The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Jiang Miaoyin looked unwilling. The cellar was dark and cold, and she was still in her postpartum period.

"Couldn't you just spend some money to send them away?"

Gu Huaizhou said anxiously, "Some of those people know me. If we spend money now, they might become suspicious. It's better to avoid trouble. Can you be patient for now?"

"Alright, I'll listen to you." Jiang Miaoyin didn't want to put Gu Huaizhou in a difficult position, so she turned around and followed the servants to the wine cellar.

A short while later, there was a knock on the door.

Gu Huaizhou told a servant to open the door, and the patrolmen came in, saying gruffly, "Routine inspection, get out of the way."

After saying that, he ignored the doorman's objections and pushed the person aside to walk in.

Upon seeing Gu Huaizhou, everyone's faces showed apologetic expressions: "Brother Gu, is this your house?"

Someone asked in confusion, "Brother Gu, why aren't you staying at the Marquis's residence? What are you doing here?"

Before Gu Huaizhou could answer, someone chuckled and said, "Naturally, it's because his wife just gave birth, and he's come here to live a life of simplicity and abstinence."

After he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

Gu Huaizhou looked a little embarrassed and asked, "Why are you brothers so angry? Come in and warm yourselves up."

He had only been exchanging a few polite words, but to his surprise, these people actually went inside, which infuriated Gu Huaizhou so much that he gritted his teeth in anger.

After entering the house, the group began to complain to Gu Huaizhou: "We've been having such bad luck lately. Several wealthy families in the city have had their things stolen. The higher-ups are pressuring us to find the thieves within five days, but we don't even know if they're male or female. Isn't that asking the impossible?"

"Who says otherwise? In this cold weather, we've been on patrol again and again, and we haven't seen a single ghost."

Someone suggested, "Brother Gu, why don't you open a jar of good wine and let the brothers warm themselves up?"

“Yeah, it’s been so long since we brothers have had a drink together. Let’s open a jar.”

Gu Huaizhou's smile was forced, but his heart was filled with anxiety. These people never stopped drinking, and Jiang Miaoyin couldn't stand it in the wine cellar.

But if we don't bring wine, these people will be even less likely to leave.

It would be better to get them drunk so we can extricate ourselves.

Gu Huaizhou hurriedly stopped them, saying, "The wine cellar is dark and cold, why bother you guys? Just have the servants fetch it."

"Are you hiding some good wine on purpose?" someone asked, displeased.

"Where are they?" Gu Huaizhou looked distressed, inwardly lamenting that these people were too troublesome and he wished he could kick them all out immediately.

At this moment, one of the fat men grinned lewdly and said, "If it weren't for the fine wine, then it must be a mistress kept in a golden cage, otherwise Brother Gu wouldn't have gone to such lengths to stop you..."

This remark immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter.

Gu Huaizhou almost lost his composure, cursing inwardly, but still managed a forced smile and explained, "You've all misunderstood. I was just worried that you might catch a cold."

However, the fat man persisted in his teasing, saying, "We're all grown men, how could we catch a cold so easily? But you, kid, are you feeling guilty?"

Gu Huaizhou sighed helplessly, silently praying that these people would leave soon.

Just then, an older man surnamed Xu finally couldn't help but speak up: "You guys haven't even had a drink yet and you're already talking nonsense. Who doesn't know that Huai Zhou dotes on his wife the most? If he had any other intentions, Heaven would be the first to object. Who doesn't know that Madam Gu is the most gentle and virtuous? If I could marry such a good wife, I wouldn't trade it for ten mountains of gold."

Hearing this, Gu Huaizhou looked at the older man with gratitude and then echoed, "I am completely devoted to my wife and have absolutely no ulterior motives."

"Look at how cautious you are. Don't worry, we were just saying it casually. It will never reach your wife's ears." Everyone burst into laughter again. Gu Huaizhou's smile almost froze, but he still forced a smile to maintain his image.

As they spoke, several men ordered their servants, "Where is the wine cellar? Quickly take us there to see it."

Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Gu Huaizhou had no choice but to wink at his servants and order, "Lead the way."

"Yes, sir." The servant understood and jogged towards the wine cellar.

The patrolmen didn't pay much attention, assuming he had gone to clean up, since Gu Huaizhou was with them.

Before long, the group arrived at the wine cellar.

Even before getting close, they could smell a rich aroma of wine. They took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Indeed, these are all fine wines."

"Please take whichever jar you like," Gu Huaizhou said generously. He couldn't wait to get rid of these people; for the first time, he found these cronies annoying.

Without further ado, the group each took two jars and headed out.

Just then, the fat man suddenly poked his head into the wine cellar, a greedy look on his face: "Gu Huaizhou, there might be a better bar in there."

Gu Huaizhou's smile froze. There was no good wine inside; Jiang Miaoyin was hiding it there.

He suppressed his panic and forced a relaxed smile, saying, "All the good wine is here. It's dark and damp inside; there's no good wine there. Let's go."

As he was about to lead everyone away, Little Fatty suddenly chuckled and darted inside, saying, "I'll go take a look."

"Fatty!" Gu Huaizhou's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was too late; Fatty had already seen Jiang Miaoyin.

He cried out in annoyance, "Who is it? You scared the hell out of me!"

Jiang Miaoyin was dressed simply, and the dim lighting made it difficult to see her face, so no one suspected anything.

She was quick-witted enough to kneel down and reply, "In response to your question, sir, I am a maid who cleans the wine cellar."

Seeing his beloved woman kneeling before someone else, Gu Huaizhou felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and at that moment he even wanted to kill the fat man.

Someone muttered, "Cleaning up here so late at night, Brother Gu, your family rules are pretty strict, aren't they?"

"It was this servant who carelessly broke a jar of fine wine, so I am willing to accept this punishment," Jiang Miaoyin said in a high-pitched voice.

Gu Huaizhou seized the opportunity to say, "Get out of here, you're just getting in the way."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Jiang Miaoyin kowtowed and hurriedly left with her head bowed.

No one paid much attention to this little incident, and they took the wine and returned to the main hall.

To get them drunk, Gu Huaizhou ordered his servants to cook a few more dishes and began drinking and toasting with the patrolmen.

They drank until the wee hours of the morning before finally leaving, staggering and unsteady.

Gu Huaizhou also drank quite a bit, and his head was spinning and his eyes were glazed over.

Jiang Miaoyin looked at him with a pitiful expression: "Gu Lang, can you please not leave? I'm scared. What if they come back?"

"Don't worry, they won't be back. They've drunk so much, they probably won't sober up until the afternoon." Thinking that Jiang Miaoyin had caught a chill in the wine cellar, Gu Huaizhou instructed the servants, "Go and brew a bowl of medicine to replenish the young lady's qi and blood, and take good care of her."

After explaining all this, Gu Huaizhou left, his steps unsteady.