"Second brother, you misunderstood. Susu is definitely not the kind of girl you imagined!" Guo Hongxuan looked at the door and raised his foot several times, but he was in awe of his brother and was anxious, so he didn't dare to force his way in.
Under the moonlight and lantern light, Guo Honglei's face was as dark as water. "What did I misunderstand? Isn't she a prostitute?"
"She, she is, but she is definitely not the kind of woman you imagine!" Guo Hongxuan was moved by his sincerity. When talking about her, his tone could not help but become gentle. He tried his best to protect his sweetheart and explained: "Su Su had a rough life. She was born in a brothel. Alas, she had no choice -"
Guo Honglei interrupted his brother: "You don't have to say anything nice about her! I've already heard everything I need to know."
"Ah? Who, who told you that?" Guo Hongxuan said awkwardly, mumbling, "Well, actually, I was planning to tell you. I ran into some trouble and wanted to discuss it with my second brother."
"Discuss? What do you think my opinion would be on this matter?"
Guo Hongxuan was silent for a moment, then mustered up his courage and said earnestly, "Please help me, second brother."
"Do you want to marry her?" The brother's face turned pale and he couldn't believe it.
Guo Hongxuan nodded solemnly without hesitation and pleaded again: "Please grant me your blessing, second brother."
"Don't even think about it!"
Guo Honglei instantly flew into a rage and sternly rebuked him, "There are countless good girls from decent families in this world. As long as the two of you are a good match, your family would be happy to help you marry them. I never expected you to fall for the daughter of a prostitute. Are you crazy?"
"Auntie Tian didn't choose to become a prostitute; she was implicated by her husband. More than 20 years ago, when her husband was serving as a prefect in the south, he committed corruption and his property was confiscated by the imperial court. He died on the way to exile, and his wife unfortunately became a courtesan. A few years later, Auntie Tian became pregnant with Susu, but she couldn't bear it and secretly gave birth to a daughter." Guo Hongxuan said with sympathy, "The fate of her and her daughter was tragic, very pitiful."
Guo Honglei stared at his brother intently, "So, not only is she the daughter of a prostitute, but her father is also unknown?"
The fourth brother gritted his teeth and nodded, then emphasized: "But none of this is Susu's fault. Your birth is determined by heaven and you can't choose it."
Guo Honglei was furious. "That's right, you can't choose your birth, but you can choose your wife. As long as I'm here, you can't even dream of marrying a prostitute, unless you choose to disown my second brother!"
"Second brother, don't be like this. Calm down, calm down quickly." Guo Hongxuan was shocked, with a bitter face, at a loss.
"How can I not be angry when you are so confused?"
Guo Hongxuan scratched his head and explained cautiously, "Although Susu was born in a brothel, when she was five years old, Aunt Tian rented a house and raised her daughter outside. Unfortunately, the heavens were not merciful. Three years ago, Aunt Tian fell seriously ill. Susu was a filial daughter. In order to save her mother, she had no choice but to...she has always sold her art but not her body!"
——From the perspective of the powerful and wealthy families, women who have fallen into prostitution, whether they are selling their art or their bodies, are all playthings.
Visiting prostitutes is fine for fun, but if you take it seriously it becomes a joke.
If their children and grandchildren love to drink and have sex, the elders often blame themselves for "not disciplining them well", but if their children and grandchildren insist on marrying prostitutes, the elders will lament "the misfortune of the family".
It's human nature. Guo Honglei had been influenced by this since childhood, so he naturally felt extremely disgusted. He slowly asked, "You keep calling me 'Su Su' and 'Auntie Tian', and you protect outsiders in every way. Do you really have any relatives in your heart? Do you still remember your last name?"
"Of course I do! Of course I remember!" Guo Hongxuan lowered his head apologetically, feeling upset and frustrated. "I knew you wouldn't agree, so I didn't dare tell you because I was afraid you'd be angry."
Guo Honglei gritted his teeth to control his anger. "I can hide it for a while, but can I hide it forever? If I agree, won't I be as crazy as you?"
“…I’m not crazy.”
Guo Hongxuan pleaded earnestly, "Auntie Tian has been ill for several years, and her condition is getting worse. I don't think she'll make it. When I visited her the day before yesterday, she was already on her deathbed. I promised Susu that I would visit her today. Second brother, I can't break my promise. How about you give way and let me go to the appointment first, and then I'll accept the punishment according to the family law?"
Guo Honglei's jaw tightened as he asked disappointedly, "You remember clearly what you promised to outsiders. So, do you still remember your father's last words?"
Guo Hongxuan was stunned and replied in a low voice: "I remember."
"Tell me about it."
"Second brother—"
Guo Honglei ordered in a low voice: "Hurry up and speak!"
Guo Hongxuan touched his nose, lowered his eyebrows and said with a shy look, "Before his father died, he told us three brothers to get along well, to be filial to our mother, to take good care of our eldest sister-in-law and Yu'er, to be strong and motivated, and so on."
Guo Honglei angrily asked, "Is this how you 'show filial piety' to your mother? Does your mother approve of you sleeping with prostitutes and hanging out with prostitutes?"
Guo Hongxuan shook his head in distress, but made up his mind, "Second brother, calm down. I have something important to do tonight, not to hang out. I have to go out. If Aunt Tian passed away, Susu, a weak woman, would not know how to handle a funeral, and I'm afraid she would commit suicide out of grief." After speaking, he walked around his brother and tentatively opened the door.
"stop!"
Guo Honglei frowned and pushed his brother back to his original position with a palm, furious. "I tried to persuade you for a long time, but it seems that you didn't listen at all. It's simply—"
"Brother, I have something urgent!" Guo Hongxuan was extremely anxious, fearing that something might happen to Tian Susu. He gritted his teeth and rushed in anxiously, "Wait until I finish my work and come back, then I'll accept the punishment, okay? Please."
"stop!"
The two brothers disagreed and started pushing and shoving each other.
"How can you sneak out in the middle of the night?"
Guo Hongxuan's heart was entirely on Tian Susu, and he rushed to the corner gate anxiously. "Tsk, if my family hadn't forbidden me, would I have to be so sneaky?"
"How can you blame your family for an outsider?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."
"What do you mean?"
"Brother, please, move aside!" Guo Hongxuan was desperate.
"Stand still!"
Guo Honglei was a skilled martial artist, and if he really wanted to, he could kick his brother away with one kick. But even though he was furious, he always held back—after all, he was his brother, not an enemy.
The two servants at the gate cowered, watching in fear. Gradually, they could no longer stand. Terrified, they tried to stop them but to no avail. They dropped to their knees, each holding a leg, and pleaded, "Second Master, calm down. Let's talk things over. Don't resort to violence."
"Second Master, calm down. Is there anything that cannot be discussed between brothers?"
"It would be bad if we alarm the old lady."
…
The next moment, Jiang Yushu and Guo Hongzhe were worried and hurried over. When they saw from a distance, they were shocked and rushed over to stop them.
"Hong Lei!"
She gasped, grabbed her husband's arm with both hands, and pulled it back hard. "What are you doing? Stop it! Didn't we agree to ask Fourth Brother to go back to the study to talk?"
Guo Honglei's chest heaved violently. "Call? Humph, I'm afraid even an invitation won't be enough! You bastard, you actually fought me for a prostitute?"
Guo Hongzhe pulled his brother away and said, "Fourth brother, how could you fight with your elder brother? Apologize immediately!"
"I, I didn't mean to. Oh, I really have something urgent to do!"
Guo Hongxuan knew his second brother wasn't serious, so he looked at him anxiously. He noticed a flash of hurt in his brother's eyes, and immediately felt guilty and remorseful. He asked in a flattering tone, "Brother, please don't be angry. Wait until I finish my work and come back. You can punish me however you want, okay?"
Guo Honglei asked word by word, "Do you really have to go out?"
"I can't break my promise." Guo Hongxuan was determined and looked at Jiang Yushu for help, "Second sister-in-law..."
Jiang Yushu sighed, feeling helpless. She advised, "You can detain someone, but not their heart. Forget it, let him be. We can talk about it another day when everyone is calmer."
Guo Honglei said nothing, turned around suddenly, and strode away.
"Second brother?"
"Sister-in-law..." Guo Hongxuan was nervous and his face turned pale. He watched his sister-in-law chase after his brother and leave.
Then, Guo Hongzhe said earnestly: "Fourth brother, take care of yourself." Then he left.
"Hey, Third Brother!"
His relatives walked away disappointedly. Guo Hongxuan sighed in frustration, thought for a moment, and finally opened the corner door and walked out quickly, eager to visit his sweetheart.
"Fourth Master, don't go out tonight?" The doorman was apprehensive and couldn't help but persuade him: "Second Master is obviously angry, wait until he calms down--"
"Oh, no, Miss Tian is waiting for me!" Guo Hongxuan was so anxious that he didn't even pick up the lantern. He trotted away in the moonlight without looking back.
Soon Study
Late at night, the three of them discussed in a low voice.
"Bewitched."
Guo Honglei sat upright, his face still sullen. "The fourth child looks like he's been possessed by a ghost! The third child is getting married the day after tomorrow, and he's only concerned about 'Mrs. Tian' and 'Miss Tian'. What a lie! I really want to lock him up."
Jiang Yushu drank tea to refresh herself and said tiredly, "Forget it, calm down. Don't make us look like the villains who forcibly separated a couple. Seeing Fourth Brother's anxious look just now, I immediately felt that I couldn't stop him. I just let him go to avoid hurting the relationship."
"My whole family tried to persuade him with good intentions, but he just didn't know what was good for him. I—" Guo Honglei gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table, angry and helpless. "If he ran out in the middle of the night and was mistaken for a scoundrel, wouldn't he be embarrassed?"
Jiang Yushu knew her husband was worried about his brother, so she quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, I've asked Coach Qiu to send someone to escort him, nothing will happen."
"What's there to send? He's asking for trouble!"
Jiang Yushu poured a cup of tea for her husband. "It's too late now. There's no point in being anxious. Let's wait for Brother Xuan to come back and we can discuss it in detail."
Guo Honglei's face was stern. "She's the daughter of a prostitute, and her father is unknown. If she really has a difficult life, I understand the Fourth Brother's impulse to be kind to her, and I don't object to him helping her appropriately. But I absolutely cannot agree with marrying her!"
"This is really ridiculous." Jiang Yushu patted her forehead and muttered, "I never dreamed that something like this would happen in our family. It's so unexpected, it's like a play."
"Such a big thing, Azhe, why did you hide it from me?" Guo Honglei took a sip of tea in annoyance.
Guo Hongzhe sat next to his brother, his face full of embarrassment. "I, I discussed it with my mother and originally wanted to write a letter to tell my brother and sister-in-law, but I didn't pay much attention to it before. Considering your busy official duties, I was afraid that you would worry, so I put it off until now."
"How did the fourth brother end up hanging out with a prostitute?"
Guo Hongzhe briefly explained, "Last year during the Double Ninth Festival, he and some classmates were hiking and sightseeing when they met Miss Tian. At first, it was just, well, the occasional visit to a brothel to listen to music. His family advised against it, but he didn't take it too seriously. Unexpectedly, he secretly took it seriously, scraping together enough money and going to great lengths to redeem Miss Tian. He even rented a small house nearby to support her and her daughter."
"Foolish thing, fooling around, absolutely fooling around." Guo Honglei, a strict and upright man with high expectations for his younger brothers, frowned in frustration. "No wonder he can't improve his studies. It turns out he's been so bewitched by beauty, blinded by her, having secret meetings in the middle of the night, that he naturally has no energy to study during the day."
"I'm ashamed that I couldn't persuade Fourth Brother. I was wrong—" Before Guo Hongzhe could finish his words, his brother raised his hand to interrupt him, shaking his head and saying, "Fourth Brother is not doing his best. It's not your fault."
"Yes, third brother, this is not your fault." Jiang Yushu covered her mouth and yawned. She was so sleepy that she was shaking all over and could hardly sit still.
Guo Hongzhe noticed and quickly suggested, "Since Fourth Brother is not here, it's useless for us to just worry. We won't be able to come up with a solution in a short time. You just came home and must be exhausted from the journey. Go and rest."
Jiang Yushu was extremely sleepy and nodded subconsciously, "Okay."
"Okay, wait until he comes back and then teach him a lesson!" Guo Honglei was full of anger and urged his wife to go back to the room to rest.
The next morning
Guo Honglei was still furious. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he ordered, "Tell Lao Si to come see me immediately!"
"yes."
Soon, the servant returned and reported: "The Fourth Master has gone out."
"You haven't returned home yet?"
The servant nodded. Almost everyone in the house knew about "Courtesan Tian", but they all pretended to be ignorant.
Guo Honglei was in a state of panic. "When he comes back, ask him to come see me immediately."
"yes."
As a result, the elder brother waited and waited until dark, but still did not see his younger brother.
After dinner, Wang sighed, "The third son is getting married tomorrow, why hasn't Xuan'er come home yet? It must be that vixen, that evil spirit surnamed Tian, who's got Xuan'er hooked." The old man frowned and asked, "How about sending someone to urge him?"
Guo Honglei sat beside the low couch, playing with his nephew and three children with his wife. He replied calmly, "At present, three groups of people have been sent out. The servants saw with their own eyes that the fourth child was not kidnapped. He simply chose to help outsiders with the funeral and was too busy to go home."
"You vixen, you're such a pest!" Wang gritted her teeth, then calmed down and soothed him, "Honglei, you're the older brother, don't argue with your younger brother. When Xuan'er comes back, I'll definitely scold him and make him apologize to you. Send a few more people to 'capture' Xuan'er right away."
Guo Honglei glanced at his mother and said, "Okay."
Jiang Yushu hesitated to speak and waited to see what would happen; Guo Hongzhe also hesitated to speak and finally said nothing.
In fact, although Guo Honglei agreed, he did not take any action and chose to wait at home.
The night was as dark as ink, and Guo Hongxuan did not go home the whole night.
The next day, Guo Hongzhe got married and was busy running around preparing to welcome the bride home.
Jiang Yushu was in charge of the household, while Guo Honglei led relatives and friends and a gong and drum team to accompany his third brother to pick up the bride in a grand procession, beating gongs and drums along the way, creating a festive and lively atmosphere.
"Oh, what's going on with Xuan'er?" Wang was extremely worried. "Why hasn't he come home yet? So many relatives and friends have come today. How are you going to explain it to them when they ask about him later?"
Jiang Yushu replied calmly, "I sent someone to urge him early this morning. I hope that Fourth Brother will sober up and come back to drink a glass of wine at his Third Brother's wedding."
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