Chapter 339 The Mastermind

People lamented their misfortune and were angry at their lack of resistance.

She got married last year but hasn't consummated her marriage yet, and she still has to keep it a secret from her family. If she hadn't suddenly discovered that her husband was gay, and Xuan Yi hadn't gotten pregnant for several years because they hadn't consummated their marriage, how much public pressure would she have faced?

What's the point of adopting a child?

The one who gained a good reputation was the eldest son-in-law. Everyone would say that he was loyal and righteous, because he knew his wife was infertile, yet he neither divorced her nor took a concubine. The one who was criticized for being infertile was Xuan Yi.

This son-in-law is really cunning. He figured out that Xuan Yiren wasn't very smart and was easy to manipulate, and that she was completely devoted to him. Even though she had no interest in women, she pretended to be very affectionate, and even her family was fooled.

Zhang couldn't help but shed tears, feeling both angry and heartbroken: "I told you back then that their family background was complicated, but why didn't you listen? You insisted on doing things your own way. On the surface, you agreed to my request, but in private, you were seeing him behind the elders' backs."

Gu Xuanyi's eyes were filled with hatred as she gritted her teeth and said, "It's all that wretched maid Yunxiang's fault. She instigated me, saying that my grandmother didn't want me to marry well, which is why she spoke ill of the Marquis of Wu'an's family. She told me all sorts of good things about that beast, and with that beast showing me all sorts of kindness, I was momentarily bewitched."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned again and subconsciously looked at Madam Gu. Seeing that Madam Gu only frowned and did not show any anger, they knew that she did not care about this matter.

Zhang was completely baffled: "Xuanyi, Yunxiang is your head maid and she is loyal to you. Why would she secretly instigate you to do such a thing?"

Gu Xuanyi shook her head: "I don't know."

After she finished speaking, she started sobbing again. The more she thought about it, the more stupid she felt. She hadn't listened to her grandmother and mother, but had listened to that slut and foolishly thought she had found a unique love.

Gu Jingxi pondered for a moment and said, "Yunxiang wouldn't incite Xuanyi to do something stupid for no reason. Maybe Yunxiang is acting under someone else's orders."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized the seriousness of the matter. It was very likely that someone was trying to harm Xuan Yi, but who would be so insidious as to use such a thing to harm Xuan Yi?

Gu Jingxi then asked, "Xuanyi, where is Yunxiang now?"

“She’s still at the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence. After that beast beat me, I knew she had a problem, but I didn’t confront her. I wanted to keep her calm. She shouldn’t be on guard now and hasn’t run away yet,” Gu Xuanyi replied. She felt she had done a good job this time. She knew Yunxiang had a problem, but she still treated Yunxiang well as always, so Yunxiang wouldn’t suspect anything.

Gu Jingxi nodded: "I'll have someone bring Yunxiang over. We'll find out who's behind this once we interrogate her." After he finished speaking, he got up and walked outside to instruct his men to go to the Marquis of Wu'an's residence and bring Yunxiang over without anyone noticing.

Inside the room, Gu Xuanyi was crying her eyes out. She didn't know why she was so unlucky to be tricked by her trusted maid in collusion with outsiders.

Seeing his daughter crying, Gu Jingsheng was also annoyed and scolded her, "What's the use of crying now? You were blind before, and now you want to get a divorce and embarrass yourself. You have disgraced your mother and me. A woman who has been divorced will be looked down upon when she remarries."

Gu Xuanyi stopped crying and retorted, "When Mother said this marriage was bad, you said it was excellent. Why are you blaming me now?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingsheng felt somewhat embarrassed.

Madam Gu, not wanting to hear the father and daughter blaming each other, immediately intervened: "Eldest son, since it has already happened, don't blame Xuanyi. She's young and naive, so it's understandable that she could be deceived. Even women who have been divorced and sent back to their parents' home after making mistakes can remarry, let alone those who have divorced. Xuanyi is still a virgin, making it easier for her to remarry. The most important thing now is to get the son-in-law to divorce Xuanyi."

Gu Jingsheng quickly replied, "Mother is right."

Madam Gu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law and asked, "Did Xiuyuan accompany his wife back to her parents' home?"

Ms. Zhang nodded: "Yes, I took the child back yesterday."

Madam Gu said, "Such a big thing has happened in the family. Send someone to inform them and let them come back first."

Zhang nodded in agreement. She actually had the same idea. Although Xuanyi was spoiled, she got along quite well with Xiuyuan's wife. When Xiuyuan's wife came back, she could comfort Xuanyi.

Afterwards, everyone comforted Xuan Yi and helped her calm down.

-

About an hour later, Zhou Yun returned with Yunxiang.

Yunxiang already knew what had happened. Even though her master had been beaten these past two days, he treated her the same as before, making her think that her master had long forgotten what she had instigated.

When she woke up this morning, she found that her master was gone and panicked instantly. But there was no noise last night, so it shouldn't be the eldest son-in-law who took her master away. She guessed that her master must have left quietly on his own.

Therefore, when the eldest son-in-law returned, Ruixiang was made to lie on the bed and pretend to be the mistress, with her back to him. She said a few words to deceive him. Otherwise, if the eldest son-in-law knew that the mistress was missing, she and Ruixiang would definitely be the ones to suffer, because they were the mistress's head maids and the most likely people to help the mistress leave.

Upon entering the house, Yunxiang saw that all three branches of the Gu family were present. In particular, when she saw Gu Jingxi, she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Upon seeing Yunxiang, Gu Xuanyi immediately became agitated, abruptly standing up and pointing at her, saying, "It was this wretched maid who ruined me! If she hadn't spoken so highly of that beast in front of me, would I have married him?"

With a grim face, Zhang questioned sharply, "Yunxiang, why did you harm Xuanyi?"

Yunxiang replied in a trembling voice, "Madam, I did not mean to harm the eldest young lady."

Madam Zhang was furious and said, "You still say you didn't do it on purpose? You were there when I told Xuanyi about the Wu'an Marquis's family, and you knew that the Wu'an Marquis's household was complicated, yet you still encouraged Xuanyi to do something foolish. Although Xuanyi is a bit spoiled, she has never mistreated the maids who serve her. Why did you do this?"

Gu Xuanyi stepped forward, raised her hand and slapped Yunxiang hard across the face, saying hatefully, "You lowly servant, don't forget that your indenture is in my hands. You'd better tell the truth, or I'll sell you to the dirtiest and most despicable place, where you'll be with any man!"

Upon hearing this, Yunxiang's face turned pale, her expression filled with fear, and she trembled uncontrollably. She replied, "This servant can tell you who it is, but I beg you, young lady, to spare my family. They are all innocent and knew nothing about this."

Although Yunxiang was sold into the Gu family as a maid, she still had a family. Her family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat, so they had no choice but to sell her into the Gu family. At least she could have enough to eat, and the money from selling her could feed her family. Later, she could also use her monthly allowance to help support her family.

Gu Jingxi directly agreed on behalf of his niece: "Since your family is innocent, they will naturally not be implicated, but you must tell the truth and not utter a single falsehood."

Relieved by Gu Jingxi's promise, Yunxiang said truthfully, "Actually, the person who asked me to do this was the young master. No, he is no longer the young master. He is Gu Xiuming, an exiled criminal who has been stripped of his title and removed from the clan."