Chapter 158 Wicked Stepmother and Poor Child 51

Shuyuxuan.

Zhou Jingxuan sat blankly by the window, staring at the courtyard with unfocused eyes, lost in thought. The sound of footsteps behind her suddenly pulled her back to reality.

Turning around, Zhou Jingxuan was startled to see her aunt, Madam Zhou, standing at the door. She couldn't believe her eyes.

These days, the old lady dislikes her and has placed her under house arrest. Gu Hongjian has also begun to neglect her. Being in the Gu residence is no different from being imprisoned.

Having endured so much cold treatment, seeing her blood relatives at this moment suddenly brought a surge of grievances, and she could no longer hold back her tears.

Zhou Jingxuan stood up, staggered a few steps, and suddenly buried her face in Madam Zhou's arms, bursting into tears.

Madam Zhou's heart skipped a beat at her actions. When had Jingxuan ever relied on her like this?

She recalled many years ago when her niece had just lost her parents and they had just taken the child in. The child also clung tightly to her side, even eating and sleeping together.

As Zhou Jingxuan grew older, she learned that they were not her biological parents, but only her aunt and uncle, and she became more distant and respectful.

This scene is similar to one that happened many years ago. Zhou Jingxuan is now so thin that she looks like a person who has been skinned alive. Her once protruding belly has now become flat, and she looks haggard, as if she has just recovered from a serious illness.

Could it be that Gu Hongjian is cursed to bring misfortune to women? Shen Ci turned out like that, and now his own niece is in the same state!

Madam Zhou's heart was touched in the softest part, and the warmth that had long been forgotten but remained in her memory was awakened. She hugged Zhou Jingxuan's trembling shoulders tightly.

"Good child, your aunt is here."

Before she had her own children, she raised Zhou Jingxuan as her own daughter, but the child gradually became estranged from them.

Once Zhou Jingxuan calmed down a bit, Madam Zhou helped her sit down and patiently asked her what had happened. Unexpectedly, Zhou Jingxuan pushed her hand away, took two steps back, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed heavily.

"Aunt, Jingxuan knows she was wrong!"

I shouldn't have ignored your and my uncle's teachings back then, and let myself be blinded by hypocrisy, which has led to this predicament..."

Zhou Jingxuan pressed her forehead against the cold ground, the coldness making her mind exceptionally clear.

Zhou Jingxuan told Madam Zhou everything that had happened since she entered the house: Gu Hongjian insulted her, the old lady made things difficult for her, and how the old lady had stimulated her to have a premature birth that day.

In the end, her child was killed by the old woman after birth, who called it a monster. Zhou Jingxuan burst into tears whenever she talked about her child.

"They won't even give the child a grave. I beg my aunt to help me find the child's remains and send them to a temple for worship so that he can pass away soon."

"May you be reborn into a better life next time, and not be born into my womb again."

She clutched Madam Zhou's sleeve tightly and pleaded, saying that this was her only wish now.

Madam Zhou was terrified. She felt sorry for her niece for being treated this way, and she was also angry that her niece had disobeyed her and insisted on marrying Gu Hongjian. She was even more disgusted by the cruelty of the Gu family!

She forcefully helped Zhou Jingxuan up, her voice resolute.

"How can we stay in such a den of wolves and tigers any longer!"

Go home with your aunt; the Zhou family will always be your support!

Let your uncle stand up for you!

Zhou Jingxuan felt a rare warmth in her heart. She truly knew she was wrong. It was precisely because she realized her mistake that she shook her head at this moment.

“Aunt, I cannot go back. If I go back, I will surely implicate my sisters in the family.”

I will stay to avenge my child. I only ask that my aunt tell my uncle not to help such an ungrateful wretch as Gu Hongjian.

Xuan'er should bear the consequences of her mistakes.

This child has truly changed, truly become sensible, but behind this maturity lies such a painful lesson. Madam Zhou felt a pang of sadness; this child actually knows how to consider the other sisters.

After offering a few more words of advice and seeing that her mind was made up, Madam Zhou said no more. She stayed with Zhou Jingxuan for a while until dark, and then left the Gu residence without even saying goodbye!

Upon hearing of his niece's ordeal, Vice Minister Zhou was furious. Within days, he publicly reprimanded Gu Hongjian for his improper conduct in the government office and even resorted to violence.

A few days later, Gu Hongjian's hard-earned official position was revoked. He was so angry that he smashed all the porcelain in the house when he got home. No one in the Gu family dared to say a word, for fear of incurring bad luck.

Zhou Jingxuan was completely disappointed in Gu Hongjian. The two people who once swore to love each other for a lifetime had now become almost like enemies. Shen Ci was happy to see all of this happen.

At the same time, Shen Ci received a message from Tianxianglou that the mastermind behind the scenes, Prince Qin, wanted to meet with her.

She went to the Guanlan Pavilion, the highest point of Tianxiang Tower, as promised.

Inside the private room, a young man dressed in a dark-colored robe with a coiled dragon design stood by the window. He turned around, revealing sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a dignified demeanor, and an imposing presence, yet he exuded righteousness.

When the King of Qin saw her enter, he turned around, a smile playing on his lips, and held up what he was holding.

"Madam Gu, I have long admired your name."

"I am very interested in this."

Shen Ci felt a slight tremor in her heart, wondering what this guy was up to, but she remained calm on the surface.

"Your Highness is joking."

"Our humble family is simply seeking a tutor for our first education; how could we possibly trouble Your Highness?"

The King of Qin walked slowly to the table and tapped the notice lightly with his knuckles.

"The starting price is a thousand taels of gold. The teacher must be virtuous and talented, from a noble family, and have the ability to protect his disciples."

"What the lady seeks is probably more than just a schoolteacher."

His eyes seemed to see through everything, but he was just pretending. Shen Ci cursed inwardly, knowing that he had seen through her, so she told him frankly.

"Your Highness is wise."

As a mother, one must plan far ahead for one's children; the teacher one seeks must have the commitment to be a father for life.

"Five thousand taels of gold," the King of Qin said bluntly.

"I can guarantee that even if they are later convicted of confiscation of their property and exile, they will be able to live out their lives in peace."

In addition, you could request that your daughter be granted the title of Princess, which would grant her a rank without a fief.

"I need another imperial edict; it might save my life in a critical moment."

He stated directly what he could offer: he was determined to get the gold—no, he meant the tuition.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Ci realized that if the King of Qin really wanted to seize something by force, there was nothing she could do. She could just find some excuse to confiscate the Gu family's property. It was already difficult enough that they were willing to make a deal now.

And the reward for this transaction is too generous; it's like buying a get-out-of-jail-free card, a princess title, and even an imperial edict!

She pondered calmly for a moment, "That's good, it fits the bill, but I'm looking for a tutor for my child, so he has to be good at both literary and martial arts as well."

The King of Qin laughed heartily.

"That's how it should be."

The following day, at the drill ground in the suburbs of Beijing.

The King of Qin drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and with a twang, the arrow flew. A willow branch a hundred paces away snapped in two. Then, he wielded his brush and wrote a large character with immense power and sharp brilliance. He then took out a collection of books.

"This was written by me myself. My lady, take a look. Is the writing style good enough to teach your children?"

His handwriting was quite good, and his martial arts skills seemed impressive as well. Shen Ci took the collection of writings.

"System, analyze it."

"genius."