Chapter 148 If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it yourself
Gu Fangchen smiled secretly in his heart.
To be honest, this force is actually a bit painful...
If his physique was not at the peak of the sixth rank, this kick could have directly broken the leg of a lower third rank cultivator.
For him, it might just be some bruising and swelling.
After all, Xiao Yinghao's anger from the previous second has not yet subsided, and she must vent her anger now.
However, compared to a third-grade martial artist, this force has been very restrained, so much so that it can even be described as gentle.
The strategy Gu Fangchen just adopted was very simple.
It's like playing hard to get.
First of all, Xiao Ying must be made to give up the idea of confirming his status as the son-in-law.
What Gu Fangchen did was simple. He played his role as a playboy to the fullest and instantly lowered Xiao Yinghao's favorability.
Xiao Yinghao is very proud of herself and would never let someone she hates become her engagement partner, even in name only.
But secondly, Gu Fangchen didn't want such an impression to continue to stay with Xiao Yinghao, causing unnecessary trouble for himself and wasting his relatively high favorability.
Based on Xiao Yinghao's performance, if the favorability value can be quantified now, Gu Fangchen estimates that his should be between 40 and 50.
For the eldest princess, this level of favorability is already quite high.
Even her brother and her mother's favorability is basically around 70.
Not to mention others.
Therefore, after Gu Fangchen lowers his favorability and achieves his goal, he must immediately raise his favorability back up.
And based on the information Gu Fangchen knew.
Although Xiao Yinghao appears to be a ruthless military god, often with a cold and serious face, as if she never smiles, she also has a soft hobby that is in stark contrast.
That is...she likes children.
The White Dragon Army has set up orphanages in various places, specifically to adopt homeless children and train them based on their qualifications. Most of them become the members of the White Dragon Army.
If they have no talent for martial arts and are not suitable for military service, they will be taught various skills and raised until they are about fifteen years old, and then allowed to go out and make a living on their own.
After these people went out, they were actually like hidden pawns, entering various industries of the Wei Dynasty and providing information to Xiao Yinghao.
However, Xiao Yinghao would take time out every year to disguise himself and go to the shelter as an ordinary White Dragon Army soldier to spend some time with the two or three-year-old children.
Perhaps living in a place like the royal family where family affection is cold, what she longs for in her heart is the innocence of a child without any calculation.
Xiao Yinghao's younger brother, the sixth prince Xiao Yi, was only placed under house arrest in the subsequent fight for the throne, and was not killed. This is enough to show that Xiao Yinghao was quite tolerant towards children.
Especially a guy like Xiao Yi who is spoiled, has no brains, and only wants to be a hero.
In other words, Gu Fangchen was actually trying to seize part of Xiao Yi's track.
At the moment when Xiao Yinghao had a misunderstanding, Gu Fangchen did not retreat but advanced, changing his purpose from crossing the line into teasing to secretly delivering something.
This behavior of slacking off and passing notes at a serious banquet is quite "childish".
In fact, Gu Fangchen was also implicitly acknowledging his identity.
If he had not been on the Qiu'an Dao battlefield at that time, this Fire Essence Stone Array Eye would never have fallen into his hands.
Moreover, he has already repaired the formation in this array core.
As long as we find a suitable mineral vein and plug it back in, we can activate the mining protection formation again.
At this time, Xiao Yinghao realized that she had just "misunderstood" Gu Fangchen's kindness.
Although Gu Fangchen was the one who did it, the cause was Xiao Yinghao's misjudgment, which led to him being trapped. With the group leaderless, Qing Man was able to succeed in his sneak attack.
If we trace the source of this blame, Xiao Yinghao, the leader of the military region, should be held responsible.
Including the damage to the mining protection formation.
Even after Gu Fangchen turned the tide of the battle, the loss of the mining protection formation might be the area where Xiao Yinghao should be held most accountable.
Gu Fangchen clearly wanted to secretly return the array core to her, to make up for what he had done, and to also take the blame off Xiao Ying...
However, Gu Fangchen's "good intentions" were misunderstood by Xiao Yinghao because of his outrageous and bold behavior.
This made Xiao Ying feel both amused and angry.
What’s funny is that Gu Fangchen’s behavior is as childish as a child!
Only children who are still learning to read would skip class and pass notes to their neighbors. Gu Fangchen did such a willful thing at a royal banquet, which was really childish.
Xiao Yinghao didn't even think that Gu Fangchen did this on purpose... because the risk of doing so was too great. With Xiao Yinghao's reputation, she didn't think anyone would dare to tease her in this way.
Once she couldn't hold it in any longer, blood would splatter on the spot.
Besides, Gu Fangchen actually did nothing...
He stopped at her feet very tactfully, without any extra thoughts.
What made her angry was that her stereotype of Gu Fangchen made her miss this best opportunity.
Although he was sure that Gu Fangchen's dandy appearance was all a disguise, in the end, he still annoyed Gu Fangchen because of it...
Gu Fangchen mouthed the words innocently and aggrievedly:
"It's for you. If you're not happy, just give it back to me. Why are you kicking me?"
Then he withdrew his foot, looking like his kindness had been taken for granted.
Xiao Ying suddenly remembered that Gu Fangchen opposite her was actually only nineteen years old, not yet an adult, and only three years older than her brother.
Compared to her, he was just a child.
Her heart softened, and she thought, "Never mind... if I missed it, I missed it. There will always be another chance."
When Gu Fangchen saw her expression, he knew that his favorability had returned.
When Emperor Yong'an read the battle report presented to him, he immediately realized that his daughter was simply trying to flatter Gu Yuye.
He chuckled and said:
"So that's what happened... My dear Lord Gu, do you admit your guilt?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuye immediately knelt down and said in a deep voice:
"I acknowledge my guilt!"
But he was not actually panicked in his heart. If Emperor Yong'an was really angry, he would definitely not speak in this tone.
Therefore, most likely the news was indeed related to what he had done, but it was not enough to convict him of a serious crime.
As expected, Emperor Yong'an handled it with care and said:
"It's good that you acknowledge your guilt. Wait until the banquet is over and go accept your punishment."
Others were either relieved or curious about what the message said...
Gu Yuye thanked him, but did not stand up. Instead, he continued:
"Your Majesty, my loyalty is known to heaven and earth."
"Therefore, there are some things that I have to say."
"Regarding the Crown Prince, I accept defeat. Regardless of whether he is my son or not, the title of King of Zhenbei was established for the sake of the country. I will naturally obey your majesty's arrangements."
He knew clearly that Gu Fangchen brought Gu Yuandao with him to publicize the matter so loudly, he must be trying to attack the latter and further destroy his reputation.
So, he must take the initiative.
The outcome of the bet is a foregone conclusion, but it doesn’t mean that Gu Fangchen can keep his position.
There is still one more level, he has to pass it!
Gu Yuye continued:
"But this person's identity is still unclear. The groom's confession was very convincing. It was the Demon Cult that swapped Yuan Dao and this person's swaddling clothes."
"Even though he was young and unaware of the situation back then, he already met the groom three years ago. There's no guarantee the Demon Cult was already colluding with him then!"
He said in a deep voice:
"If we can't remove this suspicion, and let this person become the crown prince, I'm afraid he has fallen into the evil trap of the demonic cult!"
"What's more, he's acting so cruelly now. My son was seriously injured by the demon cult, but he refused to provide medical treatment along the way. This is truly the demon cult's style!"
"Your Majesty, please look into this matter!"
Indeed, in addition to not being of royal blood, Gu Fangchen was also charged with the crime of colluding with the evil cult.
But now, the method to break the deadlock has been handed to Gu Fangchen by Gu Yuandao himself.
Gu Fangchen also stood up, walked to Gu Yuye's side, sneered and whispered:
"Gu Yuye, if you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. I want to give this to you and your precious son."
He bowed towards Emperor Yong'an and said:
"Your Majesty, I have witnesses who can prove my innocence! I can also explain to you why I acted this way towards Gu Yuandao."
Emperor Yong'an was very interested:
"Oh? Who?"
Gu Fangchen flipped his hand and took out a scroll.
That was the magic weapon that the Confucian sage gave to Gu Yuandao—
Picture of mountains and rivers.
(End of this chapter)
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