Lord Li summoned the housekeeper of the Gu Mansion, all the matchmakers in the capital, Gu Wanru and the maids around her, and also had someone check Danruo's indenture.
The sale of a maid involves the transfer of household registration. After much investigation, it was found that Danruo appeared out of nowhere in the Gu Mansion.
As the mistress of the house, Mrs. Gu naturally cannot escape blame.
When Gu Wanru saw that the matter was exposed, she observed quietly. She saw that the eyes of the wife of Marquis Xuanping and the Queen were looking at her as if they were filled with poison, and she was afraid that they must want to kill her secretly.
Danruo's eyes were always fixed on her own flawless face. She wouldn't want to ruin her own face, would she?
She secretly hated her mother's stupidity and confusion. She didn't want to be killed by the Queen Mother for no apparent reason, and she didn't want Dan Ruo to use the Queen Mother's power to ruin her beautiful face.
If I put all the blame on my mother, not only would I be redeeming myself for my crime but I would also be putting justice above my own family, and I would definitely be able to escape the disaster.
For the sake of her reputation as a virtuous woman, the Queen must not kill herself.
Gu Wanru looked deeply at Madam Gu, then kowtowed to the Empress with a righteous look, and began to speak with a guilty conscience:
"Wanru has been tormented since she was a child. My mother often asked me to embarrass this maid, and I don't understand why.
But Wanru was still young, so she was naturally misled by her mother.
It was only these two days that her mother told Wanru that this maid was the youngest daughter of Marquis Xuanping, whom she had brought with her.
Wanru has been under house arrest for the past two days and has not found a chance to tell the wife of Marquis Xuanping.
Wanru is now well-educated and knows etiquette, so she will naturally no longer watch her mother make mistakes.
I also hope that the Empress will look upon Wanru's report and forgive the foolish things she did as a child because of what she was led to do."
The queen had a stern face and didn't respond. Gu Wanru's heart was beating like a drum. She was right to do this.
Mrs. Gu was very surprised when she heard this. She didn't expect that the one who pushed her into the abyss was her daughter whom she had raised like a treasure.
She seemed to have lost all her strength and sat on the ground like a dying fish.
The wife of Marquis Xuanping could no longer bear it, so she stepped forward, grabbed Madam Gu's hair, and hit her face hard, knocking out several of her teeth.
But she missed her daughter all year round and became depressed. Her body suddenly collapsed and she was about to fall to the ground. Danruo helped her up. She leaned on her daughter, feeling her daughter's warmth. It was really not a dream.
Today she found out that it was Madam Gu who stole her little daughter, and she had always wanted to ask Madam Gu why, as she had treated her well in the past.
Mrs. Gu, now no longer concerned about the evidence of her daughter's guilt, looked mad:
"Why were you able to marry the Marquis of Xuanping? Even after having two daughters, he remained faithful to you and never thought of taking a concubine or having a son.
And I have secretly liked him for so many years without getting any response.
I also only gave birth to one daughter, and my husband kept taking concubines and having children. Only I arranged a good marriage for my daughter, and my daughter was loved by her father and lived a good life. Why did your two daughters live such a happy life from the moment they were born? "
When Mrs. Gu said this, everyone gasped in shock at her twisted mentality. Not only did she secretly covet other people's husbands, she also stole their children.
No wonder Gu Wanru dared to commit adultery, she is just like her mother.
The facts have been ascertained. Mrs. Gu's original sentence was to have her face tattooed and be exiled three thousand miles away.
Nowadays, those who kidnap and sell children do not need to be exiled, but will be sentenced to death or beheaded in the autumn.
Although there is still half a year until the autumn, the days in prison during this period are even more miserable than death.
After all, in death row, the prisoners are vicious and it is normal for them to bully the weak.
Mrs. Gu committed the crime of child trafficking, a crime that even the most vicious murderers hate.
As the sun sets, the case has come to a conclusion, but the excitement of this case is enough to make it a hot topic of conversation in the capital this month.
When Gu Wanru left the yamen, well-informed people along the way kept throwing rotten eggs and cabbages at her, and she fled back to the Gu Mansion in embarrassment.
Lord Gu has already announced in the capital that Madam Gu has been divorced by him, and he deeply detests Madam Gu's evil deeds.
He originally wanted to disown his daughter as well, but was afraid that the outside world would think he was cold and indifferent, so he planned to lock up Gu Wanru and send her to the ancestral temple first.
Although Gu Wanru was temporarily locked up, the influence she caused was very bad for the other girls in the Gu family.
The marriages that were originally planned for several girls were immediately put on hold, and the uncles and aunts from several branches of the Gu family all demanded that the eldest branch drown Gu Wanru to correct the family tradition.
Because of the incident involving Gu Wanru and her daughter, Lord Gu lost his position as Minister of Rites, and now he has been demoted by the Emperor to a small official in the Ministry of War. Not only is his position several levels lower, but this position is also a pitfall.
After all, the imperial court needed to reserve more military pay during the war, so it openly sold officials from the Ministry of War.
As long as the gentry and wealthy people gave the Ministry of War enough money, they could get the position of chief official. He took up a position of chief official, but on his first day at the Ministry of War, he was openly embarrassed by the Minister of War.
He was able to keep his official position only after paying the money to buy it.
Therefore, Lord Gu suffered greatly and hated Gu Wanru and her daughter very much. When the other families came to make trouble with him, he quickly agreed to drown Gu Wanru.
Before she died, Gu Wanru clamored to see him. He thought that after all, he had raised her for more than ten years, so it might not be a bad idea to send her off.
Gu Wanru said that she had something important to discuss with her father alone. Lord Gu was curious and nodded in agreement.
“Qiao Guangzhi is actually General Lu’s son. General Lu raised Qiao Guangzhi away from home because he was afraid that Princess Yanyang would disapprove.
Now that Lu Xiuyuan has gone to the battlefield and his life or death is unknown, the Lu family actually only has one son left, Qiao Guangzhi.
I am now pregnant with Qiao Guangzhi's child. Father, just imagine how important this child of mine is to the Lu family, which has few descendants.
As long as I marry Qiao Guangzhi and Lu Xiuyuan dies on the battlefield, even if Princess Yanyang is unwilling, Qiao Guangzhi will inherit everything from the Lu family.
When the time comes, I will definitely let Qiao Guangzhi use the Lu family's connections to help my father get promoted. Otherwise, what my mother did would deeply offend the Empress, and my father would have to stay in this lowly position for the rest of his life."
Gu Daren was shaken: "But now the other families can't tolerate you living, and there is nothing I can do."
Seeing that he was loosening up, Gu Wanru quickly seized the opportunity to persuade him:
"I know that my other sisters' marriages are affected by me. Some of them will marry far away, or they will marry again in two years when this matter has faded. If my father makes trouble again, the family will be divided. Anyway, several families rely on my father for their livelihood on a daily basis."
Lord Gu thought for a moment and felt that what Gu Wanru said made sense. His official position was the most important.
Gu Wanru warned him not to tell the other families about Qiao Guangzhi's true identity, otherwise it would disrupt Qiao Guangzhi's plan.
After Madam Gu made the judgment, Dan Ruo was surrounded by Princess Yanyang and the wife of Marquis Xuanping.
Princess Yanyang knew that the wife of Marquis Xuanping had been looking for her daughter for many years, so she naturally wanted to bring her home. However, Danruo was already her son's, so she naturally didn't want Danruo to leave the Lu Mansion.
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