The Grand Secretary's Pampered wife

Having spat out what she had eaten, Concubine Ling, seemingly having realized something, smiled wryly, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "I'm allergic to pollen."

Gu Changqing’s expression didn’t change as he responded, "Why didn't aunt say earlier that she was allergic to pollen? That way, I wouldn't have let aunt take care of the greenhouse for grandmother."

Concubine Ling opened her mouth and was speechless for a moment.

"Take it away." Gu Changqing said to the servant boy.

The servant boy took away the plate of snacks, and Concubine Ling clearly saw the servant boy take a piece of snack and put it in his mouth as he walked.

Concubine Ling's eyelashes quivered.

"Aunt." Gu Changqing called her.

Concubine Ling withdrew her eyes from the servant boy, clenched her hands buried under her wide sleeves, and replied smilingly, "What's the matter?"

Gu Changqing looked at her, saying, "Just as I said, since aunt is allergic to pollen, you don’t have to take care of grandmother's greenhouse in the future. I will speak with grandmother about it."

Concubine Ling lowered her eyes, still smiling, she said, "I'll be careful, it doesn’t matter."

Gu Changqing asked, "How could I let aunt take such a risk?"

Concubine Ling’s smile remained unchanged as she raised her eyes to meet Gu Changqing's line of sight, "...since shizi said so, then all right. But if the gardener can't do it, remember to tell me."

"En." Gu Changqing nodded faintly.

Concubine Ling stood up and said, "It's getting late, you take your rest. I'll take my leave."

After she had walked a few steps, Gu Changqing suddenly stopped her to ask, "How is maternal grandmother?"

"Hm?" Concubine Ling was slightly stunned, turning around and glancing at Gu Changqing with a smile, she answered, "She’s in good shape, but she misses her three little grandsons. If shizi is free, he can take Chengfeng and Chenglin for a visit and see her."

"I will." Gu Changqing said.

Concubine Ling didn't stay any longer, turned around and went out of the courtyard.

On her way back, she passed by the greenhouse and saw several servant boys and servant girls cleaning the greenhouse.

"All those white flowers have been dug out!"

"It's a pity to remove such beautiful flowers."

"The Old Madame had a fall and the shizi seemed to have taken his anger out on these flowers. Poor them."

"All right, don't say anything more. Be careful of spreading it to the ears of the Old Madame and the shizi."

Chills ran down Concubine Ling’s back.

"Concubine, what's the matter? Is something wrong with you? Your complexion looks terrible. " The servant girl at her side asked.

Concubine Ling tightened the coat on her body and whispered, her voice trembling, "I'm fine… I'm fine…"

……

During the night, snow once again fell in the capital, though it wasn’t as heavy as last night.

The family closed the gate and had their meal in the house.

Gu Jiao made a carrot & meat soup and bean curd mushroom soup, and also fried a few side dishes.

Little Jing Kong got today's gourmet meal—— vegetarian meatballs, corn kernels with green peppers, fried rice with vegetarian sausage, and egg custard with vegetarian shrimp. He just recently unlocked the skill of eating eggs and felt awesome!

He was going to have a bowl of JiaoJiao's egg custard every day!

His tableware was unbelievably beautiful and the exquisiteness of his dish presentation was simply a notch above all other dishes.

He ate with delight and did not forget to puff out his small chest, looking pleased with himself. His little expression was obviously showing off to others.

Because Xiao Liulang started tutoring Lin Chengye again, he no longer came back home for lunch every day. He and Little Jing Kong ate at the Imperial Academy instead.

Dinner had become the most orderly time of the family every day.

And every time after dinner, the elderly woman, as the most senior in the family, would ask everyone how they did for the day.

It was Little Jing Kong who reported the longest each time. He cherished his words like gold and was a very aloof child in the private elementary school, but when at home, he was a little trumpet player, very lively and energetic. He would only stop once he heard a praise from Gu Jiao.

Nothing special happened to everyone else today.

When it was Gu Jiao's turn, Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment before telling them about Yao shi.

She didn't mention about Yao shi being targeted and harmed by someone in the Marquis Estate, or that Yao shi nearly took her own life along with Gu Chenglin, and only said that she wanted to take Yao shi home and let her live here.

Everyone liked Yao shi very much, so they had no problem with it at all.

The only problem was the room.

Gu Yan said that he could move and squeeze with Gu Xiaoshun in his room, vacating his own room for Yao shi.

Gu Xiaoshun nodded repeatedly. Anyways, his bed was big enough for two people to sleep on.

"Tomorrow... Should I go with you?" Xiao Liulang asked Gu Jiao.

He was talking about picking up Yao shi and bringing her home.

Gu Jiao uttered an ‘oh’ before asking him, "Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

Xiao Liulang: "...I do."

……

Early the next morning, Gu Jiao headed to the Marquis Estate again.

Yao shi got up early and was sitting in the heating room, having her breakfast.

She was very surprised to see her daughter come over again, at the same time she was also a little worried. She took her daughter's hand and let her sit down, asking, "Have you eaten?"

"I have eaten." Gu Jiao answered and continued, "I'm here to take you out of the estate."

Yao shi was stupefied.

Gu Jiao paused briefly and said, "Would you… like to move out and live with us?"

Yao shi had always dreamed of hearing this sentence, dreamed of living together with her daughter.

But, not now.

Yao shi reached out to touch the hair on her daughter's temple, asking, "Did you make a trip here so early to take me out of the estate?"

Gu Jiao nodded honestly.

Yao shi looked at her daughter fondly and said, "JiaoJiao… Have you really accepted me?"

Gu Jiao was silent.

She didn’t know.

What she rejected was never Yao shi, but rather the existence of a mother.

But Yao shi was also her mother.

Yao shi took her daughter's hand and said softly, "For JiaoJiao to make concessions because she was worried about me already makes me very touched and happy. But right now… I can't move out and live with JiaoJiao."

"There is something wrong with that concubine." Gu Jiao said.

Sure enough, it was because she was worried for her sake. Yao shi touched her daughter's cheek with both joy and bitterness, saying, "Mother knows. Mother can handle it, you can trust Mother this once."

If it was in the past, being asked to move out and live together with her daughter like this, she would have agreed without hesitation. However, she already knew about the matter of the greenhouse.

She thought about it all night, wondering what she should do.

Would she move out or stay in the estate?

In the past, she didn't fight with people because she felt hopeless anyways. Her Yan'er could die at any time, and she just wanted to guard her Yan’er well, staying away from whatever dispute in the Marquis Estate.

But now she didn’t think the same.

For some people, it was useless to avoid them. For them, it was even a sin for the three of them, mother and children, to be alive.

More importantly, she had learned that her daughter had been whipped in order to save her life.

If she hadn't been incompetent, her daughter wouldn't have been whipped for saving her!

Her heart was bleeding and aching whenever she thought about it!