Chapter 158: Parents' Beloved Son, Xiao Qin's Conspiracy
And on Gu Tingyu's side.

After coughing a few times, he casually put the handkerchief on the table, then leaned back a little and stopped talking.

I don’t know if it was because he was afraid of being angered by Gu Tingye again, or because he didn’t want to get involved in the fight between Gu Tingye and Xiao Qinshi.

Seeing that Gu Tingyu stopped talking after just one sentence, Xiao Qinshi couldn't help but frown and turned her gaze to the two ladies from the fourth and fifth rooms.

The fourth lady received a hint from Xiao Qin and was the first to jump out.

"Erlang, Fourth Aunt is not going to waste time talking to you about other things. You just need to know that your father is coming home today, and you should bathe and cleanse yourself to welcome him. If you go out to a banquet and come back reeking of alcohol, how embarrassing would that be?"

The Fifth Household Lady beside him also followed suit in a low voice, but she secretly glanced at Xiao Qinshi in advance:
"Yes, Erlang, your reputation has improved a little now, all thanks to your mother's help in talking to the ladies. You must not let her down!

If you go out to a banquet today, it will probably not sound good if the news gets out."

"Sounds good?"

Gu Tingye knew clearly that these two aunts were Xiao Qin's usual helpers, especially the fourth aunt. He himself was unstable and could only rely on Xiao Qin to help charge into battle and cheer her on in order to maintain his position in the backyard.

At the moment, he said bluntly:
"Will it get out and cause bad reputation? The fourth and fifth houses have lived in the mansion for so many years, and they are not afraid of bad reputation. I am a junior, why should I care about this aspect?"

"Mother, is that right?" Gu Tingye bowed slightly to Xiao Qin and pretended to ask.

Xiao Qin naturally couldn't break her own horse's legs, so she just forced a smile and replied:

"You can't write two Gu characters with one stroke. We are all one family. Erlang, please stop talking about different things."

Immediately, Gu Tingye looked around and asked loudly:

"In this case, elders and brothers, are you going to stop me from attending the banquet?"

Xiao Qin looked at Gu Tingye, who looked very proud, with an inexplicable expression. She shook her head slightly and sighed:

"You're old now, I'm afraid I can't control you anymore."

There was a tearful tone in his voice as he spoke, as if he had suffered some pain and was about to burst into tears.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Qinshi immediately received responses from the two wives of the fourth and fifth rooms.

On the contrary, the original protagonist, Gu Tingye, seemed like an outsider at this moment, quietly watching the people on the stage comforting each other with words.

The three ladies seemed to have completed their mission and did not say another word to Gu Tingye.

Gu Tingye had experienced this familiar scene countless times over the years. Knowing that Xiao Qinshi had no more tricks up her sleeve, he turned around and was about to leave.

At this time, Gu Tingwei, who had been waiting outside the door for an unknown period of time, suddenly showed up.

"Second brother, are you going to the Yang family? I heard that Brother Donghuan has a lot of novel things. Can you take me with you?"

Gu Tingwei's words were sincere, without a trace of pretense, and his eyes were filled with the hope of a young man who loves to have fun.

He had a good relationship with Gu Tingye since childhood, and he admired this second brother who was both talented in literature and martial arts. So even though Xiao Qinshi and Gu Tingye were targeting each other, the war did not affect Gu Tingwei at all.

Sometimes, Gu Tingwei would even contradict Xiao Qin for Gu Tingye.

The reason why Gu Tingwei knew that Gu Tingye was going to the Yang family was naturally because Xiao Qin told him in advance.

They are all noble ladies in Bianjing City.

As soon as Hua Lan sent out the invitation to the Yu family, Xiao Qin knew about it.

When thinking about Gu Tingye, he had already guessed most of the story.

The water drops through the stone, and the rope saw the wood break.

It just so happens that Gu Yankai is coming back tonight, so Xiao Qinshi will naturally try to do something to alienate the relationship between father and son.

Knowing that she and others could not stop Gu Tingye, Xiao Qin gave Gu Tingwei a tip last night.

If Gu Tingwei knew about this, he would definitely pester Gu Tingye to take him with him.

When Gu Yankai comes back, he can accuse Gu Tingye of being disrespectful to his elders and a bad example for his younger brother.

But this is only secondary.

Gu Tingwei went along today. If he could fall in love with the only daughter of the Yang family, wouldn't that be a win-win for both sides? It would be a great thing, right?
inside the house.

When Xiao Qin saw the two brothers talking at the door, and realizing that things were developing as she had expected, she immediately retracted her gaze and continued to comfort the fourth and fifth rooms.

Gu Tingye at the door looked at Gu Tingwei who was begging desperately, then turned his head to look at Xiao Qin who seemed to be unaware of this place. He sighed secretly in his heart, but still nodded and said:
"Okay, let's go together! But we have to come back early in the afternoon!"

"Yeah! Thank you, second brother!"

Seeing that Gu Tingye agreed, Gu Tingwei immediately showed a happy expression of a young man and cheered.

"Come on, second brother, let's go quickly, otherwise mother will see us and try to stop me."

Inside the house, as the voices of the two brothers Gu Tingye and Gu Tingwei gradually faded away, the originally lively scene suddenly became quiet.

Xiao Qinshi still had some sadness and helplessness on her face, and she said:

"Although I have spoiled him since he was a child, I am not his biological mother after all, and my words are not always reliable. Thank you for speaking for me today."

The fourth wife was very good at reading people's expressions and said directly:

"Don't worry, Madam. We all know the difficulties you face as the head of the family. It's okay. When the Marquis comes back, I will definitely let the official give him a good report!"

Upon hearing this, the fifth wife glanced at the fourth wife, pondered for a moment, and nodded:

"Yes, Madam, you have always been the most convincing person in your work. Sooner or later, the Marquis will understand your good intentions."

Seeing the three people in the room start to flatter each other again, Gu Tingyu coughed a few times at the right time, then stood up and saluted, saying weakly:

"Mother, Fourth Aunt, Fifth Aunt, it's cold today and I'm not feeling well. Please excuse me for going back to my room first."

"Well, Dalang, please go back to your room quickly."

Xiao Qinshi's face was full of sincerity, and she blamed herself:
"Me too. I know you're not in good health, but I still want to make you suffer for such a small matter. Go back to your room and have a rest. Don't catch a cold."

Xiao Qin said this sincerely.

Before Gu Tingye made a serious mistake that hindered his succession to the title, no one wanted Gu Tingyu to stay alive more than Xiao Qinshi.

"Thank you for your concern, mother!"

Over the years, every time Mrs. Shao heard Xiao Qinshi's caring advice and compared it with Gu Tingye's frequent unfriendly tone, she felt closer to Xiao Qinshi and had a bad impression of Gu Tingye.

Mrs. Shao supported Gu Tingyu's hand and complained slightly:

"Erlang is the same. He not only loses his temper with my husband, but also treats his mother so sincerely and considers him in everything, yet he is still like this..."

Gu Tingyu saw that Xiao Qin, who was sitting next to him, had an expression of surprise and was very happy. However, his wife was still chattering, so he interrupted her and said:
"Don't say any more. Mother has her own considerations."

After saying that, he took Mrs. Shao's hand and went straight back to the room.

"Okay, it's freezing cold, you two should go back."

"Thank you for your concern, ma'am!"

Soon, everyone in the room had left, and only Xiang's mother, who had just entered the room, walked towards Xiao Qin.

"How was it, did Tingwei and Erlang go together?"

"To reply to the Madam, Brother Wei will go with you."

"That's good."

Xiao Qin stood up, and with the help of her mother, she walked outside and looked into the distance.

As if she saw the figures of Gu Tingwei and Gu Tingye on the snow, Xiao Qin murmured to herself:
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"

Although Xiao Qin always said no to Gu Tingwei and Gu Tingye's closeness, she never expressed it in actual actions, but took a laissez-faire attitude.

Even in many things concerning Gu Tingye, Xiao Qinshi intentionally or unintentionally let Gu Tingwei participate in them, including contradicting her biological mother for Gu Tingye.

The love of the parents is far-reaching.

Xiao Qinshi felt the same way towards Gu Tingwei.

It is true that Xiao Qinshi is eyeing Gu Tingye, and it is also true that Gu Tingwei has a brotherly relationship with Gu Tingye.

Xiao Qin has watched Gu Tingye grow up and knows his temper very well.

No matter how Xiao Qinshi confronted him, it was difficult for Gu Tingye to convey his bad feelings towards Gu Tingwei, a kind and friendly brother who had always admired him.

Even if Xiao Qinshi fell in the future, because of the brotherly relationship between the two, Gu Tingye might help Gu Tingwei with his plans.

And if Xiao Qin wins.

Faced with the title of Marquis handed to him, Gu Tingwei had only one way to go, which was to inherit it.

At worst, Gu Tingwei's son can inherit it.

This is Xiao Qin's conspiracy.

She calculated Gu Tingye's temper!

No matter what the result is, as long as his act of framing Gu Tingye does not involve Gu Tingwei and does not allow Gu Tingwei to be directly involved, he will only enjoy the benefits.

No matter how bad your situation is, you can always enjoy the treatment of a direct descendant of the Gu family.

Tingwei, when you grow up, you should be able to understand your mother's painstaking efforts, right?
backyard.

In Gu Tingyu's room.

As soon as he entered and sat down, Gu Tingyu said to his wife, Mrs. Shao:

"Madam, from now on, I think we should not get involved in the fight between Mother and Erlang. They fight each other, and we just need to watch from the sidelines."

Mrs. Shao saw that Gu Tingyu was speaking very fast, so she immediately came forward and gently stroked his back with concern. After Gu Tingyu felt a little better, she replied:

"Mother usually cares about us, but Erlang has been rude to you time and again. Today is the auspicious day when Father returns home, and I really can't stand it."

Gu Tingyu sighed when he heard this.

This was not just because he was displeased. It was clearly because of the rumor circulating in the mansion that his illness was caused by Gu Tingye's deceased biological mother, Bai, and he was just venting the resentment in his heart.

After all, she was supposed to marry the future marquis to live a good life, but who knew she would marry a sickly man like me.

After so many years of hardship, even a clay man would have a temper, let alone a person with rich emotions.

My wife is kind-hearted and cannot bear any resentment towards me, so I can only keep it to myself.

As time went by, he couldn't find an outlet to vent his anger, so he could only blame Gu Tingye, who was related to him in the rumors and had an unfriendly attitude.

But it was difficult for Gu Tingyu to persuade him.

After all, he hasn't found out the truth of the rumors for all these years, but because of these rumors, he has always had a hard time getting over his resentment towards Gu Tingye. How can he turn around and persuade his wife who has been dragged down by him for so many years?
Gu Tingyu was not angry at all towards Mrs. Shao, and only warned:
"No matter what, Erlang's dissatisfaction is directed at his mother. It has nothing to do with us. There is no need to force ourselves to get involved. We just need to do some simple face-saving work to fool him.

But what my mother said just now is correct. After all, she is not Erlang’s and my biological mother. She is just my mother’s sister.

I couldn’t see clearly before, but when Erlang was away, I gradually got a clue…”

"What? Have you found the murderer who drugged me?" Mrs. Shao looked hopeful.

Gu Tingyu shook his head and smiled bitterly, and replied:

"Whether I was drugged or not is another matter. After all, I have had poor health since I was a child, and it just got worse later. Moreover, so many years have passed, and it has long been an unsolved case. I have already let it go."

"Then what did you know?" Mrs. Shao looked puzzled.

Gu Tingyu paused for a moment, then stared at Mrs. Shao carefully for a long while before asking:

"What do you think of your mother?"

"That's good!"

Mrs. Shao told the truth:

"Mother has always been good to us and has a good reputation outside. When I first married into the family, I learned a lot from her, and she often sent supplements to the hospital. If it weren't for my mother's help over the years, I really don't know what I would have done.

In my eyes, my mother is really a dear elder!"

"Is that so? Ahem~!"

"what happened?"

"nothing."

Gu Tingyu glanced at Mrs. Shao and said:
"What I want to say is, don't get involved in Erlang and his mother's affairs. Can you promise me?"

Mrs. Shao saw that Gu Tingyu's tone was serious, although she was a little confused, she still nodded and said:

"Ok."

……

Pingyang Houfu.

When Gu Tingye and Gu Tingwei arrived, they only saw Yang Wenyuan with a look of deep hatred and resentment on his face, and Changbai, who rarely looked smug, in the pavilion.

"What's wrong? Why do you two look like that? Did I miss something fun?"

Gu Tingye kicked the fish baskets in front of the two people, one empty and the other filled with several fish, with a puzzled look on his face.

However, he did not think too much about it, and let Gu Tingwei behind him come out and introduced:
"This is my younger brother, Tingwei, you can just call him Sanlang."

Yang Wenyuan and Changbai were quick to follow suit.

"Saburo!"

After some pleasantries, everyone took their seats.

Gu Tingye saw that Chang Feng was nowhere to be seen, so he asked:
"Speaking of which, why didn't Chang Feng come today?"

Changbai's face froze. This was not an easy thing to say.

Yang Wenyuan immediately explained:

"What else can I do? Now that I have some free time during the day, I will naturally go to look for Liang Liulang."

"Liang Han?"

Gu Tingye knew something about Liang Han's reputation.

This is a fellow traveler!

He immediately laughed and said:
"Brother Feng is indeed just like me, a man of temperament!"

Yang Wenyuan curled his lips: Temperament, right?

Changbai didn't want Gu Tingye to ruin his brother's reputation, so he immediately changed the subject and asked him:
"By the way, do you have something to do today? Why are you here so late?"

Yang Wenyuan was also excited when he heard this, and immediately complained:

"Yes! If you hadn't come too late, Zhong Huai, how could I have made the promise? You caused me to lose the prize because of fishing, you have to compensate me!"

Gu Tingye knew that he was in the wrong for coming late, and Yang Wenyuan had helped to bring this together, so he immediately said generously:
"Okay, tell me and I'll give it to you!"

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Changbai glanced at him lightly.

"You want to pay? Do you have the current detailed battle report of Lingzhou?"

Although there has not been a large-scale war in Lingzhou due to the weather, small-scale sporadic contacts have begun to occur.

Changbai was extremely concerned about the current situation in Lingzhou, so when he heard Yang Wenyuan mention it, Changbai was immediately moved.

So the two of them took this as a prize.

Gu Tingye was speechless on the spot.

He is not Gu Tingyu.

Not to mention that there is a Xiao Qin in charge, so such battle reports never fall into his hands, and those that do come are delayed for several months.

But for the sake of face, Gu Tingye still said stubbornly:
"I do! My father will be home tonight, he knows the most, I will ask him for you then."

As soon as these words were spoken, the three people present who knew Gu Tingye's background laughed, even Gu Tingwei was no exception.

Everyone knows that Gu Tingye and Gu Hou have a bad relationship, and they usually have to take a detour when walking together. Do you really dare to go up and ask directly?
Changbai smiled, but then frowned:
"Lord Gu will be home tonight, why did you schedule it until today..."

Before he finished speaking, Changbai roughly understood.

It's that little Qin's trick again.

Gu Tingwei was present, so Gu Tingye couldn't complain directly, so he just laughed and said:
"I can't help it. It's just a coincidence. So I'm afraid I can't drink and have fun today. I have to go back early today."

(End of this chapter)