that time, Rong Ruiyuan didn’t cause such a huge commotion in Zhang County, nor did he attract the Emperor’s reprimand. In fact, because he handled several errands beautifully, the Emperor even rewarded him.
Because of them, everything had fallen into chaos. Now that the Gu family was down and out, Rong Ruiyuan also realized he could no longer gain any benefits from them, so he could only think of other ways elsewhere. Lingnan had now become his new target. Perhaps in the previous life, he had also arranged people here. It was just that back then, Gu Kaiyuan had already joined the army, entirely focused on revenge, and didn’t bother investigating these minor details.
"Although most of the people sent to Lingnan now are collateral descendants of various families, they still have some say within their clans. Moreover, starting with them wouldn’t draw the Emperor’s attention." Gu Kaiyuan’s mind instantly opened up to new possibilities. "Rong Ruiyuan’s move is truly brilliant. If you hadn’t just enlightened me, I would have almost misunderstood as well.
"I’m afraid everyone is currently shrouded in this layer of fog. By the time they truly understand, Rong Ruiyuan will have already succeeded."
"I was just saying," Bai Suihe replied. "Maybe he hasn’t thought that far ahead." Despite saying so, they both knew in their hearts that those royal Princes were incredibly cunning. Coupled with the team of advisors they kept by their sides, they likely had many people helping them analyze every step they took.
"Since we’ve roughly guessed their schemes, do you think we should intervene..." Bai Suihe looked at Gu Kaiyuan.
"I’ll have someone handle it." Gu Kaiyuan thought for a moment and felt they couldn’t just let it be. Rong Ruiyuan’s rise to power would bring them no benefit. There was even a possibility that if Rong Ruiyuan came to power, he would have to show some care to the Gu family, since they would technically be considered "meritorious officials." When that time came, their situation would become rather precarious.
If Rong Ruiyuan failed to succeed, Gu Baijiang’s previous actions had already offended several Princes. If any of them ascended to the throne, the Gu family would definitely be purged. No matter how much Gu Kaiyuan had done to separate himself, in the eyes of outsiders, they were still flesh-and-blood father and son. He would certainly be implicated. The best approach right now was to let them fight amongst themselves and drag things out for a few more years until the younger Princes grew up.
"Do it covertly. We don’t need to make a major enemy for ourselves," Bai Suihe didn’t forget to remind him.
"Don’t worry. I have some understanding of who stands with whom. No one would turn down merits delivered right to their doorstep." Gu Kaiyuan had been away from home for so long, and after talking for a while, his hands started getting restless. "I haven’t visited your space for quite some time now. How about we go in and take a look?"
Even with ice basins placed outside, it was still a bit hot, which couldn’t compare to the spring-like climate of her space. Bai Suihe shot him an exasperated look but brought him into the space anyway.
Forgotten on the bed, Gu Xingyang looked up at the ceiling speechlessly. She had finished listening to the gossip, so she might as well just rest on her own.
The following days for Gu Kaiyuan and Bai Suihe were very peaceful. Due to the weather, business at their shops was also affected, becoming much quieter. Bai Suihe didn’t go to the pharmacy either; a single young apprentice was more than enough to handle the medicinal herbs delivered every day.
"Madam, Ms. Dongmei and the others are here," Zisu said as she hurried inside right after breakfast. "Their expressions don’t look right." Everyone knew that although Dongmei and Chunxiang were officially senior maids, the Madam actually treated them like sisters.
"What’s going on? They’re both pregnant." Seeing that their due dates were approaching, why would they come over at a time like this? Filled with doubts, Bai Suihe stood up and walked outside. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Dongmei and Chunxiang, heavily pregnant, struggling as they walked toward her.
"What’s wrong with you two? Don’t you know how far along you are? Why did you make this trip yourselves instead of having someone else run the errand?" Bai Suihe called out from afar. "Is something wrong at home?"
"Miss," Dongmei habitually called out, completely forgetting the new rules for addressing her. Her voice was full of grievance.
Chunxiang was also wiping her tears beside her. "Miss, you have to stand up for us."
"Did Zhuang Datou and the others bully you?" Bai Suihe walked between them, supporting each of them by the arm, while Zisu and the other maids hurried over to help.
Dongmei and Chunxiang’s eyes were swollen like walnuts, and their faces were somewhat pale. Bai Suihe took the opportunity to check their pulses. "Look at you both. Why are you so emotionally agitated? No matter how huge the matter is, you must prioritize the babies in your bellies first." Fortunately, their previous health conditioning had been quite effective, so there wasn’t much impact on the fetuses. This allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
In ancient times, childbirth was a narrow escape from death, especially during the final stages. She had previously planned to take Nanny Pang back to the village for a short stay soon, so she could conveniently keep an eye on them. She led them into the side hall. Once they were seated securely and had taken a sip of water, she finally asked, "Whatever it is, speak clearly and take your time. If someone bullied you, I will stand up for you."
Dongmei bit her lip. It wasn’t something she couldn’t talk about anyway; they had made this trip today precisely to beg their Miss to stand up for them. "Miss, Zhuang Datou and the others’ families have found them."
"Their families?" Only then did Bai Suihe remember that when Zhuang Datou and the others followed them to Lingnan, they had mentioned they were looking for their families. Later, she heard that they had found them, so she didn’t ask further. After all, she assumed Zhuang Datou and the others would handle it well themselves.
"Yes, they previously took some time off to go back and managed to find their families," Chunxiang chimed in. "I only found out later that back then, due to natural disasters and bandit raids, they were separated from their parents while fleeing.
"They came to Lingnan hoping for a stroke of luck, but unexpectedly, their families had actually returned to Lingnan and settled down here. Now, the whole large family lives together."
Hearing this, Bai Suihe grew a bit curious. "Do Zhuang Datou and Huang Pingguo’s parents all live together?"
"You could say they originally came from the same village and got lost together. Later, they were taken in by the kind-hearted Nanny Wu, which finally ended their days of wandering." As their wives, Dongmei and Chunxiang naturally knew more details. They hadn’t mentioned it before because they didn’t want these trivial family matters to bother Bai Suihe.
"So, you could say their entire village returned together?" Bai Suihe couldn’t help but remark. "That village is quite united, then."