Chapter 420: No Matter How Strict He Is, He’s My

Grandfather

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

At this point, Prime Minister Yan could only admit defeat.

“We can’t mess up that little girl from the Xiao Family again.”

Everyone received the order and dispersed.

Xiaoxiao, whom they had ideas on, was knocking on the door. To be precise, she was holding Gu Ruoruo’s hand and knocking on the Gu Family’s door.

Gu Ruoruo was a little nervous. “Are you afraid?”

Xiaoxiao shrugged. “What are you afraid of?”

Gu Ruoruo said awkwardly, “My great-grandfather is famous for being strict.

Xiaoxiao, aren’t you afraid of him?

Xiaoxiao touched her chin. “But no matter how strict he is, he’s still my grandfather.”

Then, she approached Gu Ruoruo with a smile. “By the way, since my father is your Little Grandpa, shouldn’t you change the way you address me?”

Gu Ruoruo’s face instantly turned bitter. She was right, but she did not want to

call Xiaoxiao “Little Auntie”.

She was supposed to make friends, but in the end, she found an elder for herself.

While Gu Ruoruo was puzzled, the door opened.

A noble and elegant woman walked out, followed by a dainty teenage girl. The girl was quite affectionate when she saw Gu Ruoruo, but her eyes suddenly rolled back after she asked about Xiaoxiao’s identity. “Oh, it’s that country bumpkin… Aiya, what am I talking about? I mean, is this the daughter who has been missing from the famous General’s Residence for more than 10 years?” “Nice to meet you. I’m Zuo Xiangling, the daughter of the Imperial Censor Zuo.” Xiaoxiao could sense very obvious malice from her tone, so she stopped smiling. “Oh, I’ve never heard of you. Don’t touch me. We’re not familiar with each other.”

Zuo Xiangling’s expression immediately changed. She flicked her sleeves.

“You’re just a wild girl. You really think highly of yourself.”

She had already left in anger, but after thinking about it, she still came back and said ruthlessly to Xiaoxiao, “Let me tell you, Xiao Ning, the Crown Prince won’t like a wild girl like you! Don’t think that you can fly up the branch and become a phoenix just because of your mother! The Crown Prince and my older sister are a match made in heaven!”

“Yo, you specially came to the Gu Family today because you know that you’re extremely vulgar and want to use the Gu Family’s book fragrance to increase your value?”

“Heh, you do know your place.”

She even deliberately lowered her voice and spoke. She looked gentle and docile. No one could guess that she was making fun of someone just by looking at her face.

Xiaoxiao was a little stunned when she heard that someone had pulled her and the Crown Prince together. Zuo Xiangling had already walked far away in this short period of time.

Xiaoxiao did not have time to retort when they quarreled. She was so angry. She was unwilling to be wronged. Her gaze changed and she decided to give this woman the number of times she could use Range Control in space today.

Xiaoxiao asked Gu Ruoruo, “Are the Zuo and Gu families on good terms?” Gu Ruoruo was also a little stunned. “I’ve never heard of them interacting with us in the past.”

Then, she suddenly realized and exclaimed, “Ah, I know!

Gu Ruoruo leaned close to Xiaoxiao’s ear mysteriously. “I reckon that they’re here to discuss marriage!”

Although the Gu Family did not fight for anything, they were the benchmark in the hearts of all the scholars in the world. It was as if anyone who could be related to the Gu Family would have a better image in the eyes of those scholars in the future.

Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and felt that it was not appropriate to visit today, so she turned around and returned. However, she did not know that Grand Secretary Gu was told that she had been here as soon as he returned.

“Where is she?”

The servant looked at his Master, who had suddenly stood up and raised his voice. He stammered, “She left.”

Grand Secretary Gu frowned and looked dignified. “How do you treat our guests?”

The servant begged for mercy. “Master, Miss Xiao didn’t enter.” ■■She met Mrs. Zuo and Miss Zuo at the door. After exchanging a few words, they… parted on bad terms.”

Grand Secretary Gu glanced at him coldly. “What’s going on?” The servant told him everything that had happened today. In the end, Grand Secretary Gu still felt that he was not thorough enough and asked someone to find Gu Ruoruo.

“You’re saying that Xiao… Ning came to our Gu Residence today to deliver the invitation to her coming-of-age ceremony?”

Gu Ruoruo was most afraid of her great-grandfather. At this moment, she did not dare to look up like a little quail. “Great-grandfather, yes.” Grand Secretary Gu paced back and forth. “What is the General’s Residence doing?”

Gu Ruoruo was stunned. Oh no, oh no, her great-grandfather was angry! But why was he angry? Was he angry that the General’s Residence still came rashly even though they clearly did not have much contact with the Gu Family? Or was he angry that Xiaoxiao did not enter to pay her respects?

Grand Secretary Gu said, “How can they let a young lady like her come personally to send the invitation? Could it be that the General’s Residence doesn’t even have a page to send the letter? How can she send so many invitation letters one by one?”

Gu Ruoruo heaved a sigh of relief after being stunned. She said, “No, Xiaoxiao said that only by coming personally can she show her sincerity. She said that others will send the other invitations, but she has to come to the Gu Residence herself.”

Then, she saw her great-grandfather’s handsome but serious face gradually relax, and he even revealed a smile for the first time.

“I see.”

Gu Ruoruo came nervously and left for no reason. Her great-grandfather even asked her to pass a message to Xiaoxiao, telling her not to be in a hurry to visit. However, her great-grandfather, who was well-read in poetry and literature, actually pondered over such a simple sentence for an hour, making her very puzzled.

After dinner that night, Grand Secretary Gu, who originally did not like to meddle with his family affairs, said lightly, “The Zuo Family is not suitable.” The Gu Family members were stunned. That was not all. He added, “Imperial Censor Zuo claims to be upright to the public, but he has actually been in cahoots with the Yan Family for a long time. The upright official style of the Zuo Family’s ancestors has almost been ruined by them. We don’t have to interact with them anymore.”

His eldest daughter-in-law stood up and agreed.

Initially, it was also the Zuo Family’s sudden visit and she happened to be “coincidentally” met at the door. She let the Zuo Family in for a cup of tea out of respect. Otherwise, their family would not have taken a fancy to that stupid daughter of the Zuo Family.

After that, both Xiaoxiao and the Gu Family entered a very busy period. She tried to find an opportunity to visit again, but she failed. Helpless, she could only leave the invitation and wait for the day of her coming-of-age ceremony. Xiaoxiao was busy with the opening of the second book house. This time, it was different from the time in Xijiang County. With the Emperor as her backing, it was much more convenient to choose a location or collect various books. Rong Yan told the Emperor that the bookhouse was Xiaoxiao’s idea. The Emperor specially summoned her to the palace and asked her where this idea came from.

Xiaoxiao had already prepared an answer. “When I was in the Ning Family, my Eldest Brother wanted to study since he was young. However, because our family was poor, he didn’t even have a book that belonged to him. Books were too expensive and our family couldn’t afford them. Eldest Brother could only lean against the wall and eavesdrop on Little Uncle’s memorization. Then, he wrote on the mud in the backyard with a wooden stick.”

“Later on, when I went to the county, I would see Eldest Brother’s yearning gaze every time we passed by a bookstore. At that time, I thought that there must be many people like Eldest Brother in Great Xia. Because their families were poor, they could not fulfill their dream of studying.”

“If only studying didn’t cost anything..”