“Let go of me, let go of me!”
Gu Zhen struggled.
Xie Ding was scum — her enemy — and she wanted to kill him.
Her future was ruined anyway; she had no chance of marrying into Haixi bo fu. In that case, she might as well die together with Xie Ding.
Gu Zhen’s eyes were bloodshot, her emotions surging.
Xie shi’s anger boiled over.
She had been unwilling to give Gu Zhen a large dowry and didn’t want her to marry into Haixi bo fu — but she would never allow anyone from the Xie family to plot against her.
This matter was already clear — this had been a scheme.
Xie shi glared viciously at Ma shi. “Dasao is really something — you actually dared to scheme against my family’s guniang.”
“Gu taitai, don’t speak carelessly. I’ve never schemed against you. Xie Ding, tell everyone clearly — what exactly happened?”
Xie Ding kept his head down, not daring to make a sound.
The eldest son, Xie Dalang, coughed lightly, stepping forward. “It seems er di mistook her for someone else.”
“Nonsense.” Gu Zhen lashed out at Xie Dalang. “You three brothers are all in cahoots — none of you is any good!”
Xie Dalang looked extremely embarrassed. He called out to Xie Ding, “Er di, speak clearly. Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, you still have to take responsibility.”
Ma shi nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, erlang, quickly explain and clear up the misunderstanding.”
Xie Ding lifted his head, only to meet Gu Zhen’s hateful glare — it startled him.
He opened his mouth. “I… I saw her standing at the bridgehead and thought she was Ping meimei. I just wanted to play a joke and give her a scare. In the past, I often played like that with Ping meimei.
“But when I ran over, I realised I’d mistaken her identity. Unfortunately, I slipped, and accidentally bumped into her. Luckily, the bridge wasn’t high, and there was no water below. But the ground was muddy, and we got filthy all over.
“I wanted to help her up, but the ground was too slippery — I fell twice more by accident, and somehow tore her sleeve. Gu meimei, I… I didn’t mean it. If you agree, I’m willing to take responsibility.”
“In your dreams!” Gu Zhen roared. “You shameless dog! You clearly plotted against me! What harm have I ever done you? Why would you set me up like this? Answer me!”
“I didn’t set you up. It really was a misunderstanding.”
“I don’t believe you!” Gu Zhen burst into tears. If the servant women hadn’t been holding her back, she would have rushed forward to scratch Xie Ding’s face.
‘Mistaken identity,’ ‘slipped,’ ‘fell twice’ — all those light, casual words. In truth, Xie Ding had been frivolous with her.
Xie shi’s face was grim as she asked, “Did you really mistake her for someone else?”
Xie Ding nodded repeatedly. “I really did. Today, Ping meimei was also wearing a pink dress. I don’t know much about women’s clothes and accessories — I just saw the back and thought she was Ping meimei.”
Ma shi quickly chimed in, “What erlang said is true. Today, Xie Ping was wearing a pink dress. Men make mistakes like this all the time.”
“Nonsense, nonsense — you’re all trying to harm me!” Gu Zhen sobbed.
Xie shi’s tone turned sharp. “Enough! Stop crying. If people hear of this, do you still think you can marry into Haixi bo fu?”
Gu Zhen froze instantly, her sobs cut off. She stared at Xie shi in disbelief. Could she… still marry into Haixi bo fu?
Not only Gu Zhen — Ma shi and the others also looked stunned.
“Gu taitai, you’re not joking, are you? After what happened between Gu Zhen and our erlang, she can still marry into Haixi bo fu? Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out?”
Xie shi’s gaze swept over each face in the Xie family, finally settling on Ma shi.
“As long as this doesn’t spread, Haixi bo fu will never know. Everyone just pretends nothing happened, and Gu Zhen can marry over.”
“But what if—”
“There is no ‘what if,’” Xie shi cut her off crisply. “As long as dasao and your three sons keep your mouths shut, no one will ever know.”
“I…”
Ma shi was dumbstruck, completely unable to understand Xie shi’s line of thinking.
Xie shi gave a cold snort. Did they really think she was eager to let Gu Zhen marry into Haixi bo fu?
She was doing this out of necessity.
She could care less who Gu Zhen married, but she could not ignore Gu daren’s opinion.
This matter could not be hidden from Gu daren.
If she went along with it and let Gu Zhen marry into the Xie family, she could already guess how Gu daren would think.
He would surely suspect that she and her natal family had staged some elaborate act — pretending publicly to distance themselves, while secretly pushing for a marriage between the Xie and Gu families.
Once that misunderstanding took root… Xie shi didn’t dare think about the consequences.
She feared Gu daren’s eyes filled with disgust, feared being neglected, feared her children being implicated. She also feared a fresh, young concubine being brought into the household.
To dispel Gu daren’s suspicion, she had no choice but to suppress this incident and, as originally planned, have Gu Zhen marry into Haixi bo fu.
“Someone saw it.”
Gu Yue suddenly appeared at the doorway, looking timid.
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone in the room felt their hearts skip.
Xie shi fixed her gaze on Gu Yue. “Why are you here?”
Gu Yue stepped inside. “When da jiejie and Xie er ge’s… incident happened, someone saw it.”
“Who?” Gu Zhen’s eyes went wide, locking fiercely onto Gu Yue.
Gu Yue glanced at her but didn’t dare look too long. She lowered her head and said softly, “When it happened, Zhao meimei and I were nearby. We didn’t show ourselves because we didn’t want to embarrass da jiejie.”
The blood drained from Gu Zhen’s face all at once. Her eyes went vacant, as if her very soul had left her body.
Xie shi frowned. “Which Zhao meimei?”
Gu Yue replied timidly, “Zhao liu guniang of Haixi bo fu.”
“What?”
Ma shi let out a loud cry, then quickly covered her mouth.
Her eyes darted rapidly around the room before she lowered her hand and said, “Gu taitai, if a Zhao family member saw this, then I’m afraid our Zhen yatou can no longer marry into the Haixi bo fu.”
“Ah—!”
Gu Zhen let out a furious roar. “Xie erlang! You’ve ruined my future! I’ll kill you! Kill you… Let me go! Let go of me!”
“Stop making noise.” Xie shi snapped at Gu Zhen. “Will killing erlang change anything? At this point, think about how to clean up this mess.”
Gu Zhen let out a cold, hollow laugh. “It’s over. Everything’s over.”
With that, she collapsed in a faint.
“Da guniang! Da guniang… taitai, da guniang has fainted!”
Xie shi frowned. “Take Zhen yatou back to her room. Make sure to avoid being seen. No one must lay eyes on her. As for today’s events — if anyone dares whisper even a single word in private, don’t forget that the Gu family’s rules are not just for show.”
All the maids and servant women present shivered.
“Please rest assured, taitai. We will take today’s events to our graves.”
The servant women carried Gu Zhen away.
The maidservant Luyi followed alongside. As they passed by Xie Ding, she spat right onto his foot and cursed, “Shameless!”
Xie Ding frowned but said nothing.
Ma shi was displeased and pointed at Luyi. “You little maid, who gave you the courage?”
Luyi didn’t flinch in the slightest. “This is the Gu household. If jiu taitai wants to throw her weight around, she’s chosen the wrong place.”
With a huff, she strode out of the side room.
Ma shi was so angry she nearly fell backward. “Gu taitai, is this the kind of maid you’ve raised — one who doesn’t even know her place?”
Xie shi let out a cold laugh. “So, after being schemed against, we’re not even allowed to curse a little? Dasao, do you think everyone in the Gu family is just soft persimmons for you to squeeze?”
Ma shi was momentarily speechless. Regaining her composure, she said, “Gu taitai, erlang has already explained — this was a misunderstanding. No one schemed against anyone.”
Xie shi arched an eyebrow, her eyes full of disdain. “And just because you say it’s a misunderstanding, it’s supposed to be one? Of all times to have a misunderstanding, it just happens to be when Zhen yatou’s marriage is being discussed. Dasao, do you take me for a fool?”
Ma shi’s tone turned sour. “Gu taitai, then what do you suggest we do? Now that someone from Haixi bo fu saw it, I’m afraid Zhen yatou’s marriage to Zhao silang is over. If you ask me, we might as well take this chance for our two families to become in-laws. What do you think?”
“Keep dreaming your unrealistic dreams.”
Xie shi was on the verge of exploding. She had no idea how to face Gu daren now, or how to explain this string of incidents.
And here Ma shi was, utterly blind to the mood, still bringing up making a marriage alliance between the two families.
The only reason Xie shi hadn’t slapped her across the face was because she was barely holding herself back.
Ma shi pointed at her. “Gu taitai, I’m trying to help you here. Don’t be so ungracious. In situations like this, it’s always the girl who suffers.”
Xie shi gave a cold snort. “Dasao, you’d better put that finger down. And let me remind you again — not a single word of today’s events is to be spread. If I hear even one rumour that harms our Gu family’s girl, I will not let it go. I’ll take my leave!”
With that, Xie shi turned to leave, unwilling to look at Ma shi’s face any longer. If she stayed, she feared she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from slapping her.
As she passed by Gu Yue, Xie shi gave her a cold look. “Come with me.”
Gu Yue lowered her head meekly and followed behind.
Xie erlang secretly stared at Gu Yue’s back, watching until she disappeared through the courtyard gate — but she never once looked back at him.
After leaving the central courtyard, Xie shi stopped.
In a timid voice, Gu Yue called, “Mother?”
Xie shi came back to herself, her expression turning serious.
She fixed her gaze on Gu Yue. “Are you all right?”
Gu Yue quickly shook her head. “Nü’er is fine.”
“You really saw it?”
Gu Yue nodded firmly. “Nü’er saw Xie Ding biaoge knock over da jiejie — the two of them fell off the bridge together. Xie biaoge was on top of da jiejie, and it seemed… it seemed he even kissed her.”
“Shameless!” Xie shi burst out in fury.
Gu Yue shivered, then asked cautiously, “Mother, what is to be done now? Can da jiejie bear such a blow?”
Xie shi rubbed her brow and instructed Chun He, “Assign more people to keep an eye on da guniang — absolutely do not leave her alone.”
Chun He acknowledged the order.
Xie shi took a deep breath, forcing her expression to relax. Then she told Gu Yue, “Come back with me to watch the opera. Stop wandering around.”
Gu Yue kept her head lowered. “Nü’er will obey.”
The mother and daughter returned to the opera house, but Ma shihad not come back — and quite a few people noticed.
Gu Jiu’s gaze swept over everyone present.
Xie shi had done her best to appear calm, as if nothing had happened, but Gu Jiu could feel the anger radiating from her.
As for Gu Yue — she uncharacteristically kept her head bowed and eyes downcast, but for just a fleeting instant, Gu Jiu saw the corners of her mouth curl up in a triumphant smirk.
Something’s fishy.
That was Gu Jiu’s first thought.
She called over Xiao Cui and whispered, “Go find out whether something happened with the Xie family. And also, find out where san guniang went earlier.”
“Nubi understands. Please wait for my news, guniang.”
Xiao Cui quietly slipped out of the opera house to ask around.
Something that big — someone must have seen it.
Gu Mei noticed Gu Jiu’s gaze and followed it for a moment. “Jiu meimei, did something happen?”
Gu Jiu smiled and shook her head. “It just feels odd. I remember san meimei and Zhao liu guniang were playing together in the garden. But Zhao liu guniang came back early, and san meimei came back with taitai instead.”
Gu Mei glanced at both Zhao liu guniang and Gu Yue. “Maybe something came up.”
Gu Jiu only smiled and said nothing.
That fleeting, triumphant smile on Gu Yue’s face had caught her attention.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Gu Yue was hiding something malicious.
The performance ended, but Xie da taitai never showed up.
It wasn’t until dinner that Gu Jiu finally saw Ma shi in the Flower Pavillion.
Ma shi looked radiant and in good spirits.
When she saw Gu Shan, she immediately grabbed her hand and chatted away without pause.
Gu Shan tried to get away, but couldn’t.
Gu Jiu turned her gaze toward the Xie family’s young ladies — they seemed perfectly normal.
Gu Jiu asked Qing Mei, “Has Xiao Cui returned yet?”
“Not yet.”
Gu Jiu scanned the flower hall. “Huh… I don’t think I’ve seen da jiejie all afternoon. Qing Mei, have you?”
“When we first got to the opera house, nubi saw da guniang. But after that, no. Guniang, could it be that something’s happened to her?”
Gu Jiu frowned. “Qing Mei, send someone to check the rear courtyard — see if da jiejie is resting in her room. I’ll go find out what’s going on with Haixi bo furen.”
Gu Jiu went over to Gu Mei to ask about Haixi bo furen’s attitude.
Gu Mei told her, “Jiu meimei, wait a moment, I’ll go ask my mother. She knows best about this matter.”
“Thank you, Mei jiejie.”
“Jiu meimei doesn’t need to be so polite.”
Just as dinner began, Xiao Cui came hurrying in.
She leaned close to Gu Jiu’s ear and whispered, “Da guniang has had an incident.”
Gu Jiu’s heart gave a jolt, but she quickly calmed herself. Now was not the time to talk.
She told Xiao Cui, “We’ll speak later.”
Xiao Cui nodded and stepped back.
Gu Mei noticed the exchange and asked, “Jiu meimei, did something happen?”
Gu Jiu smiled faintly and shook her head. “Just a small matter — san gege didn’t follow the doctor’s orders and drank wine.”
At that, Gu Mei laughed. “That san tangge of ours! His leg hasn’t healed yet, and he’s already drinking. He just makes everyone worry.”
Gu Jiu said, “I’ll give him a good scolding tonight so he knows better.”
“Quite right.”
After dinner, the sky was already darkening.
Gu Jiu followed Xie shi in seeing off each guest one by one.
The last to leave was da furen, Wei shi.
She told Xie shi, “As for Haixi bo furen, I’ll get in touch with her quickly. Once I hear something, I’ll send word. Dimei, please also give me a reply soon. If both sides have no objections, let’s set the children’s marriage before the New Year.”
Xie shi’s expression was slightly strained as she forced a smile. “Thank you, tangsao. As for Zhen yatou’s marriage, I’ll discuss it with laoye first, then give you a reply.”
“I’ll wait for your word.”
Wei shi, followed by her maids and servants, boarded her carriage and left Gu fu.
Once the last guest was gone, the Gu family collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie shi said, “Everyone’s exhausted today — go back to your rooms and rest. We can talk about anything else tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!”
Gu Jiu left with her maid, but not before casting a discreet glance at Gu Yue.
Compared to the morning, Gu Yue was much quieter now. All this time, she hadn’t said a single word — strange.
Gu Jiu returned to Zhilan Yuan and had barely sat down before asking, “Xiao Cui, what exactly happened with da jiejie?”
Xiao Cui quickly replied, “In reply to guniang — da guniang had some sort of incident in the central garden, but I couldn’t find out the exact details. However, I heard it seems to involve Xie family’s er shaoye.”
“Xie erlang?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Gu Jiu’s brows instantly furrowed.
She recalled how Ma shi hadn’t appeared until dinner, looking radiant and in high spirits.
Could it be…
Gu Jiu thought of the worst possibility.
Could it be that Xie erlang had schemed against Gu Zhen, causing Gu Zhen’s engagement to Haixi bo fu to fall through?
Wait—Gu Jiu felt her thoughts getting muddled.
And what was going on with Gu Yue?
She knew Gu Yue’s character well—she never did anything that didn’t benefit her.
If Gu Yue was involved in this matter, could it be that she was conspiring with the Xie family?
But why would Gu Yue do that?
Gu Jiu couldn’t think of any advantage Gu Yue might gain from it.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Jiu asked Qing Mei, “What’s the situation with da jiejie right now?”
“Nubi hasn’t seen da guniang,” Qing Mei replied. “There are pozi guarding her—servants who are from taitai’s side.”
Gu Jiu frowned. Her suspicions might very well be correct.
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