Granny Zhao was startled for a moment. She thought Gu Liyue had come back and asked with some delight, "What Gu family? Is the young lady back?"
The old woman replied, "It's the Gu family of Marquis of Qiyang. Lord Gu, Marquis Gu and the marchioness are all here."
Madam Jiang was a bit surprised. Although the Jiang family and the Gu family were in - law families, and the marchioness was her younger sister - in - law, the two families didn't have close interactions. Mainly because her husband and Marquis Gu had different political views, their interactions had been much less. What had happened that they all came today?
The old woman added, "The duke has ordered someone to invite the madam to go."
Madam Jiang tidied up her makeup, summoned her spirits with difficulty, and led Granny Zhao to the front hall. Sure enough, she saw the entire Gu family sitting there seriously. Lord Gu was sitting on the upper seat, with a stern face.
This Lord Gu used to be a military general and was also the current emperor's martial arts master. After the world became peaceful, the Gu family stayed in the capital to take charge of the capital guards. It could be said that they were the most trusted family by the emperor.
Madam Jiang greeted them with a smiling face. She pulled the marchioness, also surnamed Jiang, and asked, "Sister, why did you come so late? Is there something wrong?"
But the marchioness just let go of Madam Jiang's hand and asked, "Sister - in - law, you've had quite a show today. The whole capital knows about your family affairs."
Madam Jiang thought the marchioness was blaming her for not managing the household well. Although she was curious that her younger sister - in - law never used to interfere in her natal family's affairs, she just apologized on the lips: "Yes, it's my fault that I let a wolf into the house. My daughter in the family almost got killed. Speaking of which, we should really thank your Chengzhi. If it weren't for him..."
She thought clearly that although she felt guilty towards Gu Liyue, Gu Liyue had already left. The only young lady in the Jiang family was Jiang Yingyue. Naturally, she had to protect Yingyue's reputation.
She never expected that when Lord Gu heard this, he flew into a rage. He slapped the golden - silk nanmu table beside him. He was extremely powerful, and the table immediately split into two halves. It scared Duke Jiang beside him so much that he immediately got up and stepped back repeatedly.
Duke Jiang managed to calm his nerves and asked in confusion, "My lord, what are you doing?"
Lord Gu sneered repeatedly: "My granddaughter, who has been missing for many years, has been tortured like this by your Jiang family. And you still say she is a wolf with ill intentions?"
"No, my lord, you've misunderstood. I'm not talking about your Gu family. It's just that my adopted daughter happens to have the same surname Gu..." Madam Jiang belatedly realized, "You... You mean Liyue is your granddaughter?"
The marchioness knew that her father - in - law had a hot temper and was afraid that he would cause trouble in her natal family. She quickly explained, "We're not sure yet, but it's very likely. Sister - in - law, please call that girl out quickly so that my father - in - law can ask her properly."
Madam Jiang hadn't reacted yet. She stood there stupidly for a long time and then stammered, "But she... left."
The marchioness asked anxiously, "Left? What do you mean left? What did you do to her? Chengzhi told us everything that happened today when he got home. Regardless of whether it was Liyue's fault or your Jiang Yingyue's fault in that matter, if someone makes a mistake, it should be judged by the government. How can you use private punishment randomly? And if I remember correctly, Liyue is not a servant at all!"
Seeing that she was anxious and Lord Gu's eyes were red, Madam Jiang quickly waved her hand and argued, "No, no. What I mean is that she left the Jiang family and the capital. I... I didn't do anything to her."
The marchioness paused and asked, "She left the Jiang family?"
Madam Jiang nodded. "Yes. She lived in the Bamboo Courtyard. I just found out that she secretly ran away with her aunt. She didn't take anything... Oh, the maid I arranged to serve her before knew about this."
Lord Gu immediately said, "Then what are we waiting for? Take us there. Call that maid out. I want to ask her how my granddaughter is."
When they arrived at the Bamboo Courtyard, Lord Gu was holding the letter left by Gu Liyue. His whole body was trembling. "You said you didn't treat her harshly? If that's really the case, why did she leave? My granddaughter is definitely not such a sneaky and mean person. I've also heard about today's incident. It's clearly you two who are partial to Jiang Yingyue and want to ruin my granddaughter's reputation. She had no choice but to run away!"
Madam Jiang was scolded so badly that she looked dejected. But since the other was an elder, even though the marquis was of a lower rank than the duke, she didn't dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction.
It was the marchioness who grabbed Lord Gu. "Father - in - law, this is not the time to pursue this. First, ask that maid to confirm if Liyue is our Gu family's child."
Yuan Yuan knelt there below with a swollen and red face, looking dazed. When she saw so many fierce - looking people, she was startled and only looked at Granny Zhao for help.
When Lord Gu saw Yuan Yuan's face, he got even angrier. "Is this how you bully a little girl? If you treat this maid like this, don't you usually treat Liyue like this too?"
Yuan Yuan shivered and quickly kowtowed. "It's my fault. The madam has been very kind to me. It's because I made a mistake that I was punished..."
Lord Gu was even more tearful. "Poor my granddaughter, who grew up in the countryside. She must be timid. How could she not make mistakes when she first came here? Even if she was cautious and didn't make mistakes, she couldn't defend herself against others framing her."
Yuan Yuan was confused and asked blankly, "Granddaughter?"
The marchioness walked up to her, took out an ornament and asked, "Have you seen this thing?"
"Eh, this is the young lady's thing. Why is it in your hand?"
The marchioness's eyes lit up and she quickly asked, "Is it Liyue's thing? Tell me in detail."
Yuan Yuan answered honestly, "This thing has always been worn around Miss Liyue's neck. It somehow fell off a while ago. I saw it when I was making the bed and helped the young lady put it on again. I heard the young lady say that this is the only relic left by her parents..."
When Lord Gu heard this, he couldn't hold back his sobs anymore. "Yes, this is Shuxian's thing. Shuxian must have left it to his own child. Boxian, Liyue is my granddaughter."
Marquis Gu nodded and replied, "Yes, father. Everything matches. This Gu Liyue must be the daughter of the third brother. Now tell me, where did your young lady go?"
Yuan Yuan hung her head and said, "The young lady was heart - broken and left in the evening. It was... I secretly sent her out of the mansion, so I was punished."
Lord Gu trembled as he held the letter that Gu Liyue left for Madam Jiang and murmured to himself, "Liyue has lost her parents. Where can she go? Hurry, hurry and set off to the east to look for her. She must be going home. Although she has no parents, if I remember correctly, she still has an uncle."
Gu Boxian nodded. "Yes. Although we don't know when the third brother passed away, there is the third sister - in - law's family there. Since Liyue has left the capital and has nowhere to go, she can only go back to Quzhou."
Yuan Yuan quickly argued, "My lord, I've known the young lady for some time. She sometimes told me about her past and said that the madam was very kind to her. If she left the Jiang mansion, she would be homeless."