Chapter 174 Asking Mother for Forgiveness
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The main hall of the Duke's Mansion
"Father-in-law, please have some tea." Duke Su stood in front of the old man, holding the teacup in both hands and handing it to him.
Old Master Gu glanced at him coldly without reaching out to take the tea. "Tang Yuan, do you still remember what I told you before you married Yun Chang?"
Duke Su's eyes darkened slightly, but he didn't dare show it on his face, "I remember... I remember..."
"Remember?" Old Master Gu raised his eyebrows and sneered, his voice suddenly rising, "I thought you had forgotten everything!"
"I dare not." Duke Su bent down and lowered his posture, fearing that the old man would hit him with a stick if they disagreed with him.
Old Master Gu slowly stood up and paced around the room. Duke Su did not dare to put down his hand holding the teacup until he spoke.
"Tang Yuan, don't forget how you inherited the Duke of Su's Mansion."
As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Su’s body stiffened.
"Back then, you were so foolishly begging for me. A bastard, with no achievements and only a few sour poems, dared to enter the Gu family." Old Master Gu turned around, his eyes cold. "I have never cared about status. There are hundreds of great families, and there are many ambitious bastards who always outdo the legitimate sons. But I have no doubt about you. You, Tang Yuan, are a complete waste."
Duke Su's hand, holding the cup, was trembling slightly, veins popping out, and his back teeth were almost broken, but he didn't dare to show any displeasure, "My father-in-law is right."
"Back then, you and Yun Chang were engaged, and within two weeks, your eldest brother's horse was startled and fell off a cliff. Although your wedding was postponed for a year, you became the old Duke's only son." Old Master Gu narrowed his eyes at him and said in a low voice, "Why don't you use your brain to think about it? How could such a coincidence happen in the world?"
Duke Su suddenly raised his head, a flash of panic in his eyes, "Could it be...father-in-law..."
"In the battle for the crown prince, someone always has to sacrifice," Old Master Gu walked to the chair and sat down, looking at him calmly, "I don't think I'm a good person, but I also know that I need to find a way out for my children and grandchildren. Only if you take the throne can Yun Chang live a good life, and my grandson will not follow your old path."
"But why don't you understand this principle when it comes to you?" Old Master Gu raised his eyes, his gaze filled with disgust. "You ignore your own children and focus on raising your own son. You are such a heartless person, and this is how you repay me? Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs!"
"Is it possible that an adopted son with a crippled leg is no match for one's own biological son?"
Duke Su was shocked and quickly knelt down to apologize, his hand holding the teacup still not letting go, "Father-in-law has misunderstood me. That Mid-Autumn Festival, I saw Chen'er's corpse with my own eyes. Chen'er is my biological son. How can I not be heartbroken when I lost him? But how can the dead be resurrected? No matter how sad I am, I will not give up on myself——"
The next moment, the cup in his hand was knocked away and hit the ground with a crisp sound.
Before Duke Su could react, a slap had already landed on his face.
Old Master Gu has been practicing martial arts since he was young, and his hands are extremely strong. With one slap, Duke Su was dizzy and fell to one side. His palm was pressed on the broken porcelain pieces, and he screamed in pain.
"This is a slap in your face." Old Master Gu calmly withdrew his hand, his voice solemn and cold, "Tang Yuan, don't treat everyone as a fool."
Duke Su raised his head in a daze, and saw the dragon-headed cane in the old man's hand, and trembled with fear.
"I'm old and had a daughter. Yun Chang is my apple of the eye. I'm disgusted by the dirty things you've done and don't want to point them out, but if you upset my daughter again, I'll show you how powerful I am." Old Master Gu's expression relaxed slightly, and a barely perceptible sneer curled up at the corner of his mouth. "I'll throw you down the same way I lifted you up."
"Take good care of this little piece of land of yours, and wait to give it to the adopted son you hold in your hands. If Chen'er comes back, I will raise him, and the child will have my surname, Gu."
Duke Su's face turned ashen. Although he was filled with hatred, he had to explain to him, "Father-in-law, Xie Suzhou may not be Chen'er. I saw it with my own eyes that year—"
Old Master Gu turned his head slowly, and Duke Su suddenly stopped talking, not daring to speak again.
Not wanting to pay any more attention to this coward, Mr. Gu snorted coldly and walked away slowly with his crutches.
In the spacious and bright central hall, only Duke Su was left.
"You old bastard..." Duke Su's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at his bloody right hand, filled with resentment but unable to vent it. "One day sooner or later, I will step on your head and make you pay for what you did today!"
Old Master Gu walked out of the main hall and nearly bumped into the man in the corridor. The old man frowned and met Tang Song's somewhat panicked gaze.
"Grandfather?" Tang Song sat on a wooden chair and bowed to the old man, "Song'er greets Grandfather."
Old Master Gu curled the corner of his lips, snorted a laugh, looked away from him, ignored his advances, and walked away.
The wooden wheelchair was pressed tightly against the wall. Tang Song held his breath and didn't dare let the old man take even a step around it.
Looking at the figure going away, a dark light flashed in Tang Song's eyes, and he said to the person behind him, "Chang Shun, let's go."
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Lu Garden
"Mingyue, are you still feeling bad?" Gu Yunchang's eyes were filled with undisguised pity. Seeing the little girl's pale face, she felt even more guilty. "Don't stand in front of me in the future. With my father here, he won't dare to make things too difficult for me, but you guys..."
"It's okay, ma'am. I'm fine." Mingyue covered her stomach and forced a smile. "The doctor has checked it out. It's nothing serious."
As she was speaking, Chang Pu walked in from outside, her face looking a little grim, and she whispered, "Madam, the prince wants to see you."
Gu Yunchang was stunned for a moment, and her expression gradually turned cold. "I'm tired, let him go back."
Chang Pu curled her lips and said unkindly, "Madam, the prince doesn't want to leave. He said he personally made a soup to nourish your body."
Gu Yunchang's eyes flickered, and after a moment, a sigh sounded from the room, "Let him in."
Not long after, the door in front of him was pushed open. For Tang Song, Gu Yunchang had ordered the thresholds of all the courtyards to be sawed off, just to make it easier for him to travel.
Tang Song was pushed into the house by a servant, holding a food box in his hand. Seeing the woman sitting at the top, he handed the food box to the servant, struggled to raise his arms, bent his body, and fell to the ground.
Gu Yunchang was startled by his action and frowned as she asked, "What are you doing? Get up quickly."
Changpu and Mingyue also came to help him, but were avoided by Tang Song.
"I want to ask for your forgiveness." Tang Song slowly raised his face, his eyes red with tears half-fallen. "Mother, I was possessed by a ghost the other day and argued with you in public. Now I have come to my senses and made ginseng soup myself. I only ask you not to be estranged from me."
Tang Song blinked, tears falling at the right moment, "Mother, you have always been the one who loves your son the most..."
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