Gu Xiuniang’s sister-in-law, following Gu Xiuniang’s instructions, secretly swapped the newly born baby girl with one from another family.
The mother-in-law seized the opportunity and switched the Marchioness’s son for Gu Xiuniang. Content originally comes from novｅlfire.net
And this son was naturally the male lead.
Thus, Gu Xiuniang became the foster mother of the male lead.
However, Gu Xiuniang herself was unaware of this arrangement. Satisfied with her own achievements, she raised the male lead as if he were her own cherished son.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiuniang’s daughter became the "Fake Lady" of the Marquis Mansion.
However, it wasn’t many years before disaster struck the Marquis Mansion, leading to its downfall and auction.
Though Gu Xiuniang’s mother-in-law served in the Marquis Mansion, her husband was a decent citizen and, under the protection of the Marquis Mansion, had a modest estate.
After the fall of the Marquis Mansion, Gu Xiuniang’s husband quickly redeemed his old mother.
And this old mother, being a loyal servant, mindful of her former master’s family, had her son redeem the Marchioness and her daughter and bought a small courtyard for them to live in.
Later, the Marquis was exonerated, restoring the glory of the Marquis Mansion.
But in that incident, the Marquis was injured and could no longer have children.
A great mansion such as the Marquis Mansion could not be left without an heir.
By this time, the male lead was around twelve or thirteen years old, studious, and was well-regarded as a young scholar in the surrounding areas.
Then, Gu Xiuniang’s mother-in-law took the initiative to expose that her daughter-in-law had boldly switched the babies, confusing the lineage of the Marquis Mansion for her own selfish interests.
Such startling news instantly gained a lot of attention.
In the end, everyone returned to their rightful places, and Gu Xiuniang, this selfish and malicious supporting character, received her just desserts.
This portion of the plot, although involving the male lead, does not occupy a large percentage of the entire text.
If adapted into a television drama, this plotline would probably only correspond to the first couple of episodes.
After all, the most thrilling parts of the story unfold as the male lead grows up.
Romance, career development, revenge, uncovering more secrets are the focal points of the novel.
The reason the author crafted such a character as Gu Xiuniang, the Top-grade foster mother, is far from arbitrary:
Firstly, it allowed the male lead, born of a wealthy family, a reason to become childhood sweethearts with the female lead, who came from a humble background.
Secondly, it was to highlight the male lead’s individual charm: despite being raised by a terrible person, he turned out to be magnificently bright and honest, emerging untainted from the mud.
And thirdly, such a complex origin suits the male lead’s status and adds twists and turns to the plot.
The author portrayed the characters vividly, causing readers to intensely detest Gu Xiuniang.
Yet, upon careful reading, one might feel somewhat conflicted.
While Gu Xiuniang is utterly detestable, she raised the male lead, even though only until he was about twelve or thirteen.
By this age, a person’s character is largely formed.
Despite Gu Xiuniang’s despicable nature, she managed to raise an exceptional son, which, of course, underlines the inherent excellence of the male lead.
However, the influence of one’s original family and the lessons taught by parents are crucial.
Yet the male lead remains flawlessly perfect, which seems a bit implausible.
Moreover, after the shameful deed of "child switching" was exposed, the male lead was shocked and heartbroken; although he pleaded for Gu Xiuniang, he ultimately made the choice to support justice over his familial ties.
The author wanted to emphasize the male lead’s cool-headedness and rationality, as well as his strong adherence to values and principles.
However, a small portion of readers think the male lead too ruthless, considering Gu Xiuniang truly cared for him, even to the extent of sacrificing everything for him.
Besides, it was not Gu Xiuniang’s original intention to switch the young master of the Marquis Mansion; the pregnant women she contacted were all from impoverished backgrounds.
The real reason the Heavenly Pride Son was raised in modest circumstances, deprived of the luxuries he was entitled to, was the deeds of Gu Xiuniang’s mother-in-law and his biological mother, the Marchioness.
After all, as malicious as Gu Xiuniang was, she was just a servant’s daughter-in-law; without being summoned, she wouldn’t even have been able to enter the main gates of the Marquis Mansion.
She couldn’t possibly have switched a noble child on her own.
After the male lead was switched to Gu Xiuniang’s care, she treated him as if he was her own lifesaver,
pouring her heart out to him, giving him her all!
Thus, everyone in the world could accuse and curse Gu Xiuniang, except the male lead.
And the truly pitiful one, truly entitled to resent Gu Xiuniang, was the "Fake Lady," her biological daughter Wei Yuanniang.
Wei Yuanniang became the Fake Lady of the Marquis Mansion not of her own volition.
After her identity was revealed, she went from being the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion to a mere granddaughter of a servant, ultimately meeting a tragic and early death after being married off to a distant place.