Zhao Mingxu was surprised and quickly raised his finger to assure her, "Madam, I was careless in what I did today, but my feelings for the eldest daughter are genuine. I promise I will never do such a thing again."
Madam Gu scoffed at his so-called sincerity.
"This concerns the reputation of my Marquis's eldest daughter. If we hadn't presented evidence of Chunhua's betrayal today, my granddaughter's reputation would be ruined throughout the entire Great Yu Dynasty tomorrow. You are trying to destroy her!"
"As Chaoxi's fiancé, your first reaction was to defend Chunhua and doubt Chaoxi. I am very disappointed in you."
Lord Gu hesitated, but Old Madam Gu glared at him and said, "I was the one who arranged this marriage, and I am the one who decides to annul it now."
Lord Gu dared not refute and could only remain silent.
"After Young Master Zhao goes back, have your mother come over so that our two families can amicably cancel the engagement. Let's not make a scene and lose face for everyone."
Since Lord Gu remained silent, Zhao Mingxu had no choice but to agree. He resolved to ask his mother to persuade Old Madam Gu to abandon the idea of annuling the engagement once he returned home.
Gu Chaoxi snuggled in Old Madam Gu's arms and said sweetly, "Grandma is so good. Grandma understands me the most."
Old Madam Gu led Gu Chaoxi away from the main hall, comforting her along the way, "Once this marriage is called off, Grandma will find you an even better one, a husband who truly loves you."
Gu Chaoxi blushed slightly as she thought about what happened in the woodshed that afternoon. "Grandmother, I won't get married. I'll stay by your side from now on."
"You're talking nonsense again," Old Madam Gu scolded. "What woman doesn't get married? What's she doing staying by this old woman's side every day?"
...
Because of what happened in the front yard, all the servants ran to the front yard to see what was going on, making the entire back yard much quieter.
At this moment, at the entrance of the woodshed in the backyard, a group of guards trembled at the sight inside.
Lu Zhao's close bodyguard, Jin Yang, was sweating profusely and at a loss for what to do.
They were ambushed on the road today, and they didn't have many men with them. Their master was injured. Jin Yang risked his life to cover his master's escape first. After he was freed, he gathered a group of guards and followed the marks left by their master to find the Marquis of Changshan's residence.
They finally found the regent.
What they found was that their prince was lying on the floor of the woodshed, his clothes disheveled. His outer garment had been torn off and spread on the ground, and his wounds had been haphazardly bandaged with gauze. There were two small teeth marks on his exposed skin.
He looked like he had been utterly humiliated.
His prince was not only severely injured and bleeding profusely, but his chastity was also compromised. Who could be so heartless and depraved!
With trepidation, they carried Lu Zhao back to the Regent's Palace, treated his wounds again, and waited anxiously for him to wake up.
Lu Zhao finally regained consciousness three hours later.
Memories of intimacy and passion flooded back from the dimly lit woodshed; Lu Zhao clearly remembered everything that had happened a few hours earlier.
Lu Zhao asked, "When you found me, did you see any women with me?"
"No, when we found you, Master, there was no one else with you. However, you were holding this in your hand."
Jin Yang presented a pink ribbon with both hands.
Lu Zhao took it and immediately recognized it as the tie from the woman's undergarment. He had lost his senses at the time and tore the undergarment off in one swift motion.
Feeling the smooth, soft fabric in my hands, I realized that her delicate skin was even smoother and softer than the fabric, and my fingertips seemed to still retain the warmth of her body.
Seeing that Lu Zhao remained silent for a long time, Jin Yang hesitated before speaking, "Master, should we find this woman and deal with her?"
Others may not know, but Jin Yang, who has followed Lu Zhao for many years, knows that because he was poisoned and had no offspring in his early years, Lu Zhao has lived for thirty years without a woman by his side, and it can be said that he is very averse to women getting close to him.
Now that someone has been... the master must be wishing he could tear that person to pieces.
Under Jin Yang's gaze, Lu Zhao nodded, "Don't alert her. Find out her identity. Her clothes are made of fine material; she's probably a mistress in the Marquis's mansion."
Jin Yang accepted the order, "Yes."
Jin Yang silently lit a candle for this audacious woman in his heart.
...
Wutong Courtyard.
When Gu Ruiyun heard that Old Madam Gu had intervened to annul the engagement for Gu Chaoxi, she twisted her handkerchief again and again.
“Grandmother always favors Gu Chaoxi. Do you think I don’t understand what Gu Chaoxi is thinking? She just wants to break off the engagement so she can be selected for the imperial concubine selection and have the emperor take a liking to her. She doesn’t even think about how many days she can survive in the harem with her brain.”
As the saying goes, the one who understands you best is often your enemy. Gu Ruiyun had been fighting with Gu Chaoxi for more than ten years since childhood, and he knew her thoughts very well.
The emperor is seventeen years old this year, and the positions of empress and four consorts are still vacant. The first imperial concubine selection is about to take place.
Gu Ruiyun was an illegitimate daughter. Even though she was loved by her father at home, she was looked down upon by some of the legitimate daughters in the capital since childhood. This time, she was determined to enter the palace and become a person of high status.
However, the Marquis of Changshan's household only has one spot for the imperial concubine selection.
Gu Ruiyun guessed that after the engagement was called off, Gu Chaoxi would desperately beg her grandmother for the spot, and her grandmother, favoring her, would ultimately allow Gu Chaoxi to enter the palace. She couldn't just sit and wait for her fate!
"Lu Rong, has the Fifth Princess sent anyone to deliver a message?"
The Fifth Princess is the Emperor's half-sister. She is the highest-ranking among Gu Ruiyun's close friends and the only person she knows who can keep track of the Emperor's whereabouts.
"Miss, the Fifth Princess just sent someone to say that His Majesty will accompany her to Panyue Lake in the outskirts of the capital in two days," replied the personal maid, Lü Rong.
"Okay, we'll go to Panyue Lake in two days."
Gu Ruiyun's task was to win the emperor's favor, and with her looks and talent, she was confident that this would not be difficult.
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