No official news of Xie Zhaozhao's death reached the capital, making Xie Xiangxiang anxious, and Guan Yingying even more so.

She was not only anxious, but also panicked.

Wei Bufan brought the bandits there because Guan Yingying asked him to help deal with Xie Zhaozhao.

Guan Yingying saved his life, and her unique qualities, unlike those of women of the time, made him fall in love with her.

Wei Bufan's hometown is at the foot of Nanshan Mountain. He thought of the bandit den in Nanshan Mountain, where there was a scoundrel from his own village named Wei San.

Wei Bufan returned to the village early and tried to contact Wei San, saying that someone in the capital wanted to kill a woman and offered a reward of one thousand strings of cash. He asked if Wei San would do it.

"Go for it! A thousand strings of cash as a reward is a huge sum of money in the countryside."

The bandits were unsure where to strike, but when Guan Yingying went to the old house in Pingyang Town, Wei Bufan secretly met with her. It was only during the funeral procession that they learned the old lady wanted to go for a spring outing in the mountains.

So the bandits decided on a whim to do something big, and mobilized fifty or sixty men.

The bandits couldn't possibly tell Wei Bufan this news. The opportunity to fleece a fat sheep was right in front of them. Why would the bandits be so trustworthy as to wait for the reward money from the nobles in the capital if they could make money in cash?

As a result, the bandits easily scared the foolish women in the Earl's mansion into handing over a thousand strings of jewelry, which immediately emboldened the bandits.

Rushing to the top of the mountain, Wei Bufan tried to guide the bandits to chase Xie Zhaozhao, but they wouldn't listen to him.

Those bandits were completely out of his control.

He tried to protect Guan Yingying and prevent anyone from touching her, but how could he stop them?

The bandits beat him up, and during the struggle, one of them chopped off his arm with a knife, causing him to faint from the pain.

Later, Hongying led her troops to attack, and he was taken away as one of the bandits.

Guan Yingying is now filled with worry and deep regret. She shouldn't have been so soft-hearted. Back then, she should have silenced them; only the dead can keep their mouths shut forever...

The funeral for Madam Tu was extremely simple; Gu Boyu had no intention of holding a grand funeral for her.

The old lady also wanted to take the opportunity to make money, so she asked the steward, Xiao Zhang, to prepare an obituary and widely inform the powerful and influential people in the capital that the Earl's wife had passed away.

Gu Boyu bluntly said, "It's been dead on the road for three or four days. If we leave it any longer, it'll start to stink. Hurry up and put it in a coffin!"

It was kept in the Earl's mansion for only one day before being sealed in a coffin.

Gu Boyu immediately ordered Gu Chengyan and Gu Zheng to escort him back to the old house cemetery in Pingyang Town for burial.

The old lady clutched her chest in anger: "Eldest son, what kind of mess have you made? Your third brother isn't home, and you've already sealed the coffin? He didn't even offer a single stick of incense!"

Gu Boyu said impatiently, "You just want to squeeze money out of your third brother's colleagues, right? Just bury him when he's dead, why bother the living?"

The old lady kept cursing her unfilial son, but Gu Boyu ignored her.

No sooner had Gu Chengyan left with the coffin than Gu Shaoyu, accompanied by Xie Zhaozhao, returned to the capital from Ouyang.

When Xie Xiangxiang heard that Xie Zhaozhao had returned alive, she was so shocked that she lost her mind and immediately ran out of Fanghua Garden.

At the main gate, five carriages were parked, with Xie Zhaozhao's two-wheeled carriage standing prominently among them.

The carriage was being protected by a group of people from the Imperial City Guard.

Two imperial physicians followed beside the carriage.

Among the five carriages, one was from the Ouyang County government. It was sent by the county's respected Five Elders Association to the capital to express their gratitude to Gu Shaoyu and Xie Zhaozhao for capturing the bandits and rebels.

Steward Zhang immediately placed a dismounting stool over, and the four injured guards were helped down from the two carriages one after another. Yuanyuan and Manman also got off from another carriage.

The curtain of Xie Zhaozhao's carriage was opened, and Gu Shaoyu stepped out, holding Xie Zhaozhao in his arms.

Xie Zhaozhao had thick strips of cloth wrapped around her head and a thin blanket covering her body, clearly indicating that she was still recovering from serious injuries.

Xie Xiangxiang asked anxiously, "Third Uncle, what happened to my eldest sister?"

Gu Shaoyu said calmly, "She's fine."

"Tch, nothing's wrong? I guess he's crippled..." Xie Xiangxiang felt a mix of emotions, a mixture of schadenfreude and absent-mindedness.

Even if Xie Zhaozhao were crippled from the fall, it would still be far better than her being defiled by bandits!

Guan Yingying was also watching from a distance at the second gate.

I was filled with hatred. He had already jumped off a cliff, why wasn't he dead yet?

Gu Shaoyu carried Xie Zhaozhao back to Qingpu Courtyard and immediately ordered Nanxing to block the gate of Qingpu Courtyard, strictly prohibiting anyone from entering.

Aunt Cui watched Xie Zhaozhao enter the courtyard and remove the cloth from her head, and asked in surprise, "Madam, what's going on?"

"Aunt Cui, this is just a performance for the people in the manor."

Xie Zhaozhao told her about her experience in Pingyang Town without holding anything back, saying that they were family and there was no need to hide anything.

Aunt Cui gritted her teeth and said, "No wonder they've all been acting strangely these past few days. They've all been staying in the courtyard since they came back... Bah, serves them right!"

Yuan Yuanman came in and reported, "Madam, the Madam has passed away."

Xie Zhaozhao was taken aback: "When did this happen?"

Aunt Cui said that she died on the way seven or eight days ago. She was only kept in the mansion for one day before being put into a coffin and sent to the old house.

Gu Shaoyu did not comment on Tu Shi's death, and without a moment's hesitation, said, "Let's go find our elder brother and divide the estate."

Aunt Cui was taken aback: "Now, dividing the estate?"

Gu Shaoyu said, "I have already discussed with the Earl that we will divide our residences upon returning to the capital."

He had the "seriously injured" Xie Zhaozhao carried to Ci'en Hospital.

Gu Zhongyu also ordered his servants to carry Madam Lu over.

The old lady looked at the three brothers in surprise, and asked, speechless, "What are you trying to do?"

Gu Boyu said calmly, "Mother, the manor is now in ruins. Let's divide up the manor and live separately!"

"What do you mean? Why are you dividing the government into separate prefectures for no reason?"

"It's me who wants to break up!"

In the past few days, Gu Boyu had his family's property sorted out, dividing the land, shops, cash, and public treasures and medicinal herbs into three parts.

He laid out these assets on the table and said to the old lady, "Mother, let my second and third brothers establish their own residences!"

The old lady said with a gloomy face, "Third son, is it you who's causing trouble by dividing the family property?"

Gu Shaoyu said calmly, "Yes, I want to live separately from the main residence."

"You think you're so great, so independent!" The old lady laughed bitterly. "You want to separate from the family while your parents are still alive?"

Gu Shaoyu nodded: "Yes, I want to live separately. I will take the land that the court divides among me, Zhaozhao's dowry, and I don't want anything else in the mansion."

Where is your salary?

"I need to support my family, and I will no longer hand over any money to the Earl's Mansion."

"You want to sever ties with the Earl's Mansion?" The old lady's eyes sharpened. "How dare you be unfilial?"

Gu Boyu impatiently interrupted the old lady, saying wearily, "Mother, stop arguing! Third brother's estate and shops all belong to him, and I have also divided the public property into three parts, one for each of us three brothers."

The old lady said to Gu Shaoyu with a gloomy face, "You can leave the manor, but you must give me your retirement allowance."

How much do you want?

"Fifty thousand strings of cash! When people get old, the cost of medicine is more than that."

"I don't have any on hand," Gu Shaoyu said. "Don't ask for money, I don't have any either."

"Gu Shaoyu, I'm going to the Emperor to accuse you of being unfilial."

Xie Zhaozhao looked at the fierce old lady and suddenly spoke up: "Old lady, the Grand Secretary has already made arrangements for the public trial of the bandits in Ouyang County, so there is no need for a public trial."

Her expression was calm, but the old lady suddenly trembled all over.