Gu Qinlan dismissively brushed away Zou Shi's fingers, her face as cold as ice: "Whether I can bear children or not is not important. The key is that I don't care about your children at all. As for why they suddenly broke with you, do you really have no clue?"
"Did I instigate you to barge into my door with Lou Zeren, demanding an apology from Zheng Fenghui? Did I also instigate you to refuse Zheng Huaiyu's request for help?"
For a moment, Ms. Zou was speechless.
Gu Qinlan gave a disdainful sneer, then turned to look directly at Princess Duan: "Mother, look at Madam Lou's appearance. She clearly doesn't need our interference. Besides, she still has her family to rely on. Even if someone really needs to step forward, it should definitely not be our former family. Otherwise, how will outsiders ridicule our Zheng family? Will they say that our Zheng family lacks backbone, shamelessly clinging to our former daughter-in-law? Or will they question whether our current head of the Zheng family has an ambiguous relationship with our former sister-in-law, even interfering in their private arguments?"
“Feng Hui’s words are very pertinent. If you are so eager to support your niece, then you should find a way to resolve this yourself and not tarnish the reputation of the Duan Prince’s Mansion. Our Duan Prince’s Mansion has always been renowned and never interferes in other people’s family disputes, much less in the private affairs between husband and wife.”
After saying that, Gu Qinlan turned and left resolutely.
Zheng Fenghui and Zheng Huaiyu followed closely behind, walking hurriedly.
Only after they had disappeared into the distance did Madam Zou raise her voice again and wail, "Aunt! Look at that merchant's daughter! She's trying to cause trouble! Can you really bear to watch her bully me like this?"
Princess Duan felt pity for her nephew, but Gu Qinlan's words just now instantly brought her to her senses.
Hearing Zou's derogatory address to Gu Qinlan, she couldn't help but feel angry: "Shut up! So what if she's a merchant's daughter? She's now my Zheng family's daughter-in-law, her status is far above yours. If you look down on merchant's daughters, then why did you lower yourself to marry a merchant?"
"That's enough, go back now. Since Feng Hui and Huai Yu are unwilling to help you, I don't want to disappoint them either. Go back to your parents' home and let them support you. Granny Cen, see the guest out."
Although the niece is a close relative, when it comes to family interests, one cannot overstep the boundaries of one's own daughter-in-law.
Furthermore, this niece had betrayed the Zheng family and herself.
Her eldest son had just died on the battlefield, his body barely cold, and this niece was already eager to remarry. How could she accept that? Although the imperial court did not explicitly prohibit widows from remarrying, a woman's remarriage always had a negative impact on her children.
At the time, she tried her best to stop it, believing that the matter of remarriage should at least be discussed after the mourning period for her eldest son, so that she might be able to accept it.
However, Zou knelt down and begged for a way out, even claiming that if she hadn't insisted on Zou marrying into the Prince Duan's mansion back then, she would have already married Lou Yongwei and wouldn't have missed that wonderful time.
At that moment, Princess Duan's anger erupted like a volcano, almost suffocating her and nearly causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Mingming had specifically sought Zou's opinion during the old days of the marriage proposal, and Zou herself had happily nodded and agreed to step into the noble Duan Prince's Mansion!
However, her youngest son, as the head of the family, later agreed to Zou's remarriage, which enraged her and made her determined to sever all ties with her. But she was kind-hearted and easily swayed, and with Zheng Huaiyu's mediation, after some back and forth, her anger gradually subsided.
Seeing Zou Shi beaten and bruised all over today, her heart softened, and she sincerely wanted to stand up for her.
Unexpectedly, there was a hidden secret she was unaware of! Zou even openly belittled her daughter-in-law in front of her!
Who does she think she is!
Although Gu Qinlan's status is low, she is still the matriarch whom the Zheng family openly and honorably married. To disrespect the matriarch is to disregard the dignity of the Zheng family!
Forcing her to remarry back then was already a huge insult to the Zheng family. Now she wants to insult the Zheng family again?
That's utterly delusional!
Princess Duan's anger burned ever brighter. She turned to Zou and said coldly, "From now on, unless it's something important, don't set foot in the Duan Prince's residence. Now that you've remarried, you should live your life peacefully and obediently. Don't go back to your ex-husband's house so often and cause gossip. You may not care about your reputation, but the Zheng family values it very much."
Zou's face turned ashen instantly. She rushed forward and grabbed Princess Duan's skirt, pleading, "Aunt, please, you are the only one I can rely on now."
Granny Cen stepped forward and skillfully pried open Madam Zou's hands: "Madam Lou, you are joking. You have your husband's family and your own family. How can you rely on my old lady? If outsiders misunderstand, they will think that my old lady is sowing discord and causing you to have a rift with your husband's family."
"Madam Lou, you must persevere on the path you have chosen, even if you fall and bleed. There is no going back in this world. Please."
Ms. Zou still refused to leave, tears welling up in her eyes.
Princess Duan, fearing she would soften her heart again, hurriedly fled the scene.
Finally, under the half-pushing and half-pleasing of Granny Cen, Madam Zou was sent out of the mansion.
at the same time.
Gu Qinlan came out of the Duan Princess's residence and was about to return to her own courtyard when she noticed that the two loyal attendants behind her were unwilling to leave. She turned around and looked at them.
"Hmm? You guys plan to just keep following me like this?"
Zheng Huaiyu lowered his head involuntarily, his voice low and deep: "I'm feeling a bit down. Can you talk to me for a while?"
In this mansion, he could find no one to confide in.
With the maids fawning over her, her grandmother was somewhat delirious, and her aunt was of no help whatsoever. Her two younger brothers, one simple-minded and the other young and ignorant, were completely unable to understand her thoughts.
After much deliberation, it turned out that only Gu Qinlan could be considered a sensible person.
Gu Qinlan didn't seem particularly busy. She pointed to a pavilion not far away and said softly, "Let's go there."
Zheng Fenghui hurriedly followed, but Zheng Huaiyu glared at him and asked unhappily, "What are you going to do by following me?"
Zheng Fenghui scoffed dismissively, "I'm willing."
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickened his pace and arrived at the pavilion ahead of everyone else.
Zheng Huaiyu was so angry that his face turned ashen, and his expression was extremely unpleasant.
Gu Qinlan witnessed this scene and couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of her mouth.
She had never experienced the joy of being close to her siblings. All of Gu's so-called siblings were scheming and cunning, and she rarely interacted with them unless absolutely necessary.
Unexpectedly, the relationships between siblings in an ordinary family can be so vivid and interesting.
After settling down in the pavilion, Zheng Huaiyu sighed deeply, seemingly wanting to say something but not knowing how to express it.
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