"Imperial edict?" Gu Chengyan was still a little dizzy when he heard these words in the room. "Why is there another imperial edict?"

Ping An whispered through the curtain, "I heard that Lord Yu impeached the Marquis's residence again in court."

Gu Chengyan couldn't help but curse, "What's wrong with him? Is he a mad dog, staring at the Marquis's mansion all day long?"

"Young Master, you should hurry. The messenger is Steward Hua. Zhang Qing has already sent someone to find the Marquis."

Ping An sighed and looked at the gray sky. "Alas," he thought, "this father and son, one frequenting brothels and gambling dens, the other keeping mistresses and indulging in concubines—even the Grand Secretary couldn't stop them. The Marquis's mansion is doomed..."

Ping An and several servants came in and helped Gu Chengyan up. Yan Ke and Nian Ke wanted to pull Guan Yingying to go with them to receive the imperial decree, but Guan Yingying refused.

But Gu Chengyan said sternly, "If you don't go, you'll be disobeying the imperial decree, and anyone in your family can beat you to death."

Death, death, death! Everything is death!

Guan Yingying had no choice but to tidy herself up; her face was still badly swollen, so she had to go.

Led by Gu Boyu, everyone except Gu Shaoyu, who had been kept as a beast of burden by the Emperor to attend court, came.

Hua Zisheng glanced at Gu Boyu and Gu Chengyan, and gave a cold snort.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Gu Chengyan, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Pingyang, has favored his concubine over his wife, embezzled his wife's dowry, and has repeatedly failed to correct his ways. His moral character is corrupt. Therefore, Gu Chengyan is stripped of his right to inherit the title and fined three thousand strings of cash."

Marquis Pingyang, Gu Boyu, is unambitious and lax in managing his household. I am deeply pained and indignant at this, so I demote him from Marquis to Earl, but his treatment shall be in accordance with that of an Earl.

Gu Boyu is hereby ordered to rectify his household affairs. If he commits another offense, he shall be stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner. So be it!

After the imperial edict was read aloud, the entire government was shocked.

Xie Zhaozhao lowered her eyes and remained expressionless.

Well done, Lord Yu!

In his previous life, not only did the Marquis's family not lower their rank, but Gu Chengyan also rose through the ranks. Because of his donation of grain during the natural disaster, Gu Chengyan became his elder brother's superior.

In this life, the Marquis's mansion will gradually descend into the abyss.

Unless the river flows westward, dogs stop eating excrement, and Gu Chengyan becomes an upright and honest man.

On the day Guan Yingying was arrested, Lord Yu was outside. She didn't know his exact location, but Dong Qin had informed Lord Yu. All the information was provided by her, so there must be someone from the Censorate staking out Guan Yingying's courtyard in the East City.

Therefore, today's imperial edict is the result of several days of hard work by Lord Yu of the Censorate.

However, Gu Shaoyu did not seem to be protecting the Marquis's mansion at all.

Ah, no, it's the Earl's residence now!

Hua Zisheng looked at the stunned group of people, snorted coldly, and said, "Lord Pingyang, receive the imperial decree?"

Earl of Pingyang!

He is no longer the Marquis of Pingyang!

Gu Boyu reached out and accepted the imperial edict, tears streaming down his face.

Even if he continues to act recklessly, losing the title his father risked his life to earn for his descendants will still be painful for him.

I accept the imperial decree and express my gratitude.

Hua Zisheng didn't accept any reward from the Earl's family. Before leaving, he specifically came over to speak to Xie Zhaozhao.

"Madam, His Majesty has said that everything in the Earl's Mansion has nothing to do with the Grand Secretary. The Grand Secretary is flawless and remains His Majesty's right-hand man. Please rest assured, Madam."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty." This was the Emperor's decree, and Xie Zhaozhao knelt down gratefully.

Hua Zisheng immediately offered a helping hand: "Madam, you mustn't. You have received His Majesty's gold medal; there's no need for you to kneel."

"Your Majesty's kindness is beyond words; I must kneel in gratitude," Xie Zhaozhao said with a smile. "This humble woman is truly grateful from the bottom of her heart and will certainly remain dutiful."

Then Manman stuffed a purse into Hanako Katsu's hand, which Hanako Katsu accepted.

I went out and secretly took a look. Good heavens, two hundred strings of cash, one hundred strings of cash and two fifty strings of cash.

Don't be fooled by Xie Zhaozhao and Yin Jin'an's ability to earn tens of millions of strings of cash; two hundred strings of cash is still a huge sum right now.

A meal at a top-tier restaurant on Yongfeng Street costs only three to five strings of cash.

The Grand Secretary's monthly salary is only thirty-three strings of cash.

Hua Zisheng pulled out a fifty-yuan note and gave it to Xiu Ning, a fifteen-year-old eunuch who had come with him, saying, "Watch closely. From now on, when you see this Lady of the Grand Secretariat, you must serve her with utmost respect! She is a true noblewoman."

Xiu Ning accepted the silver note and carefully wrote down his master's words.

With Hua Zisheng gone, the entire Earl's mansion is going crazy.

The old lady cried so hard she couldn't stand. Ta Xue helped her back to Ci'en Courtyard. Tu Shi, Gu Boyu, and Gu Chengyan all cried along with her.

Lady Lu kept crying and cursing: "The livelihood that Father risked his life to fight for us on the battlefield has been lost in just two generations. How can we face Father?"

Every sentence mentions her father, every sentence is filled with her own resentment. Just because she's the second wife, she deserves to get nothing and can only watch helplessly as she loses everything!

Gu Boyu cried for a while, then respectfully put away the imperial edict and summoned Gu Chengyan.

Upper-level family discipline!

Having single-handedly dragged the entire Marquis's mansion down with him and even been stripped of his right to inherit the title, Gu Boyu still couldn't describe how he felt.

beat!

In the front yard, Gu Chengyan was pinned to a bench, and Gu Boyu was whipping him mercilessly.

The whip is specially made; one lash and the skin is torn and the flesh is ripped open!

Gu Chengyan was gagged. At first, he would sob, but later he lay on the stool and didn't move.

Enraged, Gu Boyu ignored everything and continued hitting.

Madam Tu knelt before the old lady, her head nearly bleeding from kowtowing.

"Mother, please, save Yan'er! He has already been stripped of his right to inherit the title, and he is already living a life worse than death. If you beat him any further, he will die!"

The old lady, tears streaming down her face, was helped out by Taxue and said to Gu Boyu, "Eldest son, stop hitting him. It's too late now, killing him won't change anything."

After beating Gu Chengyan, Gu Boyu ordered Zhang Qing to drag Guan Yingying out and start beating her right there in the courtyard.

It wasn't just a few slaps; it was a beating meant to kill.

Seeing her mother being beaten, Gu Yuebai cried miserably and threw herself at Guan Yingying, shouting, "Don't hit my mother, you old man with sores on your head and pus oozing from your feet..."

Oh dear, Lord Gu has not been scolded like this in many years. Today, he was even scolded by his own grandson. He lashed out with his whip at Gu Yuebai.

"So young and already disobeying his elders, corrupted by this whore. He should be beaten to death."

Gu Yuebai was whipped by Gu Boyu. Even adults couldn't withstand that whip, so how could Gu Yuebai endure it? He screamed and fainted.

Blood instantly covered her body and face. Guan Yingying was terrified, her heart breaking. She rushed over to protect Gu Yuebai, crying out pitifully, "Please, let me go!"

“I can earn enough silver to pay off Gu Chengyan’s three thousand guan. In six months, no, three months,” she promised fearfully. “If I don’t earn enough silver in three months, you can kill me without complaint.”

Gu Chengyan fainted and then woke up, prostrating himself on the ground and pleading, "Grandmother, Father, Mother, I beg you, let her go. It's all my fault. You can banish me from the manor..."

However, in his anger, Gu Boyu still beat Guan Yingying half to death.

"Please, don't kill me... I can save Chengyan..." Guan Yingying fainted.

Unlike a slap, this time it's a paddle.

After the thirty strokes of the cane were finished, a pool of blood flowed from beneath Guan Yingying.