Chapter 9: 9

Chapter 9: Explanation 

After hearing what the shopkeeper said,

Tao Xinhe thought, Could it be that my husband was telling the truth? He really went out for a drink with his colleagues from the ministry of rites last night?

However, based on my interactions with Zhang Shangshu on official banquets he doesn’t seem to be the type of boss who gets along well with his subordinates.

What’s the point?

The shopkeeper wouldn’t just come here to deceive her, would he?

My husband didn’t mention which restaurant he went to last night, and I forgot to even ask about it. Now that I know it, I can always check if what he said was true.

Tao Xinhe moved the wooden box on her lap to the table, and pushed it away slightly. She didn’t want to see it.

She politely persuaded the other party to drink tea, and then asked questions politely:

“Shopkeeper, please allow me to ask, was Zhang Shangshu there last night? How many of them gathered together to drink, aren’t they afraid of missing today’s work?”

The shopkeeper put down the teacup and answered:

“Madam is as careful as ever. Usually, the Ministry of rites will not be like this. It was also the first time for them to come to my small shop to reserve the place. I know from the conversations of the adults that Zhang Shangshu is quite a healthy man. I learned that his concubine was pregnant. Well, it’s the 21st of the twelfth lunar month, and it’s also the birthday of his grandmother, so he felt the blessings of his ancestors. He was so excited and invited the adults from the Ministry of Rites to have fun together.”

Tao Xinhe slightly furrowed her brows, then lowered her head to take a sip of tea lightly. She was trying to hide the urge to curl her lips.

You can’t really judge people through their appearance. I didn’t know Zhang Shangshu was such a man. His grandsons are all grown up, he’s an old man on his sixties, is he not ashamed to marry a concubine at his old age. Is he not worried, that while he wasn’t around, she would go mess around with his subordinates?

Fortunately, he was still the head of the Yamen1 of the Ministry of Rites, which was in charge of etiquette in the government and the public, and he can be unscrupulous. Poor Zhang Shangshu’s old wife, do you know that your husband is celebrating this? Thinking about it, Tao Xinhe felt sad and embarrassed.

Hmph, my husband has been doing absurd things recently, maybe it’s because of the influence of others. Tao Xinhe sympathized with Mrs. Zhang Shangshu, and her thoughts naturally turned to Gu Ningxi, but she was quickly brought back to her senses by the shopkeeper’s words.

The shopkeeper’s voice came:

” There are about thirty adults, who came to the shop to celebrate yesterday.” He counted a few rounds with his fat fingers and said clearly.

Those who do business have the ability to speak eloquently:

“Young madam, Mr. Gu is probably the youngest among the fifth rank officials, and the highest rank among the younger generation. He really dominated the crowd with his presence. Everyone was having a good time talking and laughing together to celebrate the new year. The scene was quite harmonious and lively, and I feel very honored.”

“As for their work, the yamen was already closed earlier. The adults have made arrangements, and it is not a problem to leave a few officials to guard the etiquette department.”

The shopkeeper’s words fit perfectly with what her husband told her, and Tao Xinhe finally became convinced that the smell of alcohol from her husband was caused by socializing with his colleagues, rather than drinking immoral flower wine.

Tao Xinhe recalled that she couldn’t sleep at all while thinking wildly last night. It turned out she made assumptions out of nothing. It was like she was on the tip of her horns and bound herself in a cocoon2.

Looking back now, it was ridiculous, but for some reason, she felt relieved.

The shopkeeper kept talking:

“Master Gu seemed to be a shallow drinker. His colleagues rushed him to drink more, because many adults said that it was rare for them to come together. So he must drink to his heart’s content. However, Mr. Gu couldn’t bear the strength of the alcohol, so he fell asleep immediately.”

Tao Xinhe had a new question:

“It was nice to have friendly colleagues to drink together, and they were even willing to take my Husband. But sleeping on the table, after all, is it uncomfortable, won’t you wake up after a while? Why did my husband come back so late?”

***

At the same time, on a carriage to the old Gu’s mansion, Gu Ningxi was playing with the gold-stamped red New Year’s gift list on his hand, and casually glanced over it.

My lady has arranged everything in an orderly manner, making it impossible to pick out the slightest mistake. She prepared gifts to honor both his grandparents, and some for the third uncle’s and second uncle’s family.

She even told him to go to the second uncle’s house after leaving the old Gu’s house, and deliver the gifts together, so as not to be suspected of favoritism.

I already knew that the lady was considerate and kind, but Gu Ningxi was at a loss when he was alienated and ignored by her this morning.

How will he make up for it?

There are two of his personal servants in the carriage, the twins, Shishu and Shihua. They often follow Gu Ningxi to work, and they also assist the master on errands regarding it.

Gu Ningxi had always called their names casually, no matter whether if he was right or wrong, the servant will always respond to him with a smile. He didn’t bother to recognize whether which one was Shishu or Shihua.

Today is different, Shishu looked anxious, and quickly said:

“Master, this servant is Shishu. I haven’t seen you since you fell ill at the beginning of the month. Because I was detained by Madam, woohoo, this slave thought that I would never be able to serve my master in the future.

This slave was finally released yesterday, and was then interrogated by the madam. This slave was then taken to the alley of the Mo’s house, and saw you with Miss Mo, um, meeting each other. This slave also revealed some details between you and the Mo family, please forgive me. ”

Hearing this, Gu Ningxi woke up from his contemplation, and before he had time to ask the servant, he carefully recalled the farewell behavior between him and Qiniang at the entrance of the alley yesterday.

It seemed that it could be the reason, if the lady saw it, she must have misunderstood something!

It turns out that this is the crux of the problem. The lady’s various anomalies from last night to now may all come from this.

I blame myself for hesitating and not confessing to my wife earlier.

His head couldn’t help but ache, he clasped it with his slender knuckles, Gu Ningxi remembered his plan that was disrupted yesterday.

After leaving the alley, he set foot in the jewelry store for the first time, and asked the clerk what kind of hair accessories suit best to wear with a high-tailed bun.

After careful selection, Gu Ningxi finally bought a pair of hair accessories to make the lady happy.

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He wanted to go back home when he left the shop, and explain things to his wife in detail.

Unexpectedly, he was seen by a passing colleague, and after being reminded, he went to the Ministry of Rites immediately.

Gu Ningxi originally thought that he could leave just by showing his face, but his boss, Zhang Shangshu, invited everyone to a banquet.

Gu Ningxi was not good at refusing others, and was pulled by a colleague who immediately grabbed him by the sleeves. Because he was not sure who the other party was, he broke out in sweats, but he had no choice but to go along.

When he entered the restaurant, he was attacked by everyone, pushing drinks to him from left to right and he couldn’t refuse.

Gu Ningxi didn’t drink often, so he fell asleep immediately.

It turned out to be a mistake! He let the lady misunderstand him even further.

Gu Ningxi sighed from the bottom of his heart. He thought that he kept adding to his wrongdoings, and so he ordered with a calm face:

“I went to Yanchun Pavilion yesterday afternoon to buy a pair of gilt-pressed hair ornament, but I didn’t bring it with me. It may have fallen somewhere in the Xiangyang Restaurant. One of you no matter who it is, go to the wine shop and look for it.”

Shihua saw his twin brother wink at him, and knew that Shishu still had something to say to his master, so he raised his head and said in a loud voice:

“Yes, Master, This servant Shihua, will get off the car and go to the wine shop and find it. Rest assured, I’ll be back to meet second young master immediately after.”

Gu Ningxi nodded, said a few words to the driver. Then Shihua jumped out of the car after the carriage slowed down.

Only then did Shishu explained the story in detail, especially the scene where Gu Ningxi strode past the wonton stall where his wife was, with a smile on his face.

He felt that Madam’s face was flushed at that time, as if blood was about to drip, maybe it was because she was suppressing her tears and anger.

Looking at Gu Ningxi’s expression, Shishu boldly asked the young master if he wanted to take Mo Qiqi as a concubine. He asked if the hair ornament that he ordered Shihua to fetch was a gift for that woman.

Gu Ningxi was puzzled: “Why would you think that I bought it for Qiniang? I bought it for my wife.”

Shishu didn’t dare to ask again.

In the past three years since the young master married his wife, I have never seen him buy women’s clothing and other items for her.

Gu Ningxi warned with a serious face:

“Don’t make random guesses and gossip. Qiniang is an innocent girl, how can she resist such slander? It’s even worse if my wife hears it. We will move around as relatives with the Mo family in the future. I will discuss it with my wife. So be careful with your words.”

Gu Ningxi realized that his behavior was out of line. This is the second time that he was asked whether he wanted to take Mo Qiqi as a concubine. Whether by Mo Qi or Shishu, so he thinks he’s done something to make them suspect him.
After his introspection, he thought that he should stay away from Mo Qiqi in the future, so as not to mislead others and himself.

“It’s not too late to ask the lady to pay attention to the matchmaking and arrange a marriage for Qiniang. Also, It’s not too late for the relatives to communicate naturally.” Gu Ningxi said to himself.

Gu Ningxi sighed, it’s a pity that he couldn’t see the lady’s expression as clearly as he could with Mo Qiqi, otherwise, besides the tone of her voice last night, he might be able to see some clues from the lady’s expressions. Then he wouldn’t have slept immediately thinking everything was okay and explained everything to her instead.

Soon after arriving at the old Gu’s mansion, Gu Ningxi arranged for Shishu to deliver a load of gifts to the welcoming butler, while he went into the middle hall to pay his respects to his grandmother without mentioning about what happened at his home.

***

Inside the flower hall of the Gu’s mansion, the shopkeeper’s voice was continuous, almost catching up with a storyteller:

“Madam is right. It was not appropriate to sleep on the table. I thought, how can I wrong the adults? So I asked the staff to help Mr. Gu to rest in the guest room of our inn. After him, there are more than a dozen adults who also went to rest in the guest rooms, the small shop was quite lively.”

The shopkeeper smiled even bigger,

” Our restaurant sent all the adults back home one after another this morning. Only Sir Gu, who woke up last night, insisted on leaving regardless of his staggering steps. I couldn’t change Mr. Gu’s mind, so I just sent Mr. Gu to the intersection.”

“Speaking of which, I’m embarrassed of madam seeing a joke. This little one has been worried about Mr. Gu all night. I’m afraid that the night will be cold and the road dark. Mr. Gu can’t even stay and wait to drink the hangover soup. I was worried that something happened to him along the way. So, the little one took the liberty to come to the door today. Firstly, to check whether Mr. Gu was okay and secondly, to send back the items that Mr. Gu left in the guest room.”

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he pointed to the wooden box at the corner of the table, indicating that it contained the belongings that Gu Ningxi did not take away.

This scarf was obviously given by that woman whom the husband has been hiding from her, so it might be a token of love between the two of them.

Why did he randomly leave it in the wine shop? If the shopkeeper didn’t deliver it, where can he find it? How will he explain to that Qiniang in the future?

snort! My husband!

Tao Xinhe felt a trace of resentment in her heart, but she didn’t know why.

Afterwards, doubts arose, I just inferred from what I saw with my own eyes, that I assumed that my husband wanted to accept the hidden beauty as a concubine.

No, maybe I misunderstood him, right?

The shopkeeper was still talking endlessly:

“The back yard in front of the store is clean and quiet, and the female relatives can come and stay for a while. Madam Gu will know when she has time to go and have a look.”

Tao Xinhe finally raised her hand, and as she wished, the shopkeeper stopped talking and looked at her.

All the things that she was suspicious of last night, have been explained thoroughly by the shopkeeper. But what about Rouge marks on his face? Tao Xinhe thought in silence.

The shopkeeper seemed to think of something, and hurriedly explained: “The Small restaurant usually has some ladies to assist people with drinking, but I didn’t let them cause unnecessary trouble for the adults last night? Everyone knows that officials are not allowed to go and mess with other women. Madam, don’t worry. The grown-ups just had a drink and nothing else.”

“Ahem, Mr. Gu was the first to get drunk, and the other adults are also a little bit intoxicated, so their demeanor is not as reserved as usual.” The shopkeeper was a little hesitant to speak, he carefully observed Tao Xinhe’s expression.

1

The meaning of YAMEN is the headquarters or residence of a Chinese government official or department.

2

She turned out to be on the tip of her horns and bound herself in a cocoon. Can mean, she was wasting time brooding over something, while closing herself, and not listening.

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