RPAGF Chapter 619 She absolutely has to come back with that broken bow of yours.
Chapter 619 She absolutely has to come back with that broken bow of yours.
Inside the Buddhist hall, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.
Madam Gu San curled up on the prayer mat.
Her clothes were disheveled and her hair was loose.
His face was streaked with tears and grime, making him look utterly disheveled.
She stared intently at the tightly closed door.
Outside the door, the faint sound of the eldest son, Gu Chengye, crying could be heard.
There was also the soft comforting words from her daughter-in-law, Yang.
These sounds, however, now sound like death knells.
She knew that her husband, Master Gu, was right outside the door.
He wanted to end her life himself.
He would end her life, the woman he once cherished, who had now become a stain on his official reputation and a disgrace to his family.
The door creaked open.
Master Gu walked in, dressed in a dark-colored casual suit.
His face was ashen, and his eyes were completely expressionless.
He was holding a tray.
On the plate is a small white porcelain bowl, half-filled with a clear liquid.
The liquid gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the dim candlelight.
Madam Gu trembled violently, struggling to back away.
However, the space in the Buddhist hall is already small.
She had nowhere to retreat.
"Master, you can't do this to me." Her voice was hoarse.
"I am your wife of many years!"
Master Gu did not speak.
He simply walked up to her and placed the tray on the ground.
Then, he slowly squatted down.
Pick up the small, dusty wooden fish from the ground.
He tapped the wooden fish gently, one tap at a time... The sound of the wooden fish echoed in the silent Buddhist hall.
It carried a suffocating solemnity.
"I didn't want things to come to this," Madam Gu said, trembling.
She stared intently at Master Gu's cold face, "But that wicked son, Gu Lu, he's relentlessly pushing me!"
"He's going to ruin our three houses!"
Master Gu stopped striking the wooden fish, raised his head, and his eyes were like two cold knives.
"Who destroyed the third house?" His voice was low.
"It's you who's been foolish time and time again."
"It was you who trampled the dignity of the third branch of the family on the ground."
Madam Gu trembled.
She wanted to argue, but something seemed to be blocking her throat.
"Why do you think Gu Lu was able to escape unscathed?" Third Master Gu's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Why do you think he could so openly display the scandalous affairs of his third wife in the main hall?"
"He did it on purpose!" Madam Gu shrieked. "He did it to get revenge on me!"
Master Gu sneered, picked up the white porcelain bowl, and handed it to Madam Gu.
“What Gu Lu wants is never just revenge against you alone.”
"What he wants is for this family to be completely transformed."
"And you are the obstacle."
Looking at the bowl of clear liquid, Madam Gu felt a surge of despair.
She knew that what Master Gu was saying was true.
Gu Lu's thoughts are so deep they're appalling.
He is like a venomous snake that has been lying in wait for many years; once he strikes, he will kill.
"You've led me down a dead end!" Madam Gu suddenly raised her head.
She stared into Master Gu's eyes, her gaze filled with resentment.
"If you don't die, do you think Gu Lu will let this go?"
"If you don't die, how can I protect my official reputation?"
Master Gu's voice was icy cold, "How can I protect Chengye's future?"
"You stupid woman!"
"I was so blinded by greed, trusting you so much. I entrusted my whole family to you."
"Yet you have harmed my concubines and murdered my children!"
Madam Gu's face turned deathly pale.
Master Gu's voice suddenly rose, "Why must they die? They won't hinder your position..."
"What do you take illegitimate sons and daughters for?"
"They are my flesh and blood! They are the bloodline of the Gu family!"
"You treat them like dirt, trampling on them at will! Do you think Gu Lu's father deserves to die?"
"Do you think that Lan-jie should be sent away by you and allowed to be manipulated by others?"
Madam Gu's pupils suddenly contracted.
She had always thought that Master Gu turned a blind eye to these things.
She always thought that he didn't care about his illegitimate children at all.
But now it seems she was wrong.
Big mistakes.
Master Gu's anger was like a sharp blade, piercing through all her pretense and wishful thinking.
"You deserve to die!" Master Gu's voice was like a demon crawling out of hell.
He stopped talking nonsense and grabbed Madam Gu's chin.
They forcibly poured the bowl of poisoned wine into her mouth.
Madam Gu struggled desperately.
But her strength seemed so insignificant in front of Master Gu.
Liquid dripped from the corner of her mouth, her body began to convulse, and a hoarse sound came from her throat.
Her eyes were wide open.
It was filled with resentment, fear, and bitterness.
She stared intently at Master Gu, as if trying to etch his image into the depths of her soul.
Master Gu let go.
He watched as Madam Gu fell to the ground, her body curled up in a ball, twitching a few times.
Then, there was complete silence.
The only scent left in the Buddhist hall was the aroma of sandalwood.
A deathly silence.
Outside the door, Gu Chengye was kneeling on the ground.
He kept kowtowing, pleading, "Father! I beg you!"
"Mother, she was just confused for a moment! She is, after all, your wife!"
Yang knelt beside him, her head bowed, her expression unreadable.
But her hands were clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms.
She knew in her heart that her mother-in-law was not going to live.
From the moment Gu Lu stepped out of the Gu family's gate.
The mother-in-law's fate was already sealed.
Gu Lu will not let her go, and neither will her father.
For his own official reputation, and for the future of his legitimate son.
My father will not hesitate to personally cut off this cancerous growth.
There was a squeak.
The door to the Buddhist hall opened again, and Master Gu came out.
His face was pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
But his eyes were firm, carrying a sense of relief and weariness.
Gu Chengye suddenly looked up and saw his father's eyes.
Body stiffness.
He knew it was all over.
He rushed into the Buddhist hall.
Seeing Madam Gu curled up on the ground, motionless.
He rushed forward, crying, "Mother!"
He held Madam Gu's cold body and wept loudly.
Yang slowly stood up and walked into the Buddhist hall.
Looking at Madam Gu's pale face.
There was no sadness in his eyes; instead, there was a barely perceptible sense of ease.
She felt a sense of relief.
From now on, she will no longer have her mother-in-law to oppress her.
This is the third branch of the Gu family.
Finally, she can call the shots.
Mother-in-law is so stupid.
If a family wants to prosper, then naturally everyone prospers together and suffers together.
Instead of suppressing illegitimate sons and daughters, the legitimate sons can bring glory to the family.
Gu Lu's rise to prominence is, in a way, an opportunity for the third branch of the family.
But the mother-in-law ruined all of this herself.
Now, she is dead.
There might still be room for maneuver for Gu Lu and Gu Sanfang.
Yang's gaze fell on Gu Chengye's tearful face.
A complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
Gu Chengye, when will you truly grow up?
Meanwhile, in the main courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, falling on the rosewood carved bed.
Gu Junze leaned against the headboard.
He gently stroked the red mole on Chu Ruohan's earlobe with his fingertips.
Chu Ruohan's cheeks were flushed.
She nestled in his arms, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.
"That kid Gu Lu, with his outburst today, has completely exposed the dirty secrets of the third branch of the Gu family."
Gu Junze chuckled lightly, "He's not joking."
"He's taking advantage of the situation."
"Taking advantage of the emperor's influence, the imperial examination system, and the Gu family's influence."
"Killing three birds with one stone, clean and efficient."
"No wonder I taught him."
Chu Ruohan turned her head and gave him a reproachful look, "You, all you know how to do is praise yourself."
"However, I am relieved that Lan-jie is going with him."
"Han'er." Gu Junze's voice was deep.
Where is Qingchen?
"She's back in the palace again." Her tone carried a hint of helplessness, yet also a touch of indulgence. "That broken bow of yours, she just had to come back."
Gu Junze chuckled and sat up straight.
"A broken bow?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with sarcasm. "That was the Jinghong Bow, the number one bow in the world. You make it sound like I don't know its value."
Chu Ruohan finally raised her head and glared at him.
"So you know your stuff, so you just let the Crown Prince borrow our daughter's treasure and not return it?"
"If the Crown Prince likes it, then we'll give it to him. This is just another trap the Emperor has set for our daughter." Gu Junze shrugged, his tone nonchalant.
Chu Ruohan frowned slightly.
"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" She looked at Gu Junze, a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.
Gu Junze looked at her slightly furrowed brows and gently smoothed them out.
"What do you mean, 'manage'?"
His smile deepened, but a meaningful glint appeared in his eyes.
"There are some pitfalls in this world that you can't just fill in. Besides, Qingchen isn't one to suffer a loss easily. The Crown Prince thinks he can use a bow to trap our daughter? It's not that easy."
He withdrew his hand, leaned back on the soft couch, and looked on with a hint of amusement.
"Let her do whatever she wants. Some things you have to experience for yourself to truly grow up."
Chu Ruohan shook her head helplessly as she looked at his leisurely and self-satisfied appearance.
She knew he was just looking for another good show.
She picked up the embroidery hoop, lowered her head again, but couldn't help but smile slightly.