Gu Baozhu was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean?"
Qin Yuan said, "I'll tell you in detail when we get back."
Outside, Master Gu said, "Right now you're just busy talking to your third sister-in-law. You should think about how to beg your mother for forgiveness when you get back."
Gu Baozhu finally calmed down.
Upon returning to the Marquis's residence, the main gate opened, and the servants hurriedly removed the threshold. Steward Han, who was guarding the gate, didn't care about anything else and asked first, "Is the Seventh Miss well?"
Gu Baozhu quickly poked her head out and said with a smile, "It's safe and sound."
Steward Han carefully examined the man and said, "With the Marquis and the others protecting him, this old servant thinks there will be no problem."
Then he whispered, "When the old lady found out, she was extremely anxious. It's not that I'm saying anything, but with your lifestyle, you've caused a major incident, and it's unreasonable for you not to be punished."
Gu Baozhu sighed and said wistfully, "I'm afraid I can't escape this beating. But my third brother and I both received rewards from the Emperor, and my sixth brother also made an appearance before the Emperor. If my mother finds out, will she beat me a little less severely?"
Butler Han winked and whispered, "Well...maybe...but isn't it always Rong Momo who's in charge of beating you?"
Seeing that the threshold had been removed, Butler Han stepped aside.
The carriage drove straight in.
Gu Baozhu went back to her own courtyard to take a bath and drink ginger soup.
The Gu brothers and Qin Yuan went to the main room.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Qiuju came to greet them. After exchanging greetings, she hurriedly said, "The old lady is very anxious and asks you to come over quickly!"
Qin Yuan rarely saw Qiu Ju like this, so she nodded and asked, "Has the old lady had dinner yet?"
"It has been used, but not much. The young masters have used it just fine."
Sixth Master Gu said, "The three of them are being raised very well by Mother."
Qiuju had not yet answered.
Lord Gu said, "My mother has raised so many children, and Granny Rong is an old hand at it. Not to mention that Xiu Niang in the small kitchen is also very good at cooking. You can rest assured."
As soon as the three entered the main room, several children pounced on them.
Kang Ge'er ran over first, hugged Gu Liuye's leg, and looked up to ask, "Father, is Auntie alright?"
Sixth Master Gu picked him up, then quickly put him down, frowning as he asked, "Is everything alright? How are you today?"
Kang Ge'er was put down, and Fu Ge'er came over again, also wanting a hug.
Master Gu complained, "I almost hurt my back carrying him just now. You guys are too heavy now."
Fu Ge'er was quite disappointed.
Qin Yuan said from the side, "Sixth Brother, you can just squat down, hold the children, and talk to them. They just want to be close to their father."
Sixth Master Gu looked down at Fu Ge'er, thought for a moment, squatted down, hugged Fu Ge'er and asked, "Why are you so clingy to your father today?"
Fu Ge buried his head in his father's arms and whispered, "Because I know bad people are coming today, I'm a little worried about you, Daddy and Auntie."
Lan Jie'er was extremely weak, and it was only then that she slowly turned around. Before she could even open her mouth, she was pulled into Gu Liuye's arms.
The three children surrounded Master Gu, speaking softly and gently, which made Master Gu feel a little sour. He couldn't help but steal a glance at Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan didn't have time to pay attention to him; she was busy talking to Old Madam Gu about what happened today.
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law walk in with smiles on their faces, Old Madam Gu felt relieved. After her daughter-in-law explained the whole story, she was even more at ease.
"This can be considered a blessing in disguise."
He then smiled and asked Gu Jinghui to bring him the python robe and jade belt bestowed by the Emperor. Hearing that the Emperor had encouraged Sixth Master Gu to write poetry, he said happily, "Sixth Master Gu is so ambitious now. In the future, Kang-ge'er and Fu-ge'er will also live up to your expectations. Who knows, you might even become Jinshi and bring glory to your family."
Master Gu laughed and said, "It would be best if they could pass the imperial examination. If they don't, I won't be upset. Who knows, maybe Lan-jie will find me a son-in-law who will pass the imperial examination in the future."
As soon as these words were spoken, Master Gu felt something was amiss.
Sure enough, Old Madam Gu's face darkened, and she said, "Granny Rong, go and fetch the family discipline, and make sure to teach this girl a good lesson."
Rong Momo glanced at Old Madam Gu's expression, then left without saying anything more.
Lord Gu added, "She really should be taught a lesson. She's so ignorant. If someone hadn't come to warn us, who knows what kind of trouble she would have gotten into, and our manor would have been dragged down with her."
Madam Gu slammed her hand on the table and said, "That's right! I spoiled her too much, making her arrogant and self-important. She thinks she's someone special. She can play polo and knows a little bit of fancy martial arts, so she acts like the chivalrous heroes in those storybooks, always fighting for justice. And yet she still wants to marry a scholar. It's truly laughable. In all my years, I've only ever heard of scholars marrying well-educated and reasonable wives, never of a scholar marrying a chivalrous woman who fights for justice everywhere."
Qin Yuan, who had been keeping her eyes down, couldn't help but twitch her eyelids upon hearing this.
This is because Old Madam Gu also noticed that something was wrong with Gu Baozhu and was helping to cover it up.
Just as she was about to say something, Gu Baozhu's voice came from outside: "Is my mother still angry? Haven't my brother and sister-in-law managed to appease her?"
Madam Gu angrily scolded, "You good-for-nothing, why aren't you coming in right now? Are you still thinking about how to get away with this? Do you think you can cover up what you've done with a few sweet words?"
Gu Baozhu hesitated outside for a long time, reluctant to come in. It was Rong Mama who said, "Seventh Miss, hurry up and go in. You can't escape anyway, so you might as well be obedient and suffer less."
Gu Baozhu then came in, her little face flushed, her wet hair wrapped in a handkerchief, and her clothes had been changed.
Upon seeing this, Madam Gu asked, "Have you taken a bath? Have you drunk ginger soup?"
"……Um……"
Upon hearing her mother's question, Gu Baozhu's nose suddenly stung with tears, and she choked out a reply before bursting into loud sobs, "Waaah... Mother! If it weren't for Third Brother, you probably wouldn't be here to see me again."
Qin Yuan was startled by her.
The others were not surprised at all. Old Madam Gu asked with a dark face, "What? What grievance did you suffer? Yelü Guzha actually dared to provoke you. I think he doesn't want to leave the capital alive."
Qin Yuan: "..."
Gu Baozhu threw herself into Old Madam Gu's arms, sobbing as she complained, "He's like a mad dog, and so vicious! He deliberately provoked me, saying that Sixth Brother's poems were almost the same as the ones he wrote when he was three, that Qin Juren's poems weren't even worthy of shining his shoes, and that the Grand Master's poems were not worth mentioning, and he even said..."
"That damn bastard! He doesn't know anything!"
Hearing this, Old Madam Gu became furious. She slammed her hand on the table and asked angrily, "Third son, did you teach that bastard a lesson?"
Gu Jinghui said calmly, "What advantage can he gain from me? He's just a defeated opponent."
Seeing that Madam Gu's expression had softened slightly, Qin Yuan praised, "Baozhu was really amazing today. I was so excited watching her, my heart was pounding."
Gu Baozhu stopped crying, poked her head out from her mother's arms, and asked, "Really?"
Sixth Master Gu said, "Of course it's true. Your third sister-in-law and I were so worried. We begged Third Brother to find a way to stop you from fighting. Guess what Third Brother said? He said he'd see how long you could hold out. Your performance today really brought honor to our Gu family. Third Brother even praised you."
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