The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Gu Ruzhu was lectured by her mother. The upbringing and sense of shame engraved in her bones made her speechless. Her face was so hot that she said, "Mother..."

She thought about how much her mother had paid for her divorce and how much blame her mother had to bear from the Gu family to bring her back from her husband's home.

At that time, she was covered in wounds and almost died at the hands of her ex-husband. She thought she had no chance to survive, but her mother gave her a chance to live again, like a god descending from heaven.

Madam Gu was very angry. "I am making this clear today. No matter if it is Lord Jian'an or Prince Consort Haiyan, you are not allowed to even think about becoming a concubine."

She thought about it and analyzed it, "It's the Marquis of Jian'an! This dynasty does not allow the prince consort to take concubines, so you chose the Marquis of Jian'an. He is young and promising, and he only has a principal wife, and the back house is empty... Ha, I didn't know that my daughter's abacus beads were about to fall on his face."

Gu Ruzhu lowered her head even more, opened her mouth to say something in defense, but found it difficult to speak.

This was the first time that Madam Gu spoke so harshly after her daughter came home after the divorce. "You are my daughter, and I know what you are up to even if you turn your eyes. The other person is a rare talent, one in a million, and you are happy about it, but that is all your own business behind closed doors. But if you have inexplicable thoughts and do everything you can to get close to him, that is mean. Do you remember?"

Gu Ruzhu was scolded so much that her face turned red.

Nothing escapes the mother's eyes.

My mother guessed every one of them correctly.

She did not want to make the relationship between the two parties more complicated because of her secret love at first sight. If her mother married Master Shi, she and Lord Jian'an would become siblings, and it would never be possible.

Gu Ruzhu bowed her head and knelt down, "Don't be angry, mother. It was my daughter who was thinking the wrong thing."

In the past, Mrs. Gu would feel distressed when her daughter knelt down. But today, she hardened her heart, "Think about it, why did you divorce and go home? Isn't it because your husband sent people to the backyard every few days to make you unhappy? He also beat you indiscriminately because of the concubine, but why do you want to be a concubine for others?"

Gu Ruzhu whispered, "Mother, do you think that with my current status, I can still marry into someone's family and become their first wife?"

"So what if you don't want to get married? My Gu family can support you!" Madam Gu frowned. "If you wanted to be a concubine, I shouldn't have let you go home in the first place. Go back and rest, confine yourself to self-reflection for a month, and if you can figure it out, take the merchant ship to Chang'an County next month. If you can't figure it out, I will send you back to Ganzhou and let you fend for yourself. Don't lead your brothers and sisters astray!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Ruzhu's eyes turned red. She kowtowed to her mother and walked out of the room with tears in her eyes.

The old maid standing outside the house came in to help Madam Gu wash and dress. She couldn't help but say, "Master Shi's son is indeed one in a million. No wonder Miss fell in love with him at first sight. If Miss..."

Madam Gu raised her eyes and glanced at the old nanny. "You watched Zhu'er grow up. I understand that you love her. But our Gu family must never do such an ungrateful thing."

The old nanny sighed, "Master Shi originally had many concubines, and his son will have to take concubines sooner or later. Our eldest lady also has this wish, right?"

Madam Gu angrily threw the pearl hairpin on her head onto the dressing table. "Not to mention that the Marquis has a clear mind and is not a womanizer. He also loves his wife and it is impossible for him to take a concubine. Even if he wants to take a concubine, it must not be from my Gu family."

The old lady was surprised, "Why?"

"Why?" Madam Gu said in a loud voice, "I have worked so hard to earn such a large fortune, not for my daughter to be anyone's concubine! It doesn't matter if she divorces and goes home, I can support her, but she can't be anyone's concubine! Especially not the Marquis' concubine!"

The Marquis' wife looked soft-hearted, but she was a powerful character. She was also the kind of person who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment. If anyone knew that her daughter Gu Ruzhu had such thoughts, they would never have any contact with her again. This was one of the reasons.

Secondly, the couple was young and in love, exchanging glances while strolling in the garden. The marquis's eyes almost never left his wife, and anyone who approached such a man would only bring disgrace upon himself.

Although her Gu family was a merchant family, they also educated their children according to propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame.

The old nanny was even more puzzled. After thinking about it, she still didn't ask.

Madam Gu was too lazy to talk any more. She knew that the old nanny wanted to ask, since the Gu family had earned such a large fortune, why did she have to wrong herself and have a fake marriage with Shi Chengxuan?

She recalled the day when Shi Chengxuan saved the Gu family from danger.

She offered a thousand taels of silver as a thank you, but Shi Chengxuan refused.

She felt uneasy and tried several times to find out what flaws he had so that she could find them as a thank you gift.

Shi Chengxuan actually said during a drinking session, "If you really want to thank me, then when I am deserted by my friends one day, give me a place to stay."

Madam Gu will always remember the dejection and despair in his eyes when he said those words.

Later she found out that Mr. Shi's daughter and son were not close to him and did not forgive him for various reasons, so they drove him from the capital to Ganzhou.

Madam Gu didn't know the reason at the time, but later she made some inquiries and found out that many major events that shocked the capital had happened in Lord Shi's family.

She would not be a peacemaker. She always knew one thing: never teach others to be kind without experiencing their suffering.

The reason why Mr. Shi’s son and daughter are not close to their father is the cause and effect between them.

And Shi Chengxuan had indeed been grateful to the Gu family.

Shi Chengxuan came to her that day and asked if she could fulfill her promise and give him a place to stay.

Madam Gu replied without hesitation, "If you, Lord Shi, do not abandon us, the Gu family will always have you as a shelter from the wind and rain."

In fact, she was grateful to everyone who helped her in adversity, not just Shi Chengxuan. She was grateful to everyone who helped her, regardless of gender, age or status.

As long as she can do it and it does not violate the morality she knows, she will do her best to repay the other party. Who doesn't have difficult times?

Madam Gu sent the seedlings of the colorful flowers to the Marquis' Mansion and the Young Master's Mansion, and also brought a gardener to help with the planting.

The two families had to interact with the Gu family and were quite close. Mrs. Gu would occasionally bring her son with her, but she would never bring her daughter with her, for fear that she would have some inappropriate thoughts.

Tang Chujun and Madam Gu also met each other, and both of them strangely developed a liking for each other and agreed to visit each other more often in the future.

Upon hearing the news, Shi Chengxuan was furious and kept on talking, "She, Tang Chujun, is really interesting! She even wants to snatch a woman from me!"

Chang Wu found it funny, "Master, do you want to listen to what you are saying? If this gets out, the princess will scold you again."

Shi Chengxuan lay there like a salted fish, "Let her scold me, it's not the first day she scolds me. No matter what I do, it's wrong."

Chang Wu lowered his voice and said, "Master, I got some news. I heard that His Majesty went to the Young Master's Mansion today. If you went there, I'm afraid you would have a big surprise."

"What big surprise could there be?"

"Hey, maybe His Majesty will restore your official position for the sake of Princess Haiyan?"

Shi Chengxuan thought about it, and jumped up from the bed, full of energy, "Let's go and take a look. Even if I don't get my official position back, it's always good to be familiar to His Majesty. I'll have something to brag about when I go out..."