Chapter Twenty-Four: Fulfilling the Rebellious Son's Wish
"presumptuous!"
Gu Jingxi shouted angrily, his face darkening visibly. He never expected that his usually polite, sensible, and filial adopted son would have such a wicked side. He was still alive, yet he dared to speak ill of his elders. If he died, who knew how this little girl would be treated.
He was furious, his voice filled with rage: "If she were a wicked woman, this frivolous Wan'er would never have entered the Gu family. No matter how much you like her, she can only be kept outside as a secret mistress. You have repeatedly disrespected your elders, which shows that you have no intention of repenting. It seems that the punishment is too lenient. Add five more lashes."
If you add five more lashes, wouldn't that make twenty-five lashes?
Gu Xiuming felt a chill of fear and looked at his father in disbelief. He couldn't believe that his father, who had raised him for so many years, would want to beat him to death for a woman. It seemed that Meng Jinyao was quite skilled at seduction; her beautiful face was not wasted.
Li Wan'er's face turned pale, the words "frivolous" echoing in her mind. No girl could accept such a comment; it was a disgrace. Her neighbors were all illiterate, while her father was a scholar. She had learned to read from her father when she was young and knew some characters. She considered herself superior to the illiterate girls in her neighborhood. If her father hadn't died young, she might have passed the imperial examinations and become a daughter of an official.
Meng Jinyao wasn't angry. She just felt that her former fiancé was naive and spoiled. Perhaps he had always gotten whatever he wanted and had never been refused any request by his elders or experienced any setbacks. Or perhaps he had lost his mind because of love and actually thought that a girl from a lowly background could marry him as his wife. Even if the girl hadn't eloped, she didn't meet the standards of a wife from a wealthy family unless she was truly outstanding and could make the Gu family disregard social status. Obviously, this Miss Wan'er was not that outstanding.
She looked at Gu Xiuming as if he were a fool, and said slowly, "My son, you are the heir of a marquis's mansion. Don't you know the principle that 'one who is betrothed is a wife, one who elopes is a concubine, and one who is unfit to serve as a head of the household?' The wife of the heir of a marquis's mansion will be the head of the household and manage the family affairs in the future. How can we let a girl who would elope with someone take on this role?"
Seeing Gu Xiuming's face immediately freeze, as if he belatedly realized what was going on, she smiled gently and said the most hurtful words in the gentlest tone: "My son, I know you like Miss Wan'er, but she can only be a concubine. Don't worry, I will choose a dignified and virtuous lady from a good family to be your wife."
She shook her head and sighed softly, her tone filled with regret: "You can't blame us parents for being unreasonable. It's all your own willful and reckless behavior, and you have to bear the consequences. If you had made it clear earlier and broken off the engagement, even though Miss Wan'er came from a humble background, you could have worked hard to get your father's consent and then married her properly with a grand wedding procession. In that case, she could have become the Crown Prince's wife."
After hearing this, Gu Xiuming calmed down and fell silent. He knew in his heart that what Meng Jinyao said was true. If time could turn back, he would never have let things end up like this. However, there are no ifs. On the night before the wedding, he regretted it and only wanted to spend his life with the girl he loved. So he went to find Wan'er, thinking of leaving the capital for a while and returning after his father's anger subsided.
Li Wan'er stared blankly at Meng Jinyao, never expecting that wealthy families had so many rules. Her neighbor's daughter eloped with a man and was eventually found and brought back. Her parents even agreed to let them get married. But she had lost her reputation, and the Gu family didn't even choose an auspicious day to marry her. Instead, they married another wife and would take her as a concubine after the first wife entered the family. This was the first time Li Wan'er realized the difference between wealthy families and ordinary people.
Gu Jingxi noticed that his young wife was actually younger than his unfilial son, yet she acted like an elder, which felt rather incongruous. If one ignored her childish face, she really did look like a mother. He subtly curled the corners of his mouth. Xiu Ming would only suffer setbacks when facing this girl.
After a long silence, Gu Xiuming bowed his head to Meng Jinyao for the first time and pleaded, "Father, Mother, I wish to wait until my confinement period is over, and then choose an auspicious day to bring Wan'er into the household. I hope you will grant my request." He understood the principle of not suffering losses in front of him. He and Wan'er had already consummated their marriage. If she became pregnant but could not enter the household, the child would become an illegitimate child, and there was even a possibility that the elders, wanting to protect the Gu family's reputation, would order an abortion.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi frowned deeply and asked in a deep voice, "What kind of logic is it to take a concubine before the wife has even entered the household? No noble family would dare to be so outrageous. Taking a concubine before even marrying a wife, what well-bred lady would marry you?"
Gu Xiuming glanced at Wan'er, who was nestled against him, her eyes brimming with tears, her eyes red and swollen. She looked at him timidly and uneasily, not daring to cry out loud. If he had a wife, how could Wan'er, such a simple and gentle girl, possibly survive? Although he had never experienced the machinations of the powerful and wealthy, he had heard of them. Being a concubine was already unfair to Wan'er; how could he allow her to be bullied again?
In that instant, he made up his mind and said firmly, "Father, I can only live with Wan'er. I don't want any other girl but Wan'er. Although Wan'er is a concubine, I will not marry a wife."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan'er was both surprised and astonished. She quickly came to her senses, her anxious heart enveloped in sweetness. Overjoyed, she wept, trying hard to suppress the upturn of her lips. At this moment, she felt like the happiest girl in the world. Xiu Ming had no legal wife, so what if she was a concubine? There was no legal wife to oppress her. In the future, if she gave birth to a son, perhaps she could finally be promoted to the legal wife after all her suffering.
Meng Jinyao was also very surprised. In a high-class family, this was a rare man of deep affection. However, he not only hurt an innocent girl, but also made people feel disgusted. It was fine for a noble young master of the Marquis's mansion to be affectionate and devoted, but did the innocent girl deserve to become a laughing stock?
If Gu Xiuming had told her beforehand, she wouldn't have ended up like this. She could have either changed grooms before the wedding or broken off the engagement, since she wasn't desperate for him. She had the guts to elope, but not the guts to break off the engagement; she had the courage to take a concubine instead of marrying a wife, so why didn't she have the courage to break off the engagement first and then try to persuade her elders to let her commoner sweetheart become her legal wife? Now she's putting on this deeply affectionate act, just fooling herself.
Gu Jingxi's expression was unusually calm, revealing no emotion. He glanced at Gu Xiuming for a long while before saying, "Since you have made up your mind, I will not stop you. I will grant your wish and choose an auspicious day to bring Miss Wan'er into the manor a month from now. I only hope that you will not regret it later."
Gu Xiuming's face lit up with joy, and he quickly thanked his father, saying, "Son thanks Father for his kindness."
Li Wan'er also expressed her gratitude: "Wan'er thanks the Marquis for his kindness."
Meng Jinyao glanced at the two people with joyful faces, then looked at the man beside her. She hadn't missed the fleeting look of disappointment on Gu Jingxi's face. To be disappointed in someone must mean that one had once placed high hopes on that person. To be so calm after being disappointed was probably not a good thing.
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