"I'll go ask my elder brother," Duan Xiu said, and was about to leave, but Duan Xiang stopped him.
"Don't waste your energy. When has he ever paid any attention to you? Xiu'er, right now, the only thing we can do is to completely sever ties with your mother. Gu Qian might not take his anger out on us then."
Duan Tianzhang: "Father, don't say that." She hugged Qin Shi, and the mother and daughter embraced and wept bitterly.
Before Gu Qian arrived, wasn't everything fine?
This sudden change was unacceptable to everyone, especially Duan Tianzhang.
Duan Xiang reasoned with him, but Duan Xiu remained silent.
His mother has done many wrong things over the years, both openly and secretly.
He always knew about her framing Gu Qian.
Even after General Li adopted Gu Qian, she continued to frame him.
Duan Xiu knew that she was afraid the Duan family's business would fall into Gu Qian's hands.
Ultimately, it's for his own sake.
But Duan Xiu never needed this favor.
From a young age, in his mind, his mother instilled in him the idea that everything in the Duan family belonged to him.
Therefore, he often felt pity for his elder brother.
They're both sons of the same father, so why are they treated so differently?
So, he would often help his older brother, giving him treats and toys, whether he had something to eat or something else.
However, he was repeatedly rejected.
He had tried to persuade Qin before, but his words carried no weight.
His silence disappointed Qin, and she burst into tears.
"Xiu'er, I've spoiled you for nothing."
The feeling of being betrayed and abandoned by everyone is truly more painful than killing her.
Just then, footsteps approached, and officials from the Ministry of Justice entered the main courtyard of the Duan family.
When the official arrived, he first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Prime Minister Duan, then looked at him with a fawning smile.
"Prime Minister Duan, please come with us, along with your wife."
As the official spoke, he pulled out an arrest warrant from his person.
Duan Xiang stepped back, his face stern, and asked seriously:
"What is it?"
"This is a family matter of the Duan family. We have obtained evidence that General Gu's birth mother, your late wife, did not die a natural death. We have evidence to prove that this matter is related to your wife, so please, Prime Minister Duan, do not blame us and come with us."
"No," Duan Xiang shook his head, "This matter has nothing to do with me!"
"If you're going to take anyone, take this poisonous woman!" Duan Xiang glared viciously at Qin Shi: "It's all because of you, Qin Shi. If you have any conscience left, admit what you did back then. Didn't they say the evidence is conclusive?"
"No!" Duan Tianzhang held Qin Shi tightly.
"Father, how can you say that? Mother isn't that kind of person! Where's the evidence? Let them produce the evidence."
"Yes, Mother isn't that kind of person!" Qin Shi panicked, not even asking for evidence, only looking at Duan Xiu with pleading eyes.
"Xiu'er, quickly go and beg your elder brother to come and save your mother!"
But Duan Xiu turned his head away, suppressing his sadness.
"Mother, you killed my elder brother's birth mother, how could he save you!" If he could, he would have gone after Gu Qian long ago.
Knowing it's impossible, why would he bother with something so shameful?
Ultimately, the officials of the Ministry of Justice were afraid of Gu Qian's identity.
He was unaware of what had just happened.
All he knew was that the Prime Minister Duan before him was General Gu's biological father, and it was not an easy thing to offend him, so he could only turn his attention to Madam Qin.
"Qin, come with us."
Qin's body went limp.
Gu Qian is seeking revenge; will she still be able to live peacefully?
Suddenly, she felt that family fortune and royal connections were no longer important.
All she wanted was to live a good life.
Her fierce gaze fell on Duan Xiang, and then, with a swift movement, she pulled out the hairpin from her hair.
"You heartless bastard! Even if I die, you won't get away with it!"
With a whoosh,
The hairpin was embedded in the flesh.
However, it pierced Duan Xiu's chest.
Qin acted too quickly; Prime Minister Duan hadn't expected her to be so ruthless.
Duan Xiu's action was completely subconscious.
His body was so weak that he involuntarily leaned against Duan Xiang, and the bloodstains at the corner of his lips filled Qin Shi with fear...
"No, Xiu'er, no..."
"Mother..." Duan Xiu shook his head weakly and slowly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Duan Tianzhang, who was standing beside him, had already supported Duan Xiu's body with Duan Xiang at the first moment, his eyes already wet with tears.
"Xiu'er!" Duan Xiang hugged Duan Xiu with heartache.
He slapped Qin Shi hard across the cheek.
Qin felt a sharp pain in her cheek. Due to Duan Xiang's actions, she leaned back and fell to the ground, looking utterly disheveled.
Afterwards, she was dragged away from the Duan family by officials from the Ministry of Justice.
At this moment, Qin Shi forgot to resist and forgot to cry out. She seemed to be mentally deranged, as if she were in a daze, with her eyes staring blankly.
"Zhang'er, quickly fetch a doctor!" Prime Minister Duan cried bitterly. Duan Tianzhang was dumbfounded and hurriedly went to fetch the imperial physician.
With Duan Xiang's help, Duan Xiu stumbled back to his courtyard.
As soon as he lay down, he closed his eyes, weakened.
"Xiu'er, you're my only son. If anything happens to you, how can I live?" Duan Xiang said anxiously and with remorse.
"Heavens above, please take that wicked woman away quickly!"
...
Dongjin Subdistrict
Gu Qian took a long time to travel a short distance.
On the way, he thought of his birth mother.
Thinking of her mother, whose face she could never recall, the hatred and pain in her heart gradually spread.
As he approached, Yan Yan walked towards him, and the gloom on his face vanished.
Qiu Yan approached him, saying nothing and asking no questions, but simply slowly took his wrist in her hand.
What was originally a lonely figure has transformed into a warm and loving pair.
The two joined hands and went together to the Duan family ancestral tomb.
Craftsmen also went along.
Ever since Qiu Xu lost track of Sun Wan that morning, he had been blaming himself.
In the afternoon, he appeared outside the Sun residence, with He Jinran accompanying him.
"Uncle, what kind of extraordinary abilities does Sun Wan possess that allowed her to suddenly disappear while you were with her?"
"She doesn't have three heads and six arms; she just took advantage of a loophole." As Qiu Xu spoke, he stepped forward, first politely bowing to the gatekeeper, Sun Fu.
"Excuse me, is Ms. Sun at home?"
Inside the gate of the Sun residence, Sun Wan held the gold lock she had worn since childhood, while her maid Qing'er held a jewelry box.
The two were about to go out when they heard Qiu Xu's question from afar, and they stopped in their tracks.
"This miser is chasing me so urgently, is he not going to wait a moment longer?" Sun Wan bit her lower lip, her face extremely ugly.
“Miss, please forgive my bluntness, but we were the ones who acted improperly in this matter.”
As soon as Qing'er finished speaking, she received a sharp rap on the head from her young mistress. She rubbed her forehead sheepishly and muttered to herself, "I didn't say anything wrong."
"Young master, our young lady has not returned since she went out." The guard from the Sun family said exactly what Miss Sun had told him to say.
He subconsciously felt that Qiu Xu in front of him was a suitor of their young lady.
He took a good look at Qiu Xu. He was tall and good-looking, but he didn't know what kind of person he was.
Thinking about it, it's not a good idea, otherwise, why would their young lady look down on it?
Sun Wan felt a moment of relief upon hearing this.
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