Madam Gu kneeling upright on the ground like this naturally attracted the attention of some passing officials, and some speculation was inevitable.

At this time, Madam Gu no longer cared about the other people around her. She stared at Gu Yuan who was getting closer and closer without blinking, her eyes becoming darker.

"What's wrong, Madam?" Gu Yuan stopped three steps away. His tall and handsome figure cast a shadow on Madam Gu.

His words sounded caring, but both parties knew that he was not sincere at all.

In the backlight, Gu Yuan's handsome face was blurry.

He continued to say, "It's freezing cold, it would be bad if Madam fell ill."

"Although my sister is at home, the lady always feels that since she is not my sister's biological grandmother, my sister will not try her best to treat her."

Gu Yuan ended his words with a faint sigh.

"..." Madam Gu's eyes wandered and she panicked for a moment, as if some hidden illness had been revealed in public. She subconsciously looked around and saw several officials thirty or four feet away pointing at her and Gu Yuan.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Mrs. Gu's dignified face, but it quickly disappeared and she regained her composure.

She told herself in her heart: This was the situation she had anticipated before coming here.

She pinched her palms with her fingernails, quickly adjusting her mind, and soon calmed down. She raised her head and said to Gu Yuan calmly, "Brother Yuan, although your father Gu Ce was born to a concubine, he has been registered under my name since he was young. I also treated him as my own son and never treated him unfairly. I also let him inherit the title of the Marquis' Mansion."

"Over the years, I have forgotten that your father is not my son."

"I have always been dedicated to the Changfang family and have a clear conscience."

"But from your father to you, all of you have been disloyal and unjust, and have committed heinous mistakes."

"You have a violent heart and killed Jingzhao Yin Feng He at Chengtian Gate. It's also my fault that I, your grandmother, didn't educate you well. Today, I am willing to take the blame for my crime. I only ask that the emperor can spare your life."

Madam Gu's voice was powerful and resounding, and she sounded righteous and awe-inspiring. She hoped that the officials watching nearby could hear her clearly.

Her words seemed to have sentenced Gu Yuan to death, and her grandmother, who was willing to sacrifice her own family for the sake of justice, came here today to ask the emperor to pardon Gu Yuan's death sentence.

The officials who were standing a few feet away also heard it clearly. They were all shocked and looked at each other in bewilderment.

The former Marquis of Dingyuan, Gu Ce, was actually just the son of a concubine?! Even if he was registered under the name of his mother, he was still a concubine passing off as a legitimate son.

Gu Yuan still stared at Madam Gu, who was much shorter than him and was kneeling on the ground in front of him, with his thin lips pursed into a straight line.

Although he had known for a long time that the Madam was not his biological grandmother and had long ago no longer had the same feelings for her as before, at this moment, he still couldn't help but feel a little chilled, as if he had been stabbed by an invisible ice blade.

The two men stared at each other, as if they were having a duel without the flash of swords and sabers, and sparks were faintly visible in the air.

Madam Gu was kneeling on her knees, but her chin was held high. Although she was looking up at Gu Yuan from below, she seemed superior.

Her deep and fierce gaze seemed to pass through Gu Yuan and look at another person who was not here. That look and that expression seemed to proudly declare that she was the winner.

Everything in Dingyuan Marquis Mansion belongs to her! Gu Yuan narrowed his narrow and cold eyes, stared at Madam Gu for three breaths, and then walked directly past her, striding with his head held high and his steps vigorous, without any attachment or fear.

After leaving the palace from the Meridian Gate through the Duanmen Gate and Chengtian Gate, Gu Yuan rode his horse directly back to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and went to Yuheng Garden to tell Gu Yanfei about Madam Gu kneeling at the Meridian Gate, and even told him about Madam Gu's declaration of "good intentions."

"Sister, let's split up the family. We'll move today."

Gu Yuan said resolutely with a calm expression, without joy or sorrow, without resentment or regret.

This marquisate is no longer their home.

Gu Yanfei personally poured a glass of wine for Gu Yuan, handed it to him, and corrected him lightly: "It's time to separate the family."

"But moving..." She paused and said slowly, "Not necessarily."

Gu Yuan felt that his sister was hiding something from him, so he raised his eyebrows, took the wine from her and drank it all in one gulp.

Gu Yanfei shook the empty wine jug, still feeling a little unsatisfied, but still did not let Juanbi add more wine, and slowly stood up.

"Brother, let's go find Uncle Er to divide the family property."

Be it Gu Jian or Gu Xiao, don’t they all say that she is a troublemaker? This time, she will show them what a real “troublemaker” is.

The brother and sister left Yuheng Garden together.

The cat sleeping in a ball at the back glanced lazily at the brother and sister. Finally, its curiosity to watch the fun was defeated by sleepiness, and it closed its eyes and fell asleep again.

Outside the window, the trees and flowers are dancing in the breeze, rustling. The atmosphere is quiet and leisurely. It is a perfect time for a nap.

But the same sound sounded boring to the uneasy ears of Gu Jian.

"My Lord, the eldest young master and the second young lady are here."

The maid's report voice seemed to be near yet far away when it reached Gu Jian's ears. Gu Jian was a beat late to realize that Gu Yuan had returned from the palace.

Ever since Madam Gu entered the palace, Wang had been feeling both expectant and uneasy, with her heart pounding like a drum.

"What do you think?" Gu Jian asked instead of answering, glancing at Wang indifferently.

There is no doubt that Gu Yuan must have known about it.

After Gu Yuan was transferred to the Imperial Guard, he was nominally affiliated with the Imperial Guard, but he followed the eldest prince all day long, like the eldest prince's personal guard.

On weekdays, Gu Yuan was basically in the palace and would only return home once every ten days or half a month. It had only been five days since Gu Yuan's last rest day. He came back now, definitely for the lady's sake.

Gu Jian picked up the blue and white porcelain teacup beside him and slowly used the tea lid to remove the floating leaves on the tea soup. His heart, which had been in turmoil just now, suddenly settled down. He thought: Although my mother's memorial apparently exonerated the eldest prince for Feng He's death, it was actually putting the eldest prince on the spot and using Gu Yuan's sword to point at the eldest prince.

Now, the eldest prince probably thinks that Gu Yuan is a burden, right?

Wang thought for a moment and finally understood. She exchanged a look with Gu Jian, suppressed her excitement, and said, "My Lord, Brother Yuan is here to beg for mercy, right?"

After Gu Jian drank two sips of tea, he felt refreshed and said calmly, "No."

He wanted to make the eldest brother and sister anxious and let them know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is.

The maid who came to report said hesitantly: "My Lord, the eldest young master said that he came to discuss the division of the family with you."

Gu Jian's face changed instantly, his hand trembled, and the boiling hot tea overflowed from the mouth of the teacup and flowed between his fingers.

He thought Gu Yuan came to beg for mercy and wanted him to persuade the lady to keep the peace. He didn't expect that this guy not only refused to give in, but also wanted to confront him by dividing the family.

Did he want the world to question whether his uncle was unkind and uncaring? Gu Jian was furious, but Wang was delighted and thought that dividing the family was a good idea.

During this period, Wang was also afraid.

They were afraid that the eldest prince and Prince Kang would start fighting, and they, the Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion, would be caught in a dilemma, so they wanted to delay the marriage between Gu Yun'er and Prince Kang.

Just after Madam Gu entered the palace, Gu Jian analyzed the current situation to her in detail, making her realize that their mansion could only rely on Prince Kang.

Given the situation now, it would be best to kick the eldest son out.

From now on, no matter what happened to the eldest house, it would not affect the second house.

Wang didn't notice that Gu Jian's hand was scalded by the tea, and quickly pulled Gu Jian's sleeve, "My Lord."

Meeting Wang's eyes filled with joy, Gu Jian could guess what she was thinking and thought to himself: Long hair, short knowledge.

Gu Jian put down the teacup heavily, and said coldly with a sullen face: "Let them in."

The maid could naturally feel the stagnant atmosphere in the room. She dared not say a word. She just responded politely and retreated quickly.

The door curtain fell, and soon, it was lifted up again.

Brother and sister Gu Yuan and Gu Yanfei walked into the east room one after another and walked towards Gu Jian and his wife who were sitting on the Arhat bed.

Gu Yuan stopped three or four steps away. Without any greetings, his first words went straight to the point: "My Lord, let's split up the family."

When talking to Gu Jian, Gu Yuan only called him "Marquis" and no longer "Second Uncle", which was equivalent to drawing a deep gulf between the two parties and severing their kinship.

Upon hearing this, Gu Jian's face turned cold and his eyes swept across Gu Yuan's face sharply.

His nephew is really rebellious! The atmosphere in the room became increasingly cold and solemn, with a hint of chill in the air.

Gu Yuan looked sternly into Gu Jian's eyes, which were filled with anger, and said loudly, "The Marquis and the Madam have always been wary of our eldest house, and they are also afraid that the eldest house will cause trouble for the Marquis. If that's the case, why should they force us to be together?"

"After the division of the family, the eldest son's family belongs to the eldest son's family, and the marquis belongs to the marquis."

"The eldest branch will not take advantage of the Marquis, but if the Marquis commits a serious crime of exterminating the family in the future, the eldest branch should not be implicated."

The seventeen-year-old boy had long grown into a seven-foot-tall man, with a tall and slender figure. He stood there like Mount Tai, exuding an indestructible aura, as if no one and nothing in this world could shake him in the slightest.

Gu Yanfei stood beside Gu Yuan, shoulder to shoulder with him, with a calm expression and cold eyes.

This scene was not unfamiliar to her.

It made her feel like she had returned to her previous life.

In his previous life, the eldest brother’s legs were broken, but even so, he still had his pride. Later, he stood in front of his uncle like he is now, and asked to separate the family business.

Her eldest brother has never changed.

(End of this chapter)