Guilan was even more afraid when Guixiang was mentioned. She was the youngest among them, only fourteen years old this year.

Unlike her sister Guixiang, who was able to handle things well, Guilan was only one of the two of them when she arrived at the Marquis's residence. With Guixiang around, Guilan basically didn't have to worry about anything.

In Guilan's eyes, Sister Guixiang was the kind of person who was very tactful and capable, and her words and actions were always appropriate.

But just now, for some reason, Miss slapped Sister Guixiang.

After hitting her, he told Guixiang to go back inside and not to come out.

Gui Xiang didn't complain after being beaten; she silently withdrew and went back to her room to stay by herself.

Now everything falls on Guilan's shoulders. Granny Lin has gone home on leave, so isn't she going to go to the countryside with her? She's going home early to say goodbye to her family.

Even if the newly bought maids were competent, Guilan dared not hand over the account books to them.

I had to check everything myself and pack each item into boxes one by one. I worked from dawn till dusk, and my legs were about to give out from standing.

Then it didn't stop until late at night, and I finally managed to squeeze in some time to eat dinner before going back to rest.

Returning to the side room, I saw that Gui Xiang's room door was tightly closed.

Guilan wanted to knock on the door and ask, and she was already standing in front of the door with her hand raised, but after hesitating for a moment, she turned around and went back.

However, she placed the medicinal oil she had just taken from the storeroom on Guixiang's windowsill.

Gui Xiang heard noises outside the house and heard Gui Lan's footsteps as she left. After she reached her room, she closed the door there.

Gui Xiang then opened the door and took in a jar of medicinal oil that was on the windowsill.

Gui Xiang sighed as she applied a compress to her swollen face.

Xu Shaoqing hit her today because she relayed the words of the Earl and his wife to the young lady.

Xu Shaoqing only then realized that Gu Ting had such bad luck this time, and that the matter had been exposed because it was all because of Uncle An who had sabotaged things behind the scenes!

Then Guixiang added, "Miss, how could it be that the Earl is up to no good?"

This isn't because the Third Young Master himself is dishonest and took your dowry money to bribe officials.

Moreover, the Earl's investigation might reveal that it wasn't just the second master of the house who was plotting against your dowry.

The third young master might have gotten involved too; wouldn't that ledger explain everything?

"The second master went out to lend money at interest rates, and it was the third young master who kept the accounts."

Xu Shaoqing grew angrier and angrier, and couldn't help but turn around and slap Guixiang across the face.

"Whose maid are you? Why did you report my affairs to the Anbo Mansion?"

Furthermore, what are your and your father's intentions? He only took ten thousand taels of silver, and without his knowledge.

Now that things have been exposed, what good will it do me to ruin Gu Ting's future? Speak!

Gui Xiang wanted to retort, "Destroying him would naturally benefit you."

If you dare to let someone like Gu Ting seize even the slightest opportunity to trample Xu Shaoqing under his nose, what will become of Xu Shaoqing? Who knows?

Now that he's willing to marry Xu Shaoqing for an official position, will he also kill Xu Shaoqing for an official position in the future?

These are things that Jiang Shiyi and Xu's father worry about day and night; otherwise, Xu Shaoqing wouldn't have been married into the family for almost a year or two.

She still keeps a close eye on Gu Ting's family, saying she hates her and doesn't want to see her again, but her heart is cold.

But this is, after all, her daughter whom she has raised since she was a child. How could she bear to watch her be harmed by outsiders?

Jiang Shiyi and his wife weren't really concerned about the ten thousand taels of silver; they were just afraid that Gu Ting might play some trick on them and harm them!

Xu Shaoqing didn't really want to accept this favor, and she knew that her parents couldn't possibly be after that ten thousand taels of silver.

She probably still resents her relationship with Gu Ting back then, feeling it wasn't entirely proper.

But they didn't even consider that if they ruined Gu Ting like this, she wouldn't benefit either!

Xu Shaoqing felt heartbroken and speechless at her parents!

……………………………………………………

When Gu Xiao went to find the second wife, she was gone. She had gone to Gu Jing's place.

But the more Gu Xiao thought about it, the angrier and more resentful she became. Unable to wait for Zheng Jin to return, she hailed a carriage and hurried to Gu Jing's place.

The second wife was having a good time with Gu Jing. She was discussing with her daughter-in-law that once Gu Yan returned from the academy and finished his exams, he would go to the training ground with his older brother for two days.

The two were chatting happily when the old woman rushed in to report.

It was said that the Second Master had arrived in a rage! Upon arriving, Gu Xiao did not rush to cause trouble.

He first walked around the house inside and out, then stood in the hall and said, "Zheng, the house you bought for Gu Jing is quite big!"

As the matriarch, how could she be so biased? Buying such a large house for her eldest son.

What about Gu Ting? He is also my legitimate biological son from my second wife's side.

"Don't be so stingy. How much did this house cost? How many taels of silver from my second son's share were spent?"

Gu Xiao knew, of course, that the second wife wasn't a mean person, but he deliberately provoked her just like that.

To everyone's surprise, the second wife wasn't angry at all. She scoffed, "What! Have you gone crazy for money again? You're just making up an excuse to ask me for money!"

Gu Jing's house is big, but it's not in a prime location, and the money he spent on it all came from my dowry.

How do you manage the money in your second son's household? I keep a detailed record of every single transaction!

After all, the old Marquis wouldn't trust a spendthrift like you with the money. Even if I use it, I have to regularly submit my accounts. You can't be unaware of that, can you?"

Zheng Jin rarely cursed like this; he cursed him twice in this passage, leaving Gu Xiao stunned.

"What are you saying?"

Zheng Jin sneered again. She had been patient with this good-for-nothing for so many years, and she was fed up with him long ago!

They can't reason with people, and they can't understand what people are saying. They think they're so great just because they have blind self-confidence and a silver tongue!

To borrow a phrase my father used to describe him, he's got a brain like a bean curd!

Don't you see the current situation? Even the old Marquis isn't backing him up anymore, so what's he still trying to prove here?

Zheng Jin decided to speak to him directly, "What do you mean? Tell me the truth!"

You don't actually think that the old Marquis will allow you to come back after you and Gu Ting committed such a dirty deed, do you?

Even if Father (the old Marquis) is soft-hearted and pities his useless son, the Marquis can no longer tolerate his filthy and poisonous younger brother. Surely you haven't realized this all these years?

Gu Xiao's hands trembled as she scolded him. "So, you're just watching me fall from grace, and now you're kicking me when I'm down?"

"You've been stuck at the bottom of the well all these years, and you haven't even passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. You haven't even dared to do a small business."

Besides shamelessly living off the Marquis's mansion and the money I gave you, what else can you do?

Gu Xiao laughed angrily, "The silver you gave me is the property and assets of my second wife's family!"

"Really? Then your second wife's businesses aren't limited to just these few shops, are they?"

When the old Marquis handed it over to me, it had shrunk by half.

"You know perfectly well why half of it is missing! Stop trying to fool me with this nonsense, it's exhausting for your stupid brain!"

"You..." Gu Xiao couldn't win the argument and was about to pounce on him when Gu Jing, who had just returned from his shift, quickly delivered a flying kick that sent Gu Xiao crashing into the wall.

It's unclear whether he bumped his ribs or not, but Gu Xiao was rolling on the ground, clutching his ribs.

Zheng Jin couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. "Go and call two people to help your father onto the carriage. Let's go back to Xilou Street first."

That's the inner city; there are many clinics there, so it's easy to find a doctor.

Gu Jing: ... I originally wanted to go to the training ground to call a doctor over.

"Yes, Mother."

Then he really ignored Gu Xiao, who was rolling around on the ground, and turned around to find a carriage.

When Gu Xiao was lifted onto the carriage, he almost fainted from the pain.

"That unfilial son! I'm going to sue him!"

Zheng Jin, sitting opposite him, slapped him across the face upon hearing this. "If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll overturn this carriage. You'll be lucky if you don't die!"

Seeing the coldness in Zheng Jin's eyes, Gu Xiao dared not utter a sound; preserving his life was the most important thing!

Strange, he felt that Zheng Jin had really wanted to kill him for a moment just now.

Seeing that he had backed down, Zheng Jin snorted coldly, then crossed his arms and leaned back against the carriage, closing his eyes to rest.

And so, Gu Xiao stormed off to Zheng Jin's place in a rage, but not only did he fail to get anything done, he also broke two ribs.

It was a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead. When Gu Ting returned home, he saw his father in this state.

Gu Ting didn't speak, but silently had his father carried over, and then gave Zheng Jin a sinister look.

The second wife noticed someone was watching her and quickly returned the glance, but by then Gu Ting had already lowered his head.

However, there was only one person standing in his direction, so the second wife knew who was glaring at her.

She sneered inwardly. It was just a glare; who could it possibly disgust?

If Gu Ting has the guts, then he should poison her. If he does, Zheng Jin will have to think twice about her!

But would Gu Ting, that coward, dare to do it?

He dares! He dares!

Holding his breath, Gu Ting angrily returned to his courtyard.

We're going to the countryside, and it's still uncertain which maids and servants will be chosen to go with us.

However, maids like Liu Xiang'er who were to share a room with their husbands were required to go along.

Liu Xiang'er felt extremely stifled. She had originally thought that leaving the Marquis's mansion and entering a new environment would bring her a better life.

As a result, their good days lasted less than two months before they were taken to the countryside.

She was extremely unwilling, but no matter how unwilling she was, what could she do but follow the crowd and pack her things?

Gu Ting didn't want to go back and talk to Xu Shaoqing, so he stood in the courtyard to get some fresh air.

Turning my head, I saw that Liu Xiang'er had opened a window and was muttering something to herself while packing her things.

Gu Ting narrowed his eyes and walked over to Liu Xiang'er.

Upon seeing Gu Ting enter, Liu Xiang'er quickly curtsied, "Greetings, young master."

Gu Ting sat in the chair by the window. "Hmm, what are you packing?"

Liu Xiang'er didn't dare to stumble at all and quickly replied, "Pack some clothes and handkerchiefs."

"Do you have any medicine? I just saw you had two porcelain bottles that look like medicine bottles."

Xiang'er was startled. What did the young master mean by this?