Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Scheming Their Own Plans

Liu Yun took it and looked over it, somewhat dissatisfied, "This is too plain, is there nothing else?"

"Young madam, this is already the best choice," Dong Mei replied calmly, "If you’re not satisfied, feel free to return it to me, it’s still my favorite dress."

Liu Yun felt unwilling, but dared not make any more demands. She knew Dong Mei wouldn’t give her any face right now and would likely just take the clothes back.

She glanced at Dong Mei again and noticed the silver hairpin on her head, "Dong Mei, lend me your hairpin too. Don’t worry, I will return it intact once we reach Lingnan." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Dong Mei adjusted the silver hairpin on her head, "It’s not that I’m stingy. It’s a memento from my grandmother before she passed, something I dare not easily lend to others."

Now she understood why the missus had her bring this hairpin—it was for this moment.

Her missus truly has foresight; from now on, she must wear this hairpin every day.

Hearing it was a dead person’s item, Liu Yun felt it was very ominous, snorted coldly, and left, clutching the dress.

Dong Mei watched the scene with a calm gaze. The more they jumped around now, the further they would push the son-in-law away.

As long as the son-in-law distanced himself from the Gu Family, their missus wouldn’t have to endure any more grievances.

Life may be hard now, but the missus has something to look forward to. It seems the Gu Family being exiled isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

She’s not lacking foresight as a maid, but she knows ever since the missus married into the Gu Family, she hasn’t had a few good days.

Instead, during these days of exile, the missus’s complexion was much better than in the Gu Family, and her smile brighter.

Bai Suihe wouldn’t know Dong Mei’s thoughts, otherwise would be quite pleased; these days she’s gradually changing and one day will return to herself.

Over here, Liu Yun returned to the campfire with the dress, Gu Antong’s eyes lit up; this was a success.

"Tong Er, quickly go change into the dress; there’s still time, and mother will help you get ready."

Gu Antong touched her somewhat tangled hair, "Mother, should I freshen up a bit?"

Liu Yun frowned, "How can you freshen up here?"

Gu Kaiping stood up at this point, "I’ll go fetch some water, and boil it, don’t catch a cold."

Seeing Gu Kaiping so cooperative, Gu Antong felt complex inside; between the future and his daughter, father made a choice.

"Thank you, father," Gu Antong said softly.

At this time, Gu Kaichen also opened his eyes, sat up from the ground, and said, "Brother, I’ll help."

The brothers exchanged a knowing glance and started busying themselves.

Carrying a pot, they went to the water source, cleaned the pot, and brought back plenty of water.

Xu Yulan also cheerfully stayed by Gu Antong’s side, "Your big sister-in-law and I will help pull the curtains."

The two family sides worked together, and in no time, Gu Antong’s appearance had truly transformed, restoring five-tenths of her previous beauty.

"Tong Er is really beautiful," Liu Yun was very satisfied with her daughter’s face, though the clothing was not quite fitting.

But there were no other choices now, so they had to make do for now. Once at the next post station, she’d definitely find a way to buy Tong Er a better outfit.

"Our Antong is certainly one of the top beauties," Xu Yulan complimented from the side, "In the future, the younger brothers at home will have to rely more on Antong’s support."

A flash of displeasure crossed Liu Yun’s eyes, but thinking that she still needed the second couple’s help, she smiled and continued, "We’re all family, siblings, supporting each other."

"That’s right," Xu Yulan laughed until her eyes were barely visible, "It’s getting late, Antong, hurry and rest well, so you can be in good spirits."

With that, she proactively placed the quilt that had been on the ground over Gu Antong’s bed, "Make it thicker, so it’s warmer to sleep in."

Gu Antong covered her mouth and chuckled, "Thank you, Second Aunt, but if you give me this quilt, what will you do?"

"It’s fine, I’ll squeeze in with your Second Uncle," Xu Yulan pointed to Gu Kaichen’s quilt and laughed, "I’ll add more firewood, so it won’t be cold."

Gu Antong nodded, sat directly on the mat, Liu Yun quickly covered her with the quilt, her voice full of tenderness, "Mother is watching over here, you have a good rest."

The atmosphere settled into silence, and only then did Gu Baijiang open his eyes; through the firelight, he looked at the already sleeping Gu Antong. The conditions were simple here; to manage this was already commendable. Just hope Antong can strive a little, to bind more closely with the Third Prince.

In the carriage, Rong Ruiyuan glanced inside with disdain, "Didn’t you send Gu Baijiang some silver notes earlier? Why is it still so basic?"

"Returning to you, master, I did send the silver notes and sent them twice." Ming Peifeng couldn’t fail to detect the suspicion in his master’s tone and hurried to explain, "The prices at this post station are several times higher; this carriage was bought with two hundred silver taels from my first send.

The second time I sent him two thousand silver taels, but who knew it would be stolen the next day."

"Stolen?" Rong Ruiyuan looked at Ming Peifeng with suspicion; how could there be such a coincidence in this world?

"Yes, it was stolen. I’ve kept people watching Gu Daren these days and haven’t found anything unusual, but strangely, the silver notes disappeared the night I sent them."

Ming Peifeng knew Rong Ruiyuan might suspect him of the crime himself; if it were someone else, he’d have the same doubts.

"Since these silver notes cannot be publicized, Gu Daren can only eat this dumb loss."

Rong Ruiyuan, "Who do you think is responsible?"

"I cannot say for sure, but whoever did it must have some skill to avoid my men. However, I do have a guess."

"Speak!"

"I think this has something to do with Gu Family’s young master."

"If I remember correctly, isn’t Gu Baijiang’s third son quite inconspicuous?"

"Maybe even Gu Daren was deceived; earlier our people saw him hunting in the mountains with good results; it’s just unknown why he remained unnoticed all these years."

Rong Ruiyuan, "... Are you implying something about me...?"

"Moreover, the entire Gu Family is not close with this Gu Third Master; does Master want to investigate? See if this Master is actually a Gu family child?"

Rong Ruiyuan, "Do you think my people have so much free time? Is he or isn’t he related to the Gu family our concern?

Your main task is still to cooperate with me; finding out the location of the hidden silver is our priority."

Ming Peifeng quickly nodded in agreement, then busied himself tidying up the carriage. Once his master was asleep, he quietly left the carriage.

He didn’t go to squeeze in with the Gu Family but returned to the broken carriage, made some simple arrangements, and found it much more comfortable than sitting around the fire.