She was rather incredulous.

“She even became a troublemaker?”

Qiao Yuying nodded. “Um! I think she saw that your Fifth Cousin still cared for her and would ensure that she survived. She thought that there was still hope that your Fifth Cousin would help the Zhou family to recover.”

Gu Qingyao: “…”

“She probably did not just want help. She wanted everyone to be released from prison!”

Qiao Yuying nodded.

“Her obsession with helping her brother is really frightening!” Gu Qingyao said thoughtfully.

In this era, people were deeply prejudiced against girls. Sometimes the girl had self-respect but was taught from a young age that boys were more important than girls. So many women instinctively looked down on themselves. Their desire to help their families was perverse and almost crazed.

So many people would even sacrifice their own little families and neglect their own children in order to love and protect their brother’s children. This was not rare at all. In fact, it was quite common.

Zhou Ping was that sort of person.

Right at the start, this characteristic of hers was not too apparent. One might say that the Gu family was doing better and could provide for the Zhou family’s needs.

In that era, everyone’s lives were too poor. It was enough to have some food to eat. But as society progressed, people’s desires also grew. Zhou Ping could not keep up, but at that time, the Gu family was rising swiftly, and she thought of using the Gu family’s fortune.

She had always felt that the family was so large that such a small sum of money did not matter. She never considered if her own little family could afford it.

Qiao Yuying smiled and said, “It’s probably impossible to change her thinking. Your Fifth Cousin has now suppressed her until she was cowed and completely obedient. Now she is gradually aging. She has been lonely all these years. She wants to come back to the capital to see her children. She wants to come home.

“But your Fifth Cousin and Third Uncle both refused. Fifth Cousin feels that she has behaved quite well all these years, so he let her live in the capital. He found a place for her and takes care of her living expenses. Occasionally, your Third Cousin, Little Seven and Little Eight would go and visit her.”

Gu Qingyao sighed. All the families in the Gu family were happy, but this Zhou Ping appeared. Because of her, her two older cousins and two younger cousins had a broken family.

Qiao Yuying said, “I’m just telling you so that you’re mentally prepared. That way you won’t be too shocked if you encounter any incident concerning her. Many in the capital are jealous and envious of you. Don’t allow them to use this to plot against you.”

Gu Qingyao nodded. “I understand.”

“Oh, and there’s something else I want to talk to you about.”

“What?”

“Your Eldest Cousin-in-law has been looking for a wife for her younger brother lately. Your Eldest Cousin means to groom him. If you have anyone suitable in mind, you can recommend her.”

Gu Qingyao smiled when she thought of the little fellow.

“How time flies! He was just a young boy when he first came to the Gu house, and now he’s all grown up. He can stand on his own feet now.”

When Eldest Cousin-in-law, Li Qingdan, married Eldest Cousin, she moved with the family from the north to the capital. She brought her younger brother with her.

The little fellow was only ten years old then!

He grew up by Eldest Cousin’s side, who treated him like a son. Over the years, Eldest Cousin groomed him, and he was now very capable and Eldest Cousin’s right-hand man!

Among the four families in the Gu family’s second generation, the Second Son’s family progressed the most swiftly. Fourth Son, Gu Yunshen, had the Qiao family and his daughter, Gu Qingyao’s support and was doing fairly well.

Only Third Son’s family was weaker.

But Fifth Cousin was very capable, and Little Seven and Little Eight were still growing up. They were not from the Eldest Son’s family and were not the successors, so there was nothing much to say about them.

But many people in the capital often used the fact that the Eldest Son’s family was not doing as well as the Second Son’s family to try to sow discord.