Magistrate Gu said, "So, you are not wronged. Whether you were used by Mrs. Gu Pan, or you intended to harm Mrs. Fei yourself, Mrs. Fei died at the hands of the Bloodthorn Vine that you brought back. You cannot leave and need to be detained for further questioning."
Elder Gu understood and shouted like a madman, "My lord, I was wrong! The dicine I gave Mrs. Fei didn’t have thorns."
Magistrate Gu sneered, "Saying such things now, do you take this court for a fool?"
Saying he would be arrested and then retracting his confession on the spot, is there such an easy thing in the world?
Magistrate Gu ignored Elder Gu and ordered Squad Leader Zhang, "Quickly go to the Old Gu Family on Moxiang Street and arrest Mrs. Gu Pan. Rember not to avoid any involvent with the Lai Family. Lord Lai is an official of the court and would not shield Mrs. Gu Pan against the law."
Squad Leader Zhang laughed upon hearing this, cupped his fists, and said, "As you command, I shall follow your order, my lord."
After speaking, he imdiately took the arrest warrant and token and went with a group of governnt officials to arrest the person.
Elder Gu tried to grab Squad Leader Zhang but was restrained by another group of officials, tied up, and forced to kneel on the ground.
Grand Old Master Gu then realized he was truly being arrested.
He cried out, calling to Gu Dashan, "Dashan, my own son, I know I’ve treated you badly all these years and you’ve held resentnt. I promise you, as long you don’t accuse Mrs. Pan, I will double compensate you and never mistreat your family again... If you don’t like Mrs. Pan, I won’t live with them; I’ll move in with you."
Gu Dashan hadn’t spoken yet, but the onlooking townsfolk laughed uproariously: "Hahaha, Elder Gu, are you out of your mind? I heard that the business of Dashan’s family is very successful now and he’s not short of money. His son is the county top scorer and will definitely obtain an official position in the future—he doesn’t care about your compensation! And moving in with Gu Dashan? Please, don’t co! With you being such an old rascal, anyone living with you would be unlucky!"
Facing Elder Gu’s crying plea, Gu Dashan rely furrowed his brows, not even turning to look at Elder Gu.
Seeing this, Elder Gu was so angry he cursed Gu Dashan, "You ungrateful wretch, such a cruel heart, you would even kill your own father! Wait and see, I won’t spare you even as a ghost!"
Magistrate Gu frowned upon hearing this and angrily said, "You dare speak such foul language when you’ve wronged him first? Soone, gag his mouth for ."
He also warned Elder Gu, "If you dare to slander people again, you will be flogged twenty tis."
Gu Dashan is Gu Jin’an’s real father, and Gu Jin’an can bring him glory, so he cannot let Elder Gu speak nonsense and ruin the reputation of Gu Dashan’s family.
...
Squad Leader Zhang, leading a group of governnt officials, headed straight for the Gu Mansion on Moxiang Street, but they never expected to encounter such chaos there.
The incident started from last night.
Since the Zhan family nephews moved into the Old Gu Family on Moxiang Street, the Old Gu Family people were all excited, openly saying they had connected with noble people and would beco prosperous.
The Zhan family nephews were very sociable, carrying many silver notes with them, tipping five taels of silver notes just for asking a servant for water.
The Old Gu Family people heard about this and were filled with jealousy; they didn’t even let the servants serve the Zhan family nephews. Instead, Gu Dagu and Ms. Zheng took turns delivering als and water to the Zhan family nephews, earning a lot of silver.
But they didn’t realize that only servants do the work of serving people and accept others’ rewards. The Zhan family nephews secretly despised them for this, calling them self-degrading.
But Gu Dagu and the others were unaware and, after receiving the money, worked eagerly and diligently. The only thing the Old Gu Family people were unhappy about was that the Zhan family sought to marry the Gu Jinxiu sisters, rather than Little Sister Gu and Gu Ya.
Gu Dagu was quite fond of Little Sister Gu, and while Elder Gu was away, she took her to Granny Gu’s room to sche on how they could have Little Sister Gu marry into the Zhan family.
Granny Gu had already planned this out and straightforwardly gave them a bag of dicine: "Use it in the food... at dinner!"
Gu Dagu and Little Sister Gu were well aware of Granny Gu’s intentions, knowing she wanted them to drug Zhan San and consummate the marriage.
"Little Sister, mother is right; you’ve been married once, and a proper bridal chamber would expose you, so you can only use this trick," Gu Dagu took the dicine bag and said, "Tonight, sister will personally deliver dinner to Young Master Zhan San. After he eats the dicated al, you will go clean the dishes and serve him afterwards."
Little Sister Gu shyly protested, "Sister, how can you teach to do this?"
She spoke as if she weren’t a widow and knew nothing.
Gu Dagu laughed, "Little Sister, sister knows you’re shy, but now is not the ti to be embarrassed. If you want to marry into the Zhan family, you must use this thod."
Zhan San is a noble young master; without this sche, how would he ever consider marrying you, a widow?
After listening, Little Sister Gu playfully protested a bit more, but ultimately agreed, "Alright, I’ll follow sister’s advice."
Gu Dagu smiled, held Little Sister Gu’s hand, and said, "Little Sister, once you marry into the Zhan family, don’t forget your sister. Besides mother, I’m the one who cares for you the most."
Gu Ya is prettier than Little Sister Gu, and she should have helped Gu Ya, but Gu Ya is far too proud. It’s better to support Little Sister, who is dumb and easily controlled.
Granny Gu was pleased to see the sisters getting along and urged them, "Hurry... guard... others!"
Quickly act, and beware of the other Old Gu Family people.
Gu Dagu laughed and said, "Mother, don’t worry. When have I ever made a mistake in handling things?"
After the mother and daughters planned, Gu Dagu took Little Sister Gu and left, ready to drug Zhan San.
Gu Rong had been attending to Granny Gu, fetching water for her, and overheard their conversation from behind the room. She internally smirked, "Grandma really does favor Little Sister the most, plotting for her so even after she’s beco a widow. Gu Ya is truly pitiful."
However, she could "help" Gu Ya out.
Gu Rong was very cunning; she had already taken the dicine Granny Gu had hidden while serving her. Tonight, she planned to switch the dicine, get rid of Little Sister Gu, and set up Gu Ya instead.
The won at the Old Gu Family were all busy scheming against Zhan San.
Zhan San himself knew of their attempts to ascend to his bed, but he didn’t mind; bedding the daughter of a Bai Ding family—could it be serious? Haha, it was all just for him to freely enjoy.
Later that night, when darkness fell, Gu Dagu carried the tainted al into Zhan San’s room, "Third Young Master, I apologize for the late delivery of dinner today. Aren’t you hungry?"
Zhan San had just bathed and was sitting neatly on the couch, watching Gu Dagu with a smile, "It’s alright, one can endure so hunger for a while."
Gu Dagu laughed at this, "So you’re hungry; please do eat quickly. After you finish, Little Sister will co to clean the dishes."
Zhan San’s eyes flickered, quickly understanding, and he chuckled, "Then I’d better hurry and eat, to avoid delaying Miss Gu’s rest."
As he spoke, he took out a ten-tael silver note and handed it to Gu Dagu, "Thank you for your trouble."
Little Sister Gu wasn’t worth more than that anyway.
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