hild, their marriage would be even more complete." She took another sigh and said, "Forget it, contentment is happiness. Some things can't be forced. The fact that he has a wife now means he won't be...Gu Jingxi's heart was filled with anger. He had underestimated that bastard's depravity. To actually scheme against his cousin's marriage because of a conflict between her and the concubine, sending her into a den of wolves to ruin her for life!

He glanced at his gloomy elder brother, then turned his gaze to the elder sister-in-law and niece who were hugging each other and crying. With a look of apology, he said: "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, it's my fault for not teaching my son well, raising such a bastard who caused so much harm to Xuanyi."

Gu Jing Sheng has always been reluctant to hold any resentment against his third younger brother, after all, his current success stems from the fact that his third younger brother is promising. He hurriedly said: "Third younger brother, you can't be blamed for this, you wouldn't want this kind of thing to happen. The blame can only be placed on XuanyI for having the habit of slapping people at every turn, inviting trouble upon herself. She beat her sister-in-law last time, and even hit her sisters in the inner chambers. It's our fault for not properly educating XuanyI, which led to her getting into trouble."

Zhang looked at her younger brother-in-law. Although she was angry, she understood that blaming him wouldn't help. Gu Xiuming had always been a scoundrel. Last time, he even schemed against her third sister-in-law. Given her younger brother-in-law's character and way of doing things, if Gu Xiuming were still in the Gu family, he would definitely be severely punished this time to avenge Xu Yi.

Gu Xuyan also knew that she couldn't blame her uncle for this, but thinking of Gu Xiuming being so vicious and hurting her like this, she hated him to the bone. Fortunately, Gu Xiuming had long been exiled, and the one who hurt her was worse off than her. She finally found some solace in her heart, but her life had also been ruined.

For a moment, Zhang said: “Third brother, you need not blame yourself. Who could have thought that Gu Xiuming would be this kind of person He has already paid the price for his actions and been exiled to Yaizhou. This matter is no longer to be investigated. But Xuanyi must divorce her uncle, or else she will eventually die at her uncle's hands.”

Gu Jingxi nodded slightly: "Don't worry, sister-in-law. Xuan Yi's divorce from her uncle is a foregone conclusion, and they have to agree even if they don't want to. Since today is a holiday, it's better to take advantage of the opportunity and invite Duke Wu'an and his wife, as well as her uncle, over to discuss the divorce."

Zhang hurriedly nodded: "Good, this matter should be done as soon as possible, the sooner the better."

Gu Jingxi immediately ordered Zhou Yun to go to the Duke of Wuan's mansion.

After all that commotion, it was already noon. The whole family stayed in Shou'an Hall for lunch. However, with such a distressing incident, everyone felt heavyhearted and had little appetite. Still, they had to eat something; they would have to face the people from Wu'an Bo Mansion in the afternoon.

-

Duke of Wuan's Mansion.

Marquis Wuan and his wife were just about to have lunch when they were suddenly informed that someone from Marquis Changxing's household had arrived, claiming to have something important to relay to them. Their hearts skipped a beat, instinctively thinking of their daughter-in-law who had been beaten by their son.

Marquis Wuan asked in a low voice, "My lady, is there nothing wrong with Xiao'er over there"

Lady Wǔ'ān Bó shook her head. “No, I asked Shǎo’er this morning, and Shǎo’er said she was still lying in bed. She just threw a tantrum and went back, ignoring Shǎo’er. Her maidservant was also honest and obedient, and didn't let anything slip.”

Wǔ'ān Bó frowned, puzzled: “That’s strange. My acquaintance with Chángxīng Hòu is superficial. What could he possibly want from us”

"Now that we are in-laws with the Changxing Houfu, there might be something going on. Let's go take a look first," said Lady Wu'an, calmly appeasing her husband, "My lord, don't overthink things and lose your composure."

Lord Wu An slightly nodded his head.

Then, the couple of Marquis Wu'an went to the front hall and saw Zhou Yun. Seeing that he was a young man who had not yet reached adulthood, but with an air of bearing that could not be underestimated, one would think he was a son of some noble family. He was clearly no ordinary person, being a trusted confidant of Marquis Changxing, and should be treated with respect.

Zhou Yun politely bowed to the couple and said, "My name is Zhou Yun. I pay my respects to Marquis Wu'an and his wife."

Wuan Bo's attitude was conciliatory: "Young Master Zhou, you don't need to be so courteous. I wonder if Lord Gu sent you here to convey something"

Zhou Yun replied: "Our master invites the two of you, and your uncle to have a gathering at the mansion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Wu'an and his wife exchanged uneasy glances. They instinctively felt that the matter had something to do with their daughter-in-law being beaten by their son, but they also clung to a glimmer of hope that it hadn't spread.

Lady Wu'an asked, "I wonder why Lord Gu suddenly invited us over"

Even though Zhou Yun knew the inside story, he didn't reveal it outright. He only said, "This villain doesn't know, I'm just here to pass on a message."

Upon hearing this, Duke Wu'an and his wife looked at each other, their hearts growing even more certain that the matter was about their son and daughter-in-law. But their daughter-in-law was still in their home, and none of the maids had leaked any news. Could the problem be with the fourth house

Lord Wu'an remained composed and said, "Since Lord Gu has invited us, there must be something important. Please trouble Young Master Zhou to return and tell Lord Gu that my wife and I will have lunch first, then we will bring our son to the Hou Mansion later."

Zhou Yun responded and didn't linger any longer, heading back to report.

Lord Wu An's face suddenly darkened after he left. He said, "Let's hold off on lunch for now. Go to Shao Er's place and see what's going on with his wife. I'll have someone bring Shao Er back. This little brat went out again not long ago."

Lady Wu'an nodded and hurriedly went to her son and daughter-in-law's courtyard.

Along the way, Lady Wu An felt uneasy. When she reached her son's courtyard, she saw no sign of his wife, nor even a single one of her close maidservants. Her heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

She knew this time things were going to be serious!

The daughter-in-law was nowhere to be found, and not even one of her maidservants could be seen. This mistress and servant pair figured they must have snuck away quietly, but how did they manage to escape the courtyard She questioned the other maidservants in the courtyard, but they all claimed they hadn't seen them leave.

Could it be that the Fourth House is secretly playing tricks

At this time, Gu Xuanyi's other maidservant, Reixiang, who had pretended to be Gu Xuanyi lying in bed facing away from the son of Marquis Wu'an earlier and gotten through by deception, watched as Madam Marquis Wu'an left after berating the maidservants in the courtyard. She roughly knew that their mistress had probably escaped from Marquis Wu'an's residence and very likely was already back at the Changxing Hou Mansion, but when did Yuchang run away She hadn't even notified her at all, just sneaking off on her own.

When Marquis Wu'an heard from his wife that his daughter-in-law and her maidservant had disappeared, his face turned pale: "What do you mean Those two weak women can't even climb walls, how could they possibly escape the eyes of everyone in the courtyard"

Lady Wu'an's expression was grave. "Perhaps someone is secretly helping them. They must have returned to Changxing Hou's residence and filed a complaint, otherwise, Changxing Hou wouldn't have suddenly sent people to invite us over. My husband, how should we respond"he master had instructed him that if the mistress returned, he should not let her in first and should instead report to the master and his wife. So, he賠 smiled and said, "It's dark, and my eyesight is...