That night, the lamps in the east wing burned bright until dawn.

Gu Jun sat in the main seat, one hand propping up his head, brows tightly knit, his expression grave. Madam Gu sat below to his right, still wiping away tears without pause—she hadn’t sobbed aloud, but the tears simply would not stop falling.

Gu Suying stood obediently behind her, occasionally patting her mother’s back gently in comfort, though it did little good.

On the other side sat several of Gu Jun’s disciples, hall masters of the various branches of the Gu clan. Every one of them wore a solemn, heavy expression.

Family scandals were not meant to be spread abroad, but this had grown too large to contain. Though the Gu clan at large did not know the full truth, rumors were already spreading, forcing these hall masters to seal off the news—otherwise, even they themselves might never have learned how the affair had truly unfolded.

The room sat in silence. Everyone had sat there stiffly the whole night; with Gu Jun saying nothing, no one dared speak first.

Finally, just as the sky was about to lighten, a guard rushed in from outside. “Reporting—”

“Reporting, my lord, my lady—the eldest young miss and young master Jiang have returned safely to the Jiang residence.”

Madam Gu shot to her feet. “What about Yuan’er? How is he? Is he still crying? Has he fallen asleep? Did he eat dinner?”

“The young master fell asleep partway there. He didn’t eat dinner,” the guard answered truthfully.

“That won’t do at all! He’s never once skipped dinner in his whole life!” Madam Gu grew more anxious, tears falling one after another.

Gu Jun said nothing, only waved his hand for the guard to withdraw.

“My lord… this won’t do. There’s no one to look after Yuan’er!” Madam Gu’s face was full of reluctance to let go.

“Yuan’er, Yuan’er—the boy is already six years old. What great harm could come from missing a meal or two?” Gu Jun finally spoke, his tone displeased and scolding. “He’s been spoiled by all of you since he was small! He has his own grandparents there, his own father and mother—how is there no one to look after him?”

“But… he’s still just a child!” Madam Gu said, choking on her words.

“When I was six years old, I was already the master of an entire hall!” Gu Jun finally raised his voice in anger.

At that, Madam Gu fell silent. However much her husband usually indulged her, however much he doted on her, once he was truly angry, she dared not act rashly.

The guard withdrew, and once the doors were shut, Gu Jun finally let out a long sigh. Now that he knew Gu Meiting and the others had returned safely to the Jiang household, it was time to deal with the real matter at hand.

He took a sip of tea and said flatly, “My lady, where are Imperial Physician Gu and Guard Yingzi?”

At those words, the room fell silent at once. Madam Gu’s tears stopped abruptly, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

“Speak!” Gu Jun thundered.

“I… had Old Li lock them in the cells at the foot of the mountain,” Madam Gu said quietly.

Gu Jun slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, pointing at her. “You! You! How dare you! Do you not know that Imperial Physician Gu watched Beiyue grow up? He is practically half a father to him!”

Madam Gu’s tears came pouring down again. “My lord, I didn’t imprison them—I only meant it to be temporary. My lord, it was truly the only option I had. Han Ziqing arrived so suddenly, and the conflict between the physician and his people and Meiting ran so deep, I was afraid they would go complain to her. My lord, can’t you see my heart in this? I only wanted, with all my heart, for Meiting to get along well with Han Ziqing!”

“Get along well? How could they possibly get along?” Gu Jun said coldly. A loving father shielded his daughter from the world’s insults in front of others, but behind closed doors, he had to be strict.

“I… how was I to know they’d start quarreling the moment they met, and that it would escalate to this? I only wanted to see her, exchange greetings, and then properly counsel Meiting, weigh the pros and cons for her—but… I never even got the chance!” Madam Gu explained.

“You know exactly what kind of temperament your daughter has. If you could truly talk sense into her, she would never have married down to Jiang Chen in the first place!” Gu Jun said, then sank heavily back into his chair.

“My lord, Meiting is simply that kind of person, you know this as well as I do. But even if Meiting was in the wrong here, even if we bear some blame for how we raised her—what about Han Ziqing? Look at the attitude she took!” Madam Gu asked earnestly.

Gu Jun propped his head up again and did not answer. He had seen with his own eyes everything Han Ziqing had done, and he had his own judgment on the matter.

“My lord, to speak honestly, Han Ziqing barely even counts as one of our Gu clan yet. Meiting wasn’t wrong—Beiyue hasn’t even inherited anything yet, and she hasn’t properly entered the family through the front door! What right does she have… what is she, exactly!” Madam Gu finally burst out in anger, all the resentment she’d been suppressing pouring out at once.

“My lord, we let an outsider use Beiyue against us and drove our own daughter away!” Madam Gu said, and then broke down sobbing.

Gu Meiting and Jiang Yuan were her bottom line. Once that line was crossed, she could no longer bring herself to care about anything else.

At the corner of her mouth, Gu Suying curved a cynical, mocking smile, muttering under her breath so quietly no one could hear, “She was always going to leave sooner or later. It’s hardly being driven out.”

Seeing that Gu Jun had nothing more to say, Madam Gu wanted to keep arguing.

Gu Jun immediately waved his hand for her to be silent. “My lady, with the abilities you and I have now, could we possibly stand against the Wuzheng in her hands? Are you counting on that useless Jiang Chen to protect our Gu clan?”

“She has ability, and so does Jun Beiyue—but that doesn’t mean she can disrespect her elders like this, act so tyrannically and monopolize power. If she’s like this now, what will she be like later, once she’s truly become the head of the household? Will the two of us old folks still have any place in the Gu clan?” Madam Gu shot back.

“Han Ziqing has indeed overstepped, gone too far, refused to yield even when she had the upper hand—I don’t expect much better from her going forward. But I believe that, never mind Han Ziqing, even Beiyue himself would not stop us from keeping in touch with Meiting. Neither of them has the right to. Meiting may come visit anytime she likes, and the two of us may go see her anytime as well. No one can stop that.” Gu Jun said flatly.

He did not spell it out plainly.

But anyone with sense could tell—he no longer held even a shred of good opinion of Han Ziqing. It was only that, for now, the wisest course was to yield. Yield, yes—but not endlessly.

With those words from Gu Jun, Madam Gu finally felt her heart settle.

“My lady, can we hand over Yingzi and Imperial Physician Gu now?” Gu Jun said flatly.

“Hand them over how? The moment they see Han Ziqing, they’re bound to complain to her, and then that wretched girl will come make trouble again—how am I supposed to handle that?” Madam Gu asked anxiously.

Just as Gu Jun was about to speak, a voice came from outside announcing a visitor. “My lord, my lady—the young mistress’s guard requests an audience!”

At once, the two elders exchanged a glance. Madam Gu wiped at her tears and turned her head away. Only then did Gu Jun allow the visitor in.

“This lowly one is Guxi, greetings to my lady and my lord. My mistress requests that you send someone to Medicine Mountain to retrieve Guard Yingzi and Imperial Physician Gu. If there aren’t enough hands to spare for gathering herbs, this lowly one is willing to go in their place,” Guxi said earnestly.

Both Gu Jun and Madam Gu’s eyes flickered away. They understood at once—Han Ziqing already suspected the truth.

Guxi continued, “My lady, my mistress also said that Imperial Physician Gu and Yingzi have never once left the prince’s side. It would be best to let them return and resume their duties.”

Madam Gu’s heart trembled faintly. These words—Han Ziqing saying this—clearly meant she had guessed the truth! She had come to demand their release! Setting everything else aside, on the matter of imprisonment alone, her husband might still listen to her explanations, but to Han Ziqing, imprisonment was imprisonment, plain and simple.

Now what were they to do?