After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

Gu Minghai's forehead veins throbbed: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Gu Hanyue muttered something under her breath, but he couldn't hear her.

Gu Minghai rubbed his head and dismissed Gu Hanyue, saying, "Since you're here, go see your mother. She misses you terribly since you haven't been here for a while."

"understood"

Lin Xiaoxiao patted Gu Minghai's back and said, "Don't be angry. My sister is that kind of person. She didn't mean it."

Gu Minghai sighed and pulled Lin Xiaoxiao onto his lap: "You should just marry me soon. We don't have enough money to buy grain right now, it's really worrying."

Lin Xiaoxiao certainly still has money, but she won't take it out. Gu Minghai's money is hers, and her money is hers too. It's absolutely impossible for her to give it away.

Feeling sorry for men means you'll be unlucky for life!

Lin Xiaoxiao remembered the gold hairpin that Su Zihao had sent yesterday and said, "I have another gold hairpin. I'll pawn it later. I should be able to get a few hundred taels, which should cover the rent."

Gu Minghai took Lin Xiaoxiao's hand and kissed it hard: "Xiaoxiao, I'm sorry you had to go through this. I'll buy you bigger and more gold jewelry in the future."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded: "Yes, you must remember my kindness. I loved that gold hairpin the most."

Gu Minghai nuzzled his head against her: "Don't worry."

Lin Xiaoxiao then asked, "Can I attend the flower-viewing banquet at the Fourth Prince's residence?"

Gu Minghai's gaze darkened: "You want to choose a prince's consort?"

"What nonsense?"

Lin Xiaoxiao glared at him playfully: "I'm already yours, why would I choose a prince's consort? The Fourth Prince's flower-viewing banquet is attended by all the noble ladies of the capital. I'll go and get to know them better."

"All the noble ladies and young women in the capital?"

Gu Minghai scoffed, "That cripple? All the young ladies in the capital would probably avoid him. Very few people would go to him."

Lin Xiaoxiao disagreed. She found it strange that the Fourth Prince hadn't held a flower-viewing banquet in his previous life.

In June, there are very few varieties of flowers, and everyone knows exactly what a flower-viewing banquet is all about.

How did the fourth prince suddenly become so enlightened? Is there someone like her behind him?

She decided she still had to investigate. If there was nothing there, all the better; if there was, she would definitely eliminate that person.

Lin Xiaoxiao wrapped her arms around Gu Minghai's neck and said coquettishly, "Why don't I go and see for myself? Besides, this was personally ordered and supervised by the Emperor. Even if the young ladies from noble families don't go, the ladies of the house will."

"Alright," Gu Minghai conceded.

Lin Xiaoxiao did all this for him.

backyard.

Gu Chenshi was enjoying the cool air in the pavilion.

Upon seeing Gu Hanyue arrive, a rare smile appeared in his eyes.

After moving out of the Minister's mansion, he was constantly unhappy, not to mention losing his extra income from the estate.

Gu Minghai's daily breakfast and dinner of bird's nest soup were not enough to satisfy her.

I used to eat bird's nest twice a day, morning and evening, but now I can only eat one bowl a day, and it's just ordinary bird's nest.

Because Gu Chenshi was afraid of the heat, ice was already being used in the courtyard of the Minister's Mansion before other households had even started using it!

It's still unlimited.

Now, even with his own son, he can only use a whole block of ice.

Her hair hasn't grown back in ages, and she hasn't been able to go out in a long time.

I've never felt so wronged in the Minister's mansion.

Gu Hanyue hadn't seen Chen Shi for a while, and was quite startled to see her again. Chen Shi was very good at maintaining her appearance, and she ate a lot of things like milk and bird's nest every day, as long as they could nourish her beauty.

Therefore, she looks much younger than her peers.

But the mother in front of me had a lot more gray hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a tired look on her face, making her look ten years older in an instant.

"Mother"

Gu Hanyue called out.

"Hanyue is here, please sit down."

Gu Hanyue looked at her with some concern: "How has Mother been lately? She looks like she's aged ten years?"

Madam Gu Chen: "..."

Gu Chenshi's smile froze on her face, her good mood instantly vanished: "Nothing, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I just came to visit my mother."

Madam Gu nodded: "Yes, my daughter really knows how to take care of people."

Gu Hanyue looked at the bird's nest, chilled fruit, and ice cubes on the table.

She rolled her eyes and said, "My second brother is currently in the grain business, and I'd like to join him, but he wants me to put up two thousand taels."

Gu Hanyue held Chen's hand: "Mother, you know, my husband is only a fourth-rank official, where would he get so much money, so..."

"Mother, please lend me two thousand taels first."

"How many?"

Chen's voice suddenly rose: "Two thousand taels? Where would I get that much money?"

Chen could certainly afford it, but the Gu family's normal expenses couldn't support her extravagant lifestyle, so she had to subsidize it. Besides, Gu Minghai had already borrowed some money from her.

What if the second child still needs it but she can't get it out?

My daughter is married off to someone else's family and can't be relied on. Only my own son can be relied on.

Madam Chen patted Gu Hanyue's hand: "Yue'er, it's not that your mother doesn't want to help you, it's just that your mother doesn't have any. When we moved from the Minister's mansion, we didn't take any property with us."

"I'm the one who supports all the expenses of the Gu family, big and small. Where would I find the money to give you?"

Gu Hanyue pouted, gestured with her eyes to the bird's nest ice cubes in front of her, and said nonchalantly, "If you use less of these, you'll save money."

"you……"

Madam Gu was shocked to hear her daughter, whom she had personally raised, say such a thing. Her blood boiled with anger: "Shut up! What I use is my business. Do you think I'd starve myself or get sick from the heat for your sake?"

"Don't exaggerate, Mother, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Besides, the weather isn't hot, and it won't do any harm if we don't eat bird's nest. Just consider it a sacrifice for your daughter."

"It's not like I'm not going to pay you back. Once my second brother helps me earn money, I'll give Mother an extra twenty taels, how about that?"

Twenty taels? Gu Hanyue, her own daughter, how could she say such a thing to her mother?

Already irritable, Madam Gu became even more agitated. She slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Get out! Don't bother me! Don't even think about the two thousand taels!"

Gu Hanyue burst into tears: "Mother, don't you love me anymore? You always gave me money when I asked."

Before, before, how dare you even mention the past? I don't know which bastard betrayed her, causing her to suffer so much now.

In the past, people in the village would show her respect, and many people would give her money to find a way to meet Gu Mingtang or say nice things to him. It was very lucrative to use Gu Mingtang's name.

But what's the situation now?

They openly separated the family property, and Gu Mingtang even ended up in jail, yet Gu Hanyue didn't even consider the situation.

Seeing Gu Hanyue crying and sobbing, she became even more upset. Why wasn't Gu Xinyi her biological daughter?

She pinched her brow, and she even suspected that it was that idiot Gu Hanyue who had revealed that Gu Mingtang wasn't her son.