An Unexpected Setback

"What exactly did the Marquis lose?" Fourth Concubine muttered. "He didn't even explain clearly. Could it be that he just doesn't like us and is looking for an excuse to cause trouble?"

Gu Wanning: You're just part of his play.

But since I wasn't with everyone, I feel a little guilty.

Chapter 109 Unexpected Twists and Turns

Gu Wanning pretended to look at Xu Weibei, frowning as she asked, "My Marquis, what exactly is missing? Is it something that can't be said?"

Xu Weibei stared at her face, intending to utter some harsh words, but his tongue seemed to be acting on its own, and all that came out was, "Look at the state of the household you've managed!"

Gu Wanning took a deep breath, trying to get herself into the zone.

"It's my fault for failing in my management. So, does Your Marquis think the most important thing now is to find the lost item or to hold someone accountable?"

"I've searched, but I haven't found it." Xu Weibei's face was icy. "It must have been taken by one of them, or perhaps it was part of a conspiracy."

"What good would that do them?"

Xu Weibei stood with his hands behind his back, paused for a moment, and then said, "As long as someone is short-sighted, disloyal, and colludes with outsiders to steal."

"My Marquis, I believe the Marquis's Residence has treated them well, and they are grateful and obedient. Today's incident is likely a misunderstanding. Our most urgent task is to find the lost items as soon as possible."

"You want to protect them? Do you know how important the lost items are? They're..."

Xu Weibei's voice abruptly stopped, his gaze seemingly concealing a sharp edge, as if he wanted to skin the still disheveled people sitting there alive.

"I truly didn't know how important the stolen items were. I didn't intend to cover for anyone, but my Marquis, thief, thief, catch the adulterers in the act! My Marquis claims they stole the items, but do you have any evidence?"

"How could things just disappear for no reason? Who else comes and goes around these places besides them? Did I bring people into the backyard?"

"My Marquis, your concubine lives in the back courtyard; this was your own arrangement, and has nothing to do with me." Gu Wanning's face turned cold. "Losing your temper won't help. The most important thing right now is to find it."

"The house has been searched thoroughly, but there's nothing there. They must have sent it out."

"Sent out?" Gu Wanning seized on the key phrase. "So, the Marquis has no evidence, but has convicted them all based solely on his own guesses?"

"Mind your own business," Xu Weibei said through gritted teeth. "If they don't hand over the stuff to me today, I'll... I'll skin them alive."

Upon hearing this, all four concubines' expressions changed, even the usually unruly Fourth Concubine was frightened.

Xu Weibei's reputation for being a grotesque and bizarre character is no exaggeration.

"If you've skinned someone alive, you need to have a reason and evidence," Gu Wanning said calmly. "In my opinion, it would be better to search inside the house, and then search the courtyards of the concubines. If we can find it, that would be best. If it's a misunderstanding, we can clear it up, and whoever stole it can be punished. What does Your Marquis think?"

Xu Weibei retorted, "Do you think a thief would hide things and wait for you to search them?"

"But Your Marquis cannot punish innocent people without cause. If Your Marquis insists on this, then I..."

"What do you want?" Xu Weibei's anger was directed at Gu Wanning.

Everyone fell silent; for a moment, the only sound was the rustling of the wind through the treetops.

"Then I'll go and report it to the authorities." Gu Wanning stood tall and straight, showing no sign of backing down. "I'll say that the Marquis is using torture in his Marquis's Residence! I'll have my father uphold justice!"

Fourth Concubine wiped her eyes and whispered to First Concubine, "If I give birth to a son for the Marquis, he will be the Madam's son. Then, can the Madam's father also be my father?"

Everyone: "..."

This silly goose.

"You gave birth to nothing!" the Second Concubine couldn't help but curse at her.

What kind of time is this to still be dreaming!

My life is in danger, I'll be skinned alive.

I really don't know what's gotten into the Marquis today.

"You!" Xu Weibei raised his hand.

"Your Marquis wants to hit me?" Gu Wanning sneered. "Xu Weibei, you dare to lay a finger on me! Let's see if I can burn down the Marquis of Yingchuan's Residence along with you! Let me tell you, if you dare to lay a hand on me, you either have to kill me, or you'd better sleep with your eyes open every night, otherwise, I'll find a way to kill you!"

Everyone: Madam is so strong.

Gu Wanning: I'm really empathizing with her, but that's exactly how she feels about abusive men.

We must leave, not even for a moment.

But if they won't let us leave here, then we'll all die together.

She couldn't swallow this insult; it would suffocate her.

Xu Weibei was angered by her. He stared at her intently, but instead of slapping her, he clenched his fist and slowly lowered it.

"Someone come here!"

Hearing the sound of him grinding his teeth, everyone secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Gu Wanning.

Judging from the Marquis's posture, he's going to tear his wife apart.

The First Concubine couldn't help but kneel on the ground to plead for Gu Wanning: "My Marquis, please calm down. This matter has nothing to do with the madam."

The other concubines also knelt down upon seeing this.

"Get up, all of you get up!" Gu Wanning shouted until her voice was hoarse. "No one is allowed to kneel before him or beg him!"

Er Ya blocked her way, letting out a pig-like scream, "The Marquis is going to kill his wife! The Marquis is going to kill his wife!"

Xu Weibei's face turned a deep shade of liver from anger.

Gao Lan forward, covered Er Ya's mouth, and dragged her aside.

"Don't bite me, you're a dog!" Gao Lan gasped as he was bitten.

Everyone thought Xu Weibei was about to explode, but instead he said, "Men, search him!"

Go search?

So, you've taken the lady's suggestion?

Surprisingly, in this head-on confrontation, the lady emerged victorious in the end.

In the future, if you encounter any problems, you should still consult your wife.

Gu Wanning also breathed a sigh of relief.

No, she's not a good actress. At first, I couldn't get into the role; and once I did, I couldn't get out of character.