Chapter 11: Eating from the Bowl and Watching from the Pot

Gu Chaodong was still standing outside the window, looking even more embarrassed than Gu Chaobei. Upon hearing this, the crowd didn't immediately investigate Gu Chaosi, but all turned to look at Gu Dage, the eldest son.

As the person who had just married Miss Five, why would he appear outside Shen Guiyan's window on their wedding night?

Madam Shen's face was stern as she said, "Eldest brother Gu, please come in and talk."

Gu Chaodong reluctantly raised the corners of his mouth, came in through the window, and brushed off the dust from his body. "Nephew... just came to take a look."

"What's there to look at?" Gu Chaobei, with a smile on his face, put his hand on Gu Chaodong's shoulder. "Could it be that big brother doesn't find the new bride attractive, so he came to visit Yan'er here?"

Caught in such a situation where he couldn't justify himself, Gu Chaodong's body stiffened, and he looked at Gu Chaobei with resentment. "Then what is fourth brother doing here?"

Only then did Shen Guiyan, who was lying on the bed, recover from her state of being a spectator and continued to sob, covering her face.

Gu Chaobei raised his eyebrows, released his elder brother, and sat on Shen Guiyan's bed. "Didn't you all see it? The bloodstains on the bed, and Yan'er's disheveled clothes. What else could it be for? I didn't want my brother to be too lonely on his wedding night, so I came early for the bridal night to keep him company. I didn't expect him to come here and be mistaken for a thief by me."

He said all this shamelessly, and the people in the room were already feeling a whirlwind of emotions, with expressions ranging from anger to confusion and embarrassment.

Luckily, it was just pretending to cry, so simply burying her face in the sheets would be enough. Otherwise, her fiery red face would surely be hard to hide. Shen Guiyan cursed Gu Chaobei for being shameless, but she had no choice at the moment and had to pretend that she had been violated, wanting to take some initiative. If she was accused of having an affair in the middle of the night, it would truly ruin her.

But Gu Chaobei was indeed able to play along, with his roguish appearance, sitting here without explanation, he indeed looked like a rake.

Mr. Shen took a few deep breaths and pointed at Gu Chaobei, "Gu Si, what you did is really... really..."

As if he couldn't catch his breath, Madam Shen quickly went up to support him, "Sir, don't be too angry, be careful of your health!"

The maidservants rushed up to help as well, but Mr. Shen seemed to be out of breath and suddenly passed out.

"Someone come! Take Sir back!" Madam Shen shouted in a panic.

This time things had become serious. The two brothers had frightened Mr. Shen to faint in the middle of the night. It wasn't something that could be resolved with just a few words.

As dawn approached, the Prime Minister Gu arrived at the Shen's residence early in the morning, accompanied by family rules.

Shen Guiya, red-eyed, followed him.

Gu Chaodong and Gu Chaobei were both kneeling in the Shen's hall, knowing that they had caused a big trouble. They both knelt with extremely good attitudes, waiting for the Prime Minister Gu to arrive.

"You unfilial brats!" Prime Minister Gu, holding a four-foot-long family rule, entered the house and fiercely struck Gu Chaobei.

Gu Chaobei winced in pain but remained motionless, not making a sound.

The Prime Minister was still not relieved, and he gave Gu Chaodong a blow and then handed over the family rule to the steward behind him, "Punish these two unfilial sons for me!"

Shen Guiyan sat on the side, having just finished breakfast when she saw this scene, and was so scared that she quickly got up and said, "Sir Prime Minister, please calm down."

The Prime Minister looked at her with regret in his eyes, "Miss Shen, it's my fault for not teaching my sons properly."

Shen Guiyan shook her head. In fact, Gu Chaobei hadn't done anything, and she had even stabbed him with a knife.

"Don't hit Chaodong," Shen Guiya came from behind and, seeing Gu Chaodong taking a few hits and sobbing, pounced on him. She sobbed, "Chaodong was forced to marry me. It's right that he couldn't let go of my third sister. He's done nothing wrong. Please, sir, understand!"

Gu Chaodong's body trembled and he looked back at her, "Yaya..."

With a generous air, Shen Guiya protected him, looking at the Prime Minister and saying, "I knew that Chaodong was coming here, and I asked him to convey my greetings to my third sister. He wouldn't do anything out of line, so please, sir, don't punish him."

Even the Prime Minister was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the Shen family's fifth daughter to be such a sentimental woman. Initially, he had many grievances, but now he found her much more pleasing to the eye.

He also couldn't bear to hit his eldest son, who had always been obedient and praised by everyone. Who would've thought he would do such foolish things?

"Alas." Since the daughter-in-law gave him a way out, he went along with it, "Dong'er hasn't done anything out of line. So, he'll be punished when he goes back. And what about Bei'er? You did a good deed. Dare to tell your father about it?"

Mr. Shen was still unconscious, and in the hall, there were only Shen Guiyan and a few maidservants, with no one daring to interrupt.

Gu Chaobei was struck five or six times on his back, gritting his teeth. "Who doesn't dare to acknowledge what they've done? Father, I want to marry the third Miss Shen."

"Nonsense!" Prime Minister Gu was angered again, "Even if you want to marry, you need my consent first. You didn't even go through the proper channels for the betrothal or the matchmaking. By tarnishing their reputation, where can I put the face of our Gu family if this news spreads?"

"Is face really that important?" Gu Chaobei laughed. "Father, you're just too concerned about appearances."

"You!" Prime Minister Gu was so angry that he stood up and took the family rule from the steward's hand to personally use it. "You unfilial son!"

"Smack!" The wide and hard bamboo cane struck his back, a sound that sent shivers down everyone's spines. Shen Guiyan stood by and watched Gu Chaobei kneel with a straight body. She couldn't help but take a step forward and say, "Sir Prime Minister, you don't need to use such severe punishment on the fourth Master Gu."

After saying this, she regretted it. This wasn't something that an innocent victim like her should say. What was she doing sympathizing with this scoundrel?

Prime Minister Gu stopped and Prime Minister's daughter Gu Zhao Bei also looked up in cold sweat, smiling gently and said, "Look, the third miss actually likes me quite a bit, doesn't she?"

Gu Zhao Dong was stunned and looked over in their direction. Shen Gui Yan's mouth twitched and she decisively stepped back and said, "Just kill him, a young lady should not speak too much."

This interruption made it awkward for Prime Minister Gu to continue. Gu Zhao Bei was still wearing Gu Zhao Dong's cloak, luckily it was black, so any blood seeping through wouldn't be visible. The clothing inside must have turned red long ago.

"How is Mr. Shen feeling?" Prime Minister Gu let go of family discipline and inquired.

Shen Gui Yan bowed and said, "Father is still bedridden."

Prime Minister Gu sighed and looked at her, saying, "I had hoped you would be the daughter-in-law of our Gu family, but I didn't expect so many unexpected incidents with this marriage. Now the situation has become like this… I will ask you first, are you willing to marry Bei as his wife?"

Shen Gui Yan lowered her eyes. She had thought about this question yesterday; she didn't have any other choice, did she? Marrying a true scoundrel was better than a false gentleman.

But there was an art to speech, she couldn't just answer straightforwardly. She could only follow the rules and say, "Yan has disappointed Prime Minister's deep affection. Now that her reputation is already tarnished, whether to marry or not is no longer something Yan can decide. As long as father decides, Yan will comply with the arrangements."

Prime Minister Gu relaxed and whispered, "You are a sensible girl. If you do not want to, and sought to take a way out, the friendship between me and Sir Shen may just end here."

Shen Gui Yan remained silent with her head down. It was impossible for her to die. So many bad people were living well, why should she die? If she had to die, she would take them down with her; at least she would have a companion on the way.

As for Gu Zhao Bei, she glanced at him. He still wore a mocking smile on his face, seemingly unafraid of death, and seemed to be in considerable pain. But perhaps it was due to the rising sun outside, he also looked somewhat attractive.

She needed someone to help her out of this predicament, and he happened to come. It was also considered fate. Since there was fate, why not give it a try? The false gentleman in her heart would also need someone to help her let go.

Prime Minister Gu went to the main hall to visit Mr. Shen. Several young ladies and aunts in the hall followed. The two young masters of the Gu family had no orders and remained kneeling in place.

"You want to marry him?" Gu Zhao Dong looked up at Shen Gui Yan with an anxious expression. "Yan, how can you marry him?"

Shen Gui Yan continued to sit on the side, smiling and said, "The eldest young master of the Gu family can remarry, why can't I marry someone else? And I already have an intimate connection with the fourth young master, so whether or not to marry, I have to, don't I?"

Gu Zhao Bei snorted and propped himself up on the ground, his back burning, causing his face to turn pale. But seeing his elder brother's expression, he felt better. "Big brother, you've got a good thing in your hand, don't gawk at what's in the pot. After all, your sister-in-law is right beside you."