Chapter 30: Let Ruan Xingzhu apologize.

Just as she was about to go to sleep, Ruan Xingzhu discovered that the dress she had put on was gone, and she couldn't help but call out to the maid in the room.

"Mutao, where are the clothes that were just left here?" she asked, her voice slightly raised.

Upon hearing this, Mu Tao knew that Ruan Xingzhu was asking about the dress that Gu Yun'an had told her to throw away. She was already prepared and replied without hesitation, "I don't know, Miss. I was looking after you the whole time and didn't see where the dress went."

As she spoke, Mu Tao's eyes were calm, her eyelids lowered, but she knew in her heart that since Gu Yun'an had asked her to throw away the clothes, it must be because he didn't want Ruan Xingzhu to get involved with them again. She knew who the owner of this courtyard was, so naturally she dared not disobey Gu Yun'an's wishes.

Seeing that Mu Tao was also unaware, Ruan Xingzhu gently bit her lower lip. Although she felt strange that the clothes that were placed there could have disappeared, she did not ask any further questions. She just thought that she might have remembered the wrong place.

Gu Yun'an left the West Garden and headed straight for the main hall. Before he even stepped into the main hall, Cheng Shi's voice reprimanding Gu Qing Su could be heard.

"Gu Qingxu, how dare you! You usually wield swords and spears, but now you dare to shoot arrows at people! And you shot Miss Feng no less!" Madam Cheng stood in the center of the main hall, her face flushed red, her eyes wide open, glaring angrily at Gu Qingxu kneeling on the ground.

Gu Qingxu slightly raised her eyes and saw that Cheng Shi's chest was heaving violently, clearly furious. Seeing that Gu Qingxu still dared to look at her, she glared at her coldly. Heaven knows how shocked she was when she learned that Gu Qingxu had shot Feng Rongrong with an arrow just for that girl Ruan Xingzhu; she almost fainted on the spot.

Feng Rongrong was the only daughter in the Feng family. From a young age, she was regarded as the apple of the family's eye, their darling. They were afraid she would melt in their mouths or break in their hands.

She simply couldn't understand what had gotten into Gu Qingxu that made her dare to provoke her. If it were just minor squabbles on a normal day, it wouldn't be so bad, but she actually drew her bow and shot an arrow at Feng Rongrong in front of everyone. How could this not make her panic and extremely anxious?

“But if she hadn’t pushed Xingzhu into the water, I wouldn’t have…” Gu Qingxu knelt on the ground with her back straight, stubbornly raising her head, her mouth full of rebuttals to Cheng Shi, her eyes flashing with resentment towards Cheng Shi’s words.

When Cheng heard that Gu Qingxu dared to talk back, she became even more furious. She looked at Gu Qingxu with a hint of disappointment and exasperation, "What's going on in your head? Can't you think about things carefully? Don't you understand what's important?"

Even if Gu Qingsu was slow to notice, she could still sense the disdain for Ruan Xingzhu in Cheng Shi's words. Everyone in the manor knew that Ruan Xingzhu was not a respectable young lady, but that was by no means a reason for Feng Rongrong to bully her so brazenly.

With a determined look, Gu Qingxu retorted, "Even if Xingzhu isn't a young lady of the Gu family, she still represents the Gu family when she goes out. Does Mother want to just stand by and watch the Gu family lose face?"

Since the Cheng family might look down on Ruan Xingzhu, they would never look down on the Gu family's reputation.

Gu Qingxu's words were not untrue. If it had been Gu Qingxu who fell into the water today, the Cheng family would certainly not have spared the Feng family. But Ruan Xingzhu was just a helpless orphan, and there was really no reason for her to worry about this matter and cause unnecessary trouble.

Seeing that Gu Qingsu was so stubborn, Cheng felt that her patience had run out. She flung her sleeves and shouted, "Alright, go kneel down in the ancestral hall and reflect on what you did wrong."

“Mother…” Gu Qingxu was full of resentment, but the words were forced back down by Cheng Shi’s sharp gaze.

Just as Granny Liu was about to set off to take Gu Qingsu to the ancestral hall, Gu Yun'an's voice came from behind.

“I don’t think Xiao Wu did anything wrong.” Gu Yun’an walked in slowly, his eyes exuding an innate authority.

Gu Yun'an's appearance surprised not only Gu Qingxu but also Cheng Shi. Moreover, his seemingly nonsensical words in support of Gu Qingxu left Cheng Shi feeling a bit of a headache.

She rubbed her temples, looked at Gu Yun'an helplessly, and said, "Do you know that she almost ejaculated on Miss Feng?"

Cheng's brows furrowed tightly, and several deep lines appeared on her forehead. She assumed that Gu Yun'an was unaware of the whole story and was therefore speaking up for Gu Qingsu without fully understanding the situation.

Gu Qingxu pursed her lips, feeling somewhat uneasy. She glanced cautiously at Gu Yun'an, afraid that this hard-won backer would be gone.

To everyone's surprise, Gu Yun'an remained calm and did not look at him. Instead, he raised his eyebrows slightly, looking as if he thought it was nothing special, and said casually, "It's still a little short. This shows that Xiao Wu still knows his limits."

"She has any sense of propriety?" Cheng Shi stared wide-eyed as if she had heard the most absurd joke in the world. If she didn't have any sense of propriety, wouldn't she have just shot Feng Rongrong to death?

In fact, Gu Yun'an was not helping out randomly. Based on his understanding of Gu Qingsu's archery skills, the arrow only grazed the tree and hit it. It was obviously just to scare Feng Rongrong.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingxu felt a warmth in her heart and couldn't help but swallow. For the first time, she felt that Gu Yun'an understood her so well. Her eyes were filled with gratitude and reliance as she looked at Gu Yun'an.

“Besides, they represent the Gu family when they go out. Does Mother want Xiao Wu to submit and embarrass the Gu family?” Gu Yun’an said meaningfully, his eyes clear and his expression serious as he looked directly at Cheng Shi.

These two were all talking about the Gu family's reputation, and Cheng Shi felt her head buzzing and her head throbbing terribly. Seeing Gu Qing Su's sullen look as if she had found a backer, she felt a surge of anger and simply waved her hand, saying, "Fine, just keep indulging her."

After saying that, Granny Liu hurriedly stepped forward and carefully helped Cheng, whose face was ashen with anger, to rest.

Gu Qingxu turned her head and watched as Cheng Shi disappeared through the courtyard gate. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, her tense body suddenly relaxing as she prepared to get up. But in the blink of an eye, she saw that Gu Yun'an, who had just helped her, had somehow sat down in a chair and was staring at her indifferently.

She did not do anything wrong in standing up for Ruan Xingzhu, but it is also true that Gu Qingsu acted impulsively, especially in front of everyone. Wasn't that just giving others ammunition against her?

He almost started to scold her, but seeing Gu Qingxu's aggrieved and uneasy expression after being reprimanded, he closed his eyes, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, go down."

Her ears twitched, and Gu Qingxu thought Gu Yun'an was about to scold her. Hearing this, she quickly and neatly stood up and thanked him, "Thank you, Fourth Brother."

On her way back to the manor, she was actually quite nervous and uneasy, prepared to be punished. She hadn't expected Gu Yun'an to speak up for her; it must have been Ruan Xingzhu who pleaded for her. She was in a difficult position.

Seeing Gu Qingxu get up, Gu Yun'an swallowed back the words she had told her not to be impulsive in the future. She vowed to herself that if given the chance again, she would do the same; otherwise, she wouldn't be Gu Qingxu.

Hearing that Gu Qingxu was alright, Ruan Xingzhu felt less worried, after all, Gu Qingxu had acted so impulsively for her sake.

The next day, after finishing his business at home, Gu Yun'an remembered that Ruan Xingzhu was still ill, so he took some time to go see her. However, upon entering the courtyard, he couldn't find Ruan Xingzhu. He frowned slightly, feeling somewhat displeased. She wasn't even fully recovered; why was she running around like that?

Just then, Mu Tao entered the courtyard and saw Gu Yun'an arrive. She quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Fourth Young Master."

"Where's Ruan Xingzhu? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on her?" Gu Yun'an's expression was somewhat impatient, and his tone unconsciously became a few degrees harsher.

"Miss Ruan was summoned by Madam to apologize to Miss Feng," Mu Tao explained hastily, bowing her head.

An apology? Gu Yun'an's eyes flashed with disdain. He snorted softly and didn't linger. He turned and left the mansion, heading towards the Feng residence.

Inside the Feng residence, upon hearing that someone from the Gu family had come to apologize to her, Feng Rongrong's previously troubled eyes immediately brightened, a hint of smugness flashing across them. Wasn't Gu Qingsu so arrogant? Now he had to bow his head and apologize to her.

But when she came out with a smug look on her face and saw Ruan Xingzhu standing in front of her, the light in her eyes instantly dimmed and her face turned gloomy.

"Why is it you?" Feng Rongrong immediately changed her attitude, her tone full of disdain and contempt. For Ruan Xingzhu, an unknown maid, to come and apologize was clearly a slap in the face.

Ruan Xingzhu had prepared herself mentally before coming, but she still couldn't help feeling a little scared in the face of Feng Rongrong's attitude.

Her fingers clenched unconsciously, her knuckles turning white. Her lips trembled slightly as she pursed them and whispered, "Miss Feng, I've come to apologize. Yesterday was my fault, I shouldn't have..."

"Where is Gu Qingxu?" Before Ruan Xingzhu could finish speaking, Feng Rongrong impatiently interrupted her, crossing her arms, raising her chin slightly, and looking arrogant.

"Fifth Sister..." Ruan Xingzhu was speechless. Feng Rongrong's attitude clearly showed that she wanted Gu Qingxu to come and apologize, but how could that be possible?

Seeing Ruan Xingzhu stammering and unable to give a coherent answer, a hint of disgust flashed in Feng Rongrong's eyes. She couldn't help but recall the humiliation of being frightened by Gu Qingsu's arrow in front of everyone yesterday, and her anger flared up instantly.

"Let me tell you, I won't accept any apology from you. Go and get Gu Qingxu here." Feng Rongrong said fiercely, her eyes seemingly spitting fire.

Ruan Xingzhu lowered her brows, her heart filled with difficulty. Before coming, Cheng had repeatedly instructed her to humble herself, as Gu Qingxu had offended the Feng family because of her, and she must make sure she sincerely apologized so that the Feng family would not pursue the matter.

After hesitating for a moment, Ruan Xingzhu mustered her courage and said nervously, "Miss Feng, it's all my fault. You can take it out on me."

"Ha!" Feng Rongrong sneered, her eyes full of disdain. "Are you deaf? Do I need someone as insignificant as you to vent my anger?"

She looked Ruan Xingzhu up and down, her eyes filled with the same way she looked at an insignificant ant.

"Let me tell you, what I want is Gu Qingxu. Go back and bring Gu Qingxu here, otherwise even if you die, I won't be satisfied," Feng Rongrong said through gritted teeth, her voice sharp as a whistle piercing through the air.