Qin Momo steadied herself, eyes brimming with tears as she shouted furiously, “Miss Gu! You thought that beating me half to death and casting me out would ensure your secret was safe—that no one would ever speak of you pushing Second Miss off a cliff? Your delusion ends today!”
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Gu Yue roared in fury, “You’re just a servant! How dare you slander me?!”
Her voice was hoarse now, but the bystanders no longer believed her. Hearing Qin Momo’s testimony, they looked at Gu Yue with contempt.
“Father! This servant dares humiliate me so! Why don’t you order someone to seize her?!”
But to her shock, Gu Changfan remained silent, even turned his face away—refusing to look at her.
In that moment, Gu Yue’s heart sank into the abyss.
Qin Momo hunched over and took a step forward. “Whether it’s slander isn’t for you to decide! That day, Ziyun and I followed Second Miss to the manor. But someone tampered with her carriage, forcing her to dismount midway.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she swayed unsteadily. “After she got off, you insisted on riding with her in one carriage. When she refused, you dragged her to the cliff and tried to push her off!”
Ziyun could hold back no longer, “It’s true—I saw it too! She pushed once and failed, then did it again until Second Miss finally fell!”
The two eyewitnesses spoke with such detail that even Gu Yue knew—there was no escaping this. The whole incident had been completely exposed.
She slumped to the ground, her eyes full of despair.
Ziyun then helped her mother and little brother forward, glaring down at Gu Yue from above.
“Miss Gu, after Momo and I returned to the mansion that day, you feared suspicion if both of us ‘met with accidents.’ So you beat Momo and drove her out. As for my mother and little brother, you used their lives to threaten me. I had no choice but to keep your secret—until today.”
The crowd watched this poor, miserable family and shook their heads, sighing.
“Even if Ziyun and Qin Momo are just servants, they’re still human! You can’t just beat or kill them!”
“Exactly! This is too pitiful! Is this how the whole county yamen treats their servants? That’s terrifying!”
As the murmurs grew louder, Gu Changfan’s face burned with shame, as if he’d been slapped in front of everyone. Yet every piece of evidence Gu Heng had brought forth was irrefutable.
With the situation reaching its peak, Gu Heng stepped down from the platform and stood before Gu Changfan, her voice cold. “Father, now that the truth is clear, how will you deal with Qin Rou and Gu Yue?”
At that, Gu Yue flew at Gu Heng like a madwoman. “You b*tch! I should’ve killed you when you were a child—then you wouldn’t be so arrogant today!”
Just before she reached her, Gu Changfan kicked her in the stomach, sending her curling up in pain.
Qin Rou tried to rush to her daughter, but the guards pinned her down.
“Enough! This farce ends now!”
Gu Changfan’s face was full of fury. He took a deep breath. “Gu Yue plotted to harm Fu Yiniang and murder her sister. Take her back to the manor. Fifty lashes, then three days of kneeling in the ancestral hall!”
At this, Qin Rou shrieked, “Gu Changfan! Yue’er is your own daughter! She’s weak and frail—fifty lashes will kill her!”
In that moment, Gu Changfan struggled bitterly.
He knew that once he made this decision, it would mean breaking with Qin Rou—and the powerful Qin family. But standing beside him was Chen Junshou, who had witnessed everything.
If he didn’t severely punish Gu Yue to quell public outrage and show accountability, his official career would likely end here.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then shouted sharply, “A doting mother ruins the child! Look at what kind of person Yue’er has become — isn’t it all your doing? And you still have the audacity to plead for her!”
Without looking at Qin Rou’s disappointed expression, Gu Changfan raised his head and coldly declared, “From today onward, you are also punished. You’re confined to your quarters for three months. You’re not allowed to take a single step outside!”
Hearing this, Qin Rou was furious. In that instant, rage overtook her reason, and she cursed without restraint, “Gu Changfan! You ungrateful wretch! Have you forgotten how poor your family was when you were young, how you didn’t even have the money to go to the capital for the imperial exam? It was I who begged my father to help you! All these years, if it hadn’t been for me, you’d still be a penniless scholar rotting somewhere! You’d never have become an official!”
At these words, Gu Changfan was both alarmed and angry. Chen Junshou was right beside him, watching with a scrutinizing gaze. He was terrified that Qin Rou might blurt out more disgraceful secrets.
Steeling himself, he stepped forward and slapped Qin Rou across the face. Then he stuffed a rag into her mouth to stop her from speaking.
“Wretched woman! It was bad enough you failed to raise your daughter properly, but now you’ve gone completely mad! Take her away and lock her up in the residence!”
At their lord’s signal, his personal attendants immediately tied up Qin Rou’s hands and dragged her away.
The nearby Momos followed suit and quickly restrained Gu Yue as well, escorting her back to the residence.
For a moment, the gathered townsfolk burst into applause and cheers.
“That vile mother and daughter did so many terrible things — now that they’ve been punished, it finally eases everyone’s anger!”
“This County Magistrate Gu was really blind to their true nature! But at least now that he knows the truth, he didn’t try to cover it up. That’s something, I suppose.”
Gu Changfan let out a deep sigh and bowed respectfully to the side toward Chen Junshou. His tone was sincere as he apologized, “Lord Chen, today was supposed to be your inspection visit to Changle County. I didn’t expect such a disgraceful scandal to erupt in my household and embarrass you. I am truly sorry.”
Chen Junshou looked at him meaningfully for a long time, then finally patted his shoulder and said, “Lord Gu, you handled today’s matter well. You did not shield the wrongdoers, even though they were your wife and daughter. Your integrity and impartiality will surely serve you well in your official career.”
A trace of a smile had just formed on Gu Changfan’s face when he heard the rest of the words: “However, judging by your wife’s words just now, it seems her family helped you a great deal back when you were preparing for the imperial exams. I suppose you’ve tried to repay that kindness over the years, and perhaps indulged her and her daughter too much because of it. That’s likely what allowed them to commit such crimes today.”
At those words, Gu Changfan felt as though he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.
“This matter may seem like their fault on the surface, but at its root… it began with you.”
With that, Chen Junshou shook his head and left with his entourage.
Gu Changfan tried to catch up, but the attendant blocked his way.
“Lord Gu, our Lord Chen still has other places to inspect today and cannot stay. As for you — with such chaos erupting in your household, you’d best return home and handle your domestic affairs.”
Seeing this, the surrounding townspeople began pointing and whispering.
Gu Changfan looked around and saw the contempt in their eyes, and his heart clenched with pain.
All these years, he had worked so hard to cultivate his image. Before meeting Fu’er, he hadn’t even taken a concubine. In the eyes of the people, he was a principled official with a clean family.
But now, all of that was ruined.
At this moment, his hatred for Gu Heng consumed him completely, and his reason shattered.
After all, Gu Heng had no blood relation to him. He only adopted her back then because Fu’er was kind-hearted. He thought doing so might also earn him a good reputation, so he agreed.
Who would have thought that a single act of compassion would allow this wretched girl to destroy everything he had worked so hard to build?
Standing nearby, Gu Heng noticed the red fury in Gu Changfan’s eyes and felt a creeping sense of unease.
She instinctively stepped back and bumped into Ah Zheng’s chest.
“Ah Heng, what’s wrong? Why do you look so unsettled?”
Gu Heng clenched her hands nervously. “I once thought… when my Yiniang was still alive, Father truly cared for me — at least for those two years. I thought we shared some form of father-daughter bond. But now, it seems it was all a lie — an act. In his heart, he probably already hates me to death.”
She turned her head and looked into Ah Zheng’s eyes. “Let’s go back to the manor now, pack up our things, and leave. We can’t stay in the Gu residence any longer.”
Seeing her worried face, Ah Zheng’s heart ached.
“Alright. We’ll leave today.”
Qin Momo, who was nearby, quickly chimed in, “Miss, if you’re going, this old servant will go with you!”
Ziyun also nodded repeatedly. “Me too! I’ll leave all the money to my mother and younger brother. The house you found for them is well hidden — the Gu family will never find it. I’ll go with you.”
Gu Heng was touched by their words.
She also understood that now that Qin Momo and Ziyun had stepped forward to testify for her, they had completely offended the Gu family. Once Qin Rou recovered, they’d be the first targets for revenge. Staying here would only mean death.
She had no choice — and no right — to leave them behind.
She must take them with her.
She couldn’t let down anyone who had treated her with kindness.
With her mind made up, the group quickly returned to the Gu residence to pack.
But Gu Changfan seemed to have anticipated all of this. Just as Gu Heng finished gathering her belongings, several servants appeared and surrounded them in the courtyard.
Footsteps sounded from outside the gate.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Heng looked up — and was utterly stunned.
“Gu Yue? Qin Rou? Weren’t you being punished? How are you here?!”
Gu Changfan slowly stepped into the courtyard, his eyes filled with malice. “Did you really think I’d punish my own daughter just for a stray orphan like you? I just had someone else take their place!”
Seeing Gu Heng’s expression of disbelief, he sneered coldly. “Everything you saw outside earlier was just for show — all to fool Chen Junshou!”
Then he slowly walked toward her, his gaze like that of a serpent preparing to strike, making her skin crawl.
“You vile girl — you’ve ruined everything I’ve built. Tell me, how should I punish you?”
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