"When did this happen?" Liu Yaoyu was surprised. "My third sister and I have been detained by our mother recently, and we haven't heard anyone talk about what happened outside."

Yu Jiao took a deep breath. No wonder the eldest lady had stopped her from going to the Marquis of Annan's Mansion that day. Her eldest brother had rarely come to her courtyard in the past few days. It was actually to hide the matter of Gu Yun from her.

Wei Min said, "It was more than ten days ago. On the second day after the crown prince's hands and feet were crippled, old uncle Qin had the crown prince carried to the palace to file a complaint. The emperor punished both of them. Qin Guang was stripped of his title of crown prince and was not allowed to inherit the title of the Earl of Tongtong in the future. The punishment that young Marquis Gu received is what I just said."

She glared at Yu Jiao with a cold look in her eyes and said with a bad face, "Don't think that you can be innocent just because you don't know. You can feel at ease and have nothing to do with it. Young Marquis Gu suffered such a severe punishment because of you."

Liu Yaoyu frowned and said, "Gu Yun is willing to protect my third sister, and she is not forced to do so. How can she be indifferent? The day she came back from Xinglou, she has been worried whether Young Marquis Gu would get into trouble because of this."

Yu Jiao gently shook her head, "Second sister, please stop talking. It was because of me that Young Marquis Gu suffered this unforeseen disaster."

Seeing her like this, Wei Min didn't say anything more. She was actually just feeling sorry for Gu Yunming. Young Marquis Gu was such a good man and had given so much for Liu Yujiao, this shouldn't be unknown to others.

She stood up and looked at Yu Jiao again before leaving. After thinking for a while and hesitating for a while, she said, "There is one more thing. I think you and Yao Yu are still unaware of it."

Yu Jiao raised her eyes to look at her. Wei Min continued, "Madam Liu went to Annan Marquis' Mansion a few days ago and said that your mansion had no intention of marrying with Annan Marquis' Mansion. The third girl is still young and will stay in the mansion for a few more years. I don't know which gossipy person spread this matter. Now people outside are laughing at Annan Marquis' Mansion and at Young Marquis Gu for being wishful and self-indulgent."

"Mother... How could mother do this..." Liu Yaoyu murmured speechlessly. Gu Yun was punished by the emperor because he protected Yu Jiao. If her mother came to distance herself from him at this critical moment, wouldn't the people in the capital make a fool of themselves by showing them the Annan Marquis' Mansion?

The incident originally started because of their Liu family, but in the end, the Liu family got away with it cleanly, which was really like adding insult to injury.

Wei Min put on her coat and said in an ambiguous tone, "Since Madam Liu has said this, Miss Liu San should be more tactful when interacting with others in the future and avoid causing misunderstandings."

A biting cold wind started blowing outside at some point, and Wei Min lifted the felt curtain and left. A gust of cold wind blew into the room, diluting the warmth inside and making people's hands and feet cold.

Yu Jiao sat there in a daze for a long time. Liu Yaoyu looked at her, not knowing what to say. Wei Min's words made it so that Liu Yaoyu didn't know where to start even if she wanted to say something to comfort her.

Asking the maid to bring a pot of hot tea, Liu Yaoyu rubbed her hands, handed Yu Jiao a cup of hot tea, and said after looking at her expression, "Warm yourself up. The wind is blowing so hard, I think it's going to snow."

Yu Jiao took the teacup, and her cold fingertips got burned when they touched the wall of the cup. Although the teacup was hot, it couldn't dispel the discomfort in her heart.

She should have spoken out to stop Gu Yun earlier that day. If she had tried her best to stop him, things would not have come to this point, and Gu Yun would not have been punished so severely.

She was too arrogant. She already knew Qin Guang's identity and should have kept quiet. Why did she have to take it out on others?

Now that things have come to this, no amount of self-blame will help.

"What kind of injuries would it cause by being caned 80 times?" Yu Jiao asked softly.

Liu Yaoyu looked at her features, which were apparently very calm, yet they made people feel pity for her.

Liu Yaoyu knew that she was upset, so she turned away and looked at the window covered with paper, and said softly, "An ordinary person who is caned 80 times will lose half his life and be left half disabled. Young Marquis Gu is a martial artist and has a strong body, so it should be fine."

Liu Yaoyu didn't know how badly she would be injured. The palace maids and eunuchs who made mistakes in the palace would often die after being beaten with fifty sticks. She could only say this to reassure Yu Jiao.

"Second sister, I want to go out of the house to see Gu Yun, can you help me?" Yu Jiao put down the teacup, stood up, and said suddenly.

How could Liu Yaoyu say no? "But mother told us not to leave the house..."

Looking at the expression on Yu Jiao's face, Liu Yaoyu sighed softly, "Forget it, as long as we don't use carriages and horses, it shouldn't disturb mother. Change into maid's clothes and sneak out through the back door. The servant guarding the back door is from grandma's courtyard. Just say you are going to buy medicine for grandma, and he will ask you to leave the house. I will stay in your courtyard to keep watch."

"Thank you, second sister." Yu Jiao asked Jianjia to get her a set of maid's clothes. After she put them on, she said to Jianjia, "You stay in the house, and let Bailu go out with me.

Jianjia advised, "It's getting dark, why don't you wait until the eldest master returns home and tell him before leaving? He will definitely agree."

Liu Ziqi hasn't been in the house often these days. He must be busy with business outside. Yu Jiao shook her head gently, "I can't wait any longer."

Liu Yaoyu sent Yu Jiao out of the yard and whispered, "Come back early. If father comes to your place for dinner tonight, I can't hide it."