"To covet? I dare not! Lord Qin, we are no longer engaged, and we shall have no further dealings. Why must you humiliate me like this?"
Qin Yuxiu was stunned. He couldn't understand why Gu Yaoniang was so angry.
She's so angry about breaking off the engagement, isn't it because she can't get married?
He kindly agreed to marry her, but it would only take some time. How could that be considered an insult?
Gu Yaoniang is an old maid. If I don't want her anymore, where else can she go? She even chased me all the way to Shuojing, wasn't it all for my sake?
Seeing Gu Yaoniang turn to leave, Qin Yuxiu quickly blocked her way.
"what are you up to?"
"Get out of the way!"
"Gu Yaoniang! Don't refuse a polite offer and then have to suffer the consequences!"
Gu Yaoniang sneered: "A toast? So you want me to be your concubine? Why should I, a respectable young woman, have to marry you!"
Now that the sage has shown me kindness, what can't I do?
Gu Yaoniang was saying that with the new policies in place, she wasn't limited to marriage as her only option; but Qin Yuxiu interpreted this as Yaoniang threatening her, wanting to expose their marriage to the Emperor.
This is unacceptable! If the emperor finds out, wouldn't I be committing the grave crime of deceiving the emperor?
"So you really want to destroy me?" Qin Yuxiu's face also showed anger.
He was filled with guilt and fear, and naturally had no intention of letting Yao Niang go. He glanced at Yao Niang, thinking she was new to Shuojing and likely inexperienced, and threatened her:
"If you dare to tell others about our past relationship, I will say that I never knew you before! You only slander me because you saw that I became the top scholar and have a bright future, and you want to curry favor with me!"
Gu Yaoniang suddenly felt deflated and thought it was all very boring.
In her heart, Qin Yuxiu had always been a virtuous gentleman. He was a brilliant young man with outstanding knowledge, and she was overjoyed for him to have passed the imperial examinations.
She had previously thought that her father was just a minor official, and the Gu family could not compare to the Xie family, a prestigious family with a history of over a hundred years.
So even in the worst-case scenario, if Qin Yuxiu truly values her status and looks down on her...
That's just human nature—people strive for better things. It may not be the most honorable thing to do, but it's only natural. She didn't blame him.
It's not that the two of them are truly childhood sweethearts.
She just wanted an answer. A clear, unambiguous answer.
She didn't even consider asking Qin Yuxiu to admit her mistake and apologize.
But now, Qin Yuxiu is like this, full of malice and scheming.
The person in front of me was such a complete stranger.
She seemed to suddenly know all the answers, yet she also seemed to no longer want to know any answers.
It's really boring.
Seeing that Yao Niang was stunned, Qin Yuxiu assumed that she was shocked by her words and couldn't help but feel smug.
But then came Gu Yaoniang's voice, completely flat, as if she were merely commenting on an ugly stone at her feet:
"You disgust me."
His expression suddenly darkened, and his gaze towards Gu Yaoniang became hostile.
What else do you want!
All the past affection was ruined by that ungrateful woman, Gu Yaoniang! Qin Yuxiu thought bitterly.
Having received the money, he even chased after me to Shuojing, intending to ruin my future. How vicious! He completely disregarded our past relationship!
Qin Yuxiu felt a surge of anger rising in her heart, and she couldn't care less about anything else.
He grabbed Yao Niang's arm and dragged her toward the riverbank.
Bitao, who had been hiding to the side, watching to see if anyone else was coming, couldn't help but scream when she saw what was happening.
Qin Yuxiu ignored him and only wanted to take Yao Niang to the riverbank.
As Gu Yaoniang struggled desperately, Qin Yuxiu grew increasingly agitated and even raised her hand to grab Gu Yaoniang's neck.
Qin Yuxiu acted as if she had gone mad, completely disregarding that she was in the princess's residence, and wanted to kill Gu Yaoniang immediately.
He described it as terrifying. Bitao rushed forward to try to pry open his hand that was holding Yaoniang, but he kicked her away.
Gu Yaoniang was extremely flustered.
She never expected Qin Yuxiu to go mad in the princess's residence; the sudden turn of events caught her off guard.
Driven by her survival instinct, she exerted all her strength, and Qin Yuxiu was unable to move her too far.
From a distance, it looked as if the two were entangled in a close embrace.
As Yao Niang fell downwards and backwards, Qin Yuxiu, unable to exert any force, moved to Yao Niang's front, intending to pull her forward.
Just as he reached her, Yao Niang saw Qin Yuxiu's shoe tip pointing towards her through the gap under her feet. Seizing the opportunity, she quickly stomped on it.
Taking advantage of Qin Yuxiu's pain, he thrust his knee forward and upward, and felt the grip Qin Yuxiu had placed on him loosen.
Gu Yaoniang took the opportunity to run away, pulling Bitao along the path towards the banquet.
Bitao turned her head and saw Qin Yuxiu lying on the ground, clutching his groin, seemingly in great pain. She asked in alarm, "Wife, will Qin Dalang be alright?"
Gu Yaoniang wasn't sure herself, but she said, "We can't worry about that now! Let's go!"
She pulled Bitao away from Qin Yuxiu, and only then did she feel a little relieved. She let Bitao tidy up her appearance so that no one would see her in such a disheveled state and cause trouble.
But a voice suddenly came from the side: "How cruel Madam Gu is!"
Yao Niang and Bi Tao were both startled and turned to look warily in the direction from which the sound came.
Two young men in fine clothes emerged from behind the shadows of the trees. One had deep-set features and a cold, stern expression, while the other looked on with amusement and waved a folding fan as he approached.
The newcomers were none other than the brothers Lu Zhao'an and Lu Jing'an. Without a doubt, it was Lu Jing'an, who had just spoken, who was waving his fan.
Lu Jing'an pretended to peek in Qin Yuxiu's direction, then clicked his tongue twice and said, "When I first met her, I thought Madam Gu was straightforward and lovely. I never expected her to have such a hard heart!"
After saying that, he clicked his tongue twice more.
Gu Yaoniang was already angry and scared. Now that she had just escaped danger, she encountered these two again, who looked like they were watching a show. It was unknown how long they had been eavesdropping.
They didn't offer any help when things were in such a critical situation, and now they're just here to laugh at us!
A feeling of grievance welled up inside her, and she retorted sarcastically, "I had no idea that the young masters of Shuojing City had such a refined taste as eavesdropping and enjoying watching others make fools of themselves!"
As she spoke, her eyes reddened.
When Lu Jing'an saw that she was truly angry and seemed about to cry, he panicked.
How could this young lady change her expression so quickly! Just a moment ago she was extremely fierce and seriously injured Qin Yuxiu, but now she's ready to cry at any moment.
Lu Zhaoan spoke up at the opportune moment: "My brother and I came out to sober up and heard a noise over here, so we came to check. We just happened to see Madam Gu... cough cough, she injured Lord Qin."
He recalled Gu Yaoniang's swift and ruthless movements, and his skin tightened involuntarily.
Gu Yaoniang didn't believe it: "Really?"
"Really? Really! Sister Gu, if you hadn't already dealt with Lord Qin yourself, I would have stepped in to teach him a lesson for you!"
Although Lu Jing'an didn't know what had happened, he still spoke with great conviction, almost as if he were patting his chest to guarantee it.
After explaining himself, Lu Zhaoan reverted to his usual aloof demeanor and remained silent, only glancing at Lu Jingan upon hearing this.
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