Chapter Thirty-Nine

Gao Wenchang's thing was useless, and he had been mistreated outside, which is why he flew into a rage. But he didn't expect that Gu Baozhu, who was gentle and kind in his eyes, would actually call him a "silver-plated spearhead".

These are vulgar and obscene words that only people of lowly status would use!

Gao Wenchang slapped Gu Baozhu to the ground.

Gu Baozhu turned her head to the side after being hit, her delicate face quickly turning bright red. She covered her face, her voice trembling, "How dare you hit me? Gao Wenchang, how dare you hit me!"

Gu Baozhu scrambled out of bed, barefoot, as if trying to escape. "I'm going to tell my parents! You impotent good-for-nothing!"

When Gao Wenchang saw Gu Baozhu trying to run away, he instinctively reached out to grab her.

Gu Baozhu was terrified when she saw Gao Wenchang's hand about to land on her shoulder, and instinctively turned around and kicked him.

"Whoa!!!"

Gao Wenchang clutched his lower body tightly, lying on the ground unable to move.

Seeing this, Gu Baozhu couldn't help but swallow hard. "It's not my fault. You insisted on arresting me. You forced me to do it!"

She quickly straightened her clothes. "I want to go back to the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion. I want to go back to the Marquis of Zhongqin's mansion to find my mother and my brother. They will definitely not abandon me..."

Ignoring Gao Wenchang, who was lying on the ground groaning, Gu Baozhu trembled as she went to find her maid. She wanted to return to the Marquis of Zhongqin's residence; she couldn't stay there for another second.

...

*

When Gu Baozhu stepped down from the carriage and saw the words "Loyal and Divine Marquis's Residence" again, she felt as if she had been in another world.

The maid beside her went to knock on the door, but the gatekeeper deliberately kept the door closed and did not answer no matter how much the maid knocked.

The maid knocked on the door for a quarter of an hour, her eyes red with anger. "Miss, they're just looking down on us! When we were doing well, they fawned over us like dogs!"

Gu Baozhu remained motionless, and the maid slowly stopped talking. The midday sun was scorching, and Gu Baozhu, a young lady raised in seclusion, had never dared to be exposed to such a harsh sun before.

But today, even though she was standing under the scorching sun, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

She knew that not opening the door was definitely not the doorman's idea; he was just a servant, how could he possibly have the authority to tell his master what to do?

It must have been the master of the manor who ordered that she not be allowed to open the door.

Gu Baozhu had long known that the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife were cold-hearted and ruthless, and that they would become heartless if things did not meet their expectations.

But Gu Baozhu had been raised as their precious jewel for sixteen years, and she fantasized that she was special and different.

When Gu Leyao returned, the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife repeatedly made things difficult for their own daughter because of her. At that time, Gu Baozhu was secretly delighted.

She thought she was different, but Gu Baozhu realized today that she was no different from Gu Leyao.

Gu Baozhu stood under the scorching sun for an hour before Gu Ronghua finally returned.

Gu Ronghua, riding a tall horse, saw Gu Baozhu from afar. Suspecting he was seeing things, he dismounted and ran towards Gu Baozhu.

"A precious pearl?"

When Gu Baozhu saw her brother approaching her without any hesitation, tears streamed down her face before she could even speak. "Brother..."

Realizing the bustling crowd around them, Gu Ronghua took Gu Baozhu's hand and said, "Baozhu, let's go home. We can talk about it when we get home."

Gu Ronghua, holding Gu Baozhu's hand, kicked the vermilion door studded with black nails, yelling, "Open the door! Open the door now!"

The gatekeeper inside couldn't help but swallow hard when he saw Gu Ronghua, that ruthless star, arrive. The Earl and his wife had instructed that Miss Baozhu not be allowed to enter.

Young Master Hua insists on bringing Miss Baozhu into the house. What should we do?

The Earl and his wife are the current owners of the Earl's mansion, and Young Master Hua is the future owner. No gatekeeper can afford to offend either of them.

Seriously, when gods fight, mortals suffer!

"Open the door now, or I'll deal with you!" Gu Ronghua threatened through the door.

The gatekeeper had no choice but to open the door, bowing and scraping as he said, "Young Master, this is what Master and Madam ordered; it's not something I can decide on my own."

Gu Ronghua didn't care who gave the order. She immediately kicked the gatekeeper and dragged Gu Baozhu through the door.

The gatekeeper was kicked down, clutching his stomach and sweating profusely. After Gu Baozhu and Gu Ronghua left, he spat out, "Then I'll be inhuman, and you'd better never fall into my hands again!"

Gu Ronghua was unaware of the gatekeeper's curses; he led Gu Baozhu directly to his own courtyard.

After closing the courtyard gate, he asked Gu Baozhu, "What happened at the Gao family's house? Why do you come home looking like this?"

Gu Baozhu cried, "Brother, Gao Wenchang, he, he..."

"What's wrong with him?" Gu Ronghua asked anxiously. "That bastard Gao Wenchang is hated by everyone. What could he possibly do to you? You're a daughter of the Gu family!"

Gu Baozhu shook her head, sobbing, "He hit me! Brother, neither Father, Mother, nor you have ever laid a finger on me, but he hit me, brother..."

Gu Baozhu covered her left cheek, and Gu Ronghua's eyes followed her hand to Gu Baozhu's cheek. Sure enough, it was red and swollen, and a man's handprint could be vaguely seen there.

Gu Ronghua was furious. "How dare he, a discarded son of a marquis's family, lay a hand on you?"

Gu Ronghua truly loved his younger sister Gu Baozhu. Gu Baozhu was delicate, beautiful, and intelligent from a young age, and he adored her.

Although he now knows that Gu Baozhu is not his biological sister, how can he just take back the feelings he has invested over the years?

Gu Baozhu lowered her head, looking utterly dejected. "What kind of noble person am I now? Ever since Xu Peiyi broke off the engagement with him, he's been acting strangely, becoming paranoid. Today, he finally attacked me... Brother, I want to go home, I want to go home..."

Gu Baozhu nestled into Gu Ronghua's arms like a swallow returning to its nest. With her warm and soft body in his embrace, Gu Ronghua was stunned.

The siblings hadn't been this intimate in years, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should push them away...

Gu Baozhu's figure was exquisite, and she clung tightly to Gu Ronghua, making Gu Ronghua's breathing tense.

Feeling Gu Baozhu's trembling from crying, Gu Ronghua stiffly and gently moved her away. "Baozhu, don't worry, I'll go find Mother. Mother is more familiar with these kinds of domestic matters. I'll go ask her if she has any ideas."

Gu Baozhu's eyes were filled with tears, as if she had placed all her hopes for the rest of her life on Gu Ronghua.

For some reason, Gu Ronghua felt a strange, rising heat emanating from deep within his body. He dared not look into Gu Baozhu's eyes any longer and quickly left.

Only after Gu Ronghua's figure disappeared did Gu Baozhu stop sobbing and purse her lips.

Her mother and father were so heartless; seeing that she had no future, they wouldn't even let her in the door.

Her brother is a reckless person; can he help her?

Gu Baozhu's heart pounded with anxiety. "Brother, you must live up to my expectations and not disappoint me!"

*

Gu Ronghua left her courtyard and stood outside in the wind for a while before the strange blush on her face faded.

He patted his face, trying to clear his head, and then led his men to the aunt's residence.

The Lady of the House also learned from the gatekeeper that Gu Ronghua had brought Gu Baozhu into the mansion. At that time, she was having a meal and was so angry when she heard the news that she broke a pair of jade chopsticks.

She instructed people not to open the door for Gu Baozhu, but her spoiled brat did just that, bringing people in directly.

Ever since the Gao Wenchang incident, Gu Baozhu has fallen from a fairy in the clouds to a worthless rotten taro that everyone hates, and she has no value left.

The aunt and uncle discussed it overnight, packed a simple dowry for her, and sent her to the Longyi Marquis's residence.

She didn't want to see her disappointing daughter even for a moment!

Hua Ge'er actually brought her back to the courtyard! A son is truly a curse from his parents' past life!

Speaking of Gu Ronghua, Gu Ronghua really did arrive; you could hear her calling for her mother from a great distance.

The aunt smirked, clearly angry, and no longer bothered to look at her precious son. "You still know to look for your mother? I thought you'd forgotten you even had me as your mother!"

Gu Ronghua lifted the beaded curtain and saw the Madam's cold face. She subconsciously put on a flattering smile, "Mother, I am your own daughter. I may forget anyone else, but I will never forget you!"

He sat down next to his aunt, his head resting on her knees, and said affectionately, “Mother, when I came back today, I saw Baozhu being exposed to the scorching sun. You know that Baozhu has been in poor health since she was little. She gets sick easily when she is cold or hot. I saw that she was covered in sweat, and it was heartbreaking to see. I felt sorry for her, so I brought her in to rest.”

Lady Bo tapped Gu Ronghua's forehead. "I know you and your sister grew up together and have a good relationship, but you must understand that your biological sister is the Princess Consort of Dingbei, a first-rank princess consort, not a woman without a title!"

Gu Ronghua raised her head to argue, "Mother, Baozhu is not a woman without a name or status. She is a girl you and Father watched grow up. Even if she is not the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhongqin's family, she is still considered an adopted daughter of the Marquis's family, and she is also precious."

"Refined my foot! Let her go to a banquet and see who pays her any attention. We raised her to be pampered and spoiled, and yet she has no shame and does those kinds of things with more than one man! Not only did she do it, but everyone found out!"

The scandalous affair of an unmarried girl has become the talk of the town, and everyone is laughing at our Zhongqin Earl's family for its lack of upbringing! What good is her beauty? Her fate is sealed; she's a promiscuous little slut, a waste of all the money our family has spent cultivating her over the years!

Gu Ronghua was speechless after being cornered by his aunt. He was shocked when he heard about Gu Baozhu and Gao Wenchang. He never expected that his seemingly pure and innocent sister could have such wild and unrestrained behavior with a man. At that moment, he had a strange feeling.

Now, after being harshly criticized by his aunt, Gu Ronghua's face turned red, then purple, then blue, and then red and green, her expression changing in various ways.

"Enough, Mother, please stop. Baozhu isn't the shameless woman you're describing. She, she, she's a good girl. Please don't say such things about her!"

Gu Ronghua fled in a panic, like a green-shelled turtle that had been repeatedly hit where it hurt, running away in a panic and anger.