No Turning Back

"It will hurt a little, Third Master, please bear with it." The Third Concubine's voice remained as gentle and calm as when she arrived, as if nothing had happened.

"She's so calm and collected," Gu Anfang thought.

Outside the door, Gu Wanning looked somewhat embarrassed as she faced Xu Weibei.

Fortunately, Zhi Nu was there too, which made her feel a little more relaxed. She kept fixing Zhi Nu's hair to hide her nervousness, and before she knew it, she had tied Zhi Nu's hair into a bun...

Xu Weibei was initially a little nervous, but seeing Gu Wanning's demeanor, he suddenly relaxed and spoke up, "I'm in charge of this mess at the Ministry of Revenue, and every day I'm chased by all sorts of people begging for money. Although it's necessary to Huahua, there are always corrupt officials profiting from it and lining their own pockets. So, I personally went to check on the canal construction project these past two days..."

What kind of irrigation canal costs so much silver? It must be lined with gold!

Gu Wanning then understood why he looked so disheveled and exhausted.

Xu Weibei's eyes were bloodshot, suggesting he hadn't been sleeping well these past few days.

Although he was somewhat foolish and straightforward, he acted in a way that was worthy of the emperor, the people, and his own conscience; there's no way to smear him for that.

"It's nothing serious," Gu Wanning said. "What's past is past, Marquis, you don't need to take it to heart. Go back and rest early."

Xu Weibei's gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked towards the side room.

Gu Wanning followed his gaze and suddenly saw that the door was closed tightly.

Originally, the door was opened a crack.

It's Gu Xiaoxiao.

"Ignore her," Gu Wanning said softly.

She was treating Gu Xiaoxiao like she didn't exist.

Gu Xiaoxiao has been in the Gu family for so long, but her marriage is still undecided.

It's not that we don't want to find her someone, but we're not satisfied with the high-end options, so it's been dragging on until now.

"What's the point of keeping her around? She'll only cause trouble sooner or later." Xu Weibei said with obvious disapproval.

Gu Wanning actually thought so too.

However, she wasn't so brazen as to interfere in the Gu family's affairs.

Her closest connection with the Gu family is that neither of them will stand idly by when the other is in trouble.

However, they also carefully maintained a certain distance from each other to avoid arguing over certain matters.

For example, Gu Xiaoxiao's situation is like that.

Gu Wanning disliked her, but Gu Yuanshi felt that she was his niece and he couldn't ignore her.

Then... stay far away. If the Gu family suffers misfortune because of Gu Xiaoxiao, it's their fate, and they can't blame anyone else.

"It's alright, I don't live at home anyway," Gu Wanning said calmly. "My Marquis, you're busy with your affairs, don't worry about such a trivial matter. Just have someone clarify things so that there won't be any more misunderstandings like this."

"Yes, I still have to go to the palace to report to the Emperor. I'll come see you later."

Gu Wanning quickly declined, saying no.

Good exes are like the dead; please don't come back to life, I'm easily scared.

"By the way, I see your third brother is seriously injured, so let your Third Concubine stay and take care of him."

Gu Wanning:???

Should I say you're carefree, or that you're stupid?

If word gets out that you're keeping your concubine to take care of your former brother-in-law, it'll dominate the headlines in the Capital for three days straight.

What, Xu Weibei, you've lived a life of unbridled freedom and love being in the spotlight?

I'm sorry, I can't keep you company!

"My Marquis, that's inconvenient, and besides, my third brother isn't that badly injured."

She is still able to take care of herself and does not require close personal care.

"She needs to have her medication changed eventually. Just let her stay with you; it'll save you the trouble of going back and forth, and if someone sees her, it won't be good for you."

After saying that, Xu Weibei turned and left without giving Gu Wanning a chance to refute him.

Gu Wanning: "..."

Gu Anfang, who was waiting for his Third Concubine to leave so he could calm down as soon as possible, was also struck by this news.

In other words, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow... for the next few days, he will be repeatedly reminded of what happened today?

Tired, let's destroy it.

Fortunately, the Third Concubine seems to be a reliable and trustworthy person, so she probably won't spread this matter around...

But he was wrong.

Ever since Gu Wanning learned of her secret, Third Concubine has told Gu Wanning everything about this matter.

The two slept in the same bed that night, talking about everything from the Marquis's Residence to the Gu family, changing topics countless times, and naturally, they didn't forget the "explosive" news from the day.

"Third Master is at the age where he's full of youthful passion and impulsiveness. Why hasn't the household arranged a marriage for him?" Third Concubine said. "It wouldn't be good if he were seduced by someone outside."

Oh my goodness, Third Brother is secretly reading pornographic books?

Watching isn't shameful; what's funny is getting caught red-handed?

Gu Wanning couldn't help but gloat when she thought about the scene back then; how interesting it was!

"I don't know either," Gu Wanning said, "But maybe it's because it's difficult to choose a suitable candidate."

The eldest brother is my childhood sweetheart, so there's no need to arrange anything; the second brother's marriage is a political one, so there's no need to worry about that either; as for the third brother... we need to carefully choose his family background, and besides, he himself is not calm and has not inherited his father's essence, so he probably won't be easily accepted.

Gu Wanning didn't like getting involved in these things, so she didn't ask.

It's really not easy for Wei Shi. She has to worry about her son and also her husband's troublesome niece.

These two marriages alone could cause someone to go gray with worry.

"Speaking of marriage, it seems the Grand Princess is planning to arrange a marriage between the Marquis and Xie Yun," the Third Concubine murmured in the darkness.

Chapter 177 No Turning Back

"Oh."

Gu Wanning thought that, judging from the Grand Princess's anxious manner, the fact that she hadn't made a decision yet was already considered a sign of her procrastination.

Xie Yun...

So be it. Whether she and Xu Weibei are a good match or not, what does it have to do with me?

Unlike Xu Weibei, Gu Wanning doesn't interfere in anything her ex does.

However, Gu Wanning understood that her Third Concubine was not trying to trouble her by saying this, but rather that she was more worried about her own situation.