Chapter Ninety-Nine: Slandering a Person's Reputation
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere became tense.
Gu Xiuming and Gu Xiuwen had been brothers for so many years, always respectful and affectionate, and had never quarreled. But today, they disregarded each other's feelings and started arguing.
They glared at each other, but in the end, Gu Xiuming, who was in the wrong, lost. In this matter, his actions had indeed damaged the reputation of his brothers. That was why his father had called him to the study and scolded him. But now that he had made Wan'er move out of the main house, which was reserved for the main wife, what more did his father want from him?
Meng Chengzhang was stunned, looking at the two brothers who were at each other's throats. He did not expect that this matter would escalate to the point where the brothers were arguing.
Li Wan'er's tears, which were about to fall, could no longer be held back and burst forth instantly as she sobbed softly.
Seeing her crying with tears streaming down her face, resembling his father's concubines, Gu Xiuwen felt even more disgusted and added without any politeness, "Third brother is the heir of the Marquis's mansion. Please be careful with your words and actions in the future, and don't tarnish the reputation of the Marquis of Changxing's mansion for the sake of a concubine who is not presentable."
Gu Xiuming was furious, gritting his teeth: "Gu Xiuwen, who are you calling unworthy of respectability?"
Gu Xiuwen pointed at Li Wan'er beside him and sneered, "Am I wrong to say that your concubine is not presentable? You dare to say that your concubine is presentable? Don't you know how people outside laugh at you? Treating fish eyes as pearls and holding them in your hands is truly laughable. Looking at the entire capital, I'm afraid only you would do such a thing."
"You're asking for it!"
These words completely enraged Gu Xiuming. The girl he cherished was being slandered like this. He took a few steps forward, grabbed Gu Xiuwen's collar, and swung his fist at Gu Xiuwen's face.
Caught off guard, Gu Xiuwen was punched in the face, but he quickly recovered and, not one to tolerate it, swung his fist back.
The two brothers fought back and forth, exchanging blows. They were only a year apart, one fifteen and the other sixteen, so they were about the same age and strength, and neither could gain the upper hand.
Upon seeing this, Meng Chengzhang froze, but quickly recovered and stepped forward to try to separate them. However, as a thirteen-year-old, thin boy, he was no match for two people older than him. During the fight, he was punched twice in the face by Gu Xiuming and kicked.
Li Wan'er was so frightened by the scene that her face turned pale. She hid to the side, not daring to go forward. Her tears flowed even more fiercely as she choked out, "Brother Xiuming, stop fighting! Please stop fighting!"
The two brothers did not stop; on the contrary, they fought with increasing enthusiasm.
Gu Xiuwen was a clever little devil; he didn't hit the face, only the parts covered by clothes.
At first glance, he appeared to be more seriously injured than Gu Xiuming.
Gu Xiuming winced in pain, his face flushed with anger. Taking advantage of the opportunity to subdue Gu Xiuwen, he twisted Gu Xiuwen's hands behind his back, pinned him to the ground, and knelt on his back with one leg, mocking him: "I noticed you were acting strangely towards Meng Jinyao before, even fawning over her. Today you stood up for them, siblings. It seems you two really are having an affair."
“Meng Jinyao is quite beautiful, but I advise Fourth Brother to be more clear-headed. She is now my father’s wife. Don’t let her bewitch you and do anything out of line.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuwen was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant and immediately flew into a rage: "Third brother, what nonsense are you talking about? My relationship with Third Aunt is completely innocent, don't you dare slander her reputation."
"Innocence?" Gu Xiuming scoffed. "Back then, when I ran away from my arranged marriage, she almost married you. If my father hadn't been unmarried, you would have had a 50% chance of becoming her husband."
He had barely finished speaking when Meng Chengzhang kicked him hard from the side, causing him to fall to the ground unexpectedly, giving Gu Xiuwen a chance to turn the tables.
Meng Chengzhang originally did not intend to join, but when he heard Gu Xiuming's unrestrained slander of his elder sister's innocence, he couldn't help himself and joined forces with Gu Xiuwen to fight two against one, putting Gu Xiuming, who was originally in the lead, at a disadvantage.
Meng Chengzhang and Gu Xiuwen were both clever; they chose to strike where there were clothes covering their bodies.
A maidservant passed by and saw this scene. She was so frightened that she turned around and ran straight to Shou'an Hall to tell Old Madam Gu.
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu immediately sent her trusted nanny, Granny Feng, to mediate the fight and bring them all back to Shou'an Hall. She also sent a maid to inform Gu Xiuming and Gu Xiuwen's parents to come over.
The three of them fought each other, but the fight ended when Granny Feng arrived.
Granny Feng glanced at them and said gently, "Please come with me to Shou'an Hall."
Gu Xiuming and Gu Xiuwen exchanged a glance, snorted coldly, and followed Granny Feng to Shou'an Hall.
Meng Chengzhang followed, but he was uneasy. He was annoyed with himself for acting impulsively. If he had been more patient, the brothers would not have quarreled and fought. He wondered if this would cause trouble for his elder sister. He had come to the Marquis's mansion as a guest, but he had beaten the heir.
Compared to Meng Chengzhang, Li Wan'er was the more uneasy one. Last time at Shou'an Hall, she embarrassed herself in front of everyone in the Gu family, and Old Madam Gu was very dissatisfied with her. Now that she was going to Shou'an Hall, she didn't know if the old lady would blame her for the mistake and say that she was a femme fatale.
The four arrived at Shou'an Hall and entered the hall. They did not see Old Madam Gu, but Gu Xiuwen knelt down on his own initiative, and Gu Xiuming followed suit. Meng Chengzhang and Li Wan'er did the same.
Gu Xiuming asked nervously, "Granny Feng, where is Grandmother?"
Granny Feng replied, "Young Master, the Old Madam is doing something else and will be here shortly. She has already informed the Marquis and his wife, as well as the eldest master and his wife, that they are coming."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuwen remained calm. His parents doted on him and wouldn't do anything to him, at most they would scold him, and they wouldn't even confine him to his quarters, since he was going to Lingshan Academy with his second uncle the day after tomorrow.
However, his third brother is a different story. Recently, his third brother has repeatedly embarrassed the Marquis's mansion. Today, he spoke rudely and disrespectfully, and even tarnished the reputation of his elders.
He turned his head to look, and sure enough, his third brother looked uneasy and said with schadenfreude, "Third brother, don't be afraid. When the elders come, we'll tell them the truth."
Gu Xiuming's heart tightened, and he remained silent with a gloomy face.
Seeing his humiliation, Gu Xiuwen felt a surge of satisfaction and was about to laugh when the wound on his lip pulled at him, causing him to gasp. He then said, "Hiss... Third Brother, we're brothers, how could you be so ruthless? Even if you were angry and embarrassed, you didn't have to go this far, did you?"
Gu Xiuming was in the wrong and was furious, but he dared not say anything he shouldn't in front of Granny Feng, so he could only keep quiet.
After listening to Gu Xiuwen's words, Granny Feng had a general idea of who was at fault first, so she went to the old lady and told her about the initial situation.
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