Chapter 517 A Face Full of Puzzle

"Waaaaah, Mommy Tian, ​​it hurts! My bottom hurts so much!"

Gu Zongjie lay on the bed, letting the old woman apply medicine to her while she sobbed and cried her heart out.

Five strokes of the cane were too lenient a punishment for He Yin, but too severe for a child who was only eight or nine years old.

Although the person who attacked him had shown mercy, Gu Zongjie's buttocks still swelled up unsurprisingly, and the burning pain was unbearable for him.

"Please bear with me a little longer, young master. This old servant will be done soon."

The old woman's voice was gentle, and her eyes showed a hint of heartache as she looked at Gu Zongjie.

"Master is really something. All the young master did was stand up for his concubine, and he actually listened to his wife and beat him like this."

The old woman seemed to be standing up for Gu Zongjie, but as soon as she said that, Gu Zongjie's resentment towards He Yin deepened even more.

“Father has long been infatuated with that slut and doesn’t care about my life or death. When Third Sister died, did Father grieve? He’s only been gone a few days and he’s already out drinking and carousing. He doesn’t care about us at all.”

Gu Zongjie harbored resentment, and naturally, he also complained more about Gu Erye.

Seeing that Gu Zongjie could think of these things without her guidance, the old woman's face showed a triumphant smile.

"Young master is truly pitiful. When his concubine was alive, he was still loved and pampered by her. Now that she is gone, he will only be tormented by the madam in this mansion."

The old woman lovingly wiped away Gu Zongjie's sweat.

Mentioning Aunt Qiao, Gu Zongjie's face indeed darkened. Thinking of his father, who had never been willing to hit him since childhood, now treating him so cruelly, Gu Zongjie burst into tears.

Ultimately, Gu Zongjie is just a child. No matter how naughty he is usually, it's still quite heartbreaking to see him cry.

The old woman put down the medicine in her hand and patted his back affectionately. "Young master, don't worry. Even if your concubine is gone, this old servant will still protect you."

It is said that when human nature is most vulnerable, people can become more dependent on someone who is even a little bit kind to them.

At this moment, the old woman was just that kind of person to Gu Zongjie. Because of Aunt Qiao's disappearance, no one in the entire Marquis's mansion cared about his feelings.

When he was feeling down, the old woman appeared and took on the role of a loving mother, so Gu Zongjie naturally became dependent on her.

“Aunt Tian, ​​I will definitely avenge my mother.”

After crying in the old woman's arms for an unknown amount of time, Gu Zongjie suddenly raised his head and said with a firm expression.

"It's good that you can think positively, young master."

The old woman spoke with a loving expression, but inwardly she was overjoyed: Revenge? Revenge is good! It would be best if the Marquis's mansion were left in chaos.

Upon hearing of He Yin's miscarriage, Madam Ji did not rush to see her immediately. Instead, she had Wu Mama personally deliver some tonics to her before going to the study to find Gu Jin.

"Why did you come at this hour, Madam?" Gu Jin asked, somewhat surprised.

Madam Ji didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I'm sure you've already heard about what happened with the second branch of the family!"

Gu Jin nodded. "I never expected that my second brother would be unable to keep his legitimate son after all that hard work. I'm sorry to trouble you with my second brother's wife."

Gu Jin didn't get to the point when he spoke, and seeing that he was busy with his work, Ji hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Sir, what do you think of that boy Zongjie?"

"Zongjie?" Gu Jin was a little confused as to why Ji asked this question. After thinking for a moment, she replied seriously, "He is better than my second brother. If he can be properly guided, he can definitely get a government job."

Hearing Gu Jin's words, Madam Ji was both amused and exasperated. That wasn't what she was asking at all. Seeing Gu Jin's puzzled expression, Madam Ji sighed.

“Zongjie is just a child, yet he has such a vicious mind. Doesn’t the master find it frightening?”

Gu Jin was even more confused by Ji's words. Actually, it wasn't his fault. The servant had just reported that He Yin had miscarried when he was kicked out.

So even now, he doesn't know that Gu Zongjie was the one who caused He Yin's miscarriage.

"Madam, what exactly happened?" Gu Jin stepped forward and pulled Ji Shi to sit down on a stool before listening carefully to Ji Shi's account.

After learning the whole story, Gu Jin's expression turned grim. "You bastard! To do something like this at such a young age, your mind is more than just malicious."

"What does my husband intend to do?" Seeing Gu Jin's angry expression, Madam Ji hurriedly asked.

“My Gu family has never had a precedent of harming siblings. To do something so disgraceful to the family, this child must never stay in the family. Now that my daughter-in-law is getting more and more pregnant, and Renjie will be getting married in the future, what if he has some bad intentions? We won’t be able to guard against it!”

Gu Jin's words were also what Ji Shi wanted to say. A son born out of wedlock who could even harm his stepmother, and he was only so young. Ji Shi felt terrified just thinking about it.

"So what does my husband intend to do?"

Even if Gu Jin didn't want Gu Zongjie to stay, if Second Master Gu insisted on keeping him, he couldn't just kick him out!

"Don't worry, I have my own plans for this. You just need to appease your second sister-in-law. As for Shu'er's wedding, it's coming up soon. I wonder how your preparations are going?"

When Gu Jin suddenly brought up Gu Shuyan's marriage, Ji Shi's thoughts were instantly pulled back.

"The wedding preparations are almost complete these days, but there's one thing I'm a little undecided about!"

Seeing that Madam Ji frowned slightly, Gu Jin grasped her hand and asked, "Does Madam have any concerns?"

Lady Ji nodded. "Today, I went to the storeroom and counted the dowry prepared for Shu'er. There are a total of 120 sets. I remember when the Emperor and Empress got married, the Empress's dowry was only 88 sets, so..."

Ji paused here, looked up at Gu Jin, and Gu Jin understood what she meant.

The Empress's wedding only involved eighty-eight loads of dowry. Their family is giving so much; isn't that a slap in the face to the other side?

"Does Madam want to select some items from her dowry?" Gu Jin was somewhat confused about his wife's intentions.

After hearing this, Lady Ji shook her head. "Those dowries are all things that I have prepared slowly over the years, so naturally none of them can be missing. I was thinking that since the Gu and Yun families are close to each other, why don't we send forty tatami mats over first, and then carry the remaining eighty tatami mats on the wedding day?"

Lady Ji did not want to wrong her daughter, but also wanted to save face for the royal family, so she came up with this compromise.

Gu Jin, who also doted on her daughter to the core, agreed after a moment's consideration upon hearing Ji Shi's words.

"The method is feasible, but we don't have the final say in this matter. I'll ask Yichen at court tomorrow and see what he has to say!"