The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

"Our girl was terrified at the time and wanted to talk to her uncle, but when she remembered how he defended his father and didn't believe her, she gave up and swallowed all her grievances."

"But the Shangshu Master didn't let my daughter go. After that, whenever my son-in-law stayed at the brothel, he would come to our courtyard and take possession of my daughter. My daughter's official position was not as high as the Shangshu Master's. Even if we told others about this, it would be useless. It would only make the Shangshu Master bully our daughter. Our daughter cried all day in her room."

"On the one hand, the son-in-law didn't dare to speak out, and on the other hand, he was bullied everywhere. After being bullied for a long time, our girl no longer had the heart to resist, and even let the Shangshu Master do whatever he wanted. Occasionally, she would ask for some benefits from the Shangshu Master. After all, she had to live in this Shangshu Mansion. Later, our girl became pregnant. When she knew that the child was the Shangshu Master's, she went to ask the Shangshu Master what to do."

"The Shangshu Master said that since it was their child, it wouldn't be a problem for his son to be the unfortunate one. He would also dote on him a little more. Our girl thought that having another child would be a guarantee, so she gave birth to the child. Until a while ago, the affair between the girl and the Shangshu Master was accidentally discovered by the son-in-law, and the matter became a big deal."

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. Your Majesty, you must stand up for our daughter. She has been suffering so much. She has been bullied for years and dared not say a word. And that son-in-law is blaming everything on our daughter without any reason. Now he is even holding a knife to kill her."

Gu Jianchu looked at the maid in surprise.

Unexpectedly, the little girl next to Zhou is so eloquent and articulate.

Since it concerns Minister Wu, it would be better for Xie Ci'an to come and listen, so that she doesn't have to make a trip to tell him. After all, Minister Wu is a third-rank official in the court and holds the entire Ministry of Personnel in his hands. No matter how she wants to deal with him, she can't get past the emperor.

And judging from Minister Wu's expression, what the housekeeper and the maid said was not false.

Gu Jianchu looked at Minister Wu again, "They've all confessed, do you have anything else to explain?"

After thinking it over, Minister Wu said truthfully, "I have nothing to explain. This matter is my fault."

Gu Jianchu was surprised for a moment.

She thought Minister Wu would refute it, but she didn't expect him to admit it so readily.

Minister Wu should understand that this matter is a done deal. Even if he refutes it, the truth will be discovered sooner or later according to her methods. Rather than being slapped in the face then, admitting it now will make her and the emperor less angry, and perhaps the Wu family will not be implicated. After all, he did something wrong, and he would not implicate all his descendants. What's more, Minister Wu's eldest son has already become an official in the court, and his grandsons are already studying and preparing for the examination for the scholar degree. They must not be implicated by him again, not to mention that his official career has come to an end.

Thinking of this, Gu Jianchu understood why Minister Wu admitted it so readily. She turned to look at Xie Ci'an and asked gently, "Your Majesty, how should this matter be handled?"

Gu Jianchu has assigned him all the tasks that would offend others.

Xie Ci'an wasn't afraid of offending anyone at all. "Cheng Song, take away Minister Wu's hat and feather. His crime of forcibly taking my daughter-in-law is unforgivable. Drag him away and give him thirty lashes of the cane and life imprisonment. As for the house awarded to him by the late emperor, take it back as well. He doesn't deserve to live in the house awarded by the late emperor after doing such a thing."

The house of Minister Wu was given to him by the previous emperor. Otherwise, with his financial resources, he would not be able to afford such a large house with four courtyards, let alone in a place like the capital where every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

As soon as Xie Ci'an's voice fell, Cheng Song immediately led his men to carry out the order.

Gu Jianchu's gaze fell on Zhou again. Zhuxi followed Gu Jianchu's instructions, helped Zhou to her feet, and then rewarded her with golden wound medicine. "What are you going to do in the future? Divorce or continue to stay in the Wu family? Now that Minister Wu and the Second Young Master are in prison, if you return to the Zhou family, your life will not be easy. They will definitely vent their anger on you."

"Thank you, Queen, for your consideration. After the divorce, I'm afraid life with a child won't be easy. For my sisters' sake, my parents will definitely not let me into the family. Even if they want to make things difficult for me, they probably won't take my life or the child's. After all, the child is the bloodline of their Wu family. Besides, these things are the fault of Minister Wu, not me."

"Your Highness, I'd better go back to the Wu family. That way I can have a bite to eat and I can stop them from torturing each other."

"I thank the Queen for handling the matter impartially and giving me justice." Zhou said, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed twice to Gu Jianchu.

Hearing this, Gu Jianchu stopped trying to persuade him.

Everyone has their own choices. She cannot protect Zhou for her whole life. Even if she rescues Zhou once within her ability, it is impossible for her to give Zhou money every once in a while. If that were the case, she would need to help not only Zhou, but all the poor people. Otherwise, resentment would arise over time. Therefore, they need to choose what kind of life to live. She is not in the position to make decisions for others.

The only thing Gu Jianchu could do was to send Zhuxi to send Zhou and her child back to the Shangshu Mansion, which was being confiscated.

Zhuxi is hers, and she went to see her off in person. Presumably, the other party would not make things too difficult for Zhou for her sake. Even if Zhou had a hard time in the Wu family, they would not take her life.

After seeing Zhou off, Xie Qingzhi and Gu Jianyue, who had finished eating the melon, tactfully took their leave, leaving only Gu Jianchu and Xie Ci'an.

The afternoon sun shines through the wisteria trellis onto the two of them, so they are neither too cold nor too sunny.

Xie Ci'an held Gu Jianchu in his arms, his fingers gently caressing Gu Jianchu's lower abdomen, "Has the child been bothering you these past two days?"

Now Xie Ci'an wished to keep Gu Jianchu under her watch all the time, but if he took him to Chuigong Palace, the ministers were afraid that it would disturb the Queen's rest. If he moved the official business to Kunning Palace, it would also be troublesome to meet the ministers, so he tried to spare as much time as possible every day to accompany Gu Jianchu.

In the sunshine, Gu Jianchu's lips curled up into a gentle smile. "The two children are very well behaved. They have never troubled me during this period. They must have heard their father's teachings to them, so they dare not act naughty."

"It's good that they don't dare to bother you. If they dare to bother you, I won't forgive them after we are born."

Xie Ci'an changed the subject and looked at Gu Jianchu lovingly, "When our child is born, I will take you to Jiangnan to see the misty rain in Yangzhou, and to Liaodong to see the vast snowfields. No matter where Ah Chu wants to go, I will accompany you."

Gu Jianchu smiled and nodded in agreement.