"You're hiding it from me? What do you want to hide from me?" Liu glared at her daughter, then looked at Gu Yanran who was still unconscious on the bed, and couldn't help but frowning.
Just as Shen Qingqiu was about to speak, Liu spoke up, "You crawled out of my belly, how could I not understand you? You seem to be more hard-hearted than anyone else, but you actually protect your shortcomings."
Gu Yanran risked her life to protect the Gu family once, and she considered herself a member of the Marquis' Mansion. And with Shen Qingqiu's personality, how could he not protect her? "Mother is not so unreasonable," Liu said, "No matter what mistakes she made in the past, it was she who tipped off our Marquis' Mansion last time." Looking at Gu Yanran lying on the bed with a horrified face, she sighed, "Forget it, it has come to this point, you don't care about it, why should I add insult to injury."
"But she is the concubine of the Seventh Prince after all, and she has slept with Yudie. Now it is difficult for her to live in the capital."
Shen Qingqiu nodded, "Mother is right, but for now let's wait until she wakes up."
Liu nodded, and soon the doctor who was going to treat Gu Yanran came. Liu's belly was too big to sit or stand for a long time, so she let Mother Chen go out for a walk.
The doctor took the pulse of Gu Yanran, who was still unconscious on the bed, and came out to answer after a long time.
"There's nothing wrong with the fourth young lady's health. The bleeding on her face has stopped. She's just worried too much. I've been prescribing some prescriptions to help her adjust her mood for a long time...but the wound on her face," the doctor frowned as he spoke. "The man was too vicious. Every cut was to the bone. I'm afraid there's no way to repair her face."
Shen Qingqiu nodded. She was also a doctor and knew that what he said was right.
"Jin Cai, give the doctor the consultation fee and send him out."
"yes."
After everyone left, Shen Qingqiu went to Gu Yanran's bed again, stretched out his hands to hold her face, and looked around again. Her face was covered with scars. The woman in Changping was too cruel. Unless there was a way to bring back the dead, Gu Yanran would have to live with this ugly face for the rest of her life.
——
Gu Yong was originally stationed outside, but since there were no major wars in the court and the country, and Liu was pregnant, he would come back from time to time.
Since Liu became pregnant, the estrangement between her and Old Lady Xu was almost eliminated. The relationship between the two improved, and Gu Yongzi gradually became closer to Old Lady Xu.
"Although your wife is pregnant now, you are working in the court after all, so it is not appropriate for you to run back and forth to the mansion all day long." Old Lady Xu is old and has seen a lot of things. She knows that the emperor is now wary of Marquis Gu's Mansion, but her grandson seems to be becoming more and more rampant.
Gu Yong only smiled lightly, "Grandmother, don't worry. The child in Madam's belly is my future prince, the only descendant of our mansion. Even if I often take care of the family, no one can blame me." Old Madam Xu wanted to say more, but saw Shen Qingqiu put down the teacup in his hand, "I heard that the border war broke out again, and three cities have been lost in a row. But the officials in the capital seem to be unaware of this."
Gu Yong sneered and just touched Liu's round belly, "Those people, of course, only report good news and not bad news." I'm afraid that one day when foreign enemies attack the capital, they will not be able to hide it anymore and will tell the truth.
"Dad is the only useful general in the court. Right now, the situation, the court, and the country still depend on Dad for stability. How dare the emperor touch our mansion?" Shen Qingqiu continued.
Gu Yong gave her an approving look, "Qiu'er is right. The court still has use for us now, so they will naturally not touch my Gu family."
Old Lady Xu nodded, and sighed after a moment, "But in the end, the cunning rabbit dies and the running dog is cooked." She naturally knew how wary the emperor was of their mansion now. Otherwise, she would not have claimed illness and refused to enter the palace to meet the queen all these years.
"This one is narrow-minded, but that doesn't mean the next emperor will be narrow-minded," Shen Qingqiu curled his lips, "If he really can't accommodate our Marquis' Mansion, it's not a bad idea to dethrone him and replace him with another emperor."
"Qiu'er!" Liu's eyes widened. "What a treasonous thing to say."
On the other hand, Old Lady Xu and Gu Yong had no expression on their faces. They had been loyal to the Hou family for generations, and it was because of their dedication that Emperor Gaozu bestowed the surname Gu on them. The nine sons of the Gu family were all loyal and brave for the court to gain the country. Of the nine sons, only Gu Yong came back alive! Can't people see this loyalty written in blood?
If the emperor had not been so suspicious, how could the eighth son of the Gu family die on the battlefield due to the shortage of military rations and the enemy's front and back? Not rebelling against the court now is the Gu family's loyalty to the court, not to the emperor!
"My family is full of loyal and brave people, and we will never do something as despicable as treason." Lady Xu said, "But my family is not willing to sacrifice the lives of our good men to satisfy the emperor's suspicion that will never be satisfied! Yong'er, listen, if things really reach a point where they cannot be reversed, then we will clear the emperor's side."
When it really comes to the critical moment, Old Lady Xu will never be sentimental.
Gu Yong said solemnly, cupping his hands, "Grandson will listen to your instructions."
Old Lady Xu shook her head again. "It hasn't come to that yet. The key is the baby in your belly. How is it? Have you seen a doctor today?"
Liu lowered her head and touched her belly, smiling gently, "Don't worry, old lady. I've checked the pulse today and the baby is fine. If there are no accidents, it should be ready in half a month."
Old Lady Xu nodded in satisfaction and said, "The concierge has sent some new material. You two can go and take a look."
Liu nodded and said, "Yes." But she had to look at the fabric today. Not only did she have to prepare for the unborn baby, but her daughter was also growing up, and she couldn't wear the clothes she wore when she was a little girl anymore.
Gu Yong helped Liu out of the door. Shen Qingqiu bowed and was about to leave when he saw this.
"Qiu'er, you stay." But the old lady said so.
"What's the matter with your concubine?" Old Lady Xu asked directly.
"I knew that nothing could be hidden from the old lady," Shen Qingqiu smiled, and walked over to bring a cup of tea to old lady Xu, "Now she is recovering from her injuries in the mansion, and she is determined to become a nun. But she is a weak woman, I am afraid that she will be kidnapped before she even reaches the gate of the temple."
Old Lady Xu closed her eyes, and after a moment she could not help but sigh, "What a curse! What a curse! She has brought this upon herself!"
Shen Qingqiu said nothing.
Old Madam Xu added, "She is from the Seventh Prince's Mansion. Even if she wants to become a nun, she cannot leave our mansion." Whether it was the Queen or the Seventh Prince's biological mother, Concubine Li, who used this incident to criticize the Marquis' Mansion, it was not what she wanted to see.
"But old lady, if I let her go back to the Seventh Prince's Mansion now, I'm afraid she will be upset."
How much Old Lady Xu loved her great-granddaughter Gu Yanran in the past, how disappointed she is now, "She can't let it go, why can't she let it go? Since she gave up the Marquis' Mansion first, why would the Marquis' Mansion offend the Queen and Concubine Li for an outsider like her?"
Seeing this, Shen Qingqiu stopped trying to persuade her. After all, she and Gu Yanran didn't have a very deep relationship, and everything she did was just because she was afraid of making Old Madam Xu sad.
"Now that her body has almost recovered, let's send someone to send her back." said Old Lady Xu.
Shen Qingqiu nodded and agreed.
But before the message reached Gu Yanran, she had already found a white silk scarf and committed suicide.
After hearing the letter, Old Madam Xu hurried over and met Shen Qingqiu who was waiting outside. She gritted her teeth and said, "What does this evil creature mean? Is he threatening me with death at the last moment?!" It's no wonder that Old Madam Xu missed Gu Yanran so much. She had done too many wrong things in the past.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head, and a moment later the doctor came out, "Fortunately he was rescued early, his life is not in danger, but his throat was injured by the rope, I'm afraid he will have difficulty speaking in the future."
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Xu couldn't help but take two steps back. Who would fake their death and strangle themselves to this state?
Shen Qingqiu hurriedly supported her and said, "Old Lady, please go in and take a look at her."
Old Madam Xu was supported by Shen Qingqiu into the inner room. The maid next to her happened to pull up the bed curtain, and Gu Yanran's ghostly face appeared in front of them. Old Madam Xu was startled and even her breathing became tight, "This... this, who did this!" After all, she was the child she had loved for more than ten years, and her first reaction when she saw her like this was heartache.
Shen Qingqiu said: "She refused to say, but I can guess it. She once plotted against the crown prince, and how could Princess Changping, who wanted to marry the crown prince the most, not hate her? My textile factory also ripped Changping off and made her lose everything. Since she can't take revenge on me, she can only take revenge on her."
Old Madam Xu felt even more reluctant, looking at Gu Yanran who was lying on the bed with a pale face, "Forget it, just let her live here?" Then she looked at Shen Qingqiu, "Qiu'er, what do you think?" After all, Gu Yanran felt the most sorry for Shen Qingqiu and her daughter. Even if she still felt sympathy for her, she would not keep her if Shen Qingqiu was unwilling.
Shen Qingqiu knew that the old lady valued him, and he didn't want to make the old lady sad over such a small matter. "Asking him to return to the Seventh Prince's Mansion now is like forcing her to die. The Marquis' Mansion is not so bad that it can't afford to raise a child."
Old Madam Xu held Shen Qingqiu's hand, "Okay, okay! You repay evil with kindness, I just hope that after she wakes up she can--" She stopped talking halfway, Gu Yanran was begging to die, what could she not see clearly at this moment.
"Old lady, young lady!" It was Mother Chen who ran over. She was fat and created a gust of wind when she ran.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to my mother?" Shen Qingqiu asked hurriedly.
"Madam is about to give birth, about to give birth!" Mother Chen took several deep breaths before she finished her words. "Madam was looking at fabrics with the Marquis just now, but suddenly she had a seizure while holding her stomach. I felt something was wrong, so I asked Jin Cai to watch it and quickly came over to call you, young lady!"
Old Madam Xu was old and walked slowly. She just said, "Qiu'er, go quickly. You don't have to wait for me."
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