Bai Suihe found these things truly pleasing to her eyes, satisfied with every corner, rarely able to collect things so freely, for she didn’t want to miss anything.

Especially in the main courtyard, the old concubine’s place was set up extraordinarily exquisitely, with elegant clothes and jewelry filling up a whole room.

She was a bit curious about the old concubine, wondering what charm she possessed to make Gu Baijiang set up another home for her.

As soon as Bai Suihe entered, she started collecting without disdain for the second-hand clothes and jewelry, taking everything clean.

Seeing the vanity table, she even took the table and chair along.

Gu Kaiyuan looked at Bai Suihe indulgently, his wife was indeed amusing, stripping the place bare, not even leaving a thread behind.

When he saw Bai Suihe looking up at the roof and swallowing, he asked, "Are you possibly interested in the tiles, my lady?"

Bai Suihe replied, "We’re heading into exile, starting everything anew. These fine things can all be of use to us, what do you think?"

What did he think? Staring at the bare roof, Gu Kaiyuan couldn’t help but think of a term, just short of stripping everything bare.

They then moved to the kitchen, where there was a substantial supply of food, along with a dedicated granary.

Bai Suihe graciously accepted everything without reserve.

Thousands of catties of rice, hundreds of catties of white flour, these were bountiful, but they couldn’t be missed.

Bai Suihe was most pleased with the cabinets filled with dry goods—abalone, dried scallops, sea cucumbers, dried shrimp, unsure where they were collected from, yet stuffed in baskets.

And the oil, astonishingly stored in vats, they indeed had wealth overflowing.

"This mistress enjoys better than your mother," Bai Suihe, increasingly pleased with her collections, remarked, "With these, we could even lay idle without fearing hunger."

Gu Kaiyuan saw her still gathering firewood, reaching out to stop her, "These things are everywhere, no need to take up space."

Bai Suihe responded, "You don’t understand, why leave what’s ready? Would you rather go up the mountain to chop? With the effort, as you told the children, better use it to hunt and improve our meals."

She previously doubted Gu Kaiyuan was boasting, but seeing his recent actions and behaviors, easily handling household staff without force, he indeed had skills; she’d find a chance to witness it in the future.

"And these things can be placed outside the courtyard, right at the corner, without occupying space."

The phrase "pluck a louse as it flies by" deeply etched in Gu Kaiyuan’s mind.

Turns out his wife was of such character, observing her joy, showing disdain towards Gu Baijiang, why not have a few homes outside as well?

Gu Bai Jiang, just returned from the Imperial Palace, sneezed several times, "Could it be I’ve caught a chill? Today the Ministry of War cannot be endured; I’ll return to the new Gu Mansion to comfort body and soul."

Bai Suihe cleaned her way through, not even sparing the servants’ quarters.

These maidservants and servants dressed far better than those in ordinary households, even if not of use later, selling them somewhere would bring some income.

Even the ordinary wooden bed frames wouldn’t be spared; with their social status, using these wouldn’t attract attention.

Seeing the once lavish and grand courtyard turning into a bare shell, Gu Kaiyuan couldn’t help but swallow, thankfully the medicine he brought was quite effective, now just wondering if his wife’s urges were satisfied.

"Seems there’s nothing more to collect," Bai Suihe said a bit unsatisfied, "Are there any secret chambers around here?"

Gu Kaiyuan had carefully checked before, "There shouldn’t be any."

"That can’t be right, wouldn’t your father give the mistress silver?"

They only found some jewelry and elegant clothes, no silver notes or gold ingots, inconsistent with this residence.

Gu Kaiyuan replied, "Think of my father’s temperament. If he’s so harsh to my mother, how do you think he’d treat this side?"

Bai Suihe chuckled mockingly, "I feel your mother lives lesser than this mistress, at least she truly enjoys herself. Also curious, how does this mistress look?"

Gu Kaiyuan looked up at the sky, he couldn’t very well say his mother wasn’t much to look at. Her round figure and face were a blessing in a nice way, but how many would appreciate it?

"Suddenly I think I understand why your mother treats you differently," Bai Suihe said while looking up at his handsome face, feeling thoughtful, "Could it be you’re too good-looking, not quite fitting with the family?"

"Might you not even be their child?" Bai Suihe, with her imagination running wild, speculated.

"I resemble my grandmother," Gu Kaiyuan said while pressing down on Bai Suihe’s head, "Do you think given their nature, they would raise another’s child?"

"That’s true," Bai Suihe’s voice carried a hint of disappointment, "Tangled with this family, the future is unknown."

Gu Kaiyuan assured, "I will protect you."

Bai Suihe didn’t truly take Gu Kaiyuan’s promise to heart, after all, there’s a blood relationship, who knows where this bond will lead in the future.

There might be caution in the future, but there might not really be a point where things are left entirely on their own.

Who knows if Gu Kaiyuan in this lifetime would intervene in the elders’ calamity, allowing them to live till exile.

"You said you resemble your grandmother, why doesn’t your father like you then?"

"I’ve sought elderly understanding; father inherently wasn’t fond of studying, forced by grandmother.

Perhaps seeing my face reminds him of unpleasant memories, or he finds it hard to face grandmother’s kindness, yet she made the best choices for him.

As for mother, their union was set by grandfather, opposed by grandmother.

This might also explain the grudge, unable to direct it at grandmother, venting her anger entirely on me."

Bai Suihe looked at Gu Kaiyuan sympathetically, "What a pitiable child, how about your grandmother, did she like you?"

"I never met her; she passed away before I was born." A glimmer of loss crossed Gu Kaiyuan’s eyes, would grandmother have liked him?

Perhaps not, considering she didn’t favor the child born from her disliked daughter-in-law.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed alone back home, not going with Gu Baijiang to his post.

"It’s alright, you have me and the child," Bai Suihe impulsively said. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Gu Kaiyuan’s gaze softened, "I have only you two left.

See if there’s anything else you like, let’s take it together."

The room, already empty, only had a few maids and servants scattered sideways.

Bai Suihe disdainfully turned away her eyes, "Let’s check the back garden, seemed to have blossoming flowers when we passed earlier."

Gu Kaiyuan, "..." Truly stripping bare, yet such temperament is truly lovable.

After taking several plants from the back garden, only then did Bai Suihe clap her hands and say, "Alright, we’re done here, got more courtyards like this?"