Xie Zhaozhao turned to look at him, her eyes softening slightly.

He did not protect Gu Chengyan!

Does this mean that he didn't actually love the Marquis's mansion that much?

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha! There is still one who can distinguish right from wrong! The Marquis's mansion is going too far, trying to force my son to his death! We will go and report this to the authorities!"

How can we report this to the authorities?

Guan Yingying is completely vulnerable to investigation!

Madam Tu immediately pleaded, "Father-in-law, it's all my fault. I haven't taught the young master well. Please forgive him this time. Please don't report him to the authorities. Whatever you say goes, okay?"

The old lady said, "My dear in-law, if we report this to the authorities, both families will suffer reputational damage. Please, for the sake of the family, even if you don't care about the monk, please consider the Buddha. The Third Madam is also your daughter. Please forgive Yan'er this time!"

Madam Tu then pleaded with Xie Zhaozhao, hoping she could intercede for Gu Chengyan.

Xie Zhaozhao sneered silently. Kidnapping me? You want me to plead for you? Ha!

Gu Shaoyu said coldly, "What is your sister-in-law doing? You can't even raise your son properly, yet you're forcing my wife to become an accomplice to evil?"

Tu was speechless for a moment.

When Gu Chengyan heard his third uncle bring up the Da Gan Law, he hated his third uncle even more.

Who needs your impartiality! If you don't remind them, how will they remember these things?

Gu Boyu swallowed hard and said awkwardly to Gu Shaoyu, "Third brother, it's just playing with a woman, why does it have to involve castration?"

He then said to Madam Xu, "My dear in-law, Yan'er only sees that woman as a plaything, otherwise he would have brought her home long ago, wouldn't he? She's not even worth as much as a concubine, so don't bother with her. Don't worry, I won't let that child be the legitimate son. Please be magnanimous and forgive him this time."

"If that's the case, how does the Marquis explain his deception of his wife and their failure to consummate their marriage?" Madam Xu asked angrily.

“Everyone has their moments of foolishness and folly, right?” Gu Boyu said. “He definitely won’t dare to do it again!”

Madam Xu didn't want to say any more and grabbed Xie Xiangxiang: "Let's go, let's report this to the authorities!"

Guan Yingying's pain was relieved a lot. She stuffed all the banknotes into her pocket in the inner room, put on a hat, and limped out.

Now, with her face bruised and swollen, wearing a hat, and her skin darkened and thin from being in the sun in Nanzhao Kingdom, and considering that Gu Shaoyu's judgment on the exile of the Guan family was seven or eight years ago, she was absolutely unrecognizable.

But she still turned her back to Gu Shaoyu and swore to the heavens, "Don't punish him. I'll leave immediately. If you want the child, you can have it. If you don't want it, I'll take it with me and never go back to the Marquis's mansion."

After saying that, she turned to leave, but Granny Wei grabbed her and said, "You wretched woman, you think you can get away with this? Dream on!"

Guan Yingying retorted angrily, "I don't want anything, I'm leaving forever, what more do you want?"

Xu rushed forward and slapped him across the face, cursing, "You adulterous harlot, how dare you think you can leave so easily?"

Xie Zhaozhao looked at Guan Yingying. Although the latter was in such a sorry state, she showed no shame or guilt. Instead, her face was full of grief and indignation.

Perhaps, in her hometown, men and women get together based solely on feelings, and separate only when those feelings have faded.

Perhaps, as she thought, she wasn't a mistress, and they were truly in love.

Xie Zhaozhao looked at her stern, hurt expression, smiled slightly, and asked, "Tu Qianyue, do you feel wronged? And your departure is so tragic?"

Guan Yingying was insanely jealous of Xie Zhaozhao. Gu Shaoyu's words, "Don't look, it's dirty," burned her eyes and wounded her heart, hurting her a thousand times more than Xie Xiangxiang's beating.

Why is Xie Zhaozhao so favored?

Now that Xie Zhaozhao was questioning her, she felt a surge of anger exploding inside her.

Looking at Xie Zhaozhao, she sneered, "Gu Chengyan and I have been in love for seven years. How could you feudal women who only care about social status possibly understand that?"

"Since you love him, why doesn't he marry you and instead keep you as a mistress who can't be seen in public?"

As soon as Xie Zhaozhao finished speaking, Gu Chengyan immediately replied, "Third Aunt, I have wronged Qianyue. Please don't question her like this."

Xie Zhaozhao nodded and said, "Alright, since you love each other so much, why did you go to the Xie family to ask for my hand in marriage? I heard you two agreed to be together for life, so why did you need to marry a legal wife? Is it to embezzle her dowry as start-up capital? If not, wouldn't it be better for you to commit adultery like this for the rest of your lives?"

The word "adultery" stung Guan Yingying's ears; even a thousand years later, it remains a derogatory term.

"What do you know? Have you ever been in love? Do you even understand love? You're just a pathetic woman who lets her family have their way, marrying a man of similar social standing and having children, never understanding what love is!" Guan Yingying said through gritted teeth.

She didn't hate Xie Xiangxiang, only because she was too stupid, but she hated Xie Zhaozhao.

I wish I could peel off her composure along with her face!

It was probably because Xie Zhaozhao was better than him in everything, easily crushing him, while he was powerless to fight back.

She looked at Xie Zhaozhao and sneered again: "How about that? After hearing what I said, are you going to fly into a rage and slap yourself again? You just use your status to bully others to cover up your inner emptiness!"

Before Xie Zhaozhao could even intervene, Madam Tu had already slapped her across the face: "You wretch, who gave you the audacity to disrespect your elders?"

Gu Shaoyu glanced at her coldly and answered Guan Yingying's question about love.

"You are not worthy to be compared to my wife!"

"She is indeed more noble than you; killing you is as easy as crushing a bug!"

“I begged for my wife. The moment I saw her, I knew she was the one I had been looking for all my life.”

"I think of the world's vicissitudes, all of which are without end; I see all the vibrant colors, which turn to ashes in the blink of an eye. Only she, I can see for a lifetime in a single glance."

"In this life, I will always cherish her, burning out my youthful brilliance, and transforming into a flower on the other shore."

“I respect her, I don’t interfere with her, I give her full freedom and space, I don’t pry or obstruct her, and when she needs me, she can see me just by looking up.”

"I will like what she likes, I will hate what she hates a hundredfold, I will support what she wants to do, and I will fight back against what she wants to destroy."

"We don't talk about love all the time. I only know that in my life, I will not take a concubine, keep a mistress, have a maidservant, or have any entanglement with other women under any pretext."

"I love her, so I won't let her bear any stain on her life. I'll do all the dirty work, like hitting or killing people!"

"I love her dearly, so I will strive to live an upright life, so that no one will say she was foolish for marrying a man with such a tarnished reputation."

“I love her dearly, and all I want is for her to have peace of mind. Even if we have to eat coarse food, I will pick out the green vegetable that, though not delicious, won’t hurt her throat.”

"I only hope that she could live a joyful life and die without regrets."

After Grand Secretary Gu finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

Guan Yingying looked at him, speechless, unable to utter another word.

If this isn't love, then what is?!

Xie Zhaozhao turned to look at Gu Shaoyu in astonishment, while the latter looked at her calmly.

She had never heard him say so much before, and she never knew what he was thinking.

Caught off guard, he confessed his love to her in public.