SGEIRS -Chapter 340 The Truth Behind It

Gu Xiuming?

The moment everyone heard the name, they were shocked and even found it hard to believe. After all, there had been no conflicts between Xuanyi and Gu Xiuming, not even an argument. Why would Gu Xiuming do something to harm Xuanyi?

Xuanyi was stunned and instinctively retorted, “Stop talking nonsense! I have no grudge with him. Why would he want to harm me? Tell me—who exactly are you trying to cover for? You randomly accuse someone who’s been exiled, just so they can’t defend themselves from afar?”

Madam Zhang also found it hard to believe. She said, “Yunxiang, at this point, you’d better tell the truth.”

Yunxiang shook her head repeatedly. “Madam, Miss, everything I said is true. It was he who made me do this.”

Madam Zhang still suspected that Yunxiang was protecting the real mastermind. She even thought that that scoundrel son-in-law was the true culprit, who, wanting to marry someone as easily controlled as Xuanyi, bribed Xuanyi’s maid. She said, “He’s already been sentenced to exile. You can say whatever you want, but do you have any proof that what you’re saying is true?”

Yunxiang immediately raised three fingers and swore, “I swear, every word I speak is true. If even a single word is false, may heaven strike me with lightning and may I die an unfortunate death.”

She put her hand down and continued, “I truly didn’t mean to harm Miss. At first, when the previous heir came to me to arrange things between Miss and the young master, he only said that he was friends with the young master. When he learned that the young master had feelings for Miss, he couldn’t bear to see his friend troubled by love. And the Wu’an Marquis Mansion wasn’t bad at all. He only wanted me to say a few good words in front of Miss to help him.”

Xuanyi asked sharply, “You’re my maid. Why would you do things for him? What exactly did he give you in return?”

Guiltily, Yunxiang lowered her head and replied, “My elder brother got into some trouble, and the previous heir helped resolve it. There is proof of this, and since the Marquis is the Minister of Justice, it wouldn’t be difficult to verify. I owed the previous heir a debt of gratitude. I thought that since the young master loved Miss so deeply, he would treat her well, so I agreed to do it.”

“Later, when I saw Miss struggling at her husband’s home and realized that the Wu’an Marquis Mansion wasn’t as good as I had thought, I began to suspect he might have been deliberately plotting against Miss. But I didn’t dare to say anything. Later, when my brother needed silver to marry a wife, he cautiously approached the previous heir. To prevent me from revealing the matter, he even gave my brother some silver, which confirmed my suspicions.”

Upon hearing this, everyone believed her seventy percent. Such matters could indeed be verified through subtle clues. For Gu Jingxi, the Minister of Justice, it wouldn’t be difficult at all. A maid wouldn’t dare to lie, but why would Gu Xiuming do this?

Yunxiang continued, “Concubine Li was also aware of this. I also have physical evidence. At the time, when I went out to buy something for Miss, I ran into Concubine Li on the street. I had a sudden thought and asked her for a favor, hoping to leave behind some proof in case the truth ever came out. It’s a hairpin, and I’ve kept it ever since, so that one day it could serve as evidence. The maid who originally served in Qingyu Pavilion should have seen Concubine Li wearing this hairpin.”

After saying this, she took out a gold butterfly hairpin inlaid with pearls from a hidden pocket in her sleeve. This was something she had asked Zhou Yun to bring out of the Wu’an Marquis Mansion at the time, and she hadn’t imagined it would actually come in handy now.

Gu Jingxi glanced at the hairpin and then gave Zhou Yun a knowing look.

Zhou Yun immediately understood, took the hairpin from Yunxiang, and went to find the maid who had previously served Concubine Li to verify it.

Xuanyi, however, was stunned. She couldn’t understand why Gu Xiuming would harm her. The claim that the scoundrel and Gu Xiuming were friends was impossible. After her marriage, she had never seen the scoundrel and Gu Xiuming interact closely—they weren’t friends at all.

Meng Jinyao looked at Yunxiang kneeling on the ground and then at Xuanyi. In a flash of realization, she recalled an incident, which she had witnessed with her own eyes.

One day, when neither Xuanyi nor Concubine Li was paying attention, the two collided. Xuanyi, angry that Concubine Li didn’t watch where she was going, had a confrontation with her and even slapped Concubine Li hard.

Perhaps that was when the grudge was formed. Gu Xiuming loved Concubine Li deeply and considered her precious. Seeing the woman he loved wronged, he became angry and thought of taking revenge.

At the same time, Xuanyi was beginning to consider marriage. Marriage was a lifelong matter for a woman, and marrying the wrong person could ruin her life. Gu Xiuming, wanting to punish Concubine Li, had many ways to do so but chose such a vicious method instead—a truly malicious heart.

Thinking of this, Meng Jinyao suddenly said, “Xuanyi, I remember seeing you clash with Concubine Li once, and you even hit her. Could it be that because of that, Gu Xiuming, feeling sorry for Concubine Li, held a grudge against you and plotted against you? At that time, he and Concubine Li were inseparable and had no conflicts. He probably did this as revenge against you.”

When she finished speaking, everyone was shocked. They had now seen Gu Xiuming’s true nature. Given his temperament, he really would do such a malicious thing. Xuanyi had acted rashly in hitting someone, but to ruin her entire life over a single slap—a method of revenge so extreme—it was chilling.

With Third Aunt’s reminder, Xuanyi also suddenly remembered the long-forgotten incident. She murmured in disbelief, “B-but I’m his cousin! Concubine Li is just a concubine with no standing. How could he treat me like this over a concubine?”

At this point, Madam Zhang realized for the first time that her way of raising her child had problems. She had raised Xuanyi to be spoiled and arrogant. Because of this temperament, Xuanyi had provoked the wrong person and ultimately suffered revenge and punishment.

Gu Jingsheng, angry, said, “You foolish girl! That Concubine Li isn’t an ordinary concubine! She is his precious one. For her, he could even commit the disgraceful act of elopement. How much more so to take revenge on you, his cousin? Why on earth did you provoke Concubine Li? Did bullying her make you feel noble?”

Xuanyi covered her face and cried bitterly. She truly hadn’t expected that a single slap could lead to her being schemed against, marrying that scoundrel. Gu Xiuming must have known that scoundrel’s true nature and had plotted against her as revenge. No wonder—no wonder her engagement to that scoundrel, which everyone in the family except her father, who only saw the benefits, disapproved of, was supported by Gu Xiuming, who praised the scoundrel and congratulated her on finding a good husband.

Madam Zhang’s heart ached for her daughter. She stepped forward and held her in her arms, mother and daughter crying together.

Not long after, Zhou Yun returned and had confirmed with the maid that the gold butterfly hairpin inlaid with pearls did indeed belong to Concubine Li. The maid had seen Concubine Li wear it several times. This also indirectly proved that Gu Xiuming was the mastermind. Otherwise, a maid from the Wu family’s household would not have dared to take orders from Concubine Li, who wasn’t favored by the Gu family.

Old Madam Gu’s expression grew grave. The matter was indeed done by Xiuming, but he had already been exiled to Yazhou and removed from the family registry. As elders, they couldn’t seek justice for Xuanyi or punish Xiuming. What were they to do now?