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

Feeling the presence of her biological mother beside her and smelling her faint fragrance, Gu Hua was so excited that she wrote almost three hundred words in one go.

As he wrote the last stroke, a tear welled up in his eyes and fell, wetting the last word.

Gu Hua quickly took a deep breath and forced back her tears.

"Why are you crying?" Madam Wang asked in an extremely gentle tone.

Gu Hua felt a lump in her throat, and almost couldn't hold back her tears.

This was the first time she had heard her biological mother show concern for her.

Wang held Gu Hua's hand with heartache, then suddenly looked up in shock. She opened Gu Hua's palm and saw the red, scabbed flesh from the burn, her face filled with fear.

"How did your hand get injured like this? How are you going to copy the manuscript like this?"

Gu Hua's hand was held by her biological mother. Seeing her mother's nervous expression, tears welled up in her eyes again, falling into her own palm and Wang Shi's palm.

Wang was heartbroken: "How painful is this?"

She turned to Zhou Chunyu and said, "Hua'er was injured at the Duke's mansion and can no longer copy books. Hua'er needs to go back to the mansion to recuperate properly."

Gu Hua's heart was filled with joy. It turned out that her mother cared about her and would protect her.

But now is not the time to go back home.

She wants to use Mu Junyan's power to find evidence of the child swap, and once she has the power to fight back, she will return to reunite with her mother.

"Mother……"

Gu Hua choked up as soon as she opened her mouth, and Wang felt a strange sensation when she called her mother.

It's true that even a child would call her "mother" with more affection.

After all, they are both family-oriented girls, and as the head of the household, I will still think about her.

Mrs. Wang patted her hand and comforted her, "Good child, if you have any grievances, you must go home and tell us. The Gu family will stand up for you."

Will the Gu family stand up for her?

It is impossible.

Gu Hua took a deep breath and respectfully curtsied to Madam Wang: "Daughter thanks Mother for her love. Thanks to the Duke for bringing the best medicine from the palace to treat my wounds, they have scabbed over in just a few days. Daughter wants to express her filial piety to our deceased mother-in-law on behalf of her elder sister, and to thank her elder sister for her guidance and care over the past month."

In Wang's heart, Gu Wanru was a jewel she had cherished and raised.

Gu Hua couldn't bear to let her know how vicious Gu Wanru was.

When she returns to her mother's side as her biological daughter, she will expose the evil deeds committed by Aunt Pei and her daughter.

Mother, you must take good care of your health and wait for your daughter to return.

Gu Yuan and Madam Wang were both feeling complicated and remained silent.

The facts are clear: if we continue to prevent people from going to the Duke's mansion, we risk offending the Duke of Yong.

After all, the deep affection that the Duke of Yong had for his late wife was known to everyone in the capital's wealthy and powerful families.

It is a good thing that the young lady of the Marquis's mansion can fulfill the Duke of Yong's longing for his late wife. In the future, the Duke of Yong will have received more favors from the Marquis of Wenchang's mansion, and the two families will become even closer.

Gu Yuan rubbed his fingers together, thinking that in a few days, before the Duke of Yong returned to the Southern Frontier, he would pay him a visit and ask him to speak to the Emperor and ask him to establish an heir.

Once a heir is established, the likelihood of the marquisate being passed down for another generation increases significantly.

Gu Yuan was making plans in his mind, while Aunt Pei was extremely anxious.

Ru'er sent someone to tell her that Gu Hua was to be sent to Jiao Chun Garden at noon, and the time was almost up.

What if the eldest son-in-law blames Ru'er and takes his anger out on her?

Moreover, now that the little wretch has succeeded this time and returned to the Duke's mansion in a triumphant manner, she will probably be even more difficult to control in the future.

If she were to actually seduce the Duke and win his favor, that would be a real problem.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her, she quietly stood up, walked to Gu Yuan's side, and whispered, "My lord, how about letting Hua'er stay in the manor for a day, and then sending her to the Duke's manor tomorrow? I want to talk to her; I haven't seen her for a month, and I miss her terribly."

Seeing her pleading eyes, Gu Yuan felt a pang of pity and looked at Zhou Chunyu to discuss, "The mother and daughter haven't seen each other for over a month. How about letting Hua'er stay for one night and return tomorrow?"

Zhou Chunyu looked at Gu Hua: "Miss Gu, you decide."

Gu Hua glanced at Aunt Pei. What mischief were she and Gu Wanru up to, insisting that she go home?

But if she insists on returning to the Duke's mansion today, it will definitely arouse suspicion from Gu Yuan and her mother.

I also want to take this opportunity to investigate within the mansion to see if there are any clues about the child swapping back then.

Furthermore, she brought Shen Li here with a purpose.

"A daughter should listen to her father."

Seeing that she was as obedient as ever, Gu Yuan was naturally pleased: "Then that's settled."

He smiled and nodded to Zhou Chunyu: "No need for a gift, it's too formal. It's just copying some manuscripts."

Zhou Chunyu personally took the box containing the silver notes and handed it to Granny Zhou with both hands.

"Absolutely. The Duke instructed that if the Marquis does not accept the silver notes, consider it as part of Miss Gu's dowry, and ask Madam to accept them on her behalf."

Wang was happy for Gu Hua and said joyfully, "Then I will thank the Duke on Hua'er's behalf."

Granny Sun accepted it with both hands.

Gu Yuan suffered a heart attack.

Sigh, the duck that was about to be caught flew away right under my nose!

Zhou Zhilan added, "That day, Aunt Pei came to the Duke's mansion and said that the lady had chosen a husband for Miss Gu and they were already discussing marriage. It would be perfect to add some dowry."

Aunt Pei's face turned pale.

Wang Shi and Gu Yuan both looked at the flustered Aunt Pei and their expressions changed simultaneously.

In front of her husband, Madam Wang deliberately asked, "Madam Pei, do you decide the marriages of the young ladies in the Marquis's mansion?"

Aunt Pei quickly knelt down: "This servant wouldn't dare. It's...this servant was afraid that Hua'er would have inappropriate thoughts, so I said it on purpose. This servant was just reminding her to uphold the virtues of a woman and not to think about things she shouldn't."

Gu Hua asked in surprise, "That night when Aunt Pei went to the Duke's mansion, she said in person that Mother had found a good match for me. Didn't Mother know that?"

Wang's face darkened, and she sneered, "My lord, Pei controls the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion, and she also decides on the marriages of the young ladies. So, I have nothing to do with the Marquis's mansion anymore, right?"

Gu Yuan may be biased in his heart, but he will always appear perfectly upright on the surface.

Her tone immediately turned hostile, and she shouted, "Pei, what nonsense are you spouting? Even if she is your own child, it is the madam who makes the decisions. When did it become your place to interfere in the marriages of the young ladies in the manor?"

Aunt Pei was on the verge of tears: "How dare I? I was only worried about my mother."

Gu Hua didn't want Aunt Pei to get away with it so easily.

She secretly tugged at Zhou Zhilan's sleeve and winked at her.

Zhou Zhilan had a sudden inspiration and immediately understood what she wanted to say.

"Steward Zhou, Donghua, Shen Li, and I will stay at the Marquis's residence to accompany Miss Gu. Could you please have someone bring over Miss Gu's slave registration document from the young mistress's possession tomorrow, so that Marquis Gu and his wife can verify the authenticity of the mistress's private seal? If it's fake..."

She deliberately glanced at Concubine Pei, whose face was ashen, and said slowly, "It is a serious crime for a concubine to steal the mistress's private seal."

Gu Yuan frowned: "Does this document really exist?"

Gu Hua's eyes were brimming with tears of grievance: "I thought it was my father and mother's idea, so naturally I didn't dare to disobey and signed the document."

Gu Yuan was furious: "Nonsense! No matter what, you are still a young lady of the Marquis's mansion. How could I reduce you to the status of a slave? What about the reputation of my Gu family for the past six months?!"

Madam Wang solemnly echoed, "Of course we must investigate this thoroughly. If it's true, and word gets out, our Gu family will be cursed behind our backs."

Aunt Pei's legs went weak, and she almost knelt down.

Gu Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

In my previous life, I blamed myself for being too cowardly and never considered that Aunt Pei might have been deceiving me.

They gave them the opportunity to ruin themselves.

Zhou Chunyu left, and Gu Yuan, impatient with the women's trivial matters, glanced at Gu Hua and said, "Madam, you handle this. I have to go."

"Ok."

Madam Wang respectfully presented the gift, then glanced back at Aunt Pei and Gu Hua.

“Madam Pei, your courtyard is not big, and Hua’er’s original room was too simple. Let’s arrange for them to stay in the guest courtyard tonight.”

Aunt Pei had no choice but to agree, so she perked up and said, "Yes, this servant will arrange it right away."

After saying that, she glanced at Gu Hua and gestured for her to follow her.

Gu Hua pretended not to see it.

Madam Wang noticed this and said, "Go quickly. Once you've finished tidying up the guest courtyard, send someone to tell us that Hua'er and I will be having lunch in my courtyard today."

Helpless, Aunt Pei had no choice but to leave first.