I just got divorced, and this cold, ruthless, and powerful minister is begging for a third child eve

Upon hearing this news, Gu Mingshuang looked up in surprise and asked in a low voice:

"Has there been any news from Du Bo?"

She feared that Du Cang was still angry and had someone beat up Song Linyuan.

Lingxiang shook her head.

"Dubo did not send a message."

Gu Mingshuang pondered for a moment.

"That shouldn't be Du Bo's doing. If it were him, he wouldn't have made the decision on his own; he would have informed me first."

Lingxiang nodded and said:

"Right now, Madam and Miss are both by the young master's side."

Gu Mingshuang responded lightly and walked towards Qingwu Garden.

In the courtyard, Jianlan was practicing her swordplay. Her short sword swept across the bushes, instantly scattering fallen leaves all over the ground.

Looking at the sword in Jianlan's hand, Gu Mingshuang suddenly felt that the length of the sword looked somewhat familiar.

She suddenly thought of the sword Qin Mo had used, which seemed similar to the short sword in Jian Lan's hand.

Hearing a sound at the door, Jianlan immediately sheathed her sword and stepped forward to bow.

"master!"

Gu Mingshuang smiled as she watched her sheathe her sword.

"Your skills are indeed impressive."

Jianlan is, after all, a woman. Although she used to be quiet and reserved in the Dark Guard Camp, she has already started to smile since she came to Qingwu Garden only two days ago.

"This servant's skills are far from sufficient. This servant's greatest dream is to be able to exchange three moves with the Duke! That would be truly remarkable!"

Lingxiang was startled and stepped forward to ask:

"The Duke is so fierce, aren't you, a young girl, afraid of him?"

Gladiolus said earnestly:

"Actually, the Duke may look fierce, but he has a very kind heart. Back then, on the battlefield, he single-handedly charged into the enemy camp to save us hostages and was even shot by an arrow."

"If it weren't for the Duke, we would have died at the hands of those Northern Qiang people long ago."

Lingxiang looked at Jianlan in surprise.

"Is the Duke really that valiant?"

Jianlan nodded emphatically, her eyes lighting up when Anguo Gong's achievements were mentioned.

"The Duke pacified the border and recovered three cities. He is an unparalleled hero. It is an unparalleled honor to serve under the Duke."

Lingxiang frowned again and asked in a low voice:

"But I also heard that the Duke once took the family genealogy records to massacre the city, killing off several families with multiple records!"

Gu Mingshuang, who was standing to the side, blinked slightly as she thought of the rumors she had heard about Qin Mo before.

This is also the origin of his nickname "Living Yama".

Jianlan frowned, clenched her fingers, and as if she had thought of something, gritted her teeth and said:

"Those noble families of the Northern Qiang deserved to be killed by the Duke! In the name of sacrificial rites, they slaughtered hundreds of infants under the age of one from our border town!"

"They used the blood of those infants to make elixirs, and then threw their corpses outside the city gates!"

Lingxiang's face immediately turned pale.

"Are they even human?! They're horrible!"

"Thankfully, the Duke was there, otherwise these demons would have been sent to hell!"

Gu Mingshuang listened without saying a word, but pursed her lips tightly.

I never imagined that behind the rumors I heard back then, there was such a cruel truth.

Thinking of Qin Mo's usually aloof eyes, which occasionally held a hint of roguishness, she couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

At that time, Qin Mo was just a young man. At that age, all the young masters of noble families in the capital were protected by their families, and were high above and incomparably noble.

But this is what Qin Mo experienced!

She suddenly thought of the old and new wounds on Qin Mo's body.

His eyes tightened slightly.

Thinking of the medicinal bath recipe her master had given her, Gu Mingshuang bit her lip and went inside to write down the prescription.

She called for Gladiolus.

"Is there any way to hand this over to the Duke?"

Gladiolus nodded emphatically, walked to the window and whistled. Soon a carrier pigeon flew to her side.

Gu Mingshuang walked forward with great surprise and watched as Jianlan put the note into the small bamboo tube on the pigeon's leg.

Gladiolus explained:

"The Duke will personally open the message on this carrier pigeon."

Soon, the carrier pigeons flew into the night.

Gu Mingshuang then sat back down at the desk.

However, a knocking sound came from the courtyard gate.

Upon hearing Meng's voice, Gu Mingshuang frowned slightly.

Lingxiang was about to stop her, but Lühe had already opened the courtyard gate.

Green Lotus followed cautiously behind Meng.

Seeing Gu Mingshuang walk out of the main house, Madam Meng said coldly:

"A princess consort is not as sensible as a maid."

Gu Mingshuang glanced at Lühe next to Meng Shi, and was surprised that Lühe had climbed up to Meng Shi in such a short time.

She didn't say much, and her gaze returned to Meng Shi.

"Madam, is there anything I can do for you so late at night?"

Meng scrutinized Gu Mingshuang, and the more she looked at her face, the more beautiful it became under the light, the angrier she grew.

After Yuan'er returned to the capital, he was only granted the title of heir apparent. He received no other honors and was not particularly outstanding in the circles of high-ranking nobles. It was unlikely that he would make enemies.

After much thought, she came to only one possibility: Gu Mingshuang's restlessness had implicated Yuan'er.

She dismissed the maids and servants, glared at Gu Mingshuang, and angrily rebuked her:

"Yuan'er was beaten innocently, and you didn't even bother to look at him? How can you be so heartless?"

Gu Mingshuang looked coldly at Madam Meng and said:

"If I go to see the Crown Prince, and he keeps me here and makes a promise to me, what should I do?"

Madam Meng thought that her son had recently become obsessed with this woman and might actually do something foolish to keep her around.

Her face stiffened, and she blurted out:

"You're not allowed to go!"

She would never let Yuan'er become obsessed with this woman again!

But she really couldn't stand it right now, and angrily shouted:

"You don't need to use these tactics to intimidate me. Don't think I can't guess; Yuan'er's beating is probably related to you. Ever since our Song family married you, this jinx, a year ago, everything has gone wrong!"

Gu Mingshuang felt a chill in her heart.

"When I sold off my properties in Qingzhou to cover the deficit of the Marquis's mansion, my wife praised me as a blessing to the mansion. I never expected that things would turn out like this in just one year. It really is true that people's hearts are fickle."

Enraged, Madam Meng pointed at Gu Mingshuang and said:

"What's the point of saying all this? It only exposes your greedy nature. Even if you spend a year learning the rules in the Marquis's mansion, it won't change your true nature! You're just making me despise you even more!"

Gu Mingshuang didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

"If Madam has nothing else important to attend to, I will return to my room."

Meng choked, and cried out urgently:

"Stop right there!"

Gu Mingshuang stood with her back to her, without turning around.

"Is there anything else, Madam?"

Meng said in a deep voice:

"The day after tomorrow is Ayu's birthday banquet. I'm here to warn you. Cooperate obediently, or you won't get what you want."

Gu Mingshuang's expression changed slightly.

Meng's eyes held a calculating and smug look; she understood that look.

Something must have gone wrong.

She's waiting for the divorce papers!

"What do you mean, Madam?"

Meng looked at her, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Gu Mingshuang, don't think that you can suppress my Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion just by finding the old lady of the Qin family. Things are not as simple as you think."

When Old Mrs. Qin spoke from Madam Meng's mouth, Gu Mingshuang's face stiffened slightly.

How could Meng know about her relationship with Old Madam Qin?

Seeing Gu Mingshuang's astonishment, Meng felt a surge of pleasure. She glanced at Gu Mingshuang with disdain.

"Just remember to cooperate with me in arranging the marriage between Yuan'er and Ayu, and then you can naturally leave the Marquis's mansion."

Seeing Gu Mingshuang standing there without saying a word, Madam Meng sneered.

"You don't actually want to leave, do you? Well, even with a face like that, those men outside are just looking for fun. What respectable family would marry you?"

With that, Meng turned and left.

Looking at the closed courtyard gate, Gu Mingshuang pursed her lips and, after thinking for a moment, called Jianlan over.

"Is it possible to contact the Duke?"

Seeing Gu Mingshuang's solemn expression, Jianlan immediately summoned a carrier pigeon again, but only one of the three letters sent out received a reply.

After reading the letter, Jianlan looked at Gu Mingshuang with a pale face.

"The Duke has entered the palace and hasn't come out yet, so messages can't be sent in."

Gu Mingshuang frowned.

"Is there any news about Old Madam Qin?"

Sword Orchid said in a deep voice:

"Kenshin said that Old Madam Qin also entered the palace today."

A cool night breeze blew by, and Gu Mingshuang bit her lip.

For some reason, I felt uneasy; I hadn't felt this uneasy in a long time.

She finally managed to calm herself down and sent a letter to Du Cang, asking him to send people to guard outside the palace gates and to send news immediately if there was any.

Back in her room, she sat at her desk, looking at the blueprints on it with a troubled expression.

This is what she made for Qin Mo's garden.

She held the pen for a long time, but eventually put it down, feeling restless and agitated.

Seeing her pale face, Lingxiang quickly stepped forward to persuade her:

"Young lady, don't worry. The Duke has a distinguished military record, and Madam Qin is a woman of merit. They will be fine!"

Gu Mingshuang stood up and said coldly:

"Go and investigate what unusual things happened at the Marquis's residence today. In particular, who came by?"

Soon, Jianlan strode into the room.

"Master, Miss Li visited the Marquis's residence today. She spent a long time drinking tea with Madam and her cousin in Shou'an Hall, and dismissed the servants during that time."

Lingxiang opened her eyes wide.

"Miss Li? Isn't she the one who clashed with you today? Later, that young general from the Li family even suffered a loss in front of you!"

Gu Mingshuang's face darkened upon hearing this. Qin Mo had even used some tricks to get Li Zheng to guard the palace gates earlier that day.

Could it really have been done by the Li family?

Sword Orchid said sternly:

"This servant will seize that young lady now and interrogate her thoroughly!"

Gu Mingshuang stopped Jianlan.

"If it were truly because the Li family and the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion had joined forces, she certainly wouldn't have said it."

Lingxiang asked anxiously:

"What should we do then?"

Gu Mingshuang pondered for a moment and said:

"Go to bed early, and come out with me tomorrow morning."

Seeing that Lingxiang and Jianlan were puzzled, Gu Mingshuang explained:

"Tomorrow is the day before Xie Lanyu's birthday banquet. Usually, before such days, she and Li Rong would go to choose jewelry and clothing."

Lingxiang asked worriedly:

"Girl, what if they still don't tell?"

Gu Mingshuang narrowed her eyes slightly.

"It's inconvenient to take action inside the manor, but it might be more convenient outside."

As expected, Gu Mingshuang learned early the next morning that Xie Lanyu had gone out.

Before long, Gu Mingshuang also arranged for a carriage.

Before leaving, she spotted Green Lotus peeking out through the side door.

Standing still, Gu Mingshuang watched as Lühe ran towards Shou'an Hall, her eyes flickering slightly.

She deliberately made Lingxiang stop staring at Lühe, and sure enough, Lühe quickly lost patience with her and turned to Meng Shi instead.

She watched Green Lotus's retreating figure, her gaze darkening slightly.

She wanted to see just how much trouble this green lotus could cause in the Marquis's mansion.