lious daughter was heartless; she had been raised so well but was going to send her elders to prison.Meng Jinyao saw their faces pale with fright and spoke in a timely manner: "Husband, since they are...Li Wan'er trembled in her heart, she stopped crying and quickly raised her head timidly to steal a glance at Gu Jingxi. The man was tall and handsome with a noble bearing, looking only twenty-three or four years old. She was surprised, she hadn't expected that Lord Gu looked so young.

Meng Jin Yao wore a gentle smile on her face and nodded in agreement: "My husband, please rest assured. I will definitely educate Xiu Ming well in the future, treating him as my own."

Gu Xiuming looked at her, with a feeling of wicked stepmother. On the surface she was gentle, but in her heart she was calculating how to take revenge on him. She must have married her father out of spite because he eloped and wouldn't marry her. This way, she could use her status as an elder to control him and become the esteemed Madam of Changxing Hou. He, who had always been wise, made a fool of himself at this crucial moment.

He angrily questioned, “Father, she is my son’s fiancée. How can you marry her”

Gu Jingxi frowned, her sharp gaze falling on him as she questioned in a low voice, "When you abandoned her on your wedding day and eloped with another girl, how could you have not thought that she was your fiancée"

Gu Xiuming was speechless. He was in the wrong first. Facing his father's fierce gaze, he lowered his head awkwardly and stammered, "But it shouldn't be you who married her. Second brother and Fourth brother are still unmarried. Even if I wasn't here, it should have been them

Listening to his self-righteous words, Meng Jin Yao couldn't help but chuckle softly, saying with a hint of mockery: "He shouldn't marry me, so you should run away If you hadn't run away, he wouldn't need to clean up the mess for you. What makes you think that you running away means Young Master Gu Er and Young Master Gu Si have to be scapegoats, with one of them taking responsibility for your mistake If Gu Jingxi wasn't your father, he wouldn't even bother cleaning up this mess for you."

She said, glancing at Gu Xiuming. Seeing him speechless, she added, "By the way, there's something you got wrong. It's our two victims, me and your father, who should ask you for an explanation, not the other way around. You should be apologizing to us both and asking for our forgiveness."

Grandparents

Gu Jingxi glanced at his young wife beside him. Seeing the little face that hadn't completely lost its childishness tense up, he thought to himself: She's still a child, yet we call each other elders.

He raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, but said in agreement, "Your mother is right, Xiuming. I thought that as you read the classics of sages and philosophers, you would understand the importance of respecting your elders. She is my wife, your mother, and to disrespect her is to disrespect me. In our family, those who break the rules, disregard their elders, will be punished according to house law."

Gu Xiuming's face paled. "Father!"

Gu Jingxi showed no mercy, hammering the final nail into the coffin. He stated resolutely, "Apart from showing disrespect to elders, you also committed such a reckless act of elopement, betraying loyalty and abandoning your family's honor, causing significant repercussions. You are guilty on multiple counts, thus facing twenty lashes, confinement within the ancestral hall, and a month of reflection before the spirits of our ancestors. You must also copy the ancestral rules a hundred times."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuming's face turned as pale as a sheet. As the esteemed young master of a prominent family, being sentenced to twenty lashes was bad enough, but to be confined to the ancestral hall for a month of self-reflection and forced to copy the family rules - where would he put his face The servants in the household would surely ridicule him, let alone outsiders.

He hurriedly admitted his mistake and begged for forgiveness: "Father, son knows he was wrong, please forgive him!"

Gu Jingxi looked at him with a solemn expression, unyielding. He spoke in a low voice: "Xiuming, you are the son of the Marquis's family and will inherit the title in the future. You should set an example, but you deliberately broke the rules. Since this is your first offense, I have shown leniency. If there is a next time, it will not be as lenient as today."

Knowing that there was no room for compromise, Gu Xiuming lowered his eyelids, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes. He subtly twitched the corner of his mouth and inwardly seethed: "This is called leniency" He wasn't treated like one of their own, so they wouldn't hesitate to be harsh. If he were their blood, this wouldn't happen. Twenty lashes from the Gu family whip - that was half a life! For someone frail, it could even be fatal.

When Li Wan'er saw her beloved's face ashen, she was also terrified, trembling all over. Even the son of the Marquis's family received such treatment; where would she end up Brother Xiu Ming couldn't even protect himself, so how could he possibly protect her

Meng Jinyao glanced at the couple still huddled together on the ground. She turned to look at the man beside her and asked, "Husband, what about this Miss Wan'er I don't know where she's from. If her parents knew what she had done, they would surely be furious. Although eloping is a matter of your will, it still needs to be handled properly."

Just a moment ago, Li Wan’er was still worrying about the consequences she would face. Now, Meng Jinyao suddenly brought her up, causing her heart to leap into her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes once again, blurring her vision as she looked at the couple with fear in her gaze.

Gu Jingxi looked at Li Wan'er, his brows slightly furrowed. The girl who had allowed this unfilial son to elope despite the family's reputation was indeed attractive. Although her appearance wasn't stunningly beautiful, she was still graceful and charming.

At this moment, the girl was teary-eyed and leaned against his dissolute son like she had no bones. To put it nicely, she was weak and helpless; to put it harshly, she was utterly lacking in decorum. Her posture was poor, and her behavior was frivolous.

Such a girl, where does she compare to the one by his side They're not even on the same level. He's truly blinded by lard, picking up fish eyes while discarding pearls.

He withdrew his gaze and said, "The people I sent out have found out that she is a young woman from a scholar's family in the eastern part of the city. Both her parents are dead, and she relied on her grandfather. Now her grandfather has passed away, leaving her alone. My lady, what do you think should be done with her"

Meng Jin Yao understood then, no wonder she dared to disregard her reputation and elope with another man's betrothed. It turned out she had no parents or relatives, was utterly alone, so she wasn't afraid of anything. If she won, she would have wealth and glory; if she lost, it was just bad luck. But Gu Xiuming wouldn't abandon her anyway, even if she became his mistress, he would still lavish her with silk and jade.

Seeing Li Wan'er's fearful expression and pleading look, Meng Jin yao didn't make things difficult for her. She handled official business as usual and said calmly, "Since Xiuming likes her, then wait until Xiuming takes a wife and chooses an auspicious day to bring Miss Wan'er into the mansion."

To marry a wife and take a concubine, the meaning is very clear: to make Li Wan'er a concubine.

Li Wan'er was stunned. She hadn't received any punishment like flogging, and she was immensely relieved, but this outcome wasn't what she wanted. Being the concubine of the Prince and being his wife were worlds apart.

Being the concubine is even worse than being the wife. Not only would she have Meng Jin Yao, her mother-in-law, above her head, but she would also have the legitimate wife pressuring her in the future. No legitimate wife likes to see her husband with a mistress, and once that happens, they will team up to bully her. She'd only have herself to blame for being mistreated.

Besides Li Wan'er, Gu Xiuming was also dissatisfied with this result. His eyes were filled with anger as he glared fiercely at Meng Jin yao, snarling: "Meng Jin yao, you venomous woman seeking revenge while pretending to be kind! My love for Wan'er is true, and if you hadn't stood in our way, she would be the Crown Princess, not a concubine!", and she was genuinely worried. A person like this couldn't be completely bad. She just lacked discernment, valued profit over everything, and was vain. But everyone has flaws, as long as their natur...