Chapter 684 This is the first time in my life I've come to truly acknowledge you.

"Them? Who?"

"Father, who do you think it is? Who else could it be?! You already wield immense power, second only to the emperor! Who else could wipe out the entire Gu family with a flick of their finger!"

"Shut up! Don't say another word! I don't want to hear a single one!"

"Of course, if Father were to give up all power and influence, give up A-Ning's position as Crown Princess, give up my elder brother's future career, and resign and live in seclusion, there might be a glimmer of hope. But I think Father would definitely not choose this path. You would rather die than give up power and influence."

"I think you've been caught in too much rain and your brain has gotten waterlogged! If I give up power, do you think you'll have a good life? The day I give up power will be the day the Gu family is purged by its political enemies!"

Gu Rongchang's expression was cold and stern: "It is because I have never been willing to give up power that the Gu family has achieved its current status and enjoys the wealth that everyone envies!"

"The consequence of giving up power is like that of the Pei family, left with only the empty title of a prince, an empty shell, unable to even protect their son, and forced to remain in the capital as a hostage!"

"Or are you willing to be a hostage for the Emperor, staying alone in the capital and never being able to reunite with your family again?"

"Even if you have your own child in the future, that child will be sent to the palace as a hostage from birth! Are you willing? Is Tang'er willing?"

Gu Qianhan said in a calm tone: "I am unwilling. That's why I only started to acknowledge you in this lifetime. Fighting for power is what a man of the Gu family should do. Those who run away are cowards and will not have a good ending."

Gu Rongchang frowned: "What do you mean? What do you mean by 'this life'? What other lives do you have?"

Gu Qianhan did not answer him. He said calmly, "It's getting late. You should rest. I should go back too. A-Tang is still waiting for me."

After he finished speaking, he turned around, pushed open the door, and disappeared into the rain.

Gu Rongchang watched his retreating figure, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

A seemingly unintentional remark from his son stirred up a storm in his heart.

In recent days, he had heard some strange things, such as Xiao Qingyuan, who always said that he had been reborn.

He said that he and Shen Wantang were husband and wife in his past life. He said that he saw through the true colors of many people in his past life. He only realized this in this life that none of the women who approached him were good people. Only Shen Wantang was sincere to him. So he went to great lengths to take Shen Wantang back to the Ning Prince's Mansion in this life.

Rumors outside also suggest that Xiao Qingyuan wasn't the only one who was reborn; there was also Liu Nanshi from the Grand Secretary's Mansion, and even Chu Yanluo, whom Xiao Qingyuan once loved to the point of obsession.

Gu Rongchang originally didn't believe in these supernatural and bizarre things, because Xiao Qingyuan wasn't very bright and often did some outrageous things, acting crazy. Who knew if he was confusing his dreams with reality?

But now even his son is saying "this lifetime," which is quite strange.

He might not be so clear about whether other people are smart or not, but he knew better than anyone how smart Gu Qianhan was.

Could it be that his son was also reborn? Does he know what will happen in the future, and that the Gu family will not have a good ending?

Otherwise, there is no way to explain why he suddenly wanted to rebel, or even why he suddenly wanted to marry Shen Wantang.

The Shen family was a humble household, and Shen Wantang was even the daughter of a concubine, a far cry from the noble family of the Duke's mansion. She had absolutely no connection with Gu Qianhan, the pride of heaven.

As the son I raised, I know what kind of person he is. He is very arrogant and thinks highly of himself. He thinks he is the smartest person in the world and looks down on no woman, not even the famous and talented Liu Nanshi.

But ironically, he set his sights on the relatively unknown Shen Wantang.

This is unreasonable.

Unless—he knew Shen Wantang in his past life, which is why he's staging a play at Fazhen Temple in this life, pretending that Shen Wantang saved his mother, and then using gratitude as an excuse to propose marriage.

Gu Rongchang was stunned by his own guess!

If the son really was reborn, then all his actions could be explained!

But how could rebirth possibly happen?!

The servant stepped forward: "Master, it's already past 1 AM. You should go back to your room and rest. Staying up like this every day won't take a toll on your health!"

"What do you mean, 'rest'? The sky is practically ripped open by that wretched creature, how can I possibly rest?"

"this……"

"Go, bring Qian Ning here!"

The servant exclaimed in astonishment, "Master, now? The young lady is probably already asleep!"

"Right now! Go and call her right now. It's best to call her in the middle of the night for questioning, especially if she's half asleep! I refuse to believe that the wretch was so clever that I couldn't get anything useful out of her. This one, surely, isn't as clever, right?"

servant: "..."

How can you insult your own daughter like that? Hasn't the eldest daughter always been the Duke's darling? She's been pampered and spoiled every day. How can you say she's not thinking straight today?

Sigh, has the master been so angered by the second young master that he's lost his mind?

He sighed inwardly, but his feet moved nimbly as he hurried to Gu Qianning's courtyard to call for help.

A moment later, Gu Qianning came rubbing her eyes: "Father, what's wrong? What happened? Why did you call your daughter here at this hour?"

Gu Rongchang's expression was solemn, and his voice was authoritative: "Your second brother has already told you all your secrets."

Gu Qianning was startled, and without rubbing her eyes, she widened them in surprise: "What?! Second brother, he, he really said it?"

Gu Rongchang was startled. Was there really a secret?

He was actually just noticing that his second son and eldest daughter, who were not close to each other before, had started to become closer recently, and even often went out together and came home together, which was as strange as it could be.

So he thought of calling his daughter over to try and trick her.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise!

He steadied himself and said with an air of complete understanding, "Yes, he did mention rebirth."

Gu Qianning's shock turned to indignation: "How could my second brother do this? He told me not to tell you about my rebirth, but he told you anyway. That's so unfair! I've been so careful with my words and actions, afraid that you would notice something was wrong. If I had known this would happen, why would I have pretended? I would have just told you directly!"

Gu Rongchang's eyelids twitched as he listened. What was going on? Did this mean that Gu Qianhan wasn't the only one who had been reborn? His daughter had been reborn too?

Isn't rebirth supposed to be something mysterious? How come it's so cheap? One, two, three, four people in the capital have all been reborn??

He was about to continue trying to get more information out of her when his daughter, being straightforward, blurted out all the secrets: "Now that Father knows about my second brother and me being reborn, he must also know why I don't want to marry the Crown Prince, right?"

"Xiao Qingxuan killed my elder brother, killed me, and wiped out our entire family! I have an irreconcilable hatred for him. In this life, it's either him or me who dies. Marriage is absolutely out of the question!"

"I support my second brother's great undertaking, and I'm willing to be his pawn! I'll kill Xiao Qingxuan before he kills me!"