Lord Xu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he immediately said shrewdly, "I was so angry just now that I forgot that Madam was here. I have disturbed Madam. Please forgive me."

Lord Gu remained silent with a cold expression.

Sixth Master Gu would not pay him any attention.

Qin Yuan said calmly, "It's alright. However, Madam Xu was also quite frightened just now. Lord Xu, please don't get angry. Why don't you ask her slowly?"

Lord Xu nodded hurriedly, "Okay."

Having long heard that Lord Gu doted on his newlywed wife, Lord Xu, who had initially paid little attention, now found himself adopting a more humble demeanor.

I just wanted to express my opinion, but I didn't expect it to backfire.

At this moment, Madam Xu, with tears in her eyes, took three steps at a time and walked towards Master Xu in small steps, crying, "Master, my sister-in-law vomited blood, not because I angered her. I didn't even say a few words, and she vomited blood. That wicked servant insists that I caused it."

Lord Xu glanced at Lord Gu's expression and said angrily, "What's the use of saying all this at a time like this? What exactly did you say? What was the situation at the time? Quickly explain everything to your in-laws."

Before Madam Xu could even open her mouth to explain, she burst into tears, feeling wronged.

Qin Yuan sighed inwardly. She wondered what was wrong with the Sixth Madam's brother, but it was clear that this sister-in-law didn't care much about her life or death.

In the deathly silent room, only Madam Xu's sobs could be heard.

Even the most impatient Master Gu remained silent, like a wooden sculpture or clay figure.

The room became even more deathly silent.

Lord Xu was getting restless and kept giving Madam Xu meaningful glances.

As Madam Xu cried, her voice gradually subsided. After a long while, she said in a hoarse voice, "I came to the Marquis's mansion today because I was worried about my sister-in-law, so I came to visit her. But Zhao Mama grabbed me and said she wanted to return the pepper contribution money that she and the stewards of the mansion had given us."

Lord Xu glanced at the people around him and asked, "So what did you say in reply?"

Madam Xu raised her head, her eyes red and swollen, and said, "The money for the gift was used to buy pepper a long time ago. The price of pepper has been falling recently, and there's nowhere to sell it. I'm really worried about it. Besides, how can a business only make money and never lose money? We agreed that we would bear the profits and losses ourselves, which is why we asked them to contribute."

"And then?" Lord Xu pressed.

"Then I said I couldn't return it because the price of pepper was falling and I didn't have the money. She said the market was bad right now, the price was changing every day, and if we kept losing money, we would be finished. She told me to quickly sell the money they had contributed as a gift. I said this wasn't something that could be done in a day or two, and we couldn't rush it. We talked and talked until we reached my sister-in-law, who had also contributed a gift. When she heard this, she was so angry she almost vomited blood."

With those words, he absolved himself of all responsibility.

No one spoke.

Madam Xu continued, "That wicked servant saw that my sister-in-law was vomiting blood, but she didn't rush to call a doctor. She was only busy grabbing and tearing at me. Only when Madam arrived did she remember to call a doctor. She even had the nerve to rush to complain, saying that I deliberately angered my sister-in-law."

After saying that, he glanced at Qin Yuan, as if to say that Qin Yuan could testify.

Lord Xu stamped his foot, sighed, and said helplessly, "You know my sister values ​​money. She gave all her savings to weddings and funerals. How can she not be angry when she finds out that her savings have dropped? I heard that she can't handle stress. What if something happens to her?"

Madam Xu cried, “How would I know? That Granny Zhao is an old woman who has served my sister-in-law for many years. She knows best what can’t be said in private. She always insists on arguing with me in front of my sister-in-law. I told her, but she wouldn’t listen. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made a scene in front of my sister-in-law.”

Lord Xu's finger trembled slightly as he pointed at Madam Xu, seemingly quite angry. He said angrily, "No matter what, it's all your fault as the sister-in-law. My nephew and niece are still young. Shouldn't you, as their aunt, be worried about them? If anything happens to my sister, see if I'll let you off the hook."

Madam Xu cried again and pointed at Lord Xu, cursing him as well.

“I’ve been married into the Xu family for so many years. I watched my sister-in-law grow up and helped her get married. If you ask me, I love my sister-in-law more than I love Zhen’er. How could I not care about my nephews and nieces? But you, on the other hand, are blaming me for the sake of others. Is it all my fault? Do you think I wouldn’t be sad if something happened to my sister-in-law? How could you say such a thing?”

Lord Xu stamped his foot: "Hey, hey, hey, you old hag, can't I even say anything to you?"

The two kept bickering.

Gu Jinghui coldly picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

Sixth Master Gu lowered his eyes, focusing only on the direction of the hall entrance.

Qin Yuan had no choice but to say, "We should also call Zhao Mama over to ask her about this matter."

Lord Xu slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "Yes, that old scoundrel! He served my sister well when he was in the Xu family, but how come he became so arrogant after coming to the Marquis's mansion? How could he do such a thing? Is he hiding something and causing our two families to fall into this mess?"

Madam Xu gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "This kind of servant who has no respect for his master and harbors disloyal thoughts should be beaten to death, otherwise who knows how he will talk about our Xu family in front of his nephews and nieces in the future."

Sixth Master Gu sighed softly and said, "Xu Shi isn't going to die anytime soon, yet you're already worrying about things so far ahead. Sister-in-law, you really have a long-term vision."

Lord Xu said, "Your sister-in-law is just worried that our two families will fall out because of those petty people."

Hongye could no longer bear it and ordered someone to invite Granny Zhao over.

Granny Zhao had disheveled hair and bloodstains on her face, which contrasted sharply with the neat and tidy Madam Xu.

The two were extremely hostile towards each other upon seeing each other.

Lord Xu coughed, about to speak, when Sixth Master Gu spoke first.

"Tell me what exactly happened."

Zhao Mama said in a hoarse voice, "I am very happy that Madam Xu came to visit Sixth Madam today. I had been going to the Xu family for several days to talk to Madam Xu about the matter of returning the pepper money, but I couldn't even get into the Xu family's house and suffered a lot of losses."

Madam Xu hurriedly rebuked, "You insolent servant, I have never seen you nor received any news from you."

Granny Zhao glared coldly at Madam Xu, clearly filled with hatred.

Lord Xu said, "Let her finish speaking, don't interrupt."

Madam Xu said, "I just can't stand her making baseless accusations against me."

Lord Xu said, "Your wife will take care of things for you."

Madam Xu then fell silent.

Granny Zhao added, "Sixth Madam also contributed a large sum of money. Because the amount of pepper purchased from the Persian merchant was quite substantial, and the Xu family didn't have that much money, Sixth Madam contributed as well."

As she spoke, she glanced at Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan nodded and said, "I've heard my sixth sister-in-law mention this before, and I also know that the stewardesses in the mansion gave money as a gift."

Granny Zhao continued, "The reason I came to Madam Xu about this is because the price of pepper has been falling again and again. Some of the stewardesses in the mansion gave small amounts of money as gifts, while others gave quite a lot. They couldn't bear to see their money go down the drain, so they said they wanted to return their gifts."