A Fit of Temper

"I guessed you didn't know, and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you. He really did keep them well hidden before. No one even knew about this mistress and child, and the Grand Princess wouldn't acknowledge them either."

Gu Wanning vaguely understood why the Grand Princess was so anxious for her to get pregnant.

She was worried that Gu Wanning would find out about this and completely fall out with Xu Weibei, leaving her grand scheme in ruins.

"As for the child that bedchamber maid is carrying, since he hasn't brought her back to the residence either, the child can't be acknowledged."

Gu Wanning: Wait, let her sort this out.

In other words, Xu Weibei currently had a five-year-old kid and a mistress outside the residence.

And then that woman of his who had disappeared was also carrying a kid, only he was keeping her outside now?

She had wondered: they had said that woman had followed him to the Northwest to attend to him, so why had she vanished when he returned?

So he had hidden her away outside to secretly have his child?

Good, good, good.

If Xu Weibei had openly brought them back and said this was his woman and his son, Gu Wanning would at least have admired him as a real man.

The woman was already pregnant, yet he was keeping her outside on the sly, leaving both her and the child without a recognized status in the future.

This was truly the conduct of an honorable man.

Xu Weibei's image in Gu Wanning's eyes became even smaller and more sordid, beyond saving even by his hero filter.

"Wanning, don't get angry over people who aren't worth it. If he's keeping them outside, then he can leave them unacknowledged for the rest of their lives."

Besides, for a young master born into a distinguished noble family like this, having a few people attending to him was perfectly normal.

"Big brother, I'm about to get a divorce. Why would I care about these things?" Gu Wanning said indifferently. "Thank you for telling me."

The more she knew, the easier it would be to bargain with Xu Weibei.

"As for the divorce, don't tell anyone else about it for now. I'll handle it." Gu Anqi's expression was resolute. "Father is tied down by the reforms right now and truly can't spare the time... Mother is timid, has a lot on her mind, and feels guilty toward you... Never mind, let's not talk about that... In any case, I'll keep this in mind."

"One last question," Gu Wanning said calmly, deliberately filtering the emotional part out of their conversation. "Big brother, why is Xu Weibei opposing Father? Since I came home, all I've heard is other people criticizing Father, saying he's a treacherous minister..."

"Father isn't a treacherous minister!" Gu Anqi grew somewhat agitated. "Father's heart is devoted entirely to the country and its people. He has no selfish motives! Other people don't understand him, but Wanning, you mustn't misunderstand Father!"

"None of you tell me anything, so I can only go by hearsay. How much ability to judge for herself does big brother expect from a girl who grew up on an estate?"

"Wanning, I neglected you."

"I don't want to bring any of that up anymore."

All the joys and sorrows that had belonged to the original owner had drifted away on the wind when the last of her consciousness departed.

For the present Gu Wanning, at most, there was only a lingering sense of melancholy.

What she most wanted to understand right now was her own situation.

If she still harbored a sliver of hope that she could draw a clear line between herself and Xu Weibei through a divorce, then there was no hope whatsoever of drawing such a line between herself and the Gu family.

The Gu family's blood flowed in her veins.

She didn't want the day to come when Gu Yuanshi was held to account and she suffered along with him.

Dying would actually be all right; what she feared was living in humiliation.

When someone failed at reform, wasn't it the norm for three or even nine generations of their family to be implicated?

"I just want to know, what exactly is Father trying to do?"

"Father wants to reform the laws, enrich the country and strengthen its armies, manage its finances and reorganize its forces, transplant and consolidate, let the common people live and work in peace and contentment, and make Great Chu so powerful that no one dares invade."

Gu Wanning: What an enormous pie he had painted.

"Xu Weibei opposes Father's reforms because he, too, believed other people's rumors and thought Father really was acting out of self-interest. And in the short term, the reforms did indeed shake his interests, but in the long run, they would bring enormous benefits to both the country and its people."

"Big brother, there's no need to get worked up," Gu Wanning said. "Some ideas are very good, but whether they can actually be put into practice is the key. Reform can't be accomplished in a single step, either, so please act within your means. After all, the lives of this entire large family rest on Father and you."

Gu Anqi understood what she meant, and his mood dimmed somewhat, but he did not back down.

"If we stopped moving forward because of difficulties and danger, then this country would have no hope. If that day really does come... You and Wanqing are both married daughters, so you probably won't be dragged into it... Father had selfish motives when he agreed to this marriage back then, too."

"He thought Xu Weibei had such an illustrious military record that, if the worst happened, he could protect me?"

"Mm."

"Then there's no need for that," Gu Wanning said. "I'm not willing to be bound to him just to cling to a miserable existence."

The four concubines were all right, though. Although they each had their own aims and interests, overall, as things stood, none of them was unbearable.

"One mistress, one child; one bedchamber maid, one child on the way. Heh."

How hard up would she have to be to manage his back courtyard for him?

Whoever wanted to could do it.

"No..."

Chapter 27: A Fit of Temper

"That mistress of his is no longer alive. She left behind only a daughter who's over five..."

When Xu Weibei was campaigning in the Northwest, the mistress had died of illness.

After returning to the capital, he arranged for the pregnant bedchamber maid to stay at the mistress's place until she gave birth, while also taking care of his daughter.

Gu Wanning sneered.

That bedchamber maid had really been fucked over.

She was heavily pregnant herself, yet she still had to clean up his mess.

These women in ancient times spent their whole lives serving men like oxen and horses.

And Xu Weibei, now that she thought about it—since his return, where had he shown the slightest bit of grief or concern?

That child who hadn't been brought back to the residence had probably been overlooked because she was a girl.

If the child had been a son, the Grand Princess probably wouldn't have had the heart to leave him outside.

"Originally, if you cared about it, I was planning to use pressure to keep them from entering the residence. But since you've made up your mind to divorce him, there's no need to be angry. Let Xu Weibei do as he pleases. Just keep yourself safe, all right?"

The concern in his eyes did not seem feigned, and Gu Wanning was not someone who couldn't recognize kindness. Hearing this, she nodded. "I know, big brother."