Gu Tieqi was a concubine's son, so naturally, his mother held no high status within Gu Mansion. She was merely an ordinary concubine.
It was only because a mother rose with her son that, after having Gu Tieqi, she gained a place in the inner court of Gu Mansion.
Yet as she aged and her beauty faded, she could only rely on Gu Tieqi, her son outside the household, to hold on. Even so, though she lacked neither food nor clothing, her days were incomparably stifling.
Every day, she had to pay respects to the principal wife morning and evening. At the slightest provocation, rules would be imposed on her, and sometimes she would even become the target of someone's vented anger.
Thus, the first condition Gu Tieqi raised was that he would not sever ties with Gu Mansion. He could return to the Gu Family in name, but he had to bring his birth mother to his own residence and support her separately.
Under normal circumstances, releasing a concubine from the household was an exceedingly disgraceful matter for any noble.
However, with Gu Tieqi's return to the household serving as a fig leaf, this condition was naturally accepted.
Gu Tieqi's second condition was that he would return to the household as a Gu Family descendant in name only, becoming another noble bloodline of the Gu Family. Yet it would be in name only—he would not accept orders or commands from the Gu Family Clan Head or the Council of Elders.
Of course, political cooperation was possible.
These were the two conditions Gu Tieqi put forth. After giving them some thought, Gu Dachuan, one of the Gu Family's old ancestors, and Duke of Xinning Prefecture Gu Yan agreed to both.
Before their eyes, Gu Tieqi destroyed that jade slip of