Chapter 68: You Must Bleed and Cry Tears for the Gu Family

Her mother, Xu Hui, was the daughter of Xu Jian, a wealthy silk merchant in Shengjing. Their family possessed a vast fortune, and the very mansion where the Gu family currently resided was a gift from Xu Jian to his son-in-law, Gu Zhijing.

To present a luxurious mansion as part of a daughter's dowry—how many families could afford to be so lavishly generous?

Following Xu Hui’s passing, Gu Zhijing and Lady Song meticulously searched through all of her remaining belongings, yet they found very few items of substantial value. This was exceedingly strange.

Logically speaking, given how deeply Xu Jian cherished his daughter, and how lavish her dowry had been, where had everything gone?

Lady Song was burning with anxiety. If she failed to unearth that astronomical fortune before Gu Xingwan was married off and left the household, she would die with eternal regret.

Realizing that Nanny Tang had been thoroughly frightened, Lady Song promptly offered a soothing treat. She decided to play the emotional card.

"Nanny Tang, how many years have you been with me?"

"R-Reporting to Madam, this servant has been by your side since before you were married. Counting it up, it has been twenty-two years."

She had been nothing more than a young girl when she accompanied Lady Song as a dowry maid, yet she had never been a core attendant. Lady Song had never truly regarded her with importance, and after twenty-two years of drifting along, she was still merely a second-class maid.

"Ah, twenty-two years..." Lady Song shook her head with a sigh. "How many twenty-two-year spans does a person's life hold?"

She retrieved a money pouch from her sleeve, containing five taels of fragmented silver, and shoved it into Nanny Tang's hands.

"Given our bond as mistress and servant, since you are already a first-class servant now, I shall promote your son, Wang Teng, to a first-class servant as well, and appoint him as the head of the estate's guards."

"Oh, goodness me... This servant thanks Madam for her boundless grace!"

Since Lady Song had elevated her son Wang Teng by two ranks and granted him a promotion, Nanny Tang cast any lingering resentment completely out of her mind.

"Thank you, Madam, for your favor. This servant will certainly do her utmost to serve you."

Lady Song was truly pulling out all the stops to buy people's loyalty.

Nanny Tang's son, Wang Teng, not only walked with a limp, but he also had a severe hunchback—how on earth could he ever serve as the head guard?

"Let me ask you, once the Second Young Miss marries into the Lu family, what should you do?" Lady Song leaned in close, her gaze piercing.

As an old fox who had lived through the years, Nanny Tang narrowed her shrewd, cunning little eyes.

"Naturally, it is to report all important matters back to you, Madam. Should the Second Young Miss leave behind any compromising leverage, manipulating her will be effortless for you, Madam."

The mistresses of great families were well-versed in such malicious tactics, typically directed at stepdaughters. If the daughter married well, they would plant their own trusted maids and nannies as part of the dowry entourage to achieve the purpose of long-term exploitation.

Lady Song was immensely satisfied; Nanny Tang was an old woman with a keen sense of observation.

Gu Xingwan represented the future prospects of the Gu family. Regardless of how unreliable the Lu family might be, they were still imperial relatives.

If the Gu family ever encountered any trouble in the future, this daughter would have to bleed and shed tears for them.

Such was her inescapable destiny in this lifetime, one she could never evade.

Yet while Lady Song was scheming against Gu Xingwan, she remained entirely oblivious to the fact that Gu Xingwan was plotting against her in return.

How could someone equipped with the cheat code of having read the entire original novel from start to finish be so easily handled?

At three quarters past the midnight hour.

The door to Gu Xingwan's bedchamber finally creaked open. She instructed a male servant to drive the carriage and send Tong Yan back to the Lu family, offering a special reminder to Tong Yan just before departure:

"Lady Tong, this letter is of momentous significance and must not fall into the hands of outsiders."

In addition to the coal desulfurization process diagrams, Gu Xingwan had specifically warned Lu Lan in the letter to remain on guard against the two pieces of "seditious poetry" currently in Lu Zhongwang's possession, lest they become the executioner's blades in the hands of those in power in the future.

Though this would easily arouse Lu Lan's suspicions regarding how an outsider like herself could possibly possess foreknowledge of seditious poetry,

compared to the capital crime of execution of the entire family and annihilation of all nine clans, being suspected by him seemed a far lesser evil.

She was about to marry into the Lu family; their heads were now all tied to the same waistband.

Tong Yan's gaze burned with intense resolve:

"Young Mada—Miss Gu, rest assured, this servant will deliver it into the Heir Apparent's own hands!"

Shortly after, the carriage slowly vanished into the pitch-black streets.

The "Young Madam" that had just slipped so naturally from Tong Yan's lips brought a flush of rosy warmth to Gu Xingwan's cheeks, stirring a brief wave of excitement within her.

After working through the better part of the night, she had finally completed the large-scale coal processing flow charts.

They detailed the construction of the primary platforms, the manufacturing parameters for the large boilers, and the layout of the pipelines.

Everything was described using terminology comprehensible to this era, and the construction materials specified closely matched current practical conditions.

Given the financial resources of the Lu family and Lu Lan's unwavering determination, she believed this coal desulfurization process could be implemented in no time.

Mount Daodong was about to become a veritable money tree.

Gu Xingwan and Tingzheng walked toward the bedchamber.

Suddenly, Tingzheng halted, pointing toward the wide-open door and crying out in a soft voice:

"Miss, look over there!"

Gu Xingwan raised her eyes and saw Nanny Tang frantically rummaging through the writing desk with a flustered expression.

"Nanny Tang, what are you searching for?"

"Oh..."

Nanny Tang was so startled her scalp tingled. A patchwork of creases formed a smile across her deeply lined face as she said, "Miss, you are harming your vitality by staying up so late, so this servant specially prepared bird's nest soup for you. It's piping hot, please drink it while it's warm."

True enough, a bowl of steaming bird's nest soup rested upon the desk.

Gu Xingwan picked it up, took a sip, and spoke in a flat, indifferent tone:

"You've worked hard, Nanny Tang. Get some rest early. Tomorrow morning, I plan to visit the Baoguo Temple to fulfill a vow. You will accompany me."

Nanny Tang cast a glance at Tingzheng.

Hearing that she was to accompany them, she raised no objection, planning to consult Lady Song about it later.

"Understood!"

Seeing that Nanny Tang still lingered inside the room, Gu Xingwan arched a slender brow. "Is there anything else?"

"Oh, this servant noticed you spending a long time shut in the room with the Lu family's maid earlier. May I ask what that was about?"

"Do I need to report my actions to you?"

Gu Xingwan looked at her with a smile that did not reach her eyes.