Chapter 371: The Mansion Is About to Collapse

The crowd gathered outside the Prime Minister's Residence saw Gu Shijie approach and scattered, but their eyes held a hint of schadenfreude and bewilderment.

Gu Shijie hurried to the gate and was dumbfounded.

He saw that the lobby was littered with many scattered items—jewelry boxes, half-cut cloth, and other small trinkets.

At the gate there wasn't even a gatekeeper.

"What are you doing? Where did everyone go?"

Gu Shijie instantly flew into a rage and hurried into the Prime Minister's Residence.

From afar he heard two maidservants shouting at the top of their lungs, and Gu Shijie walked over in a few steps.

The two maidservants were grappling over a bolt of cloth; upon seeing Gu Shijie they hurriedly released it, then without bowing to him they each fled on their own.

Gu Shijie's heart skipped a beat as he rushed toward the rear courtyard, only to have a madwoman dash out and nearly collide with him.

The woman had disheveled hair, her face looked as if it had just been scratched, with some bruising and swelling.

This only accentuated her aged face, evoking a sense of disgust.

Gu Shijie seized Lin Qingxue's wrist; Lin Qingxue took a close look, realized it was Gu Shijie returning, and burst out laughing.

Lin Qingxue no longer had the gentle demeanor she showed when she first met Gu Shijie; she now resembled a shrew.

He kept stepping back as Lin Qingxue jabbed a finger at his nose and shouted furiously: "It's all your fault our son died!"

"If you hadn't elevated that little slut Xin Yuxiu to be your wife, my son would never have left the Prime Minister's Residence."

"He is the legitimate eldest son of the Gu family, the future head of the household; yet because you favored a slut, you actually drove your own son out of the Prime Minister's Residence."

"Now our son has met with such a great misfortune, and you haven't even seen his face—what has that little slut you dote on done? Do you know what she's done?"

Lin Qingxue suddenly burst out laughing, doubling over and unable to straighten her waist as she pointed at Gu Shijie's nose and cursed: "The news of your demotion by the Emperor to Jiangzhou has long spread; everyone in this residence would rather not follow you to Jiangzhou to suffer."

"Exile to the Minxi region—that's clearly a death sentence!"

"No one in the Prime Minister's Residence wants to follow you there, and that little slut Xin Xiuyu actually stole the residence's wealth and fled with some unknown man!"

"Not only that, but as she left she even handed out the servants' contracts of sale, saying it was better not to stay in the Prime Minister's Residence any longer."

"Well done! Gu Shijie, look at how your beloved woman treats you!"

Boom—

Gu Shijie felt as if his head had been struck heavily; a flash of frost crossed his face as he lifted his head and stared fixedly at Lin Qingxue before him.

Gu Shijie swung a harsh slap at the mad Lin Qingxue.

Lin Qingxue stopped mid-sentence and collapsed with a thud.

Gu Shijie stepped forward, seized her throat with both hands, his eyes bloodshot, and demanded: "Say it again—where did Xin Xiuyu go?"

Lin Qingxue merely laughed without speaking; Gu Shijie shoved her to the ground and then strode toward his main courtyard.

Along the way it was utter chaos—those maidservants and old women either stole the residence's belongings with their contracts of sale, or they fought each other over valuable items inside.

He kicked open the gate of the main courtyard; from the main hall all the way to his warm pavilion, everything was already in utter disarray.

He rushed into the adjacent study and opened the secret chamber.

The gold and silver hidden in the secret chamber, along with the Gu family's savings over the years, had been completely cleaned out—not a single ingot left for him.

Gu Shijie's eyes instantly blazed with fury; he overturned every cabinet and table before him, smashing them to pieces.

He turned and hurried out of the Zheng Ting hall, shouting: "Someone, quickly someone, report to the officials! Capture that slut Xin Yuxiu and bring her back!"

As he spoke his voice trembled slightly, all the vigor and ambition he had as Prime Minister gone.

Rising from the countryside, he met Du Qingning, who helped him build this residence; the Du family gave him their wealth, aiding his steady rise to prominence.

Now his twenty years of accumulation have actually been completely taken away by that slut Xin Yuxiu.

When did that slut find out he had this secret chamber?

While appearing tender and affectionate to his face, she harbored malicious intent and stabbed him in the back.

Who would have thought that Gu Shijie shouted for half a day with no one coming to attend him, and even the guards of the residence all left.

Seeing the Gu family mansion about to collapse, the Emperor ordered him to set out in three days.

But how can he set out?

The Emperor ordered him to bring the whole household and travel for over three months on the road; if delayed, it could take half a year.

With so many mouths to feed, everything depended on his previous savings.

Now reduced to this state, not a single coin of silver remains; the entire Gu family household has nothing left but this residence that Du Qingning once built.

Furious to the extreme, he spat out a mouthful of blood, leaned against the chair and slowly slumped into it, with no one coming to attend him or even offer a greeting.

His eldest son's corpse still lay before the main hall, and now there isn't even silver to set up a mourning altar.

Gu Shijie gazed blankly around; not far off came the shouts and cries of servants fighting over possessions.

Gu Shijie suddenly froze there, dumbfounded and unable to speak, his heart aching to the bone, yet also filled with regret to the bone.

He shouldn't have taken that slut Lin Qingxue as his wife, nor would he have fathered three debt-ridden children who gradually pushed him to this point.

Moreover, he shouldn't have married the young and beautiful Xin Yuxiu; now he is old and frail—what young woman could stay with him? In the end, the only one who truly helped him was Du Qingning, whom he had angered to death twenty years earlier.

"What sin! Truly a sin!"

Gu Shijie could no longer care about saving face; leaning on the chair, he burst into loud sobs.

The imperial edict cannot be defied; if he does not set out in three days, that will be rebellion, and he will die an even worse death.

If he goes to Jiangzhou, at least he will still oversee the Minxi region; perhaps he could turn things around and survive.

But where will the travel funds come from?

Steward Hu slowly walked over from the side; only this old steward remained at his side.

Steward Hu bowed and said: "Master, the Emperor's edict orders us to depart in three days, but the provisions for food, clothing, and other necessities on the road..."

Gu Shijie tightly shut his eyes, then lifted his head and looked around.

This residence was personally overseen in its construction by Du Qingning; the craftsmen were the finest provided by the Du family, and even after twenty years the carvings on the beams remain as fresh as when new.

He couldn't help feeling heartbroken: "Post the notice, within two days sell this house."

"Master! How can we sell…" Steward Hu was stunned.

Gu Shijie slowly closed his eyes.

This place has broken his heart; he now needs to earn silver to live on; this house cannot be taken away; later, when he turns his fortunes, he will return to Shang Jing.

He could just buy it back later, but he feels he has no chance to turn his fortunes in this lifetime.

In this world, there couldn't be a second Du Qingning who likes him so much and supports him unconditionally.

"Sell it, sell it… hehe, sell everything."

Gu Shijie burst into tears.