Chapter 4

Following Gu Qiancheng's suggestion, the situation left the Duke of Gu and Lady Gu in an awkward position. Gu Qianxue's dowry was not even a fraction of what Gu Qiancheng had.

Imagine this: carrying one box of dowry in and bringing back a hundred boxes from the Zhao Prince's mansion. Could they afford to lose face like this?

Even if they could bear it, the Zhao Prince's mansion would not be pleased. This would be a direct slap in the face of the Zhao Prince's mansion.

"Qiancheng, don't be unreasonable. Your father knows you have been wronged, and I will surely make it up to you," the Duke of Gu, unable to back down, made a random promise, hoping to gloss over the matter. As long as today passed, what could a woman like Gu Qiancheng do?

"Compensation? How will you compensate me, Father? Will you return my dowry in full? Or will you return my husband to me?"

Gu Qiancheng looked at the man she called "Father" with a mocking expression, watching his face change like a palette, and quietly thought to herself: "Qiancheng, I have said what you wanted to say but didn't dare, and done what you wanted to do but didn't dare. Are you satisfied with this outcome?"

Three days ago, she woke up in this world, transforming from the top female forensic doctor of the 21st century to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Gu's mansion, a pitiful girl whose mother had passed away long ago.

Since she had become Gu Qiancheng, she would live on in place of Gu Qiancheng, making everyone who owed her pay back what they owed, and everyone who had wronged her spit it out.

"Qiancheng, you have a disability, and you still blame your father?" Facing Gu Qiancheng's relentless attack, the Duke of Gu's face turned purple, and he could only use her foot injury as an excuse.

"Father, I have never blamed you. I just want my dowry back. How can it be that Qianxue not only stole my husband but also wants to take the dowry my mother left me? Is there anyone in this world as shameless as her?" Since the mask had been torn off, Gu Qiancheng was not polite, her sharp sarcasm making the Duke of Gu gasp for breath. Gu Qiancheng felt a sense of satisfaction.

Her gaze fell on Lady Gu, who was glaring with hatred and twisting her handkerchief. Gu Qiancheng suddenly realized: "Oh, I forgot... There are people in this world even more shameless than Qianxue. Like mother, like daughter. Her mother stole my mother's man and married into the mansion less than a hundred days after my mother's death. She gave birth to a daughter within six months of entering the mansion. If we're talking about shamelessness, this mother and daughter are evenly matched."

Gu Qiancheng particularly emphasized the word "premature," her chin slightly raised, her posture proud. Despite her harsh words, she spoke calmly, without any trace of resentment, just a fair assessment.

"If I remember correctly, the young Lady of the Gu mansion did indeed marry hastily, and the child was born prematurely, as if she gave birth within six months of entering the mansion."

Someone in the crowd said this, and because of her words, the onlookers began to murmur, just loud enough for Lady Gu to hear.

Lady Gu's face turned bright red, but she could not explain herself. She turned to Qin Yunchu for help, but Qin Yunchu was not stupid. This group was not talking about him, so why should he step in?

Lady Gu, humiliated and unable to refute, had no choice but to use a common woman's tactic and burst into tears.

"Wah... Lord, Lord, I can't live anymore. People say it's hard to be a stepmother, and now I understand. Even if I pour my heart out for her, she still treats me badly. Lord, I am her mother. Is there a daughter in this world who speaks to her mother like this?"

As soon as Lady Gu cried, someone immediately spoke up for her: "Disrespecting elders, such a woman should not be married even if she is healthy."

"Exactly, exactly. A woman without filial piety, it's right for Prince Chu not to marry her."

The crowd's gaze toward Gu Qiancheng became subtle, a woman who disrespected her elders, no one could look at her favorably.

Gu Qiancheng knew this, but she could not care about it now. If she continued to be filial, she would only be on a path to death.

Gu Qiancheng pressed her lips, a drop of blood trickling down the corner of her mouth, and looked at Lady Gu with a face full of accusation, saying, "Lady Gu, you say you are my mother. Then I ask you, where were you when my mother died? What kind of mother are you? You are just my father's second wife, calling you mother is my filial piety."

Gu Qiancheng finished speaking in one breath and then looked at the Duke of Gu, "And Father, where were you when my mother died in childbirth?"

At this point, Gu Qiancheng's voice became choked, but she continued, "My mother gave her life to give birth to me, but she never saw Father one last time. Before she died, my mother wanted to see you, and the old ancestor sent people to look for you, but no one in the mansion could find where Father was. Father, Lady Gu, I want to be filial, but you do not give me the chance."

Gu Qiancheng did not cry, because her words were more touching than tears. Combined with her previous words, the crowd understood everything.

When Gu Qiancheng's mother died, the Duke of Gu was probably in Lady Gu's bed. The crowd looked at the Duke of Gu and Lady Gu with disdain and contempt.

"Unfilial daughter, unfilial daughter, how could I have a daughter like you? You should have been strangled at birth," the Duke of Gu, enraged and ashamed, pointed at Gu Qiancheng, wanting to hit her, but fell back into his chair, unable to move from the anger.

Gu Qiancheng turned her face away, pretending not to see, and said mournfully, "If I could, I would also hope that Father would have strangled me at birth. Then my mother could have seen you one last time, and I could have gone to be with her, instead of being in this situation now, where my fiancé is taken by someone else, and my dowry is also taken. Father, why didn't you strangle me at birth? If you had, I wouldn't have to suffer so much."

Gu Qiancheng's questioning left the Duke of Gu speechless and made Lady Gu cry even more sadly, but no one stood up for her, not even Qin Yunchu, because Gu Qiancheng spoke the truth, which could not be refuted.

It was not that the children were unfilial, but that the parents were not kind...