Chapter 421: The Gu Family’s Past

Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations

“That way, more people can read books and learn calligraphy. I don’t expect everyone to write beautiful essays. Even if they only know how to write their own names and understand the principles of being a person, know good and evil, and be sensible. That will be good.”

After she left, the Emperor pondered alone in the hall for a long time. Then, he made a decision that made many people’s jaws drop—to hand over the “There’s a Book House” in the Imperial Capital to Xiaoxiao to organize.

The daughter of the General’s Residence, who grew up in the countryside,and the book house sounded like two completely different things. If they had to talk about it, it was her blood relationship with the Gu Family that had long been negligible.

To Xiaoxiao, she had just taken on a job opening a library, but in the eyes of others, this was a great honor for her.

There was already a circle in the Imperial Capital that formed its own. The noble ladies immediately disliked this girl who came out of nowhere.

There were many talents and countless beauties in the Imperial Capital. It was not easy for them to make a name for themselves. Before they could find a satisfactory marriage, this person appeared out of nowhere and stole the limelight. Who would be convinced?

“Are you all going to the coming-of-age ceremony? I’m not going anyway.” “What are you going to do? We don’t know each other and we can’t talk about anything. Are you going to discuss how to farm with her?”

“Aiya, wouldn’t the legitimate daughter of the General’s Residence become a joke if there’s no guests at her coming-of-age ceremony?”

But what did that have to do with them?

“I just don’t know why, but the elegant abode happened to be closed that day. Otherwise, I could go there to pass the time.

“You actually have a VIP invitation to the elegant abode? Where did you get it? I heard that you can’t enter without that invitation.”

The elegant abode in the Imperial Capital was a place for noble ladies to recreate and rest. There were the most exquisite calligraphy paintings, the most exquisite snacks, and the most noble and rare fresh things. For example, watermelons from the border city, Cloud Cake that could only be enjoyed in the shop, and birthday cakes that were only for VIPs to choose from.

All of this no longer represented just the enjoyment of words, but also the honorable honor that others could not touch. It was unknown when it started, but being able to obtain a VIP invitation to enter the elegant abode had already become part of the content for noble ladies to compare with each other.

At this moment, the girl who spoke had already become the center of everyone’s attention. Everyone naturally forgot about the General’s Residence holding an adulthood ceremony for their daughter.

It was one thing to look down on this “unorthodox fake noble lady”, but more importantly-who wanted to see others’ glorious appearances! They had never been rewarded by His Majesty, and she was a princess! Wouldn’t that wild girl’s status be even more noble than theirs in the future?

All the noble ladies had made up their minds. When the post from the General’s Residence arrived, they would say that they had something on or that they were not feeling well. They would also say that they were not at home and had gone out for a walk! Yes, that was what they would do!

However, they were actually thinking too much because the invitations from the General’s Residence had never appeared from the beginning to the end. Xiaoxiao had no intention of inviting these people at all.

Looking at the thin invitations on the table, Xiao Ran confirmed with her again. “Is that all?”

Xiaoxiao shrugged. “That’s not a lot. My relatives and friends are all here. I didn’t miss any of them.”

Xiao Ran thought about it carefully and realized that that seemed to be the case. Seeing that she was about to be convinced, the butler hurriedly coughed and reminded her, “Aren’t you going to invite some young masters and young ladies around Missy’s age?”

Xiaoxiao smiled at her. “I don’t know them, and they don’t know me. What’s there to invite? If I really post it, they might think that I’m pretending to be familiar with them.”

The butler recalled the style of these young men and women from high-ranking officials and noble families in the Imperial Capital and realized that he could not refute her. Those young masters and Misses were each more arrogant than the other. It was absolutely possible for them to make Miss, who they had finally found, suffer. In that case, it did not seem to matter if they were invited or not.

Gu Chang’an waved his hand. “Listen to Xiaoxiao.”

The list of invitations was decided.

Xiaoxiao continued to busy herself with the book room. It was not appropriate for her to openly stuff the books from the mall under the emperor’s feet, but the book room was much more spacious than Xijiang County.

In the Imperial Capital, there should be more people who liked to read than in the county, right? As long as they added a little speed change, it would definitely help those who really wanted to learn.

Xiaoxiao was just making a name for herself when it came to building a book house. The Emperor would never ask a young lady like her to stay in a place where sawdust flew all over the place all day. Hence, Xiaoxiao researched the menu of her coming-of-age ceremony at home.

Although it was called research, Gu Chang’an was actually in charge. She was just making a suggestion to join in the fun.

For example…

“Father, I heard that Grandfather doesn’t have a good appetite?”

Gu Chang’an deliberated over his words. “Your grandfather likes to eat light food, but he doesn’t like bland food. He likes novelty, but he doesn’t like fancy food.”

Xiaoxiao understood. The old man’s mouth was a little picky.

It was said that when his grandmother was still alive, she was an expert cook. At that time, his grandfather had never been willing to eat food cooked by anyone other than his grandmother.

Gu Chang’an’s expression was a little complicated when he said this. It was probably because he missed her yet blamed her at the same time.

Xiaoxiao knew that although Father and Grandfather did not hate each other and did not interact with each other, they had not spoken to each other for many years like strangers. However, she did not know what had happened and whether she should ask.

Fortunately, she had a caring mother. That night, Xiao Ran chatted with Xiaoxiao for an entire two hours. After that, Xiaoxiao found out about a part of the past and understood the issue in her grandfather and Father’s hearts.

It turned out that when Gu Chang’an participated in the imperial examination back then, he happened to catch Grand Secretary Gu busy with his imperial mission and cleaning up a fraud case. At that time, Old Madam Gu was sick and Grand Secretary Gu was busy. He did not take it seriously after hiring an imperial physician. Meanwhile, Gu Chang’an was instructed by Old Madam to focus on revising and was buried in books almost every day.

At that time, it was just in time for the autumn wind to rise and the weather turned cold. At first, Old Madam only coughed a few times. The imperial physician also said that it was fine, so no one cared. Unexpectedly, her illness did not improve.

Gu Chang’an’s scientific examination was imminent. His family did not want him to be distracted, so they kept this matter a secret.

Initially, the thought that Old Madam would recover after his examination. Unexpectedly, things didn’t go as planned. A seemingly ordinary typhoid fever actually took Old Madam away.

When Gu Chang’an heard the grievous news, he did not even see his mother for the last time. Looking at the low-key funeral hall, he realized that everyone was still trying to hide it from him. That night, he knelt in the funeral hall for the entire night without eating, drinking, or sleeping.

After Old Madam’s funeral, Gu Chang’an packed a few simple clothes and left the Gu Residence without returning.

“Although your father doesn’t say it, I know that he has actually been thinking about the Gu Family all these years. Your grandfather is the same. He protects and helps your father openly and secretly, but neither father nor son can take that step first..”