Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

It's no use. Master Gao's self-defense is meaningless. Even if he truly has no idea that his wife accepted the generous gift on his behalf, his official career is over.

Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.

If one cannot even manage one's own family, how can one expect the state to be well-governed after managing one's own family? It is impossible not to be demoted; in fact, being demoted is a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

The fact that his in-laws chose sides without putting all their eggs in one basket, and that they weren't executed along with their entire family, but instead had their son-in-law executed, is already a great favor from the emperor.

Regardless of the truth behind the Jiangnan case, someone will have to take the blame. The emperor certainly won't sentence his son to death; it will only be his ministers who die.

Considering the current emperor's bloodthirstiness—leaving not even a drop of blood from the former crown prince—the Gao family is in grave danger; in severe cases, it's not impossible for them to be exterminated along with their entire clan.

That case involved a dam project.

The core function of dikes is flood control and disaster reduction.

This is such an important water conservancy project, yet they're using it to make money; it's outrageous!

Alas, what can be done about Madam Gao? She meticulously planned and schemed her whole life, and just when she could finally take a breather, such a deserving in-law appeared.

I wonder, "Will it affect Master Gao? That's ridiculous! Everyone suffers or prospers; how could he not be affected?"

"I really don't know what Master Gao's family is thinking. They have a place in the court, yet their descendants are still useless and dissatisfied. Aren't they courting death?"

Is it possible that the other party's family holds a position in the imperial court, and they didn't enter the game willingly, but were simply caught in the web of power struggles...?

"Does Senior Brother Qian mean that Master Gao might be demoted, but not too severely, perhaps just transferred from Jiangnan to a harsh, cold place to serve as a minor official?"

Gu Wenxuan subconsciously reached out to tap his thigh with his right finger, but almost hit Zhou Banxia who was sitting on his lap. He immediately withdrew his hand just as he heard this.

Looking at Zhou Banxia, ​​whose eyes were shining and who was eagerly waiting for his reaction, he didn't know why he wanted to laugh, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

As expected, I got punched.

"Hiss, it hurts."

"Come on, do you think I don't know how much force I used?" Zhou Banxia retorted playfully, "Answer me now, don't change the subject!"

"On this point—" Gu Wenxuan shook his head honestly, "If you ask Senior Brother Qian to ask himself, he wouldn't dare to be sure. He only told me that Master Gao might be demoted."

Basically, I'm trying to let you know as soon as possible that there's a possibility that if Madam Gao contacts you before your husband returns, you should be careful.

Of course, I didn't ask Senior Brother Qian any more questions. After all, it wasn't a case he handled, and Uncle Qian wasn't the person in charge either, so he wouldn't know more than we did.

He didn't say where he learned of this possibility, but judging from his tone and expression at the time, it must have been that his sister-in-law's manager came to our area to pick up goods and said something to him.

It's similar to how the steward who came to the Gao family to pick up goods sounded very familiar with you; Old Madam Gao could easily find out from you how often the master would send you letters home.

Zhou Banxia thought of how every time she received a letter from her uncle, the bottom line of his letter was always the same thing—stay home, eat well, and take good care of yourself.

So, that case?

Even if her uncle sent her a letter every day, what could she know, and what could Old Madam Gao find out from her?
"What can I know?"

Yes, we must maintain this posture!
"If Madam Gao wants to know when my uncle will send me the family letter, there is no need for the steward to come here to inquire. She can simply ask at the post station outside Qingyang City."

As for letters not delivered through post stations, my wife and I don't want any of our men to say a word. If they don't try to extract information from us, I'll consider it a loss!

That's true. You're too talkative. You won't even get past Uncle Changqing and Aunt Lan on the first hurdle! "Besides, based on my understanding of Madam Gao, my uncle is still building dikes in Jiangnan. Even if Master Gao the Second asks Madam Gao for help, she won't come to me."

Not to mention that she would have contacted me before my uncle returned, and even if there was still a chance to plead for her after he returned, there's absolutely no way she would have contacted me. There's only one reason she would contact me.

Here comes the key point!

My wife isn't pretending to be stupid anymore!

Gu Wenxuan immediately sat up straight.

Zhou Banxia, ​​whose legs were pinned to his legs by his arms, almost cried out in surprise, "You scared me to death, you almost made me crash!"

"Hahaha..." I can't laugh anymore, or my wife, who's getting more and more into playing dumb, will definitely stop talking. "It's my fault. You said there's only one possibility?"

"Correct!"

"Please say."

"That means the Second Master Gao has been completely abandoned by the Old Madam Gao, and the Gao family is still in danger. In that case, she will ask me to beg my uncle or go to the capital to beg someone."

My master knows very well who she is closest to and who owes her a debt of gratitude. A mere illegitimate son is far from being someone she would use as a pawn.

It's clear that rationality has returned.

"How should I put it, she was a very competent stepmother. Not only did she not suppress her illegitimate sons and daughters, but she also treated them as her own children and raised them with all her heart and soul."

For example, it's rare for a legal wife to be so generous as to hire a famous tutor for her eldest son, who was less academically gifted than her illegitimate son when he was young.

She had a long-term vision; even the family she found for her illegitimate daughter, which was initially just a minor official's family, has developed very well in the past twenty or thirty years.

The reason why Master Gao, despite being born out of wedlock, was able to marry the eldest daughter of a legitimate wife was inseparable from the immense influence of Madam Gao personally hiring a renowned tutor for her son.

Got it!
It's offline again!

"You should know that in high-ranking families, when it comes to marriage between people of equal social standing, the legitimate and illegitimate children cannot be paired up, unless that family only has one illegitimate son who is registered as the legitimate heir."

Otherwise, it would be tantamount to one side admitting to being inferior to the other, which would be unacceptable. It's not like they owed any great favor; wouldn't that be a disgrace to the family and a ruin to the family's reputation?

This is also why I can't understand why the two legitimate brothers of Master Gao's father-in-law's family each stand on one side. Shouldn't it be normal for one legitimate brother and one illegitimate brother to each have their own master?

As it has now been exposed, the eldest son is the beneficiary of the primogeniture system, while the illegitimate sons are best left unsaid; at least in the eyes of the world, they can still maintain a different stance.

Their actions greatly amplified the level of hatred. If it were me, and you brothers from the same mother dared to instigate discord between my sons, I would wipe out your entire maternal family!

Gu Wenxuan chuckled upon hearing this. He had intended to say that being sentenced to the extermination of nine generations of one's family meant that such a person was likely to be executed, but fortunately, he didn't blurt it out at the crucial moment and frighten his wife.

Since the wife and husband share similar ideas and believe that Madam Gao will use her talents wisely and would not make things difficult for his wife because of her illegitimate son, then that's fine.

Even if it isn't true, it's not a big deal. Things aren't like they used to be. He simply doesn't believe that his wife is being schemed against right under his nose these days.

Whether it's Master Gao or his wife's family, every cause has its effect. What does it have to do with the couple? We can start talking about the second thing now.

However, before we continue, we need to change the setting. (End of Chapter)