Chapter 345 Successful Divorce
Wu Anbo's pupils suddenly contracted. Although he did not know what Gu Jingxi had written in the memorial, he understood that as long as the memorial was presented to the emperor, he would be punished by the emperor at best, and disliked by the emperor at worst. No official was not afraid of being disliked by the emperor, which would mean the end of his career.
Lady Wu'an was on tenterhooks.
The Marquis of Wu'an's heir, who had been keeping his head down and silent, raised his head slightly, his eyes filled with undisguised panic. He understood that divorce was the only option. He steadied himself and, with a trembling voice, spoke his first words after arriving at the Marquis of Changxing's residence: "I...I agree to the divorce. It was all my fault for hurting Xuanyi, but my parents were unaware of it. In fact, this morning, I even told my mother that Xuanyi was unwell, and she didn't suspect anything."
The words of the Marquis of Wu'an's heir were an attempt to take all the blame upon himself and absolve his parents of any responsibility.
He was so sensible that Uncle Wu was very pleased. With his parents distancing themselves from the situation, things became much easier to handle.
Lady Wu'an lowered her eyes. She was heartbroken at her son's fate. If she could turn back time, she probably wouldn't have kept her son's homosexuality a secret from her husband. Perhaps with her husband's guidance, her son could have changed his ways and become interested in girls.
The divorce papers had already been prepared, waiting only for the Marquis of Wu'an's heir to sign and affix his seal. Since the Marquis of Wu'an's heir had agreed, Gu Jingxi said no more and directly asked him to sign and affix his seal.
After he signed and sealed the document, Gu Jingxi reviewed it, confirmed that there were no problems with the divorce agreement, and then handed it to his niece.
When Gu Xuanyi saw the divorce papers, she burst into tears of joy. Just that morning, she felt like she was struggling in an abyss, but now she had been reborn. This was something she never dreamed of. Fortunately, she had her third uncle's support. Otherwise, given her father's personality, he would definitely not have agreed to the divorce and would have used her to gain benefits from the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion. She would have had to endure the humiliation in the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion for the rest of her life.
Marquis Wu'an glanced at his son and said apologetically, "Xiao'er was wrong in this matter, and it is also because we failed to educate our son properly, causing Xuan Yi to suffer. If Xuan Yi remarries in the future, we will provide a dowry as compensation, in accordance with the standards for the marriage of a legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family."
Upon hearing this, a look of joy flashed across Gu Jingsheng's face, and he was about to agree.
However, Gu Jingxi gave him a sharp look, which made him swallow back the words he was about to say, and he didn't dare to utter a single word.
Immediately afterwards, Gu Jingxi said, "There's no need for compensation. Xuanyi's surname is Gu, not Peng. Our Gu family can afford a decent dowry when our daughter gets married. But your Peng family must give our Gu family an explanation for this matter. Otherwise, I will have to present the memorial in my hand to the Emperor and let him judge the matter."
Marquis Wu nodded hastily, "That's a must. We parents are deeply saddened by what Xiao'er has done. We will definitely punish this scoundrel according to family rules when we get back, to give Xuanyi and the Gu family an explanation." As he spoke, he kicked his son, "Kneel down, you wretched child!"
Without warning, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an was kicked, staggered and almost fell, and then obediently knelt on the ground.
Gu Jingxi did not reply. He bent his fingers and tapped the small tea table next to him with his knuckles, looking at Wu Anbo with a calm expression, revealing neither his joy nor anger, nor whether he was satisfied with the result.
Seeing this, Wu Anbo broke out in a cold sweat, cursing his son in his heart for being a rebellious son who had to mess with the Gu family. No matter how mediocre and incompetent Gu Jingsheng was, he had a younger brother who was not to be trifled with. People like Gu Jingxi seemed gentle and easy to talk to, but in reality, they were the most difficult to deal with.
Marquis Wu An made up his mind and said his worst plan: "Of course, this wretched child is morally flawed and unfit for a great responsibility. He also has such a shameful habit. He is no longer worthy of being the heir of the Earl's Mansion. Tomorrow I will petition the Emperor to strip this wretched child of his position as heir, and then punish him according to family law, so that he will be forced to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors."
Upon hearing this, the heir of the Marquis of Wu'an was shocked. He suddenly raised his head and looked at his father in disbelief. He had thought about it when he came. At worst, he would be beaten and his reputation would be damaged. But he never expected that his father would want to cripple him. He had been more valued by his father than his brothers since he was a child.
Although Lady Wu'an had already anticipated the worst-case scenario, she still couldn't help but pause for a moment when she heard her husband say those words. However, she knew in her heart that only by doing this could she quell the Gu family's anger. Otherwise, if the Gu family really submitted their memorial to the Emperor, their fate would be even worse, and Xiao'er's position as heir would still be in jeopardy. Fortunately, she had two sons. Her eldest son was crippled, but her younger son could still become heir. As for her other two sons born to concubines of low birth, her husband would likely not allow them to become heirs.
Gu Jingxi stopped tapping the coffee table, showing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, and said calmly, "Uncle Peng, we outsiders will not comment on your Peng family's affairs. You can decide for yourselves. However, if the child does something wrong, he still needs to be properly educated."
Marquis Wu did not believe that Gu Jingxi was pleading for his son. On the contrary, Gu Jingxi was certainly very satisfied with his handling of the matter, and Xiao'er's position as heir was definitely not going to be kept.
He subconsciously raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly: "Lord Gu is right. My son should be properly educated. He has made a big mistake this time, and our Peng family is also to blame. It was our husband and I who failed to educate our son properly that caused this big mistake. I apologize to everyone here."
Gu Jingxi didn't respond to his question, but instead said, "We will have someone move Xuanyi's dowry back first thing tomorrow morning. Is it convenient for your residence tomorrow?"
Lady Wu'an nodded quickly: "It's convenient. We'll be waiting for you at home tomorrow. The marriage between our two families should have been a joyous occasion, but I never expected that my unfilial son would ruin it." As she spoke, she looked at Gu Jingsheng and his wife and said apologetically, "My dear in-laws, I am truly sorry. I don't ask for your forgiveness, but I still have to say sorry."
Zhang gave a cold snort, turned her face away and ignored her, pretending not to hear what she was saying.
Lady Wu'an looked embarrassed and felt a little bad. In the past, how could Zhang Shi have dared to treat her like this? Today, because of Xiao'er, she had lost face. She had never been so humiliated in her decades of life.
Before Marquis Wu An could say anything more, Gu Jingxi had already given them the order to leave: "The divorce papers have been signed, and this matter is settled. The three of you may leave now. I will not see you off."
Seeing this, Marquis Wu An didn't say much, only saying, "Then we'll take our leave first. When we get back, we'll have to punish this wretched child properly and give Xuan Yi an explanation."
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