Gu Dewang was very obedient to Gu Jinli’s words. As soon as Brother Cheng went to give him a message, he immediately dragged Brother Fa over, brimming with glee. Upon entering the courtyard and seeing Gu Jinli, he immediately asked her, "Sister Xiao Yu, what do you need me and Brother Fa for?" Gu Jinli said, "During these days we went to the Prefecture, did Gu Yumei often leave the house?" Gu Dewang scratched his head, saying, "I don’t know. I’ve been going to Songzi Gully for studies recently, and every time I come back she was at home, except for today she said she was going to buy eggs and went out for a bit, about half an hour, and she’s already home." He nudged Brother Fa next to him: "Do you know?" Brother Fa was a bit slow, and after staring blankly for a while, he replied, "When mom and dad go to set up their stall in town, Sister Yu Mei will leave the house." Gu Jinli laughed, it turned out she specifically chose the times when Mrs. Chen was not around to go out: "Where does she go? How long does she stay out each time?" Brother Fa shook his head: "I don’t know where she goes, she usually comes back after about half an hour each time." Half an hour, not a short amount of time. Gu Jinli then asked, "Have you seen the silk flower she wears on her hand?" Although Brother Fa was slow, he had a good memory, "I’ve seen it. It was given to her by a pretty maid who said it was a gift from her young mistress to the village girls as a token of meeting; all the girls in the village got one, Sister Yu Mei accepted it, and when there were no adults at home, she would switch them around in her room. I peeked and saw her from the courtyard." "That maid also said that her young mistress was bored at home and would come to visit our house when free, but I have never seen her once." Gu Jinli sneered, "It’s not that the young mistress didn’t come to visit, it’s that Gu Yumei went to the young mistress’s house instead." She recalled what Luo Huiniang had said about Zou Yuwan sending a maid to bring a gift and immediately understood that the silk flower Gu Yumei had was sent by Zou Yuwan. Despite all precautions, Gu Yumei still "opened her eyes at the sight of money." Gu Jinli did not show courtesy to Gu Yumei and directly took Gu Dewang and Gu Defa to see Third Grandpa and Third Grandma, and asked Brother Fa to repeat what he had just said. Finally, she had Gu Jin’an write a shareholder withdrawal note and handed it to Third Grandpa and Third Grandma, saying, "Third Grandpa, Third Grandma, we can’t let Gu Yumei off easy. If we hadn’t found out about this early, she could be exploited by others one day and harm all of our families. This is a withdrawal letter for Gu Dafu’s family to leave the workshop. Have Uncle Dafu sign it, and from then on, his family will no longer be the owner of the workshop." Both Third Grandpa and Third Grandma were stunned. Third Grandma said, "Is this not too much?" Their families had come together as refugees; the bond was not ordinary. Third Grandma was old and wanted the families to live well together. If the Da Fu family were to be kicked out of the workshop, wouldn’t it cut off Da Fu family’s livelihood? Gu Jinli said, "Third Grandma, the Zou siblings intend to bribe Gu Yumei and use her to harm us. If we’re not harsh on Uncle Dafu’s family now, when the Zou siblings’ schemes succeed, we will be the ones who suffer!" Gu Jinli could tolerate Gu Yumei’s prima donna attitude but could absolutely not bear her stupidity, which could endanger all their families. "Gu Yumei, if you want to die, go ahead, but don’t drag the rest of our families down with you." Third Grandma, after hearing what Gu Jinli said without sugarcoating it, didn’t dare to persuade any further, and looked at Third Grandpa, saying, "Old man, what should we do?" After a moment of silence, Third Grandpa stood up and said, "Good Brother An, Brother Wang, Brother Gui, come with me. Xiao Yu, stay at home, you don’t need to involve yourself in this matter." Lest Sister Mei hold a grudge against her for a lifetime. Third Grandpa took Gu Jin’an with him to the workshop. After finding Gu Dafu, they went together to Gu Dafu’s house. In front of both Gu Dafu and Gu Yumei, they made Brother Fa repeat what he had said earlier. Gu Yumei denied it: "I didn’t, I have been going out these days, but I had my reasons." "Then what about the silk flower? Did you or did you not take the silk flower sent by Zou Yuwan?" Third Grandpa asked with a frosty face. Gu Yumei wanted to deny it, but Gu Dafu had already stepped forward before her, went into her room, and found the box of silk flowers hidden under the bed, then slammed it to the ground with a bang. "What’s this? Sister Mei, you have disappointed me deeply! Don’t you know that the Lu Family and Zou family are plotting against our workshop? Yet, you naively keep in touch with Zou Yuwan. Tell me, how many times have you met Zou Yuwan? How much have you told her about our workshop? If you don’t give a clear explanation, I’ll beat you to death today!" Gu Dafu was trembling with rage. Sister Mei was raised with such care, how could she be bought over by a mere silk flower? Gu Yumei was frightened by Gu Dafu’s rage and immediately knelt down, wailing and sobbing. But crying was useless this time. Gu Dafu was so angry with her that he lost all sympathy. Seeing her crying and remaining silent, hoping to soften his heart first, he immediately ran out of the hall, found a dry stick in the yard, and brought it back, striking Gu Yumei’s back with a ferocious blow. "Ah!" Gu Yumei felt a sharp pain in her back, and was beaten to the ground. After a while, she looked up at Gu Dafu in disbelief and said, "Dad, you hit me! Wuu wuu wuu, you actually hit me. My life is so miserable... Mom, please come to take your daughter away, I can’t live anymore." "You still have the face to call out for your mom! If she were still alive, you would have infuriated her to death!" Gu Dafu was deeply angered by Gu Yumei. He raised the stick and beat her several times. If not for Gu Dexing holding him back, Gu Yumei would have certainly been knocked unconscious by Gu Dafu. "Dad, please calm down a bit." Gu Dexing shouted at Gu Yumei, "Where did you meet Zou Yuwan? What did you tell her? Spit it out clearly, or else you won’t get off easy today!" This was the first time Gu Yumei had been beaten by Gu Dafu, and so severely at that; she was scared and stammered out the whole story: "I, I haven’t seen Zou Yuwan, it was in Lu Tianya’s house where I met Zou Yuwan’s maid Hua’er. I received a few things that Hua’er passed on from Zou Yuwan." "What things did you get? Speak up!" Gu Dafu was furious that Gu Yumei had been easily bought off with just a few items and feared that the items she accepted were inappropriate and could jeopardize their families, causing harm to them all, including her. Gu Yumei cried and said, "There weren’t, there wasn’t much. I just took that box of silk flowers, a box of rouge, and a piece of calligraphy... Hua’er told me that Zou Yuwan asked me to practice my writing more because there might be a chance to invite me to the poetry gathering at Zou Mansion in the county in the future, where it might come in handy." "I haven’t told Hua’er anything about our workshop. I remember what you all instructed; I didn’t utter a single word... Hua’er didn’t ask either. Really, she didn’t ask, she just represented Zou Yuwan to deliver some things to me, saying that Zou Yuwan was bored in the village and wanted to make a handkerchief pact with me to relieve the boredom." "Make a handkerchief pact? What’s your status, and hers as an official’s daughter? How could she make a handkerchief pact with you? Sister Mei, how can you be so foolish?" Gu Dafu was truly infuriated. This child always disobeyed, always causing trouble every time. "If it weren’t for Third Uncle and the others finding out early, by the time you fell for their trap and our workshop got into trouble, do you think any of our families could still end up well?"