Gu Jian looked at her in confusion.

He had just returned home an incense stick ago and had just sat down to drink tea in Cihe Hall when Gu Yuan came back. The three of them exchanged a few pleasantries and didn't have time to say much, so Gu Jian still knew nothing about what had happened in the Marquis' Mansion today.

Madam Gu looked at Gu Yanfei with complicated eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Yanfei, why did Miss Wei Jiu from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion visit you today?"

Her eyes were shining brightly and she held the Buddhist beads tightly in her hands.

Amid the different looks from the other three, Gu Yanfei said calmly, "I saved the Duke of Wei, and Miss Wei Jiu came here specially to express her gratitude."

As she spoke, there was a faint smile on her lips, as if she was talking about a trivial matter.

There was silence in the room.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Gu Jian was the first to rebuke, not taking it seriously.

The story of Duke Wei vomiting blood in Tianyin Pavilion spread like wildfire in the capital, and everyone from noble officials to ordinary people knew about it. It was said that the one who saved Duke Wei was a Taoist master with great medical skills. How could it be his own niece! Seeing his second uncle scolding his sister, Gu Yuan pursed his lips slightly, with a look of surprise on his face.

Madam Gu looked at him in confusion, and asked patiently, "Yan Fei, do you know medicine?"

The word "also" seems meaningful.

"I understand." Gu Yanfei answered as a matter of course, his smile widened, revealing a pair of cute dimples.

What she said was all true, but it made people feel like it was true and false.

Thinking about what happened a few days ago, Mrs. Gu's eyes twitched, and she looked at her with a deep gaze, and then asked: "Where did you learn it?"

Gu Yanfei stroked his sleeves lightly, and this time, he said half-truthfully: "Didn't I tell Madam Tai before that when I was in Huaibei, Master Ling Xiao accepted me as his disciple and taught me a lot of skills."

"Does Madam believe it?"

She tilted her head slightly and smiled, making it impossible for Madam Gu to see through her.

“……” Madam Gu remained silent, pursed her lips tightly, and the wrinkles at the corners of her mouth became deeper.

Last time, for the sake of Gu Yunmeng's marriage, Madam Gu had no choice but to bow to Gu Yanfei and had to deal with Su Niang.

Two days later, she finally calmed down and thought about the whole thing over and over again. She always felt that something was wrong and became skeptical about Gu Yanfei's so-called fortune-telling ability.

"If Madam doesn't believe it, forget it." Gu Yanfei said as he pulled up Gu Yuan beside him.

"Brother, let's go. The wife of the Duke of Wei gave me a Ferghana horse. It's very beautiful and runs very fast. Brother, let's go for a walk together, okay?!"

"Okay, I got ten days of vacation from this transfer. Whatever you want to do, I'll accompany you."

The brother and sister walked out of Cihetang chatting and laughing, having a very pleasant conversation, leaving Madam Gu alone.

“……” Madam Gu wanted to call the brother and sister to stop. She opened her mouth slightly, but in the end she said nothing and her eyes were uncertain.

The cheerful laughter of the brother and sister soon faded away, and soon, nothing could be heard.

In the east side room, things suddenly became quiet and the atmosphere was cold.

The howling cold wind outside the window hit the window frame, making crackling sounds.

Madam Gu suppressed her anger and complained to her son: "Gu Yanfei is too wild."

She was so angry that her chest was suffocated, and she hurried to bring the teacup, but Gu Jian was absent-minded and didn't hear what Madam Gu said at all. He cared more about Gu Yuan.

"Mother," Gu Jian frowned and couldn't help but ask, "What do you think the promotion of Yuan Ge'er means?"

After he finished speaking, he realized that he was being a little impatient, so he coughed twice and raised his hand to make a gesture.

Nanny Li, who was standing by, was always good at observing people's expressions. She quietly called all the maids out of the room and stood guard outside herself.

Only Mrs. Gu and her son were left in the room.

The charcoal fire made the air in the room a little stuffy.

Gu Jian hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Mother... the court has finally begun to forget what happened back then. Now that Yuan Ge'er has been transferred back to the capital and is allowed to appear in front of others so openly, will it remind them again... of my eldest brother's surrender to the enemy?"

After a pause, he added with a sigh: "It's been eight years... It's hard for everyone to forget about it."

The cold wind in the courtyard became stronger, whistling and blowing the window frames as if they were about to fly away.

Thinking of what happened eight years ago, Mrs. Gu was also worried, and her brows were furrowed even more tightly.

Back then, their whole family was almost stripped of their titles, exiled, or even executed because their eldest son surrendered to the enemy. Thanks to her sister Meng who saved King Kang in Yangzhou, the whole family was spared and has the good life they have now.

Thinking about it now, Madam Gu still feels scared. There is light flickering in her cloudy eyes, and she slowly twists the Buddhist beads in her hand.

After a while, she hesitated and said, "Ah Jian, now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, things are different now..."

Everyone in the court knew that in the battle between Dajing and Yue eight years ago, the late emperor advocated peace, while the current emperor advocated war. The father and son had many disputes over this... In the end, the eldest prince Chu Yi was sent to Yue as a hostage by the late emperor.

The previous emperor has passed away, and the current emperor has ascended the throne. Perhaps he will no longer care about the past.

"Mother, I don't think it's appropriate." Gu Jian's eyes were filled with a haze, but when facing Madam Gu, he looked sincere and tried to persuade her with his words. "The position of the captain of the Shenjiying is too eye-catching. There are so many eyes in the capital watching. Even if the emperor doesn't care about a mere Yuan Ge'er, if everyone mentions it in front of him, the emperor's heart is unpredictable. What do you think the emperor will think?"

"Qi Da Fei Ou, although this position is good, our Gu family cannot afford it, and the current Yuan Ge'er is even more unworthy of the position."

Gu Jian spoke confidently and in a high-sounding manner.

Madam Gu became more hesitant after hearing what he said, but she didn't nod, because she really couldn't bear to give up such a good job as the captain of the Shenjiying. This was a job that was hard to find even with a lantern, and if it weren't for the Weiguo Mansion, it would never have fallen into the hands of their Gu family!

It took a lot of effort for the Gu family to regain their momentum...

"Mother," Gu Jian stood up and sat on the kang, holding Madam Gu's hand, "What do you say... let Yuan Ge'er give this seat to the eldest brother-in-law, and the two of them exchange places?"

The brother-in-law that Gu Jian mentioned was Gu Yunzhen’s fiancé Murong Yong.

Murong Yong is now serving as a fifth-rank cavalry captain in the Shenji Camp. Unfortunately, it is just a nominal position, far inferior to the real position that Gu Yuan has obtained.

What?! Madam Gu widened her eyes in shock. She had never expected that Gu Jian would come up with such an idea, and she couldn't help but shake her head.

"This is also for Sister Meng." Gu Jian closely watched every change in Madam Gu's expression, and his voice softened and slowed down. "You can see that the eldest brother-in-law is a young general with a promising future, but he has no good opportunities. This time, he made such a great contribution to the suppression of bandits in Qingzhou, but he only got such an empty title."

"If the eldest brother-in-law can get this real position, even the Queen Mother will look at him with respect, and then there will be no problem with Mengjie's marriage."

"Mother, instead of trusting that wild girl Yan Fei's ability to calculate, it is better to convince the Queen Mother with more practical benefits!"

"If Sister Meng is well, our mansion will be well. In the future, our family will always be able to compensate Brother Yuan."

"Think about it carefully, isn't this true?"

Gu Jian spoke incessantly, using solid logic and persuasion.

"..." Madam Gu felt that what her second son said made sense and was slightly moved, but in her heart she felt that doing so was a bit unfair to Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan is her grandson after all. His parents are both deceased, so she, as his grandmother, should have taken better care of him...

Gu Jian stared closely at Madam Gu's expression, the haze in his eyes becoming more and more intense, and he threw out his trump card: "Mother, the Marquis's Mansion has not yet appointed a crown prince..."

These words made Mrs. Gu's heart shrink.

It has been exactly eight years since Gu Jian inherited the title of Marquis Dingyuan. During these years, the Gu family would submit memorials every year to request that his eldest son, Gu Xiao, be named Crown Prince, but all the memorials received no response.

It was obvious that the late emperor was still brooding over Gu Ce's collaboration with the enemy, and he was also fed up with the Gu family.

This year, after the current emperor ascended the throne, he bestowed titles on many royal nobles, and even several declining noble families had their candidates for crown princes chosen, but the Dingyuan Marquisate was the only one left out.

The fact that the crown prince has not been decided means that there is no heir to the title, which means that the emperor does not favor him and the title is in jeopardy.

For Madam Gu, the title is her lifeblood.

Once the title is lost, the Gu family will become mud in the ground, and anyone can trample on it.

This was something that Madam Gu absolutely could not tolerate.

Finally, Madam Gu nodded: "Okay."

Every word is final.

The shadows of the trees swaying wildly in the cold wind outside the window were reflected in Gu Jian's eyes, making him look sinister.

His pupils were unusually bright, with a flash of crazy joy in them. He tried his best to suppress and control the surging emotions in his heart.

When his elder brother Gu Ce was alive, everyone said that he was extremely talented. But when they learned that he was Gu Ce's younger brother, they sighed with regret.

Since childhood, Gu Jian has lived under the shadow of his elder brother. He thought that this was how his life would be, and his days were muddled...

He never imagined that one day he would be given the title of Marquis Dingyuan.

Since God has destined this title to belong to him, no one can take it away from him! As long as he is here, Gu Yuan will never be able to fly out of his palm in this life...

Madam Gu didn't notice Gu Jian's strange behavior. She picked up the teacup and drank tea without tasting the food.

After taking a sip of the finest Longjing tea, you will only be left with a bitter taste in your mouth.

Madam Gu knew clearly that the Duke of Weiguo had most likely received some favor from Gu Yanfei.

If the position of Captain of the Shenji Camp was a thank-you gift from the Duke of Weiguo, then it would be the same whether it was given to Gu Yuan or Murong Yong, all of it was for their Gu family.

Moreover, if Murong Yong got this position, it would be more prestigious for Gu Yunzhen to marry him next year, and she would definitely be more valued by her husband's family, which could be said to kill three birds with one stone.

This is good for everyone.

Just like the second son said, they will compensate Yuan Ge'er later, there is still a long way to go.

(End of this chapter)