The two men rode their horses all the way towards Lin'an City.

The escort originally thought that Ji Yu, a minor scholar, would not ride fast, but Ji Yu followed him at a leisurely pace. Even if he rode fast on purpose, Ji Yu did not fall behind. The escort did not dare to underestimate Ji Yu.

"It's already the middle of the night, why don't we rest for a few hours and then continue our journey tomorrow morning!" suggested the escort.

"After resting, we'll ride back with all our strength. When will we arrive earliest?" Ji Yu asked.

"The day after tomorrow morning. We'll rest here for three hours and then rush back in one go. We'll definitely arrive the day after tomorrow morning." The escort also began to admire Ji Yu. He had been riding for four or five hours, but he didn't complain of being tired. He looked quite small, but he turned out to be in good health.

Ji Yu nodded in agreement. The two of them rested for three hours, ate something, and the horse ate something, and then they started on their way again.

When Ji Yu arrived at Lin'an City, exhausted, it was just dawn. Ji Yu went straight to the gate of Gu's house and returned the horse to the escort.

"Thank you brother for your care along the way." Ji Yu clasped his fists.

The escort waved his hand and said, "It's a small matter, not worth mentioning. You pay and I do the work, it's my duty. But you are really good at riding a horse, little brother."

After they exchanged a few words, they said goodbye to each other.

Ji Yu stood at the door of Gu's house, straightened his clothes, touched the bracelet and banknotes in his arms, then he mustered up the courage and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Looking for someone so early in the morning." The servant seemed to have just been woken up, and said in a daze while rubbing his eyes.

"My name is Ji Yu, and I would like to request an audience with Mr. Gu." Ji Yu said politely, with a hint of embarrassment in his tone.

When the servant heard that the person coming was Ji Yu, he rubbed his eyes again and took a closer look to see that it was indeed Ji Yu. He said quickly, "Master Ji, wait a moment. I will go and inform the master right away."

If everyone in Lin'an City knew Ji Yu before, then now everyone in Lin'an Prefecture knows Ji Yu's name. He was the top scorer in the imperial examination!

The servant hurriedly crawled to the door of the master's room.

"Master, master. The little prodigy Ji is back. He said he wanted to see you." The servant hurriedly reported at the door.

When Father Gu heard this, he quickly got up and dressed, and said to the people outside, "Please invite Master Ji in first."

Ji Yu had been sitting in the living room for less than ten minutes when Gu's father arrived, fully dressed, and Gu's mother followed him.

"Hello, uncle." Ji Yu bowed and saluted in a polite tone.

"Nephew Ji, what brings you to my Gu family?" Hearing Ji Yu calling him uncle, Gu's father took advantage of his seniority and called him nephew. But if he were to follow his official position, he should call Ji Yu "sir", since he was already a real tribute scholar.

"I'm here to propose to Miss Qingqing. I have admired her for a long time." Ji Yu bowed and didn't stand up, with a sincere expression and polite attitude.

"This..." Father Gu was also hesitant. After all, the prefect had actually been waiting for his reply. To be honest, Ji Yu had just passed the imperial examination and it was still unclear how high an official he would become in the future. Since they were both concubines, it would be the same whether she married the prefect or Ji Yu.

"Uncle, are you still hesitating about anything? Three matchmakers, six ceremonies, eight sedan chairs, a formal marriage, everything is required. I really want to marry Qingqing, and I will treat her well all my life." Ji Yu still maintained the same posture as before, and his tone was extremely sincere.

After hearing this, Father Gu finally realized what Ji Yu was talking about. Three matchmakers and six ceremonies, eight sedan chairs, and formal marriage, these are all the specifications for a legal wife! Doesn't he want to take a concubine?

Mother Gu asked hesitantly, "Do you mean marry Qingqing?"

"Of course! I will definitely marry Qingqing!" Ji Yu answered firmly.

Wasn't what I just said clear enough? ! !

"Okay!" When he heard that it was about getting married, Gu's father immediately agreed! Back then, the prefect only got second place in the exam. Now Ji Yu is first place, and his future will definitely not be worse than that of the prefect. And it was about getting married, so Gu's father agreed without even thinking about it.

"Then can I go see Qingqing?" Ji Yu asked shyly. Although both parties had just agreed, they had not yet gone through the formal procedures. Would it be a bit inappropriate to rashly propose a meeting?

"Nephew Ji, have you heard any rumors about Lin'an City recently?" Mother Gu asked carefully.

Ji Yu shook his head and answered honestly, "After the examination results were announced, I hurried back. I just arrived in Lin'an this morning and haven't even been home yet."

Hearing Ji Yu's words, Gu's father shook his head again. In this era, a woman's innocence is more important than anything else. What if Ji Yu returns home after hearing the rumors about the Gu family?

It would be better to tell him clearly now. If he chooses to regret it right now, then Father Gu will have no choice but to give up and get engaged to the prefect.

After all, it was impossible to hide these things. It was better to tell him directly than to hear it from other people. After thinking it over, Father Gu decided to tell Ji Yu.

Gu's father told Ji Yu everything that had happened in the past few days, including Zhao Xiuyong's breaking off the engagement, the prefect forcing Qingqing to be his concubine, Qingqing refused, and then spread rumors about the Gu Mansion everywhere, and also suppressed the Gu Mansion's business.

He concealed the fact that he forced Qingqing to agree, but Qingqing refused and then committed suicide...

After he finished speaking, Father Gu asked again, "Even if Qingqing has a bad reputation now, are you willing to marry her? If you regret it now, it's not too late."

Hearing what happened in the past few days, Ji Yu's heart ached. He really couldn't imagine that in this era, a woman's chastity was more important than her life.

How could someone force a woman to marry him by slandering her innocence?

Ji Yu said in an extremely firm tone, "I only have you in my life. I will never regret it!"

After hearing Ji Yu's words, Father Gu felt relieved and asked someone to take Ji Yu to Qingqing's room.