"Baby, since you can communicate with me so early, you must have a special background. I won't ask much, but I must remind you that we're about to face great difficulties. You must be good in the womb." Bai Suihe spoke with a hint of bitterness in her heart.
Having no special abilities, she had already made the worst plan, probably following the original story's plot, resulting in death on the road of exile, leading to two lives lost. It's clear how innocent the fetus is, as it's being deprived of its path to growth.
If she were about seven or eight months pregnant, she would try hard to give birth early, but now it's only five months, and it simply can't survive.
"Mother, are you talking about the calamity of the Gu Mansion?"
Bai Suihe was startled inside; could it be that the fetus in her womb was also reincarnated?
"How does the baby know?" Bai Suihe couldn't help but tentatively ask.
"That's because I can predict and calculate. Rest assured, Mother, with me here, I will protect you and ensure everything is safe."
However, Bai Suihe didn't put her hopes on an unborn child. She smiled wryly, "Baby, don't worry. Grow well and safely in the belly. I'll do everything possible to ensure you are born safely."
Faced with such a situation, Bai Suihe had no retreat.
"Don't worry, Mother, I'll figure something out." As soon as the words were spoken, the voice fell silent, and Bai Suihe called several times but got no response.
Bai Suihe stroked her belly, feeling an urgent anxiety inside.
Looking at the wealth surrounding her, was she really waiting for the day it's confiscated?
Looking through the window at the bustling servants outside, Bai Suihe also thought of her loyal servants, Dongmei and Chunxiang.
Perhaps she could return their contracts of indenture; they were born into the Bai Family, with their entire families serving as her companions.
Plan to discuss with them whether they want to return to the Bai Family or go back to their native land.
Moreover, in her memory, the Bai Family, for self-preservation, directly expelled her from the clan.
"Dongmei," Bai Suihe called Dongmei over, softly instructing her in her ear. Dongmei repeated it once, then hurried off.
She then called in Chunxiang and similarly whispered instructions before sending her out with a box.
Being in this inner residence, there is this one inconvenience: being the master is less convenient for moving around than the servants.
It's not that she can't leave the mansion; it's just that these matters require permission from the house leader, namely Old Madam Gu.
Such is the evil of feudal society: relying on others to do the tasks surely unsettled her; she had to personally handle it.
Today, it wouldn't work, so she decided to account for her assets.
The Bai Family were merchants; marrying into the Vice Minister of Ministry of War's mansion was because her father and Vice Minister Gu were close friends in their youth, and her father had supported his imperial examination.
Later, when Gu Baijiang took office, he indeed sheltered the Bai Family. Yet everyone knew this favor would eventually wear thin, so the Bai Family sought to establish a marriage alliance.
Initially, they thought it would take much effort, but to their surprise, Gu Baijiang readily agreed.
Among the children of both families, only she and Gu Kaiyuan were of suitable age, so she married into the Gu Mansion.
Though married into higher status, the Bai Family was wealthy, providing a substantial dowry.
I heard my second brother mentioned that just reading through the dowry list required consideration; even the Gu Mansion's steward and two managers had to take turns.
Gu Baijiang was known for his integrity, rising through the ranks by himself, and early on set a series of family rules to secure a stand in the capital.
Among these rules that garnered respect from capital families was that men could only take concubines at forty without sons, and women marrying into the Gu Family held their dowries independently, separate from family affairs.
Even with these rules, Old Madam Gu had no choice but to suppress her envy and greed.
Taking out her dowry list from the cabinet, the mentioned set of jewelry stood prominently at the top.
Summoned there today, she was to willingly hand it over; if she remembered correctly, the book's protagonist did this exact thing.
In front of the family's female members, despite her reluctance, she could only lend the jewelry.
She never retrieved it once confiscated.
Her husband tried to retrieve it from the main household but was brushed aside with various excuses.
Although she managed to protect the items today, who knew whose hands they'd end up in within a fortnight.
Bai Suihe envied the cheat-like abilities of transmigrators, particularly those with spaces. Unfortunately, she didn't have such luck, or she could have taken everything and not let anyone benefit.
With the dowry list in hand, she went to the adjacent storeroom, pulled the key from her waist, and entered, with the two maids she brought from her family guarding outside.
As Bai Suihe gazed at the packed storeroom, she slowly stroked its contents, thinking back to a past life where she was just an ordinary salaried worker. Now, savoring such wealth, she realized it might soon vanish.
She walked to the innermost box, opened it, revealing a small wooden chest. Inside was filled to the brim with silver notes.
It wasn't easy to hide so many silver notes on her body; for now, she could only sew them into her inner garments, hoping to preserve some during confiscation.
She grabbed a handful of silver notes, stuffing them into her chest, then quickly closed the box, avoiding further heartache from looking.
The dowries in ancient times were indeed elaborate: gold belts, gold hairpins, gold hairpin feathers, necklaces, neck ornaments, head crowns, head ornaments, earrings, bracelets, rings, engraved seals, chest plates, pendants, jade tablets, jade pendants, jade bracelets, all neatly arranged.
From large items like vermilion lacquered gold thousand-work beds, gilded wardrobes, delicately crafted dressing boxes, engraved sons-and-grandsons barrels, to changes of clothes and finely designed shoes, down to sewing kits, scissors, looms, bobbins, and spindles.
Everything imaginable was prepared, even a red-lacquered coffin in the corner.
Bai Suihe, like a sudden wealth-addled pauper, couldn't take in everything with her eyes, knowing these possessions' ultimate fate. She sighed, opened the door, and stepped out.
Locking the door again, she instructed the maids to guard it well before returning to her room.
She inherited memories, so needlework and crafts were no problem, and she busied herself instead of resting right away.
As she kept busy, time passed quickly; Dongmei and Chunxiang, who were sent out, returned with several dishes.
After a busy afternoon, Bai Suihe was famished, and once she finished eating, she asked Dongmei and Qiuxiang, "Is everything settled?"
"Miss, it's all sorted." The two maids, habitually calling Bai Suihe Miss in private, adhered strictly to house rules in front of others, which Bai Suihe allowed.
"You've all worked hard today. I don't need any assistance here, so you should rest early." Bai Suihe noticed their exhaustion and knew she might need their help in the coming days; she couldn't afford to wear them out now.
"Miss, let me assist with your washing before resting." Dongmei, though her eyes were heavy with fatigue, still insisted, as she and Chunxiang had stayed up all night before.