Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

The renowned General Gu only had a simple residence in the capital for rest and recuperation.

It was late at night when Gu Shining was caught red-handed by Madam Wang as soon as he secretly returned to the mansion.

"Stop!" Wang Shi shouted fiercely, holding a ruler in her hand, standing coldly in the shadows and staring at Gu Shining, who had just sneaked in through the back door.

Gu Shining naturally did not expect that her mother would be waiting for her to return at this time.

She trembled slightly, then quickly turned around and bowed respectfully.

"Why isn't Mother asleep yet?" She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look up at her mother.

You should know that when she was on the southern border, she got used to eating and living with her brothers in the army, and her personality became so unrestrained and wild.

Since returning to Beijing, she has often sneaked out to play, sometimes for an entire day at a time.

If her mother, Wang, had acted as usual, she would have turned a blind eye and pretended not to know about it.

However, rumors were circulating in the court today that the Emperor intended to take action against them, a group of veteran officials. Wang was afraid that this matter would implicate the Gu family, so she nervously waited here for her daughter to return home.

“I haven’t slept, and you know who I’m waiting for to come back.” Madam Wang weighed the ruler in her hand; she had brought it from home before taking her daughter back to the capital.

In the past, her father always doted on his only daughter, avoiding hitting or scolding her whenever possible.

In the end, the task of educating their daughter was left to this woman!

Gu Shining caught a glimpse of the gleaming ruler out of the corner of her eye, and for no apparent reason, she was startled.

"Mother, what are you doing with it! Daughter...daughter will never do it again!"

She nervously took steps back while glancing around, trying to find a convenient place to escape.

"What? You know what I'm angry about?"

Wang took the ruler and ran in the direction Gu Shining wanted to escape.

"Help! Mother, I was wrong!" Gu Shining begged for mercy while dodging the ruler.

Although she had learned some martial arts from her father.

But Lady Wang was no ordinary young lady raised in seclusion; her father was the former Marquis of Zhenbei, an old marquis who had been guarding the southern border.

And this Marquis of Zhenbei was the former teacher of General Gu.

If Lady Wang hadn't married General Gu, her name would surely be on the list of those who pacified the border.

less than half a cup of tea

Wang then carried Gu Shining into the room as if she were a chick.

Fortunately, while waiting for her daughter to return to the mansion, Madam Wang had already sent all the servants to the front yard, which at least gave her some face.

Gu Shining collapsed onto the soft couch, secretly lamenting her misfortune.

If I had known about this trip back to Beijing, I shouldn't have let my father make the promise to let my mother accompany me back.

Now that's good. She was already bored and restless in the capital, so she often took photos secretly when her mother wasn't at home.

Now that her mother has caught her red-handed, she can forget about sneaking out to play these days.

"You still want to run away? Have you forgotten that even your father might not be able to beat me in this house!" As she spoke, Madam Wang closed the door to the room, and she walked towards Gu Shining again with a ruler in her hand.

"Mother! I was wrong!"

Gu Shining caught a glimpse of her mother approaching and quickly stood up to beg for mercy.

At home, what she feared most was her mother's ruler.

But just by looking at how polished the ruler was, you could tell how frequently it had been used.

“Your daughter, ever since she returned to the capital, she’s become increasingly unruly!” As she spoke, Madam Wang took out a ruler and struck Gu Shining a few times.

"Mother! It hurts!"

Gu Shining naturally sensed that her mother wasn't using any force, but she still deliberately made a face as if she were grimacing.

Wang stopped what she was doing after seeing a figure flash by outside.

"Mother?"

Gu Shining was slightly taken aback. She followed Wang's gaze and looked outside, but did not find anything unusual.

Before she could react, Wang had already pulled her into the inner room.

"Don't speak yet!" Madam Wang gave her a cold glance, then quickly walked to the door of the room and peeked out through the crack in the door.

Wang held her breath and made sure no one was eavesdropping outside before she breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the inner room.

"Mother, what's wrong? Has a thief sneaked into the manor?"

Gu Shining naturally noticed someone passing by outside just now, but she assumed it was a servant from the manor. However, it was so late at night, and the manor's night watchmen shouldn't be here.

After all, every time she sneaked out of the manor, she was afraid that the people in the manor would complain to her mother, so she would deliberately send away the night watchman.

Wang's expression was somewhat serious. She stared intently at the doorway, then went into the inner room and lowered her voice.

"There might be trouble in the capital these days, so you shouldn't go out for the time being. If there's nothing else going on, stay home and prepare for your wedding!"

"Marriage? Mother, I've said I won't get married!"

Gu Shining frowned. The two of them were currently at the innermost part of the room, so outsiders naturally couldn't hear what they were saying.

"You have to marry him whether you like it or not! This isn't something you can decide alone!"

Wang glared at her, walked to the table, poured Gu Shining a cup of tea, and handed it to her.

She preferred peace and quiet, and since she rarely returned to this villa in the capital, the servants and maids in the mansion were all bought temporarily and naturally did not suit her tastes, so she simply sent them all to the front yard.

On the contrary, only one or two clever maids were left in their backyard, who would come in and clean during the day when they were not around.

Apart from that, Madam Wang did almost everything herself, just in case someone used the servants in the mansion to do something to her and her daughter.

"I... Mother! Can you tell me the truth?" Gu Shining put the tea aside and took Wang's arm in a fawning manner.

"What truth?" Wang's tone was somewhat cold, clearly indicating that she was already on guard against Gu Shining's coquettish behavior.

Every time Gu Shining makes a mistake, she would act like a little girl, acting coquettishly and being unreasonable.

She doesn't look like the daughter of a military family at all!

Thinking of this, Madam Wang coldly placed the ruler beside her, as if conveying her feelings to Gu Shining.

Gu Shining stared at the ruler on the table and secretly swallowed.

"Mother, was the imperial decree that summoned me back to the capital so that I could return and get married?"

A strange emotion flashed in Gu Shining's eyes. All along the way, she had been thinking about why she had been summoned back to the capital at this time.

Recently, the southern barbarians have been making trouble on the border, and she is worried that her father and the Gu family army will be in danger.

Even though the father reported the matter to the emperor and explained the military situation, the emperor did not respond.

Unexpectedly, at this crucial moment, the Emperor issued an imperial edict ordering her to return to the capital, solely to marry the Third Prince.