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

Wang was shocked upon hearing this.

Gu Hua is right.

But since it involves Aunt Pei, only Gu Yuan can handle it.

Gu Hua knew her concerns and said in a low voice, "Mother, take this opportunity to set things right. You should take action to clean up the inner quarters of the Marquis's residence."

Wang understood that this was a good opportunity.

Doesn't she want to regain her authority as the matriarch?

However, tomorrow is the day when Madam Pei goes to collect the silver provided by the Pei family.

As this day approached each month, Consort Pei became even more favored, and she flaunted her power all day long.

Seeing her hesitation, Gu Hua burst into tears: "Mother, if something happens to me tonight, I won't be able to go to the Duke's Mansion tomorrow either. Miss Zhou and the other two are also witnesses, and the Marquis's Mansion can't keep this a secret either."

Wang's expression changed.

"Granny Zhou, quickly go and see if the Marquis has arrived yet?"

As soon as Granny Zhou stepped out, she heard footsteps approaching from afar.

Gu Yuan and Aunt Pei entered the courtyard together.

"What's all this fuss about now?"

Gu Yuan was woken up in the middle of the night, filled with anger.

Aunt Pei spotted the sixth son, who was tied up to the side, and immediately rushed over to point her finger at him and start cursing.

"You beast! I told you to prepare the carriage so I could take Hua'er with me to collect the silver from the Pei family tomorrow. How dare you be so blinded by greed and insult my Hua'er! I'll fry you up, skin you alive, and tear you apart!"

When Lao Liu saw Aunt Pei arrive, he was overjoyed, as if he had seen a savior. He opened his eyes wide and began to wail.

To his surprise, she launched into a tirade, leaving him momentarily stunned. He immediately realized that she was going to betray him and kill him to silence him.

He struggled desperately to crawl toward Aunt Pei.

Aunt Pei quickly took a step back, waved her hand, and two servants stepped forward, grabbed the person on either side, and dragged her out.

Gu Hua's eyes darkened.

She knelt before Gu Yuan, her face full of grievance, and spoke rapidly: "Father, the Marquis's mansion is usually locked at 9 PM. He is just a stable boy in the outer courtyard. How could he have gotten in? The guest courtyard is generally not inhabited. When it does come, it is usually for distinguished guests. How could he know that I am the one staying there and not a distinguished guest of the Marquis's mansion? How could a servant of the Marquis's mansion dare to offend a distinguished guest of the Marquis's mansion? Every path leads to death. Does he not fear death?"

Gu Yuan's anger was ignited.

He came here hoping to downplay the issue.

But she's just a concubine's daughter, plus a few servants from the Duke's mansion. Why would he, a dignified marquis, have to get involved and force him to make a big deal out of it?

If things escalate, the Marquis's mansion will lose face. Who will benefit from that?

Gu Yuan frowned at her: "What are you trying to say?"

Wang mustered her courage and said, "My lord, Hua'er is right. If we don't investigate thoroughly, what if someone tries to do something bad again? There are still two unmarried girls in the manor."

Gu Yuan glared at Wang Shi with a serious expression.

Wang was depressed and felt suffocated.

She knew he disliked having the scandals of the inner quarters exposed to outsiders.

Seeing that Wang had backed down, Gu Hua remained silent.

Looking into my father's eyes, I understood what he was thinking at that moment.

Her father, as always, was selfish and neglected her.

In his mind, compared to the financial support that Aunt Pei provided, his daughter was nothing more than a pawn in his game, something to be cared for when she was useful, and discarded when she was not.

Gu Hua suddenly gave a light chuckle.

Since that's the case, let's try a different approach.

If one day Gu Yuan were to personally abandon Consort Pei, I wonder what Consort Pei would think?

Gu Hua lowered her head, feigning grievance: "I leave it to Father to decide."

Gu Yuan's furrowed brows immediately relaxed, which made sense.

His tone softened: "Don't worry, Father will definitely avenge you."

Turning to Aunt Pei, he coldly ordered, "Beat her to death on the spot and throw her into the mass grave to feed the dogs!"

As expected, Gu Yuan did not do anything to Aunt Pei.

Gu Hua glanced quickly at Madam Wang, feeling sorry for her biological mother. She should have been a high-ranking lady and the matriarch of the household, but she was ignored by her husband and suppressed by her concubine.

She must be having a very hard time.

Gu Hua felt sad and clenched her handkerchief tightly in her small hands.

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Aunt Pei couldn't hide her smugness and waved her handkerchief at Granny Lu, who then turned to do as she was told.

Gu Hua asked softly, "Did Aunt Pei just say that she would take me to see my cousin from the Pei family tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Aunt Pei turned to look at her and warmly took her hand: "Your maternal grandparents often talk about you, and they asked your cousin to bring you a lot of things. It's not too late for you to go back to the Duke's mansion after you've met."

"Ok."

Aunt Pei raised an eyebrow. Was she really that obedient?

"Get some rest." Gu Yuan, too lazy to bother anymore, turned and left.

Aunt Pei followed closely behind.

Madam Wang said apologetically, "Hua'er..."

Gu Hua felt sorry for her and comforted her, "Mother, I'm fine. Get some rest."

Watching the large group of people leave in a hurry, Zhou Zhilan said indignantly, "This is too much! Why did you have to give in?"

Gu Hua's eyes darkened.

“My parents don’t want to make decisions for me, and I won’t get anywhere fighting on my own.”

"You think you can just let it go like this, me bullying you, Miss?" Donghua raised her sleeves and swung her fist.

Her fists were itching to punch that so-called father!

"Of course, we won't just let it go like this..."

Zhou Zhilan looked at Gu Hua, whose tone had suddenly turned cold.

Bathed in the dim candlelight, the girl's skin was as smooth as jade, her features exquisite. The girl, who was originally incredibly delicate, now had a firm gaze, as if she had become a different person.

Suddenly, I realized that Gu Hua wasn't as weak and pitiful as she seemed on the surface.

The next day.

Gu Hua was having breakfast when Granny Lu arrived.

"Second Miss, the carriage is waiting outside. Please come with me once you're ready."

Gu Hua glanced at her lightly: "Is Aunt really asking me to meet my cousin from the Pei family?"

"Of course! How could that be false?" Granny Lu said with a smile.

Pei family cousin?

Aunt Pei always guarded against her like a thief, especially her cousin from the Pei family, who never allowed her to get too close, fearing that the future head of the Pei family and the eldest son of the Pei family would be bewitched by her.

Gu Hua smiled slightly: "I'll go over after I finish breakfast."

"Auntie has prepared food for the Second Miss. The Second Miss should hurry and come with me."

Eat?

I wonder if they added something extra.

Gu Hua's smile vanished: "What, you didn't understand what I was saying?"

When Granny Lu saw her suddenly change her expression, she was surprised for a moment, then smiled apologetically and said, "This servant understands."

Aunt Pei said not to alert her, just coax her into getting on the carriage.

"What tricks are you playing now? Is this never going to end?" Zhou Zhilan said unhappily.

Gu Hua lowered her head and drank her porridge.

Aunt Pei was ruthless in trying to ruin her. When one plan failed, she came up with another, determined to prevent her from returning to the Duke's mansion and harming her own daughter.

Just after they finished their meal, Zhou, the old nanny who served Wang, arrived.

He handed her a small wooden box: "Madam said that these silver notes were originally a gift from the Duke's Mansion to you, and that you should keep them for yourself."

Gu Hua looked at the box containing a thousand taels of silver notes, feeling both heartache and joy.

"Granny Zhou, this silver note is a gift from your daughter to your mother. Please take good care of yourself."

Gu Hua retreated.

She knew her mother was having a hard time, and having this money might make things a little easier.

Looking at the sensible and considerate concubine's daughter, Granny Zhou was at a loss for words.

The eldest daughter is not as filial to the madam as the second daughter. I wish the second daughter were the madam's biological daughter.

Granny Zhou hesitated for a moment, then sighed and left.

A little while later, Granny Lu came to urge them again.

"Is the aunt urging us so urgently because she's afraid Steward Zhou will come?"

Gu Hua's words caused Granny Lu's expression to change slightly: "Auntie means well and wants you to meet the eldest son of the Pei family."

What good intentions could she possibly have?

At this moment, Gu Yuan's attendant hurried over.

"Second Miss, the Marquis requests that you come to the front hall."

Gu Hua stood up: "Okay."

She was waiting for Zhou Chunyu to arrive.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the front hall, Zhou Chunyu brought what she wanted... the slave registration document in Gu Wanru's hand.

Suppressing his excitement, he stepped forward and bowed to his father and Lady Wang, who were seated at the head of the table.

Aunt Pei was kneeling on the ground, crying.

"The daughter has met her father and mother."

Gu Yuan's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he kept a straight face, not wanting to say anything.

Wang said gently, "Get up. Sit down and let's talk."

Gu Hua obediently sat down.

Wang glanced at Gu Yuan: "My lord, how should this matter be handled? Forging the mistress's seal and fabricating slave registration documents—this is too much..."

"What kind of trouble are you planning to cause in your own family affairs? As the matriarch of the household, you can't even manage your concubines. How can you expect to have a good reputation as the matriarch? People will just talk behind your back."

Gu Yuan quickly interrupted Wang Shi.

Wang was choked with anger, and her face looked terrible.

Gu Hua empathized deeply, and her eyes reddened.

Gu Yuan glared fiercely at Aunt Pei: "Pei is muddle-headed. She is to be fined half a year's salary and go to the ancestral hall to kneel for half a day to reflect on her mistakes."

Gu Hua looked coldly at her father.

So, she was deceived and almost lost her innocence, and was even tricked into becoming a slave, all because of this one light sentence?

Is the culprit who killed her just going to pretend nothing happened?