Therefore, she no longer tried to please him or anything, stretched her stiff body, and spoke slowly:
"The master has been very good to me. I became the mistress of the house the moment I entered the family. Over the past decade or so, even though I haven't been able to bring forth a son or daughter to the Xu family, the master has never taken in any other concubines."
"Yes, you just walked in and were faced with two concubines about to give birth. You had no experience with this and were extremely anxious. If it weren't for Nanny Gu helping you, you would have been in a very difficult situation."
This remark hit Gu's heart. When she married the master, her father was very happy, but her mother was not so happy. Because everyone knew that the general's wife had died not long ago, and there were both concubines and young children in the courtyard, her mother did not want her to get involved in this mess.
But she couldn't help but want to. When she first met the young general on the street returning to Beijing, her heart was moved. It was a pity that he later married the daughter of the Bai family. She cried for a long time because of this.
God have mercy on me! Fortunately, God made Madam Bai pass away not long after, which gave me the opportunity to marry into the Xu family.
"Even though I've had difficulties over the years, I always remember the words my husband promised me when he married me into the mansion, that he would live up to me. It's been a long time since then."
When talking about the past, a hint of youthfulness appeared on Old Man Xu's face, as if the promise was made just yesterday.
"Haha, yes, you were much younger than me. Back then, I saw you didn't know anything, but you still refused to admit it. I loved your stubbornness."
Gu smiled, her face even redder as she recalled the past. But she also knew that the master hadn't called her today to reminisce about the past. These were just preludes, and she shouldn't dwell on them.
As expected, Father Xu changed the subject: "So what are you dissatisfied with? Liu is just a convict. Even if she could give birth to ten sons, her status would not surpass yours. And He, she was born into poverty and sold into our family. What are you afraid of?"
Gu turned around and faced Old Man Xu: "My husband, if I say that I was unaware of what Madam did, would you believe me?"
Old Man Xu snorted heavily and then asked:
"So, you didn't know it then, or have you never known it? It would be fine if you never knew it, but why didn't you tell me when you found out? You knew I wouldn't punish you severely, and at most I would just punish Mrs. Gu, so why can't you come around?"
"Mammy is my confidant. She has been helping the Xu family all these years. But when she was in trouble, you were unwilling to save her. How can I tell you this with confidence?"
"Is she running around for the Xu family, or for you, Gu Shuang?" Old Man Xu was also angry. He felt unhappy whenever Mrs. Gu was mentioned.
Upon hearing this, Gu laughed self-deprecatingly: "After all, she and I have the same surname, Gu, unlike you who both have the surname Xu. You are the family."
Old Man Xu turned his face away, unwilling to look at this woman again. The only sounds in the room were the two people's different breathing rhythms, accompanied by the flickering light of the small candle.
"Your parents came this morning. They were very concerned about you."
"Yeah." Although Gu didn't know what her parents said to her husband, she knew it must be for her own good.
"Wen'er left in the afternoon and enrolled in Wansong Academy in advance."
"Yeah." This voice was a little higher in pitch than the previous one. She saw Xu Yiwen fighting with her with her own eyes. If they didn't separate quickly, she would not be able to face Xu Yiwen again.
"Yan'er hasn't come back yet, and she hasn't even sent anyone to ask."
"Huh?" Gu was a little confused. That little bitch Xu Yiyan was the most difficult to deal with. She had been making things difficult for her this past year. Now that she was married and had someone to rely on, it was a good time to bring her to justice. Why hadn't she come to inquire about it?
"In the final analysis, Yan'er is sensible. She knew about the strange circumstances surrounding Liu's death a long time ago and told me that your good nanny deliberately dragged her to death. Today, this matter has caused a lot of uproar, but she didn't go home to cause trouble. She is sensible after all."
"How could she know?" Gu knew that there was no need to hide those things from the master at this time, because the master would definitely stand on her side.
"Don't forget, Yan'er was already eight years old when Liu died. She has always remembered it!"
"What?" A flash of lightning flashed through Gu's mind. It seemed that the things that had previously puzzled her, and the people behind them, now had concrete candidates. "Master, do you think the things that happened with Madam Gu, Madam Cai, and Huixiang before, are all related to Xu Yiyan? You say..."
"Enough!" Old Man Xu roared, extremely dissatisfied. "It has come to this, and you still doubt Yan'er's intentions? I tell you, she is the one in the whole family who cares most about the overall situation! If it weren't for her concern for the overall situation, she would have brought people to the mansion to strangle you to death long ago!"
Old Man Xu said this almost with his back teeth gritted. This year he had gradually gotten to know his second daughter. She was smart and clever, patient and able to take the overall situation into consideration. Old Man Xu even thought, how wonderful it would be if she was also born from Madam Bai's womb.
"Even if she was the one who schemed against your nanny, so what? A vicious person like her deserved to be dead long ago! Even if she was the one who schemed against you losing your official position, so what? Was it also she who ordered Huixiang to steal things and asked you to break Cai's leg?"
Gu was stunned. It turned out that the master knew everything, everything she had done, but he just kept it to himself. This... made her feel so embarrassed.
Old Man Xu stood up and pointed at Gu's face: "You know everything you've done. If I didn't know you have feelings for me and that you work so hard to run the Xu family, I would have kicked you out long ago!"
Gu completely lost her guard, tears streaming down her face like a flood, crying out loudly for all the grievances and hardships she had endured over the years.
Old Man Xu was not in a hurry. He sat back in his original seat and listened without saying a word.
It wasn't until Gu finally ran out of energy and stopped that her father told her his final decision: "Don't blame me. I must give Wen'er and Yan'er an explanation for this matter. If I don't handle it well, the Xu family will be torn apart."
Gu's eyes were red and swollen, and she held on tightly to the armrest of the stool, which was her favorite mahogany handle.
"How about this, you know our family has some farms outside of Beijing, you can go and live there for a while, and when things have calmed down, I'll take you back."
"Ah? Master... Master, are you going to kick me out of the house?"
"I'm not trying to drive you away. I'll tell everyone you're sick and need to go to the countryside to recuperate for a while. That way, you can avoid all the gossip, isn't that good?"
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