To become a lady in the Duke's mansion, these are the most important qualities. Without such abilities, one is simply not worthy of entering the Duke's mansion.

The Duchess was also surprised that Gu Minghe would say such a thing at this time.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Gu Minghe with a frown: "What nonsense are you spouting, child?"

"I was just curious, please forgive me, Mother."

Gu Minghe smiled faintly, but when he looked at He Yi, there was a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. He was expressing his feelings through his actions. It was clear that he did not welcome He Yi as the daughter-in-law of the Duke's mansion, nor did he want her to be his wife!

Meeting his malicious gaze, He Yi didn't hold back at all and rolled her eyes.

Originally, He Yi was just quietly rolling her eyes in retaliation, but Zheng Yu caught her red-handed. For some reason, Zheng Yu found it somewhat amusing to see He Yi like this.

[As expected, the young master is a blockhead who only thinks about the family.]

His criteria for choosing a spouse were a respectable family background and the ability to help the Duchess manage the household. Clearly, the female supporting character did not meet these requirements.

What a waste of that face; it's made of wood, and he's a heartless person.

Based on the comments, He Yi realized that Gu Minghe didn't like Zheng Yutang. It was just because he was destined to marry into the Zheng family. In his opinion, Zheng Yutang was more suitable to be the wife of the Duke's mansion than He Yi. She could help manage the household and stabilize his home front.

At such a young age, she already has so many thoughts on her mind; life must be exhausting for her.

He Yi stood up, bowed to them, and said with a smile, "I've finally come home, and I just want to spend more time with my father. As for anything else, I leave it all to the elders in the family. As a young woman still unmarried, I really don't dare to think too much."

These words resonated with everyone; after all, a daughter's marriage is always arranged by her parents and a matchmaker.

The marriage between the two families had been arranged long ago, but they couldn't be too blatant about it.

He Yi bowed, gave Zheng Yu a deep look, and then turned and left the pavilion with a sense of grievance and longing.

She walked all the way to the back garden, sat by the pond, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This inner quarters is definitely not an easy place to live! I'm exhausted."

He Yi sighed sincerely, "Although the Minister's mansion is rich and powerful, it is not easy to obtain such wealth and power safely."

"Miss, you don't seem to like the young master very much?"

Granny Li walked over and looked at He Yi with some confusion.

"We just met, so what's this talk of liking or disliking? I think the real thing is that he doesn't like me."

"Isn't it just because you look down on me for not growing up in the capital and for being rude? And you put it so subtly, pshaw, you hypocritical bastard!"

He Yi showed no mercy, launching into a tirade of curses to vent her anger.

[The villainous female supporting character wasn't entirely wrong; this young master is indeed unkind.]

What's wrong with the young master disliking an imposter?

[The young master's face turned green; could it be that he overheard something?]

[With the villainous female supporting character shouting so loudly, it's hard not to hear her, right?]

What?

Is he nearby?

He Yi stared at the comments, then quickly stood up. She then saw the clothes behind the artificial hill, which were indeed the ones the young master had just worn.

However, He Yi did not expose her, but just hummed.

"But Miss and Young Master have been betrothed since childhood. This is also Madam's wish, all for Miss's good."

"If you can marry into the Duke's mansion, Miss will have nothing to worry about for the rest of her life."

Granny Li looked at He Yi with some concern.

He Yi found it amusing when she heard this.

"The young master looks like a cold, wooden block of wood. Even if you marry him, you'll just be living under someone else's roof."

“He doesn’t like me, so why should I cling to him? If I could, I would love to never get married and just stay by my father’s side.”

He Yi sighed; there was a certain sincerity in those words.

Once she leaves the Minister's residence, who else will love her as much as Minister Zheng?

"Zheng Heyi!"

Gu Minghe finally lost his temper and roared as he stepped out from behind the artificial hill.

He stared at He Yi with wide eyes: "If you dislike me so much, why don't you explain it to Minister Zheng and cancel the engagement!"

"It's the first time I've met you, so I can't say whether I like you or not."

"Besides, the marriage was arranged by my mother. How could my father possibly break off the engagement? Why don't you, young master, break off the engagement yourself?"

He Yi sat on the rock, casually swinging her feet, tilting her head, and staring at Gu Minghe with a half-smile.

Now that she's acting so cunningly, there's not a trace of the obedient girl she was just moments ago.

Gu Minghe was also surprised that He Yi had one face in front of the elders, but a completely different face when facing him.

He had seen pretty much all the well-bred young ladies he had met since childhood, but this was the first time he had seen one so lively, clever, and cunning. For some reason, Gu Minghe found it all very novel.

"My mother and your mother were very close friends."

"She won't allow the engagement to be called off."

Gu Minghe spoke the truth.

"To me, a wife is just someone who occupies half of my bed; it doesn't have to be anyone else."

"I just hope you can handle it..."

"Shut up!"

He Yi finally couldn't take it anymore.

She leaped off the rock and landed in front of Gu Minghe, reaching out to touch his forehead.

"You don't have a fever, so what nonsense are you spouting?"

"I haven't even married you yet, and you're already bossing me around. If I really did marry you, wouldn't I have even less of a good life?"

"You think you're so great just because you're a young master? You think all the women in the world like you and want to marry you?"

He Yi has been putting up with this kid for a long time, but now she has absolutely reached her limit and is no longer willing to endure it. She will take action when the time is right!

"You! How dare you!"

"I am your future husband, how dare you disobey me like this?"

"You...do you even know that the husband is the head of the household!"

Gu Minghe was furious and pointed at He Yi's nose as he spoke.

He Yi inadvertently saw Zheng Yu and Jiang Shu walking together, and guessed that they were taking her out for a walk. He Yi's eyes rolled, and she immediately followed Gu Minghe's finger to dodge backward. Her foot slipped, and she fell headfirst into the pond.

"ah!"

"Help! Brother, save me!"

He Yi splashed around in the water, calling out for Zheng Yu repeatedly.

[The female supporting character is so shameless!]

Is this some kind of blatant frame-up?

[Poor young master!]

[The female lead is so pitiful! The male lead actually abandoned her and jumped into the water?!]

[Holy crap, the male lead can't swim, right?]

He Yi can swim. She originally pretended to be weak and planned to wait for Zheng Yu to help her up, but she never expected that the male lead would be so useless!