Gu Jinli felt like vomiting when she heard this. She asked Lady Xia, "Lady Xia, why are you so loyal to Xia Gu? Are you a dog? Even the loyalty of a dog canât match yours, and Xia Gu has harmed you for your whole life."
Lady Xia was stunned, "What do you mean? My husband is the kindest person in the world to me, how could he harm me? I wonât allow you to defame him."
She then yelled at Xia Er and Xia San, "Are you two unfilial sons dead? Your own father is being humiliated like this, and youâre not rushing to rescue him... cough cough cough!"
Lady Xia almost passed out from cursing too much and still unsatisfied, she grabbed the hand warmer in her hand and hurled it at Xia Er.
Xia San was quick to react, slapping the hand warmer away.
With a clang, the hand warmer hit the ground, and the charcoal inside spilled out, scattering all over the place.
Xia Sanâs hand was splattered by the charcoal fire, immediately blistering from the burn, but Lady Xia didnât feel sorry for him. She only glared at him and scolded, "You unfilial son, why do you block? Youâre so desperate to save your second brother, canât you save your father? Is Xia Er your only brother? Isnât he your own father?"
Gu Jinli laughed and said something as shocking as thunder, "Lady Xia is truly Lady Xia, youâre right, Xia Gu is indeed not their real father."
Boom boom boom~
Xia Er and Xia Sanâs heads exploded simultaneously, they looked at Gu Jinli, then at Master Hu, asking, "Master... Master Hu, what does she mean by that?"
Although they did not know who Gu Jinli was, seeing how Master Hu protected her, they understood that her words might be true.
Master Hu was concise and to the point, "Xia Gu is a eunuch with the root intact."
Boom boom boom!
Not just the brains of the Xia brothers exploded, everyoneâs in the Xia Residence exploded too, including Lady Xia.
However, Lady Xia did not believe it, forcing herself to shout, "Nonsense... My husband is very capable, I was pregnant before, itâs just that I couldnât keep the child... Master Hu, by saying this now, are you implying that Iâve been unfaithful?"
Lady Xia was taught as a virtuous maiden and was the most rule-abiding, she would never be unfaithful, nor would she allow others to accuse her of infidelity.
Xia Er and Xia San, who had suffered Xia Guâs beatings and scoldings for so many years, could no longer stand Xia Gu. Upon hearing this, they immediately knelt down begging Master Hu, "Please, Master Hu, finish what you were saying."
Seeing this, Lady Xia almost crawled over to hit them, "You two beasts, I knew you were heartless, he is still your father."
Unfortunately, what responded to her cry was Xia Gu, who passed out from fright.
With Xia Gu fainting, many things went without saying.
But Gu Jinli would not let Xia Gu escape so easily, thinking it was beautiful to feign unconsciousness just as the abuse started.
She gave Xia Gu a few acupuncture needles, reviving him.
After gaining consciousness, Xia Gu glared at Gu Jinli and Master Hu with a dark look, these two despicable people dared to harm him like this, he would not let them off!
Gu Jinli saw Xia Guâs vengeful look and laughed, "You want revenge? Too bad, youâll never have the chance in this lifetime."
Master Hu personally took action, and Xia Guâs own people couldnât help him even if he had any, Master Hu was not afraid.
She looked towards Master Hu, saying, "Master, go ahead, let everyone hear how Xia Gu made himself into a eunuch."
Master Hu began to tell the story of how Xia Gu transitioned from being a man to a eunuch without roots.
This story was actually related to Xia Gu handing in a blank paper during the Imperial Examination and publicly humiliating Emperor Jingwu.
The outrage Xia Gu caused wasnât only directed at Emperor Jingwu but at the entire Great Chu Royal Family. Although Emperor Jingwu did not kill him, his son, Emperor Jingtai, managed to obtain the Duan Yang Powder, a type of infertility drug from the former dynastyâs palace, and sent the Shadow Guards to secretly administer this drug to Xia Gu.
At the time, Xia Gu was only worried that Emperor Jingwu would kill him, neglecting to guard against other attacks. Just before fleeing the Capital, he even brazenly went to a Capital brothel for a drink, flaunting his audacity.
The Duan Yang Powder was administered during that time.
Xia Gu himself was totally unaware of what had happened, and it was not until he had escaped to a neighboring country to the east that he discovered something was amiss two years later. In his youth, he had never been without women, but despite sleeping with so many, not one became pregnant.
Xia Gu became frantic. He didnât have children at that time, and the thought of being unable to have offspring meant the end of his lineage.
Terrified, he immediately sought a doctor to examine him, but the doctor found nothing amiss and simply advised him to keep trying, suggesting he might âstumbleâ upon fathering a child.
However, while he was still endeavoring, he suddenly received a letter detailing how he had been poisoned with Duan Yang Powder and its effects.
The person who sent the letter even generously included a whole box of Duan Yang Powder, a profound act of mockery.
Xia Gu was deeply devastated upon learning that he had been retaliated against by the Great Chu Royal Family, yet he had no means to cure himself because there was no antidote for Duan Yang Powder.
He also did not dare to speak out against the Great Chu Royal Family regarding this matter. He cared about his reputation; he could talk about anything else, but the issue of his infertility was something he would never admit to.
Xia Gu fell into despondency for a while but soon gathered his spirits to devise a plan to cover up his inability to produce offspring.
Firstly, he found several doctors to diagnose Lady Xia with a weak body due to a failed pregnancy, saying she could not bear children anymore, when in fact Lady Xia was in good health and capable of conceiving at any time.
Then he kept several concubines outside, often visiting their residences, and within five years, he had fathered four children with the help of some sturdy men.
When Lady Xia found out, she was inconsolably upset, while Xia Gu feigned compassion, telling her, "I couldnât bear to see you suffering every day by drinking those bitter infertility treatments. I didnât want you to go through that agony, so I secretly kept concubines to have children."
He added, "Now that we have children, I have sold off the concubines. From now on, we shall raise the children together and live a normal life as husband and wife."
Moved, Lady Xia praised Master Xia for treating her well, not discarding her despite her inability to conceive, and instead, resolving the issue by discreetly having children with concubines and dealing with the concubines once the children were born.
"But youâre completely unaware that Xia Gu is just using you," Master Hu spoke in a calm and orderly tone, uttering the words that shattered Lady Xia, "Xia Gu cares about his face; he would never let anyone know about his infertility, using you as a scapegoat to push everything onto. Poor you, unaware of being used for decades yet thinking he has treated you well."
"Shut up, you demoness, shut your mouth!" Lady Xia, eyes furious and red, clung to Nanny Xia and glared at Master Hu, "You spout nonsense; my husband treats me the best, how could he possibly harm me? Itâs just that I didnât recover well from a miscarriage and canât conceive... You all simply canât stand to see our marriage prosper, hoping to cause discord between us... let me tell you, in your dreams, puhâ"
Lady Xia, speaking so urgently, spewed out a mouthful of blood.
Nanny Xia hurriedly supported her, crying out, "Milady, are you alright? Hold on, these villains wonât succeed."
Gu Jinli laughed, "Villain, Nanny Xia, you really have a way with words. Why does Lady Xia believe that she canât bear children? It is all because of you, an Old Devout Woman working your tricks. Youâve helped Xia Gu deceive Lady Xia for a lifetime, the worst person is you, and you have the audacity to call others villains."