Chapter 394: Prodigal
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“It’s you, right?” Madam w.a.n.g shouted at the top of her lungs. She was furious and almost went crazy. “You killed the capital magistrate in a moment of anger and angered Long Yan, but you caused a huge disaster for my Marquis Mansion!”
“How could a prodigal son like you appear in the Marquis Mansion? You even ruined the t.i.tle left behind by our ancestors!”
“Gu Yuan, you’re about to split up from the Marquis Household, and you still want to implicate us. You’re just like your father…”
The more Madam w.a.n.g spoke, the angrier she became and the more she hated him. She really wanted to rush up and scratch Gu Yuan like a shrew in the market.
Gu Yuan had just taken two sips of tea to moisten his throat. When he heard this, he looked up from the teacup and sneered at Madam w.a.n.g.
Without needing Gu Yuan to say anything, the patriarch pointed at Madam w.a.n.g and scolded her sternly, “Madam w.a.n.g, are you done!”
“What does this have to do with Yuan’er!”
“You shrew, you’re slandering your nephew without asking for the reason.”
“Why don’t you ask your mother-in-law what’s going on with Gu Jian!!”
“The mother and son have caused a huge disaster for the Gu family. Now, they’re hiding and don’t dare to come and see anyone!”
The patriarch had always had a good temper. It was rare for him to use such intense words, and it was rare for him to be so angry that he stunned the elders beside him.
The patriarch was still angry after scolding her. He called an old woman in the hall over and asked her to quickly call Gu Jian over.
The old woman obeyed and ran out in a hurry.
In the main hall, the atmosphere was a little stiff for a moment. The maidservants were all silent.
The elders were a little stunned and vaguely understood that it was Gu Jian and Madam Gu who had ruined the Marquis’ t.i.tle.
The elders looked at each other in shock.
Madam w.a.n.g was speechless. Her face alternated between green and white as she felt a little embarra.s.sed. She really wanted to order someone to chase the patriarch out. She didn’t believe what the patriarch had said. How could the Gu family’s t.i.tle be stripped because of the Marquis?!
The elders at the side had already pulled Gu Yuan to ask about the process.
The patriarch was annoyed when he looked at Madam w.a.n.g. As an elder, he reprimanded, “We’re splitting up the family. What are you doing here?! Hurry up and get out!”
Madam w.a.n.g’s expression turned even uglier. Her chest heaved violently as she raised her neck and said, “Why? I’m the dignified Madam…”
She was the Madam of the Marquis Mansion. What right did the patriarch have to chase her out?!
“Even the Marquis is gone,” the patriarch interrupted her coldly.
The patriarch stared at Madam w.a.n.g’s face without blinking for a moment and warned slowly, “I’m in charge today. I can divorce you if I want to.”
His expression was very serious, and his words were clear.
Madam w.a.n.g:”…”
Madam w.a.n.g’s pupils constricted. She was really frightened now.
The Gu family no longer had a t.i.tle, and Gu Jian was no longer the Marquis of Dingyuan, which meant that he had lost his transcendent status in the family. Now, as the patriarch of the Gu family, he had the highest status in the family and could even be the master of these branches.
Madam w.a.n.g clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly and crumpled it.
She gave Gu Xiao a look and asked her son to stay here while she slowly walked out.
Gu Xiao didn’t receive Madam w.a.n.g’s gaze at all.
He was still immersed in the shock of the Marquis’ t.i.tle being confiscated, and didn’t want to believe this cruel truth. They were clearly about to split up, and his father would soon be able to hand the t.i.tle down to him. How could they be stripped of the Marquis t.i.tle!
Madam w.a.n.g slowly walked down the stone steps and turned around to look into the hall. The more she thought about it, the more fl.u.s.tered she became. Her heart was still in a mess.
She waved at the maidservant beside her and instructed in a low voice, “Tell Third Miss…”
As soon as the maidservant left, Gu Jian walked over with a dark expression. His entire body emitted a sinister aura, and not far behind him was the old woman who had been ordered by the patriarch to call for help.
“Marquis…”
Madam w.a.n.g hurriedly went up to her, wanting to ask what was going on. However, Gu Jian looked at her and didn’t stop. He walked past her and entered the main hall without looking back.
Madam w.a.n.g had just been reprimanded by the patriarch and was already in a fit of anger. At this moment, she was ignored by Gu Jian. She was so angry that she lost all rationality and couldn’t care less about her manners. She couldn’t help but stomp her feet.
Gu Jian lifted his robe and stepped over the threshold. He happened to hear the patriarch say disdainfully,”… The censor impeached Gu Jian on the spot to seize the family a.s.sets and not allow his nephew to marry into the family. He even said nonsense in front of His Majesty and wanted to kill his nephew…”
Gu Jian’s face darkened even more and he clenched his fists tightly.
As he stood at the entrance, the patriarch and the elders naturally saw him. The patriarch only asked him coldly, “Am I wrong?”
Gu Jian didn’t say a word. His expression was tense, and his thin lips were pursed like iron. He sat down in his seat with a straight face.
At this moment, silence meant admission.
Everyone felt as if they had been soaked in a cold lake. Their limbs and hearts turned cold. They were anxious and fl.u.s.tered, but they couldn’t help but feel a little glad.
G.o.d knew that the Emperor had almost made their Gu family unable to take the imperial examination for three generations. In comparison, just s.n.a.t.c.hing the t.i.tle was already a light punishment.
They were just trying to look on the bright side.
The elders were all on the brink of tears. Grief, panic, frustration, confusion, anxiety, and so on filled their hearts.
Originally, their family had a n.o.ble t.i.tle and wasn’t on the same level as the wealthy gentry in the capital.
Follow closely behind heavy-laden wagons, as aristocrats, not only could they be exempted from taxes and conscription, but they also had all kinds of preferential treatment in their future. It was extremely convenient for them to enter the military camp or the few academies in the capital.
To be more realistic, even if the clansmen provoked the officials, the imperial capital would be more polite to the Gu clan on account of the Marquis Household.
But now, it was all gone.
The Gu family had become an ordinary family.
This was all because of Gu Jian and Madam Gu!
Gu Yao, Gu Xuan, and their sons’ achievements on the battlefield back then were squandered by this mother and son!
Just now, Madam w.a.n.g had said that Gu Yuan was a prodigal. The prodigal was clearly Gu Jian!
Even Gu Xiao looked at Gu Jian with a reproachful gaze. He gripped the armrest of the chair so tightly that he almost crushed it.
Gu Jian felt as if he had been publicly executed, and his expression was extremely stiff.
He still didn’t answer the patriarch’s question, and only said unhappily, “Let’s split up quickly.”
He straightened his neck and raised his chin. His voice was as cold as ice.
His commanding and arrogant att.i.tude made the elders in the hall even more unhappy. They felt that Gu Jian had caused the Gu family to be in such a state, but he still didn’t reflect.
The atmosphere in the hall became even more tense and cold as winter.
The patriarch looked around at everyone present and finally met Gu Jian’s dark eyes. He said firmly, “Then we ll split.”
They had to be split.
If they didn’t split now, Gu Yuan would be implicated.
“How do we split?” Gu Yanfei, who was drinking tea by herself, suddenly interrupted and asked in a clear and pleasant voice.
Gu Jian was annoyed when he heard Gu Yanfei’s voice. He frowned and thought to himself, Didn’t we already agree on the division just now?!
He turned to look at Gu Yanfei and scolded angrily, “You have no right to speak here!”
Gu Yanfei wasn’t angry. Instead, she smiled and didn’t even look at Gu Jian. Instead, she turned to look at Gu Yuan on the other side and revealed a faint smile that was as bright as spring and as bright as the sun. She said obediently, “Big Brother, you still have to work later. Don’t delay your work.”
He didn’t mention that Chu Yi had given him a day off. Instead, he followed his sister’s words as if nothing had happened and said, “I still have work to do. It’s time to leave.”
“…” When the patriarch heard this, he couldn’t help but look at Gu Yuan.
The handsome young man in front and the exasperated middle-aged man on the other side could be said to be a world of difference. One was the rising sun, and the other was the dark dusk.
The patriarch stared deeply at Gu Yuan, his thoughts floating.
From what the Emperor and the Eldest Prince had said just now, Gu Yuan had contributed to the rescue at Chengtian Gate that day. He had a bright future and would definitely be put in an important position by the Eldest Prince.
If the Gu family wanted to regain this t.i.tle, they still had to rely on Gu Yuan.
The t.i.tle.
Thinking of the t.i.tle, the patriarch’s heart heated up. It was as if he had been injected with vitality and his spirit had risen again.
After thinking for a long time, he finally made a decision in his heart, and his eyes became firm and steady.
The fallen family was like a serious illness that still needed to be treated with heavy medicine. If the family wanted to rise again, they had to cut the Gordian knot.
The patriarch put down his hand and said solemnly, “When Uncle Yao was alive, he had set the family rules. If the descendants are unfilial and lose the t.i.tle, they can no longer be the head of the family.”
“Today, the second branch lost the t.i.tle. In the future, your family business should be inherited by the eldest branch.”
“Other than the widow’s third branch, the other branches will all be separated.”
The patriarch already had a plan in his heart. His tone was firm, and he looked like he wanted to cut the Gordian knot. He instructed the old woman to call Fourth Master Gu and Fifth Master Gu over.
The patriarch’s words were like a bolt of lightning that struck Gu Jian ruthlessly, but also like a dagger that stabbed straight into his heart.
A surge of anger suddenly rushed to his head. He asked the patriarch angrily, “On what basis?!”
Gu Jian was about to go crazy.
If the eldest branch inherited the family business, didn’t that mean that their branch would be expelled from here and gradually become a side branch?!
No, absolutely not!