Gu Tingzhou already knew his younger brother very well. The moment he forced his cousin to jump off the city wall at the Yuezhou Pacification Office, he realized that his second brother did not care about his cousin.
All he cares about is himself.
It was obvious that if he just seized the opportunity to return power to His Majesty, he could not only save the Gu family, but also gain the favor of the Emperor and all the civil and military officials in the court. Then, it would be a natural thing for the Emperor to give up the idea of marriage. However, he just couldn't let go of the power in his hands.
"Gu Tingchen, for the sake of our brotherhood, I've already advised you," Gu Tingzhou said solemnly, "Since you refuse to take Wanwan away from this dangerous place, I will definitely take her away."
"Who do you think you are?" Gu Tingchen said with a cold smile, "Gu Tingzhou, do you think Wanwan will go with you? From the moment you decided to break off the engagement with her, you've completely lost her. Don't disgust her from now on."
After saying that, he suddenly pushed Gu Tingzhou to the ground and said righteously: "I will protect Wanwan in my own way. If you know better, stay away from her."
Watching Gu Tingchen leave, Gu Tingzhou stood up and yelled at him, "How can you protect her? Can you really summon the daughter of Princess Qining to Lin'an and marry her off? You and your aunt have come to this point, and there's no way your aunt will tolerate Wanwan staying in Lin'an."
Gu Tingchen's heart trembled when he heard this. After a brief moment of confusion, he took a decisive step and left.
As soon as I reached the middle courtyard, I saw my stepmother staggering towards me, holding a dagger in her hand. A group of maids were chasing her closely but did not dare to get close.
"Gu Tingchen, you rebellious son! Wanwan is your sibling after all. You grew up together. How could you be so cruel as to leave her in shackles?" Ye Huaisu yelled at him hysterically, "How can she go out and see people in the future if you treat her like this?"
Gu Tingchen rolled his eyes at the maids and asked, "Who told you to tell Mother about this?"
Everyone lowered their heads feeling guilty.
Gu Tingchen clenched his teeth, secretly clenched his fists, and forced a smile as he tried to get closer to his stepmother: "Mother, put down the dagger and talk to me nicely if you have anything to say."
Ye Huaisu directly put the dagger to his neck and shouted, "Release Wanwan immediately and send her back to the Ji family."
"When did mother become so demanding?" Gu Tingchen shook his head speechlessly.
He knew his stepmother very well. She had been pampered since childhood, so how could he bear to see her die?
"If mother really had the courage to die, why would she have to act so hypocritical in front of her son?" Gu Tingchen snorted disdainfully, "You should go back and recuperate quickly, and don't let Wanwan worry."
After saying that, he tried to snatch the dagger from her hand.
Ye Huaisu moved the dagger closer to his neck. The sharp blade cut through the flesh and bright red blood oozed out immediately.
Gu Tingchen was stunned: "Mother, what do you want to do?"
"You unfilial son, you are torturing Wanwan so recklessly because you believe she can't let go of me, Qingmian, and Tingji. I will never let you hurt her again."
Ye Huaisu gripped the dagger tightly and cut towards the throat fiercely. Blood gushed out instantly, and everyone's face turned pale with fear.
"Mother."
Gu Tingchen watched the scene in front of him with a mixture of rage and resentment. He ordered someone to fetch the imperial physician, then bent down, shaking his head and scolding, "Why, why are you so cruel to me? You would rather die than let Wanwan and I be together."
His fists clenched so hard they made a crackling sound, and Gu Tingchen's eyes were bloodshot with anger. "If you dare to die, I will never let Wanwan leave Cui Weitang for the rest of my life. I will also imprison your son and daughter in the Duke's Mansion for life."
Ye Huaisu's pupils were wide open, and he kept coughing up blood, but his gaze was fixed on Cui Weitang.
"Wanwan, you must work hard to pursue the freedom you want." Ye Huaisu muttered to himself, holding the dagger tightly.
Not long after, Gu An and Gu Tingzhou hurried over.
Gu An's face was ashen. He glanced coldly at the dying Ye Huaisu, and a nameless anger suddenly burst out from his heart.
"Why are you doing this?" Gu An scolded dissatisfiedly, with only endless indifference and disappointment in his eyes.
"Mother."
Looking at his stepmother lying in a pool of blood, Gu Tingzhou was so anxious that he didn't know what to do. He quickly knelt down, thinking back to her meticulous care for him over the years, and then thinking about how he had disobeyed her time and time again because of Jiang Yueling. He felt guilty and ached in his heart.
Guessing that his stepmother didn't want to burden his cousin any further, Gu Tingzhou slowly helped her up and laid her on his knees, whispering, "Don't worry, mother. I will definitely take Wanwan away from Lin'an and take good care of Qingmian and Tingji."
After hearing this, Ye Huaisu slowly loosened the dagger he had been holding tightly and gradually closed his eyes.
Gu Tingchen glanced coldly at the maids standing around him, and angrily ordered the guards: "Take these rubbish away and beat them to death immediately."
"Please spare my life, Duke." The maids and servants knelt on the ground, looking at Gu An one after another, crying and begging, "Please, Duke, please save these old slaves."
Gu An closed his eyes, turned around indifferently, and walked towards the study step by step.
The maids were escorted away by the guards, their cries of pleading rising and falling. Gu Tingchen subconsciously looked in the direction of Cuiweitang and hurriedly ordered the secret guards beside him, "Send more people to guard outside Cuiweitang. If Miss Cousin learns about what's happening here, none of you will survive."
"yes."
Several secret guards immediately responded and left.
Watching the secret guards rushing towards Cuiweitang, Gu Tingchen was still feeling uneasy. He called another secret guard over and said in a cold voice, "Go, bring back the third lady and the fourth young master."
Hearing this, Gu Tingzhou carefully put his stepmother down and quickly stood up to stop the secret guard: "Let's see who dares."
"Looking for death?" Gu Tingchen said without hesitation, pulling out a sword and pointing it at Gu Tingzhou's chest: "Get out of the Duke's Mansion, and don't let me see you again."
Gu Tingzhou half-closed his eyes, hatred rising in his heart. "You forced our mother to death, and you still refused to let our third and fourth sisters go. You even hid all this from Wanwan. You are such a beast."
"Get out," Gu Tingchen roared viciously with murderous intent in his eyes.
Gu Tingzhou knew that his younger brother had long since turned his back on his relatives. He had promised his stepmother that he would take Wanwan, Qingmian and Tingji away from Lin'an and that they would never die under his sword.
After lowering his eyes to look at his stepmother who had already died, Gu Tingzhou turned around with heartache and walked out of the Duke's Mansion step by step with heavy steps.
Gu Tingchen was a little confused at this time. He lowered his eyebrows and stared at his stepmother's body. The hatred in his eyes surged like waves.
He slowly knelt down, sneering, "Since you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish. I'll make sure you can't rest in peace even after death, and you'll never be reborn."
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