As the sun set, four women lay on the ground in the main hall of Minister Gu's residence, their backs mangled with blood and gore. Some were unconscious, while others slowly awoke, howling in pain.

As Madam You looked at the two servants who walked up to her, she panicked and slid off her chair, collapsing to the ground. With a look of fear on her face, she shuffled backward on her bottom.

"Tongfan, what's gotten into you today? Why can't you talk things out instead of treating them like this? These are the women who bore you children." Gu Shucheng reprimanded him again, trembling with anger.

"Father, I am not crazy. I am just punishing my wives and concubines who have done wrong. What is the purpose of my hard work in the officialdom for this family?"

Isn't it for them to live a better life? To pave the way for their descendants' careers, so that you and Mother can enjoy your later years with your grandchildren by your side? For the sake of the status of our Gu clan?

Son, I risked everything by embezzling public funds, abusing my power for personal gain, accepting bribes, and selling official positions. I was secretly cursed as a corrupt official, and what did I get in return? Disloyalty from my family!

"Hahaha, your son, Gu Tongfan, can understand the emperor's mind and deal with those upright officials, but what's the use of that? He can't even handle matters within the family." Gu Tongfan finished speaking with a bitter laugh, looked at You Shi who had been pressed down on a wide bench by the servants, and waved his hand. Tang Pozi immediately swung her wooden cane.

"Fan'er, stop!" A shout suddenly came from the doorway.

Granny Tang paused for a moment, glanced at Gu Tongfan but showed no intention of stopping him, and then brought her wooden cane down.

"Fan'er?" the old woman, who was being helped in by a woman, called out again.

Gu Tongfan then gestured for Granny Tang to stop: "Mother, why aren't you chanting scriptures in your own little Buddhist hall? What are you doing here?"

He didn't know why his mother had suddenly become a Buddhist, but now he seemed to know the answer.

"Fan'er, is it really necessary to do this? What can you change by doing this?" Madam Ma asked her son, panting as she walked.

Hearing his mother say this, Gu Tongfan gave a wry smile, as if to say, "You knew it all along." He continued, "Judging from your tone, you knew. But you shouldn't have come. Since you've been able to pretend to be deaf and dumb for so many years, you should have continued doing so."

"Isn't this your own son? How can you, as a mother, tolerate them mistreating him?"

"Me?" Ma looked at the disappointed mockery on her son's face and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Tongfan, what benefit do you and our Gu family gain from doing this?" Gu Shucheng asked, feigning composure.

“Benefits?” Gu Tongfan repeated the word.

Before today, his ambition was to strive for a position second only to the emperor.

Even after the test results came out in the afternoon, he was still thinking about how to stay calm and composed and how to handle the matter properly when he got back.

However, after seeing his father and his own wife and four concubines enter without any sign of guilt, he suddenly felt disheartened.

This enormous scandal that has happened to me and my household is something I can no longer cover up, no matter how capable I am.

Even if the person on the dragon throne doesn't take away my official hat because of this, do I have the mental strength to face the gossip and mocking looks from the outside world?

Gu Tongfan got up and walked towards his father. When he got there, he leaned down slightly and looked at his father, who was avoiding his gaze. He asked, "Father, please give your son an answer. Why are you treating me like this?"

Over the years, I believe I have never wronged you. The courtyard is the best one for you, and I have never skimped on your food, clothing, or other necessities.

Even this Consort Tang, wasn't she someone you took a fancy to, and your son found a way to please you and bring her back to your side?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Tang, who was standing behind Gu Shucheng's chair, lowered her head.

"What are you saying? I don't understand. Tongfan, you are a smart man. Who has bewitched you? Don't fall into the trap of someone with ulterior motives."

"Wouldn't all your efforts over the years have been in vain?" Gu Shucheng said, forcing a smile.

"I just want to ask you one question, Father. Do you feel even the slightest bit guilty about what I've done?" Gu Tongfan asked coldly, staring into his father's eyes.

"Tongfan, I am your father," Gu Shucheng retorted unwillingly.

"Father? You still know who my father is? What father sleeps with his son's wives and concubines? What father cuckolds his son?" With each question Gu Tongfan asked, Gu Shucheng's face flushed redder.

Gu Tongfan then turned to his mother, Madam Ma: "Mother, your son has raised four sons and one daughter who call me father, but they are not my children. They are my brothers and sister. What do you think I should do?"

"What?"

"impossible."

Upon hearing this, both Ma and Gu Shucheng were surprised.

Seeing his father and mother's reactions, Gu Tongfan looked around, mainly at his wives and concubines, and found that all of them who were sober looked very surprised.

The two servants were also terrified, probably afraid that they would be silenced by the servants themselves!

When Granny Tang looked at him, it was with a look of pity.

There was one other person present whose reaction differed from the others: Tang Yiniang, the father's concubine, a woman only a few years younger than Gu Tongfan.

When Aunt Tang heard him say that his four sons and one daughter were not his children, but his younger brother and sister, she showed no surprise whatsoever; in fact, she even smiled.

Yes, this Concubine Tang was someone I used my own methods to get myself into my father's household as a concubine. She hated me back then. Whether she still hates me now is unclear, after all, she's enjoyed a life of luxury in the Gu family for over twenty years.

But regardless of whether she still hates herself or not, shouldn't she be surprised at this moment?

Something flashed through Gu Tongfan's mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it at the moment.

"Tongfan, what makes you say that? How can you say those children aren't yours?" Gu Shucheng blurted out.

“Of course, it was authenticated by an expert.” Gu Tongfan looked at his father and suddenly felt a pang of irony.

The father didn't even know those children were his!

"You can't believe in blood tests for kinship. No, there was no blood. Was it your fingernail that you cut this afternoon? Tongfan, are you confused? How could you believe that?" Gu Shucheng realized and reminded him.

“Master, I can testify that the children you just mentioned are indeed your offspring,” said Aunt Tang, who had been standing quietly behind Gu Tongfan.

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and her pace was neither too fast nor too slow; all eyes in the room were on her.

"Mrs. Tang, don't try to smooth things over. How can you prove it?" the old lady, Madam Ma, warned excitedly.

Aunt Tang showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she slowly walked to the front and stood there, smiling at Gu Tongfan...