Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

The actions of these two families were quite big, as if they wanted to announce it to the world. Gu Huanxi knew it, and there was nothing unexpected. As long as he was not stupid, he would understand that it would be easier to get out of it by taking the initiative to apologize. However, he would inevitably be skinned alive.

as predicted.

One is a marquis, the other is an earl, both are relatives to the royal family, the former is the father-in-law of the third prince, the latter can barely be considered half the father-in-law of the eldest prince, the former is also the deputy commander of the imperial guards, although the latter does not have much real power, he also has a fourth-rank honorary position to show off, but now they are both kneeling on the cold ground, with a look of guilt and repentance for failing to honor the emperor, in terms of acting skills, the two are on par with each other.

Emperor Jianxing delayed summoning them until they were almost exhausted, and then he summoned them.

Outsiders had no way of knowing what the emperor and his ministers said in the imperial study, but soon, gossip spread. The emperor severely reprimanded the two for not educating their children well and failing to discipline them, which damaged the reputation of the officers' families. As a result, they were beaten with twenty boards. Even though the executioners secretly let the water out after receiving the money, the two had to be helped to climb into the carriage when they left the palace. They looked miserable, with blood all over their backs, and they looked really miserable.

However, no one sympathized with them. This was the fate of having a son who was a traitor. This was also the explanation given by the emperor to the Gu family. Otherwise, how could they settle the matter? And how could they ensure that the soldiers at the front could focus on fighting against the Japanese pirates?

This is done for everyone to see, so the more tragic the better, so that it appears that the emperor is fair and strict, and loves his people like his own children.

They were also very cooperative and did not care about being embarrassed. They said all kinds of nice things just to clear themselves of the suspicion of bullying the families of soldiers and disrupting the morale of the army.

It is said that the two of them were just about to swear an oath to the heavens in front of Emperor Jianxing.

Heaven and earth can bear witness to their feelings towards Dayong, the imperial court, and the emperor. They spread rumors only out of personal vengeance.

As long as it can be attributed to personal vendetta, the problem can be easily solved. It is nothing more than sacrificing a son. Besides, the rumor-mongering did not cause the death of the victim, so a lighter sentence is possible, such as reprimand and fine, or beating with a stick. However, this time, the previous practice was not followed and the prisoner was sentenced directly.

The sentence is not long, three years, but it is not a matter of three to five years. It is the experience of being in prison and the despair of having no future.

When they come out, where will there be room for them in the mansion?

But this was no longer something they could fight against. After Marquis Dingyuan and Earl Pingyuan returned to their mansion, the bailiffs from Jingzhao Prefecture came to their door to demand their release. This somewhat saved the two families some face, and they didn't make a big fuss, but those who should know knew about it, and some people even went over to watch the fun. Afterwards, the news of those men's embarrassment spread to everyone.

After hearing this, Han Jun told her about it so that she would feel happy too. "Marquis Dingyuan was a military commander who led the imperial guards after all. Who would have thought that his adopted sons had no courage or backbone? When they were captured, one was so terrified that his legs were so weak that he couldn't walk, and he was dragged out by the arms. The other was even more embarrassing. He cried loudly, which was totally unmanly. The onlookers laughed loudly and treated it as a joke. I'm afraid the people in Marquis Dingyuan's mansion won't be able to go out and see people before the New Year..."

Gu Huanxi held the cup and drank the red date tea intermittently. Hearing his contemptuous tone, he said, "Marquis Dingyuan doesn't care about the upbringing of his illegitimate sons. He only uses them as chess pieces or as a whetstone for Li Yunzhao. Whatever they are like, it won't hurt him at all."

Hearing this, Han Jun mocked, "This is what is called a wealthy family. The father is not like a father, and the son is not like a son. The family affection is so weak that they can abandon it at any time, and even turn against each other, just for power and interests."

It is really sad and lamentable, especially for the royal family.

Gu Huanxi didn't respond, but asked, "What about Meng Chonglou from the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion? Did he resist?"

Han Jun shook his head with a strange look in his eyes.

Gu Huanxi asked in surprise, "He actually obediently cooperated with his family's arrangements and was willing to be a sacrifice?"

It's no wonder she was surprised. In fact, because of Meng Yao, she and Xu Huaiyi had spent a lot of time investigating the Pingyuan Earl's family, especially Meng Yao's parents. After all, these two people had the closest relationship with Meng Yao.

Meng Yao's mother is the eldest daughter of the Yao family. She is talented and beautiful, but she is a little weak in temperament. She has no opinions of her own when encountering things and can't cause any waves. As for Meng Chonglou, for so many years, he has been wearing the cloak of a playboy, not doing his job properly, not striving for progress, hanging out in brothels, eating and drinking with a bunch of friends all day long, and doing foolish things such as fighting and making trouble to snatch the most beautiful woman, and spending a lot of money. His family can't control him. In the eyes of everyone, he is already useless and will never amount to anything.

But Xu Huaiyi later found out that he only acted like this to lull everyone into a trance. In reality, he had long been a minion of the King of Chu, secretly helping the Chu Palace to gather all kinds of information. Places like brothels are most likely to make men relax their guard, and with a little probing and inducement, they would often hear something useful.

Relying on this little bit of usefulness, Meng Chonglou boasted that he had some ability, especially since last year, when his daughter won the favor of the emperor and was conferred the title of county princess. His status in the eyes of the King of Chu also rose accordingly. He could usually play together with the Prince of Chu in public, which undoubtedly raised his value.

Because of this, he became more and more inflated and arrogant. Even after being hit hard one after another, he failed to become sober and obedient. He even secretly wanted to compete for the position of the crown prince. So why is he so obedient now?

Give up?

Gu Huanxi didn't think that this was enough to convince him.

As expected, Han Jun explained, "He was drugged and was unconscious. His hands were tied with ropes. There were blood marks on his wrists from struggling. His face was swollen. He was probably unwilling to give in. He was beaten but he refused to compromise. We had to tie him up, but we couldn't gag him, so we had to use drugs."

His analysis was pretty close to the truth, and Gu Huanxi nodded in agreement, "But he will eventually wake up. Once he's in jail, what can Pingyuan Bo do about what he wants to say?"

After a pause, her expression changed slightly, "He won't kill me, will he? Even a tiger will eat its own cubs..."

Han Jun said, "They didn't kill him, but the people from the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion told the yamen runners that Meng Chonglou had been mentally disturbed because of the great shock he had received. When he knew he was going to be arrested, he became even crazier. So, no matter what he does or says in the future, they are all crazy talk and cannot be taken seriously."

Hearing this, Gu Huanxi took a breath of cold air, "I didn't expect that this Lord Meng is even more cruel than Marquis Dingyuan..."

The word "crazy" was almost the same as sentencing Meng Chonglou to death. What she couldn't understand was that no matter how bad Meng Chonglou was, he was still Meng Yao's biological father. She had to look at the face of the Buddha instead of the monk. From the Meng family's arrangements over the past year, she could tell that Pingyuan Bo valued Meng Yao and he should have believed in her power of foresight. So, how could he completely abandon this son?

Han Jun didn't know that her focus had shifted, and said in a deep voice, "Although what Pingyuan Marquis did was a bit cruel, it must be said that this was a brilliant move. It can clear the Marquis's suspicion. Meng Chonglou is crazy anyway, so nothing he does counts, and it can't be blamed on the Marquis's. This is better than sending two bastards to jail. Let's wait and see. Meng Chonglou will be released in a few days."

After all, there's little point in locking up a lunatic.

Gu Huanxi asked curiously, "Do you think he is pretending to be crazy or is he really crazy?"

Han Jun said meaningfully, "During this period, he must have been really crazy. As for when he comes out of prison, he may recover or continue to be crazy. It all depends on the future situation and Meng Chonglou's choice."

Gu Huanxi understood the deep meaning and hint in his words, and her scalp went numb. Did he force-feed Meng Chonglou a drug that would make him crazy? As for whether he could get better in the future, it depended on whether Meng Chonglou was still useful at that time, and whether he would cause any more harm to the Bo's Mansion. For some reason, at this moment, she suddenly had a particularly strong intuition that this arrangement was not the work of Pingyuan Bo, but the decision of Meng Yao.

She took a few deep breaths, suppressed the discomfort in her heart, and said as calmly as possible, "In this case, let's not do anything else for the time being. They have already done this much, too much is as bad as too little, so let's stop here."

Han Jun nodded. "If you chase a mad dog into a dead end, the dog will jump over the wall, and that will be more trouble than it gains. I think the Sun family also means this."

Gu Huanxi understood, "Did they all go to the Sun family to apologize?"

"Well, Li Yunxuan and Prince Meng went there with a cart full of gifts and a very humble attitude. The Sun family didn't make it too difficult for them. They let them in after a few words of persuasion. But you, the two princes' wives were turned away." Han Jun smiled silently, "But this is what he should do."

You can't be too easy to talk to. Although you don't want to beat the man when he's down, you still have to stretch him a little and give him some control. Otherwise, wouldn't it seem like you have no backbone?

Gu Huanxi helplessly explained for herself, "I really wasn't putting on airs or trying to manipulate them. I just didn't want to socialize with them in a perfunctory way, saying those insincere words, and making those roundabout tests. It was too painful."

Therefore, she used the excuse of being sick to send away all those who came to apologize, and asked Wei Ci to convey the message that the government and the court had already given her an explanation and severely punished the culprit. She was now calm and had no resentment, so there was no need for them to come again. If she had to make compensation or express her apology, she could just leave the gifts.

No one knew what the two princesses were thinking, but they actually left generous gifts, said a few sincere words of comfort, and said they would come back after she recovered, then they drove away in an empty carriage.

Well, it seems like just a formality.

But this formality was very necessary and was indeed somewhat useful. At least, on the surface, she accepted the gift and the grudge was over. If she continued to make trouble and was relentless, even the emperor would be annoyed with her.

Gu Huanxi knew everything and was not angry. After all, this was the peaceful situation she wanted.

Han Jun looked at her in surprise, then turned away and cleared his throat, "That's good, it saves a lot of trouble."

Gu Huanxi sighed, "I really don't have the patience to deal with those people. Anyway, they have all been to the Sun family, and the Grandmaster has said everything that needs to be said. It doesn't matter to me."

With the elders carrying you, you can occasionally let go and enjoy the comfort and freedom of lying down.

Han Jun understood and asked, "What are you going to do with the things they sent?"

Gu Huanxi said without thinking, "Pick out a few things that Master Grandmaster likes and send them to him. This time, thanks to him for coming forward. Master Grandmaster's wife should also be thanked. For the rest, convert them into silver. I will add a little and donate them all to the court and send them over there to support the war."

In this way, the dissatisfaction of Emperor Jianxing should be dissipated, right? Although she was the victim, she was the one who caused such a big incident. As an emperor, it is impossible for him not to have some thoughts.

Hearing this, Han Jun's eyes flickered, "You seem to have the same idea as those two families."

They all used the same method to calm the emperor's anger.

"Hmm? They want to donate silver too?"

"Well, just being beaten is not enough. In order to express their inner guilt and self-blame, and to show their support for the soldiers at the front, the two families proposed to donate a batch of food and silver to support the war in the south."

“How much did you donate?”

"Each family has two hundred thousand taels of silver and one hundred thousand dan of grain."

Gu Huanxi's mouth twitched. The amount of donation was really not small, especially in the current situation of soaring food prices. This kind of thought was even more generous and sincere.

Not only she couldn't think of it, but anyone in the capital who knew a little about these two families was secretly amazed. This amount of money and property might be enough to empty out nearly half of the assets of the two families, right?

They are really willing to spend this much. This is not what they call "doing their best", this is clearly a huge loss.

How could one not sigh with regret after seeing the hard work of several generations being used to finance the army? After sighing, they closed the door and warned their children and grandchildren not to provoke the Gu family. They could not afford to provoke such an unconventional and bizarre competition, so they could only avoid it.

At night, Gu Huanxi waited for Xu Huaiyi in the RV and told him what happened today, focusing on the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion. "I guessed everyone's reaction, but I didn't expect the Meng family to deal with Meng Chonglou in this way. The word 'crazy' can cover up all the crimes. It's useful, but it's too cruel. He would rather die than live..."

The couple had a tacit understanding, and Xu Huaiyi immediately asked, "Do you think this is Meng Yao's style?"

Gu Huanxi nodded and asked, "What do you think?"

Xu Huaiyi pondered, "It is very likely. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Pingyuan Bo doesn't seem to be a ruthless person. The temperament of Prince Meng is even softer. Only Meng Yao is an exception. She knows the historical trajectory of the previous life. Even though she knows that the eldest prince's throne is unstable, she is willing to send her aunt to be a concubine just for a few years of wealth and glory. If the eldest prince is forced to step down in the future, what good will happen to the concubines in the harem? She also pushed her own father to get close to the Prince of Chu and be his lackey. It's no wonder that such a snobbish and heartless person would do anything cruel."

Gu Huanxi speculated, "Could it be that in her past life, these two people had wronged her? So she wanted revenge?"

Xu Huaiyi sneered, "I think that's her nature. Otherwise, how could she instigate Pingyuan Bo to test me and get rid of me when she doesn't even know us? God is also blind to let such a person be reborn. It's simply a disaster. Pingyuan Bo's Mansion has regained glory because of her, but I'm afraid it will also be extremely unlucky because of her. Now, even her own father can be drugged and driven crazy. In the future, whoever stands in her way, will she show mercy? That Lord Meng is also a fool. He actually let her do what she wants. He really doesn't worry about his own fate at all."

Gu Huanxi thought, "Perhaps, he has no other choice. Meng Chonglou refused to be a sacrifice, so he must have said something to threaten the Earl's Mansion. For the safety and future of the entire Earl's Mansion, Earl Pingyuan has no other choice."

Even so, Xu Huaiyi still said disdainfully, "Humph, there is no good person in this family, it's rotten to the core."