Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 26

To live to seventy is a rare blessing.

In this era, even holding a fiftieth or sixtieth birthday banquet is considered extremely fortunate in the eyes of the world, let alone a seventieth birthday celebration.

Old Lady Gu’s seventieth birthday was celebrated with great fanfare by Gu Cheng, the Old Master, in honor of his beloved wife.

The deep affection between the two elders made many of the lovesick men and women attending the banquet today envious.

—

Red silk fluttered at the entrance of the Gu Mansion, accompanied by the sound of drums and gongs.

Even the two square stone lions squatting on either side of the main gate had large red silk flowers hanging around their necks.

Inside the mansion, guests gathered in crowds, and servants bustled back and forth.

Many of the servants, though busy, wore happy smiles, clearly having received generous tips on this auspicious day.

Several sons of Gu Cheng stood outside greeting guests, who arrived one after another, and their words of thanks never ceased.

It wasn’t until Chen Chu and Lu Xuyang arrived on horseback, with two squads of armored guards escorting the carriage from the Prime Minister’s Mansion to the gate of the Gu Mansion, that the Gu brothers hurriedly thanked the guests around them again and instructed the servants to lead the distinguished visitors inside.

Then, the brothers went out together to welcome the carriage from the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Xiao Hong had already alighted from the carriage and turned to help Fang Qin’er behind him.

Fang Qin’er lifted her skirt and stepped down from the carriage, composed and dignified, smiling at the Gu brothers.

“Prime Minister, Madam Prime Minister, we apologize for not welcoming you sooner. Please, come inside.”

The two eldest sons of Gu Cheng, who looked about the same age as Xiao Hong, raised their hands in a gesture of invitation, bowed slightly, and led Xiao Hong and his wife into the mansion.

From the carriage behind, Xiao Pingnan stepped down leisurely, first exchanging greetings with the Gu brothers nearby, then turning to assist Xiao Wangshu and Xiao Fuguang.

“So all three young masters and the young lady have come. What an honor! Please enjoy yourselves to the fullest today,” the Gu brothers said, cupping their hands in greeting.

Xiao Wangshu and Xiao Fuguang stood obediently beside Xiao Pingnan, bowed and returned the greeting in unison.

The Gu brothers gestured for them to follow, leading the three to catch up with Xiao Hong and his wife.

Following Xiao Hong’s instructions, Chen Chu and Lu Xuyang dismounted and removed their swords, entering the Gu Mansion unarmed behind Xiao Pingnan and the others.

As for the two squads of armored guards they brought, all remained outside the mansion; none followed inside.

—

The arrival of the Prime Minister’s family of five pushed the atmosphere of the birthday banquet to its peak.

Gu Cheng had been chatting and sipping tea with Fang Jingtai in the main hall. Upon hearing from a servant that the Prime Minister had arrived with his wife and children, the two rose and went out together, smiling.

When Xiao Hong arrived and saw his father-in-law Fang Jingtai, he quickly joined the conversation.

Xiao Pingnan and Xiao Fuguang listened for a while, then were invited away by the Gu brothers to find their own friends of similar age to play with in the Gu Mansion.

Fang Qin’er took Xiao Wangshu with her, and the mother and daughter went to the backyard to chat with Old Lady Gu and Old Lady Fang.

So far, everything was harmonious, like a painting.

—

After Xiao Wangshu followed Fang Qin’er to the backyard, she saw the courtyard of Old Lady Gu filled with female guests who had come to offer birthday wishes-a sea of people.

As soon as the mother and daughter entered, Fang Qiluo spotted Xiao Wangshu and secretly waved to her.

“It’s always lively in Old Lady’s rooms, so many people,” Fang Qin’er said with a bright smile, leading Xiao Wangshu forward.

Xiao Wangshu bowed as a junior, while Fang Qin’er merely nodded slightly to the two old ladies above.

As the wife of the Prime Minister, a first-rank titled lady, she could not disrupt the hierarchy in public.
Seeing Fang Qin’er walk up, Old Lady Gu released the little girl in her arms, raised her hand to the Maid beside her, and prepared to rise and greet according to custom.

After the little girl got down, she stood next to Old Lady Gu. Before the Maid could instruct her, she already performed a proper curtsy to Fang Qin’er.

Seeing Old Lady Gu also bending down, Fang Qin’er hurried forward to support her arm and smiled, “Old Lady, you are the birthday star today. I am here to share in your blessings-how could I possibly accept such courtesy?”

Old Lady Fang, sitting to the side, also smiled, “Today is a joyful day, let’s not stand on ceremony. I see these young girls have all grown listless-let them go play. We old ladies can chat with our daughters-in-law.”

As soon as she finished speaking, all the young ladies in the room, previously uninterested, perked up.

Old Lady Gu, with a kindly face, hugged the little girl back into her arms and replied, “Good, good, let the young girls go play. Don’t keep them restrained.”

With the birthday star’s permission, the young girls in the room all got up, bid farewell with a bow, and left together.

Xiao Wangshu had just arrived, so naturally she couldn’t leave at this moment.

Just then, she saw Fang Qiluo waving to her, so she went over and sat beside Fang Qiluo.

The conversation above continued. Fang Qin’er started the topic, looking at the little girl in Old Lady Gu’s arms and asking, “This must be Yongjia? She’s grown so much in the blink of an eye-so delicate and beautiful.”

The little girl in Old Lady Gu’s arms blushed, a bit shy, and answered softly, “Replying to Madame Xiao, I am Yongjia.”

Gu Yongjia, though bearing the Gu surname, was actually the granddaughter of the Gu Family.

Back then, Old Master and Old Lady Gu had four sons in succession, and in their old age, finally had a daughter, whom they named Gu Tan.

As the youngest daughter and the only legitimate daughter of Old Lady Gu, Gu Tan was cherished and pampered from childhood.

Even after Gu Tan came of age and reached marriageable age, the elderly couple couldn’t bear to marry her off, so instead, they brought in a husband for her.

Later, Gu Tan became pregnant after marriage, but gave birth prematurely at eight months, leaving behind a baby daughter before passing away.

Due to certain revelations, the Gu Family resolved the matter with three cups of poisoned wine-ending the lives of the son-in-law, his secret mistress, and the mistress’s daughter.

They called it-dying for love.

From then on, the orphaned girl left by Gu Tan was raised under Old Lady Gu’s care.

Old Master Gu personally named her-Gu Yongjia.

Endless happiness, everlasting blessings.

The affection the elderly couple had for this granddaughter was evident.

In the Gu Mansion, even the legitimate granddaughters were not as favored as this granddaughter.

“Yongjia is truly well-behaved. Your sister Wangshu even brought you a little gift,” Fang Qin’er stroked Gu Yongjia’s head.

Gu Yongjia’s dark eyes glanced up, her gaze lingering on Xiao Wangshu. After watching her for a moment, she looked up at Old Lady Gu, who was holding her.

Old Lady Gu set her down, watching her lift her little skirt and walk toward Xiao Wangshu.

The Gu Family had always protected this precious child very well, never allowing her to come into contact with anyone dangerous.

Today was the first meeting between Gu Yongjia and Xiao Wangshu.

In the novel, Xiao Wangshu attended the banquet today and accidentally knocked this precious child down in the garden. Gu Yongjia cried non-stop, nearly attracting all the guests, and in the end, Xiao Fuguang arrived early to resolve the situation.

Although the incident didn’t cause a huge stir, the elderly couple of the Gu Family still learned of it from Gu Yongjia’s Maid, further worsening Xiao Wangshu’s already poor reputation.

Today, Xiao Wangshu had come, of course, to salvage her image.