Heroic Wife Reborn - Chapters 168 onwards

Chapter 179

Seeing Li Yuanle jumping up, Gu Xingnuo simply smiled and said softly, "Of course we can't just forget about it. But we need to think carefully about what to do next."

Gu Xinglang replied, "Yesterday, our eldest brother went into the palace with our grandfather and told the emperor that the second brother is ill and recuperating at home. If we now claim that Concubine Zhao colluded with thieves to harm His Royal Highness, wouldn't that be deceiving the emperor?"

Li Yuanle was taken aback by Gu Xinglang's words.

Gu Xingnuo looked at his third brother with approval; they understood that the Li family from Chengzhou had a serious issue, and now they had given the Li family a leverage against the Gu family, so the Li family should feel more at ease.

The old man tapped the desk and asked Gu Xingnuo, "What do you mean by that?"

"The Sixth Highness is going to Zhuri, and Concubine Zhao has fallen out of favor again," Gu Xingnuo explained. "I think that since the Seventh Highness is safe, we shouldn't be the ones in a hurry; that should be Concubine Zhao and Zhao Qiuming's concern."

Gu Xinglang glanced at the silent Li Yuanle and asked his elder brother, "So, are we not going to do anything?"

Gu Xingnuo replied, "This Xiong Xiong is a troublemaker."

Li Yuanle clenched the armrest of his chair but remained silent.

The old man asked, "Are we going to kill Xiong Xiong?"

Gu Xingnuo turned to Li Yuanle and said, "Little Lezi, what do you think?"

Since the Grandmaster couldn't help the Gu family identify the crimes of Concubine Zhao and Zhao Qiuming, he had become expendable. Yet when it came time to easily eliminate him, General Li hesitated. The word "kill" suddenly felt heavy, as if it were a thousand-pound burden, difficult to utter.

Gu Xinglang was about to speak, but upon seeing his elder brother shake his head, he swallowed back the words that had risen to his lips.

"I think this way," Gu Xingnuo said. "Xiong Xiong is in our Gu Mansion. We have time to consider what to do, so we don't take a step we can't retract and end up regretting it."

Li Yuanle slowly lifted his gaze to Gu Xingnuo and said, "If he's a scourge, let's just kill him."

"There's no rush," Gu Xingnuo replied with a smile, speaking gently. "Keeping him locked up in our house won't pose any issues."

Li Yuanle stood up, saluted the old man, and said, "Grandfather Gu, I'll take my leave now."

The old man nodded, then asked, "When you entered the palace this time, did you request permission to see Concubine Li?"

Li Yuanle offered a bitter smile.

Gu Xingnuo interjected, "So you asked for a decree, but Concubine Li didn't respond?"

Li Yuanle nodded quickly, saluted the old man again, and then hugged both Gu Xingnuo and Gu Xinglang before stepping back and turning to leave the study.

"I'll see him off," Gu Xingnuo said as he stood up.

Once Gu Xingnuo had exited, the old man looked at Gu Xinglang and sighed.

Gu Xinglang said, "Grandfather, I didn't know about this before."

"What does knowing or not knowing have to do with this?" the old man replied, annoyed. "You and that boy from the Li family are like brothers in life and death, and you haven't heard a single whisper of this?"

Gu Xinglang shook his head. "Grandfather, why would Yuanle's family discuss this with anyone?"

The old man sighed again. "This is troublesome."

Gu Xinglang's expression shifted from serious to suddenly cheerful.

"Are you still laughing?" the old man questioned, exasperated.

Gu Xinglang said, "Grandfather, no matter how troublesome this is, can it compare to the fact that the princess almost killed Master Fenglin?"

The old man coughed, realizing that, indeed, thinking of his grandson-in-law made the troubles concerning the Li family seem trivial.

Gu Xingnuo escorted Li Yuanle out of the mansion, where a group of brothers waited outside. Upon seeing Young Master Gu accompanying General Li, they all saluted from a distance, refraining from approaching.

"Concubine Li has been childless all these years since entering the palace, and there's been no news of her being favored," Gu Xingnuo whispered to Li Yuanle after they stopped near the palace. "We can probably guess her situation."

Li Yuanle felt a lump in his throat and responded, "Brother Gu?"

"You hesitated just now when I asked about killing Xiong Xiong," Gu Xingnuo observed. "It seems that Xiong Xiong isn't as heinous in your eyes."

Li Yuanle smiled faintly, replying, "Brother Gu, he is a thief after all."

"I understand," Gu Xingnuo said, gesturing for Li Yuanle's guards to bring over Major General Li's horse. He leaned in closer to whisper, "I still believe it's better to take more time to think about it than to regret it later."

"This is a deadlock," Li Yuanle said suddenly, urgency in his voice. "Brother Gu, do you have a way to untie this deadlock?!"

"Go on," Gu Xingnuo said, patting Li Yuanle's arm. "Come back tomorrow."

Li Yuanle dismounted with a gloomy expression, squeezing the horse's belly with his legs as he moved forward.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao had spent the day tending to the injuries of former pirates and had tasted bear paws for the first time. Upon returning to the courtyard, she spotted Xiaozhuang holding two little bear cubs. Unconsciously, she began to drool, imagining how these future reserves would look as they grew, her eyes sparkling with delight.

Xiaozhuang hurried into the room with his little bear cubs, having not eaten a single bite of bear meat despite everyone else enjoying it.

Grandma Wang returned from Yu Ziyi's courtyard and, upon entering, saw the princess standing there, wiping her mouth. "Princess, why don't you go see His Highness the Seventh Prince?" she exclaimed.

Yu Xiaoxiao replied, "Is Little Seven injured?"

Grandma Wang shook her head. "His Highness is still so young; what if he gets hurt?"

Yu Xiaoxiao retorted, "If he's not injured, why should I go see him? I'll visit when he gets hurt someday."

Grandma Wang trembled, questioning if this was even human logic.

Yu Xiaoxiao, unbothered by others' reactions, pulled the visibly anxious Grandma Wang to sit in the corridor. "Mammy, do you know Concubine Li?"

Grandma Wang looked exasperated. "Which Concubine Li?"

Yu Xiaoxiao explained, "She's Brother Li's sister—uh, Li Yuanle's sister. Xiao Gu said they're from some state in the East China Sea."

"Chengzhou in the East China Sea?" Grandma Wang asked.

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded eagerly. "Yes, she's from that family."

Grandma Wang, now alert, asked, "Did Major General Li ask you to inquire about this?"

Yu Xiaoxiao replied, "No, I'm just curious. If you don't know, that's fine." Given her capricious father had so many women, it was normal for Grandma Wang not to know about Concubine Li.

Grandma Wang, showing sympathy, said, "Concubine Li is quite a famous person in the palace."

"What?" Yu Xiaoxiao's eyes widened. To her, the most notable figure in the palace was Concubine Zhao. "Are she and Concubine Zhao of the same ilk?" Yu Xiaoxiao inquired.

Grandma Wang quickly shook her head. "Concubine Li is a good person."

Curiosity piqued, Yu Xiaoxiao asked, "Then why is she so famous?"