Union

Chapter 177 Duke Xuan’s Mansion
The Duke of Xuanguo burst into tears and immediately knelt down again with a "plop".

"Your Majesty!"

Duke Xuan is really not young anymore, over seventy years old, his bones are quite brittle.

The old man's kowtow was so forceful and hard that it sent chills down one's spine, making one wonder if the old man's kneecap had been shattered.

Are you playing this high-stakes game?

Everyone was surprised and uncertain, even the emperor was somewhat taken aback, and quickly ordered someone to help the Duke of Xuan up.

"You're getting on in years, you should take good care of yourself. If you were to break your kneecap, I couldn't afford to pay for it."

The emperor's joke did not make the Duke of Xuan feel grateful.

The old man didn't play by the rules; he immediately burst into tears.

The more he cried, the more distressed he became, even pounding his chest and stamping his feet. He didn't care whether the emperor wanted to listen or not, and proceeded to recount everything that had happened at the palace gate.

He stamped his feet and wept, saying, "My poor granddaughter! She was lost for eighteen years and mistreated for eighteen years. We finally found her, but her fate is still unknown..."

The emperor was truly afraid of this weeping old man.

Although he heard everything he wanted to hear from the Duke of Xuan, which greatly satisfied him, the old man's wailing was like a demonic chant, truly tormenting the emperor.

The emperor quickly said, "Duke, please rest. The young lady in your household has been found. This is a good thing, and you should be happy. How can you cry? If you bring bad luck home again, you will regret it."

He sighed and said, "I will send a few imperial physicians to your residence. Their medical skills are superb, and they will surely ensure that my granddaughter is safe and sound."

The emperor looked dejected.

Who could have predicted this?

Previously, Yunying was all alone and helpless, manipulated by others, and had no say in anything.

She was being bullied to death. If it weren't for Chen Yanzhou going to the palace to request an audience and using her merits to change her future, this girl would still be a slave.

Yesterday's slave is today the beloved darling of the Duke's mansion. Life's twists and turns are truly wondrous sometimes.

Thinking of Yunying inevitably brings to mind Chen Yanzhou, and thinking of Chen Yanzhou also brings to mind Lin Shuqing and his unfilial second son.

The emperor began to have a headache.

I deeply resent his second son for being blind and heartless!

Look at Chen Yanzhou, he fell in love with a maid, but who knew that the maid was a hidden gem.

This shows that Chen Yanzhou has great taste.

Then look at his second son. As a member of the imperial family, he has seen all kinds of beauties and socialites, yet he had an affair with a married woman, which even resulted in a death.

This is his own son. If anyone else dared to have an affair with a court official's family while he was away on official business, he would beat them to a pulp!
The emperor grew increasingly depressed.

My mind started to feel rather bored.

When the emperor spoke again, he bestowed upon Yunying some precious Chinese herbal medicines such as ginseng, lingzhi, deer antler, poria cocos, and cordyceps to nourish the body and replenish qi and blood. He also gave her some blood bird's nest, donkey-hide gelatin, snow frog, and sea cucumber, which are beneficial to women.

Seeing the Duke of Xuanguo with tears streaming down his face, his expression one of deep gratitude, it seemed as if he were saying how kind His Majesty was, or perhaps he was earnestly begging the Emperor to bestow more gifts upon him.

The emperor chuckled inwardly, cursing the old fox in his heart. Looking around the entire court, how many dared to act like scoundrels in front of the emperor? Only the Duke of Xuan!
The emperor cursed inwardly, but eventually relented and bestowed some more pearls, silks, and precious jewels.

Having bestowed upon him a considerable number of small gifts, the Duke of Xuan was finally satisfied. He then sat shakily on the stool and asked the emperor with an air of nonchalance, "Your Majesty, why did you summon me just now?"

emperor:"……"

All the courtiers: "..."

Everyone's understanding of Duke Xuan's shamelessness and scoundrelliness was refreshed once again, and they all cursed in their hearts: "Truly, shamelessness knows no bounds."

Seeing how much His Majesty had bestowed upon them, they wanted to act shamelessly, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it, feeling they were losing out big time!
While the court officials were cursing and swearing, the emperor, while talking with them, couldn't help but think of something: if Yunying really was the granddaughter of the Duke of Xuan, that would be fine, but if not, wouldn't all the things he had bestowed be wasted?

The emperor suddenly felt that he had been terribly cheated!

Leaving aside the turmoil in the palace and the bustling crowds in the city, let's just say that Yunying has been brought back to the Duke of Xuan's mansion and is currently being placed in the courtyard of the Duke of Xuan's wife.

It was quite a coincidence that everyone from the Duke of Xuan's mansion was home today.

The Xuanguo Duke's mansion had a small population, with only eight masters at most. These included the Xuanguo Duke and his wife, Gu Wangchen who rarely returned to the capital, Gu Yuanming and his wife who were already married and had two sons, and Gu Yuanxi, who was single and being urged to start looking for a partner.

Gu Yuanxi was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy of the seventh rank. After entering the Hanlin Academy, he began to work as a laborer compiling the history books of the previous dynasty.

After Duke Xuan was transferred to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Gu Yuanxi's career prospects looked promising. Recently, rumors have circulated that the palace intends to promote him to the sixth-rank position of Attendant Scribe, who will be responsible for lecturing the princes and princesses on classics and historical texts.

Of course, this is just a rumor, and whether he will actually get promoted is anyone's guess.

Yesterday, Gu Yuanxi was forced by his grandmother to go to the Tingchan Temple to offer incense. Ostensibly, it was for offering incense, but in reality, it was for a matchmaking session. Unfortunately, the clothes his grandmother had chosen for him accentuated his dashing and handsome appearance, but they didn't take into account his warmth. He caught a chill and developed a fever last night. He woke up this morning with the fever gone, so naturally, he couldn't go to the government office.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuanming and his wife were planning to take their two sons to his mother-in-law's house today.

Gu Yuanming's wife was named Yang Lingjia. She had a twin sister who married far away from home.

My brother-in-law was promoted to a government post in Beijing before the Lunar New Year, and my sister's family arrived in Beijing a couple of days ago.

The two families had agreed to meet at the father-in-law's house today, and Gu Yuanming had asked for leave from the government office early in the morning.

Unexpectedly, before the couple could even finish getting ready and leave, a servant rushed in, beaming with delight, and said, "Master has brought the young lady back!"

The way people address each other in the Duke of Xuan's mansion is as follows: The Duke of Xuan is called "Lord Duke" in the mansion. Gu Wangchen was invited to be named the heir apparent in his early years, but after his wife left him, he had no business and even went to the frontier to join the army. Before joining the army, Gu Wangchen was prepared to die on the battlefield, so he asked the Duke of Xuan to go to the palace to strip him of the title of heir apparent and give it to Gu Yuanming.

Therefore, people in the manor address Gu Wangchen as either "General" or "Master," Gu Yuanming as the Heir Apparent, Gu Yuanxi as the Second Master, and Gu Yuanming's two sons as the Young Masters.

Now that the master has brought his aunt back, Gu Yuanming's mind went blank for a moment.

He could understand that the master was his father. But who was his great-aunt?

Gu Yuanming, despite his young age, had already achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations. He was quick-witted, and in an instant, a thought flashed through his mind. With trembling hands, he grabbed a servant and asked, "You mean, my father has found my sister?"

The servant nodded vigorously, "That's right, that's right. The master has brought our young mistress back!"

The servant, to show his loyalty to his master, was so happy he shed tears, as if he had received a tremendous benefit. But before he could finish his performance, Gu Yuanming had already let go of him and staggered towards the front yard.

Yang Lingjia overheard their conversation and for a moment forgot all about dressing up. She simply had her maid quickly tie her hair into a bun before heading out.

A maid called out from behind her, "Madam, are you going back today?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Lingjia realized what she had forgotten. She quickly stopped and instructed her personal maid, "I definitely won't be able to go back today. Here's what I'll do: go back for me and tell them that something has happened here, and I'm sorry to trouble Mother and Sister not to wait for me today. I'll go and apologize to Mother and Sister after I've finished dealing with this."

Yang Lingjia's father-in-law had found her sister, whose fate and whereabouts were unknown. She didn't know if she could tell anyone. To be on the safe side, it was best to keep it a secret for now.

Yang Lingjia had an ordinary appearance, but she exuded an air of elegance and poise, making her appear particularly dignified and composed. She was the kind of woman a man could trust to entrust his family affairs, parents, and siblings to; she possessed a noble bearing that others could not match.

Yang Lingjia then instructed, "Don't say much after you go. Once you've finished your business, hurry back to the manor and look after Xun'er and his brother. I don't have time to look after them today, so keep an eye on them and don't let them cause any trouble."

The maidservant hurriedly replied, "I've noted it all down."

He added, "If the young masters are well-behaved and polite, they won't cause trouble."

Yang Lingjia glanced calmly at the maid, who dared not say anything more. She quickly greeted her mistress and left the mansion to run errands.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuanming hurried outside and ran right into Gu Wangchen carrying Yunying out of his courtyard.

After entering the mansion, he didn't care about anything else; only one thought occupied his mind: he had found his daughter with Huiyin.

In a daze, he carried Yunying to his courtyard.

But when it came time to settle his daughter, Gu Wangchen suddenly realized that this was inappropriate.

Although he was Yunying's father, it was still natural for a daughter to avoid her father as she grew up. No matter how you looked at it, if he placed his daughter in his courtyard, people would gossip.

As for the daughter's courtyard, the manor naturally made preparations.

The courtyard was in a superb location, and its interior was elegantly and beautifully furnished. However, there was one problem: even though servants were assigned to clean and tidy it, the courtyard hadn't been used for many years, and the servants were becoming increasingly lazy. In addition, since no one had ever lived there, the furnishings in the house hadn't been replaced enough, which might not suit the daughter's taste.

And if we only start a fire now, who knows when the house will warm up. My daughter is already injured, and we absolutely cannot let her suffer like that again.

Gu Wangchen hesitated for only a breath before decisively walking out of the courtyard and heading towards his mother's courtyard.

At this moment, Gu Yuanming ran over.

He was panting heavily, and even though it was the dead of winter, he was covered in sweat.

But Gu Yuanming didn't care about any of that; he didn't even bother to call out "Father."

He ran up to her and first looked down at the woman being held in her father's arms.

Unlike Gu Yuanxi, who was only three years old when he lost his mother and grandmother and remembered nothing, Gu Yuanming was eight years old at the time. He was carefully raised by his parents and grandparents from a young age, and with his innate intelligence, he remembered everything clearly.

Over the years, he had never forgotten the voices and smiles of his mother and maternal grandmother. Upon seeing Yun Ying, Gu Yuanxi was momentarily stunned and couldn't help but cover his eyes with his hands.

Over the years, his father has never given up the idea of ​​finding his sister, and neither has he.

There was a time when they encountered many people who resembled their mothers or fathers, or even their grandparents. But none of them were like that!
Although they might resemble his family members in some facial features, he could tell at a glance that they were not his family.

The girl in front of me is different.

Just one glance was enough to make his heart pound and bring tears to his eyes.

A sense of closeness and familiarity washed over him; he knew it was the influence of blood ties.

This time there's no mistake, this must be his sister!

Gu Yuanming wiped away the tears in his eyes, sniffed, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Father, take my sister to my place. Ling Jia is careful, and Ling Jia and I can take good care of her."

Gu Wangchen shook his head repeatedly, "Send your sister to your grandmother's courtyard first."

The mother's yard is quite large, and since the daughter lives there, it's convenient for him to check her passport. Conversely, if the passport were in the son's yard, it would be inconvenient for him to go there.

Gu Wangchen stared intently at his daughter, but his steps were swift.

Just as they were about to reach the courtyard of the Duchess of Rongguo, Gu Yuanxi received the news and hurriedly ran over.

He was disheveled and had even lost a shoe in the process. He was sweating profusely, and the weakness after his fever subsided made him stagger uncontrollably.

Upon reaching his father, he twisted his ankle and lunged directly at Gu Wangchen.

Luckily, Gu Yuanming stopped him, preventing Gu Yuanxi from lunging at him.

However, Gu Wangchen still instinctively dodged, fearing that his unreliable son would wake his precious daughter.

When Gu Yuanxi saw his father's action, he would normally have made a fuss, saying, "Dad, don't go too far. You can't be so biased towards girls."

At that moment, he couldn't care about anything else; he just opened his eyes wide and tried to see the person in his father's arms.

It was easy to see clearly, but after seeing it clearly, Gu Yuanxi almost jumped up in anger.

"Yun Ying, Yun Ying is really my sister?"

If he hadn't brought it up, Gu Wangchen would have almost forgotten about it.

Yes, Chen Yanzhou mentioned that Yuanxi had encountered Yunying at the temple fair and felt she looked familiar. However, after confirming that Yunying couldn't possibly be his sister, he easily gave up and didn't tell his family about it afterwards.

Because of his negligence, they missed the opportunity to reunite with their daughter early on, and their daughter suffered greatly.

Looking at his daughter's bleeding forehead and thinking about her difficult first half of life, Gu Wangchen felt even more pain in his heart.

He kicked his unfilial son, saying, "Are you blind? You can't even recognize your own sister!"

"Father, please calm your anger. My second brother has just recovered from his fever and is not fully recovered yet."

Gu Yuanming intervened just in time, managing to pull his brother away before his father kicked him.

His father was a soldier, so he was quite strong. If he had really kicked him, Yuanxi, with his frail little body, would probably have been bedridden for half a month.

(End of this chapter)