Shen Zhongbai had never fallen in love with Gu Zhihua. No matter what the woman he brought back looked like and what position she was given, Gu Zhihua didn’t have the right to intervene. After all, for Shen Zhongbai, she was even inferior to a servant.

“Where shall I return? Can the Prince’s Mansion shelter me?” Gu Zhihua wiped her tears. She thought naively that as long as she married Shen Zhongbai, she could live a good life, and he would fall in love with her sooner or later.

She was too naive, and now she knew something haven’ t gone well as she wished.

Qing Luo was helpless. She had served Gu Zhihua for many years, during which she had never seen her behave smartly. She usually played tricks, but when true wisdom was needed, she was too foolish to spare her blushes and preserve her dignity.

“Madam, let’s return to the Prime Minister Mansion. Prime Minister Gu may be humiliated by what the Prince did. In my opinion, it’s better for you to go back. If the Prince goes to see you, it is good. If not, you can show him your determination at least. Perhaps, he will think highly of you.” Qing Luo said. She knew Gu Zhihua was in a muddle, so she thought she might be able to give her a good suggestion.

Gu Zhihua nodded suddenly. She could accept a suggestion from anyone now. Therefore, they set off instantly and went home when the sun was rising slowly.

Gu Qiang was sent to the Prime Minister Mansion that night. Perhaps because it was embarrassing, everyone kept his mouth shut wisely.

Prime Minister Gu had someone bring the message that he would live in the palace for a few days. Probably the Emperor felt sorry for him and decided to give him a treat.

The yard was cheerless. Gu Qiang was of a cold and quiet temperament. Now when she was sitting in the yard and fiddled with a book, she could only hear the surrounding chirps.

Ting Feng came out of the room, covered Gu Qiang with thick clothes, and said quietly, “My Lady, it’s dark. Please get inside the room.”

Unexpectedly, before Gu Qiang stood up, Chui Xue ran in from outside. She was out of breath as if something serious happened.

Chui Xue was not as composed as Ting Feng. When there was a trifle, she would be nervous for so long.

“What’s the matter?” Gu Qiang stood up, stretched herself, and asked indifferently.

“I have heard from the front yard that the Old Lady seemed to be at her last gasp because of a heart attack.” None of them in the yard liked the Old Lady, and her serious illness was not unexpected. There was nothing to be surprised at. But the sudden news made the inexperienced girl nervous.

As the eldest granddaughter of the Old Lady, Gu Qiang had to show up. Therefore, she wrapped herself tightly in thick clothes and told Gusu Liang in the inner room helplessly, “Liang, go with me. We’ll be busy in the following days.”

Soon, Gusu Liang put on her clothes and walked out of the room with a drowsy look. It seemed that she just woke up.

When arriving at the Old Lady’s yard in the darkness, they saw it was dark and wasn’t ablaze with lights as Gu Qiang imagined. If the Old Lady would die soon, she would ask all her children and grandchildren to stay here because she liked to put on airs.

The old woman didn’t live a long life if she died now. People like her who always did evil things should die early. God treated everyone fairly. Even though she was evil and arrogant, she wouldn’t be able to do so for many days.

She signaled to Gusu Liang and then walked to the main hall.

Like a cat at night, Gusu Liang jumped to the tree near the wall and began to search around. She needed to get familiar with the surroundings, which was told by Shen Qianshan.

Gu Qiang just stayed for a short time in the main hall and then heard someone talking in the side hall. It was the voice of the Old Lady, which was quite unpleasant. After all, she had drained herself out just like a withered tree.

“I’m going to die. You’ve achieved what you wish, don’t you?” The Old Lady said in a hoarse voice. Hearing that, Gu Qiang’s heart trembled. Everything became meaningless when a person was about to die.

But when a young person was dying, what kind of courage did he need to face death?

Ye snorted quietly and wasn’t so respectful as expected. It seemed that she was impatient to continue pretending to respect the Old Lady. She said coldly, “Yes, old fool, you are about to die. Now you can’t fight against me, can you?”

Gu Qiang remained quiet. A servant girl wanted to greet Gu Qiang, but she was frightened by Gu Qiang’s action and retreated.

Was Ye so arrogant now? Even if the Old Lady was dying, what if it was just a trap set by her?

It was unknown if Ye couldn’t help exploding or she had never seemed to be respectful to the Old Lady.

Irritated by what Ye said, the Old Lady coughed heavily. It seemed that she wanted to drink water. Through the crack of the door, Gu Qiang saw Ye standing in front of the Old Lady, but she didn’t pass water to the latter. Instead, she swiped the cup to the ground and laughed in a different voice. She was sneering, but she sounded to be crying. She seemed to be helpless and desperate.

“Why bother? I’m dying. What’s the use of arguing with me about it? No matter who is right and who is wrong, it is unimportant now, isn’t it?” The Old Lady kept coughing and was out of breath. Through the crack, Gu Qiang found the Old Lady’s neck was tight and she looked purple.

Ye seemed to calm down. She told the Old Lady, “You still go too far and always do whatever you want. Have you considered that you asked for this ending?”

Though Ye just calmed down, she seemed to recall something, and her eyes became scarlet emotionally. Gu Qiang could just see her back. The surrounding darkness spread like fog at night. Her back trembled in the light which was neither bright nor dim.

“Ask for it? I… I’m going to die of old age.” The Old Lady coughed and laughed. Even if the death has come to her, she could accept her end, which touched Gu Qiang. If she entered now, the Old Lady might be rescued. Though it was not sure how long she could survive, a dying person would strive as long as she could survive for one more second, wouldn’t she?

Given the current situation, Gu Qiang didn’t plan to enter.

That was because she found something unusual. For example, Ye shook with anger and said in a trembling voice, “You know I hate your son and we are not compatible with each other. However, you hurt many people for your own interests. Now you see. The bitch Gu Qiang has been powerful enough in the Prime Minister Mansion. If she knows you schemed against her mother, do you think you can rest in peace?”

The air in the room seemed to get cold instantly. Gu Qiang stood quietly at the door and clenched her fists. She felt cold from head to toe. The death of her mother appeared to be inevitable. At that time, she was too young and didn’t know what kind of a woman her mother was in her heart and what stories she had. She just hated her mother for leaving her early.

That was why she fawned on Ye before. When everyone had parents, Gu Qiang must have hers. They should exist in her life as a part of it. Ye filled the gap. As a result, for a long time, Gu Qiang wasn’t clear about what a role the mother played.

Now hearing the dialogue between Ye and the Old Lady, she felt cold all over and wanted to enter and ask what happened in the past. But she stood there still. She felt her legs were limp and her heart was beating violently. She could even hear her heartbeat.

“I have never taken the bitch seriously. Gu Qiang is the same as her mother. She won’t be promising, but Gu Zhihua…” The Old Lady said. Then she sat up with difficulty and stared at Ye.

Perhaps because she was dying, she looked fierce, and her eyes were cold.

Looking at the eyes of the old woman, Ye wished to kill her, but she didn’t because she had a lot to argue with the Old Lady. That feeling smothered her in the chest like a wad of cotton.

“What about Zhihua?” Ye was nervous when her dear daughter was mentioned. The Old Lady laughed and then lay back on the bed, which was made of redwood. An oil lamp was lit beside her bed and the light flickered. In the light, her old face without makeup was scary.

“She was not born of my son. You thought I didn’t know. Before you married my son, you loved a man deeply and you were closely attached to each other. Soon after you got married, you gave birth to Gu Zhihua. My son was stupid, but I am clear about it. You can’t fool me.” Using too much strength, the Old Lady coughed again and huddled. Hearing her coughs, a servant girl rushed in, pushed Ye aside, and began to examine the Old Lady concernedly.

Ye was struck dumb, just standing there in a daze. Her eyes were cold, and her body was frozen. The servant girl almost pushed her to the ground. Luckily, her servant girl held her in time.

With the help of her servant, she walked out and ran across Gu Qiang who wanted to enter.

Gu Qiang looked pale. She wanted to dodge, but because the Old Lady coughed suddenly, all servant girls gathered here. It was ablaze with lights around. Gu Qiang bit her lips and felt confused by the whole thing, but she appeared as calm as the water. She nodded slightly to greet Yu.