Chapter 77 Watertight
"Aren't you eager to keep a way out? Then, starting from tomorrow, you can rest and recuperate in the Fanghua Pavilion. Your diet, daily life, and all other treatments will be the same as Lian'er and the others." Lord Zheng's words were firm.
This name was once a gentle call from his mouth, but now it has become the deepest irony to Guo.
Lian'er, the once favored concubine, could no longer bear children due to Guo's cruel treatment, and her favor faded away.
Making Guo enjoy the same treatment as those lowly concubines was undoubtedly like rubbing salt into her wounds that had not yet healed.
"Master, you are so cruel! We have been married for many years, don't you really care about it at all?"
Guo's eyes were red and tears were welling up in them. Her voice was trembling and she was choking with sobs.
She tried to grasp the last glimmer of hope, but only saw the other person's back getting farther and farther away.
Lord Zheng did not look back, but just said coldly: "When have you ever been sincere to me? For so many years, haven't you always been thinking about that weak scholar in your heart?"
What was revealed in the words was the complete disappointment in past relationships.
"Guo Huayu, I am showing the greatest tolerance by not killing you for the mistake you made today. From now on, you should just stay in Fanghua Pavilion and live the rest of your life in peace!"
After saying this, he strode away without any trace of reluctance.
Guo collapsed to the ground, her whole body in pain. She wanted to chase after him, but she was unable to do so.
The courtyard that was once full of flowers and vitality now looks particularly desolate, with flower petals scattered all over the ground, like Guo’s broken heart that can never be picked up again.
The Zheng family’s birthday party ended up being a joke.
After leaving Guo, Marquis Zheng turned around and went to find Wang.
Wang was terrified to begin with. Fortunately, with the support of her mother, she managed to stand firm and stepped forward and said, "Lord Zheng, I did act inappropriately at the banquet, but I also had my reasons. The warehouse was leaking, rats were rampant, and there were people who deliberately made trouble at the banquet. She was in a dilemma."
Lord Zheng could not blame him too much due to personal feelings and could only suppress his anger.
"Don't interfere in the housekeeping affairs anymore." He waved his hand.
Wang quickly responded, "Yes, father."
Lord Zheng sat down again, his anger still not completely subsided: "You said there was someone causing trouble at the banquet, do you know who it was?"
Wang pondered for a moment and shook her head: "I asked the people in the kitchen, and they all said that they had never seen those people and their origins were unknown."
Lord Zheng's expression became more solemn. He pondered for a long time and asked, "Are there any other suspicious points?"
Wang shook her head again.
Su Wanyu did everything perfectly, and she had arranged for those servants to disappear without a trace, nowhere to be found.
Even though Lord Zheng had many doubts in his mind, he had no idea where to start.
Seeing that Wang could not provide any more help, he stood up and left in dissatisfaction.
The next day, rumors about Guo's misconduct began to spread among the women in the various mansions.
Even if Lord Zheng announced to the public that Guo was insane, he would not be able to save the situation.
Once a woman's reputation is damaged, the reputation of the entire family will be affected.
When the ladies in the various mansions of the imperial court heard that it was the daughter of the Guo or Zheng family, they all shook their heads and sighed, fearing that a frivolous woman like Guo would appear in their own families.
Guo's elder brother is already married with one son and three daughters. Yesterday he was out with Mr. Guo to worship their ancestors and knew nothing about this matter.
Once the news reaches his ears, I'm afraid the entire family will find it difficult to escape the impact of this storm.
And for the daughters of the Zheng family, this was even more of a disaster.
The concubines' daughters were fine, after all, they were not born by Guo, so the impact they received was relatively small. The most tragic one was Zheng Yinyin, the fourth daughter of the Zheng family.
As the only legitimate daughter of the Zheng family, Zheng Yinyin once lived in the imperial palace with her aunt Huipin, enjoying supreme glory and honor...
On Lord Zheng's birthday, he specially brought back the gifts given by Concubine Hui in the palace to his mansion to highlight Zheng Yinyin's special status.
Since she was young, she was instilled with the idea that she would become the emperor's woman in the future. Therefore, she always had the dream of ascending the throne of queen in her heart.
Unfortunately, however, the emperor did not seem to be very interested in her, and often even refused to look at her.
Now, with the Guo family's reputation declining sharply, not to mention that the plan of entering the palace has come to nothing, even finding a good family to marry into in the future has become extremely difficult.
When she first entered the Zheng family, Zheng Yinyin did not treat her coldly like other people did. Instead, she often brought back some small toys from the palace to make her happy.
She had sincere feelings for Zheng Yinyin and treated her as her own sister. She was generous and gave her many precious jewellery without hesitation.
However, this deep sisterly love came to an abrupt end after Jiang Yingying arrived.
Ever since the Zheng family deprived her of her property, Zheng Yinyin seemed to have become a different person and insulted her in every way possible.
When Su Wanyu was imprisoned in the woodshed, she came over with the leftovers from feeding stray dogs, clapped her hands and asked Su Wanyu to eat it in front of her: "Good sister-in-law, I've brought you food, eat it quickly."
"Eat, look how good I am to you, remember to thank me later." She smiled strangely.
"Hehe! Eat! Eat quickly!" She forced her head into the smelly rice bowl and would not stop until she was forced to swallow the disgusting food.
Later, Prince Liang ascended the throne, and Zheng Yinyin naturally became the queen. Since then, Su Wanyu never saw her again.
"Where is the fourth young lady now?" Su Wanyu asked Yun Yi who was walking towards her with bedding.
Yun Yi replied: "I heard that the fourth young lady went to Madam's room early in the morning."
"No, now you should call her Aunt Guo."
Marquis Zheng announced to the whole family early in the morning that little Guo was promoted to the second wife, and Guo was no longer the mistress of the Zheng family because she was seriously ill and needed to recuperate. In the future, she would move to Fanghua Pavilion and would not be allowed to step out of the mansion.
Not only that, he also specifically instructed everyone in the family that there would only be one lady in the mansion, and that was Xiao Guo.
As for Guo, those who were willing to call her aunt could call her aunt, and those who were not willing could call her Second Madam.
On the surface, it seemed that she was allowed to retire and concentrate on recuperating, but in fact, her status was secretly downgraded to that of a concubine. All this happened quietly without the knowledge of outsiders.
After Zheng Chengyan and Zheng Yinyin learned about this, they ran to beg Lord Zheng to show leniency and hope that he would show mercy to Guo's men.
The voice of Lord Zheng echoed in the spacious hall: "If you two are willing to call Jing'er mother, then you will still be the direct descendants of my Zheng family. Otherwise, follow your mother and go to the desolate Fanghua Pavilion."
Zheng Yinyin's heart seemed to be pressed down by a huge rock, dull and breathless. She suppressed the sob in her throat and did not refute. She could only leave quickly and run towards Fanghua Pavilion where Guo was.