Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Gu Antong never expected that just four thousand taels of silver would lead Zhou Gang to come right up to her and press her for repayment.

The Third Prince just sent someone to summon her. This matter has already reached the Prince's ears. There are no secrets in this mansion. The women in the back courtyard are also paying attention.

It's easy to imagine that for a long time to come, she will have to endure these people's ridicule and sarcasm.

This is her family. They didn't help her before, and now they're causing her so much trouble.

“Tong’er, we really can’t make ends meet now,” Gu Kaiping said with a bitter face. “Our family has no income. Now your grandfather and I have to take jobs from the bookstore just to barely support our family.”

Where do you think we're going to get several thousand taels of silver for him now?
But if we don't give it to him, this matter will continue to escalate. What should we do then?

What to do? Gu Antong really wanted to say that she should do what she had to do, but she still lacked confidence, since this matter was caused by her.

Remembering something, Gu Antong quickly pulled Liu Yun aside, "Mother, did the Third Prince know about these things just now?"

“They probably don’t know,” Liu Yun said, knowing what her daughter wanted to ask. She had been worried that these people might blurt it out.

Gu Antong breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she didn't know the cause and effect; at least she could still cover it up.

“Mother, this matter cannot involve me. Those women in the backyard are too troublesome. They kept going back to ask for money because they needed to bribe them.”

In this backyard, without money, you can't even get a hot meal.

I know things are tough at home, but I'm struggling too. This is a crucial time for us all; we need to work together as a family to get through this."

“I know what you mean. Of course, we don’t want to involve you in this, but as you’ve seen, Zhou Gang is no good person. He’s very difficult to deal with.”

Having spent so much money to send their daughter to the Three Emperors' residence, and now receiving no benefits whatsoever, they naturally didn't want Zhou Gang to ruin the matter.

“Go and talk to your grandfather and father, they will definitely have a solution.”

Liu Yun didn't understand. Her father-in-law and husband were not far away, so why did they need her to deliver the message?
"There are some things I can't say, Mother. You want what's best for me, right?"

Liu Yun reluctantly agreed, pulled the two men from the Gu family aside, and whispered something to them. Even Zhou Gang, who had been watching them closely, noticed the change in their expressions and sneered, thinking they were probably discussing how to execute him.

They weren't naive enough to think that they could storm the Third Prince's residence alone. They had already told him everything he needed to say. If he succeeded, he could go directly to the First Prince to ask for a reward. If he failed, he wouldn't lose his life here. His wife and children could use this incident to their advantage. There were plenty of people who wanted to see the Third Prince suffer.

"When Tong'er entered the manor, she only had a little bit of silver notes with her, which she has long since spent on bribes." Liu Yun wiped away her tears. "I only found out today that she has a hard time in the back courtyard. There are the main wife and concubines above her, and many women below her who are eyeing her covetously. The servants are also greedy and have eyes for wealth. If you want to live well in there, you have to pave the way with money."

Even if we were to sell all the dowry we brought for him, it still wouldn't be enough to pay off this debt. An Tong is our only support now; we can't afford any more mistakes on her."

Both men in the Gu family understood the reasoning. Gu Baijiang was somewhat disheartened by today's test. He now realized that the Third Prince was not a good ruler at all.

Now that they've crossed the river and are about to discard the bridge, he wanted to ask his granddaughter a few questions and give her some advice, since it was such a rare opportunity to meet her.

He turned and walked directly towards Gu Antong, "I know you're having a tough time in the backyard, but the family really can't offer you much help right now. We've done everything we can. The Third Prince doesn't have much affection left for our family, but at least he doesn't dare to go too far now, since everyone knows what you brought in."

He didn't want people to say he was cold-hearted, nor did he want to break the hearts of those who followed him.

To outsiders, it looks like they're giving us a courtyard and servants, but in terms of real benefits, our Gu family hasn't benefited at all.

You can try your best, we have no way out now. You should consider the etiquette and rules yourself.

Your mother has probably already taught you about the things in the backyard. For your future, you have no choice but to give it your all now.

Of course, the Gu family is also trying their best and will try to become your support.

He saw the ambition in his granddaughter's eyes, but that was all he could say for now.

Adding this last sentence was also meant to remind her that even though she holds a high position, her family is still very important.

Gu Antong hadn't expected her grandfather to give her this lecture. She understood the principles behind it all, but she needed to have the knowledge to back it up.

“Grandfather, these granddaughters all understand and are working hard, but I have nothing now, so what do I have to compare with them?”

With the meager monthly allowance from the household, I couldn't even afford a decent box of rouge and face powder, let alone anything else.

That damned old bastard told his father before that he wouldn't give all the silver to the Third Prince, so he must have hidden some of it.

This is a relatively smart move on his part, but his family is already in such a difficult situation, and he needs it himself. How could he not be willing to give it up?
“As long as you win a man’s favor, he will naturally be willing to offer you the best things,” Gu Baijiang said, seemingly oblivious to the other’s implication. “Your most important task right now is to give birth to a son or daughter for the Third Prince. A mother’s status rises with her son; this has been the case throughout history.”

Gu Antong knew she couldn't expect to get any more money from the Gu family, so she didn't bother to keep pretending. "So, let's think about how to get through this current difficulty."

"If we don't give this guy surnamed Zhou some money today, he probably won't let it go."

That week, Gang was also quite cunning. He let them whisper among themselves, sitting there casually, drinking tea and eating pastries. What was even more outrageous was that he placed the oil paper he had brought on the table and poured all the pastries meant for entertaining guests into it.

For Gu Antong, having such people come to her door was an immense humiliation. "Then you should hurry up and find a way to get rid of them. If this continues, how can I save face?"

"Lord Zhou, look at the mess this has made. It's all a misunderstanding. We never said we wouldn't return the money."

"Could you give us a few more days? We'll try our best to raise the funds."

Zhou Gang looked Gu Baijiang up and down. "You're going to raise the money?"

"That's one way. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance. I'll give you two more days. If you don't pay me back this money, then don't blame me for taking my family to the yamen to demand justice."

Zhou Gang hadn't expected the other party's attitude to soften so quickly; they couldn't find an excuse to use him against them. (End of Chapter)