Wife and Concubines in Harmony

She was no longer in debt, but she didn't have much money either.

Build a career, make money.

Too many people caused mistakes; too much money didn't.

When Xu Weibei returned to the manor, he downed two large cups of cooling tea before the heat churning inside him eased a little.

"Gao Lan, tell Gu Wanning what happened today."

He waited for Gu Wanning to come make a scene. The bigger, the better.

Grandmother was bent on bringing the two of them together, so he would make their relationship break beyond repair.

He had detested Old Thief Gu for a long time, and it felt good to finally vent his anger today.

Besides, he had killed two birds with one stone and shaken the marriage as well.

There was one thing for which Gu Wanning had, in fact, wrongly blamed Xu Weibei.

—It hadn't been Xu Weibei who started the provocation today.

Although he did want to give the emperor a handle against him, he hadn't yet figured out how.

To his surprise, Gu Anqi had brought up the old issue again, speaking of reform and writing a long, sprawling memorial.

As he listened to Gu Anqi read out the parts about cutting military spending, Xu Weibei saw the faces of the comrades who had left with him three years ago but never returned.

So Xu Weibei didn't hold back. He struck him, then let loose a barrage of words.

He made his position clear: he opposed this bullshit reform.

That wasn't the end of it. The emperor reprimanded him and ordered Gu Anqi taken away to be treated by an imperial physician.

Gu Yuanshi showed no concern for his son at all. He stepped forward and suggested that the emperor continue the morning court session, then produced a memorial he had prepared long ago—

To impeach Xu Weibei.

Yes, even if Xu Weibei hadn't struck anyone today, Gu Yuanshi had still intended to impeach him.

Gu Yuanshi trumped up charges, from Xu Weibei handing out grain and military pay indiscriminately, to letting his subordinates harass the people, to his improper conduct in bringing women into the army camp. Altogether, he cobbled together ten offenses, great and small.

Xu Weibei, in turn, showed no courtesy and refuted his accusations one by one.

The emperor said a few words to smooth things over, then ordered Xu Weibei to return to his manor and reflect for a month on having resorted to violence in court.

And so Xu Weibei had come rolling back to "reflect."

Gao Lan was deeply troubled. "Marquis, do you really want me to tell Madam?"

Why did he feel a little guilty?

The Gu family had behaved abominably, and the marquis, well, had gone a little too far too. In any case, no one had considered how difficult it was for Madam to be caught in the middle.

"Go tell her!"

With Gu Wanning's temper, she was sure to make a scene when she found out.

The bigger the scene, the better. It would help them obtain an amicable divorce and make a clean break with the Gu family.

Xu Weibei wasn't acting in the heat of anger. On the contrary, he was perfectly calm.

He could see that the Gu father and son had swallowed iron weights this time: their minds were made up on reform.

Then he, too, would resolutely oppose it. He couldn't wallow in the mud with them and leave a foul name for ten thousand years.

Gao Lan went off with meek assurances, then returned very quickly.

"How did she react?" Xu Weibei asked.

Surely she had kicked up a huge fuss.

Chapter 16: Wife and Concubines in Harmony

"Madam said she knew," Gao Lan said apprehensively.

"And then?"

"And then there was no then." Gao Lan knew this wasn't the reaction Xu Weibei had expected.

In fact, he had been shocked too.

But Gu Wanning had been squatting on the ground, delighted by the seedlings that had just poked their heads out. She hadn't even raised her eyelids or given him a glance.

She hadn't taken the matter to heart at all.

Dogs biting dogs—they could do as they pleased.

Xu Weibei's brows knitted tightly. After a long while, he squeezed two words through his teeth: "Cold-hearted!"

A woman who was indifferent even to her own elder brother had no heart at all.

"Marquis, perhaps Madam feels caught in the middle and torn both ways, unable to take a position." Gao Lan couldn't help speaking up for Gu Wanning.

"What, did she give you some kind of benefit?"

"No, no, absolutely not," Gao Lan hurriedly explained, raising a hand to rub his nose. "I just think, think Madam has it rather hard too."

Leaving everything else aside, what other lady went out to work in the fields herself in such hot weather?

It was simply without precedent, and there would never be another like her.

Anyone who didn't know better would think she was being mistreated by the marquis's household.

"Marquis, if I may say something without fear of angering you, Grand Secretary Gu is strict with himself and upholds his family through farming and study. That much is admirable."

The way Madam rolled up her sleeves and went into the fields made it plain she was an experienced hand, not putting on an act.

People who worked diligently always earned a higher opinion.

"She has it hard?" A cold sneer touched Xu Weibei's lips. "Then do the people she torments have it easy?"

"When I went over, the four concubines were there too. I, I didn't think they seemed unwilling."

In fact, the garden had become full of life, a cheerful sight.

Most importantly, Madam had also given him a melon, and Gao Lan felt he couldn't eat it for nothing.

"Fishing for fame and praise, just like her father." Xu Weibei was full of disdain.

Thinking of his political differences with Grand Secretary Gu, Gao Lan didn't dare say anything more.

"Go tell her," Xu Weibei said. He was determined to provoke Gu Wanning, hoping she would make a scene so they could end the marriage sooner. "From now on, she's forbidden to have any dealings with the Gu family!"

"This..." Gao Lan thought that was going much too far.

"Do as I say." Xu Weibei's gaze was cold.

People who weren't single-minded didn't succeed easily.

He was the kind of man who, once he made up his mind, would not turn back.

He was going to destroy this marriage, no matter what!

"Ah, yes..."

When he went back, Gu Wanning was sitting on a mat in the shade beneath a tree, enjoying the cool. The concubines were gathered around her, making a lively commotion as they played something he couldn't identify.

Gu Wanning: Playing Werewolf, of course.

Although everyone might have had their own motives, that didn't stop them from having fun together.

Women could actually get along easily, as long as their core interests weren't involved.

Their core interest should originally have been Xu Weibei, but for now, apart from the second concubine, who had feelings for him, the others seemed uninterested.

So there was no fundamental conflict between them.

Gu Wanning was bad at Werewolf, but she loved playing it.