"Nonsense? Gu Jiangli, isn't it common knowledge that you admire Huaisong? I've seen you secretly come to see Huaisong many times. Today you made a promise with Huaisong to get the city lord to grant you your marriage, so why do you seem to have forgotten all about it now?"
Sun Bai's words were laced with sarcasm, making people uncomfortable.
During the banquet, no one dared to speak; everyone watched the spectacle in silence.
Tears welled up in Gu Jiangli's eyes, but she remained stubborn and asked in return:
"I wonder from whom Young Master Sun heard that I would be expressing my love to the Second Young Master today?"
Sun Bai was taken aback when Gu Jiangli asked him this question. He paused for a moment, then sneered and said:
"Everyone's saying it."
"Young Master Sun, do you not remember who leaked this information to you?"
Does it matter who it is?
"Of course it's important. This is a rumor. If Young Master Sun is not the one who spread this rumor, then we can find the person who spread the message before you, and then trace back to that person. We'll eventually find the source of the rumor."
Gu Jiangli turned her head, knelt on the ground with a thud, desperately suppressing the tears in her eyes, and said to the city lord:
“Lord of the City, Young Master Sun’s words are a slander against my daughter. I know that rumors are circulating widely in the city, saying that my daughter and the Second Young Master have an affair. Because I am a woman of low status, I cannot refute this matter. I think that one day, when the Second Young Master gets married, this rumor will naturally disappear.”
"But today's rumors are really too much, and my daughter can hardly bear them. I beg the city lord to do justice for my daughter, find the person who spread these rumors, and clear my daughter's name."
Gu Jiangli's tears fell at just the right moment.
As soon as she finished speaking, two crystal tears slid down her cheeks.
Her feelings were genuine; one could immediately see the injustices she had suffered, evoking pity and making it impossible to harbor any doubts.
The city lord, being soft-hearted, quickly said, "Get up, get up! Tell me everything that happened. What are the rumors circulating in the city?"
Gu's parents quickly stepped forward and helped Gu Jiangli up.
The two elderly people had tears in their eyes, and their hearts were filled with sorrow as they spoke of this incident.
They each told the audience the whole story circulating in the city about Gu Jiangli and Jiang Huaisong.
At the end, he also added the words that Gu Jiangli had taught them.
In short, based on the testimonies of the two elders, Gu Jiangli was a pitiful woman who suffered from endless rumors and gossip.
The two elderly people cried so bitterly that it was a heartbreaking scene.
The city lord was clearly angered upon hearing this: "How could such rumors spread in the city! How much damage will this do to a woman's reputation!"
The city official was furious, and Sun Bai and Jiang Huaisong were also anxious.
Sun Bai spoke first, determined to avenge his brother: "City Lord, this is no rumor! Miss Gu and Huai Song often meet privately to confide in each other! Otherwise, how could these rumors have spread!"
Gu Jiangli's eyes reddened as she stubbornly asked:
"Young Master Sun, when did I secretly go to see the Second Young Master? Did you really see it with your own eyes?"
In the original owner's memory, she did have several private meetings with Jiang Huaisong, but there were no other people present, so she was able to firmly deny it.
In order to speak up for Jiang Huaisong, Sun Bai could only stubbornly reply:
"Of course I've seen it!"
"When and where did I talk to the Second Young Master? You know all of that too?"
Sun Bai was speechless. Of course, he didn't know when or where Jiang Huaisong had met Gu Jiangli. He could only subconsciously turn his head to look in Jiang Huaisong's direction.
Before he could glean anything from Jiang Huaisong's eyes, Gu Jiangli choked back tears and asked again:
"What are you hesitating about, Young Master Sun? Is it because you can't remember clearly, or because you didn't have time to make it up?"
"What...what am I making up? This is the truth!"
"If I were to meet with the Second Young Master in private and confide in him, would anyone else know? Would anyone else witness it?"
"Well... since you were meeting secretly, of course you would have found a place where no one could see you! Stop trying to argue your way out of this!"
"Alright, if what Young Master Sun said is true, I have long been in love with the Second Young Master and I will marry no one but him. Have I ever given him a gift or given him my personal belongings as proof of our love?"
Sun Bai was speechless.
He turned around blankly and looked in Jiang Huaisong's direction once again.
Jiang Huaisong gripped the chopsticks tightly in his hand, his eyes fierce as if he wanted to devour someone.
Gu Jiangli's body trembled slightly, her tears were still wet, but her eyes were incredibly resolute.
To outsiders, she appears to be afraid, yet she pretends to be strong, simply because she possesses an indomitable spirit.
The city lord then spoke up: "Huai Song! Did you receive the gift from the Gu family girl? Did you and she develop feelings for each other?"
A sarcastic smile crept into Gu Jiangli's heart.
She was certain that Jiang Huaisong had nothing to offer.
The ridiculous thing is that it wasn't that the original owner of this body hadn't given him anything; on the contrary, she had given him a lot.
She gave him her personal handkerchief, a hand-embroidered purse, and a love poem she had personally transcribed.
Unfortunately, Jiang Huaisong never took these things seriously.
Just like the gifts given to him by courtesans, he casually threw them away.
This matter was told to her by Jiang Huaisong himself, ten years after the original owner of this body married Jiang Huaisong.
He said he liked her beauty, but that was all.
He married her simply because in the entire Qingfeng City, there was no woman whose status and position were a match for his, who would love him so much that she would propose to him in front of all the major merchants and families in the city.
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