They rode together in the carriage, and the people still respectfully bowed and congratulated the army on both sides of the road.

Gu Jiangli rested her chin on her hand and met Xie Shiyan's phoenix eyes.

"The emperor has repeatedly blocked your marriage, it seems he intends to marry the princess to you. Aren't you afraid he will hold a grudge against you for repeatedly disrespecting him?"

Xie Shiyan snorted coldly, "Do you think I'm afraid?"

Gu Jiangli pouted.

That's true, what's a madman afraid of?

Let alone the emperor, he would dare to offend even the Emperor himself.

The carriage gradually made its way towards the General's Mansion, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road.

The general's mansion is not located in the bustling city center, and there are few pedestrians passing by, making it very quiet.

The carriage stopped, and Gu Jiangli lifted the curtain.

The large characters "General's Mansion" on the plaque are very powerful and eye-catching.

Unlike the people who lined the streets to welcome them, the general's mansion was closed.

Xie Shiyan snorted coldly:

"Hmph, you're not even going to pretend anymore."

"Oh? The general, as a meritorious official of the Xie family, returns home, and not a single person comes out to greet him? That's quite unusual."

"It's not aimed at me, it's aimed at you." Xie Shiyan's casual remark made Gu Jiangli realize the crisis in her situation.

Even if the Xie family was dissatisfied with Xie Shiyan, they knew that Xie Shiyan was a favorite of the emperor and the only heir of the main branch of the Xie family, so they would not deliberately neglect him.

They are the ones who are being neglected.

Gu Jiangli smiled faintly: "The Xie family does get news faster than ordinary people, which shows that they already know about my affairs, so they didn't come to the city gate to greet you today."

Not only that, they can also show their disrespect at their own doorstep.

Xie Shiyan got off the carriage and helped Gu Jiangli down as well.

"Now you're scared?"

"With the general here, what do I have to fear? We are husband and wife, and you can't just stand by and watch me be bullied, can you?"

Gu Jiangli had already prepared a scene of the two being affectionate, looking at Xie Shiyan with tender eyes.

Xie Shiyan turned his head away and said, "When I'm around, they don't dare to make a move. When I'm not around, you'd better pray for yourself."

"The general is so cold-hearted," Gu Jiangli muttered under her breath, but Xie Shiyan still heard her.

A faint smile appeared on his lips as he led her into the general's mansion.

Upon entering the mansion, two rows of servants stood in neat rows, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

Gu Jiangli had no time to appreciate the flowers, plants, and trees around her and was led directly to the central hall.

Seven elders of the Xie family sat in neat rows, each with an exceptionally serious expression.

The woman at the head of the group was an elderly woman with gray hair, who should be Xie's grandmother, Xie Shiyan's grandmother.

Now she is the most senior member of the Xie family, and she still makes the decisions on many important matters.

To her left was a middle-aged man with slightly graying temples, presumably Xie Shiyan's father and the head of the Xie family.

Beside him stood a woman around forty years old, dressed in a purplish-red robe, still charming and with a beautiful face.

His fox-like eyes looked especially shrewd.

Without a doubt, this must be Xie Shiyan's stepmother, Liu Shi. However, now she should be General Xie's legal wife.

The other old men were probably elders from a collateral branch of the Xie family.

She hasn't looked into any of them yet, but she doesn't need to for now; she just needs to deal with these few for the time being.

The elders' expressions are not pleasant right now, which shows they have a deep-seated prejudice against her.

However, to show her politeness, she still bowed respectfully.

"This junior, Gu Jiangli, greets you."

Before the person in the seat of honor could speak, Xie Shiyan pulled her up and led her to a seat.

General Xie was so angry that he slammed his hand on the table.

"Shiyan! You have no manners! You sat down without even greeting your father, mother, and grandmother. What kind of etiquette is that!"

Xie Shiyan shot a cold gaze at General Xie, who immediately fell silent as if his mouth had been gagged.

He didn't understand when his son had become so disrespectful and intimidating.

At this moment, Liu, who was standing nearby, quickly spoke up to smooth things over:

"Husband, don't be angry. Shi Yan has been fighting on the battlefield for many years. It's okay if he has forgotten these rules. Why don't we let him introduce the woman he brought back to us?"

Xie Shiyan interrupted directly: "Gu Jiangli is my wife, didn't you already know that? Why are you still introducing her?"

"Knowing full well that Xie's army is returning to the capital today, and that the General's Mansion is tightly shut, isn't that exactly the way you came up with to give Gu Jiangli a hard time?"

Liu quickly got up and walked to the two of them.

"Shi Yan, it's not what you think. We didn't open the gates because we thought you were going back to the palace to report the military situation to the Emperor. We all assumed you would be back later, so..."

Xie Shiyan interrupted again: "That's why you deliberately made things difficult for Gu Jiangli. If I sent someone to escort her back to the General's Mansion alone, would she not even be able to enter the gate?"

General Xie slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and roared:

"Yes! If you hadn't brought her in, even if she stood outside the General's Mansion for three days and three nights, she would never have been able to step into the Xie family's gate!"

"Look at her background! She was sent to the army, what kind of innocent woman could she be!"

"Not only is her body impure, but her status is also low. What right does she have to be the wife of the Xie family!"

"Your grandmother has been looking for many daughters of noble families for you over the years, but you haven't liked any of them!"

"You don't even like the Emperor's daughter!"

"So you've taken a fancy to someone like this..."

Gu Jiangli could guess with her toes that what General Xie was holding back was an extremely filthy word.

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