Chapter 461: Chapter 461: Conjecture

Gu Kaiyuan patted Bai Suihe’s hand and comforted her. "There’s nothing to worry about. At least for the short term, this Mr. Gu will have to keep a low profile or go to other counties to buy land first."

His wife managed to offend the entire county all by herself. Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t come back here to offend more people anytime soon.

However, given their desire to take advantage of others, they probably wouldn’t be willing to buy at the original price or a higher one either. Who knew what they were thinking? Even the Third Prince had returned in defeat from here; where did they get their confidence?

Bai Suihe shook her head. "They clearly held a winning hand, and now look, they’ve ruined it all by themselves."

Originally, relying on the living endorsement of the Empress’s maiden family, they could have quickly gained a firm foothold in this place. Yet, because the person they sent was a blockhead, a perfectly good situation had been turned into a complete mess.

"I wonder how the Gu Family will react if they find out about this situation?"

As for them seeking revenge against the locals? Bai Suihe really wasn’t that worried. Often, the higher someone’s position, the more reservations they had.

"That depends on how long Mr. Gu can keep it a secret. Given the Duke’s cautious nature, he’ll probably recall them immediately." Traveling outside more often, Gu Kaiyuan knew a bit more. "Otherwise, the Empress wouldn’t have been raised with such a personality."

"What kind of person is the Empress, exactly?" Bai Suihe asked.

Coming from a merchant background, Bai Suihe naturally had no chance to interact with such noble figures. Even when they were still unmarried noble ladies, they were completely out of her reach.

"I’ve never met her either, but it’s hard to say.

"If the rumors about the Empress’s personality are true, ’cowardly’ might actually be a more fitting description.

"At the time, His Majesty wasn’t yet the Crown Prince. He and the Empress grew up as childhood friends and were later betrothed as a matter of course. They got together smoothly. Perhaps because their journey was too smooth, their feelings for each other always seemed rather plain.

"In the beginning, His Majesty still valued their childhood bond and respected his wife. But later, when he became the Crown Prince, and then the Emperor, he only gave the Empress superficial glory.

"The main issue is that the Empress hasn’t given birth to a Prince in all these years, so her influence in the harem has increasingly dwindled.

"In the past, there were even courtiers who petitioned, saying the Empress was childless and should yield her position to someone more capable. I heard the Emperor directly rejected the petition and even demoted that official to a commoner..."

Bai Suihe pursed her lips. "According to what you’re saying, since the Emperor hasn’t deposed her, does that mean he’s deeply affectionate and righteous?"

Believe in the Emperor’s deep affection? What a joke. Even ordinary men would constantly scheme against their own wives. For a woman, marriage was actually a high-stakes gamble. Win, and a couple would treat each other with mutual respect. Lose...

"That’s just a facade," Gu Kaiyuan said. "The current head of the Duke Mansion is a smart man. Ever since the Empress entered the palace, the whole family has kept a low profile. Of course, this only refers to the main branch.

"However, as long as the Empress still holds the phoenix seal, no matter how ambitious the collateral branches are, they have to suppress it.

"It’s exactly because of their tactfulness that the Emperor won’t replace her."

"Since the Central Palace is childless, she doesn’t have to get involved in the fight for the throne." Bai Suihe felt that the Empress wasn’t that simple either. If she were truly a cowardly person, how could she have survived so long in that cannibalistic place and still secured her position? "Has the phoenix seal always been in the Empress’s hands?"

"Yes. In the past, there were favored concubines who became arrogant and wanted to replace her. But in the end, they were either demoted by the Emperor or thrown directly into the Cold Palace.

"Later, a consensus was reached in the palace. No matter how fiercely they fought, they kept the Empress out of it. After all, she hadn’t given birth to a Prince, so she posed no great threat to them."

Bai Suihe even wondered if the Empress might be the Emperor’s true love. But on second thought, that couldn’t be right. There were so many favored concubines in the harem, and they had all given birth to Princes. The Emperor hadn’t even arranged for the Empress to adopt one, which showed this was truly just imperial manipulation.

"Then Mr. Gu and his wife are really anomalies coming out of the Duke Mansion. But to dare send such people out, aren’t they afraid of damaging their reputation?"

Gu Kaiyuan shook his head. "Sometimes, being too perfect isn’t a good thing in the Emperor’s eyes.

"I even suspect the Duke deliberately pushed these two idiots out to tarnish his own reputation.

"Perhaps by the time the capital receives the news, a memorial of apology will already be sitting in front of the Emperor."

Bai Suihe rubbed her forehead. People who played politics made even trivial matters so complicated. "Could it just be their personal actions?"

"Of course, these are just their personal actions," Gu Kaiyuan said. "The Duke Mansion is pristine; they simply trusted the wrong people.

"At most, there will be a reprimand, telling them to manage their household properly. Everything else will be handled lightly, leaving no room for anyone to make a fuss over the matter."

"Everyone is so smart." Bai Suihe ground her teeth. "I actually think it would be better if they stayed here. At least, even though they’re stupid, they’re easy to deal with."

"Madam, do you really think so?"

"Am I wrong again?" Bai Suihe asked.

"Sometimes, the stupid schemes devised by stupid people leave you completely defenseless, just like what happened today.

"If you were in that position at the time, would you have been scared into convulsions?"

Bai Suihe shook her head. "I wouldn’t go that far."

"Then tell me, what if she really called you out by name and asked you to decide which piece of land to sell, or at what price? In front of so many people, what would you have done?"

Bai Suihe’s first reaction was, of course, to leave immediately. But thinking about the situation at the time—surrounded by layers of people—it would have been quite awkward.

"Then I could only say I needed to come back and ask you. I definitely wouldn’t have given in."

"But if you did that, it would look like you have no say in the family, and you would draw strange looks from those people.

"Don’t forget, to the outside world, we are supported by the Bai Family. As the legitimate daughter of the Bai Family, if you have to ask me about everything, people will likely look down on you when you go out in the future."

Bai Suihe frowned. "Hearing you say that gives me the illusion that Madam Gu is playing the fool to outsmart everyone?"

"Not quite. It’s true that she used this scheme to force your hand earlier, but she was too anxious and a bit too inflated with her own ego.

"If she hadn’t been so hasty today, if her greed hadn’t been so glaring and she had softened her attitude a bit... under those circumstances, you all would have had to suffer a loss and sell one or two properties at a low price no matter what." Gu Kaiyuan lifted the curtain, looking at the rather quiet streets outside. "Therefore, the human heart is the most unpredictable. Between truth and lies, who really knows?"

Bai Suihe disagreed. "She probably isn’t genuinely that smart, otherwise she wouldn’t have botched this matter so badly. The manors we currently have on hand are a bit too hot to handle. Let’s keep a few of our favorites and sell off the rest as soon as possible."

The Gu Family certainly wasn’t the only one harboring such ideas. As those major families continued to enter the fray, Lingnan would probably become increasingly lively.

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