CHAPTER 358: CHAPTER 358: GOING TO THE COUNTY

Gu Jinli said, "Mrs. Jiang invited my family, so we can bring whoever we want. Besides, didn’t the Yuan Family reject her marriage proposal? Wouldn’t she be upset for a while? She’s in no mood to have guests over at Jiang Mansion."

In truth, after her initial anger faded, Gu Yumei was now overjoyed and just waiting for Scholar Wan’s family to come forward with a marriage proposal so she could marry into and become the young madam in town.

"That’s right, then I can enjoy myself," Luo Huiniang, who didn’t like Gu Yumei, lost that little bit of sympathy after hearing Gu Jinli’s words and started chatting with her, "What’s fun in the county? Is the food at Jiang Mansion good? Will my brother go to Jiang Mansion today?"

Gu Jinli lifted the small curtain of the carriage window and looked at the scenery outside, saying, "He probably will."

Her sister was indeed visiting Jiang Mansion today. With the zeal Luo Wu had for her sister, it would be strange if he didn’t go to Jiang Mansion to see her.

Luo Huiniang became cheerful upon hearing this and chatted continuously with Gu Jinli and Gu Jinxiu inside the mule cart, even breaking into laughter when the conversation turned amusing.

After the mule cart had traveled for about half an hour, they reached the intersection leading to Shang Family Village, where they met up with Scholar Shang’s family, who had been waiting there, and together they headed towards the county.

Today is the Qiqiao Festival, a festival for women. Although Gu Jin’an shouldn’t have gone, Scholar Shang wanted to accompany Ms. Jiang to her parental home and wished for Gu Jin’an to have more exposure to the wealthy circles of the county, so he brought him along to broaden his horizons.

After another two hours of travel in the mule cart, they finally arrived at Jiang Mansion in the county.

Being a cherished guest of Jiang Mansion, Ms. Jiang was personally received by Nanny Wen, Mrs. Jiang’s attendant.

"Miss, you have finally returned; the madam has been anxiously waiting," said Nanny Wen as she and a maid stepped forward to help Ms. Jiang out of the mule cart, while the maid took Yuanyuan into her arms.

Yuanyuan, recognizing the maid, didn’t cry; instead, she said happily, "Sister Lianhe, I missed you~"

Maid Lianhe smiled, and before she could respond, Yuanyuan saw Gu Jinli and the others disembarking and immediately stretched out her arms towards Gu Jinli, "Sister Xiao Yu, hug~ Want yummy treats."

Gu Jinli laughed; the little girl always said this when she saw her. Was she some kind of walking kitchen?

Ms. Jiang helplessly scolded Yuanyuan with a laugh, "You chubby girl, always thinking about eating, even if your Sister Xiao Yu’s family has a lot of good stuff, you can eat it all up."

Yuanyuan, unhappy with her mother calling her a chubby girl, pouted and said, "Not a chubby girl, I’m a Fuwa, Grandma said so."

Nanny Wen hurriedly praised her, "That’s right, our Miss is a Fuwa [blessed child]."

She then looked towards Gu Jinli and the others, curtsied respectfully, and Gu Jinli and the others quickly sidestepped.

Gu Jinli said, "Nanny, there’s no need for such formality; you’re really flattering us."

Nanny Wen said, "I am a servant of Jiang Mansion. You are the lifesaver of our young miss; it is proper that I pay my respects."

The young girl might not know how important the young miss was to both the Jiang and Shang families. If anything happened to the young miss, neither Ms. Jiang nor Mrs. Jiang would be able to live on.

Ms. Jiang said gently with a smile, "Xiao Yu, you are guests invited by my mother and are honored guests of our home, no need to be formal."

Gu Jinli and the others had to accept Nanny Wen’s salute, then followed her to the back courtyard of Jiang Mansion.

Gu Jin’an followed Scholar Shang to the front courtyard’s study.

Jiang Mansion’s courtyard was deep and vast, with a sight every ten steps. Luo Huiniang and Gu Jinxiu had never seen such a grand estate before, and they were somewhat afraid with every step they took, holding tightly onto Gu Jinli’s hand. Luo Huiniang even started to regret coming to the county.

She felt that in such a grand mansion, she wouldn’t dare to laugh out loud.

Nanny Wen was a clever woman and, seeing their nervousness, kept them company and talked to them along the way.

Ms. Jiang was also afraid they would feel scared being newcomers, so she gently told them about Jiang Mansion beside them, easing the fear in their hearts significantly.

After the time it would take to drink a cup of tea, they finally arrived at the flower hall in the main courtyard of Jiang Mansion.

The flower hall was already filled with many guests, all of whom were madams and misses acquainted with Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang was over fifty, gentle and amiable. Seeing them, she immediately got up to greet them, taking Gu Jinli’s hand and said, "So you are Xiao Yu. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, and today I finally have the chance."

Gu Jinli bowed courteously to Mrs. Jiang: "Madam has sharp eyes, recognizing me at first glance."

Mrs. Jiang pointed to her bun and said, "Xue Niang mentioned that no matter where you go, you always have your hair in a round bun, not like other young ladies who wear double buns."

Touching her own bun, Gu Jinli smiled and said: "It’s convenient to have it this way. Tying a double bun takes a long time and delays work."

Mrs. Jiang laughed heartily upon hearing this: "You really are an interesting child."

Then turning to Gu Jinxiu, she said, "You must be Sister Xiu. The embroidery you sent has added greatly to my reputation. Even the Shopkeeper of Huaiyu Embroidery Shop praised your craftsmanship, wanting to buy your embroidery designs with money, which I refused. The Shopkeeper was so annoyed with me that he threatened to break off our friendship."

After saying this, she turned towards the elderly woman sitting on the right side of the first seat of the flower hall: "Dear sister, I’m right, aren’t I?"

The Shopkeeper of Huaiyu Embroidery Shop chuckled: "That’s true. You’ve got several good designs to flaunt in front of me, but you did not spare even one for me, just letting me drool over them. How could I not be annoyed?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Jiang had a smug look on her face. Turning to Luo Huiniang, who was nervously holding Gu Jinli’s hand, she smiled and said, "So, you must be Hui Niang. Your older brother will come today too; you’ll see him at noon."

"Really?" Luo Huiniang, hearing that her own brother would come, and seeing the very amiable Mrs. Jiang, finally felt a bit less nervous and anxious and pointed to her own face, asking: "Madam recognizes me too? You are really amazing, Madam. Having never met us three, you recognized us all without error at first sight. Are you an immortal who can perform magic?"

"Ha ha, this girl is quite amusing too," said Mrs. Jiang, who was old and had a fondness for girls like Luo Huiniang with round faces that looked blessed and adorable.

"Grandma~ Grandma, don’t you love Yuanyuan anymore?" Yuanyuan, seeing Mrs. Jiang talking to Gu Jinli and the others and ignoring her, felt upset and reached out for Mrs. Jiang to hold her.

Mrs. Jiang loved her granddaughter the most. Hearing her words, she quickly held her, noting that the child had put on weight, and teasingly said, "Grandma’s blessed child, you’ve gained some weight."

As she spoke, Mrs. Jiang asked Ms. Jiang to lead Gu Jinli and the others to their seats, and introduced the guests seated in the flower hall to them.

There were quite a few guests: the wives and daughters of the County Government Assistant Officers; wives and daughters from the few richest families in the county; and also the wives and daughters of constable squad leaders, adding up to more than thirty people.

Each of them was accompanied by at least two maids.

Fortunately, the Jiang family’s flower hall was spacious enough to accommodate so many people without feeling crowded.

After the greetings, the Shopkeeper of Huaiyu Embroidery Shop couldn’t help but ask Gu Jinxiu, "Did you bring any new embroidery designs today? Could you show them to us?"

Today, being the Qiqiao Festival, visiting girls would certainly bring a piece or two of their embroidery.

Gu Jinxiu smiled and nodded, "I brought some. Naturally, Madam can have a look."