These words are truly thought-provoking.
Hong Ye was furious upon hearing this and was about to speak.
Cui Ming quickly held her back.
Hong Ye still glared at Lady Zhao with ill intent.
The two children saw their mother crying like this and rushed over, heavily bumping into Qin Yuan and hugging Gu Jinghui’s leg, crying out: "Father, have you really abandoned us?"
Ordinarily, Gu Jinghui would have picked up the two children to comfort them.
But he had just heard such a frightening story at the Qin Family, feeling shaken, wishing to distance himself from Lady Zhao and her children. Listening to this, he hurriedly said to Lady Zhao: "Sister-in-law, you see what Brother Cheng and Sister Yu are saying. I chase away a maid, and they say I don’t want them anymore. Do I rank even below a maid in their hearts?"
Lady Zhao was dumbfounded.
This was entirely different from what she had imagined.
Lady Zhao was deeply hurt, too distressed to speak, only sobbing softly.
Qin Yuan was accidentally knocked a bit off balance; Hong Ye and Cui Ming quickly stepped forward to support her. Her foot twisted, hurting a bit, causing her to gasp.
Gu Jinghui looked at her nervously, asking: "Yuan’er, are you alright?"
"It’s... it’s fine."
Gu Jinghui’s face darkened. Lowering his head to the two children clinging to his leg, he commanded sternly: "Brother Cheng, Sister Yu, she is my lawfully wedded wife. I am your adoptive father, she is your adoptive mother. I intended to find a good day for you both to meet your adoptive mother, but you’ve been ill, so we missed it. You bumped into her—apologize quickly. From now on, she and I will both care for you."
Upon hearing this, the two children looked at Qin Yuan resentfully.
Sister Yu screamed: "Father, I only want you and mother; I don’t want her. I don’t like her, don’t take her."
Brother Cheng, though silent, clearly agreed with her sentiments.
Gu Jinghui angrily asked: "How can you speak like that?"
Sister Yu had never been scolded by Gu Jinghui like this; she immediately screamed in grievance and began sobbing loudly.
Immediately, Brother Cheng also started crying.
Lady Zhao neither comforted nor coaxed, only stood silently, tears streaming down her face.
Qin Yuan: "..."
She thought for a moment and said: "I have some ointment that I can use. I’ll head inside first; husband, please entertain them well."
After saying this, she didn’t wait for Gu Jinghui’s response, but supported by Cui Ming and Hong Ye, she left.
Gu Jinghui stood, staring blankly at Qin Yuan’s back as she entered the Wutong Garden’s gate.
This... this...
Hong Ye supported Qin Yuan, trembling with anger. After walking a bit, she fumed: "This family is simply unreasonable; the young are disrespectful, and the old are shameless."
Cui Ming also fumed, saying: "That Lady Zhao speaks as if the Marquis has wronged her, not knowing they seem like a family of four, leaving no room for anyone else."
This was the first time Cui Ming had spoken like this.
Clearly, she was very angry as well.
Qin Yuan, indifferent, said: "Judging by this situation, the Marquis will have plenty of conflicts with them in the future."
But the more it is like this, the greater the need to send them away.
Otherwise, the consequences could be dire.
Hong Ye said: "You shouldn’t have walked away; you should have let the Marquis take you back, leaving Lady Zhao fuming."
Unable to hold back despite trying, she spat: "Despicable woman. Even her children behave wildly; what family allows five or six-year-olds to act like this? No manners at all—they’re just like savages, yet they go around claiming to be the Marquis’s children, embarrassing him endlessly."
Qin Yuan hurriedly soothed: "Alright, alright. Their mother and children are the Marquis’s benefactor’s children; having grown up in the Northern Border Camp, it’s understandable they’re a bit rough."
Before she finished speaking, she felt a lightness in her body, hearing gasps around her.
Once she regained her composure, she found herself embraced by Gu Jinghui, her head pressed against his shoulder, a faint scent of alcohol wafting to her nose, and then she heard Gu Jinghui say: "Why didn’t you wait for me? How will you walk with a twisted ankle?"
Qin Yuan looked in surprise beyond him, only to see the dazed Lady Zhao pulling the crying children, standing below the Wutong Garden’s gate lamp, staring at them intently.
"Aren’t you going to handle them?"
"Handle what?" Gu Jinghui pondered secretly.
If he handled it, Hong Ye would probably have a basketful of bad words to say in front of her.
Besides, that girl is very right; he should have taken her back.
Qin Yuan gently pushed him, saying: "What exactly are they here for?"
The Marquis’s body stiffened slightly, "For that maid named Bai Que. I declared today that Bai Que must leave the manor. Lady Zhao said the two children like Bai Que, couldn’t bear to see her go, and begged me not to punish Bai Que."
Hong Ye snorted disdainfully.