"Lord Gu, I've brought you here as you wished, without sending any prior message. What do you think..." Grand Scholar Du asked politely.
Initially, he had considered himself an elder and maintained a certain air of superiority in front of Gu Sinian.
Now, he dared not. He feared angering Gu Sinian and having his Du family overthrown.
He did not have the audacity to challenge the young man most trusted by His Majesty.
"Madam Du is unwell, and Eldest Sister-in-law, being filial, must return to the Du residence to attend to her," Gu Sinian stated calmly.
Grand Scholar Du nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, my wife has not been well recently. She has been constantly mentioning her longing for her daughter. I will send someone to the Duke's mansion to fetch her immediately."
"What should be said and what should not be said, Grand Scholar Du knows best. This junior will not elaborate further," Gu Sinian said.
Grand Scholar Du felt a pang of bitterness, "Lord Gu is right."
Allowing him to bring his daughter back to the residence was already a show of great consideration.
If he were to be ungrateful and act rashly, he would truly be inviting his own downfall.
It was just that his poor daughter, a respectable young lady from a prominent family, had married Gu Siya, and now faced the prospect of divorce and returning home.
In the end, it was his fault for choosing the wrong husband for his daughter.
He regretted it deeply.
Alas, in this world, there was no medicine for regret.
Gu Sinian was not afraid of Grand Scholar Du turning against him. The matter of the Lu family previously was enough to deter these prominent families.
As for Li An and others, they considered themselves clever but were in fact foolish. They believed everything was under their control, but in reality, they were always within His Majesty's grasp.
Divorce was better than being implicated.
"Lord Gu, I have one more question for you. You can be ruthless towards a brother with whom you share no mother, but can you also be ruthless towards the father who gave you life?" Grand Scholar Du hesitated before finally asking this question.
Gu Sinian's expression remained unchanged, "I am not a heartless person, but that does not mean I am a soft-hearted individual who can be manipulated. There is no such thing as ruthlessness; it is merely protecting those who are important to me."
He did not explicitly say whether he would be ruthless towards Gu Changwei.
However, Grand Scholar Du understood. If Gu Changwei were to harm those important to him, Gu Sinian would show no mercy.
"I have learned," Grand Scholar Du cupped his hands, turned, and climbed into his carriage.
Gu Sinian then took Qin Tingxue to find Bai Su.
Xie Chen visibly relaxed, then cracked his knuckles, "You cannot be soft-hearted. His Majesty must make a decision. You still have a future to pursue, and with the connection to Consort An, you should not get involved in this matter. His Majesty trusts you now, but that does not mean he will not be suspicious in the future. No matter how bad Li An is, he is still his blood relative."
"And you?"
"As for me, I do not wish to miss out any longer. Your mother's wish in her youth was to travel and see the world. We are not young anymore; if we delay further, we won't be able to travel or play." Xie Chen said.
"Then, if His Majesty seeks retribution from you in the future, won't my mother be implicated?"
"If we don't linger under his nose, what retribution can he seek?" Xie Chen said. "Besides, he must consider the Xie and Qin families. Moreover, it is not us being aggressive; it is Li An who has gone too far. His Majesty has always known my feelings. Now, my righteous indignation for a beauty is perfectly reasonable."
"As I said, my mother must be willing to go with you," Gu Sinian replied.
"A good woman fears a persistent suitor," Xie Chen said shamelessly.
"Lord Xie is truly thick-skinned," Gu Sinian gritted his teeth.
"I was too thin-skinned back then," Xie Chen said with regret. "If I had been thicker-skinned, you would not be in the picture now."