Gu Sinian looked at Qian Yuanbao's eager gaze and did not respond. He got up and walked out. When he reached the door, he stopped. "There are rumors in the market about the two of us. I don't mind if you add fuel to the fire and make my reputation even worse."
Qian Yuanbao was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding Gu Sinian's meaning. "No, no, no, I can't do that. I'll be implicated by you. I also promised my grandmother that I would reform and manage my reputation well from now on! If I add more fuel to the fire, how can I explain it to my grandmother?"
"Then you'll say that Gu Sinian, the heir of the Duke's mansion, abandoned you, Qian Yuanbao, and found a new love? As for who the new love is, you can arrange it. Aren't there special ones in the capital..." Gu Sinian thought for a moment before saying, "Male prostitutes?"
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you giving up on yourself? Trying to provoke your father?" Qian Yuanbao was very curious and wanted to know Gu Sinian's intention. "Shouldn't you be trying to figure out how to win that girl's favor? What am I confused about?"
Gu Sinian walked out amidst Qian Yuanbao's incessant questioning, his face extremely grim, causing people to instinctively stay far away.
The manor had many wealthy families who came to enjoy themselves. Seeing Gu Sinian storming off, they began to speculate on the reason. The heir of the Duke's mansion came to the hot spring manor for only one purpose, which was to find Qian Yuanbao. He had only been here for a short while and left in a huff. Had the two of them had a falling out?
This time, there was no need for Qian Yuanbao to specifically instruct people to spread the word. The news of Gu Sinian and Qian Yuanbao parting on bad terms spread like wildfire to every corner of the capital. During their leisure time, people would always talk about the two of them.
Qian's butler hurried to the hot spring manor and conveyed the old madam's order, telling Qian Yuanbao to rush home immediately.
"Your grandmother is very angry, so be careful. On your way back, think carefully about how you're going to talk to your grandmother. You just promised her a few days ago that you would manage your reputation well from now on so that you could find a good marriage. And look at you... It's no wonder she's angry. If it were me, and my grandson was like this, I'd break his legs." Steward Qian chattered. He had been in the Qian family for his entire life, having been there since Qian Yuanbao's father was a child. Therefore, he had a high status in the Qian family and spoke to Qian Yuanbao more casually.
"I'm being wronged," Qian Yuanbao said with a mournful face.
"Whatever grievances you have, go tell your grandmother."
Qian Yuanbao obediently followed Steward Qian back to the mansion. The maids and servants dared not make a sound, looking at Qian Yuanbao with worry. The old madam had been throwing a tantrum for a while, and now that the young master was back, wasn't he walking right into the line of fire?
"Look at you all, what are those expressions? All of you, cheer up! Seeing you like this makes me angry. People of our Qian family should hold their heads high!" Qian Yuanbao said as he walked towards Old Madam Qian's courtyard, scolding the servants in the mansion.
"Young master, you still have the mood to manage them. You should think about how to apologize to the old madam later," Steward Qian mumbled.
"I'm not wrong, so why should I apologize? I'll just tell the truth."
As he reached the entrance of Old Madam Qian's courtyard, Qian Yuanbao began to feel a little nervous. He walked slowly and hesitantly.
"Young master, the old madam has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in quickly," said Cui, the head maid by the old madam's side, as she bowed to Qian Yuanbao.
Whether to stick your head out or shrink it back, since it couldn't be avoided, it was better to face it squarely.
"Grandmother, have you been eating and sleeping well these past few days? Your grandson has found some special delicacies. I'll give the recipes to your courtyard's small kitchen later and ask them to figure them out and make them for you to eat." Qian Yuanbao said with a smile, walking quickly to Old Madam Qian, who was sitting on a chaise lounge, and speaking rapidly.
"Alright, alright, stop with this honey-tongued talk with this old woman. You ungrateful child, you think of this old woman when you're having fun outside? Don't distract me, tell me, what's going on!"
Old Madam Qian wore a forehead band embroidered with continuous auspicious cloud patterns in gold thread, with a thumb-sized ruby inlaid in the center. Her hair was meticulously styled and held up with a comb. The old lady had a round face and an amiable demeanor. Even when she was reprimanding Qian Yuanbao, she didn't look angry.
"Grandmother, this really has nothing to do with me. Ah Nian came to find me and spoke about some matters concerning the Dong family. You know as well as I do how the Duke ostentatiously brought back a secondary wife a few days ago. You surely know who that secondary wife is. A deceased concubine Dong already made Ah Nian and his mother have a difficult time all these years. Now that another daughter of the Dong family has entered the Duke's mansion, do you expect her to be harmonious? It's likely that she clashed with Ah Nian as soon as she entered the house. Since Ah Nian couldn't do much in the mansion, he came to me to ask me to look after the Dong family's business and let the Dong family know their place. We've been good friends since childhood, how could I not help him with his affairs?" Qian Yuanbao knelt on a footstool, using a specially made soft mallet to tap Old Madam Qian's leg as he spoke.
"Good friends since childhood? Ah Nian didn't consider you a good friend; it was you, this brat, who kept chasing after him. If you hadn't kept chasing after him, would those jokes have happened? Which led to you and Ah Nian... Never mind that, continue." Old Madam Qian rolled her eyes at Qian Yuanbao.
"Given my friendship with Ah Nian since childhood, how could I refuse to help with the Dong family's affairs? After discussing this matter, Ah Nian told me about his own situation. He fancied a girl, but that girl had an awkward status and was already betrothed. I intended to help him by offering some advice, but then Ah Nian inexplicably told me to spread the word..." Qian Yuanbao hid nothing and revealed the entire matter to his grandmother. "Grandmother, help me think, what is he trying to do? If he fancies that girl, shouldn't he be managing his own reputation well and then propose?"
Old Madam Qian was also puzzled. What this Gu family boy was doing was completely disorganized. She didn't understand why.
"Which girl has the Gu family boy taken a fancy to?"
"Ah Nian is tight-lipped and wouldn't say, so I didn't ask. He never leaves any clues in his actions, so I haven't figured anything out," Qian Yuanbao said.
The grandmother and grandson mumbled for a long time, but to no avail, so they had to stop.
"Don't forget what you promised this old woman, that you'll manage your reputation well from now on. You're not young anymore, almost twenty. Your father already had you when he was your age. Look at you, you're still not serious. This old woman has humbled herself to try and find a good girl for you, but as soon as I mention someone, they find an excuse to leave... If it continues like this, will I be able to see you get married before I close my eyes? I'm telling you, if you continue like this, this old woman will go to the palace and beg the Emperor to grant you a marriage decree." Old Madam Qian said with a stern face, "Then you won't have a choice."