Chapter 49: I Will Definitely Not Disappoint You

  Gu Chao Bei thought that Shen Gui Yan might have used up all her good luck on him, so this time and last time when something happened, she was the one who ended up being unlucky.

  He got up and ran out without saying another word.

  "Hey, I haven't finished speaking yet!" Yuwen Changqing stood up and said: "That's the Queen Mother's order, you'd better listen to it!"

  He didn't come to find Gu Zhaobei for nothing today, but was entrusted by the Empress herself to "console" the newly appointed Gu Shilang. The lecture wasn't even finished yet, what reason is there to let him leave?

  Yuwen Changqing also chased out.

  The two of them were riding horses and running very fast, but when they returned to the mansion, the boards had almost been beaten up.

  Shen Guiyan's expression was still calm, but the sweat on his forehead kept dripping down, and his hands were clenched tightly. The board was made of solid wood, and it would hurt even if he didn't use much force to hit him, let alone hitting him repeatedly with all his might.

  The jade fan beside her had red eyes and kept kowtowing to Mrs. Gu, while Mrs. Gu was calm and serene, stroking the jade bangle on her hand.

  "Halt!" Gu Zhaobei shouted loudly from a distance, rushing into the main hall to stop the family servant holding the board.

  "Stop him!" Mrs. Gu was startled and hastily waved her hand, and five or six servants rushed up to block Gu Zhaobei's path.

  "The family law is not yet complete, how can you interrupt?" Madame Gu looked at Gu Zhaobei and slapped the table, saying: "You are also becoming more and more unscrupulous. Even if you have already entered officialdom, after all, you are still a descendant of my Gu family, and you don't even follow the ancestral rules?"

  The family rules are very strict, and during the execution of the family rules, no interruptions are allowed. Even if someone is beaten by mistake, they have to wait until the beating is finished before speaking out. The wooden boards used for punishment are usually placed in the ancestral hall, and are not ordinary wood.

  When Mrs. Guo led Shen Guiyan to the main hall, she saw that a servant had already gone to report the news. She didn't stop him and knew that with this coming and going, family law must have been applied, and even if Guo Zhaobei came back to intercept, it would be useless.

  Gu Zhao Bei's eyes widened slightly, Shen Gui Yan didn't turn her head to look at him, but her body relaxed a lot. The next board came down again, with a heavy muffled sound, hitting her so that she leaned forward slightly, but she supported herself on the ground with one hand.

  He took a deep breath, and with a swift kick, he sent the person blocking his way flying. A servant from the side rushed over to grab his arm, and he shouted: "Chase the cloud!"

  The servant who was following behind stopped the house slave from hitting, and Madame Gu stood up abruptly, saying: "You dare to raise your hand in front of me?"

  He let out a cold snort and with a stern face, brushed aside the crowd of servants. He walked forward, half-kneeling beside Shen Guiyan, lowering his head to look at her: "Yan'er?"

  "There are still two more." Shen Guiyan gritted her teeth, her head spinning and her eyes half-closed, muttering: "You didn't come earlier, now that you're late, it's better to let her finish the fight."

  She can still speak, Gu Zhaobei let out a sigh of relief and supported her shoulders, saying: "Being able to avoid two blows is two blows, don't say anymore, I'll take you back."

  Shen Guiyan stiffly shook her head, her voice barely audible to Gu Zhaobei alone: "You're stupid, now that you've left, all the previous efforts have been in vain."

  "Do you want her to finish hitting?" Gu Zhaobei frowned: "Crazy?"

  Shen Guiyan couldn't say a word, she just closed her eyes and shook her head. She had already suffered so much that she was numb to the pain on her back. Whether she was beaten more or less didn't make a difference anymore. Since it had come to this point, it would be better to let her finish the punishment, complete the family law, and then she could go find the prime minister to plead for justice. Otherwise, if they stopped the punishment halfway, it would be Gu Zhaobei who would end up being punished instead.

  "Someone, please open the door for Fourth Master." Madam Gu's face turned iron-green as she said: "I'm not dead yet, and the rules of this household can't be disrupted. No matter if he's a minister or whatever, even if he becomes a prime minister, as long as he's in the Gu household, he must listen to me!"

  Jia Nu heard this and immediately came up to pull Gu Zhaobei, who stiffened his body and stared at Shen Guiyan. The latter shook her head slightly again, and only then did he reluctantly allow them to drag him aside.

  Yuwen Chang stood quietly at the door, and everyone's eyes in the hall were on Shen Guiyan and Gu Zhaobei, no one had noticed him yet. He looked at Shen Guiyan's back kneeling on the ground, thinking she was a really strange woman, enduring so many beatings, others watching would feel pain, but she could still kneel upright.

  Two slaps on the face and it was over. The family servant had been called back, and Gu Zhaobei walked back to Shen Guiyan's side and squatted down again.

  "Are you okay?"

  Shen Guiyan didn't say anything and knelt there motionless.

  Gu Zhaobei sighed and turned his head to look at Madame Gu, saying: "What great fault has Yan'er committed that Mother must invoke the family law?"

  Mrs. Gu's face still didn't look good, she slapped Shen Guiyan a few times, but she didn't make a sound, and it didn't seem to bring her any relief at all.

  "Yah was pushed by her and lost the child, a family law is just a small punishment."

  Did Shen Guiya have a miscarriage? Gu Zhaobei raised an eyebrow, just about to speak again, when the maid from the East Wing slowly walked in and said: "Milady, Young Madam has woken up and says she wants to talk to you."

  Mrs. Gu nodded: "Then I'll go first, and you take Yan'er back to the North Wing. According to the punishment, she can't leave the mansion."

  "Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

  Mrs. Gu supported the hand of her maid and walked out of the main hall, only to see Yuwen Changqing beside her. However, she rarely left the house and was unfamiliar with this newly risen star in the imperial court. Looking at his attire, she hesitated for a moment before stopping: "Who is this?"

  "Under the imperial edict of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, I came to speak with Minister Gu, but before we could finish our conversation..."

  The Queen's person? Mrs. Gu's eyes lit up, and she immediately put on a smile: "Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. There's something going on in the mansion, and I was called to take a look. The master will probably be back soon too. Would you like to move to the main hall and sit for a bit?"

  "No need." Yuwen Changqing smiled and said: "I'm just here to look for Minister Gu's servant."

  A faint smile on her face, Mrs. Gu pursed her lips and didn't say anything else, just bowed and left.

  Gu Shilang, Gu Shilang, before he could even officially become the attendant, there were already people from the empress following him around? He's really lucky, but this way, isn't Dong'er's chance of taking back this position getting smaller?

  Mrs. Gu thought to herself, she should also help Dong'er.

  "How did you bear it?" Gu Zhaobei carefully carried her to the North House, "The family law I suffered when I was young, five times almost made me faint, and you actually endured twenty times."

  "Do you want to know?" Shen Guiyan closed her eyes, her breathing as gentle as a wandering thread.

  "Uh-huh." Gu Zhaobei nodded: "Don't fall asleep, talk to me."

  Shen Guiyan forced a smile: "At that time, I was kneeling on the ground, and my heart was counting all the time. She hit me once, and I went to her mother's. Hit me twice, and I went to her grandmother's. Hit me three times, and I went to her great-grandmother's... This method is written in books, just now twenty times, and her family's twenty generations should have been greeted by me. Didn't expect it to be effective, not so painful anymore, haha."

  Gu Zhaobei was at a loss for words, laughing and crying: "What kind of books have you been reading?"

  "I've read all sorts of books." Shen Guiyan's voice grew softer: "Novels, strange tales, they have everything. My favorite is 'The Legend of the White Snake', where the young master says: In this life, I'll marry you, cherish you, love you. Even if we have plain food and drink, even if our days are dull, I will never betray you."

  Gu Zhoubei was taken aback.