sjar Chapter 5 Tea Serving
Chapter 5 Tea Serving
Chu Ruohan watched Gu Junze's departing figure and suddenly felt a sense of relief.
Gu Junze was physically weak from a young age. When he was seven, an accident left him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
In his previous life, Gu Junze never married until his death, and Chu Ruohan guessed that he was impotent.
He was not born of the same mother as Gu Cheng'an and Gu Chengyan.
His birth mother was Anyang, the emperor's own sister, who had made great military achievements. She was seriously wounded during the suppression of a rebellion and, after many days of recuperation, still passed away.
Chu Ruohan remembered that not long after her previous life, Gu Junze was made the heir of the Marquis of Anyang, but he died suddenly just over a month later.
The position of heir apparent also fell to Gu Chengyan.
This time, she informed Gu Junze about the poisoning in advance. She wondered how much longer he could live.
It would be best if she lived a few more days so that she could secure her position as the Crown Prince's wife. It wouldn't matter if she didn't have any children; at worst, they could just adopt one from the imperial clan.
Chu Ruohan's dowry maids and nannies came in to help her wash up.
The wet nurse who had served her since childhood said with a pained expression, "Miss, the young master's health is so poor, how will you manage in the future?"
Although Young Master Gu's behavior is absurd, the young lady is ultimately the legal wife. In the future, it will be easy for her to control the concubines. Why should she ruin herself?
Chu Ruohan gave the nanny a reassuring look, "Now that I've married into the Gu family, there's no turning back; I can only move forward."
The wet nurse hesitated, but since things had come to this, she could only sigh softly.
Chu Ruohan reached out and took the handkerchief from Yuling, then looked down at Baoling, who was taking off her embroidered shoes at her feet.
"Baoling, go and keep an eye on things at Suijinxuan. Report back tomorrow morning."
“Miss…” Bao Ling hesitated.
Seeing this, the wet nurse scolded in a low voice, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and do what the young lady ordered. You're getting more and more unruly."
"Yes." Bao Ling bit her lip, lowered her head and answered, then quickly retreated.
In her previous life, Bao Ling was the first person to betray her. She wanted to find a better way out for herself, which Chu Ruohan understood.
But she shouldn't have joined those people in humiliating her; both Granny Qin and Yuling died at her hands.
In this life, how could she possibly tolerate her?
If we just sell her off, that would be too lenient on her.
Baoling hurried along, her heart heavy with frustration. As she passed a flowerbed, she reached out and plucked a vibrant flower, tearing and squashing it relentlessly in her hand.
Miss is always causing trouble. Why is she keeping people up so late at night? What is she doing staring at that other end?
If you can't let go of him, why marry a paralyzed man?
In her opinion, the young lady should be married off to the handsome third young master, so that if she becomes pregnant, she can be made a concubine.
She had no intention of serving that paralyzed man.
next day
The morning light streamed into the room through the carved window lattice. Chu Ruohan got up early to do her hair and makeup. Her thoughts drifted back to her previous life when she almost burned to death in the funeral hall. There was no tea ceremony there.
As soon as Chu Ruohan stepped out of the room, she heard the maids whispering in the courtyard.
“The eldest young master did not share a room with her yesterday.”
"This eldest daughter of the Chu family was originally to be betrothed to the second young master, but the second young master didn't want her anymore, so she was forced to be given to the eldest young master. It's really pitiful for the eldest young master."
The maids' laughter pierced Chu Ruohan's ears like sharp thorns, and her eyes instantly turned cold.
The wet nurse, her face flushed with anger, strode forward and scolded, "You unruly little brat, how dare you gossip here! How dare you spread rumors about my young lady?"
The two maids turned pale with fright and knelt on the ground with a thud. "Young Madam, please spare us! We know we were wrong, please have mercy on us!"
Chu Ruohan's eyes narrowed, and her icy voice swept over like a cold wind: "Slap yourself!"
Upon receiving the order, the wet nurse immediately stepped forward, grabbed the maids, and rained down slaps on them, the crisp sound of the slaps echoing in the courtyard.
"This servant will never dare to do it again, please have mercy, young mistress!"
The maids' cheeks quickly swelled up, and their cries and pleas for mercy mingled together, but Chu Ruohan remained unmoved. She wanted everyone in the mansion to know that she was the mistress of this mansion, and no one could bully her.
Chu Ruohan turned and walked out of the courtyard. She was no longer the soft-hearted pushover that everyone could trample on in her previous life.
The news of Chu Ruohan physically punishing the maid reached Gu Junze's ears.
"It seems the young mistress is not someone to be trifled with," said Huai Shu, Gu Junze's servant, with a worried expression.
"Send these two maids back to the Lady of the Marquis's quarters." Gu Junze sat in his wheelchair, his voice not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. "My courtyard cannot tolerate maids who gossip about their masters."
Huai Shu was taken aback; he hadn't expected the young master to react this way. But he didn't dare say anything more and quickly replied, "Yes, young master, I'll take care of it right away."
At Tingxue Pavilion, where Gu's mother lived, Chu Ruohan was stopped at the door by her maid.
The maidservant curtsied slightly. "Young Madam, Madam went to bed late last night and has not yet gotten up. Please wait here."
Chu Ruohan knew in her heart that this was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult, but she did not react. She simply said calmly, "In that case, wait until Mother-in-law gets up and send someone to inform her. I will then come over to serve tea." With that, Chu Ruohan turned and left.
The maid never imagined that the young mistress would leave like this.
Seeing this, Granny Wang stamped her foot in alarm and hurriedly chased after her, "Young Madam, Young Madam, please wait! Madam has woken up."
Chu Ruohan paused slightly, a meaningful smile curving her lips. "Oh? Mother-in-law woke up so quickly, what a coincidence."
"Yes, yes." Granny Wang forced a smile, a smile that looked more like a grimace. The eldest daughter of the Chu family was truly a difficult person to deal with.
“Then I will trouble you, Mother-in-law, to wait a moment. In terms of seniority and hierarchy, An Yang is the principal wife. As the new bride, I should go to the ancestral hall to offer incense and tea to An Yang. This is the proper etiquette and must not be neglected.”
After saying this, she flicked her sleeve and, accompanied by her personal maid, walked steadily toward the ancestral hall.
Granny Wang stood there, stunned for a long while, before she came to her senses. She inwardly groaned and hurriedly turned around to return to Tingxue Pavilion.
Mother Gu sat upright in an exquisitely carved sandalwood chair, her expression clear but her eyes showing displeasure, showing no sign of having just woken up.
Granny Wang hurriedly stepped forward and recounted the whole story in detail.
Upon hearing this, Gu's mother slammed her hand hard on the table with a loud "bang!" "What does she mean? Am I not even worthy of drinking a cup of her tea?"
Granny Wang quickly tried to calm her down: "Madam, please calm down. The young mistress has just entered the household; she can be trained slowly in the future."
Mother Gu, however, still glared angrily and said through gritted teeth, "What do you mean by not knowing the rules? She clearly did this on purpose, trying to give me a hard time. That Anyang lady has been dead for many years, yet she still uses the name of seniority to put herself above me."
"She is blatantly mocking me for being nothing more than a concubine, while only that woman from Anyang is the rightful legal wife."