118 Noble Rank
In her two lives, Gu Yanfei had never seen Gu Ce. Her brother had personally told her about her father in her previous life.
Eight years ago, his father’s head was placed in a box as a spoil of war by the State of Yue. It was sent all the way to the capital to demonstrate to the late Emperor.
The tragic death of his father was no different from a heavy blow to the young Gu Yuan. He was extremely sad. What angered him even more was that his father had suffered such humiliation after his death and that his bones were incomplete.
After that, an even greater blow came.
After Madam Gu heard the news, she immediately personally wrote a memorial to apologize. She righteously reprimanded her eldest son, Gu Ce, for being disloyal to the country, unfilial to his parents, and violating the teachings of the ancestors. She requested the late Emperor to remove the eldest branch from the Gu family.
Even after the incident, Madam Gu had once privately explained to the young Gu Yuan that the reason why she went to the memorial was to abandon the carriage to protect the general and prevent the Marquis Mansion from being confiscated.
Back then, Gu Yuan was only nine years old. To him, Madam Gu’s actions were like abandoning the eldest branch, and had also engraved an eternal scar in his heart.
Perhaps eight years ago, Madam Gu was Gu Yuan’s good grandmother, but with Gu Ce’s death, everything had changed.
With Gu Ce gone, the Marquis Mansion was no longer Gu Yuan’s home, and his former relatives had all changed beyond recognition.
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at his sister’s fingers holding his cuff. His heart rippled with the swaying cuff.
He smiled at his sister, feeling much calmer.
His father was gone, but he now had a sister. They could help each other now.
A cold wind suddenly blew open the loosely closed western window, making a creaking sound. The little maidservant was shocked and quickly closed the window, then secretly looked at Madam Gu’s expression.
Madam Gu’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot, as if she did not notice.
She felt as if her throat was being strangled. She wanted to say that Gu Yanfei was presumptuous, but she could not say a word. She was so angry that she was trembling.
In the left room, no one spoke for a while. Gradually, even the screams in the green gauze cabinet became weaker. Finally, there was complete silence.
There was dead silence inside and outside the house. It was so quiet that Madam Gu could almost hear her heartbeat.
The curtain of the green gauze cabinet was knocked back as Granny Li came out with the decrepit Old Physician Li. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his cuff and smelled strongly of medicine.
Not wanting outsiders to see her as a joke, Madam Gu quickly composed herself. When she faced Old Physician Li, she had the high and mighty air of an old consort.
“Doctor, how’s the Marquis’s injured arm?” When her voice came out, Madam Gu realized that her voice was so hoarse, rough, and old.
Old Physician Li bowed respectfully to Madam Gu and said, “Madam, the Marquis’s right shoulder is fine, but it’s dislocated. I’ve already reattached it.”
Madam Gu had just heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Old Physician Li say another “but” after taking a deep breath.
Madam Gu’s heart skipped a beat again.
“But,” Old Physician Li said with a sigh, “the bone in the Marquis’s right forearm is completely broken. Just now, I also reattached the broken bone for the Marquis. As the saying goes, it takes 100 days to break a bone. If this bone wants to grow back, it will probably take three to four months to recover. Even if it recovers, I’m afraid it won’t be able to hold a knife in the future.”
In fact, Old Physician Li was still a little tactful. He only said that Gu Jian’s right hand could not dance with knives and swords in the future. In fact, according to his decades of medical experience, Gu Jian’s right hand would probably not be able to exert any strength in the future, and it would even be difficult for him to write.
“What did you say?!” Madam Gu subconsciously raised her voice, as if she had been struck by lightning.
Their Dingyuan Marquis Household was established by martial law.
Gu Jian was now the deputy commander-in-chief. Now that his hand was broken and he could not hold a knife, he was equivalent to a cripple. How could he stay in the army?!
Once Gu Jian left the army, their Dingyuan Marquis Household would only have an empty title and a pretentious front.
Madam Gu’s heart skipped a beat. Her heart ached for her second son, but she also felt as cold as ice.
Before Old Physician Li could say anything, Madam Wang’s sharp voice was the first to ring out. “Mother, that quack actually said that the Marquis’s hand is… crippled.”
Madam Wang walked out of the jade cabinet with red eyes. She could not see anyone else at all and cried sadly at Madam Gu, no longer as graceful and dignified as usual.