Xie Xiangxiang kept thinking, what was the purpose of her rebirth?

In her previous life, Xie Zhaozhao married Gu Chengyan, and everything was fine. She had no mistresses, no concubines, and was cheated out of her dowry.

By this time, Gu Chengyan was already extremely wealthy.

Why is it different for her?

Many things have changed in this life; it's different from the previous one.

However, Gu Chengyan has a good relationship with the Crown Prince, just like in his previous life.

Therefore, as long as the Crown Prince ascends the throne, Gu Chengyan can still achieve his goal of becoming the Duke of Yi.

She refused to divorce him; no matter who became her concubine, she remained the legal wife.

In the future, the entire Marquis's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion will belong to her.

In her previous life, she quarreled with Zhou Lingyin and was kicked out of the palace by the Princess Consort of Kang County. In the end, she fought to the death with her concubine. In this life, she will learn to be smarter, not to quarrel with men, and to secretly torment her concubine to death. The one who survives to the end will be the winner.

Gu Chengyan groveled before her, still feeling unwell because his testicles had almost been crushed.

With a hunched back, he said gently, "You've had a long day. Don't worry about things at home, I'll take care of it!"

Xie Xiangxiang smiled faintly: "Thank you for your trouble, husband."

The next morning, Xie Xiangxiang, who hadn't slept all night, gritted her teeth and went to Tu's place to stand properly. When Tu saw that she had come obediently, she didn't say anything more.

A short while later, Gu Chengyan arrived with Guan Yingying, followed by Yan Ke and Nian Ke.

When Xie Xiangxiang saw that Gu Chengyan had come with her, her eyes turned bloodshot. She clenched her fists in her sleeves, but kept her eyes down and didn't say anything.

Guan Yingying bowed to Madam Tu and said, "Good morning, Mother-in-law!"

Looking at the inappropriate bowing, and thinking of the emptied storeroom, Madam Tu's face turned extremely ugly. She said irritably, "Didn't anyone in your family teach you manners when you were little? You don't even know how to bow?"

Guan Yingying remained respectful: "My parents passed away early, so I really didn't learn any of these things..."

Tu thought to herself, "Before his exile, Guan Shanyue was a high-ranking official of the third rank. How could he raise such an ill-mannered daughter? What a load of rubbish about being a lucky star of the Great Gan!"

"Later, you will serve tea to the young master's wife and the young master. Once you enter the Marquis's residence, you must abide by the rules," Madam Tu continued to lecture Guan Yingying.

"Yes." Guan Yingying stood to the side.

Seeing that Xie Xiangxiang remained silent, Madam Tu felt disgusted and said, "If the young master's wife has nothing else to say, then you should go back. You are the mistress of the household, so you should make proper arrangements for the young master's inner quarters and not cause any unrest in the mansion."

"Yes, Mother is right."

Xie Xiangxiang bowed respectfully, ignoring Guan Yingying from beginning to end.

As soon as she stepped out of the Tu family's house, her legs gave way, and Granny Wei helped her up.

Tears welled up in her eyes; she said she didn't care, but she still did.

“My elder sister and third uncle helped me get justice. I’m going to Qingpu Courtyard to thank my third uncle and elder sister.”

She needs to go see her elder sister. If she does anything else, it will be her elder sister who will be criticized. Isn't it her elder sister's idea?

Xie Xiangxiang was at the entrance of Qingpu Courtyard when Bei Chen blocked the door, preventing her from entering.

"Please inform the Third Madam, and I will thank her and leave," Xie Xiangxiang said respectfully. "I thank her for helping to uphold justice."

Bei Chen still blocked the door and said, "I understand. I will convey the words of the young master's wife to the madam."

Granny Wei pleaded with a smile, "Can't we even go in and kowtow to the Grand Secretary to express our gratitude?"

"The lord has already gone to court. Besides, the lord has no private matters here, only official business."

"This..." Granny Wei was speechless for a moment.

Xie Xiangxiang said calmly, "Let's go."

As they turned to leave, Yuanyuan hurriedly came out.

"Madam said that we should live the same way we did before. The more noble the family, the more they value rules!" Yuanyuan told Xie Xiangxiang.

Xie Xiangxiang nodded and said, "Thank you for your guidance, elder sister."

As she turned to walk away, she couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.

She used to think that no one taught Xie Zhaozhao the underhanded ways of the inner quarters, but now she understands: when it comes to palace intrigue, it has to be her eldest sister.

After watching them leave, Yuanyuan returned to the courtyard and saw Moyan and Guanyan. She whispered a few words to them.

The two young men nodded frantically, watching the spectacle with amusement; they were experts at it.

When the two went outside, they discovered that the entire mansion was filled with an eerie atmosphere.

They hadn't walked far when they ran into Lan Xiang from the second wife's family and Emei, the gardener's godson. The four of them tacitly agreed to head towards Fanghua Garden.

Xie Xiangxiang returned to Fanghua Garden and asked Granny Wei to inform Gu Chengyan to come over.

Gu Chengyan came over with a look of guilt on his face and reached out to hold Xie Xiangxiang's hand. Xie Xiangxiang did not dodge and let him hold her hand.

As before, there was no obvious distance between them. She said earnestly, "I've thought it through. It hasn't been easy for you and Aunt Yue all these years. My husband, rest assured, I will definitely treat Aunt Yue as a sister."

Gu Chengyan was immediately delighted and said, "Then I'll call Qianyue over and offer you a cup of tea to complete the formalities."

Xie Xiangxiang smiled and nodded, then said to Granny Wei, "You and Ping An go to the government office to report this. From now on, Tu Qianyue will be the young master's concubine."

On the surface, she was giving Gu Chengyan and Guan Yingying face, but she knew that once the matter was reported to the government, Tu Qianyue would be officially recognized as a lowly concubine of the Marquis's mansion.

Even if they escape to the ends of the earth, both people and money will become the private property of the Marquis's mansion.

Granny Wei responded and immediately went to do it with Ping An.

Gu Chengyan was unwilling to make Yingying his concubine, but he didn't have a good solution.

Uncle San knows the whole story; it's impossible for him to marry a concubine.

Moreover, for Guan Yingying, whether a concubine is a lowly concubine, a noble concubine, or a common wife, it doesn't matter. What she wants is a lifelong, monogamous relationship. As long as the man's heart and soul belong to only her, she doesn't care about any title or status.

The formalities were completed quickly.

Xie Xiangxiang also called over Granny Wan from Tu's side and said to Gu Chengyan, "Call Aunt Yue over to serve tea."

Guan Yingying was pushed and shoved into Fanghua Garden by Granny Wei, along with Yan Ke and Nian Ke.

Everything was in accordance with the rules: Xie Xiangxiang and Gu Chengyan sat in the main seats, and Anxiang prepared tea and laid out a kneeling mat.

"Aunt Yue, please serve tea to the young master and his wife," Anxiang said to Guan Yingying according to custom.

Guan Yingying saw the kneeling mat on the ground and watched the two people sitting upright waiting for her to serve tea. Her eyes immediately turned venomous: "Pah, serve tea? You wish!"

She turned to leave, but Xie Xiangxiang said sternly, "Slap yourself!"

Granny Wei, Granny Wan, Xunmei, and four rough maids in the courtyard rushed forward, grabbed her hair, and dragged her in front of Gu Chengyan and Xie Xiangxiang.

"Kneel down!" Granny Wei slapped her twice hard across the face.

Guan Yingying was beaten, frozen, and had her hair cut the night before. She was woken up before dawn, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

At this moment, having my hair pulled and my scalp ripped into patches of baldness is extremely painful.

His angry eyes flashed with hatred: "Gu Chengyan, is this how you treat me? I misjudged you, I misjudged you..."