"Waaah, Princess, if only I hadn't gotten married! I want to stay with you all forever, I want to be this happy forever, waaah, I regret it, I regret it!"

Gu Qingqing's tears fell in a torrent, seeping into Jiayin's neck, burning her and making her momentarily stunned.

Everyone's chopsticks froze in mid-air, wondering what was going on.

It was Baozhu, the birthday girl, who reacted first. She quickly chased away all the maids and servants, instructing them not to say a word, and then tightly closed the doors and windows of the waterside pavilion.

Xu Xi and Mei Lan stepped forward to help Gu Qingqing up, thus rescuing Jiayin.

The third princess was a little frightened. She came over and tugged at Jiayin's hand, her face full of surprise and doubt.

Mei Lan was more composed and had more contact with Gu Qingqing. Fearing that everyone would be unhappy, she couldn't help but say a few more words on her behalf.

"Don't blame Sister Gu, her life has been so hard. Her mother-in-law had already passed away, and her father-in-law was seriously ill. She thought that without the interference of elders, life would be better."

"Who would have thought that she would discover soon after getting married that her father-in-law was faking his illness and would soon remarry a stepmother. Her father-in-law had almost squandered all the family property, but he was too proud to admit it and the family expenses were enormous."

"Sister Gu was appointed to manage the household affairs, which means she has to use her dowry to fill the gaps."

"Sister Gu's husband thinks he is a talented but unappreciated man and drinks all day long. Recently, he has been forcing Sister Gu to sell her dowry estate. When Sister Gu refused, he beat her."

"Sister Gu's stepmother-in-law also blames Sister Gu for not having children and tries every means to torment her... This time, it was only because Dean Gu took her home for two days that she had the opportunity to come over."

As she spoke, perhaps remembering that she herself was about to get married, Mei Lan wiped away her tears.

For a woman, marriage is like a second reincarnation. If she is unlucky and marries the wrong person, her life will be ruined.

People like Gu Qingqing are definitely not a minority.

It's just that some people are willing to speak out, while others endure it until their death.

Xu Xi also hung her head and sighed repeatedly.

The third princess had a fiery temper and had never suffered any injustice since childhood. She immediately shouted, "Getting married is not selling yourself into slavery! Why should you endure such humiliation? Why don't you go back to your parents' home for help!"

Hearing this, Gu Qingqing cried even harder.

Xu Xi pulled at her handkerchief and explained softly, "The Gu family is a scholarly family with a century-old reputation and extremely strict etiquette. Take Dean Gu for example, she has been a widow for half her life and has never remarried. Actually, it wasn't that no one proposed to her at first, but her family wouldn't allow it."

"Of course, Sister Gu also complained, but her family would not support her getting a divorce at all. Instead, they urged her to have children for her husband's family as soon as possible so that her situation would be better in the future."

Everyone was exasperated; they were truly stuck in a quagmire with no way out.

"You can't just endure it like that! In the end, you'll either be tortured to death or die feeling wronged. You weren't born to suffer your whole life!"

The third princess stomped her feet in anger, and even said, "Where are your in-laws' family? I'll go back with you and give them a good scolding!"

Gu Qingqing's eyes lit up, and she was about to speak when Jiayin pulled the Third Princess aside and stopped her, saying, "No, if the princess goes and scolds her, Gu's in-laws might back down, but the princess can't support Gu forever."

"Moreover, Sister Gu is a junior and has not had children. If this gets out, her in-laws won't even need to say anything; everyone will criticize Sister Gu for being unfilial and disrespectful, and the princess will also suffer a loss of reputation."

Upon hearing this, the light in Gu Qingqing's eyes went out again, and her face was filled with death.

Xu Xi and Mei Lan were also dejected. Mei Lan choked up, "Why must a woman get married? Can't she stay in her parents' home for the rest of her life?"

Baozhu, with her soft heart, was even more distressed, saying, "I don't want to get married anymore, it's just too terrible."

Jiayin didn't want to get involved in the mess, after all, there were already a lot of things going on at home.

But after all, they've been best friends for many years and have a very close relationship.

Moreover, from a woman's perspective, she couldn't stand it either.

So, after thinking for a moment, she pulled everyone down to sit and said, "I have an idea. Please listen to it and see if it's feasible?"

"It's feasible, it's definitely feasible!" The Third Princess was the first to respond, praising proudly, "Jiayin is the smartest, whatever method you come up with will definitely work!"

Jiayin glared at her reproachfully and said helplessly, "Don't flatter me. I've never been married. I'm just talking nonsense. You can listen to what I have to say."

After saying that, she poured herself a cup of tea to moisten her throat and organize her thoughts.

"Given Sister Gu's situation, her husband's family doesn't agree, and her own family doesn't support her, so a divorce is definitely out of the question. Let's try to find a way to ensure Sister Gu can live a good life without getting a divorce."

"A woman obeys her husband after marriage, and her son after her husband's death. In the end, it all comes down to her son. Only with a son can she truly gain a foothold in her husband's family, so let's start from this point!"

"Since Sister Gu hasn't been happy, we first need to determine if there's something wrong with her health. If you can stay at your parents' house for a few more days, I'll ask my master to take your pulse and prescribe a medicine to help you recover."

Gu Qingqing wanted to nod, but then she remembered something and her face turned a little awkward. She glanced at everyone and said softly, "I want to take care of my health and have a baby soon. But... that person doesn't come to my room, and besides, I don't like him."

Everyone understood, their faces turned red, and they lowered their heads, not daring to look up.

Jiayin didn't seem to care and said, "That's not a problem. Once you've recovered, there are many ways to get him to come to your room. I'll talk to you about it privately later."

"If you can endure it for a night or two, you'll have a child later and will have someone to rely on for life. Then you won't have to compromise with anyone."

Gu Qingqing nodded vigorously, her fists clenched. "Fine, I've endured this for so long, a little more won't make a difference."

"What about the dowry? Those people are going to squander all of Sister Gu's dowry. What are we going to do?" the Third Princess asked anxiously.

“That’s even easier,” Jiayin said with a mischievous smile. “Sister Gu, when you go back, just say you were scolded at your parents’ home. They blamed you for taking advantage of your generous dowry and not respecting your husband’s family. So you voluntarily handed your dowry back to your parents’ home for safekeeping and voluntarily shared the hardships with your husband’s family.”

"You might even need to reflect on your past shortcomings, shut yourself in for two months to reflect on your mistakes, and copy Buddhist scriptures to pray for the whole family. In that case, you will naturally not need to manage the household or use your dowry to make up for the shortfall."

"After you've recovered, you'll have to go out eventually, right?" Xu Xi frowned.

Mei Lan chimed in, "That's all two months from now. By then, Sister Gu won't need to do anything; her in-laws will be eager to come and coax her into giving more money."

"Why worry about whether her husband will come into the house? Wouldn't it be much simpler to just get pregnant?"

"Yes, yes!" the Third Princess exclaimed excitedly. "Once she gets pregnant, she'll use the excuse that she's too weak from pregnancy to manage her dowry or household affairs. Then, after the baby is born, she'll say the child is too young and she needs to take care of the baby..."

Xu Xi also understood and nodded repeatedly, "It would be best to spread these things from the beginning, so that everyone can praise Sister Gu for being virtuous."

"If this drags on for three to five years, there will only be two outcomes. Either Gu's in-laws will not be able to hold on and will reveal their true colors, letting everyone know that they are after Gu's dowry, and they will be despised by everyone."

"Or the whole family will try to please Sister Gu and obediently rely on her for their livelihood."