Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

Aunt Pei was scolded by her daughter, so she quickly fell silent and pulled her away with red eyes.

"You are the flesh of my body, and I can't bear to see you suffer even the slightest grievance. Everything I've planned is for you."

Gu Wanru replied perfunctorily, "I know. You should go out now, lest someone see you and cause trouble. I'll keep an eye on Gu Hua here, and once she can leave the manor, I'll have Jin Kui personally escort her back."

"Alright. You must not hold a grudge against your son-in-law. You must win his heart. In a wealthy family, a woman can only rely on her husband's favor." Aunt Pei was worried.

"Alright, I know, you can go now." Gu Wanru impatiently pulled her hand away and wiped it with a handkerchief.

Aunt Pei had no choice but to leave.

Jin Kui saw Aunt Pei off and returned to close the door.

Gu Wanru asked, "Jin Kui, did the person you bribed last time succeed?"

Jin Kui said, "The people at Wenhanxuan are too tight-lipped; they won't accept any amount of money. The old women doing menial tasks outside are easier to deal with. We let them spread the word, but they don't know much."

Gu Wanru frowned: "Think of a way. We must find out what Gu Hua's situation is over there and what her father's attitude towards her is."

"Yes."

Jin Kui sighed inwardly.

What will she do?

After these two days, the people at Wenhanxuan have started to dislike Jinxiuge.

The servants in the manor are all saying that the eldest daughter is of bad character and is vicious and cruel to her own sisters. How can such a cold-hearted person be the future wife of the heir?

The son-in-law has taken in a concubine, Yin, and now ignores the eldest daughter, even deliberately flaunting his affection for her all day long, which is a blatant slap in the face to the eldest daughter.

The eldest daughter didn't try to salvage her reputation; instead, she and Aunt Pei only thought about controlling the second daughter.

But she was just a servant girl, and could only obey orders.

She dared not tell the eldest young lady about the rumors circulating in the manor, fearing that it might upset her pregnancy again, and if anything happened, her own life would be over.

Seeing Jin Kui with her head down and a blank expression, Gu Wanru angrily flung her handkerchief away.

It's useless; it's a pity the silver branch was broken.

She thought that by giving Yinzhi to Mu An, she could appease him for not being able to win Gu Hua's heart. She believed that Yinzhi was loyal to her and would not betray her even if she became a concubine.

But now things have changed. Mu An used the silver branch to provoke her, directly elevating the concubine and giving her a separate courtyard.

Among the women in his backyard, Yaoyao, his most beloved and favorite, has been causing a huge uproar these past few days.

But Mu'an continued to do as she pleased, showering her with gifts every day and sending someone to inform her each time.

Isn't this obviously an attempt to provoke her?

It seems Mother was right; only by getting Gu Hua can my husband feel at ease.

At worst, once she gives birth to the Duke's eldest grandson, we can sell that little slut to the lowest brothel, or just beat her to death.

Gu Wanru understood and felt a little better.

"Jin Kui, pick out a few pieces of jewelry from my dowry that I don't like to wear and send them to Yin Zhi. Let her know that I care about her, and that she won't have any second thoughts."

"Yes," Jin Kui replied and left.

……

Gu Hua returned to Ya Yun Pavilion with a heavy heart and saw Zhou Chunyu standing in her courtyard with two gorgeously dressed women, each accompanied by a maid.

The two maids each carried a large box.

Gu Hua stepped forward and bent down.

Zhou Chunyu stepped aside to let her pass and said with a smile, "I saw that you didn't have any clothes or jewelry with you, so I took the liberty of calling the best embroidery shop in Bianjing to take your measurements and make clothes. I also invited Linlanglou to match some suitable jewelry."

Gu Hua quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need."

Mu Junyan asked Zhou Chunyu to buy some clothes and jewelry for Gu Hua, and Zhou Chunyu naturally wanted to choose the best.

After all, she was the first woman the lord truly cared about.

He had guessed that Gu Hua would decline, and he had already prepared an excuse that she couldn't refuse.

He smiled gently and said, "Since you are going to be copying documents for the late Madam, you will naturally be frequently visiting Wenhanxuan and will often encounter visiting dignitaries. It would be better if you dressed appropriately."

Zhou Chunyu's words were very clear.

This means that her attire brought shame to the Duke's mansion.

Gu Hua blushed.

She was best at readily agreeing: "Then I shall respectfully comply, thank you very much, Steward Zhou."

The embroidery workshop sent their best tailor, who quickly took Gu Hua's measurements and then picked out several pieces of cool-toned silk from a box in the maid's hand, comparing the colors to her face.

The female tailor smiled and said, "Young lady, you are beautiful, but you are still young. Wearing bright colors will make you look older. Cooler tones will better highlight your temperament."

Her eyes shone as she looked at Gu Hua, as if she were seeing her future masterpiece.

"Manager Zhou, the custom-made dresses will take five or six days to be ready. We'll have someone send over a few sets of ready-made clothes that suit the young lady shortly, so she can wear them for now."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

Linlanglou is the most expensive jewelry shop in Bianjing.

This time, the shopkeeper himself came to visit.

While the embroidery shop was taking her measurements and comparing colors, the shopkeeper turned to pick out jewelry from the maid's box.

A set of silver jewelry inlaid with blue crystals, and a set of light green jade jewelry.

A complete set including hairpins, hair ornaments, hairpins with dangling ornaments, earrings, and bracelets.

The design is simple and the materials are not particularly luxurious, but the workmanship is exquisite and the shape is unique, making it incomparable to ordinary jewelry made of the same material.

After finishing, Zhou Chunyu smiled and bent over, saying, "Miss, please rest well and don't tire yourself out. My lord has an appointment today and may not be back until around 9 PM. I'll go and get back to work now."

Gu Hua's ears turned slightly red.

Is this meant to tell her Mu Junyan's whereabouts?

But what exactly does Mu Junyan mean?

She felt uneasy living a life where everything was done for her.

With Mu Ancai eyeing her from the front and the vicious Aunt Pei pressing her from behind, should she take the initiative again?

While Gu Hua was still in a daze, Shen Li started fiddling with her fingers. By the time she realized what was happening, all ten of her fingers were wrapped up like radish heads.

Shen Li: "I wanted to pull out your fingernails..."

Gu Hua's face turned pale.

Then Shen Li said, "I'm afraid it will hurt you too much, so we can only use conservative treatments to improve blood circulation, remove blood stasis, and repair the flesh under your fingernails."

Gu Hua smiled gratefully at her.

"Do you have toenails?" Shen Li stared at her feet.

Gu Hua subconsciously pulled her foot back.

Shen Li frowned: "Your foot got pricked too?"

Gu Hua shook her head: "My hands are pricked a lot."

If her toenails are also covered, how will she walk?

Without saying a word, Shen Li reached out and began to unbutton her clothes, startling her so much that she grabbed her collar and backed away repeatedly.

"What are you doing?"

"Check if there are any other injuries on your body."

"No, no," Gu Hua said repeatedly, and hurriedly ran away.

Shen Li glanced at her, then turned and left.

Gu Hua was stunned for a moment: "Are you angry?"

Donghua squinted her small eyes: "Really?"

"Oh dear, the people from the Embroidery Shop and the Linglang Pavilion have already left? I rushed here but I'm still too late."

Zhou Zhilan's clear, cheerful laughter drifted over.

A moment later, the beaded curtain jingled, and a young girl in a light red dress walked in cheerfully.

Seeing two sets of jewelry on the dressing table, she hurried over, picked them up and examined them closely: "Manager Qiu's creations are never ordinary. These two sets of jewelry are not luxurious but exquisite and unique, and their design is one of a kind."

He picked up a hairpin and held it up to Gu Hua's hair: "It suits you perfectly."

Gu Hua also thought so.

"My brother used the master's invitation card to get the female owner and manager of Linlanglou to personally match the jewelry for you."

Gu Hua's attention was focused on the words "female owner and manager".

"Can a woman... also be a business owner?"

"Why not? The old owner of Linlanglou only had one daughter. He married into the family, and after the old owner passed away, his daughter took over the business and personally managed it. She's amazing; she made Linlanglou twice the size it was when her father was alive."

Gu Hua's eyes were filled with admiration.

She's a woman too, so why is she able to run a business and live the life she wants?

She wanted to try it in her lifetime.

In the past, in order to live a better life, she tried to earn money by copying poems and embroidering, but these were all small-scale operations.

Zhou Zhilan pulled Gu Hua aside and asked with concern, "They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

Gu Hua shook her head.

Thinking of Aunt Pei and her daughter, he became upset again.

If Consort Pei were to openly summon the Marquis's residence to take her back, the Duke's residence would have no reason to keep her there.

She couldn't hide in the Duke's mansion forever.

Being outnumbered and outgunned, the only way to accomplish anything was to rely on the power of the Duke's mansion.

Mu Junyan's attitude towards her was ambiguous. Even if she aroused a man's primal interest in beautiful women, it was not enough to make him support her in doing these things.

She cautiously and meticulously pursued Mu Junyan, not only seeking physical conquest but also a place in his heart so that he would be willing to act on her behalf.

Now, she has no time.

If you want to find out Mu Junyan's attitude, the only way is to ask the person he trusts most.

Gu Hua gestured for Dong Hua to leave.

"My younger sister has something to ask, so please tell me the truth."

Gu Hua blushed before she could finish speaking.

Zhou Zhilan plopped down on the bed: "Ask away. I'm the best at telling the truth."