Chapter 765 So the Duke's Mansion has no rules after all!

Gu Qianhan knew he couldn't leave now. If he left, it would be difficult to clear up the misunderstanding. He understood Shen Wantang's personality; once he lost her trust, it would be hard to win her back.

He took Shen Wantang's hand and placed it on his heart, saying earnestly, "Atang, don't misunderstand me. I really don't care about anyone else, and Meng Yunlan is not important either. I didn't push her away today because I was concerned about her feelings, but more importantly, I didn't think there was anything special about her holding me back."

Shen Wantang replied calmly, "Okay."

"After you came back, I found out that she had framed you for punishing my subordinates and accused you of mistreating your servants. I immediately realized the problem, so I had her nanny and maid taken away and didn't give her any face."

"Um."

"And when my elder brother came to demand people earlier, I didn't stand on ceremony. I told him to have Meng Yunlan exchange the housekeeping position for them. We're husband and wife, sharing both honor and disgrace. They've embarrassed you, how could I remain indifferent?"

"Um."

“From now on, I will not care about other people’s feelings. If anyone dares to pull me, I will push them away directly and not give them a chance to gossip.”

"Um."

"As for the study, go there tomorrow and see if anyone dares to stop you. By then, those rumors that I don't like you will naturally fall apart, and no one will dare to talk about you anymore."

At this point in Gu Qianhan's speech, Shen Wantang finally showed a slightly different reaction.

She looked up, her eyes sparkling: "No need."

She didn't need to prove herself by stepping through the study door, nor did she need to quell gossip by showing everyone how much her husband doted on her.

She prefers to prove herself through her own abilities rather than relying on others.

However, Gu Qianhan's analysis was ultimately helpful, and Shen Wantang's mood improved slightly.

She called out loudly to Granny Yan, "Granny, I'm hungry, please set the table!"

"yes."

Dinner was served quickly, steaming hot and fragrant.

Shen Wantang was already starving after a long day of running around. Because she was quite satisfied with her results, she ate an extra bowl of rice, which was unusual for her, instead of following her own rule of only eating until she was 70% full for dinner.

Seeing that her appetite was better than before, Gu Qianhan knew that she didn't really care about Meng Yunlan, and she didn't care about the accusation that Meng Yunlan had made of mistreating servants. What she cared about was probably his position.

So even though she enjoyed her meal, she still didn't give him a friendly look.

Gu Qianhan had no way to express his bitterness. He wasn't particularly close to Meng Yunlan to begin with, but these past two days, Meng Yunlan had been acting strangely, personally bringing him bird's nest soup and blocking him outside his courtyard, pulling him and preventing him from leaving.

Unfortunately, Shen Wantang happened to be there during both of these encounters.

Meng Yunlan was likely doing this on purpose for Shen Wantang, deliberately acting very close to her to spite her.

Shen Wantang didn't care what Gu Qianhan was thinking. After she had eaten and drunk her fill, she asked the maid to remove the food and then went into the bathroom to take a bath.

Du Juan and Qi Yu went in to serve her, while Qin Xin and Shu Xiang waited outside.

Gu Qianhan called Qin Xin over: "Were there people in the manor talking about your master today?"

Qin Xin didn't even lift her eyelids: "Yes, I don't know how some people manage their households. They actually allow their servants to make up stories. It's really eye-opening."

"Although I am not very old, I have served noble ladies in the palace and princesses in the royal residence. The palace and the royal residence are very well-regulated and do not allow servants to make up stories about their masters."

"After entering this Duke's mansion, I realized that the seemingly glamorous mansion has no rules at all. Insubordination and spreading rumors go unpunished? This is quite different from what I expected!"

Gu Qianhan was speechless. He had only asked one question, but the maid had given him a long, sarcastic reply.

He took a breath before asking, "How was it arranged? Who arranged it?"

Qin Xin counted on her fingers: "There are so many people gossiping about it, from the inner and outer courtyards, the maids and servants, the matrons and stewards, and even the young masters and ladies who are staying in the mansion!"

"Those people are so idle. They go to the stables in groups of three or five to check on Jixiang feeding the horses, and then they come to our yard to check on Mofeng kneeling there. These two places are as lively as a market today."

"After watching the commotion, they started spouting nonsense, saying that our young mistress is a jealous woman who is even jealous of her own sister-in-law. She can't stand seeing her sister-in-law getting along well with you, the second young master, and that she comes from a lowly background. So she's jealous of her sister-in-law's noble birth and is trying every trick in the book to compete with her!"

"Some people say that our young mistress is not favored by you and is not liked by you. She has nowhere to vent her anger, so she takes it out on your subordinates. They say that she is a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. She dares not offend you or the eldest young mistress, and only picks on the weak and punishes the servants to death."

"Oh, right, these words have not only spread throughout our manor, but have also been spread outside! I don't know who was so quick to speak, only two people were punished in the manor, yet they went out and publicized it so openly."

Gu Qianhan's brows furrowed deeper as she listened: "A bunch of idiots! These are all baseless guesses, and they actually believe them!"

Qin Xin finally raised her head and looked at him, saying, "Not everyone believes it, but what a coincidence! As soon as you came back, you were outside arguing with the eldest young mistress. Our master has already returned, but you pretended not to see anything and kept arguing. If the eldest young master hadn't returned as well, who knows how long you two would have continued arguing! Doesn't this confirm that you have a good relationship with the eldest young mistress and don't like our master?"

Gu Qianhan's face was icy cold: "Are you blind? When did I ever get into a scuffle with Meng Yunlan? She was the one who stopped me, and it only lasted for a moment!"

Qin Xin, relying on Shen Wantang's support, was not afraid of him and rolled her eyes at him: "Whether I am blind or not is not important. After all, I am loyal to the young mistress and will never go out and spread rumors about her."

"But it's not necessarily the same for the others in the mansion. The young mistress has already been the target of their malicious speculations. If you put on a show of deep affection and entanglement between her and her sister-in-law, who knows what kind of slander the young mistress will suffer in the future!"

"Second Young Master, you are so good to our master! Tomorrow, the whole capital will probably know that you dote on your sister-in-law and despise your own wife, right?"

Seeing Gu Qianhan's face grow colder and darker, Shuxiang, standing to the side, was so frightened that she almost stopped breathing.

She quickly tugged at Qin Xin's clothes from behind, signaling her to stop talking.

Qin Xin is really bold! She's not afraid of death at all, daring to speak to Gu Qianhan in such a sarcastic way! No wonder the young mistress dotes on her; she's truly willing to stand up for the young mistress!