Chapter 52

Chapter 52: The Future Second Daughter-in-Law

For nearly half a month, Gu Nan Xi hadn’t seen the children.

The day the sun finally came out bright and warm, she decided to go check on Su Yun Yan’s shop and see how the renovations were going.

The moment she pushed open the gate, she froze.

The steps were lined with offerings—dried fruits, polished rice—and even several bronze incense burners, each holding three sticks. Smoke drifted upward in pale ribbons.

Directly facing the entrance, three prayer cushions had been neatly placed.

Three women in winter coats were bowing again and again with solemn devotion.

Gu Nan Xi took one step back, bewildered, and lifted her head to stare at the plaque.

It clearly read: “Marquis Yong Chang Manor.”

“I didn’t time-travel,” she muttered. “So what on earth is going on?”

Had the capital’s trends changed again?

Were people done worshipping at Da Xiang Guo Temple and now worshipping noble households instead?

Were the characters in this story all this unhinged?

Lu Mei frowned and snapped at the servant boy, “What are you doing blocking the main gate? Clear the open ground on the right side. From now on, worship goes there. Don’t get in the way of the masters coming and going.”

Gu Nan Xi had been about to ask what she’d missed, but the words died on her tongue.

Lu Mei looked far too composed—like none of this was strange at all. Maybe she really was the one making a fuss.

It was a novel, after all. One or two bizarre settings weren’t unheard of.

So Gu Nan Xi climbed into her carriage and headed toward the shops near Ming De Temple.

The Hui Min River was lively with boat races.

Along the bank were vendors shouting, young masters riding across bridges, old men pushing carts and driving donkeys. It was a noisy, bright bustle that made the cold feel almost tolerable.

Under an ancient willow with twisting roots, a crowd pressed around a stall, chattering excitedly.

Gu Nan Xi leaned forward to peek. Two long bamboo poles held up banners that read, “Read Fate, Settle Doubts” and “River Goddess.”

She clicked her tongue. People were so superstitious that even fortune-tellers by the river were hanging “River Goddess” banners to curry favor.

Lu Mei fed her a carefully chosen nut.

One bite, and the fragrance filled her mouth.

Gu Nan Xi narrowed her eyes and noticed the tea table at her side: three bone-china plates arranged with meticulous care. One held shells and peels. Another held the occasional shriveled, cracked nut. The last was filled with perfect, plump nuts without a single flaw.

Gu Nan Xi decided on the spot—Lu Mei was getting a raise.

The carriage rocked to a stop in front of the shop. Before Gu Nan Xi even stepped down, she heard Su Yun Ting’s voice.

“Little Sister,” he said brightly, “can you give Brother the leftover wood from your renovations?”

The shamelessness in his tone was almost impressive.

“How embarrassing,” someone mocked before Su Yun Yan could speak. “The second young master of Marquis Yong Chang Manor is using someone else’s scrap wood to build an academy.”

Sun Shu Yao had spoken. She followed it up smoothly. “I know a timber merchant and a foreman. Go find him. Just mention my name.”

Su Yun Ting lifted an eyebrow, his fox eyes smiling without warmth. “Then we won’t hold back. But I’ll warn you now—Brother and I don’t have enough silver left.”

Sun Shu Yao pushed him forward. “If I tell you to go, then go. Stop talking. If you’re worried, worry about whether any craftsmen will even take jobs in winter.”

“Hehe, no need to trouble two people for one thing.” Su Yun Ting blinked at her, innocent as a lamb. “Sister Shu Yao, your father is in the Ministry of Works…”

Sun Shu Yao’s eyes sparkled, cheeks flushing as if someone had brushed rouge across them. “When there’s nothing, it’s ‘you, you, you.’ When you need help, you call me Sister Shu Yao. If Yun Yan weren’t my good sister, do you think I’d bother with you?”

“I understand,” Su Yun Ting said, voice turning syrupy. “Please, Sister Shu Yao.”

He dragged out the last word with a sticky sweetness, twisting his slim waist so theatrically it nearly shook the soul out of her body.

Sun Shu Yao turned her back to him, heart pounding like it wanted out of her chest. The blush on her face burned hot, as if lit by flame.

She pressed a hand to her chest and snorted, eyes shimmering. “You fiend. For the sake of begging, you call ‘sister’ across mountains and fields.”

“Nonsense,” Su Yun Ting said with a wounded look. “I only called you Little Sister and Sister Shu Yao.”

Sun Shu Yao felt that if he kept going, she might end up paying his bills without thinking. She clapped her hands over her ears. “Stop calling.”

Su Yun Ting darted in front of her, long eyes smiling like he’d dipped them in honey. “Sister Shu Yao, good sister, sweet sister—”

“Ahem.”

Gu Nan Xi stepped out before she could stop herself and coughed twice, pointedly.

“Mother!” Su Yun Yan cried, fluttering over like a butterfly. She came to the carriage at once and helped Gu Nan Xi down.

Sun Shu Yao reflexively took a large step to the side, head turned away. She didn’t dare look at Su Yun Ting—and didn’t dare look at Gu Nan Xi, either.

Gu Nan Xi shot Su Yun Ting a glare as she passed him and hissed under her breath, “You can’t just call any girl ‘sister.’ Stop flirting around.”

Su Yun Ting sighed dramatically, muttering, “Mother, really… the cooked duck almost flew away. Do you want your son to be a bachelor for life?”

Gu Nan Xi choked. She looked him over—still young, still too boyish—and lowered her voice. “I’m not in a hurry to hold a grandson. Don’t you dare mess around.”

This era married early. The thought made her stomach tighten.

“If you truly like her,” she added, “tell Mother. I’ll hire a matchmaker to propose properly. You must not make a private vow.”

A man might walk away from such a thing unscathed.

A woman would not.

Sun Shu Yao, who had heard every word, went so red even her ears looked hot.

Su Yun Yan noticed and asked with sincere concern, “Shu Yao, are you running a fever? Winter wind is sharp—you should wear another layer.”

Sun Shu Yao was speechless.

Su Yun Ting patted Su Yun Yan’s hair bun with fond indulgence, but his gaze kept flicking toward Sun Shu Yao. “Little Sister, with your level of awareness, Brother will have to find you a second sister-in-law who’s broad-minded and truly understands you. Otherwise, you’ll end up fighting with your sister-in-law.”

Sun Shu Yao shot him an angry look—half scolding, half shy—and it was so striking that even Gu Nan Xi went briefly blank.

Gu Nan Xi snapped out of it and smacked Su Yun Ting on the back. “What nonsense are you talking? From the sound of it, you’ve already chosen the academy’s location?”

She ground her teeth in her heart. They had plenty of time for flirting, apparently.

Beside them, Su Xuan Ming held a notebook. His eyes lit up like someone had struck a match. “Thanks to Mother’s guidance, we bought the courtyard!”

“Guidance?” Gu Nan Xi repeated, baffled. “What guidance?”

Su Xuan Ming nodded hard, admiration shining in his face. “When the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself! We went down the Hui Min River and spent six hundred taels to buy a farmer’s courtyard!”

Six hundred taels.

For a farmer’s courtyard.

Gu Nan Xi’s vision went dark.

Whether these sons were villains, she couldn’t tell yet—but they were definitely spendthrifts.