Chapter Thirty
Gu Leyao and Chun Tao quietly hid behind the plum branches, holding their breath.
The refined-looking man quickly ran up behind Gu Baozhu, grabbed her sleeve, and pulled her back.
Gu Baozhu appeared frail and delicate, as the scholarly man pushed her against the artificial hill.
"Baozhu, the Huo family has fallen, so your original engagement is null and void! Wait for me, wait for me, I will definitely break off my engagement with Xu Peiyi, I want to be with the person I love! I want to be with you!"
Gu Baozhu's eyes were brimming with tears. She turned her head away, refusing to look the person in front of her in the eye. "But, but, Peiyi and I are good friends. I can't take her man away."
The man suddenly silenced Gu Baozhu with a kiss, and after a long while, he said breathlessly, "We are the real lovers. Xu Peiyi is a tigress. Don't think I didn't see it. She often loses her temper with you and makes you cry all by yourself!"
Gu Leyao's eyes lit up. That man wasn't Huo Pingyuan. Gu Leyao recalled the original owner's memories... wait...
This man looks like Gao Wenchang; he's Xu Peiyi's fiancé!
In the original owner's previous life, after the Huo family fell from grace, Gu Baozhu did not marry Huo Pingyuan, but instead married into the Longyi Marquis's mansion, where she married Gao Wenchang, the second son of the Longyi Marquis.
Gao Wenchang and Xu Peiyi were betrothed since childhood, but later Xu Peiyi did something wrong. Anyway, in the end, Gu Baozhu married her best friend's fiancé.
The Huo family had already fallen from grace, but Gu Leyao was always busy with the affairs of the Prince's Mansion and rarely went out, so she didn't know much about the outside world. So the Huo family had already fallen from grace.
Gu Leyao really disliked Xu Peiyi, otherwise she wouldn't have hit her last time. But Gu Leyao also couldn't stand seeing Xu Peiyi being kept in the dark by her fiancé and best friend.
After Gao Wenchang and Gu Baozhu poured out their hearts to each other, they left the artificial hill one after the other.
Gu Leyao thought for a moment, then waved her hand, and a bodyguard immediately appeared before her.
Gu Leyao gave a few instructions to the guards, who nodded and left to carry out their orders.
*
The most bustling market in the capital, the East Market, is always teeming with cars and horses, even on snowy days.
Xu Peiyi was choosing jewelry at Liu Niangzi's shop. She happily selected two sets: a gold-inlaid jade peach blossom set and a cloisonné peacock and peony set. She was in a great mood when she was bumped into as she was leaving. Xu Peiyi's eyebrows immediately furrowed, and she instinctively wanted to call her servants to grab the person. However, the person was extremely fast and disappeared in a flash.
Xu Peiyi found an extra piece of paper in her hand. She was puzzled but didn't say anything. She only opened the paper when she got into the carriage.
A moment later, she flicked her sleeve and smashed the teacup in the carriage.
Gao Wenchang, the second legitimate son of a marquis, only has a place in the family because of her, right? How many times has she stood up for that bitch Gu Baozhu? Otherwise, with her status as the daughter of a fallen count, how could Gu Baozhu have integrated into the circle of noble ladies in the capital?
Xu Peiyi was panting heavily, as if she was about to go crazy with anger.
The coachman asked her warily, "Girl, what's wrong?"
Xu Peiyi lifted the sedan curtain and said, "It's nothing."
She lowered the curtain, her face regaining its composure. Xu Peiyi silently made a decision in her heart: if this was true, she would make those two scoundrels pay!
*
Gu Leyao didn't know how Xu Peiyi would decide after learning the news, but she told Xu Peiyi about Gao Wenchang and Gu Baozhu.
She felt she had done everything she could, so she planned to enjoy the banquet peacefully for the rest of the time.
After the young prince, his maternal grandfather, and maternal grandmother had finished enjoying the incense, they ran out to find their imperial aunt.
The moment he saw Gu Leyao, he rushed to her side like a cannonball, grabbed her leg, and Gu Leyao staggered for a moment before catching him steadily.
Gu Leyao straightened his collar. "Don't run around in the dead of winter. If you sweat, you'll have to drink brown sugar ginger water when you get home."
The young prince scrunched up as he remembered the brown sugar ginger water his uncle had given him last time. "I don't want to drink brown sugar ginger water. It's sweet and spicy and doesn't taste good."
Gu Leyao led the little prince on a walk in the snow. The little prince was wearing a rabbit fur hat and gloves that Gu Leyao had made for him, and a pair of sheepskin shoes on his feet. He was playing in the snow, crunching and stomping.
The two were discussing whether to have hot pot or French fries with ketchup when they got home.
Suddenly they heard a sobbing sound, and Gu Leyao and the young prince looked up together.
In the plum grove, a little boy pushed a little girl to the ground, grabbed a puppy, and threw it onto the snow. He did this three times, and the puppy howled, its cries growing weaker and weaker.
The girl rushed over and hugged the puppy. The little boy cursed a few times, and when the girl didn't move away, he kicked her with his pointed leather boots.
The little girl clung to the puppy, refusing to let go, and cried loudly.
"Don't hit my puppy! Don't hit my puppy!"
Several adults gathered around, and one of the ladies, unable to bear the sight, offered a few words of advice.
A woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties, dressed in fine clothes, glared at the lady with a sharp look, and the lady immediately fell silent.
The old woman hummed smugly, then said to the people around her with great enthusiasm, "My eldest grandson is so lively! Look how strong his legs are! That's how a boy should be—that's what makes him strong. I think my grandson will be a general someday!" She then chuckled.
Because of her status, those around her could only offer insincere compliments.
Looking at the ugly faces of these people, the little prince was very angry. He now had a cat named Tangyuan, which he cherished every day, feeding it fragrant dried fish. Tangyuan also played well with the family dog Kaixin, and the little prince often fed Kaixin bones with some meat bits.
"How could he bully the puppy and that little kid like that! I'm going to teach him a lesson!"
The little prince was furious. His brows furrowed tightly, and he strode over to confront them.
Gu Leyao grabbed him, and the little prince turned around and frowned, "Auntie, that naughty child is bullying the puppy!"
Gu Leyao pulled the young prince close to his ear and whispered a few words in his ear. The young prince's eyes, which were originally filled with anger, became brighter and brighter as he listened.
The little prince clenched his fists and said fiercely, "I'm going to punish him severely!"
The young prince changed into plain clothes, and those who had never seen him before at the banquet would only think he was an ordinary little boy.
The young prince held a Mohele toy in his hand, which was the most popular toy in the capital at the time.
The prince deliberately carried the Mohele (a type of soda) and swaggered past the brat.
The brat who had just hit someone saw the colorful Moho and tried to snatch it, but the little prince kicked him into the snow.
The young prince picked up a thick plum branch and whipped the brat, who fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
The old woman, who looked to be in her fifties or sixties, stepped forward again. "Where did you come from, child? How can you hit people?" she demanded, and tried to push the young prince away.
The young prince reached back and grabbed a snowball, then threw it at the old lady's face with a thud.
The old lady's eyes were blurred from being hit by snowballs, so she quickly called for the servants around her.
The place was bustling with noise; it looked like there was something interesting to see, and a circle of wealthy ladies immediately gathered around.
"Little prince, little prince, where are you? Your aunt can't find you!" Gu Leyao led her people and hurriedly squeezed in from the outermost edge of the noblewoman's group.
When the young prince saw Gu Leyao arrive, he immediately collapsed to the ground, groaning and crying out in pain.
"Aunt, Aunt, save me! They're hitting me!"
Gu Leyao hugged the young prince, her eyes red with anger, and grabbed the old woman in her fifties or sixties, slapping her several times.
"You dare to harm the Crown Prince? Let's see how many lives you have left! Guards, seize them both!"
The young prince lay exhausted in Gu Leyao's arms, remaining motionless.
When the old woman heard that the one fighting with her grandson was actually the crown prince, she immediately knelt down in the snow and didn't dare to breathe.
Gu Leyao carried the little prince into the inner room and placed him on the bed.
Duke Anguo and his wife were both startled, and the whole family rushed to see the young prince.
"Chong'er!"
When the little prince heard his maternal grandmother calling him, he quietly opened his eyes, blinked at them, and whispered, "Grandfather, Grandmother, don't worry, I'm fine."
Gu Leyao told the Duchess of Anguo about their plan, "...I had placed several secret guards around Chong'er to ensure that no one would harm Chong'er."
Seeing that the Crown Prince was in good spirits, and after hearing Gu Leyao explain the whole story, Lady Anguo understood who the fifty-year-old woman they were talking about was.
The old lady in her fifties or sixties was the old lady of the Duke of England's mansion. She was known in the capital for being unreasonable and especially good at spoiling her children. If her children suffered a loss, she would definitely not let it go. If her children did not suffer a loss, she would bring up her classic saying: "He is still a child, don't bother with him."
Gu Leyao and the young prince exchanged a smug look. They were the ones who should deal with this kind of scoundrel!
Duke Anguo replied, "You are the Crown Prince, a man of noble status. How can you put yourself in such danger?"
The young prince pouted and said, "I hate these bad kids. I am the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Of course I should protect the weak. If the heir to a country does not have the desire to protect ordinary people, can he still be considered a good Crown Prince?"
Lady Anguo slapped Duke Anguo, who angrily retorted, "Fine, I'm not going to bother with you anymore!"
Gu Leyao said to the young prince, "The Duke is worried that you will get hurt, not that you did something wrong."
The little prince let out a cry and reached out to hug Duke Anguo. When Duke Anguo saw him reach out, he picked him up and weighed him in his arms, saying, "Eat more, and grow tall!"
The little prince rubbed his maternal grandfather's beard and said, "Grandpa, you should eat more so you can grow tall!"
Everyone in the room laughed.
A short while later, the physician from the Duke of Anguo's residence arrived. He pretended to examine the Crown Prince, and then went out and said to the noble ladies waiting at the door, "The Crown Prince is injured and is resting now. We don't know when he will wake up."
When the old lady of the Duke of England heard that the Crown Prince had fainted, she was so frightened that she knelt on the ground. Her unruly son was still making a fuss and demanding that his grandmother seek justice for him.
The old lady slapped him hard, and the brat seemed to realize that his grandmother was angry, so he quieted down.
The ladies who attended the banquet were all pointing and whispering, so it seems this brat is beyond anyone's control.
They usually ignore it, but this time they've caused a huge disaster, injuring the young prince. This is no small offense.
Gu Leyao and the little prince hid in the house, and the two of them happily ate together.
The old lady, along with her wicked grandson, knelt in the warm hall outside to beg for forgiveness. They dared not get up until the crown prince woke up.
Gu Leyao had already written a letter to the palace and another to the Prince's residence, stating that both the Crown Prince and she were unharmed, and that they had staged this play simply to punish evil and promote good.
Upon receiving the letter at the Prince's residence, Li Heng immediately instructed Li Qi to prepare a carriage, as he intended to enter the palace to explain the matter to his elder brother, the Emperor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
