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

"Madam, I dare not say." The steward kept winking at Madam Zhou, signaling her to clear everyone out.

Zhou looked displeased. "That stupid servant."

If she clears everyone out, who will know that the Marquis has performed a meritorious service?

Therefore, Zhou pretended not to see it and shouted, "Just say what I told you to say, why make such a fuss?"

The housekeeper was scolded, but he no longer cared.

He swallowed hard and said, "My lord, he... he was carried back."

"Hmm." Zhou nodded slightly, but her expression changed the next second: "Who, who was carried back?"

"It's the Marquis. He's been beaten to a pulp and has already passed out..." the steward said haltingly. "I heard he was punished and demoted."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room changed their expressions.

They thought that Gu Huaizhou's promotion would bring them some good luck.

Unexpectedly, not only did I not get a promotion, but I was also beaten half to death. What bad luck!

The ladies and young women, fearing they would be implicated, changed their expressions faster than turning the pages of a book.

"Excuse me, Madam Zhou, I have other matters to attend to at my residence, so I will take my leave now."

"Yes, I have matters to attend to at my residence, so I'll be leaving now."

The room, which had been bustling just moments before, suddenly became deserted.

Madam Zhou was both angry and anxious. Ignoring the ladies and young misses, she asked urgently, "Where is my son? Take me to see him quickly."

"The body has already been carried back to the Marquis's own courtyard, and I have sent someone to fetch a doctor," the steward said hurriedly.

Zhou Shi stood up shakily: "Quick, help me to go see him."

Min's brows were furrowed, and she was wondering why she had been demoted out of nowhere.

What about the banquet that night?

The invitations have already been sent out; isn't this incredibly embarrassing?

Xue Qingwan froze on the spot. It wasn't a promotion, but a demotion?

Then wouldn't all her efforts have been in vain?

She hurriedly stopped Steward Song and asked in confusion, "What happened? Why was the Marquis punished?"

"I heard that a young lady from an official family lost her life, and the matter has reached the Emperor's ears. The people above are taking their anger out on the Marquis," Steward Song replied.

Xue Qingwan gasped, her face turning deathly pale.

If that's the case, won't what she did be found out?

The butler noticed her pale face and asked with concern, "Miss, are you alright?"

"No, it's nothing." Xue Qingwan's smile was forced, and then the butler sighed and said, "It's such a tragedy. I don't know where those damned bandits came from. A perfectly good life was lost just like that."

Xue Qingwan's face turned even paler.

"Qingwan, what are you doing standing there? Hurry up and go!" Zhou called out to her when she saw her standing still. Xue Qingwan quickly came to her senses and went over.

Several people helped Zhou Shi to Gu Huaizhou's courtyard. The doctor had already arrived and was examining Gu Huaizhou's injuries.

The room was filled with the smell of blood and medicinal ointment.

Gu Huaizhou lay on the bed, already awake.

His clothes were stuck to his skin, and the doctor was slowly tearing them off.

Every movement brought excruciating pain.

Gu Huaizhou couldn't help but cry out. Hearing his scream, Zhou felt both heartache and anxiety.

But there was nothing she could do but stand outside and wait.

After finally managing to remove the clothes that were stuck to his skin, the doctor frowned deeply when he saw the injuries on Gu Huaizhou's body: "My lord, your injuries are quite severe. I need to clean the wounds before I can apply any medicine."

Gu Huaizhou was in so much pain he was almost passing out. He bit down hard on a handkerchief and nodded weakly.

He was a military general and knew that if a wound wasn't cleaned properly, it could cause inflammation.

If not handled properly, it could cost lives.

The doctor said to Gu Huaizhou, "My lord, please bear with it for a moment."

Then, he used a clean handkerchief to wipe the wound little by little, and with each wipe, Gu Huaizhou's muscles twitched violently.

He bit down hard on the handkerchief, but even so, he couldn't help but roar out loud.

This scene is truly horrifying.

Zhou was so frightened by just one glance that her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground. Everyone hurriedly helped her to the outer room and let her sit down and drink tea.

"Madam, please have some water."

Zhou pushed away the teacup, tears streaming down her face, cursing, "Damn bandits! Why don't these bastards stay on the mountain? Why did they come down here to harm people?"

With each word she spoke, Xue Qingwan's face paled a little more.

Gu Huaizhou's roar came from inside the room, and Xue Qingwan felt as if those wounds were hitting her own body.

She wished she could cover her ears and run away from there.

But Zhou was sitting there, so she couldn't leave even if she wanted to.

Basins of bloody water were brought over, and basins of clean water were brought in one after another.

Blood-stained clothes, blood-stained bandages—everything was a shocking sight.

Half an hour later, the doctor came out and, looking exhausted, bowed to Zhou Shi and instructed her, "The Marquis's injuries are extremely serious. Tonight is crucial. You must keep a close watch on him. If he develops a high fever, you must inform me as soon as possible, otherwise his life may be in danger."

Zhou gasped, completely bewildered, and asked, "Is... is there still a risk to his life? Wasn't it just a superficial injury? How could it be so serious?"

"It is precisely because the injury is on the skin that it is serious. Madam, please be careful."

The doctor was too lazy to explain to Zhou Shi, because she wouldn't understand anyway and might even think he was trying to cheat her out of money, so he simply kept quiet.

He picked up his medicine box and was about to leave when Zhou hurriedly gestured to Min, "Quickly pay the consultation fee."

Ms. Min was a little confused; why should she pay for the consultation?

But she felt embarrassed to refuse now, so she thought she would pay for it first and ask Zhou for it back later.

The doctor paid two taels of silver for the consultation and left with the money.

Zhou rushed into the room to check on Gu Huaizhou. He was only covered with a thin blanket, and a strong smell of blood and medicine emanated from him.

He lay on the bed, his face pale, his body trembling with pain.

Upon seeing Zhou, he weakly called out, "Mother."

"Don't move, just lie down and rest to recover." Zhou's heart ached with heartache.

She really couldn't understand why she was beaten so badly for doing a good deed.

At this moment, Steward Song walked in from outside and said to Madam Zhou, "Madam, Master Song has arrived."

"Please come in quickly." Zhou's heart was entirely focused on Gu Huaizhou, and she didn't think of anything else.

After Song Jinshu entered and greeted him, she couldn't help but sigh when she saw Gu Huaizhou: "How did you get so badly injured, Lord Marquis?"

"This, this..." Zhou stammered, not knowing how to say it, while Gu Huaizhou simply closed his eyes due to weakness.

Seeing the situation, Song Jinshu wisely refrained from asking any further questions. He had come to attend the victory celebration banquet, only to find out about the trouble at the mansion when he arrived at the door.

Since we're already here, we might as well take a look at Song Wenjun before we leave.

But after looking around the room and not seeing Song Wenjun, he asked in confusion, "Where is Wenjun? Why isn't she here with Lord Gu so badly injured?"

One sentence made Zhou's expression tense.

In the chaos just now, she had forgotten to release Song Wenjun from the ancestral hall.