"Second Miss, my master said your mouth should be sewn shut!"
Gu Mingyue's face turned ashen, and she cried out in fear.
Bai Qi didn't wait for her to finish crying and said, "However, my master has given Crown Prince a face. If there is a next time, he will truly sew it shut. Please behave yourself, Second Miss!"
Gu Mingyue's crying stopped. She leaned back on the chair, no longer daring to speak ill of Gu Qianying.
Bai Qi walked from around Gu Mingyue to Gu Yumei's side and said coldly, "Fourth Miss, my master said your mouth needs to be gagged to make you behave. Hmm, my master is most understanding. Let's gag you for an hour, so you can learn your lesson!"
Gu Yumei's expression changed slightly. She wanted to beg for mercy, but Bai Qi wouldn't give her the chance.
Since he wouldn't do it himself, Bai Qi took action. After stuffing a cloth strip into Gu Yumei's mouth, he specifically called a young servant to stand by her side and watch her properly, only leaving after an hour.
At this moment, Gu Yumei felt dozens of pairs of eyes on her, their mockery and ridicule exceptionally obvious.
She was deeply humiliated.
Bai Qi circled from Gu Yumei's side to Gu Qianying's. His attitude towards Gu Qianying was completely different from before.
"Eldest Miss Gu, my master said that from now on, if anyone dares to speak ill of you, you can directly cut off their tongue. Do not worry about the consequences. If the sky falls, my master will bear it for you."
Bai Qi's voice was not loud, but everyone present heard it.
The crowd was shocked.
Prince Jiu, Nangong Mo, doted on Gu Qianying to such an extent. It seemed the position of Prince Jiu's consort was undoubtedly Gu Qianying's!
At this moment, everyone looked at Gu Qianying with different eyes.
Envy and jealousy were palpable.
Gu Mingyue and Gu Yumei were almost driven mad with jealousy. At the same time, they both deeply resented Gu Qianying.
If it weren't for Gu Qianying, why would they have lost so much face today!
Gu Qianying, that slut, should just die quickly!
Gu Mingyue and Gu Yumei's gazes met in the air. They exchanged a knowing glance and simultaneously cast a quick glance at a familiar retreating figure who was quietly leaving the crowd.
While others did not notice their subtle movements, the Third Concubine, Han Shi, who was sitting at the very edge and was unusually quiet today, saw it all clearly.
Han Shi clutched her handkerchief and discreetly wiped her mouth with it.
At this time, the maidservant next to her also quietly left.
There were many people present, and the departure of one or two individuals wouldn't reveal much.
However, these two quietly leaving individuals did not know that their departure time and destination were being followed.
Meanwhile, on the men's side.
General Gu and the Gu clan members watched Nangong Mo's constant protection of Gu Qianying. General Gu was very pleased, while the Gu clan members had mixed feelings.
Nangong Qi, despite strongly disapproving of Nangong Mo's actions, could not say anything as Nangong Mo had saved him some face earlier.
If Gu Yefeng hadn't occasionally conversed with him and never spoken a word to Nangong Mo, and if General Gu's attitude towards him wasn't so different from his attitude towards Nangong Mo, and if he hadn't occasionally received memorials from Gu Yefeng and other members of the Gu clan, he would have truly believed that Gu Yefeng's submission on behalf of the Gu clan was insincere.
It seemed that Nangong Mo's stay in the Gu manor for these few days was just his wishful thinking.
Whether he was favored or not depended on whether General Gu would accept a paralyzed cripple as his grandson-in-law.
As for the rumors from a few days ago that Nangong Mo's legs had improved, although his spies had all died, they had brought him good news.
Nangong Mo's legs had not improved!
With that, what else did he have to worry about?
At the banquet, after Nangong Mo's intervention to defend Gu Qianying, everyone became much more cautious in their words.
And at the banquet, the flower appreciation feast among the women, with the addition of the men, inevitably involved scenes of singing and dancing.
After everything, the banquet today was exceptionally lively.
After the singers had finished their performances, a woman in pink, with whom Gu Qianying had never interacted, suddenly looked at Gu Qianying and said, "Eldest Miss Gu, I recall your 'qin-less skill' was truly magnificent and unparalleled in the world. How about you let us all witness your prowess today? Would that be alright?"
The woman in pink incited the crowd, and others began to chime in, "Yes, Eldest Miss Gu, I've heard before that you play the zither extremely well. Even without strings, you can play melodies. Such skill, let us see it, so we can admire it!"
"Yes, Eldest Miss Gu, why don't you play a song? We are very eager to see it."
Several young ladies spoke one after another, all egging on the woman in pink to challenge Gu Qianying.
They only wanted to force Gu Qianying to perform in front of everyone, just like the singers, to entertain the crowd. They had momentarily forgotten how Nangong Mo had defended Gu Qianying earlier.
After the three women finished speaking, Gu Mingyue, eager to see Gu Qianying embarrassed, quickly said, "What are you all talking about? My elder sister is the esteemed eldest legitimate daughter. How can she perform for everyone so easily? Besides, even if my elder sister wanted to play for everyone, she would need a zither, wouldn't she? Today, you are all guests at the manor, so how could you bring a zither with you?"
"Coincidentally, I brought my zither when I came today. I originally planned to ask Eldest Miss Gu about her exquisite 'qin-less skill' after the flower appreciation feast. If Eldest Miss Gu could play it here, that would be excellent. In that way, we can also admire it."
The woman in pink smiled and had her maidservant bring out the zither she had brought.
Gu Qianying looked at her, a cold smile curling her lips.
What a coincidence!
Isn't this Qi Duanyi, the daughter of the Minister of Rites, from the Qi family!
In her previous life, this person was her eldest sister-in-law, a woman who had strayed!
Qi Duanyi wore a pink pomegranate skirt. Her features were exquisite, and she was tall. Proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she was considered a talented woman in the capital.
However, such a talented woman was narrow-minded, ruthless, and a scumbag who always looked for more.
Gu Qianying looked at Qi Duanyi without speaking.
Meanwhile, Gu Mingyue was still saying, "Elder sister, look, Miss Qi has already prepared the zither for you. Why don't you..."
As Gu Mingyue spoke, she deliberately glanced towards Nangong Mo. She saw that Nangong Mo was talking to someone else and didn't seem to be paying attention to their side, which made her even more aggressive.
"What are you trying to do? My daughter is the legitimate daughter of the Gu family. How can you trifle with her like this!" The First Madam was furious.
At this moment, Miss Qi quickly said, "First Madam, please don't misunderstand. How could Duan Yi only let Eldest Miss Gu play alone? When she plays, she always needs someone to accompany her. My maidservant Xinlian knows some dances. Why don't we let her perform with Eldest Miss Gu, how about it?"
"That would be excellent."
"Eldest Miss Gu, please proceed quickly."
Two women, who were of the same mind as Qi Duanyi, echoed in agreement.
"You are insolent!"
Lu Zhu puffed out her cheeks, choked with anger.
At this moment, Gu Qianying casually tossed the short dagger in her hand into Lu Zhu's embrace and then said coldly, "Go, cut off their tongues!"
Upon hearing this.
Everyone was stunned.
Qi Duanyi and the other two were all scared silly.
"Eldest Miss Gu, what are you trying to do? We were just..."
Before this woman could finish speaking, Lu Zhu, with great force, grabbed her chin, forced her mouth open, and then severed her tongue.
Ah!
The severed, bloody tongue fell to the ground.
The woman beside her screamed in terror.