Marrying for someone else and being a widow? Stepmothers open classes to raise children

"It's full of nonsense!"

At this moment, Gu Zhiyi rushed to the man with anger flashing in her eyes, and suddenly kicked him to the ground.

The man fell to the ground, and was so overwhelmed by her aura that he was speechless.

"The Ningguo Mansion has been in existence for three generations. The plaque hanging outside the door was written by the late emperor. When the emperor conferred the title on him, he praised the Ningguo Mansion as a man of integrity and loyalty. The people in the mansion are all kind-hearted and virtuous. The second son has inherited the mantle of the Duke of Ningguo Mansion and has mastered its essence. How could he do such an absurd thing! How dare you speak so rudely and slander the second son of the Duke of Ningguo Mansion so blatantly!"

Gu Zhiyi was extremely angry, and her words were full of defense for Xie Yunce.

When the man heard this, his eyes widened like dead fish.

Gu Zhiyi smiled and glanced at the surprised old lady, then turned to face the guests, took a deep breath, and continued, "The second young master has liked to tinker with wood carving since he was a child. When he heard that I was going to marry into the Ningguo Mansion and become his mother, he was ecstatic and spent three days and three nights carefully carving a lifelike, flying phoenix, intending to give it to me."

These words were all made up by Gu Zhiyi on a whim, with the purpose of maintaining the reputation of the Ningguo Mansion and Xie Yunce.

After all, she has now become the mistress of the Ningguo Mansion. As a member of the Mansion, she certainly cannot bring shame to the Mansion!

Family disgrace should not be made public!

Gu Zhiyi spoke with such emotion that all the guests present could not help but be moved.

"And this man inexplicably framed the Second Young Master, saying that the Second Young Master ordered him to humiliate me. I absolutely cannot tolerate such rumors!"

Gu Zhiyi spoke excitedly and stepped forward and kicked the man a few more times.

The man's face was covered with shoe prints, but he dared not say a word and looked extremely embarrassed.

Seeing this, the old lady immediately understood what was going on, and immediately cooperated with Gu Zhiyi, saying, "That's true. Yun Ce's biological mother passed away when she was very young. He admired his stepmother very much. Although he was not good at carving, he still asked the master to teach him. He didn't know how many times he was injured, but he still persisted..."

As he spoke, he actually began to wipe away his tears seriously.

The old Duke was also furious. His eyes were wide open, emitting two cold rays of light. He shouted, "How can this be! How dare he act wildly in the Duke of Ning's mansion? Drag him away and report him to the authorities!"

Seeing this, all the guests responded:

"The old Duke is right. This crime is unforgivable! I will never let him off easily!"

"This person not only insulted Miss Gu, but also provoked the Ningguo Mansion. If he is not severely punished, how can the dignity of the Mansion be maintained?"

"That's right, he dared to act wildly in the Ningguo Mansion, he should be severely punished!"

"Old Duke, you are wise and brave, we support your decision!"

After watching the man being dragged away by the servants like a stray dog, the old Duke finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Gu Zhiyi and said, "Zhiyi, don't worry, I will definitely seek justice for you and Ce'er!"

"Yes." Gu Zhiyi felt warm in her heart and nodded obediently.

But she also knew that the old Duke's words were not only to comfort her, but also to maintain the dignity of the Ningguo Mansion.

At this moment, the old lady suddenly signaled Gu Zhiyi with her eyes to go with her to the garden.

The garden was empty, with no one else present. There were only lush flowers and trees, and the breeze blew, bringing bursts of floral fragrance.

The old lady slowly sat down on the stone bench and motioned Gu Zhiyi to sit down as well.

Gu Zhiyi suddenly fell to her knees in front of the old lady, bowing her head and apologizing: "Old lady, Zhiyi is guilty. I acted without your consent. I only knew about the marriage exchange during the wedding ceremony. I wanted to tell you in private, but things developed too quickly. I had to reveal my identity in public to prove my innocence."

The old lady nodded slightly, with a hint of approval in her eyes.

She patted Gu Zhiyi's hand gently and said slowly: "Zhiyi, you are a smart child. You can make a quick judgment in this matter, protect your own reputation, and maintain the reputation of Ningguo Mansion. This is very good!"

Gu Zhiyi felt relieved after hearing this. She looked up at the old lady, her eyes full of gratitude: "Thank you for the compliment. Zhiyi is just an ordinary woman. It is an honor for Zhiyi to be valued so much by the old lady."

"Madam, Zhiyi has something to ask you, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not?" Gu Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to ask.

The old lady waved her hand, signaling Gu Zhiyi not to be so reserved. "Go ahead, if you have anything to say, just ask."

Gu Zhiyi bit her lower lip, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes: "Zhiyi is afraid that the old lady will misunderstand me because of what happened today. I... I'm afraid that you and the old Duke will divorce me."

The old lady's smile grew even wider. She patted Gu Zhiyi's hand and said firmly, "Silly child, since I have already said that I will not blame you, I will not change my mind. You are already the future mistress of the Duke's Mansion, this is a foregone conclusion. What happened today makes me more certain that you are someone who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Duke's Mansion."

Gu Zhiyi's eyes welled up with tears, and she bowed deeply: "Zhiyi is very grateful. In the future, I will do my best to serve the Duke's Mansion with all my heart and soul, and live up to the old lady's expectations and trust."

Although she had experienced some twists and turns in the marriage exchange, it was a pleasant surprise for her to get the recognition and support of the old lady.

The old lady smiled and helped Gu Zhiyi up, saying, "No need to be so polite, we are all family from now on! Get up quickly!"

……

At dusk, a single light was dim in Jinghong Garden of the Ningguo Mansion.

After taking a bath, Gu Zhiyi lay alone on the bed. She was exhausted from the farce during the day. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep quickly.

However, not long after falling asleep, a scream that almost blew the roof off rang out outside:

"My God!"

"Fire! Fire!"

"Hurry up and save her! The bride is still sleeping inside!"

In Jinghong Garden, flames shot up into the sky and panicked screams rang out one after another.

Gu Zhiyi woke up from her dream, sat up suddenly, and all her sleepiness disappeared.

She subconsciously covered her mouth to prevent herself from being choked by the smoke, while quickly assessing the situation.

The firelight had filtered into the house through the window, illuminating her pale face.

Gu Zhiyi's heart couldn't help but beat like a drum, and she was so nervous that she could hardly breathe.

"Girl! Girl!" The personal maid Luluo rushed into the room in panic. Her face was covered with dust and her hair was disheveled. It was obvious that she had fought with the fire demon.

Gu Zhiyi looked at Luoluo, a hint of gratitude flashing in her eyes.

She tried to remain calm and asked, "What happened? How did the fire start?"

While pulling Gu Zhiyi out the door, Luluo replied anxiously, "Miss, I don't know either. Everyone in the yard is in chaos now. Miss, please come with me! It's too dangerous here!"