Chapter 37: The Deception Exposed

Ruan Xingzhu stayed close to Gu Qingxu. She had witnessed the scene with Feng Rongrong just now. Judging from Feng Rongrong's attitude, even if Gu Qingxu backed down, she would probably still tell everyone about Gu Qingxu and Yi Mingyu.

Thinking this, she couldn't help but look at Gu Qingxu with concern, only to find that Gu Qingxu's face showed no sign of panic at all.

This left Ruan Xingzhu full of doubt, and she couldn't help but ask softly, "Fifth Sister, do you already have a way to deal with this?"

Gu Qingxu gently shook her head. At this moment, she was wondering how Feng Rongrong knew about this.

Seeing her shake her head so readily, Ruan Xingzhu was taken aback and widened her eyes, saying, "Then, Fifth Sister, why did you deliberately provoke Miss Feng?"

"What else?" Gu Qingxu lowered his head slightly, his voice somewhat low.

She had a good understanding of Feng Rongrong's character, and it was absolutely impossible for her to bow down to Feng Rongrong over such a small matter. Although angering Feng Rongrong wouldn't do her any good right now, she couldn't afford to lose in terms of momentum.

Hearing Gu Qingxu's confident reply, Ruan Xingzhu said no more. She figured even if Gu Qingxu backed down, Feng Rongrong would still tell everyone. After all, they had clashed before, and she didn't believe Feng Rongrong wouldn't seize this opportunity.

But there had to be a solution, and then, as if she had thought of a good idea, she hurriedly said, "Fifth Sister, if you apologize to Madam before Miss Feng, maybe Madam won't be so angry?"

But as soon as she said it, Ruan Xingzhu regretted it. She suddenly realized that what Cheng Shi cared about was not who told her about it first, but that Gu Qingxu dared to pretend to deceive her in the matter of finding a match.

Seeing that Gu Qingxu remained silent, Ruan Xingzhu thought that she had a better idea.

After a while, Gu Qingxu said weakly, "Maybe... I should go out and hide for a bit..."

Gu Qingxu kept wondering how Feng Rongrong found out about this, since the only people who knew about it besides the Gu family were Yi Mingyu.

But before she could finish speaking, Ruan Xingzhu replied softly and helplessly, "It's too late..."

"Ah?" Gu Qingxu quickly looked up and saw that the road ahead had been blocked. The person who came was a servant from the Gu family, and judging from the manner, it was obviously sent by Madam Cheng.

Gu Qingxu understood that the news had arrived so quickly, probably even before Feng Rongrong threatened her. It seemed Feng Rongrong had deliberately come to show off in front of her.

"Fifth Miss, Madam has instructed us to take you back." A leading servant said with a respectful expression but a somewhat heavy tone.

Not long after, Gu Qingsu was brought back to the mansion and knelt obediently in the center of the main hall. At this time, Madam Cheng had been waiting there for a long time, her face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

Upon seeing Gu Qingxu return, she could no longer contain herself. "Gu Qingxu, how dare you! You actually conspired with others to deceive me!"

"So that's why you suddenly agreed to the marriage proposal! It turns out you'd been in cahoots all along!" When Cheng heard the news, she was so angry she almost fainted.

Cheng's eyes widened in anger. She had wondered why Gu Qingxu had suddenly agreed to the matchmaking so readily; it turned out he was waiting for her here.

Even though she was mentally prepared, Gu Qingxu was still so frightened by Cheng Shi's overwhelming anger that she didn't dare to breathe. She could only cautiously and weakly explain, "Mother, please let me explain."

"Explain what? Explain that you lied to me, or explain that your affair with Yi Mingyu is real!"

Before Gu Qingxu could finish speaking, Cheng Shi's angry voice forcefully cut him off.

Ruan Xingzhu stood outside the door, listening to the noise coming from inside, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, yet helpless.

"They've really gotten more capable, daring to fake something like this now." Cheng Shi grew angrier the more she thought about it, and coldly questioned, "Tell me, which of the two of you came up with this idea?"

However, she regretted it as soon as she asked the question. She, Gu Qingxu, was not someone who could be coerced. It was probably Gu Qingxu's idea to come here.

"It was me." This time, Gu Qingxu didn't argue and accepted it frankly. It was indeed she who proposed this, and no one else should be implicated.

Cheng was somewhat surprised that Gu Qingxu admitted it so readily; she had thought Gu Qingxu would try to get rid of her by putting others down.

"Alright, it's good that you admit it." Madam Cheng took a deep breath, then pinched her aching brow and said, "You and Yi Mingyu have wasted a lot of time. Tomorrow I will find you a new husband."

"Mother!" Gu Qingxu's face instantly showed a hundredfold reluctance. She was afraid that Cheng Shi would make her go, so she pretended to be nice to Yi Mingyu.

Gu Qingxu's reluctance seemed futile in Cheng's eyes, and she raised her hand and waved it wearily.

"Someone, take Gu Qingxu to the courtyard and keep an eye on her. She is not allowed to come out without my permission."

Gu Qingxu had seen through it all; the Cheng family was forcing her to either go on a blind date or be confined to her home forever.

Seeing this, Granny Liu hurriedly stepped forward and quickly took Gu Qingxu away, fearing that if she waited any longer, Madam Cheng's anger would escalate further.

He was locked up again in this small, restricted area, and was even threatened with being looked after by Gu Qingsu, who was extremely displeased. Whether sitting or lying down, he felt uncomfortable all over.

However, now that the Cheng family knows that they are pretending to be friendly, could the Yi family also know?

If Madam Yi knew their relationship was feigned, would she punish Yi Mingyu? Gu Qingsu frowned, recalling how Yi Mingyu had been punished before because of her critical remarks. Now that such a serious matter had occurred, would he be beaten again?

Thinking it over carefully, Gu Qingxu realized that she was the one who initially brought up the matter. Yi Mingyu was at most an accomplice; the real mastermind was herself. With this in mind, Gu Qingxu couldn't help but feel a little guilty and worried.

She glanced at the servant guarding the door; she couldn't get out at all, and even if she wanted to help Yi Mingyu, she was powerless to do so.

Just then, a tiptoeing sound came from the back door. Gu Qingsu knew without a doubt that it was Ruan Xingzhu. After all, only Ruan Xingzhu would come to her to cheer her up when she was confined to her quarters.

"Fifth sister, I brought you some pastries." Ruan Xingzhu came in and took out the pastries she had prepared from her bosom, hoping to help Gu Qingxu to distract herself.

Looking at the exquisitely presented pastries, Gu Qingxu had absolutely no appetite. She wanted to go out, so she had no desire to eat.

After glancing at her sideways, Gu Qingxu was about to tell her to take it back and eat it herself when she suddenly shifted her gaze to Ruan Xingzhu.

A thought suddenly occurred to her; she seemed to have found a way to get out temporarily.

With her eyes fixed on Ruan Xingzhu, she quickly said, "Xingzhu, I need your help with something." She thought to herself that she would only be gone for a short while, and it should be alright for Ruan Xingzhu to take her place.

"What's up?"

Ruan Xingzhu asked, then assumed that Gu Qingxu wanted to eat something else, and was about to agree when she heard Gu Qingxu say something else.

"Um, I want to go out. Could you pretend to be me for a little while?"

As soon as Gu Qingxu finished speaking, Ruan Xingzhu's face turned pale with fright.

"No, Fifth Sister, if Madam finds out, we'll both be finished."

Gu Qingxu frowned slightly, her voice carrying a hint of pleading: "Xingzhu... just for a little while, I want to go to the Yi residence to check on Yi Mingyu's condition."

"You know that it was my idea to feign sincerity, so we can't implicate others."

Gu Qingxu spoke quickly, her eagerness to leave evident.

After listening, Ruan Xingzhu hesitated for a moment, thought it over and over again, and finally agreed.

"Then let's go with the heart..." she replied softly.

With Ruan Xingzhu's permission, Gu Qingxu quickly got up. Ruan Xingzhu was still a little uneasy and couldn't help but urgently urge Gu Qingxu, "Fifth Sister, you must come back soon."

Gu Qingxu turned around and nodded vigorously, repeatedly assuring everyone that she would be back as soon as possible, before quietly slipping out the door through the back door.

Watching Gu Qingxu leave, Ruan Xingzhu let out a heavy sigh, hoping that Gu Qingxu would return soon.

Meanwhile, the crabapple blossoms at the Yi residence were in full bloom. Feng Rongrong had just sent word to Madam Yi that Gu Qingsu and Yi Mingyu were pretending to see each other when she couldn't wait to pay them a visit.

She had been somewhat uneasy after hearing that Gu Qingxu had met Madam Yi, and now she wanted to get there first.

Madam Yi had just learned that the relationship between Gu Qingxu and Yi Mingyu was a charade.

Seeing Feng Rongrong suddenly arrive, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She had also heard a little about what happened at the banquet that day, and to be honest, she was quite surprised to hear about Gu Qingxu's bold actions, after all, it was a real fight.

Feng Rongrong was dressed in a light pink dress, which made her look exceptionally charming and beautiful. She gave a slight curtsy and said in a sweet voice, "Aunt Yi, I am Feng Rongrong, the daughter of Grand Tutor Feng."

At this moment, Madam Yi was preoccupied with the fact that Yi Mingyu and Gu Qingsu had pretended to deceive her, so she was not in the mood to entertain the guests.

However, not wanting to treat her poorly, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for you, Miss Feng?"

Feng Rongrong noticed Madam Yi's thoughts and said quietly, "Madam Yi, are you worried about the pretense between Young Master Yi and Miss Gu?"

Madam Yi was taken aback, wondering how she knew. Seeing this, Feng Rongrong quickly said, "I overheard it when I came in just now."

Madam Yi nodded, thinking to herself that she was right; she had indeed raised her voice when she got angry earlier.

"Actually, I think this pretense was probably not something Young Master Yi did willingly."

As Feng Rongrong spoke, a hint of meaning in her eyes, "Maybe she was coerced."

Although she desperately wanted Gu Qingxu to be punished for this incident, she didn't want Yi Mingyu to be implicated too much. After all, she still harbored some special feelings for Yi Mingyu.