Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 134 My Lord, it's time to take your medicine!
Night fell, and lights flickered in the distance.

A gentle breeze blows, and the copper bells on the eaves sway softly, making a soft, rustling sound.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

The sound of the board striking could be heard faintly.

Generally speaking, one or two dozen strokes of the cane can injure a person's skin and flesh, thirty or fifty strokes can injure a person's tendons and bones and cause disability, and more than fifty strokes can kill a person.

A cold wind blew, and the three boards fell to the ground, making Gu Yanxin furious.

Still won't back down?
Four boards!

Fifth edition!

Gu Yankai's expression darkened.

He was a 25-year-old commander of the infantry and cavalry, and had made great achievements in expanding the territory!

Could it be that they really fought until their skin was torn and their flesh was ripped open?

Madam Qin, holding a brocade handkerchief, glanced discreetly and noticed Gu Yankai's hesitation.

"My lord, tell them to stop!"

"If you hit him again, he might get seriously injured," Madam Qin pleaded softly, her eyes moist.

As someone who shared the same bed but dreamed different dreams, she knew Gu Yankai's personality all too well.

Since the Marquis showed some hesitation, even if she didn't plead for him, and at most gave him three or five more blows, he would relent.

Ultimately, this is the most promising son!
as predicted.

Gu Yankai stood up, put his hands behind his back, and snorted coldly, "He deserves to be beaten to death."

With that, Gu Yankai waved his hand, and his deep voice rang out: "Bring him in."

"Yes."

Several servants quickly let go and carefully helped Gu Tingye inside.

The moment Gu Yan opened his mouth, the servant who was wielding the cane immediately put it down.

According to a rough estimate, Gu Tingye received a total of ten strokes of the cane.

Logically speaking, it should have reached the point where the skin was torn and the flesh was ripped open.

However, the servants who were administering the beatings seemed to have some special technique; even after ten strokes, Gu Tingye only experienced numbness in his buttocks.

“Yu Yanhong is the eldest granddaughter of Grand Tutor Yu. What’s wrong with marrying her?” Gu Yankai’s attitude remained firm.

Gu Tingye patted his bottom, looking unconvinced: "Father insists that I marry Yu Yanhong, simply to gain the approval of scholars. But I'm friends with the Young Grand Secretary, so does that mean I really can't live without Yu Yanhong?"

Gu Yankai snorted and said angrily, "People's hearts are fickle. Can you guarantee that the young Grand Secretary will always be on your side? When it comes to relationships, husband and wife are still the most reliable."

The implication, however, is that they believe simple friendships are not stable.

After all, Gu Tingye was not among the "Seven Sons of Jiayou".

The seven sons of Jiayou, along with Gu Tingye and Sheng Changbai, are nine people who are relatively close.

Among them, the seven sons of Jiayou were all civil officials.

Sheng Changbai was not only a junior scholar, but also the brother-in-law of the young Grand Secretary, so their relationship was quite solid.

Only Gu Tingye was a military officer.

Gu Yankai's concern was very simple: what if one day the second son and the young Grand Secretary had a conflict?
Once the support of the young Grand Secretary is gone, Gu Tingye's slight preferential treatment will surely disappear abruptly.

In contrast, marrying Yu Yanhong would put him on the same path as Grand Tutor Yu.

This kind of arrangement, similar to a marriage alliance, is the only way to achieve true stability.

Gu Tingye waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "I am just a spoiled brat who, with Zichuan's support, expanded our territory. Zichuan and I are friends, one a scholar and the other a warrior, so how can there be any conflict?"

The father and son began to argue.

Madam Qin's eyes flickered slightly, and she sobbed softly, "My lord, perhaps we should just let it go."

"Erlang, your father's temper is too impulsive, but it's for your own good." Madam Qin looked at Gu Tingye gently and said softly, "Have a banquet prepared tomorrow, father and son can have a drink together, get along well, and pretend that nothing happened."

Every word and phrase was for the purpose of reconciliation between father and son.

However.
"Let it go?" Gu Yankai's expression changed slightly, and he waved his hand dismissively. "How can we just let it go?"

What does "pretend nothing happened" mean?
If the second son doesn't marry Yu Yanhong after we've already beaten him, wouldn't all the beating have been for nothing?

If the father and son reconcile by holding a banquet, doesn't that imply that he has a problem with hitting his son?

What kind of logic is it for a father to admit his mistakes to his son?

"Yu Yanhong, even if it's a compromise, you must marry her." Gu Yankai slammed his hand on the wooden table, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Gu Tingye's face immediately turned red, and he retorted, "Father married Mother to fill the deficit of the Marquis's mansion, and then kicked her out. Is that also 'making do'?"

This sentence refers to his birth mother, Lady Bai.

More than 30 years ago, when the emperor ascended the throne, he carried out a major purge, thoroughly investigated the Ministry of Revenue, and cleaned up the finances.

Among them, nobles were the main entities owing money to the imperial court.

The Ningyuan Marquis's mansion owed the imperial court hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which had to be repaid within a specified period.

If the debt is not repaid, the imperial edict and hereditary title will be stripped from the holder.

At that time, Gu Yankai, who was not yet thirty years old, had already made considerable achievements and was gradually beginning to stand out.

Unfortunately, the person in charge of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion was not Gu Yankai, but the late Marquis.

The Ningyuan Marquis's mansion simply couldn't repay the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

On the contrary, the salt merchant, Old Master Bai, was not short of money.

Thus, the old Marquis and the old master Bai hit it off immediately, and Gu Yankai, Madam Qin, and Bai Shi all became the victims.

The eldest daughter of the Qin family was frail and unable to serve her parents-in-law. It took her ten years of marriage before she gave birth to a son.

The old Marquis and his wife had long been dissatisfied with this.

Thus, the old Marquis demanded that Gu Yankai divorce his wife and marry Bai, the daughter of the salt merchant, Master Bai.

When Madam Qin, who was still in her postpartum confinement period, learned of this news, she was filled with despair and under immense pressure.

He struggled and died a few days later.

Gu Yan was heartbroken, but had no choice but to marry Bai.

The Bai family, being young ladies from a sheltered family, had little experience of the world and greatly admired Gu Yankai, a nobleman with meritorious achievements.

As the couple spent more time together, they gradually developed feelings for each other. However, fate had other plans. While pregnant with her second child, Bai accidentally learned the truth about Gu Yankai's marriage to her. She suffered a miscarriage, died in childbirth, and lost both her child and her unborn child.

This matter involves his two wives, and it is a source of unspeakable pain for Gu Yanxin.

This matter was originally buried deep in his heart, unknown to the younger generation.

As it turned out, the second son actually blurted it out.

"What did you say?" Gu Yankai's expression changed drastically, and he was furious. He was about to attack.

This was one of the few taboos in his heart, and even Madam Qin dared not utter a single word about it.

"Humph!"

Gu Tingye turned around and strode away.

He had been holding these words in for a long time, and finally he said them.

The more his father urged him to marry, the less he wanted to marry!
"evil creature!"

"Rebel!"

Gu Yankai's face was full of anger, and he slammed his hand heavily on the wooden table.

Perhaps it aggravated an old ailment, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, experience chest pain, and begin to pant.

"Master Hou."

Madam Qin quickly patted her husband's chest.

"Have someone bring some of the prepared herbal medicine." Gu Yan waved his hand, leaning back in his wooden chair, panting softly.

One sentence from the second son triggered his old ailment.

"I'll go myself." With concern in her heart, Madam Qin took a handkerchief and hurried out.

Smoke rose faintly from the stove, and Madam Qin sighed deeply, a hint of resentment in her eyes.

The Marquis had three wives; the eldest sister was his true love, while Bai Shi was someone he felt guilty towards.

What about her?

She has nothing!

"call!"

She blew a breath and beckoned, and her personal maid took out a small bag of powder.

Originally, she planned to have several纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families) from the fourth and fifth branches invite the second son to go to Guangyuntai for drinks, and then devise a plan to get him drunk.

So he would find a respectable woman, have her sleep quietly in his arms, and pretend to be defiled.

As soon as the second son woke up, the respectable woman cried loudly, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Once the news spread, the respectable woman hanged herself, allowing her husband to continue his charade and sue his second son.

In this case, Grand Tutor Yu will surely order the engagement to be called off.

As soon as Grand Tutor Yu broke off the engagement, she took the opportunity to poison the Marquis's medicine, causing him to become enraged and seriously ill.

He angered his sick father and defiled a respectable woman!
These two charges, if impeached by the censors, could result in the second son being dismissed from office at best, or exiled to the army at worst.

Just as an earthenware pot is bound to break near a well, a general is destined to die on the battlefield.

Not to mention, a mere lowly soldier?
Even worse, with the help of the young Grand Secretary, the second son could have made the charge of defiling a respectable woman false.

Even so, the second son did indeed anger his father to the point of illness, which at least earned him a reputation for "filial impiety and disobedience," which would mean either being dismissed from office or exiled—a very serious offense.

In addition, it can also make the fourth and fifth wives "subtly" confess that it was the eldest brother who ordered it.

This will inevitably lead to a bitter feud between the eldest and second eldest sons.

Kill three birds with one stone!
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and the fool Yu Yanhong ruined her scheme.

The second son began to consider breaking off the engagement.

Therefore, while the Marquis was certainly angry, it was unlikely that he would fall seriously ill from anger.

but
After blowing away the powder, Madam Qin scooped out a small spoonful and added it to the medicinal soup.

However, this doesn't affect anything.

She added a few things, and the Marquis was naturally "enraged".

As for the charge of "defiled a respectable woman," it's estimated that there won't be time to carry it out.

"Ugh!"

Lady Qin sighed softly.

She had no choice but to act decisively and quickly.

The second son was lucky; he was fortunate enough to gain the favor of the young Grand Secretary and his influence grew day by day.

If she doesn't act sooner and make her second son more and more valued, she might have to pretend to be a virtuous mother for the rest of her life.

Actually, she could keep up the act for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, she didn't want to pretend!
She kept quiet for twenty years, and in private she hardly ever spoke ill of her second son, even influencing her son Tingwei to become a kind person.

She's not going to pretend anymore!
She was even somewhat looking forward to seeing what the second son's expression would be when he found out his true identity!
"What about ginkgo bud juice?" Madam Qin asked casually.

She had made quite a few preparations to poison the old Marquis.

Ginkgo bud juice is one of the special poisons.

Ginkgo nuts are edible, and the lotus seed paste cake and chestnut cake made from them are top-notch delicacies.

Ginkgo bud juice is not edible as it contains trace amounts of toxins.

The sap from dozens of ginkgo tree buds gathers together and continuously concentrates, eventually forming a small bottle of ginkgo bud sap, which is highly poisonous; a small sip can kill a cow.

Most importantly, the signs of poisoning from ginkgo bud juice are very peculiar, consisting only of profuse and persistent vomiting and abdominal pain, similar to the onset of a military general's hidden illness.

Moreover, the poisoning from ginkgo bud juice cannot be detected by silver needles.

A small bottle of ginkgo bud juice was presented, and Madam Qin carefully dripped three drops onto it.

The poisoning shouldn't be too strong; if it kills the old marquis too suddenly, it will easily attract attention.

Take it slow, and continue for three to five days.

Gu Yankai will die!
quite a while.

With a gentle and concerned expression, Madam Qin carried a bowl of medicinal soup into the main hall:
"My Lord, it's time to take the medicine."

(End of this chapter)