After returning to the Gu residence, Gu Baozhu instructed the servants to take Song Shixue and Song Anhao to rest, then hurried straight to Madam Gu’s courtyard.
“Mother, didn’t you show me a portrait of the Yueyang Prefect’s son before?”
Madam Gu abruptly raised her head, her face lighting up with delight.
“You’ve changed your mind and decided to get married?”
Gu Baozhu brought both feet to an abrupt stop and lowered her eyes with a silent sigh.
“No. Today, I met someone at the Stone Forest Flower Sea. He claimed to be the Yueyang Prefect’s son. His name is Qiu Wangzhi, and he said he’d attended the birthday banquet before.”
Madam Gu’s expression changed drastically. Her face darkened as she explained coldly, “He’s the Yueyang Prefect’s younger son, not the one in the portrait.”
“Did Qiu Wangzhi approach you first? Stay away from him.”
Seeing how angry she was, Gu Baozhu sensed there had to be some juicy gossip behind this.
She walked over and sat beside Madam Gu, then recounted the entire incident without leaving out a single detail.
“Bang!”
The pearwood tabletop shook three times, splashing water from the teacups.
Madam Gu glared with an expression that looked ready to devour someone.
“That toad actually wants to eat swan meat without even considering what kind of person he is. How dare he set his sights on my daughter!”
“I’m telling your father right now. I’ll have him drive Qiu Wangzhi out of Songzhou.”
Gu Baozhu’s lips parted slightly. It had been many years since she had last seen her mother like this.
“Mother, don’t get so worked up. I didn’t pay him any attention at all.”
Madam Gu leaned forward and took Gu Baozhu’s hand.
“You must never pay him any attention. Back when I took a liking to Young Master Qiu, his family hadn’t committed any such disgraceful acts. His first wife had been dead for barely half a month when he took his concubine and made her his legal wife. You absolutely cannot marry into a family like that.”
Gu Baozhu raised a brow. “Qiu Wangzhi is a son born to a concubine?”
Madam Gu sat back down with a grim expression. “He used to be, but now he’s the legitimate son.”
“If his father weren’t the Yueyang Prefect, Qiu Wangzhi wouldn’t even have been able to enter Songzhou Academy. He’s worlds apart from his older brother.”
Gu Baozhu’s expression shifted. She rose and leaned against the couch.
She said meaningfully to Madam Gu, “Fortunately, I went to Suining City back then. Otherwise, if I had become betrothed to the Qiu family, it would have been too late to regret it.”
Madam Gu stalked over and pinched her ear.
“What do you mean, too late? With your father backing you, I could make you return home after a divorce even if you were already married, let alone merely betrothed.”
“If the Qiu family’s eldest son knows right from wrong, we can lure him over to our side as well. Then even the Yueyang Prefect wouldn’t dare say a word.”
Gu Baozhu wisely fell silent, her eyes darting from side to side.
Had her maternal grandfather thought the same thing back when he chose her father as a son-in-law?
That evening, the three members of the Gu family, along with the Song siblings, went to Ruyi Pavilion for dinner. This left the Gu couple and their two sons at the dining table.
Madam Gu gripped her chopsticks so tightly that her knuckles turned white as she glared at the three men.
“That concubine-born son of the Yueyang Prefect’s family pretended to run into Baozhu at the Stone Forest Flower Sea today. He’s been keeping an eye on her for half a month—delusional and shamelessly trying to climb the social ladder. Find a way to drive him out of Songzhou.”
Gu Huaiyuan paused with his chopsticks in hand. “The Qiu Wangzhi who came to Songzhou to study last month?”
Madam Gu nodded. “They sent away a legitimate son and brought in a concubine-born one. I’d say the Yueyang Prefect is both incapable of recognizing talent and willing to violate proper moral conduct.”
She shot Gu Zhongxun a sidelong glare. “People like that should be used sparingly. He’ll become a source of trouble sooner or later.”
Gu Zhongxun spoke in a deep voice. “We’ll ask Congwen when he returns. If Qiu Wangzhi’s grades at the academy are poor, we’ll find an opportunity to send him away. The Yueyang Prefect may still be of some use.”
With a sharp crack, the chopsticks slammed against the edge of the bowl.
The room instantly fell as quiet as a flock of startled chickens.
