The old lady and the women of the Earl's mansion went straight back to the capital after descending the mountain, including the seriously injured and unconscious Madam Lu.
No one saw the old lady and her party off at the old house; everyone consciously avoided them, and no one mentioned what happened that night.
The old lady and her entourage will never come to the old house again in their lives.
The entire group remained completely silent the whole way.
Because they were so terrified and humiliated by the bandits, some of the women in the Earl's household wanted to commit suicide.
Gu Boyu threatened them: "You can die, but don't defile the old manor's grounds. Anyone who dies in the old manor and causes trouble for the family, I'll hang their body up, leave it exposed, and feed it to the dogs!"
No one dared to die, but everyone was living a life worse than death.
The carriage would take five days to return to the capital. On the same day, after leaving Ouyang County, they stayed at an inn in Shuanggou Town, a neighboring county.
The old lady, Madam Tu, and Madam Lu all developed high fevers.
Tu was already disabled in both legs and her body was in a bad state. After developing a high fever, she lay in the inn, talking incoherently.
The concubines of the second wife all took care of Madam Lu, but Madam Tu was left unattended.
Xie Xiangxiang is now like a walking corpse. Ever since that night, she has been absent-minded, lost in thought, and filled with regret.
She tried hard to forget what happened on the mountaintop that night, and dared not mention it.
If I had known, I would have rather broken out like Xie Zhaozhao. No, I should have jumped off a cliff and died!
Among all the women, she was the most beautiful and looked the wealthiest; ironically, she suffered the greatest humiliation, being violated by three bandits…
If Hongying hadn't led her troops to attack, she would have been humiliated by even more bandits.
What they saw on the spot was not only the old lady, but also Concubine Yue, Concubine Bai... and all the maids in the mansion!
Nightmares are also a weapon.
I can't think about it, I dare not think about it!
Granny Wei did not go with them. No one protected her. In fact, Madam Tu wanted to ruin her so that she would have leverage over her and wouldn't dare to abandon Gu Chengyan.
Guan Yingying was no kind person either; she wanted the bandits to ruin her more than anyone else.
She is still the young mistress, alive, but already dead!
She and Xie Zhaozhao exchanged sharp words, with her saying she wasn't afraid of the thief tarnishing her reputation, based on the premise that she would perish together with Xie Zhaozhao and be destroyed at the same time.
But when she herself was ruined, she finally understood what Xie Zhaozhao's words, "Xie Xiangxiang, do you know that losing your innocence is worse than death," really meant.
Her shattered life was all thanks to the Earl's Mansion. Taking care of Madam Tu? Impossible!
Guan Yingying wouldn't take care of Madam Tu either. She was in this situation because of the women in the mansion. Madam Tu would beat her every now and then to enforce the rules.
Xie Zhaozhao jumped off a cliff and died, Lu Shi's fate is unknown, and if Tu Shi dies too, she will only feel relieved.
Taking care of the Tu family? Impossible!
A concubine? A concubine hates the mistress more than anything! She'd rather the mistress of the house die quickly. Taking care of her? Impossible!
A maid? Only Ru Shi accompanied Madam Tu this time, but at the crucial moment, Madam Tu pushed Ru Shi out to serve the bandits.
You treat your servants cruelly, yet they remain devoted to you? Impossible!
In her dazed state, Tu kept calling out, "Water..."
Who will bring her water?
No one knew what she had experienced that night. When Ru Shi came to wake her up the next morning, she found Tu lying on the ground with her eyes wide open and her body already cold.
Ru Shi burst into tears: "My dear aunt!"
The people in the mansion took the opportunity to surround her and weep bitterly, but they didn't know who they were crying for.
The old lady asked Ru Shi to dress Tu Shi. No one knew what Tu Shi wanted to do before she died. Her arms and legs were outstretched, and her posture was like a flying roc.
With a bared jaw and glaring eyes, Ru Shi was too scared to touch it.
Her body was stiff, making it difficult to put on clothes and load her into the carriage. So, the old lady made a tough decision and ordered the servant to break her outstretched arms and legs so she could put on her clothes.
Because this place was not far from the old house, the old lady told everyone to wait at the inn and sent a servant back to find Gu Boyu.
When Gu Boyu arrived, he was quite straightforward. He said that since the person had died, he should first send him back to the Earl's residence for a memorial service, and then send him back to his hometown for burial.
Actually, this place is closer to the old house, so if you really want to bury the dead here, there's no need to go through all that trouble.
However, the old lady thought that Gu Shaoyu had so many colleagues, and that Tu Shi could collect a lot of condolence money by holding a funeral, so she decided to hold a grand funeral at the Earl's Mansion.
He ordered the servant to drag Tu's body back to the Earl's mansion.
Before entering Beijing, the old lady gathered all the women together in the suburbs to form a defensive alliance.
"The past is the past, nothing ever happened, forget it all. Anyone who dares to gossip will be beaten to death."
Everyone kept the fact that they had been raped and defiled by bandits a secret, and no one was allowed to tell anyone.
Upon returning to the Earl's residence, Steward Zhang heard that Madam Tu had died on the way and assumed that everyone's grim expressions were because of her death.
Immediately set up a mourning tent, order a coffin, and send out funeral notices.
Gu Boyu didn't bother with it. He went back to the ancestral hall and knelt there for a day and a night until he fainted and was carried out by his servant.
Apart from the servants who originally stayed in the mansion, everyone in the entire household kept quiet about it.
Gu Chengyan's injuries have not fully healed, but as Tu's only legitimate son, he must keep vigil.
Dressed in mourning clothes and a mourning cap, he stood with his head down in the mourning hall, keeping his mouth shut and daring not to utter a sound.
On the third day after his castration, he was horrified to find that his beard and armpit hair were falling out in clumps. He was terrified for several days, searching everywhere for adhesive to stick his beard back on.
People are generally like this: they didn't think there was anything good about having a beard before, but now that they don't have one, they try every means to put one on, even if it looks rough and ugly, they try their best to cover it up.
The Panacea helped him get through the most difficult time. After taking the Panacea, he not only reduced his pain but also lessened his shame about losing his testicles.
A beard can be faked, but his voice cannot be concealed.
Gu Zheng was also keeping vigil with him.
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