After the initiation ceremony, Xie Zhaozhao heard that Madam Xie was going to the Marquis's residence, so she called Mo Yan over and gave him some instructions.
Mo Yan happily said to Madam Xie, "This servant will go to the Marquis's residence first and ask them to receive you."
The old lady said, "Indeed, we should give them a heads-up first; we can't be impolite."
Mo Yan went to the Hou residence to greet the old lady. The old lady, along with Madam Tu and Gu Chengyan, greeted Madam Xie at the main gate.
Without any formalities, Madam Xie took the initiative to bring up Gu Yuebai's identity: "My dear in-law, whose child is this?"
Madam Hou offered her tea and said, "Yan'er was worried that the morning ceremony would be affected, so he rushed back. He was just thinking of going to the Xie residence to explain things to you and Lord Xie. I'm so sorry to have troubled you to come all this way."
Madam Tu couldn't express her feelings. Today, her grandson was rejected by all the academies present, and her heart was bleeding. Yet, she had to clean up her son's mess.
“Yuebai is the child of my niece. Her husband died, and she returned to her parents’ home with her son. With a child, it was difficult for her to remarry. I felt sorry for her, so I raised her in the mansion.”
Upon hearing that he was "dead," Gu Chengyan's eyelids twitched.
One lie requires a hundred more to cover it up. His mind is racing, trying to figure out how to deal with it and how to get away with it.
Madam Xie said calmly, "This child looks seven or eight parts like Prince Gu, and he himself says that Prince Gu is his biological father. What's the explanation?"
Gu Chengyan explained with shame, "If the child is going to study at a private school, and we say that he has no father, we are afraid that other children will bully him. So we say that I am his father... Madam is also aware of this situation."
Madam Xie glanced at Xie Xiangxiang, but the latter was lost in thought.
Today, after returning from the Xie residence, Madam Tu, Gu Chengyan, and even the old lady took turns telling her that the child was her cousin's child.
He explained the whole story to her in great detail.
Gu Chengyan said that this was his cousin's child, so it was normal for a nephew to resemble his uncle.
The old lady said it didn't matter if he couldn't go to the academy to study; they could find a tutor to teach him. It wasn't like they couldn't afford a tutor!
Xie Xiangxiang is now very eager to let Xie Zhaozhao know this news.
What good is it for her to know this all by herself?
Let Xie Zhaozhao know that this child is not Gu Chengyan's illegitimate son, and that he can still be successful even after leaving Mengxi Academy.
Most importantly, Xie Xiangxiang had the opportunity to adopt, while Xie Zhaozhao would never have the chance to be Yuebai's mother in this lifetime.
The desire to defeat Xie Zhaozhao and surpass her has become an obsession.
A beggar's greatest joy is not encountering a chance to defy fate, but rather earning one more coin than the beggar next door.
This is simply wonderful; that coin is bigger than a car wheel.
Happiness and joy are relative values, not absolute values.
She asked Madam Xie, "Has my elder sister returned?"
Seeing that she was distracted, Madam Xie shook her head inwardly and said lightly, "Why are you asking her? The opera in the manor will be performed for half a month, and she won't be back for a few days."
Xie Xiangxiang then reluctantly said, "It's normal for a nephew to resemble his maternal uncle, and for a cousin to look alike. Yuebai is a very smart child; he'll definitely be a top scholar in the future."
Hearing this, Madam Xie sneered inwardly. No wonder Zhaozhao remained silent. Helping such a stupid, arrogant, and stubborn person would only bring her humiliation.
Madam Xie put down her teacup and said, "Since the young master's wife, the old lady, and the lady of the marquis have all clarified the matter, I won't say any more."
After Madam Xie left, the old lady of the Marquis's mansion, her hands trembling, berated Gu Chengyan for his incompetence. She summoned the steward, pointed at Gu Chengyan, and said, "Bring out the family discipline!"
Xie Xiangxiang knelt down and begged, "Grandmother, please spare him! The Grand Canal project in Jiangnan is still counting on him. You don't know, a day's delay costs several hundred taels of silver!"
The old lady looked at her with a sense of despair.
The Marquis is a good-for-nothing, the Marquis's wife is short-sighted, the heir apparent dotes on his mistress, the great-grandson is despised by the entire capital, and the heir apparent's wife is a fool!
There's no hope for this family anymore.
She couldn't help but burst into tears.
The front yard was bustling with noise. Madam Lu from the second branch of the family originally wanted to go out to inquire, but as soon as she stepped out, she saw Mo Yan running around muttering to himself, "These days, all sorts of strange things happen..."
Madam Lu called out to him, "Aren't you from the Third Madam's courtyard? What are you whispering about here?"
Mo Yan was startled and said with a grin, "Greetings, Second Madam. Why do you walk so quietly? You scared me to death! You must have misheard me, I didn't say anything."
“Speak properly. If you lie, I’ll report to the Third Madam and have you skinned alive.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Yan immediately wilted and said in a flustered manner, "Second Madam, you are so magnanimous. I only overheard it and found it a bit strange. I really didn't tell anyone."
Lu was always bored and loved to join in the fun, so she immediately threatened him: "Tell me what you said, and I won't tell anyone else."
Mo Yan looked around again, and Madam Lu simply called him to her courtyard.
Mo Yan then boldly said, "Second Madam, you know, I heard that our eldest and second young ladies were both sold into prostitution, but the Marquis and the Old Madam kept it a secret. Now, someone is going to be cuckolded!"
Madam Lu hurriedly asked, "Who? Who are they going to marry?"
"I heard that the eldest young lady is going to marry the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue, and the second young lady is going to marry some young master from the Sun family."
Upon hearing this, Madam Lu's eyes immediately turned red. They had almost caused her daughter to lose her chastity, yet she was still able to marry the son of a third-rank official and become the principal wife of the Earl's family.
"Minister Pei and Lord Sun have agreed?"
“I agree, Second Madam. Look: We are a Marquis’s mansion. If we can marry a young lady from the Marquis’s mansion, it’s equivalent to being on the same side as the Grand Secretary. Then there’s the Xie family, the Xu family, and…”
As he spoke, Lu's anger surged.
Seeing her expression, Mo Yan was terrified and hurriedly pleaded, "Second Madam, please don't be angry. I only heard it from others. Besides, they are all young ladies from the manor. Marrying well is good for our Marquis's manor as a whole. Isn't that a wonderful thing?"
Damn it!
Lu wants to kill someone right now.
Why should she have to tolerate it just because her daughter is to be ruined?
She glanced at Mo Yan and said, "You'd better leave quickly. Don't tell anyone you've been here, and don't meddle in the affairs of the inner quarters in the future, or the Third Madam will beat you to death."
Mo Yan nodded and ran off in a flash.
Not long after, Madam Lu went out with her two maids and headed straight for the teahouse.
When Mo Yan saw her leave the house and ride her horse out of the Marquis's residence, the gatekeeper assumed that she had gone to the Xie residence to pick up the Third Madam.
He went out to the south of the city, found a beggar on the street, and gave them three hundred copper coins...
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