Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

What is the purpose of Chapter 1005?
The one who is no longer here should be the old master Wen from the Wen family in Dingzhou. The second brother of Wen Shibo, the second master Wen, married the third wife of Gao, who was also the cousin of the first wife of Gao.

It turned out to be the case.

Not to mention that the matriarch of the Gao family is Madam Gao, even before the Second Master Wen was in mourning, he was working in the Grain Transport Office, which is now the Assistant Director of the Ministry of Revenue.

Don't underestimate the position of Assistant Director of the Ministry of Revenue, which may seem insignificant compared to the position of Minister of Personnel, but it is still a real and substantial post.

The department he was in was in charge of all matters related to the river granary and canal transport in the entire Daliang. The key point was that after Second Master Wen had observed the mourning period for twenty-seven months, he would return to the Ministry of Revenue to take up his post.

Although in general, in such cases, the person would not be reinstated to their original position, since there is only one position available and a 27-month gap would have been filled by someone else, the problem is!
Second Master Wen was adopted out, and was adopted by the Wen family's former pride, Grand Tutor Wen, as his heir. According to Grand Tutor Wen's will, even if someone takes the position of Second Master Wen, someone will give back to him.

Of course, this is related to the fact that Second Master Wen was only a fifth-rank assistant director in a department under the Ministry of Revenue. If the official position were higher and the competition were fierce, no selection process would be effective.

No wonder the entire Gao family in the prefectural city mobilized; it's possible that Third Master Gao brought his whole family along simply to cheer on Second Master Wen.

Since the unfortunate passing of Grand Tutor Wen, and the retirement of the old Master Wen, the Wen family has declined with each generation, and they are only able to survive thanks to the care of Grand Tutor Wen's students and old friends.

Wen Shibo had previously intended to marry his daughter to Dajiang. Apart from his wife feeling that the girl was too naive and unsuitable, the gentleman had never been disapproving of Wen Shibo's sons.

After all, Wen Shibo was a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) but his sons were not even Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county civil service examination). What use was a large dowry if they were not like Brother Qian?

Even if Qian Huaizhi were a commoner, as long as the Prince Rui's mansion didn't commit a serious crime of treason, he could do whatever he wanted, just because he had a princess as his wife.

Sure enough, after the baby's third-day celebration yesterday, not only the steward of Prince Rui's mansion, but even the head maidservant by the Princess's side rushed over to lend a hand to Qian Huaizhi's wife.

Qian Huaizhi's wife is nowhere near as good as his wife.

No matter what, his wife is still the only adopted daughter of the former Princess of Fu'an County, now a first-rank noblewoman, who is acknowledged by the current emperor and registered in the Ministry of Rites.

But she couldn't compare to Qian Huaizhi's wife being so favored. If his wife's master were still alive, even the Princess might have come to congratulate her in person.

That's just how the world is.

No matter how good the friendship or how great the favor, it cannot outweigh the weight of self-interest.

The stewardess of the eldest princess, who was deeply indebted to his wife's master, was like this, as were the Third Master Gao and his entourage.

It seems that in Master Gao's mind, his wife and he are not as promising as Master Wen.

A bastard is a bastard.

Madam Gao knew that it was not good to neglect her daughter-in-law now, so she specially asked the steward to deliver a letter to Manager Wang. But Master Gao, on the other hand, thought that he and his wife had never seen what a generous gift was.

Zhou Banxia was completely dumbfounded.

This topic has circled back to Master Gao. So what if he didn't come? You can't say he was born to a concubine. Why are you being so serious?

"You still don't understand the deeper meaning. Gao Wu and the others are pretty close to me, right? After all, we've been corresponding with each other. Why didn't he come?"

Don't say he doesn't know roughly when you'll give birth. I didn't mention it to him in the letter, no wonder his mother didn't know that the teacher specially invited Aunt Chen and her sister-in-law to come.
I wonder if, sir, you hired Aunt Chen and her sister-in-law for your sister-in-law, is there also the shrewd and experienced Madam Gao? Wouldn't she remind Madam Gao in her letters?
Otherwise, why would Old Madam Gao go to the trouble of writing a letter to Manager Wang, and specifically mention why Third Master Gao and his wife couldn't come to congratulate us in person? She must have reminded Third Master Gao and his wife beforehand to remember roughly when you were due to give birth, but Third Master Gao and his wife didn't take it seriously at all and went to pay their respects instead.

That's why Old Madam Gao knew in advance that they had just attended a funeral, and had no choice but to clean up their mess, making Manager Wang run back the next day, right?

It seems so!

After you put it that way?
Zhou Banxia immediately gave a thumbs-up to Gu Wenxuan, who was patiently analyzing the situation as if afraid that she still didn't understand the mystery, with a look of sudden realization.

Gu Wenxuan was delighted. "Now you understand, right? That explains why Old Madam Gao said she would most likely come back when our son turns 100 days old, doesn't it?"

what!
So, you were just throwing out a brick to get the jade, and that's what you were after!
Zhou Banxia chuckled and nodded, "I understand. It's not that the old lady is so fond of me that she made a special trip back, but rather that she might need to return to the prefectural city."

“That’s right!” Gu Wenxuan immediately gave her a thumbs-up. “That’s why I said that before repaying a debt of gratitude, we should distinguish which debts of gratitude should be repaid in abundance.”

Some favors actually come at a price when you receive them. Otherwise, if you only give and never receive, would you do it?

"Don't do it!"

"clever!"

Keep saying that, you're such a great wife!

Ok?
Why did you stop talking?

"It's not wrong to want to repay kindness received; it's a matter of conscience and bottom line. Otherwise, wouldn't we be ungrateful? But it doesn't mean that every favor should be repaid with boundless gratitude."

"Your master is someone who has given you a second life; you should repay her kindness even with your life, let alone a thousandfold. But is Madam Gao your master?"

Here we go again. What is it that gives you this illusion that you still believe I am so grateful that I would repay even the smallest kindness with boundless gratitude?

It seems that I value the kindness of the boss and his wife the most, but it's not so outrageous that I would unconditionally repay them for any request they make.

At most, when they later restructured the group and wanted me to return to the company, I agreed to work for another two years, and I also agreed that I would definitely resign after two years.

Why is the filter so thick? Does he really think I'm... wait, every time this topic comes up, he has his own ulterior motive!
“You’re saying that doesn’t make sense. Madam Gao is Madam Gao, and your master is your master. Your master came first, and that’s why Madam Gao treats you well.” Gu Wenxuan paused for a moment, “Then compare Madam Gao’s attitude towards you before and after your uncle took you back. Isn’t there a big difference?”

Human nature.

She was a maidservant by Madam Gao's side before, and then she became her uncle's niece, and the only legitimate daughter of the Zhou family, as her uncle said. How could Madam Gao not change her attitude?

While secretly complaining, Zhou Banxia deliberately looked directly into Gu Wenxuan's eyes and nodded. Before he could speak, she asked, "Is the crime committed by the Second Master of the High School very serious?"

Could you please not react so quickly?

Gu Wenxuan was momentarily at a loss for how to react. He couldn't hesitate any longer; if he answered even a fraction of a second too late, his wife would definitely see through his ruse. "How would I know—"

"Come on, is this related to Old Madam Gao wanting to come back? Wanting to come back to ask someone to intercede for her? Impossible. Do you want to ask Senior Brother Qian about something?"