Grandmother Xie took a deep breath.
"Miss Gu really endured all kinds of grievances in order to marry into the Xie family."
Gu Jiangli said calmly:
"How could giving birth to Shi Yan's child be suffering? People who connect with each other from the heart wouldn't care about such things."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Liu Shi once again.
"Didn't you also spend several years as a concubine before becoming the principal wife? Compared to that, how can what I've suffered be considered hardship?"
General Xie clenched his fists, and the atmosphere became tense once again.
Before the two sides could start arguing, Grandmother Xie said:
"I don't want to talk about anything else. You all go out first. I have something to say to this Miss Gu in private."
Gu Jiangli was mentally prepared.
She had originally intended to bring this old lady to her side.
Because this grandmother of the Xie family was the most senior and knowledgeable, she had a pair of discerning eyes that could see through people's hearts.
In addition, she was also the person in charge of the Xie family.
If she could stand by his side, he wouldn't have any trouble dealing with Liu and General Xie.
Xie Shiyan stood up and whispered in Gu Jiangli's ear, "Come to the backyard to find me."
Then he disappeared from the room along with the other members of the Xie family.
The atmosphere inside the room instantly became somewhat oppressive.
Grandmother Xie then got up, leaning on her cane, and walked around Gu Jiangli, carefully looking her over from head to toe.
After seeing it, she exclaimed, "She is indeed quite beautiful. No wonder Shi Yan is so fond of you."
"Grandmother is too kind. My daughter's beauty is not even one ten-thousandth of what it was back then."
"Call me Madam. You're not a member of the Xie family yet, there's no need to be so familiar with me."
Gu Jiangli wasn't annoyed and obediently replied:
"Yes, Madam."
Madam Xie stopped in front of her and asked earnestly, "You said you fell in love with Shi Yan at first sight? Was it because he saved you when you were sent to the army camp?"
Gu Jiangli shook his head, indicating that he was not lying about it.
"No. When Shi Yan first met me, he wanted to kill me. Not only that, he also viciously choked my neck, trying to send me straight to meet the King of Hell."
“I knew it.” A look of “as expected” flashed in Madam Xie’s eyes. “It is impossible for Shi Yan to fall in love with any woman at first sight. Even if you are a woman of extraordinary beauty, it is absolutely impossible.”
Seeing that Gu Jiangli did not object to these words, she asked again:
"If that's the case, and Shi Yan doesn't love you, why are you so determined to marry into the Xie family? Is the position of the General's wife so desirable to you?"
"No," Gu Jiangli replied. "I have never cared about the position of General's wife, nor do I care about the Xie family's wealth. To be precise, it's not that I insist on marrying into the General's mansion, but that the General's mansion needs me."
Madam Xie seemed amused by her outrageous remarks.
The area around the outer corner of the eye is darker.
"Need you? You have nothing to offer but your beauty. The Xie family needs you? That's a bit presumptuous."
Gu Jiangli smiled gently: "No, the Xie family needs me because they need offspring. And I am the only woman who can bear a child for Shi Yan."
"Even if Shi Yan doesn't love you, are you still so confident?"
"Madam, now that things have come to this, who else can you trust besides me?"
"The Xie family has been searching for a wife for Shi Yan for twelve years. Has any woman been able to get close to Shi Yan?"
"Whether he loves me or not, I am the only woman he accepts and allows to stand by his side."
"You have no other choice but to believe me, do you?"
The smirk on Madam Xie's face vanished completely.
She walked back to the main seat once again, leaning on her cane.
She understood what Gu Jiangli meant.
After careful consideration, he said to Gu Jiangli:
"You mean, not only can I not stop your marriage with Shi Yan, but I also have to help you win Shi Yan's heart?"
Gu Jiangli gracefully covered her mouth slightly and smiled:
"Madam is a wise woman. She can figure out whether the Xie family's offspring are more important or my status is more important."
Madam Xie pursed her lips, sinking into an even deeper struggle.
She certainly looked down on Gu Jiangli's background.
However, Gu Jiangli's words made a lot of sense.
Besides her, there was indeed no other woman who could get close to Shi Yan.
Although Shi Yan is currently with her to make them, the elders, angry, if Gu Jiangli and Shi Yan have more contact one day and their fake relationship becomes real, then having a child will not be difficult.
Now that Shi Yan is twenty-eight, having offspring is naturally the most important thing for the Xie family right now.
After much deliberation, she nodded.
"Miss Gu, you are the most scheming woman I have ever met."
Gu Jiangli was not annoyed by these comments; she accepted them as a compliment.
"Madam, you flatter me. The elders of the Xie family are all like wolves and tigers, and each of them has a cunning mind."
"If I don't use my brain more, I'm afraid I'll be killed by the Xie family in less than a month."
"Besides, what are my intelligence and talent compared to the old lady's?"
"In the future, I will have to rely on Madam Xie's continued care."
With the conflict between the two sides resolved and Madam Xie clearly now on her side, her politeness returned.
"With your clever and perceptive mind, even if I don't help you, that child Shi Yan will still fall into your trap."
"Then I must accept your kind words." Gu Jiangli bowed slightly again. "Shi Yan is still waiting for me in the backyard, Madam. I shall take my leave now."
Madam Xie remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement that she could leave.
Gu Jiangli walked to the door, then stopped, turned around, and said:
"Today, the old lady is wearing a dark green coat. If the gold hairpin in her hair could be replaced with a simpler and more elegant jade hairpin, it would better complement her refined and otherworldly temperament."
"These are just my humble opinions. Farewell."
Gu Jiangli turned and left with impeccable manners.
Madam Xie watched her retreating figure in silence for a long while, until her figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.
She took off the hair ornament from her head and held it in her hand, looking at it for a long time.
An elderly woman stepped forward and asked, "Madam, would you like to have a jade hairpin replaced?"
Madam Xie handed the hairpin to the old servant.
She didn't speak, but her actions conveyed her meaning.
A moment later, a crystal-clear green hairpin was inserted into her hair.
Grandmother Xie gazed out the door, seemingly lost in thought, and said with a smile, "Although her words were barbed, her farewell bow was quite proper, and her posture and gait didn't seem like those of someone from humble origins..."
Then, she pulled a red cloth bag from her sleeve and murmured, "Could she really be the future savior of my Xie family?"
An old woman standing nearby advised, "Madam, the hairpin has been removed, and one thing has already come true. Miss Gu might really be the one who saved the Xie family as prophesied."
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