Third Concubine's Strange Behavior (continued)

Xu Weibei had already greeted her, so the scene Gu Wanning was imagining right now was him leading his men to scare the four concubines in the courtyard.

She told Xu Weibei yesterday and today that he must be careful not to frighten people, and definitely not to use torture.

However, Xu Weibei's agreement was very perfunctory.

I wonder if he'll go back on his word...

Then Gu Wanning was led to the backyard by the maid, and the scene before her left her speechless.

Several concubines were running around the lake...

Yes, they were running, followed by their attendants.

The concubines had been running away for who knows how long. Except for the Fourth Concubine, who seemed to be doing relatively well and could still hold onto the First Concubine, the others were in bad shape...

Xu Weibei stood in the pavilion by the lake, coldly watching the concubines run up, panting.

Upon seeing Gu Wanning, he said, "Going back is none of your business."

Gu Wanning: "..."

You're such a little genius!

"My Marquis," she stepped forward, pretending to know nothing, "What are you doing? What wrong have the concubines done that you want to punish them like this?"

"Madam, Madam is back!" Fourth Concubine exclaimed excitedly, her voice ringing with excitement.

Gu Wanning: You, my living father, should walk around the lake eighty more times.

The rest of you shouldn't run; it really pains her to see you like this.

Their faces were flushed red and they were covered in sweat, especially the First Concubine. Gu Wanning felt genuine heartache watching her tremble.

Already physically weak, he was burdened with an extra weight—honestly, if Qin Lie were to see this, he would be ready to fight Xu Weibei the death.

The way the concubines looked at Gu Wanning revealed pleading and hope.

Gu Wanning suddenly felt a sense of guilt for betraying her sister.

Sisters, she knew beforehand... but she really didn't know Xu Weibei such a scoundrel.

I am coming!

"Something left inside is missing," Xu Weibei said. "This is serious; we must find it."

Have you searched thoroughly?

The item is simply lost.

"Then let's search again quickly and thoroughly. Besides them, there are maids and such in my room... Marquis, please don't make things difficult for them. Let's think it over carefully and make a long-term plan?"

"No, step back!" Xu Weibei's face turned ashen.

Gu Wanning was truly anxious. "My Marquis, tell them to stop! This is exhausting!"

Xu Weibei remained silent.

"If that's what you're saying, Marquis, then I'm the most suspicious," Gu Wanning said angrily. "Besides, even if my concubine made a mistake, it's because I didn't manage her properly. If Marquis insist on taking it out on someone else, then come at me."

After saying that, she quickly ran to her aunts and stopped them, "Stop! If you're going to investigate, investigate me first!"

The First Concubine was so tired she could barely speak, but she held Gu Wanning's hand and kept shaking her head, trying to stop her from arguing with Xu Weibei.

Gu Wanning ordered, "Er Ya, take some people and bring over a few chairs. Don't stop abruptly, walk slowly, and sit down to rest later."

Xu Weibei gritted his teeth and remained silent, but his gaze was sharp as he looked at Gu Wanning.

Gu Wanning pretended not to see it.

Seeing this, the guards all stood aside, looking down at each other.

--At this point, everyone could see that the Marquis had been subdued by his wife.

Otherwise, with the Marquis's fiery temper, he would have exploded long ago.

As expected, everyone has been saying lately that the Marquis is paying more and more attention to his wife, and it's no exaggeration to say that there's some truth to it.

After a while, the concubines sat down on chairs in the shade.

The three concubines didn't want to say a word; their bodies were so weak they could barely sit up, and each needed their maid to help them.

Only the Fourth Concubine couldn't sit still. "Madam, you must take us with you when you go out in the future. Or take the Marquis with you! Whenever you're not around, the Marquis causes trouble. He doesn't say anything when something is lost, he just says something is missing. Isn't that deliberately making things difficult for him?"

The Marquis is such a scoundrel; he has no humanity.

He clearly disliked them and wanted to teach them a lesson, but he didn't dare offend the madam, so he took advantage of her absence to do so.

That two-faced scoundrel.

Madam, you must see his true colors!

"Alright, sit down." Gu Wanning said impatiently, "You'd better shut up now, I'm going to talk to the Marquis."

Fourth Concubine wanted to say something, but First Concubine stopped her.

The First Concubine calmed down a bit. "Madam, please speak to the Marquis slowly. I feel it must be something very important, otherwise the Marquis wouldn't have gotten so angry for no reason. We don't need to worry about that; getting it back is the most important thing."

Second Concubine also said, "Yes, Eldest Sister is right. If it's really something important, then we should try to find it first."

It's mainly because of Xu Weibei; it seems like they'd confiscate everything if they couldn't find it.

Who isn't afraid?

Only the Third Concubine seemed preoccupied, keeping her head down and remaining silent.

Gu Wanning's gaze swept over her, and she suddenly had a bad feeling.

She knew that this whole thing was orchestrated by Xu Weibei, and there were no real thieves involved.

But the way Third Concubine acted made Gu Wanning's heart begin to tremble.

--Please don't cause any unnecessary trouble.

Don't let Xu Weibei trick you into revealing anything else.

For example, you used to have a man, and you even lost your virginity to him.

Xu Weibei was a chauvinist. Although he didn't care about his Third Concubine all, if she were to bring up the matter in public and make him lose face, he might react in a certain way.

So, to prevent such a misunderstanding from happening, Gu Wanning reached out and shook her Third Concubine's hand, then glanced at her, offering silent comfort.

The Third Concubine kept her head down and did not respond.

Gu Wanning started to panic.

Sister, please don't be foolish. No one is bringing up this trivial matter, so don't reveal it yourself.

"It's alright, she's here. As long as Third Concubine starts talking about that matter, she'll interrupt her, "Gu Wanning thought to herself.