Seeing him happy, Gu Liyue was also overjoyed. Nodding her head, she said, "That's good. As long as I see you all doing well, I'll be happy. But since you've been working for the Feng family and have come to the capital, why didn't you look for me?"
Mrs. Cao averted her eyes and didn't say much.
Gu Liyue pretended to be angry. "I used to be all alone in the capital. Yunniang couldn't always accompany me, and life was really tough. Mrs. Cao, you've watched me grow up. Have you really lost all that affection?"
Cao Tiedan shook his head repeatedly. "No. When we first came to the capital, we heard from Young Master Feng Er that you had recognized your ancestors and become a young lady of the Gu family. I originally wanted to look for you, but my mother said that your life in the inner courtyard might not be easy. Since we couldn't help you anymore, it's better not to pry around and just live our own lives well."
Mrs. Cao also smiled. "Yes, young lady. We small folks don't have much ability. It's good enough if we don't cause you any trouble."
Gu Liyue was touched. Mrs. Cao didn't look for her because she was afraid of causing her trouble. They weren't her relatives, but their simplicity and hard - work were the most heart - warming.
In contrast, because Cao Tiedan was young, he wasn't so constrained. He told Gu Liyue some interesting things that happened while he was working. Smiling, he said, "Young Master Feng Er treats me well. I also assist the young master in managing the accounts of several shops in the capital. The master has also praised me for being smart."
Gu Liyue nodded. "Since that's the case, you should work hard!"
Cao Tiedan grinned. "Yeah. That's right. Young Master Feng said that since I've been in the capital for a long time, he let my mother come here too. From now on, we don't have to be afraid of those relatives bullying us mother and son."
Mrs. Cao coughed. "Tiedan, the young lady is a young lady now. How can you talk such nonsense?"
Gu Liyue quickly said, "Auntie, since this is a private meeting, there's no need for so many formalities. Where do you live now, Auntie?"
Mrs. Cao explained, "We rented a house in the north of the city. It's quiet and clean. But I'm just bored because I have nothing to do."
Cao Tiedan said, "Mom, don't be bored. You have your son."
Mrs. Cao was also happy. "Yes, Tiedan is quite promising."
Gu Liyue knew about the north of the city. Although there weren't many crimes at the foot of the imperial city, compared with other parts of the capital, the north of the city was the most complex. There were many outsiders, so there were bound to be some petty thieves and it wasn't very safe.
She added, "I have a cat in my courtyard, so it's not very convenient to keep Xiao Hei there. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Auntie, to take care of Xiao Hei later."
Cao Tiedan nodded repeatedly. "That's great. Sometimes I'm very busy and can't go back at night. I'm always a bit worried about my mother being at home alone."
But Mrs. Cao knew that Gu Liyue was now a wealthy young lady. How could she not even be able to keep a dog? Most likely, she knew that she missed Xiao Hei and was also concerned about her safety.
After chatting for a while, Cao Tiedan said again, "By the way, sister, do you know that Feng Lanqing has also passed the imperial examination and has come to the capital to be an official?"
Gu Liyue was stunned. She knew that Feng Lanqing had passed the examination, but those who passed as fellow - scholars rarely stayed in the capital. Why did Feng Lanqing...
Mrs. Cao was much more perceptive than Cao Tiedan. She glanced at Lu Jinchen and Gu Chengzhi sitting beside them and tugged at her son's sleeve. "It's all in the past. Why bring it up? The young lady is extremely noble and doesn't need to care about people from the past."
Gu Liyue smiled slightly and asked, "I knew that he passed the imperial examination, but I didn't know that he had come to the capital. Where is he working now?"
Cao Tiedan said, "I inquired about this. He's a ninth - rank official in the Wen Shuyuan in the south of the city. Uh, it's really hard to pronounce. I can't remember it clearly."
Gu Chengzhi sneered. "A ninth - rank official can't make much of a splash. If you don't like him, sister, you can just drive him away tomorrow."
Gu Liyue shook her head. "There's no need for that. Everyone has their own fate. I've had no contact with him for a long time. If he really has the ability, using him properly can also be of some use to him."
She thought for a while and looked at Mrs. Cao. "How's the whole Liu family?"
The Gu family originally wanted to send someone to investigate, but Gu Liyue thought it wasn't necessary to worry about such a trivial matter. So she persuaded her grandmother to just check it out. No matter what happened to the Liu family, there was no need to take any further action.
However, Second Uncle sent someone to investigate, but he didn't tell her anything.
Mrs. Cao hesitated for a moment and then said honestly, "Liu Qinting got married into the Feng family at the end of last year."
Gu Liyue had also guessed. Most likely, her uncles learned the news that Liu Qinting was engaged to Feng Lanqing. They were afraid that she couldn't forget the past and would be sad, so they didn't tell her.
Actually, she thought it was a relief rather than pain.
Gu Liyue couldn't help but glance at Lu Jinchen. Seeing that he was looking at her tenderly, her ears turned red and she quickly lowered her head. With him by her side, how could she take a fancy to other men?
Mrs. Cao added, "When I came to the capital, your uncle... Liu Anping sold the house and raised some money for Liu Zhenghui to take the imperial examination in the capital. At that time, Liu Qinting even went back to her natal family and made a scene, asking Liu Anping for some money because Feng Lanqing was also going to the capital. I don't know what happened later. Anyway, Tiedan helped to inquire, and Liu Zhenghui failed the exam."
Gu Liyue pursed her lips and nodded. "With his ability, he's not the material for the imperial examination. In the past, Feng Lanqing was often praised by the teacher."
Mrs. Cao nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes. I know about this. The Zhus, a wealthy family in the town, sponsored several scholars, and Feng Lanqing was one of them. Mrs. Miao was not convinced at that time. She wondered why the money wasn't given to her son. At that time, all our neighbors laughed and said that the Zhus were kind - hearted people doing good deeds to make good karma. If they gave the money to her son, it would be fine if it was wasted. But if something bad happened to her son later, she would even blame the Zhus."
It was really something Mrs. Miao would do.
Cao Tiedan continued, "People said that with Feng Lanqing's knowledge, he should have no problem getting into the second - class ranking and would be able to come to the capital to be an official in the future. But I specially counted in front of the list before. He didn't get into the second - class ranking. Tsk, tsk, tsk. If a person like him could get into the second - class ranking of the imperial examination, it would really be unjust of God."
Gu Liyue was amused by Cao Tiedan. "His knowledge is indeed good, but it's a pity that he used his mind in the wrong way. If he had focused on his studies, he wouldn't have ended up like this. But it's a waste of talent for him to only get a ninth - rank official position. But I always think that being a good person is more important than being talented. A person with such bad conduct is destined not to have a smooth future."
When it was time to part, Gu Liyue asked Mrs. Cao where she lived and wanted to send her back.
But Mrs. Cao just shook her head. "Young lady, I once heard people say that there's a time for the gathering and parting of fates. In the past, when you weren't a wealthy young lady, you had a good fate with me, so we often met. But now our identities are different. It's time for our fates to part. Why wait until there's nothing to say between us and it becomes awkward?"