At the moment when he was about to brush past Liu Changan and Qinghua County's young lady, Jiang Er Gong Jiang Changzhong was hesitantly standing in front of Zhu Guo Gong Fu's gate. He didn't know whether or not he should go inside. Today's events would definitely not be able to be hidden for long, at most two days before it spreads throughout the upper class circles in the capital. If his father finds out, he wouldn't be able to escape a good scolding. Just thinking about being whipped made certain parts of his body ache again. The feeling of being whipped was truly unbearable.

  He began to resent the injustice, it was clear that last time it was the people from Jiang Changyang's house who didn't put him in their eyes, deliberately provoking him. Jiang Changyang is not a good thing, sinister and despicable, it's normal for such things to happen originally, if his father wasn't so biased, he wouldn't be so angry. He has been filial to his father for many years, it was him who pleased his father, and also him who suffered the most beatings. Why did Jiang Changyang get all the benefits in the end? Riding a broken horse out for a stroll, coming back would still require a beating. His heart was filled with bitterness and grievance, wasn't he even comparable to one of Jiang Changyang's horses in his father's eyes? How could his father treat him like that?

  From young to old, Father's favorite thing was to punish him, squatting on horseback, holding a wine cup, and even developing into being whipped for kissing a little mouth with the maid. Thinking of the whip "whooshing" through the air, Father's angry and disappointed eyes, his legs couldn't help but twitch, and cold sweat broke out on his palms, almost unable to hold the whip steadily. Turning back to look at the one missing an ear, he said: "I don't want to go back, let's live in the villa for a while?"

  He knew he was going to start backing down again. You can't hide from the beginning of the year, but you can't escape the fifteenth day, how can this matter be hidden? If Er Gong is allowed to escape in a hurry, he will have to follow him, and after that, he will be caught by Guo Gongye, and he will probably be driven out. It's better to go in quickly and find Old Lady and Madame to persuade them to resolve the matter, which would be the most appropriate thing to do. Thinking of this, Que'erduo carefully reminded him: "Sir, there are also Old Lady and Madame. If you go to the villa, Old Lady is old and weak, I'm afraid she won't make it in time."

  It's only a matter of time before his father catches up with him, Jiang Changzhong thought to himself. Even if he were to escape to the ends of the earth, his father would still manage to track him down on horseback. For now, his only hope lies with his grandmother. He recalled how many times she had helped him escape from his father's clutches in the past. Jiang Changzhong let out a sigh and then glared at Er Duan: "It was you who gave me this stupid idea, I told you it wouldn't work but you insisted it would. If things don't go well for me this time, you won't be able to escape either."

  It's clear that you're the one who doesn't listen to others, insisting on rushing and making a big show, and then getting flustered afterwards, causing even more trouble. Now it's his fault. He secretly grumbled in his heart, but didn't dare to speak out loud, thinking of ways to coax this treasure into the mansion first. He furrowed his brow and admitted his mistake: "It was all my fault." Then he leaned over and whispered a few words into Jiang Ergong's ear.

  Jiang Changzhong nodded, but he always felt as if there were a thousand pounds on his feet, and he couldn't take that step. He turned around fiercely to glare at the attendants behind him, who didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and roared: "No one can escape today's events! Who dares to betray their master? If I find out who did this, I'll make sure they die without a burial place! Zhengde, go in there and lock them all up for me!"

  Everyone was furious, but no one dared to speak. At this moment, pleading could only add fuel to the fire, so they all buried their heads deeply. Only that leopard called Shocking Wind, because it had been locked in a cage for too long and was extremely impatient, paced back and forth in the cage, occasionally baring its teeth and letting out a low growl.

  Zheng De also felt a bit impatient, and slightly furrowed his brow: "Sir, it won't be long before the Duke returns home."

  Jiang Changzhong's buttocks immediately felt as if they had been burned by fire, and he didn't even bother to gather his internal energy, quickly entering the mansion gate and heading to the rear hall to find Old Lady Zhongyong. He didn't need to simmer with emotion at all, just thinking of Zhu Guogong's ferocious appearance made his eyes red, and his expression looked both desperate and fearful.

  Like many noble ladies, the old lady, who was already over seventy years old, was also very devout in Buddhism. She sat in the Buddhist hall with her eyes closed, solemnly and seriously knocking on the wooden fish and reciting sutras, praying for Guanyin Bodhisattva to bless the Zhu family's prosperity and flourishing population, and everything going smoothly. Suddenly, a mournful cry came from outside the Buddhist hall: "Grandmother! Save me! My grandson is dying!"

  The old lady's wooden ruler was startled and knocked empty, she opened her already blurred old eyes, turned her head to look at the door. The dark blue curtain was lifted high by someone, and at the door stood her most beloved grandson. Jiang Changzhong had a pair of red eyes, his tender face still had the pink scars from the last injury that hadn't faded, slightly pouting a bright red mouth, his facial expression was both shocked and pitiful.

  The old lady trembled and stretched out her hand to Jiang Changzhong: "Come here, dear child, and tell grandma what's going on?"

  Jiang Changzhong's eyes turned even redder as he heard the gentle voice, his nose souring as he suddenly flung himself forward and knelt down in front of Old Madam, burying his head into her bosom while wailing loudly: "Grandmother save me! Your grandson has been framed! You must stand up for your grandson!"

  The old lady patted his shoulder vigorously and comforted him: "Don't cry, don't cry, quickly tell me what's going on?"

  Jiang Changzhong licked his lips and first praised himself: "Sun Er went hunting, yesterday he hunted two deer, no one is better than me."

  The old lady praised: "Good! My grandson is great!"

  "But there are people who can't bear to see my son doing well! They want my son to lose face and let the Zhu Guo Gong Fu lose face." Jiang Changzhong bitterly told the story of what happened, omitting his own shameful deeds, but emphasizing how Jiulang framed him, how everyone wronged him and ridiculed him. Finally, he concluded: "My son is innocent! It's clear that someone deliberately designed this to trap me by bribing the hunters in the mountains. Those people are jealous of me for making them lose face, and they're taking advantage of me! I'm so angry that I want to settle accounts with Jiulang, but Zhengde told me he's a member of the imperial family, and we can't afford to provoke him easily. If I take action, it will cause trouble for my family. My son has to swallow his anger and humiliation."

  This face has indeed lost a lot, but at this time it's not the time to pursue what he did, but to see who is behind the scenes. The old lady's expression changed and changed again, slowly saying: "Then who have you offended during this period?"

  Jiang Changzhong almost blurted out that Jiang Changyang was a wild seed, but he changed his words in time and said: "Since the day Sun Er returned from Big Brother's farm, he has been following Father's teachings, staying at home, reading books and shooting arrows. He has seen very few people during this period, how could he have offended anyone? Sun Er really doesn't understand, who is so deliberate and can't get along with him?"

  The old lady was silent for a moment, then raised her voice and said: "You really haven't offended anyone? For no reason at all, why would Jiulang treat you like this?"

  Jiang Changzhong shrank his neck and said in a low voice: "Xiao Xue Creek told me two more sentences."

  The old lady's eyebrows suddenly rose: "Did Xiao Xue Creek say a few more words to you?! Did she go too?"

  Jiang Changzhong puffed out his chest: "Yes, she often comes to talk to me. Probably for this reason, I heard Jiulang and others secretly discussing that the people of our Zhu Guogong Mansion are just a bunch of martial artists, not worthy."

  The old lady sighed and waved her hand: "You go down first."

  Jiang Changzhong was in a great hurry and his eyes quickly turned red again: "Grandma, if Father finds out, he will definitely beat me to death. I'm really wronged, what should I do?"

  The old lady frowned, a glint of sharpness flashing in her eyes: "Your father was already on the battlefield killing enemies at your age. Wipe away those tears for me immediately! I have my own plans for this matter. You honestly go back to your own courtyard and wait for your father's summons."

  Jiang Changzhong held back his tears, tightly hugging her knees: "I won't go, Father won't listen to my explanation, he'll just whip me to death. I'll stay here with you, take care of you, Grandmother, don't worry about your grandson."

  Ever since losing her eldest grandson, she had held this child in her arms since birth, watching his hair turn from yellow to black, from sparse to dense, and his teeth grow one by one. She had pinned countless hopes on him, but how did he end up like this? The old lady thought back, the bond between them was extraordinary, seeing him so pitiful made her think that her own son's heavy hand when disciplining the child must have been the cause of this state.

  At this, the old lady reluctantly ordered her most trusted maid, Ye Mama: "Go and invite the madam over." Then she scolded Jiang Changzhong in a not-so-authoritative tone: "Get up! Wipe your face, change your clothes. Look at you, where is even half of the demeanor of a Guo Gong Fu master?"

  Jiang Changzhong wasn't afraid of her in the slightest, thinking that with her and Mrs. Du's protection, his buttocks wouldn't be able to bloom at least, and at most would just have a pattern printed on them. He plucked up his spirits and went next door, stretching out his hands for the maidservant to attend to him. The old lady picked up the wooden fish and continued to beat it while reciting scriptures.

  Before long, wearing a five-colored cloud-patterned silver-embroidered robe, with her hair styled in a high bun and adorned with golden hairpins and earrings, Mrs. Du, who was approaching middle age but still looked as lovely as a flower, walked in steadily. Seeing the old lady still reciting scriptures, she quietly stood aside with her hands clasped together, waiting respectfully. When the old lady opened her eyes, she went forward to help her up, smiling and saying: "I don't know what instructions you have for me, Mother?"

  The old lady gave her a glance and said sternly: "Don't you know?"

  Mrs. Du had long been informed of the lack of ears, and she was very clear in her heart. However, she deeply understood the temperament of the old lady, and would not admit that she already knew, but only smiled and shook her head lightly: "Mother is joking, how can daughter-in-law know?"

  The old lady glared at her fiercely: "Good job you've done!"

  Mrs. Du was surprised and wronged, but her tone was still gentle: "Please instruct me, Mother."

  The old lady sat down on the couch, took over the ginseng tea handed by Mrs. Du, and lightly sipped a mouthful. For some reason, the ginseng tea that she was used to drinking every day felt particularly bitter at this moment, not tasting right at all. Her mood became even worse, and she put down the teacup on the low table with a thud, saying: "Why did you let Zhong'er get close to the daughter of the Xiao family?"

  Mrs. Du's face was full of surprise: "Mother, how can you say that? Has Zhong Er seen Xue Xi from the Xiao family?"

  The old lady gave her a cold glance: "Don't pretend to be stupid in front of me, don't think I don't know what you're plotting. You speak nicely in front of me, but you clearly know that's the girl the Duke plans to marry for the eldest son, and yet you let Zhong'er flirt with her. Do you want brothers to fight each other? Is this your virtue? This time, not only did you fail to get what you wanted, but you also ruined Zhong'er's reputation and dragged down the reputation of the Guo Gong Fu, making a laughing stock for everyone. Are you satisfied?"

  Mrs. Du was stunned for a moment, and then tears flowed down her face. She knelt down and said: "Mother, if Zhong'er has done something wrong, it's because his wife hasn't taught him well. Please punish me, I won't have any complaints. But what exactly did Zhong'er do? Please tell me, mother, so I can make amends first, and then I'll come to apologize with a humble heart. Please punish me."

  No excuses, no shouting grievances, she immediately admitted her mistake and directly pointed out the key to the problem. This daughter-in-law really had nothing to say. Old Mrs. rubbed her forehead, but didn't have the heart to investigate whether it was intentional or not that she had instructed Jiang Changzhong to stir up trouble. She simply and straightforwardly told the story of what happened, saying: "Zhong'er has been framed and buried in a pit, this time his face is thoroughly lost, and he can't even explain himself. I think for a short while, he won't have the face to go out and see people, let alone his younger brother and sister who will probably be ridiculed by others."

  "Mother, you say that I have ulterior motives for letting Zhong'er go to the hunt, and indeed I do. As his mother, I was thinking that this child is being raised too indulgently, he's too naive and soft-hearted, and doesn't know what's good or bad for him. It would be better for him to get out more and meet some people of good character, so that he can learn how to conduct himself in the world and have a better future. I didn't think that someone like Xiao Xue Creek would also be there, and that our family's younger brother would also be involved! Otherwise, I wouldn't have let him mix with those kinds of people and get into this kind of trouble. As for eldest son, I only feel guilty towards him in my heart, and wish I could make it up to him somehow. I hope he won't resent us, and that in the future he can still be filial to you and Grandfather, and love his younger brothers and sisters. You know how Grandfather has been thinking all these years... how could I dare to do something that would displease him? These past few years, I've hardly had any contact with our relatives on that side of the family, just so that he can be happy. How could I do something as foolish as this?" She finished speaking and burst into tears, overcome with grief.

  The old lady remained silent.

  Jiang Changzhong was changing his clothes when he suddenly saw a maid come in beside the old lady, find an excuse to drive out the maid who had been serving him earlier, and whisper: "Master Jiang, the madam already knows, just go out and don't care about anything else, just admit your mistake." Then she whispered something in Jiang Changzhong's ear.

  Jiang Changzhong changed his clothes and went out, seeing his mother crying with tears streaming down her face. He immediately knelt down in front of her and wailed: "Mother, it's all because of my unfiliality that you're having a hard time."

  Mrs. Du burst into tears and pushed him hard, scolding loudly: "You beast! You good-for-nothing! How dare you do such a shameless thing! There's no need to wait for your father to come back, I'll deal with you first! Everyone will be clear of this!" Unlike Jiang Changzhong's idea of hiding and denying it until the end, she was very clear that what her son had done could not be hidden, and once investigated, everything would be revealed. Rather than covering up for him now and being exposed again later, losing face once more, and dragging her down with him, it was better to correct his attitude now and win over Old Mrs. Du.

  Jiang Changzhong heard her meaning and suddenly determined that he had done something shameful, and involuntarily cried out "Ah!", shouting grievances: "Mother, it's really not my doing, I'm innocent!"

  "Shut up, you scoundrel! How dare you still try to talk your way out of this? A fly doesn't land on an uncracked egg. If only you had listened to your father's teachings and my words, and been a decent person, would you have ended up in such shame? Those who don't respect themselves will be shamed. How dare you still claim innocence? How dare you deceive your grandmother? Now the whole family's reputation has been dragged down by you, you unfilial thing! I'll beat you to death!" As she spoke, she began to weep bitterly and continued to strike Jiang Changzhong.

  Jiang Changzhong knelt on the ground, wailing: "I know I was wrong, and I won't dare to do it again. I've grown up like this, never being looked up to by Father, they all mock me saying I'm not as good as my older brother, saying I'm a good-for-nothing. I was confused for a moment, and wanted to show them how powerful I am, but unexpectedly fell into their trap..."

  The old lady's heart was stirred up by Mrs. Du's words and the sound of her and her mother crying, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her heart, she struggled to shout: "All of you shut up! This is not the time for crying!"

  Mrs. Du and Jiang Changzhong both closed their mouths, turned around to look at the old lady, and the old lady calmly said: "The first thing now is to go to Jiulang's house immediately to apologize and explain the situation clearly. If he agrees to clarify that it was a misunderstanding, that would be best. Even if not, we cannot let this feud deepen further, as long as he keeps quiet. The second thing is to investigate who is behind all this. Lock up everyone who followed Zhong'er and don't release them until the truth is clear. Thirdly, Zhong'er must tell me everything that has happened in the past few days without hiding a single detail."

  Seeing the old lady taking action, Mrs. Du secretly let out a sigh of relief. She had thought of all these things, but the old lady was too proud and she herself was also under suspicion. No matter what she said or did, it would not look good in the eyes of Zhu Guogong. It's better for the old lady to take charge and make arrangements. If anyone is found to be causing trouble, it will have nothing to do with her.

  Jiang Changzhong knelt on the ground, only adding a bit more to what he had said before. He concealed everything that could be hidden, including using the leopard to intimidate people, plotting with Mudan against Jiang Changyang and Xiao Xuexi, and actively flirting with Xiao Xuexi - all of which were not mentioned at all. The old lady listened until she was tired, closed her eyes, "Go down, I'll rest for a while. When Master Guogong returns, let him come here immediately." However, Jiang Changzhong was not allowed to stay there.

  Jiang Changzhong was about to speak when Mrs. Du gave him a signal with her eyes, staring at him and saying: "You beast, you've disturbed your grandmother's peace, why don't you hurry up and follow me back, so that your grandmother can have some quiet?"

  Jiang Changzhong didn't dare to say more, and followed Du Furen to bid farewell. Du Furen gave a hand signal to one of the old lady's maids, before turning around to leave. If things went as she expected, the old lady was going to discuss Jiang Changyang's affairs with Zhu Guogong behind her back. It seemed that the old lady also had some suspicions.

  The old lady missed Jiang Changyang, this grandson, but she also truly hated and couldn't forgive Wang's wife. Perhaps she wanted to make up for Jiang Changyang, liking his capable and well-behaved nature, but she absolutely wouldn't like someone who had been away for over a decade, full of resentment, and as soon as he came back, stirred up the whole family into chaos, already not being on the same wavelength as them. Du's wife tidied Jiang Changzhong's hair and sighed, she didn't believe that this child, almost raised by the old lady herself, wasn't more important to her than that stranger Jiang Changyang in her heart.

  The two women walked out of the old lady's residence, passing through a small path surrounded by wintergreen trees. As they were about to arrive at Madame Du's courtyard, a young man with clear eyebrows and eyes, slender build, and elegant demeanor approached them from the opposite direction. The young man smiled as soon as he saw the two women, came forward warmly and respectfully greeted them: "Mother is well, brother is good, are you just coming out of grandmother's place?" It was precisely Jiang Gong Jiang Changyi.

  Madam Du looked at him with a gentle smile: "Yi'er, where are you going?"

  Jiang Changzhong also reached out and tugged at his clothes: "Bookworm, dressed like this, where are you going?"

  Jiang Changyi smiled and said, "I have an appointment with a few friends to go to Qujiangchi Furong Garden to row a boat and recite poetry. I came over specifically to bid farewell to my mother. I heard that she went to her mother's place, so I was just about to head over there." He looked at Jiang Changzhong's red-rimmed eyes but didn't ask what had happened.

  Mrs. Du sighed: "Good boy, it's hard for you to be so sensible, if your brother were half as good as you, I wouldn't be so worried."

  Jiang Changyi looked at Madam Du with a puzzled expression, then glanced at Jiang Changzhong, hesitated for a moment, and carefully said: "Brother is much stronger than me. Our Zhu Guogong Mansion relies on military merit to rise to power, but I can't even pull open the most ordinary bow, let alone other things..."

  Madam Du sighed: "Alright, you can go now. Be careful, it's windy on the lake, don't forget to bring a thick cloak."

  Jiang Changyi responded, but didn't rush to leave. Instead, he stood still and watched as Madam Du and Jiang Changzhong entered the courtyard. He remained silent for a moment before turning around and leaving.

  Madam Du had just entered the courtyard when she heard her most trusted maid, Bai Xiang, come over and say: "Milady, Lin Niang has fallen ill again."

  Mrs. Du's face twitched slightly, and she looked up at the place where Jiang Changyi had disappeared, thoughtfully saying: "Don't hurry to invite a doctor?" Bai Xiang led the order and left, Mrs. Du sternly looked at Jiang Changzhong: "Come, tell me what happened in the past few days, if you miss a word, I won't care about your affairs."

  After listening to Jiang Changzhong's words, Du Fu Ren thought for a long time with a solemn expression and said in a low voice: "You are really stupid, I don't know how I gave birth to you. I have no choice but to go there myself to apologize for you and meet this He Mudan..."

  At this time, Zhu Guogong's face was solemn as he listened to the old lady finish speaking. He clenched his trembling iron fist and angrily said: "This bastard who dares not take responsibility... has disgraced me for this lifetime... What investigation is needed? There's no need to cover it up. If they had stood upright, how could others have taken advantage of them? Mother doesn't need to intervene in this matter anymore, I'll handle it myself."

  The old lady sighed: "I'm old, and both the palm and back of my hand are flesh. I don't want to see a tragic struggle between brothers. A charter must be drawn up."

  "Mother, what do you mean by this?" Zhu Guogong exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.