After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

A sharp shout interrupted the group's cozy meal.

"Master, Madam, someone from the palace has arrived."

Gu Mingtang put down his chopsticks, his expression solemn, and the little eunuch entered, led by a servant.

Everyone stood up, and Gu Mingtang stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting, and said, "Eunuch, how have you been? Would you like to have a meal? Please sit down and eat with us."

The young eunuch waved his hands, "Your Excellency, you flatter me. How could I possibly dine with you? I'm just here to deliver a message."

"His Majesty has summoned you to the palace to discuss important matters."

Gu Mingtang gave the butler beside him a look, and the butler immediately understood and handed him a money bag.

"Since His Majesty has important business to attend to, it's inconvenient for him to stay for a meal. Please don't refuse this small token of our appreciation: a cup of tea."

The young eunuch weighed the money pouch in his hand, somewhat embarrassed: "This..."

Gu Mingtang said in a low voice, "I would never want to put you in a difficult position, but I just want to know if it's sunny or rainy outside, and whether you've prepared an umbrella."

The young eunuch understood and tucked the bag into his robes. "It's a rainy day; a downpour is likely."

Gu Mingtang understood; a wise person doesn't need to spell things out. "Then please wait a moment, sir. I'll take an umbrella and we'll go out together."

The young eunuch nodded slightly. "Then I'll wait outside, sir."

Thank you, Father-in-law.

Gu Mingtang turned around and looked at Su Xiuran with longing. "Madam, I'll be right back. Please take care of things at home."

The fact that someone came to invite people so late at night made Gu Yu'an guess that his younger sister's prophecy was about to come true. He looked at his father, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Gu Mingtang looked back and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Take good care of your younger siblings."

He touched Gu Lao Er and Gu Lao San again with reluctance, his gaze lingering on Gu Linglong in her swaddling clothes.

He hesitated for a moment, then took his youngest daughter and looked at her with a ripple of emotion, gently tapping Gu Linglong's nose with his hand.

"Father has to go to the palace to discuss important matters late at night. Isn't that very tiring?"

"So you have to listen to your mother, okay? Daddy will come and keep Linglong company when he's done with his work, okay?"

Gu Linglong's eyes darted around, and she felt like she had forgotten something.

Okay.

Gu Mingtang returned Gu Linglong to Su Xiuran.

"I'm leaving"

Su Xiuran's eyes reddened, her heart heavy. She nodded with difficulty, "It's dark and the road is slippery, be careful."

"Um"

Gu Mingtang turned to leave, but when he reached the door, he heard Gu Linglong say something.

Oh dear, how could I forget such an important day? Today is May 20th, the Dog Emperor's birthday.

[In his past life, it was today that he ordered the confiscation of his family's property and their exile; all the tragedies began from here.]

Even though they had already guessed it, everyone was still shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. They wanted to tell Gu Mingtang not to go, but they knew that was impossible.

Under imperial power, all officials submit.

Even powerful cultivators would give the imperial power some leeway.

Moreover, Gu Jia is merely a loyal subject who doesn't know how to cultivate.

Gu Yu'an couldn't help but tear up.

"father"

Gu Mingtang stopped in his tracks. "Eat and sleep well. I'll be right back. If I'm too busy, I might stay overnight at the palace. I'm leaving now."

"I'm going with my dad."

Gu Liyao: "I'll go with Dad too."

Gu Ziming: "I'll go too."

[Dad, please don't go! You can't go! If you go, you won't come back!]

Gu Mingtang glared at them. "Nonsense! Do you think you can just walk into the palace like that? I'm going there on official business. What are you doing there? Just stay home and wait."

He turned and left, as if he had made up his mind.

He was afraid that if he turned around, he wouldn't be able to move his feet.

Gu Linglong watched helplessly as her father passed away, sighing inwardly.

My family is going to be exiled, what should we do?

Wang Fugui, come out here!

"Host"

Do you have any way to prevent my father from going to the palace and thus avoid exile?

"No, Lin Xiaoxiao drained some of your luck, and it affected me too. What kind of ability can you expect from me?"

It's all your fault!

It would have been great if we could have reminded them, even just to tell them to bring extra money for the journey.

Wang Fugui was looking down, pointing his fingers at each other, when he heard this, he immediately straightened up.

"I can do this, I'm capable of it."

【real? 】

Wang Fugui patted his chest and said confidently, "Don't worry, I can handle this little thing."

Hearing Wang Fugui say that, Gu Linglong felt relieved, yawned, and fell into a deep sleep.

Su Xiuran handed Gu Linglong to the nanny and carried her away. While Gu Linglong was away, she quickly made arrangements.

"Yu'an, Liyao, Zimo, our family may face confiscation of our property, exile, or even worse. Are you afraid?"

Gu Ziming immediately said, "Don't be afraid, Father said I'm all grown up now, I can protect Mother."

Su Xiuran stroked Gu Ziming's head with satisfaction. Since being beaten, Gu Ziming had become much more sensible.

The old saying "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is indeed true!

Gu Yu'an helped Su Xiuran sit down. "Mother, I'm not afraid, as long as our family is together."

Su Xiuran patted his hand, "I'm afraid your wedding will be affected."

Gu Yu'an lowered his eyes. "If my Gu family truly faces such a predicament, then let's back out. After all, we're not a suitable match."

Su Xiuran sighed, "Alright, Mother will listen to you."

Gu Liyao also squatted down. "Mother, I'm not afraid. As Confucius said, 'It is all fate; accept it as it comes.'"

"What's coming will come eventually. As long as our family works together, we will definitely overcome this difficulty."

Su Xiuran's eyes reddened with sadness, but she also felt extremely fortunate to have three sensible sons and a daughter who had shown her gratitude.

Su Xiuran calmed herself down before speaking, "Go back and hide your important belongings carefully. Change into the new undergarments your mother gave you, and hide the silver notes in the lining of the undergarments."

Gu Liyao patted his chest. "Confucius said, 'He who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present.' Mother is really something; I put it on long ago."

"Yeah, you're great. Go back and rest now."

The undergarment was made by Su Xiuran working day and night for the past few days. She couldn't entrust such a task to others, as she wasn't sure if Chen Shi still had spies in the mansion.

Her eyes ached from staying up all night to prepare for today. Su Xiuran tossed and turned in her room for a while before lying down fully clothed. She was worried about her husband and couldn't fall asleep.

She was in a daze, and in her hazy sleep she seemed to smell a faint burning smell.

She wondered if someone had burned their food or if it had caught fire. She wondered if she should go check it out. The smell of burning and smoke grew stronger, and Su Xiuran coughed because of it.

Why does this taste so real? Su Xiuran suddenly sat up as if she had just realized something.

"The house is on fire! It's on fire in our house!"

She jumped out of bed, covered her mouth and nose, and ran outside, shouting.

"Fire! Help!"

Su Xiuran sent Chunhe away to call for help to put out the fire, and woke up the three brothers and the wet nurse.

Suddenly, flames shot into the sky from the Gu family's kitchen, and thick smoke billowed out.

One by one, the servants drew water from the well to put out the fire. Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time, but the kitchen and the adjacent woodshed were destroyed.

The neighboring houses were somewhat dark, but still usable.

The Gu brothers also participated in the firefighting efforts, their faces covered in soot. Gu Yu'an looked at the collapsed kitchen with an unreadable expression.

"Is it fate that I'm destined not to be able to attend my little sister's full moon celebration?"