As soon as Gu Chaoxi entered, she immediately attracted everyone's attention in the room.
Zhao Mingxu's gaze fell on Gu Chaoxi, his eyes filled with amazement. He had only been engaged to Gu Chaoxi not long ago, and had only met her three times so far, and each time he was amazed by her beauty.
The person he saw in the side room today was clearly Gu Chaoxi. He would never mistake such a beautiful face. But when he woke up, the person lying next to him was her maid Chunhua.
Gu Chaoxi bowed to the Marquis's father and then gracefully walked to her seat.
"Let's get this straight today: who really administered this drug?"
"Chunhua, you tell us."
Chunhua glanced at Gu Chaoxi and said with tears in her eyes, "It was Miss who asked me to buy the aphrodisiac. I wanted to slip it into the tea water while Young Master Zhao was visiting the manor today, hoping to... have a night of passion with him. To prevent anyone from coming, I kept watch outside the door. When I heard no movement inside, I thought I'd go in and check."
"As soon as I entered the room, I saw Young Master Zhao lying unconscious on the ground. I woke him up, but he mistook me for a young lady..."
Gu Chaoxi understood. After she climbed out the window and left, Chunhua went into the side room.
This was the second time Lord Gu had heard this, and he still couldn't help but smash his cup in a fit of rage, "As the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion, Gu Chaoxi, do you have no shame at all!"
Her father, swayed by only one side of the story, berated her. Gu Chaoxi's eyes reddened with anger. "Since I'm already engaged to Young Master Zhao, why would I go to the trouble of drugging him? Don't I have any shame?! Chunhua must be lying about this!"
Gu Chaoxi had always been spoiled and had never cried in front of others. When Lord Gu saw her red and swollen eyes and her aggrieved expression, his anger subsided slightly.
Could it be that it really wasn't the eldest daughter who did it?
Chunhua had been bribed by Gu Ruiyun, who had promised to find a way to make her Zhao Mingxu's concubine. Now that she was close to achieving her goal, she had already offended Gu Chaoxi, so of course she couldn't expose Gu Ruiyun.
"My lord, young master Zhao, I'm not lying. I still have some aphrodisiac left in my room. You can also send someone to ask at the pharmacies on Lin'an Street. The people there recognize me; it was the young lady who asked me to buy it!"
Chunhua cried with tears streaming down her face, which aroused Zhao Mingxu's pity. "Chunhua is a maid. She wouldn't have dared to do such a thing if no one had instructed her. She is innocent. It's not good to make her kneel like this."
As Zhao Mingxu was about to help Chunhua up, Gu Chaoxi lashed out with his whip, striking Chunhua right in the back of the knee, causing her to fall back to her knees with a thud.
"Who allowed her to get up?"
"According to what Young Master Zhao said, Chunhua is my maid. You seem to have already concluded that I was the one who drugged you? In my opinion, this was all Chunhua's own doing."
Chunhua, a disloyal servant, had long since sided with Gu Ruiyun. Gu Chaoxi had no qualms about shifting the blame onto her, and she was not innocent either.
"Before I came here, I ordered Qiushuang to search Chunhua's room. Qiushuang, come in."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shuang, who had just arrived at the entrance of the front hall, walked in and presented several items.
“My lord, Chunhua has long harbored thoughts of betraying her master. This is what I found in Chunhua’s room.”
"Among these are aphrodisiacs that Chunhua bought, and also a purse that Chunhua embroidered in secret. The character 'Xu' embroidered on it is none other than Young Master Zhao's name. It is clear that Chunhua has long harbored improper thoughts about Young Master Zhao."
“This servant also found a doll covered in tiny needles, with the young lady’s birth date and time written on it.”
"Back when we were first engaged, Chunhua hinted to the young lady that she wanted to be Zhao Gongzi's concubine, but the young lady couldn't bear to see us become someone else's concubine and refused her. I never expected that she would hold a grudge all this time, not only cursing the young lady behind her back, but also daring to commit such a treacherous act!" Qiushuang said indignantly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lord Gu's anger shifted, and he kicked Chunhua, yelling, "You lowly servant!"
Chunhua cried out in pain, curling up all over.
Lord Gu turned around and comforted his aggrieved eldest daughter, "Chaoxi, you've been wronged. I've misunderstood you."
Gu Chaoxi tried her best to suppress her grievances and said in a sullen voice, "I don't blame my father for being misled by Chunhua's one-sided story, but Young Master Zhao has assumed in his heart that I instructed Chunhua without asking any questions. I want to break off the engagement with him."
Lord Gu was displeased. "What nonsense are you talking about? Mingxu is also a victim in this matter. Chunhua has impure intentions, and I will sell her off later. Your engagement with Mingxu will not be affected."
Zhao Mingxu was also startled. He had never thought of breaking off the engagement with Gu Chaoxi. In the capital, it was common to have multiple wives and concubines, and he did not think there was anything wrong with his previous statement about taking a concubine.
However, seeing that Gu Chaoxi was angry, he quickly coaxed her, "If you are unwilling, I will not take Chunhua as my wife. In any case, she is just a dispensable maid, why ruin our engagement for her sake?"
Upon hearing this, Chunhua's eyes dimmed instantly. She grabbed Zhao Mingxu's sleeve and said, "Young Master Zhao, you made a promise to me when we were in the side room."
Zhao Mingxu ruthlessly pulled back his clothes and took a step to the side.
Gu Chaoxi wanted to laugh at his heartless expression.
Gu Chaoxi took out the jade pendant they had exchanged during their engagement and slammed it on the table. "Young Master Zhao seems to have already concluded that I was the one who drugged you, and he even said he wanted to take Chunhua as his concubine. He has no trust in me at all, and he doesn't respect me, his fiancée. This engagement must be called off."
"Nonsense!" Lord Gu shouted angrily. "Marriage is a major event that should be decided by the elders. How can you just back out like that? I don't agree."
Zhao Mingxu is the eldest son of the Duke of Zhao. His elder sister entered the palace to serve the late emperor and was named Consort Ming. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, Consort Ming has become Consort Dowager Ming. The Zhao family is also highly regarded in the court. Although Zhao Mingxu is currently only a sixth-rank military officer, with the Zhao family's support, he has no worries about not being promoted in the future.
Although the Gu family is a marquis's mansion, it has not made any achievements in the court in recent years and is gradually declining.
The engagement between Gu Chaoxi and Zhao Mingxu was, in a sense, a marriage between the Gu family and the Zhao family. Lord Gu did not want to miss out on such a good marriage prospect, so how could he easily agree to annul the engagement?
Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, footsteps sounded outside the door.
When Old Madam Gu returned from her Buddhist pilgrimage, she heard about what had happened in the mansion. Fearing that her beloved granddaughter might be harmed, she rushed over.
Lord Gu dotes on Concubine Liu, and by extension, he also favors Gu Ruiyun, the daughter of Concubine Liu. Meanwhile, Old Madam Gu favors Gu Chaoxi, who lost her mother at a young age.
As soon as Madam Gu entered, Gu Chaoxi threw herself into her arms, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, as all the grievances she had been holding back suddenly burst forth.
"Grandmother... your granddaughter wants to break off the engagement with the Zhao family."
Old Madam Gu felt heartbroken seeing Gu Chaoxi crying. She patted her back and kept comforting her, "Don't cry, don't cry. Your dear granddaughter has been wronged. Grandma will stand up for you."
Then, with a pair of calm and dignified eyes sweeping over the others present, Madam Gu said, "I have heard about what happened after I returned to the manor. I agree to cancel this marriage."
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