Volume 3: The Lotus Does Not Spare Its Rouge Colour, Nor Does It Wait for a Golden House to Recommend a Grand Hall Chapter 111

  The Governor's Mansion was originally the residence of the loyal and respectful Marquis, who was appointed by Emperor Taizu. It was adjacent to the Ningyuan Marquis' mansion, so the street in front of it was also called Zhongning Street. However, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Loyal and Respectful Marquis was involved in a treason case and was executed, his title was revoked, his iron certificate was destroyed, and his family was exterminated. Later, the mansion was given to Minister Xiong Linshan, who renamed it "Qingyuan". After Minister Xiong retired, he returned the garden to Emperor Renzong, who then gave him numerous houses and fields in his hometown.

  Not counting the mountains and forests in front of and behind it, the total area of Cheng Garden is about 90 mu, which can be divided into two parts: the front part and the back part.

  The front yard is also known as the outer garden, where men handle government affairs. The main gate at the front is a vermilion-painted large gate with 49 copper nails on each of its three leaves. On either side are the east and west corner gates. Inside, the ground is paved with neat and tidy giant stone slabs that stretch straight down, symmetrical with two rows of four outer study rooms. Further outside are stables, carriage houses, and several rows of narrow courtyard houses for slaves and servants. After passing through the outer ceremonial gate, in the center lies a spacious and bright five-bay hall for discussion, flanked by warming rooms, ear rooms, tea rooms, and other such facilities.

  Through three inner gates and into the interior is the inner courtyard.

  Due to consideration and avoidance, Minglan sat on a sedan chair with thin curtains, quickly circling the front yard. Gu Tingye pointed out a few places and took a brief look. Once they entered the inner courtyard, Gu Tingye immediately asked Minglan to get off and walk. Minglan tactfully expressed that she was frail and couldn't handle long walks, suggesting it would be better to sit in the sedan chair; the man's eyes became unusual, leaning into her ear even more tactfully: Are you trying to preserve your strength...?

  Ming Lan thought for a moment: "I'll just walk."

  The man's eyebrows and eyes were clear-cut, his nose was straight and his lips were thin, his eyes were deep and seemed to be silently laughing at her.

  In the inner courtyard, right in front of the main hall with five bays and deer-shaped decorations on either side of the eaves, there was a horizontal inscribed board above the entrance with three large characters "Chaohui Hall" in flying dragon and dancing phoenix style. Minglan quietly called out in admiration, then turned around and said: "After all, Lord Xiong is an elder statesman who has served two dynasties, a renowned scholar of great virtue, and a member of a family with a long tradition of producing scholars. He doesn't need any auspicious words to decorate his hall; just the two characters 'Chaohui' are enough!"

  Gu Tingyan looked at these three words and nodded too.

  To the left of the Chaohui Hall is a small courtyard, which is Gu Tingyan's inner study. To the right is a side hall and a wooden corridor. Behind it, separated by a white stone path and a hanging flower gate, is the main house with seven rooms and seven frames. On both sides are three-story wing houses and three-story ear houses, with three layers of buildings in front and back, covering more than 20 rooms. The atmosphere is grand and the decorations are magnificent. Above the door are written three large characters - Jiaxi Residence.

  Minglan looked at him with a familiar gaze, and after several glances, she finally recognized that he was the one who had set off from here this morning.

  The back door of Jiaxi Ju has three rooms, and behind the inverted seat of the pavilion, there are two corner doors. One leads to the rear corridor, where there is a small meeting hall, probably for the inner relatives to hold meetings and receive guests. The other one connects to the corridor, leading to a large flower hall.

  Minglan felt dizzy and her legs went soft, Gu Tingye looked at her dazed expression and couldn't help but laugh, so he pulled her to have lunch first, after resting for a while, the couple continued their stroll.

  With Jiaxi Ju as the center, facing north, east and west, there are five courtyards and row houses surrounding it. These places were probably for the old master and mistress to live in, as well as their sons and daughters. Unfortunately, they are all empty now.

  The nearby courtyards and Zhengyuan are connected by a winding corridor, while the more distant ones are separated by the north-south alley. Behind them is a garden filled with fragrant flowers and trees. Minglan walked around in circles, most delighted by a lotus pond, its surface sparkling, the water clear and serene, the fragrance of lotus flowers wafting from the lake's surface, and the lotus roots visible beneath the water. One end of this pond is connected to the He Xiang Ting Garden, while the other end leads directly to that grand flower hall.

  Minglan walked tiredly and decided to take a rest in the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion.

  "This big house, just for the two of us?" Minglan looked around at the eight doors and windows, leaning on the railing of the lotus pond, and asked weakly.

  "This is considered a big one." Gu Tingyan stood on the courtyard corridor, facing the direction of Ningyuan Houfu, where there was now a small mountain forest, and said quietly, "You've also been to Xiangyang Houfu, which is more than twice as big as this one."

  Ming Lan followed his gaze and thought to herself: This guy wants to merge! Just hope it's not an illegal expansion.

  ……

  In the era of Yao Yiyi, every time the winter or summer vacation was about to end and school was about to start, students who had been flying dragons and jumping tigers during the holidays would honestly stay at home, busy catching up on their homework. After so many years, Yao Yiyi saw this scene again in a very magical way.

  That night, after dinner, Gu Tingyan moved a large pile of documents from the outer study room into the house, spread them out on the desk in the western wing of the master bedroom, dipped his brush in ink, and carefully examined them with his head down, writing notes as he read.

  Minglan stared in shock - wasn't tomorrow's court audience with the Emperor? So why was she still doing homework all night?

  Gu Tingye bowed his head in deep thought, looking at the folded letter. Minglan had originally wanted to say "You work hard slowly, I'll go sleep first", but unexpectedly Gu Tingye took out a thick stack of account books and servant name lists, putting them in front of Minglan, hoping to "work together and make progress together".

  Minglan stifled a yawn and sat down at the small desk, unfolding the account book to take a look. The night lamp cast a warm glow, and Gu Tingye felt delighted to see Hongxiu by his side. He glanced over and saw Danguo standing stupidly beside him, so he said, "Danguo, go brew a pot of strong tea." He vaguely remembered that the names of Minglan's maidservants were all types of fruits.

  This is good and easy to remember.

  Danju's heart ached for Minglan, and had already prepared warm water and clothes for her to change into, wanting her to rest early. Seeing the situation, she could only turn around and go out to make tea and prepare some snacks. Qin Sang, who was watching the fire in the room, saw that she looked unhappy and asked: "What's wrong?"

  Dan Ju's heart wasn't feeling pleasant, but her face didn't show any signs of it: "Bring out the fresh grapes that were just delivered this morning, and cut open a few slices of the honey peach." As she spoke, she went to get tea leaves and a teapot from the cabinet.

  Qin Sang got up and left upon hearing this. Green Branch found it quite strange: "Didn't you say you wanted to sleep early, miss?"

  "Call 'Madam'!" Dan Ju's face was stern, and he brought out a brand new set of "喜鹊登枝" thin-walled official kiln porcelain tea sets: "The old master and madam have something to say, and there are still many things in the mansion that haven't been settled yet."

  Bixi covered her mouth and giggled: "It's really funny to say, yesterday he actually called Qin Sang 'Zaozi', Xiao Tao 'Taozi', and me 'Lizi'. Danyou sister, what did the old master call you?"

  Tangerine walked over from the stove by the door, carrying a large kettle to make tea, and said in a low voice: "You've only been away from your mother's control for two days, and you're already talking nonsense? You can even order Master around! If someone in this household hears you, they'll think that everyone in the Sheng family is uneducated!"

  Qin Sang brought in a plate of freshly cut fruit, and Lü Tong took out a six-inch square crystal bowl shaped like a lotus flower. The two washed their hands and began arranging the fruit, with Lü Tong saying, "Just let this little hoof get crazy, and when we get back, I'll have Mrs. Cui severely punish her!"

  Cai Huan watched them work together seamlessly and couldn't help but smile: "Bi Si, you're still young, it's understandable that you'd be careless sometimes. We're all sisters, just don't tell Aunt Cui about this."

  The green branch was silent for a moment, and the red tangerine's eyes were filled with unspoken words. Only Qin Sang looked up and smiled: "Bi Si, let me remind you. We've all been following the mistress since we were young, don't you know her temper? Now that we've just arrived here, it's time for us to show our respect to the mistress, don't be foolish." Her words were laced with deep meaning.

  Bixi's expression changed, and she immediately closed her mouth. Caihuan found it strange, but didn't dare to ask further, so she deliberately said: "In the past at Shengfu, everyone said that among the three young ladies, Sixth Young Lady had the best temper and was the most generous with others. Even if we did something wrong, I'm afraid she wouldn't severely punish us."

  Danju treated several greens with deep affection, and was not overly critical of them in their daily lives. However, she had a few reservations about Caihuan. Looking at Caihuan, she said slowly: "As the mistress said, no one is perfect, and it's easy to forgive minor mistakes like breaking a bowl or shattering a cup. Even if someone makes a mistake with serious consequences, as long as they explain themselves clearly, punishment will suffice. But there is one thing that absolutely cannot be tolerated."

  "What's that?" Cai Huan asked anxiously, and suddenly changed her face to smile "Sister told me, I also have a good memory."

  "Mind the method." Dan Ju stared at Cai Huan's eyes, word by word: "No matter what it is, as long as there is any unkind thought in your heart that wrongs others, even if it's a thousand times good, you can't have it."

  Cai Huan's heart skipped a beat, but her face showed only respect and admiration. She laughed repeatedly and said: "Madam is absolutely right! As maidservants, the most important thing for us is to be loyal and devoted. Everything else is secondary!" As she spoke, she thought of something and asked in a soft voice: "...By the way, wasn't there originally a sister named Yan Cao? Why didn't she come with you?"

  Tangerine glanced at her and said bluntly: "She's of age, her parents have asked Old Lady to arrange a marriage for her."

  Cai Huan wanted to ask again, "Isn't there another Madam You?" Just then, Lü Zhī shouted loudly: "Xiao Tao and Cui Zhou, these two servants, only needed to collect a few trunks, how come they still haven't returned until now?!"

  ……

  Danju put down the dishes and went to the main house. Before leaving, she thought for a moment and added a bright red pomegranate to the room. With a smile, she carefully arranged the tea, water, and fruit in the room. Seeing Minglan's thin clothes, she took out a casual moon-white bottom with snow-red plum sleeves from inside and gently put it on Minglan. Finally, she adjusted the three sheepskin lanterns in the room to make them brighter before slowly leaving.

  Over the years, Minglan had maintained good study habits. As she flipped through the ledger, she would copy down important parts (in illegible scribbles that others couldn't understand) and mutter to herself. Gu Tingye looked up at Minglan, and under the soft candlelight, her jade face glowed with a rosy complexion, cherry lips, and sparkling eyes, looking exceptionally beautiful.

  He clenched his fist and cleared his throat, and Minglan looked up at him. She saw that Gu Tingye's expression was calm and composed, and he said lightly, "Tomorrow, please help me tidy up the inner study first. I've already entrusted the things to be moved to Mr. Gong Sun. The rest doesn't matter, just find two reliable maids to keep an eye on it... best if they can't read." Minglan was about to say no problem when she heard the last half sentence, and after thinking for a moment, she said, "I'm not familiar with the people here, all my maids are literate. There's only one little Tao who is clumsy and doesn't know many characters, but she's reliable and trustworthy. Let's have her keep an eye on it first, and I'll slowly look for more reliable people later. It's not something that can be done in a day or two... if you don't mind, I'll help you tidy up the study."

  The key is not whether you can recognize characters or not, but whether it's reliable or not; because it's uncertain whether it's reliable, that's why we need to find those who can't recognize characters. A literate servant girl who wants to sneak a peek at something only needs to glance at it and remember a few characters, but if she's illiterate, then she can only secretly pass on information, which is more difficult and easier to get caught.

  Gu Tingyan nodded in satisfaction and then slightly furrowed his brow: "How come they all recognize characters? Did you teach them? Is it necessary?"

  Minglan nodded solemnly, "The maids are all literate, it's a good display of my refined and elegant heart." In fact, it was originally to let them understand the rules and regulations of the Musou Study.

  Gu Tingyan raised an eyebrow, the dark gold silk patterns on his dark blue brocade robe subtly shimmering. His bright moon-white undergarment set off his handsome and clear features even more. He clenched his fist to his lips, lightly laughing: "Not bad, not bad, a talented woman like you should grind some ink for her husband."

  Minglan smiled as she walked over to grind the ink for him. She intentionally made a sour face, shaking her head and sighing: "What a bother, what a bother."

  Gu Tingyan couldn't help but smile as he watched Minglan's wrist, as white as snow, move slowly and elegantly as she ground the ink. He was lost in thought for a long time, until Minglan finished grinding the thick ink and was about to sit back down. Only then did he reach out and grab her, asking quietly: "You, don't you have anything you want to ask?"

  Ming Lan was perplexed and stuttered: "A...ask what?"

  "In the mansion." Gu Tingyan said, "Don't you have anything you want to know?" The atmosphere in the Gu manor was strange and everyone could see it, but she hadn't asked anything for several days.

  Minglan understood his meaning, her eyes clear: "Originally had, but the old lady said, having what you don't understand, don't ask for now, think about it yourself first; this will make me look very clever."

  Gu Tingyan's stern eyebrows also relaxed, and he couldn't help but smile: "Alright, you're clever, then tell me about it."

  Minglan pulled open Gu Tingye's hand that was grasping her own, and dragged over a small stool to sit down beside him. She spoke softly: "…When I first met your family members, the first thing I found strange was their age. Firstly, your late father was the eldest son. As the marquis's heir, it's likely that he got married early rather than late. However, Da Brothers Huan and Yang are much older than Brother Rui. Why is this so?"

  Gu Tingyu was only twenty-eight years old, and there were no older brothers above him. However, he was the eldest son of the fourth and fifth houses. Gu Tinghuan and Gu Tingxu were both over thirty-three or four. So far, the eldest grandson of the first house is only Gu Tingyu's son, a two- or three-year-old boy named Xiaodouding Xiangge.

  As for the fourth and fifth houses, let alone making soy sauce, Gu Tingxuan's eldest son is already capable of managing a soy sauce shop, while Gu Tingying's eldest daughter is old enough to be the owner of a soy sauce shop.

  Gu Tingyan's eyes gradually lit up, and a smile spread across his face. Minglan looked at him and sighed, "I think Father must have been deeply in love with the first Madame, their feelings were extremely deep."

  Gu Tingyan's face slowly sank, this sentence was not casually spoken, deducing the meaning behind it. If Old Master Hou had deep feelings for the first Madame Qin, then he would not have accepted the next Madame Bai who married in afterwards very well, whereas towards the current Madame Qin, he would love her along with her family.

  Gu Tingyan gently wrapped his arms around Minglan and held her close, saying softly: "When I was young, I heard Auntie Wu mention the first lady of the household. She said that she and Father were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love. Because she was weak and often ill, Father volunteered to go to the border to avoid the interference of relatives in the capital. Nowadays, the current lady of the house often talks about her, saying that she is beautiful, noble, elegant, wise, kind-hearted, and gentle, a good woman who is hard to come by in this world. Father remembered her for his whole life."

  Minglan pouted, leaning into the man's chest, and said lightly: "The second thing I don't understand is Madame Qin's age." She clearly felt the man's muscles tense up, and then continued, "From Madame Qin's zodiac sign, she is 44 years old this year. When you were born, she was already 19 years old, and a year later when she married into the Hou household, she was 20 years old; in other words, at the time of the death of the first wife, Lady Qin, she was around 16 or 17 years old... what's going on here?"

  If Old Master Hou had such deep feelings for the first Madame Qin and wanted to find a daughter of the Qin family to continue his line and take care of Gu Tingyu, why didn't he just marry Madame Qin instead of having a White Madame in between?

  Minglan felt Gu Tingye's body stiffen, and slowly got up, looking into his eyes, firmly but softly said: "At that time, Father had what reason, must marry Mother?" This question was a bit embarrassing, but it was the root of all the problems now.

  Gu Tingyan stared at Minglan for a long time, not knowing what to say; over the years, Gu Tingyan had been feeling depressed in his heart, but he had always found it difficult to talk about family matters, and when he really wanted to speak, he didn't know where to start; Minglan didn't ask half a sentence, but she saw the subtleties and clearly understood some things.

  Minglan had never seen Gu Tingye with such an expression, his cold and stern eyebrows raised high, his eye sockets sunken into the shadows, his eyes very gloomy and dangerous, yet with a hint of resignation, as if helpless. After a long while, he slowly spoke up: "My maternal family is the Bai family from Haining, have you heard of them?"

  Minglan wanted to express her admiration, but she really hadn't heard of the White family. The most famous families in Haining were the Chen family with seven jinshi, the Zhao family with three hanlin, and the Xu family with a former grand elder. There were also some other well-known aristocratic families, but no White family. So Minglan could only honestly shake her head.

  Gu Tingyan smiled self-deprecatingly: "Of course I've never heard of it, the Bai family is neither a noble family nor a scholarly family, but rather... a salt merchant."

  Ming Lan was stunned. Scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, her mother came from the lowest merchant family, but there were still Confucian merchants and righteous merchants. However, they were salt merchants, which were looked down upon in the merchant community... It's quite difficult to express respect to the Bai family.

  "Did you know what's most abundant in a salt merchant's home?"

  "Salt." Minglan replied without thinking, and immediately knocked on her forehead with a finger, then covered her forehead and exclaimed softly, "Silver! It's silver the most!"

  Gu Tingyan curled up his long index and middle fingers, staring at Minglan with a smile that was not quite a smile. Can't she be serious and sentimental for once?

  Minglan's heart still had lingering fear as she looked at the two fingers that were still curled, and she said timidly: "Don't say it, your father married your mother for money!" A merchant's status was lowly, how could they coerce a noble?

  "It was all because of the silver, and no one would have believed it if I had told them. Later, after I carefully investigated, I found out what happened before and after." Gu Tingyan's face sank, and he put down his hand to rest on his knee, his eyes cold: "That year, Empress Jing'an passed away, Emperor Wu was so grief-stricken that his temperament suddenly changed to become violent and suspicious. Not only did he execute many palace maids and concubines, but also forced the then-Imperial Noble Consort to commit suicide, and wanted to exterminate her entire clan. At that time, the Imperial Noble Consort's uncle was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and after clearing up the accounts, it was found that there was a deficit of over 3 million taels of silver; all of which were due to the privileges and merits accumulated over the years. Originally, it wasn't something that would shake the foundations of the country, and slowly repaying the silver would have been fine. But at that time, Emperor Wu, in his anger, severely punished them, ordering that if they didn't clear up the debt within half a year, their titles would be revoked!"

  Minglan was completely stunned and didn't speak for a while before asking: "How much does Ningyuan Marquis's household owe?"

  "Not much." Gu Tingyan's mouth cornered with sarcasm, "A total of eight hundred and eighty thousand taels of white silver."

  Minglan almost fainted, 8.8 million taels of silver?! This group of spendthrifts! Is there anyone who spends money like this?!

  Gu Tingyan let out a long sigh, gazing up at the intricately carved roof: "The Gu family has spent all night calculating their entire estate and ancestral property, but no matter how they calculate it, it's still not enough. With the deadline approaching, the Rongguo Duke's manor has been confiscated and the family members have been demoted to commoners. The scene is desolate and miserable, and everyone in the Gu household is frantic; at that time, someone... brought up the White family."

  Minglan was stunned, and she listened blankly as Gu Tingye continued: "My maternal grandfather is also a character, he started out running ships at sea, after accumulating some capital, he went ashore, and somehow managed to get connected with the officialdom, and ended up becoming a salt merchant! Over twenty years of accumulation, our family's wealth is extremely abundant. In his early years, he was not close to his brothers in the main household, and yet he only had my mother as his only daughter."

  Minglan didn't want to speak anymore, and just let out a long sigh - without any brothers to rely on, with humble origins, yet possessing substantial wealth, this Madame Bai was practically wearing the words "fatty meat" on her forehead.

  "So, Master married Madam?" As she said this, even Minglan herself didn't realize that her words carried a hint of sarcasm.

  He forced a smile, but couldn't cover up the chill: "As for what happened next, ten people have ten different opinions, I've heard so many that even I'm not clear; however...the most commonly said version is that at the time, Father proposed to the White family to take Mother as a concubine. Tsk, tsk, just thinking about it, a merchant's daughter being able to enter the Hou estate as a concubine was already a blessing from heaven. But the White family refused to agree, insisting on making her the legitimate wife, and under pressure, they drove the first wife, Madame Qin, to death."

  Minglan took a deep breath, immediately stood up straight, and sternly said: "Nonsense! A pack of lies! Which madman would distort the truth like this?!"

  Gu Tingyan raised his head and looked at Minglan with a cold gaze, the corners of his mouth curled into a mocking smile: "How do you know? Maybe it's true."

  Minglan took a deep breath and said loudly, "That's right, there are rich merchant daughters who enter the homes of the nobility as concubines. But what is this for? It's just exchanging marriage for money and power! A merchant gives away a daughter, and in return, they get convenience and influence, while the nobles gain wealth."

  "Silver and money are divided, both sides are good. But the White family is not so, Old Lady White has only one daughter, who will take over the salt business? He doesn't need to borrow power or influence, and because he has no brothers to help him, he wants to find a reliable son-in-law! How can he 'coerce' the Gu family into marrying his daughter? And 'force to death' the first wife? Isn't this making an enemy? Nonsense! Even dreams are more believable than this!"

  Minglan still felt that the atmosphere was not quite right, and in her heart she thought: With such a large dowry, Madam Bai can marry anyone, why must it be Old Master Gu? Is there no other man left in this world? Must it be him? To tell the truth, this is not the White family taking advantage of the Gu family, but rather the Gu family, who were in dire straits at the time, seeking out the White family.

  Bring silver to save lives, but also want others to be concubines?! Pull it down! The Arabian Nights are even more realistic.

  Gu Tingyan leaned back in his chair, letting out a few short, cold laughs as he gazed quietly at Minglan. His eyes gradually cleared: "Because of this rumor, my older brother has hated me since I was young. I don't blame him; after all, I've always been the one causing trouble and stirring up problems, the most unfilial child in the family. It wasn't until many years later that Mother's old nurse, Granny Wang, came to the capital to visit me and told me the whole story. As it turned out, that Lady Qin had been weak-bodied to begin with, and when she heard the rumors about welcoming a bride from the White family to resolve the crisis, her worries and sorrows led to her difficult labor and eventual death. The White family hadn't known any of this; my maternal grandfather was the one who married Mother off to our family. From then on, I often clashed with Father, and my temper only grew worse..."

  Minglan gazed at Gu Tingye, feeling sorry for him for the first time in her life. Marrying a merchant's daughter as the madam of the manor was originally a great shame for the Gu family; the existence of Madame White was a symbol that the Gu family had once fallen into desperation. For this reason, Old Master Gu allowed the rumors slandering Madame White to spread, but never defended her. Looking at Gu Tingye's frustration and despair, his gradual downfall, yet he never spoke out to explain.

  Of course, that Lady Qin is also pitiful, but she has indeed enjoyed good fortune and lived a good life. Moreover, when disaster struck, as the wife of the Marquis, she should have shared the blame together with him. Instead, she implicated Old Master Guo in her anger towards Bai Shi and Gu Tingyan, which was already enough to repay her debt.

  “…My father was already missing his previous wife, and my mother's temper was also very short. They were unhappy with each other everywhere in the house, and their relationship became even more strained. When my mother was pregnant with her second child, she had a fight with my father, gave birth prematurely, and died from bleeding.” Gu Tingyan recounted this calmly, as if it were someone else's story, his expression unusually calm. “Now that I think about it, my father wasn't really bad to me; it was just that I myself wasn't worthy. Now that I'm treating his wife and children so coldly, I'm afraid he won't be able to rest in peace even after death.” As he spoke, he let out a series of cold laughs, his eyes full of dark mockery.

  "What's wrong?" Gu Ting Ye looked at Ming Lan who was in a daze and raised an eyebrow, "Am I being too much?"

  "Why not?" Minglan slowly came back to her senses, the events at the Gu Manor were too legendary, betrayal, deception, conspiracy, rumors, and a counterattack in the style of the Count of Monte Cristo, it was hard to digest all at once.

  "Everyone is fine in this matter, except for you and your mother. The Gu family has maintained their dignity and the Qin family's relationship remains unchanged, but what did the Bai family gain? As a mother, she was splashed with dirty water for no reason, and even after death, there is no peace. As a son, he was forced out of the house, alone and penniless, venturing into the world on his own. Have you ever thought that if the Fourth Prince had not rebelled? If he had accepted the Third Prince as the heir?"

  Gu Tingyan's eyes suddenly blazed like fire, and in an instant, all the self-deprecating sarcasm was extinguished. He stared fixedly at Minglan, and a cold laugh burst forth from his heart: "If the Fourth Prince hadn't rebelled, the Third Prince would have ascended to the throne smoothly, and there wouldn't be any need for the Eighth Prince's existence. Then, everything in the Ningyuan Marquis Manor would remain unchanged - those who had grown rich and prosperous by feeding on the blood and flesh of the White family would continue to live in luxury, while those who had trampled our mother and son would continue to enjoy their honor and prestige. My father has passed away, and I'm not around, so it's likely that even my mother's memorial tablet will be removed from the ancestral hall before long. As for me, I'll just continue to drift in the lower echelons of society."

  Minglan nodded heavily and looked back at her: "So, if you're resentful, it's absolutely not wrong." Her tone was even more sincere than when she had asked to join the party that year.

  Gu Tingyan couldn't help but laugh, and Chang Nainai would occasionally scold the Ningyuan Hou Mansion with a resentful face, but he didn't feel any resonance, instead feeling somewhat annoyed. In his opinion, the Bai family was also at fault, knowing that Qi Dafu was not a good match, yet still greedily pursued this marriage, hoping for a miracle to happen. Madame Bai knew that the future would be fraught with difficulties, but she didn't make many plans or strategies, instead dying early.

  Every time he thinks of these things, he is more cold and indifferent.

  The anger and resentment of his youth are no longer so intense today, after experiencing many trials and tribulations, seeing the rise and fall of life and death, he is no longer easily stirred up. It's as if even the most fierce flames have burned out, leaving only ashes behind. Now, he feels only one thing - regret. Is it that his coming into this world was just a matter of fate?

  Even to this day, after hearing Minglan's words just now, Gu Tingye's memories that had been cold for a long time were reignited. Yes, in fact, he had always been secretly resentful, but his resentment could not be expressed in words, so he could only respond with a cold and mocking smile.

  Gu Tingyan sighed, it turned out that admitting to hating one's own relatives wasn't so difficult after all. The many years of pent-up grievances and complaints that had been hard to express to others were suddenly all spoken out today, and his heart felt relieved and cathartic.

  It seems that having a wife who can help you find reasons to hate your relatives is quite good.

  "Right." Minglan twisted her fingers and asked somewhat hesitantly, "That... Mother-in-law, how much dowry did you bring?"

  "About a million taels of silver, and some fields and shops." Gu Tingyan said casually.

  Minglan was stunned, almost wanting to beat her chest and shout - Oh heavens, one million taels of silver! If she had this kind of money, and a loving father who cared for her, what couldn't she do? She could hire a team of bodyguards, find a loyal and reliable teacher, travel abroad, go on adventures in the Western Regions... the world would be so wonderful! She'd rather die than marry such a widower with children from his previous marriage who still deeply loved his late wife!

  White lady, white lady, white old man, white old man, what good things can you ask everyone to say about you?

  Finally—

  "It's indeed a case of 'a good man suffers for no reason, and the jade is to blame.' " Minglan said softly, her expression sorrowful, her hands hanging down in despair.

  Gu Tingyan gently pulled Minglan into his arms, feeling quite moved in his heart. He held her and comforted her for a long time before saying, "Don't be sad anymore, it's all in the past."

  Mu Yu has updated a new chapter, it's extremely exciting, everyone go and take a look, it's called "Lost Continent", I just stayed up late reading this.

  Duomukeng is of extremely high quality and can be called a model worker. Occasionally, I have been admiring her since long ago.