readbooksol Chapter 454
Chapter 454
Because the guards from the Five Wards Commander's Office had come to their door, Madam Yue remembered it vividly: the wanted criminal's name was Yun Zihao.
Yet back then, Gu Lanzhi had explicitly denied ever seeing the man. So what was going on now?
"My sweet, I don't like the sound of that. Could it be that your sworn brother means more to you than I do?"
Gu Lanzhi feigned a scowl, prompting Xuewu to giggle and playfully thump his chest. "Is my Lord truly jealous of this? I will tell you the truth, then. My sworn brother has an extraordinary background. He is a descendant of the former royal family, making him a cousin to the current Empress. As long as we cure him, there will be endless riches in store for us."
Satisfied, Gu Lanzhi pulled his beloved concubine into his arms, and soon, obscene sounds echoed from the room.
Madam Yue's blood ran cold. Only one thought occupied her mind: she had to tell her father-in-law immediately!
She turned, only to crash into a burly man. "Where might Madam be going?"
Madam Yue tried to explain herself, but the brute violently dragged her into the room. "Master, the Madam is here!"
Gu Lanzhi's amorous mood instantly vanished at the sight of her. "What are you doing here?"
Madam Yue dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to stay calm. "My... my Lord, I have fallen ill. I came to ask if you might send for a doctor..."
Impatient, Gu Lanzhi pulled out a token, but Xuewu stopped him.
The delicate concubine circled her, scrutinizing her from head to toe before suddenly speaking up. "I suspect Sister does not want a doctor at all. She wants to be a snitch, doesn't she?"
Gu Lanzhi furrowed his brow. Feigning confusion, Madam Yue asked, "Whatever do you mean, Sister? It is not as if our household is hiding anything shameful. What secrets could I possibly tell?" As she spoke, she grabbed her husband's hand and pressed it against her forehead. "See for yourself, my Lord. Am I lying to you?"
Her skin was burning hot to the touch. Gu Lanzhi yanked his hand back in disgust. "Such bad luck! Take the token and get out of here!"
He tossed the token into her arms. Seeing this, Xuewu held her tongue.
Madam Yue breathed a slight sigh of relief but dared not drop her guard. Clutching the token, she carefully made her way toward the door.
Just as she was about to step over the threshold, a childish voice suddenly rang out. "Father, Auntie Xuewu! Mother was eavesdropping on you!"
The words struck like a bolt of lightning. A searing pain ripped through Madam Yue's scalp as someone grabbed her hair and violently dragged her back inside.
"You bitch! How dare you trick me!"
Gu Lanzhi viciously slapped her across the face several times. Her head spun from the blows as she wept and begged for mercy. "My Lord, please spare me! I did no such thing!"
Gu Lanzhi scoffed coldly. Xuewu waved toward the doorway. "Hongzhang, come here. Tell Auntie what you saw just now."
Gu Hongzhang trotted into the room and nestled against Xuewu's side. "Auntie Xuewu, I saw it with my own eyes! Mother was hiding by the door, listening to you talk, and then she tried to sneak away!"
Every word felt like a death sentence. Filled with absolute despair, Madam Yue cried out, "Zhang'er! They are harboring a wanted fugitive! They are going to get our entire family killed! Mother was trying to save you!"
Barely had the words left her mouth when brutal kicks rained down on her stomach. She curled into a tight ball, agonizing pain radiating through her entire body.
Yet Gu Hongzhang watched with utter indifference. "Mother, Father and Auntie Xuewu treat me so well. Why would they ever hurt me? You are the one who is lying and trying to turn us against each other. Grandmother was right about you—you are just a wicked main wife who cannot bear to see us happy!"
Tears streamed down Madam Yue's face.
Back when her brother had backed her up and urged her to divorce Gu Lanzhi, she had refused, all for the sake of her son.
Later, when her brother was gravely injured and her maiden family could no longer support her, Gu Lanzhi had shamelessly elevated his concubine and trampled over his lawful wife. Even when she took the case to the Shuntian Prefecture, she ultimately swallowed her pride and endured the humiliation—again, for her son.
Yet her son showed not a shred of gratitude. Instead, he remained as blindly devoted to that wretched Xuewu as ever...
Finding strength from somewhere unknown, she glared fiercely at Gu Lanzhi. "Harboring a fugitive is a crime punishable by execution! Did you never consider that when the truth comes out, you will be condemning this entire household to death?"
Gu Lanzhi recoiled slightly under her venomous glare, but then Xuewu's soft, sweet voice chimed in. "Listen to the things Sister says. It will never come to that. But even if the worst should happen, do we not have Sister to take the fall?"
Madam Yue froze. Realization dawning on him, Gu Lanzhi exclaimed, "Exactly! If we are ever discovered, we will simply pin the blame on you and that crippled brother of yours! It will be the perfect excuse to finally rid ourselves of that burden!"
It felt as though lightning had struck Madam Yue. "What have you done to Qianzhong?!" she shrieked. "What did you do to Qianzhong?!"
During the Yan army's siege, Yue Qianzhong had sworn to fight to the death rather than surrender. In the ensuing battle, three of his fingers had been severed, and his right eye had been blinded.
By all rights, he should have been executed. However, the new Emperor, admiring his unwavering loyalty, had entrusted him to her father-in-law's custody.
Her father-in-law had summoned the finest physicians to treat him. Once his condition had stabilized, he was placed under Gu Lanzhi's care...
Gu Lanzhi had repeatedly insisted that because Qianzhong was still recovering, the siblings could not see each other.
But hearing his words now, she realized that had all been a lie!
Gu Lanzhi sneered viciously. "What about him? He is a blind, maimed cripple. He should be grateful I even toss him scraps to eat. Does he really think he's still the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Wards?"
Having lost the last of his patience, he barked, "Guards! Drag this madwoman away and lock her in the woodshed! Since she is so desperate to see her crippled brother, let her look at him all she wants!"
Madam Yue was dragged away, leaving a long trail of blood across the floor.
Looking as though he had been frightened, Gu Hongzhang buried his face in Xuewu's embrace.
A dark glint flashed in Xuewu's eyes. In her mind, she was already calculating their next move: her master's whereabouts had been compromised, and they needed to relocate him immediately.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a servant who attended Gu Sun rushed over. "Fourth Master, a distinguished guest has arrived at the manor! The Old Master requests that you and the Madam attend to them at once!"
Meanwhile, in the woodshed.
Madam Yue was violently shoved inside, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"Who's there?!"
A sharp shout echoed from the corner of the room. From the shadows, a single, piercing left eye emerged, as sharp as a falcon's.
It was only the left eye, for his right eye was completely blind.
Overcome with bitter sorrow, Madam Yue broke down into uncontrollable sobs. The man in the corner finally recognized her and asked frantically, "Sister? Sister, are you alright?"
Madam Yue shook her head. She tried to push herself up to go to him, but dizzy from her high fever and agonizing over the vicious kicks to her stomach, she stumbled and collapsed back onto the floor.
"Sister!"
Panic seizing him, Yue Qianzhong scrambled out from behind the woodpile.
He had to crawl, because his left leg was also severely injured.
The wound was festering and covered in sores, swarming with flies and gnats. It had clearly never been treated!
Madam Yue's eyes instantly welled with tears. "It was Gu Lanzhi, wasn't it?!"
Yue Qianzhong paused, then forced a nonchalant tone. "It has nothing to do with my brother-in-law. I fell and injured myself..."
"Do not call him your brother-in-law! That beast! He's an absolute beast!" Madam Yue's eyes blazed with fury, her teeth chattering with rage. "He swore to my father-in-law that he would take good care of you! Your wounds were already healing when you were brought here! How did you end up like this?!"
Yue Qianzhong could not find the words to answer. After a long silence, he sighed softly. "Sister, when you live under another man's roof, you must learn to bow your head. It does not matter what happens to me—I am all alone. But you... you shouldn't fight with him over me. Just focus on taking care of my nephew..."
Gu Hongzhang... Gu Hongzhang!
At the mention of her heartless, ungrateful son, Madam Yue burst into hysterical, manic laughter.
Had it not been for him, she never would have stayed. She would never have ended up a prisoner in her own home, and she certainly would never have brought such terrible suffering upon her only brother!
"Qianzhong... Sister was wrong," she wept. "Sister was so wrong..."
Yue Qianzhong had never seen his gentle and refined sister in such a state. A sense of dread crept into his heart. Just as he was about to ask her what was wrong, she abruptly stood up. "When you urged me to get a divorce back then, I should have listened to you. Even if I did not, I should have followed the Empress's advice and registered Gu Hongzhang under Xuewu's name! It was my own stubbornness, thinking I could pull him back to the right path. I was wrong, and it is my fault that you have been forced to suffer alongside me in the Gu household..."
The more Yue Qianzhong listened, the more alarmed he became. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck the back of his neck; his sister had actually knocked him out.
In the final moment before he lost consciousness, he faintly heard her sorrowful voice: "This is the last time, Qianzhong. Live on well..."