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Seeing Patriarch Gu kneeling at the gate, looking troubled, the gatekeeper spoke with dissatisfaction, “Patriarch Gu, what are you doing?”
“I hope Prince can take pity on this old man and return my grandson to me.”
Passersby looked strangely at Patriarch Gu kneeling at the gate, saying such misleading words.
The gatekeeper, hearing Patriarch Gu’s words, frowned deeply. “Patriarch Gu, what do you mean by that? When Lady Gu Jing and her family were here, you visited. They made it clear then that they had severed ties with you. Now, in their absence, you’re saying such things. What does this mean?”
“Jing’er is my daughter. She just had a falling out with me, but Xiao Zhi is my grandson, and I…”
“Your grandson? How did you treat Master Zhilin two years ago? Don’t you remember? You made Master Zhilin study content meant for teenagers when he was only six. You even killed the puppy we gave him. In the end, Master Zhilin was so distressed by your actions that he became like a simple-minded child. It was Master Su who helped him recover.”
The Su family knew about these incidents, including the last time Patriarch Gu came and the harm he caused to Master Zhilin.
“When you last visited, after Master Zhilin learned that you wanted to take him back to the Gu family, he didn’t eat for an entire day. He sat on the steps, fearing that Master Su would agree to let you take him away.”
Before Patriarch Gu could say anything, the gatekeeper recounted all these incidents, leaving him with no room to speak.
“Now, kneeling here and asking Prince to return Master Lin, it sounds like our Master abducted your child.” The gatekeeper spoke without any courtesy.
“Exactly, if only you had treated Master Zhilin better in the beginning, not using him as a tool for studying, making him follow the path of a child’s growth, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
The words of the two gatekeepers stunned the onlookers. It turns out it was such a situation. If that’s the case, why did he come looking for someone? Isn’t he causing trouble for himself?
“You…”
“It’s useless to come to our Master, and it’s useless to kneel here. If you want someone, find Master Zhilin’s parents.” After saying this, they went inside and slammed the door shut.
They had said everything that needed to be said. If Patriarch Gu still wanted to kneel here, then let him.
After closing the door, one of them looked at the other and asked, “Should we go and tell Master about this? It’s good for him to be mentally prepared.”
“Alright, keep an eye on things here. I’ll go inform Master.”
When Su Yu learned that Patriarch Gu was kneeling outside, and the gatekeepers had revealed everything Patriarch Gu did to Xiao Zhi, he found it somewhat amusing. “I understand. If he wants to kneel, then let him.”
“Yes.”
But Xuan Feiran was somewhat displeased. “What does he want? Is he using this method to threaten you? To make you compromise and give Xiao Zhi to him?”
“That child has played with Xiao Bao in the palace a few times; he’s a good kid.”
Knowing about Patriarch Gu’s way of upbringing, Xuan Feiran frowned disapprovingly. “Your Majesty, there’s no need to be angry. They’ve said everything that needs to be said. How outsiders perceive it is their business.”
Su Yu’s indifference didn’t mean that Xuan Feiran shared the sentiment. “You’re all ready? If you are, I’ll accompany you outside. Let’s see what else Patriarch Gu can do in front of me.”
“We’re ready.” If it weren’t for wanting Xuan Feiran to spend a little more time with Chang Le and the others, they would have left by now.
“Let’s go then.” The couple Xuan Feiran and the Empress each held a child, and Su Yu carried Xiao Bao and Zhang Zhilin. They all walked out together.
When the gate opened, Patriarch Gu, who had been eagerly watching, turned pale when he saw Xuan Feiran and the Empress.
“Salute… Salute to His Majesty and the Empress.”
The commoners watching the commotion at the gate quickly knelt down upon hearing Patriarch Gu’s words. “Salute to His Majesty and the Empress.”
“Please rise, everyone.” Xuan Feiran tried to appear less serious in front of his subjects.
“Why is Patriarch Gu kneeling at Prince Yu’s door?” Xuan Feiran looked at Patriarch Gu as if he didn’t know what was going on.
Patriarch Gu hesitated for a moment before speaking, “I want to take Zhang Zhilin back with me.”
“I don’t want to go!” Xuan Feiran hadn’t spoken yet, but Zhang Zhilin screamed.
It seemed that the events of the past had caused him significant harm.
Su Yu handed Xiao Bao to Wang Jinhe, gently patting Zhang Zhilin on the back. “Calm down, Zhilin. As long as your godfather is here, no one can take you away.”
“I don’t want to go to the Gu family. My candie were killed there,” Zhang Zhilin said. Even after more than a year, he still remembered candie that Wang Jinhe had given him. (Candie was a puppy given to him)
“Alright, we won’t go. Don’t worry,” Su Yu thought that the last time was Zhang Zhilin’s limit, but he didn’t expect the situation to be even more severe this time.
Xuan Feiran looked at the child’s angry resistance and reached out to ruffle his hair. “Zhilin, don’t be afraid. No one can take you away from your godfather.”
“Thank you, Uncle.” He knew that the man in front of him was the emperor and treated him very well. With Uncle’s words, he felt completely reassured.
Patriarch Gu never expected that after so long, Zhang Zhilin would still resist them so vehemently.
“Zhilin…” Patriarch Gu took a step towards Su Yu.
“Don’t come any closer,” Zhilin shouted angrily as soon as Patriarch Gu took a step.
“Patriarch Gu, since the child resists so much, there’s no need to say more. If he doesn’t want to go to the Gu family, with Su Yu taking care of him, you don’t need to worry,” Xuan Feiran said, frowning at Zhang Zhilin’s strong resistance.
At this moment, Yuan Bao walked over. “Young Master, the carriage is ready.”
“Yuan Bao, take Zhilin to the carriage first.”
Yuan Bao carried Zhilin to the carriage. Su Yu looked at Patriarch Gu and said coldly, “Patriarch Gu, it’s a good thing that you want to develop the Gu family, but you shouldn’t treat Zhilin as an emotionless pawn. Zhilin is a good child, and you don’t have the right to hurt him like this.”
“I am his grandfather. How could I hurt him?” Patriarch Gu still didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Everything he did was for Zhilin’s own good.
“He is terrified and afraid of books after returning from your place. You don’t know any of this, and all of it is caused by you,” Su Yu said angrily, thinking of Zhilin’s condition back then.