Gu Antong looked thoughtful. "Mother, do you mean Aunt Yulan will intervene?"
"The Xu Family is a destitute household. Your grandfather didn't agree to marry Xu Yulan into the family back then. It was your grandmother who stubbornly insisted and made the decision on her own.
"At the time, your grandfather was merely a landowner with modest wealth, so marrying your grandmother was a well-matched union.
"However, your grandmother's maiden family has become increasingly wretched over the years. Since her branch is the only prominent one left, they naturally come begging at our door whenever something happens.
"Ever since we took in Aunt Yulan, the aunt-and-niece duo has joined forces and gone entirely too far.
"If it weren't for your grandmother favoring them too much and depleting our resources, do you really think the household management rights would have fallen into my hands?"
"But running the household isn't exactly a great privilege." Gu Antong didn't consider it a good job at all. If her mother weren't so capable, who knew how much of their own money they would have had to subsidize it with.
"Why do you think I wanted this power?" Liu Yun stroked Gu Antong's head, a hint of smugness in her voice. "In this entire Gu Mansion, who else but me is fit to be the Family Head's wife?
"We are the eldest branch, and your father holds an official post. In the future, this entire Gu Mansion will belong to us.
"Although managing the household is difficult, it has its perks. My dowry isn't as substantial as your aunt from the third branch's, so I have to plan for the long term to secure more benefits for you and your brother.
"Besides, if I don't run the household, how can I teach you to do it? This is an excellent opportunity for you to practice.
"I come from a low birth. Although I was born in the Marquis Mansion, I was ultimately just a concubine's daughter. I only managed to learn the ropes by currying favor with my legitimate elder sister.
"My daughter will definitely be the principal wife of a prominent clan in the future, so these skills are indispensable.
"Now the entire capital knows that the legitimate granddaughter of the Gu Family is already helping manage the entire Gu Mansion at such a young age. As long as a family has a suitable, talented young man, who wouldn't consider you their first choice?"
"Mother..." At the mention of her marriage prospects, Gu Antong bashfully lowered her head and whined softly.
"We can't let the reputation we've spent so long building be ruined by this one trifling matter.
"Regardless of whether your aunt from the third branch is truly ill or just avoiding this, the matter ends here.
"Since we don't have a matching jewelry set for that dress, we will go with the moonlight gown instead. It's elegantly understated and tranquil, which will definitely win the favor of the elderly madams."
If she couldn't catch the eye at first glance, she would just have to take a different route. Liu Yun had already made the choice for her daughter.
Gu Antong thought about it calmly and ultimately followed Liu Yun's advice, changing into the moonlight gown.
"But won't it be too plain?" She felt that wearing such a simple outfit was a bit inauspicious and wondered if those old madams would really like it.
"It's an open secret in the capital that this banquet at the Princess's estate was specially arranged for the Princes to select their brides. The young ladies of the various estates will definitely be dressed to the nines to outshine one another. By dressing plainly, you will stand out among them."
Liu Yun gazed at Gu Antong's delicate, fair face. "You look just like your grandmother..."
Thinking of her biological mother, Liu Yun sighed inwardly. With her concubine mother's face, if she hadn't been the descendant of a disgraced official, she wouldn't have been reduced to being a concubine in the Marquis Mansion. She might have even had a fighting chance if she had entered the palace.
However, she failed to notice the flash of displeasure in Gu Antong's eyes when she said this. Comparing the legitimate eldest granddaughter of a second-rank official to a lowly concubine—if word of this got out, what future would she have left?
After taking a trip to her maiden home, Xu Yulan returned to the Gu Mansion and immediately rushed to the main courtyard. "Aunt Huizhen, you have to stand up for me!"
"What's wrong? Didn't you go home?" Seeing her niece in such a state, Xu Huizhen quickly pulled her over to sit down.
"I went back to tell them to figure out a way to build the ancestral hall themselves, but Great-uncle scolded me."
"Why would my father scold you?" The old madam looked at Xu Yulan suspiciously. "Were you disrespectful in some way?"
"I was deeply wronged! How would I dare?" Xu Yulan wiped away nonexistent tears with her handkerchief. "The Liang Family and our family split some of the game brought back this time, and Great-uncle asked about the ancestral hall. I relayed exactly what you told me to say. Who knew he would point at my nose and curse at me, accusing me of playing tricks behind his back, calling me unfilial, and saying other awful things?
"Aunt Huizhen, I am truly innocent. I am well aware that the Liang Family is our true backing, and I always think of our family first whenever there's something good, yet I've been slapped with this accusation for no reason."
After speaking, Xu Yulan glanced up at Xu Huizhen. She had taken the fall for this old woman! Instead of being warmly received back home, she had drawn a harsh scolding and lost all face. How could she ever assert her authority as an elder sister in front of her younger siblings now?
It wasn't as if the mansion couldn't afford the Silver Coin to repair the ancestral hall, yet she had been forced to play the villain. She had trusted her aunt too much and ended up taking the blame for her.
The old madam sighed. "I want to help, but my hands are tied. The Silver I managed to save up over the years has mostly been funneled back to the Xu Family these past two years. Don't forget that I was the one who secretly prepared your dowry.
"If the family is truly in a rush and you have the means, why don't you bring some back first?"
"Where would I get any Silver?" No longer daring to play the victim, Xu Yulan looked up with wide eyes. "Aunt Huizhen, have you forgotten?
"The betrothal gifts you sent over back then, along with the dowry you secretly gave me, were all used to pay off the gambling debts my uncle racked up.
"All I have left now are some flashy but useless items. Even my only jewelry set is merely gilded."
The uncle she spoke of was the old madam's biological younger brother. If it weren't for the sake of marrying into the Gu Family, Xu Yulan would never have been so generous.
She had thought that once she entered the Gu Mansion, her aunt would subsidize her one way or another. Who knew that after all this time, not only had she not seen a single good item, but she was now expected to contribute the last of her dowry?
Besides, didn't her aunt know the truth in her heart? If she fulfilled the Xu Family's wish to repair the ancestral hall this time, what would she have left?
"Sigh." The old madam realized this as well. Just yesterday, she had wanted to seek out the old master to see if she could regain control of the household management. If that failed, having Xu Yulan share the burden would also work. Who knew that the old coot wouldn't return home again last night?
If she didn't know that he valued his reputation above all else, she would have suspected him of keeping a mistress on the outside.
"Then let's put it aside for now. We can make it up to them when there's an opportunity in the future," Xu Huizhen said.
"But Aunt Huizhen, Great-uncle said that if we don't send the money back within a few days, he will come here personally," Xu Yulan said, bracing herself. If the Xu Family really came to make a scene, the ones who would lose face were the two of them.
"Go call Liu Yun over."
Xu Yulan was somewhat reluctant. "Can't you have Nanny Zhou and the others go?"
Within the mansion, she looked down on the third branch, and she naturally despised the penny-pinching eldest branch as well.
"You are the one asking for a favor now, so you naturally need to humble yourself."
Xu Yulan was speechless. How was she the one asking for a favor?
"Do as I say." The old madam also felt her pride stinging. She couldn't very well bow her head to her own daughter-in-law as a mother-in-law.
"The Xu Family are our maternal relatives. Now that the Xu Family is facing difficulties, as in-laws, they naturally must lend a hand." The old madam muttered to herself, using this excuse to convince Xu Yulan and hoping to use it to morally coerce Liu Yun.