Gu Yuan smiled proudly and sneered, "It will also prevent the Madam from filing a complaint against me."
"I am a man, and it's okay for people to criticize me a few times. But if the Madam suddenly gets the urge to complain to my sister, my sister is a girl, and girls are like porcelain, and we can't let her get bumped into."
"Ridiculous!" Gu Jian slammed the coffee table so hard that the teacup vibrated slightly.
Gu Yuan's words clearly meant that porcelain should not touch rotten tiles. Gu Yanfei is the porcelain, so who is the rotten tile? !
"Gu Yuan, you killed the Jingzhao Yin and brought disaster to your family. Your grandmother kindly apologized for you, but you now hold a grudge against your elders!" Gu Jian called him by his name in a harsh tone, his face so gloomy that ink seemed to be dripping out.
Gu Yuan was about to say something when he felt his right sleeve tighten. The next moment, he saw Gu Yanfei say with a half-smile, "Brother, I met Xiao Ge'er at the martial arts arena today. You haven't seen him for a while, right? It's only been a few months, and Xiao Ge'er has grown to be as tall as me."
The girl spoke at a steady pace, her voice crisp and clear, like a gentle spring breeze blowing across the frozen lake, a pool of spring water about to break the ice and surge.
If someone didn't know them, they would probably think that Gu Yanfei and Gu Xiao grew up together and had a deep sibling relationship.
"..." Wang's plump body tensed up as she recalled how Gu Xiao was scratched in the face by an arrow shot by Gu Yanfei today.
She only has one legitimate son, Xiao'er.
Wang panicked, and using the coffee table as a cover, she quietly pulled Gu Jian's sleeve.
Hearing Gu Yanfei mention the martial arts arena, Gu Jian's heart skipped a beat. He looked back and forth at the brother and sister, and felt a dull pain in his right shoulder and right forearm.
Ever since he was injured in the martial arts arena, he has been unable to use his right arm, and he is afraid that he will never be able to draw a bow and shoot an arrow again.
His niece is the most cunning and arrogant. Now that she has the eldest prince as her backer, she is even more lawless. If the brother and sister are cruel and injure their son's right arm, can their son still be the prince? ! Just thinking about it, Gu Jian felt creepy and panicked.
This brother and sister can no longer stay in the Marquis' Mansion. It is better to drive out such troubles as this. Even if the separation will attract some gossip, it is better than losing a big thing for a small one.
The couple exchanged glances quickly and made a decision.
Gu Jian coughed twice before saying in a tough voice, "Okay, since you brothers and sisters insist on doing what you want, then let's split up."
The muscles on Gu Jian's cheeks were tense, but he actually felt relieved.
Over the past eight years, he had worked tirelessly for the Marquis' Mansion, taking steady steps and putting in so much effort, which had allowed the Marquis' Mansion to gradually emerge from the trough and show signs of making a comeback.
But deep down in his heart, there was a corner that was always worried, worried that the mansion he had worked so hard to build would be taken away by Gu Yuan. He had dreamed of this scene several times in the middle of the night...
No one knows a son better than his mother. Madam Gu actually knew her son's knot. Today, before entering the palace, she comforted him: "Ah Jian, this mansion is already yours, no one can take it away!"
"As long as the fact that Gu Ce is the son of a concubine gets out, the eldest son's family will become a concubine's family and will have no right of inheritance at all."
Gu Jian also knew that what Madam Gu said was right, but Gu Ce was a shadow hanging over his head for more than thirty years. Gu Ce’s son lived in the Marquis’ Mansion and reminded him again and again that there was a eldest son in the mansion.
Back then, he was not as good as Gu Ce.
Now, his son is not as good as Gu Ce's son.
As long as Gu Yuan is in the Marquis' Mansion for one day, he will be an unavoidable hidden danger!
Separation is the best solution.
Once the marquis's mansion was divided and the eldest branch was separated, no matter how much the emperor protected and indulged the eldest prince, he would not agree to pass on the title of Marquis Dingyuan to his nephews and nephews who had separated from the family.
Only by splitting up the family can the Marquisate completely sever its ties with the eldest branch of the family.
Wang and Gu Jian are one family, and she can vaguely guess about 70% of her husband's thoughts.
"My Lord," Wang said solemnly, fearing that things would get complicated, "Since you have decided to split up the family, it's better to do it sooner rather than later."
She tried hard to wink at Gu Jian and was already a little impatient.
Gu Jian had the same idea, so he nodded and said, "I'll send someone to invite the clan leader and elders over."
Gu Jian acted decisively and immediately sent a few trusted aides to various prefectures to invite clan leaders and elders.
By the time the elders of the clan gathered at the Marquis' Mansion, it was already the beginning of the afternoon. The main hall of the outer courtyard of the Marquis' Mansion was filled with people. They were either elderly men with gray hair or middle-aged people in their forties or fifties. Each of them held their heads high and chests puffed out, smiling generously, and looked quite dignified.
Gu Yanfei and Gu Yuan were also there. Since the brother and sister were younger, they sat at the back.
The hall was very noisy, with a chorus of talking and laughter.
The elders in the clan were familiar with each other. Some of them were whispering and reminiscing about the past, while others deliberately sought out Gu Yuan to probe why the Marquis' Mansion suddenly wanted to split up.
"Grand old master, Lord Marquis."
The sound of the servants' greetings caused a moment of silence in the hall.
The elders all looked towards the gate and saw Gu Jian and Wang personally welcoming the clan leader over. The three of them had already walked under the eaves.
After everyone greeted each other, the clan leader and Gu Jian sat at the top respectively.
Gu Jian bowed to everyone in a circle, looking very tactful.
The clan leader stroked his goatee and said with a hearty smile, "My Lord, we are all family, why should we go through all this empty formalities?"
"Ah!" Gu Jian cast a deep gaze at Gu Yuan, who was sitting second from the bottom, and sighed helplessly, "Brother Yuan is determined to split up the family. My wife and I have tried to persuade him again and again, but Brother Yuan and his sister would not listen and insisted on fighting for their own future."
Gu Jian's expression was extremely complicated, showing both kindness and helplessness.
Wang didn't say anything. She just sighed silently while holding her handkerchief. She shook her head slightly in the direction of Gu Yuan, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
The couple started to act weak and pitiful in unison.
Before the clan leader arrived at the Marquis' Mansion, the couple had already discussed it privately. They felt that since the Marquis' Mansion was going to split up, then their second branch must be right, and they must not let outsiders say that he could not tolerate his deceased brother's offspring.
The clan leader and the elders all frowned, and all looked at Gu Yuan with disapproval.
People at that time believed that "as long as the parents are alive, the family should not be divided". As long as Madam Gu was still alive, Gu Yuan, as her grandson, should be under her wing and be filial to her. He should not easily ask for a division of the family.
"Brother Yuan," Gu Jian turned his head and looked at Gu Yuan, who was sitting on a rosewood armchair near the gate, and said earnestly, "The separation of the family is a serious matter, and it is difficult to reverse the damage. You must think it through..."
"Since the Marquis said so, then there will be no division." Gu Yanfei, who was sitting at the last seat, suddenly interrupted Gu Jian's words, smiling lightly and gently, with his eyebrows slightly curved.
This smile made Gu Jian feel uneasy.
Gu Jian's eyes widened in astonishment, and his first reaction was: What tricks is she going to play? Wang's eyes twitched, and her nails stained with Impatiens juice dug into her palms, and she looked at Gu Yuan beside Gu Yanfei with a heavy look.
However, Gu Yuan sat there expressionless, drinking tea, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Facing the doubtful eyes of Gu Jian and Wang, Gu Yanfei continued with great righteousness: "According to both reason and emotion, my elder brother and I, as the younger generation, should stay in the Marquis' Mansion, share the joys and sorrows with the elders, and share the honor and disgrace of the Marquis' Mansion. Only when the family is of one mind can we work together."
She stood up from the chair calmly, her slender figure as bright and elegant as a green bamboo, and her words and behavior were very measured.
Upon hearing this, the clan leader and elders nodded repeatedly with expressions of approval.
"Well said." An elder in his seventies with a head full of silver hair slapped his hand on the armrest and echoed, "It is inevitable that the tongue and teeth will bump against each other. It is better not to separate the family if possible."
The clan leader also showed his approval.
Gu Yanfei sighed deeply and looked at Gu Jian with embarrassment: "But the Marquis wants to divide the family..."
"Fortunately, the Marquis has changed his mind now."
"Then we brothers and sisters will naturally listen to the Marquis."
She smiled slightly, being as well-behaved as she could be, and as open-minded as she could be.
After hearing what she said, the clan leader and other elders suddenly understood and looked at Gu Jian with disapproval.
So that’s how it is. It turns out that Gu Jian wants to split up the family business.
Yes, no wonder he hurriedly sent people to invite all these old guys here, because he was afraid that Gu Yuan would go back on his word.
Gu Jian: “…”
Gu Jian's face froze for a moment, and there seemed to be a layer of dark clouds over his head. He cursed in his heart: This niece really says one thing to one person and another to another. She changes her face faster than turning the pages of a book! How can she not distinguish? Wang's heart seemed to be poured with a bucket of oil, and her anger was rising.
She stared at Gu Jian with burning eyes and pulled his sleeve again, urging him to express his opinion.
Gu Jian tightly gripped the armrest of the armchair and looked at the brother and sister solemnly.
At this moment, even Gu Yuan no longer had the determination he had just when he asked for a division, as if he really had the final say in all matters.
However, Gu Jian couldn't say the word "indiscriminate".
Not to mention that the second branch and the first branch have completely fallen out, just based on the current relationship between the first branch and the eldest prince, even if Prince Kang marries Gu Yunmeng, he cannot trust the Marquis' Mansion wholeheartedly, and may even speculate whether the Marquis' Mansion is trying to please both sides.
After all, Gu Yunyan does not have the blood of the Gu family, and the same goes for the children she will give birth to in the future.
Since he has decided to join King Kang, he must let King Kang see his sincerity.
Thinking of this, Gu Jian's eyes gradually settled down, his heart was no longer shaken, and he said firmly:
"Brother Yuan has grown up and has a bright future. As his uncle, I have done my best to honor my elder brother's spirit in heaven."
“As the saying goes, when a tree grows big, it branches out; when a person grows big, he grows into a family.”
This family must be divided.
(End of this chapter)
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