Chapter 390 If I don’t get rid of him once and for all, my life will be in vain
Concubine Shu's voice was calm, "He said that although you and Madam Chu are related, they are not blood relatives, let alone Madam Chu's sisters. How dare you pretend to be the general's concubine? You are deceiving the emperor and committing treason. According to the law, you should be executed!"
Upon hearing this, Guo Ying'er trembled all over and banged her forehead heavily on the ground: "Your Majesty, spare me! I was confused for a moment and will not dare to do it again!"
Concubine Shu snorted coldly: "If it weren't for General Gu's magnanimity and asking His Majesty to spare your life, you would have been beheaded by now!"
Guo Ying'er cried even more miserably: "Thank you so much, General, and thank you so much, Her Majesty, for your mercy!"
"From today on, you are demoted to a palace maid in the Ye Ting Palace, responsible for washing clothes and sweeping the floor. If you show any disrespect again, you will be immediately sent to the Ye Ting Laundry Bureau for lifelong hard labor! Back off!"
Guo Ying'er was sobbing her heart out when she was dragged out of the palace. She had thought she could do whatever she wanted in the palace because she had a backer, but she had no idea that the rules here were higher than the sky and deeper than the sea.
In the general's mansion, Gu Junze told Chu Ruohan what happened in the palace.
"Guo Yunzhou has already spent a huge sum of money preparing for the celebration banquet. Now that my daughter has been demoted to a palace maid, I'm afraid she will be seriously injured." Chu Ruohan shook her head and sighed.
Gu Junze's expression was solemn. "This selection was originally a means for His Majesty to test the ministers. Guo Yunzhou bribed the officials, and Guo Ying'er relied on her favor in the palace to become arrogant, which just happened to fall into His Majesty's trap."
Chu Ruohan was thoughtful: "I'm just worried, will this matter bring trouble to the Chu family?"
"Your Majesty has clearly stated that this matter was solely the work of Guo Yunzhou's family and has nothing to do with the Chu family," Gu Junze consoled him. "However, we still need to maintain a distance from them to avoid being implicated."
Chu Ruohan nodded, feeling a little relieved. Outside the window, the sun was setting, and the day's troubles were finally over.
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Guo Yunzhou knocked on the door of the general's mansion.
Yuling hurried in to report, "Madam, my uncle and his wife came to visit. They said... they have something urgent to tell you."
Chu Ruohan put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with Juanxiu, understanding what was going on. Guo Yunzhou really couldn't sit still anymore.
"The message was received quite quickly. Please invite them in." Chu Ruohan said lightly.
"Wait, call Yueshu over too..."
Her uncle was a very troublesome person. If she didn't get rid of him once and for all, her life would be in turmoil for the rest of her life.
Soon, Guo Yunzhou and his wife rushed in one after another.
Chu's mother was also pulled over by Guo Yunzhou. She looked at Chu Ruohan, her face full of embarrassment and pleading.
"Han'er, please help your uncle! This celebration banquet can't be held, and the money is wasted. But Ying'er... Ying'er is your cousin. She has been spoiled since she was a child, and she has never done housework. How can she endure the hardships of the Ye Ting Laundry Bureau?"
Upon hearing this, Guo Yunzhou was furious. He slapped his thigh and shouted hoarsely, "It's more than just suffering! My daughter of the Guo family spent so much time and effort, so much money paving the way, to send her to the palace, aiming for wealth and glory, to bring honor to the Guo family!"
"I'm not going to be a palace maid, but to wash clothes for those lowly creatures! If this gets out, where will I, Guo Yunzhou, put my face? How will I face my ancestors a hundred years from now?"
He beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking as if the sky was falling.
"Ruohan, you are now the general's wife, and you have a say in the emperor's presence. Please plead with the general, and then speak a few good words to the concubine Shu, and ask her to transfer Ying'er out."
"Even if...even if I can just be an ordinary palace maid and not go to the laundry department!"
Chu Ruohan sat upright on the chair, holding the teacup in her hand steadily, without even a ripple.
She raised her eyes, and her clear gaze swept over Guo Yunzhou and his wife, and finally fell on Chu's mother.
"Uncle, aunt, mother. You know better than anyone why Ying'er has ended up in this situation. Bribing court officials and interfering with the selection are serious crimes. She didn't know how to restrain herself in the palace and contradicted Concubine Shu, which is even worse."
"Now that I have only been demoted to a palace maid, it is already a mercy from His Majesty. Please show some mercy, Concubine Shu."
"If Jun Ze hadn't taken me into consideration and spoken a few words for the Guo family in front of His Majesty, I'm afraid the Guo family would be facing more than just Ying'er's demotion."
Chu Ruohan paused, her eyes suddenly becoming fierce, "Uncle, do you think this matter can be turned around?"
Guo Yunzhou's face turned red after hearing her words, but he was still unwilling to give in. His eyes rolled around, and suddenly he had a grief-stricken expression, and his voice was filled with tears.
"Ruohan, you can't be so heartless! Our Guo and Chu families are one family! When your grandmother was alive, she loved Ying'er and you the most! Now that Ying'er is in trouble, how can you, as her cousin, just stand by and watch?"
Chu Ruohan sneered, "How can a woman like me influence the ruler of a country with just a few words? Moreover, the imperial decree is a crime of deceiving the emperor. Are you trying to drag the general into this?"
"I don't care about the crime of deceiving the emperor!" Guo Yunzhou completely lost his temper and started to throw a tantrum in the hall.
"My daughter entered the palace to be a concubine! Not to wash clothes or sweep the floor! If you don't get her out, I will... I will run into a wall and die in this general's mansion!"
"Let everyone in the world see how your Gu family forced your relatives to death!"
As he spoke, he actually rushed towards the pillar next to him, as if he was going to bang his head against it and die.
Mother Chu was horrified and screamed, "Yun Zhou, don't!"
Chu Ruohan's brows suddenly furrowed, and before she could make any move, Guo Yunzhou's wife had already pounced on him, hugged his legs tightly, and cried loudly.
"Master! You can't die! What will we do if you die?"
The hall was suddenly in chaos, with cries, shouts of dissuasion, and every sound was piercing.
When Guo Yunzhou was stopped, he simply sat on the ground and cried bitterly.
"I won't live anymore! My daughter has become a slave, what's the point of me living?! Chu Ruohan, you have such a cruel heart! Now that you've climbed up the social ladder, you don't recognize us poor relatives anymore!"
"Have you forgotten who bought you candy when you were little, and who carried you on their backs to see the lanterns? You ungrateful thing!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and foul language began to flow out of his mouth.
"You..." Chu Ruohan's face looked very ugly. Suddenly, she cried out "Ouch", covered her lower abdomen with her hands, and her body softened and fell to the side.
Yuling reacted very quickly, holding her up, her voice changing tone: "Young Madam! What's wrong with you?"
Mother Chu was even more terrified. She rushed over in two steps, her face completely drained of blood. "Han'er! Han'er, don't scare me! Are you mad at your uncle?"
Guo Yunzhou's crying stopped abruptly. He stared at Chu Ruohan blankly, and his wife also stopped tearing.
For a moment, the only sounds in the hall were Yuling's anxious calls and Chu's mother's tearful questions.
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