Cui Ming was speechless. She could only pat the little girl's head soothingly, her eyes filled with anger.

The affair between Hongye and Gu Shiliu was not made public, and not many people knew about it.

But Hongmian must know.

If they hadn't coincidentally ended up having dinner at the same table as this little girl, they would still be completely unaware of what was going on.

Do we have to wait until one day, when Hongmian turns around and points her finger at Hongye, accusing her of stealing someone else's husband, before we find out?

That red cotton tree is truly despicable.

Gu Shiliu is truly a scoundrel.

Hongye was both angry and anxious, and tears streamed down her face, rendering her unable to speak.

A person who is usually decisive and sharp has become a tearful person who breaks at the slightest breeze.

Cui Ming felt sorry for him and stood up abruptly, angrily saying, "I'm going to find Gu Shiliu right now and get to the bottom of this. What is he doing? What is he planning to do? He has to give you an explanation."

Hongye grabbed Cuiming's sleeve, her tears falling like a broken string of pearls: "No, no..."

He couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Cui Ming stamped her foot: "My dear aunt, how can you tolerate this? Gu Shiliu is indeed a treasure, but we are not bad either. If he doesn't want to, he shouldn't bother you. Now, Hong Mian has appeared in the middle. What kind of logic is this? Even rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows. He's eating two at once. Who gave him such a big face?"

Hongye cried even harder.

Cui Ming was exasperated and said angrily, "You're going to put up with this too? How are you going to get along with Hong Mian in the future? How are you going to see Gu Shiliu all the time? Let me tell you, you can't be all tough and aggressive like this all the time and then turn into a pushover when something happens and let Hong Mian, who's been silent, take a bite out of you. Whose face are you slapping? You're slapping our young lady's face."

Before he could break free from Hongye's grasp, he heard Lord Gu shout repeatedly from inside the room, "Where's Eighteen? Where's Eighteen? Go and fetch Eighteen for me."

His voice was full of anxiety and impatience.

Cuiming then fell silent, staring at Hongye without blinking.

The little girl shrank to one side, too afraid to look at the two of them again.

Hongye finally managed to stop crying, and choked out, "It's alright, it's my fault for misjudging people and getting to know these two people for nothing."

Cuiming said irritably, "Whether you know each other or not is irrelevant now, you already do. If others didn't know about you and Sixteen, that would be one thing, but I don't believe Hongmian didn't. You and Sixteen have already made your relationship public with the master, so what's the meaning of this move by her family? What is Sixteen's status? Does he want to take a concubine? Even if he had the guts, the master wouldn't allow it, and the law wouldn't tolerate it. I was wondering why he kept avoiding us after coming back with the Marquis; now I know there's this reason. That cowardly turtle, I'll give him a good kick when I see him."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Shiba cautiously said from outside, "Miss Hongye, the master wants you to come in and talk."

Cuiming then said, "Yes, Hongye, you should tell the master about this matter in detail when you see him."

Hongye was still somewhat hesitant.

Cuiming turned to the little girl and asked, "Would you be willing to go with your sister Hongye to be her witness?"

After listening to Cui Ming's rant for a while, Gu Shiliu roughly understood what was going on and immediately said, "I am willing to testify."

Cuiming then scolded Hongye, "What are you hesitating for at a time like this? Don't make me look down on you."

Hongye stood up and said in a hoarse voice, "Fine, I won't hesitate anymore. Even if there's something to hide, you should have told me, instead of hiding from me and colluding with others to conceal it from me. What kind of person do you take me for?"

Cui Ming said, "That's right! That makes sense. Go quickly."

With Gu Shiba waiting outside and Cui Ming urging her on, Hongye didn't have time to think further and led the little maid toward the main room. She was excited and didn't think about why it was such a coincidence that the Marquis sent Gu Shiba to invite her at this time.

Upon entering the main room, Hongye was met with Qin Yuan's worried gaze, and her tears flowed like a burst dam.

"Come here quickly, stop crying," Qin Yuan hurriedly got up and pulled Hongye over to comfort her.

Hongye burst into tears, completely forgetting that Lord Gu was still standing there.

"Miss."

"Alright, alright, stop crying. Tell me what's wrong, and I'll stand up for you."

Qin Yuan gently patted the tearful girl in her arms.

Lord Gu was quite jealous. He turned his head and saw the little girl standing timidly to one side, her neck shrank like a quail. He asked, "What's wrong?"

The little girl quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sister Hongye cried when she learned that the Gu family and Sister Hongmian's family were engaged."

Qin Yuan glared at Lord Gu and said, "My people cannot be wronged. What exactly happened here? Didn't Gu Shiliu tell his family? His parents arranged a marriage for him without informing him? How come we didn't hear a word about it?"

After saying that, he comforted Hongye, saying, "Don't cry. Gu Shiba has already sent people to Shiliu's house to inquire and find out what happened."

Hongye finally stopped crying. Her thin body trembled and hiccuped as she cried. The makeup on her little face was washed away, and her stray hairs stuck to her cheeks. Her two watery eyes were very pitiful.

Gu Shiba couldn't bear it and said, "Miss Hongye, don't be sad. If you don't know how lucky you are, I will marry you."

Qin Yuan was both amused and annoyed, and said, "Aren't you worried that Sixteen will beat you up if she finds out?"

Gu Shiba was not at all uncomfortable and said frankly, "He has already betrothed to Miss Hongye, and then he went to provoke Miss Hongmian. He was the one who was impolite and untrustworthy first. What face does he have to beat me?"

Hongye's crying, which had just stopped, started again.

Lord Gu frowned anxiously and asked Gu Shiba, "Don't make things worse here. Didn't we go and ask around? What exactly happened?"

Gu Shiba shifted his toes and said, "The person hasn't returned yet, so I don't know either."

Lord Gu got up impatiently and paced around the room a few steps.

Qin Yuan knew that there was something else waiting for him outside.

Thinking that Lord Gu had only hurriedly eaten a bowl of rice because of the red leaves, Qin Yuan felt a little sorry for him and said, "Have the kitchen cut up the braised beef that was made today, fill a food box, and pour oil over all the seasonings and chili powder, then divide it into portions and prepare it for the Lord. Have the servants take it with them so that the Lord can eat it when he is hungry. As for the snacks and fruits, I don't need to tell you. Also, prepare food for the attendants. There is no reason to let anyone serve you on an empty stomach."

Cuiming, who was standing outside listening to the news, immediately responded and turned to go to the small kitchen to give instructions.

Lord Gu then slowed his pace.

Gu Shiba swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "My lord, I haven't had time to eat yet. I'll have to wait a while anyway, so why don't I eat first?"