After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

How dare a county magistrate plot against the Empress's own brother? And Prince Xuan was present as well.

Why didn't the county magistrate plot against Xuan Wang? He only plotted against the second master of the Zhao family.

Eleven years ago, Master Zhao should have just entered officialdom. He was accompanying Prince Xuan on official business outside the capital, and at most he was just a gofer. The county magistrate would not have plotted against him for no reason.

There must be something fishy going on here.

But now she was just a guest, so it wasn't appropriate for her to speak up. Besides, the Zhao family could probably think of the same thing as her.

"Eldest daughter-in-law, keep an eye on Chen and her son for now. Today is your mother's birthday, so we'll decide what to do after today. You all go and entertain the guests. Fortunately, your mother has already met everyone she needs to, so it won't matter if she doesn't attend." Zhao Xianshan knew that things had come to this point, so he could only try to find a solution.

"Yes." Madam Zhu immediately accepted the order and went to carry it out.

But she felt a surge of anger welling up inside.

The second wife stole her daughter's marriage, and now the retribution has come so quickly.

The second wife's family is going to have some fun.

But she also knew that there couldn't be two Zhaos in one stroke, so she had to help find a way to suppress the matter and prevent it from having too much impact on the Zhao family.

Zhao Xing'er also stepped back and followed Zhu Shi.

Seeing the smile on her mother's face, she was also happy: "Mother, I'll go with you."

"You're being too impulsive, child." No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Knowing that her daughter had brought the person into the mansion, Madam Zhu could guess her daughter's purpose immediately.

"Mother, I know I was wrong." Zhao Xing'er now realized that she had made a mistake by bringing the person directly to her grandmother.

If my grandmother falls ill because of this and eventually passes away, she will be a sinner.

Moreover, the whole family has to observe mourning. She is already sixteen years old. If she doesn't find a good match soon, it will be too late for her to get married.

"Oh, you're still too young. You must think twice before you act in the future."

"You vented your anger by doing this, but you've damaged the Zhao family's reputation, and your reputation will also be affected to some extent by your second uncle. Your grandmother was even more dangerous today. Go back and apologize to your grandparents." Madam Zhu took the opportunity to instruct her daughter.

"My daughter knows." Zhao Xing'er felt a lingering fear.

It's all Princess Xiangyi's and Gu Qingya's fault for encouraging her.

If it weren't for the two of them stirring things up, she might have been calmer.

Even if someone were to be brought into the mansion, they wouldn't bring them directly to their grandmother in front of so many people.

The matter was postponed, and everyone dispersed.

Rong Yingluo and the others returned to the bedroom.

Du Zhong, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, has already prescribed medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

"Director Du, how is my wife?" Zhao Xianshan asked.

"Lord Zhao, the physician in your household is quite skilled. He handled such a difficult emergency so well. The old lady just needs to take a few more doses of medicine."

However, her brain has suffered a severe shock and she has already suffered a stroke, so we can't be careless. She may have post-stroke sequelae, but it's not advisable for the old lady to get out of bed now. We can only know how her condition is after she stays in bed for a couple of days." Du Zhong told the truth.

It's incredibly lucky that someone who has had a stroke can wake up so quickly; many people just die right there.

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Rong Yingluo and Gu Ce also came out.

Gu Ce smiled gratefully and said gently, "Thank you very much, Madam, for today."

"I made it in time." Rong Yingluo actually enjoys saving people. Saving one person creates a good relationship, which only benefits her and does her no harm.

Those who cultivate the Tao should cultivate good karma in order to gain the approval of Laozi.

Perhaps she will truly ascend to the ranks of immortals after she passes away.

"Let's go find Qingya. It seems she's still as clueless as ever." Rong Yingluo felt that Gu Qingya had also contributed to this matter after hearing what Liang Shi said.

While Rong Yingluo was rescuing people inside, Zhao Xing'er recounted the whole story from outside; otherwise, Liang Shi wouldn't have been able to explain it so clearly.

Liang was the biggest victim. Her husband had kept a mistress for so many years without telling her, his legal wife, which was a great disrespect to her.

Gu Ce nodded.

The two of them asked the servants, but couldn't find Gu Qingya. Instead, they saw Gu Xi arguing with someone.

"Gu Xi, when are you going to pay me back the hundred taels of silver you owe me?"

Gu Xi was stopped by a young man of similar age.

Several young men stood around, chattering amongst themselves, all asking for money.

Gu Ce and Rong Yingluo walked up behind them.

"What happened?" Gu Ce asked.

Only then did the group realize that Gu Ce had arrived.

"Prime Minister Gu. Young Master Gu owes us 1,500 taels of silver. He actually says he has no money to pay us back." One of the young masters looked unfriendly.

"Are you Liu Changhua, the second son of Lord Liu?" Gu Ce thought for a moment before remembering who he was.

The Liu family was the maternal family of Consort De.

"It is indeed I, young master."

"Big brother, I don't owe him any money, he's the one trying to extort me. We clearly agreed that we'd pool our money for me to bet on, and if we won, we'd split the winnings, and if we lost, it would be a loss for everyone." Gu Xi refused to admit it and shouted angrily.

"You said you were sure to win, that's why we were willing to contribute. But you lost everything, so this money has to be yours."

"Don't think you can renege on your debt just because you're the son of the Duke of Zhenguo. You have to pay us back!" Liu Changhua retorted.

He had already found out about the Gu family. He heard that the Duchess's dowry had been given to the Prime Minister's wife, and she was now under house arrest. She would never be able to get any more benefits from Gu Xi in the future, so he had to get that money back.

"You went gambling again?" Gu Ce's face turned cold upon hearing this.

"I..." Gu Xi shrank back, actually he was very afraid of Gu Ce.

Although the two lived in the same mansion, with Madam Su around, Gu Ce didn't care about him at all.

They each lived their own lives.

One was a dissolute playboy, the other a high-ranking official in the court; they had absolutely nothing in common.

"You just came out of the ancestral hall, your leg isn't fully healed yet, and you're gambling again? Aren't you afraid you'll never be able to stop and will squander the entire Gu family fortune?" Gu Ce was truly fed up this time.

They didn't give Gu Xi any face at all, and directly reprimanded him in front of so many young masters.

Regardless of the reason, the Gu family raised him, and he did not want the Gu family's descendants to be worse than the last.

Even if Gu Xi is not his father's son, he is still a child of the Gu family.

He didn't want Gu Xi to be beyond saving.

"What right do you have to lecture me?" Gu Xi was a spoiled brat, pampered by Madam Su to the point of being lawless. He had never been reprimanded like this before.

Enraged, Gu Ce slapped Gu Xi across the face, leaving a red five-finger mark on her cheek.

"Why did you hit me...?" Gu Xi's eyes were red as she looked at Gu Ce in disbelief.

"As the eldest brother, I am like a father. Since Father is not in the capital, I have the right to discipline you. Today you are back in the manor, so stay here properly. You are not allowed to leave the manor without my permission." Gu Ce put on the airs of an elder brother, his eyes cold.

Gu Xi had never seen Gu Ce so fierce before, and was so frightened that she dared not say another word.

"Prime Minister Gu, it's none of our business if you want to discipline your brother, but we can't just let the money he owes us go like this," Liu Changhua continued to shout.

Like Gu Xi, he was the second son in his family and was also a spoiled child who was completely unruly.

"Since you agreed to give him the money to gamble, gambling involves winning and losing. Do you really think you can win without losing? Is there such a thing as a free lunch?" Gu Ce would not take responsibility for Gu Xi's loss.

If you're going to play, you have to be able to afford to play.