Chapter 70 Using Gu Qianhan's reputation as a stepping stone
Amidst the incessant chatter and gossip around him, Gu Qianhan was forced to listen to a barrage of idle chatter, and he felt that what had happened today was truly absurd and laughable.
He looked coldly at Xiao Qingyuan: "I'll say it again, I haven't touched your woman. You'd better find out the truth before you go out and cause trouble, lest you be used without even realizing it!"
Xiao Qingyuan still gripped his collar tightly, his eyes bloodshot and his voice hoarse: "Are you still pretending with me? Yan Luo has already said that you were the one that night, that you drugged her, that you bullied her! Why did you do this? Are you even human?!"
Gu Qianhan frowned: "You believe everything she says? I left the Prince's mansion early that night. You could have just asked anyone in the mansion. Can't you even find out about something this simple?"
Xiao Qingyuan gritted his teeth and said, "You deliberately created the illusion that you left the Prince's Mansion early! After you left, you returned to the Prince's Mansion!"
"I haven't gone back since I left. If I had, would the guards and gatekeepers of the Prince's mansion not have seen me? Can I become invisible? Can I burrow underground? Can I fly?"
You don't need any of these!
Xiao Qingyuan's voice changed with anger: "There's a hole in the wall of the Prince's mansion's back garden. I've taken you through it before. If you walk there, the guards and servants of the Prince's mansion won't be able to spot you at all!"
Having lived two lives, Gu Qianhan experienced great ups and downs in his previous life, including the annihilation of his entire clan. Now, he was preoccupied with important matters. When he suddenly heard Xiao Qingyuan mention a cave in the back garden, he couldn't immediately recall where Xiao Qingyuan was referring to.
His cold voice carried a rare hint of anger: "I have very important business to attend to at the restaurant today. I don't have time to argue with you about this. I'll settle the score with you later!"
He was about to leave after he finished speaking, but Xiao Qingyuan refused to let him go. He grabbed his clothes and tried to pull him to the palace, demanding that he apologize to Chu Yanluo.
Gu Qianhan grew impatient with his persistence and said coldly, "Since Chu Yanluo says that I forced her, then call her here and confront me face to face!"
"no!"
Xiao Qingyuan immediately refused: "Yan Luo has already suffered so much harm, she can't come out and be pointed at and gossiped about!"
Gu Qianhan said indifferently, "You don't dare to let her confront me? Or is it that Chu Yanluo herself doesn't dare to confront me?"
"How could Yanluo not dare?"
"Then call her over!"
Xiao Qingyuan dared not make the decision himself in this matter. He was unsure whether Chu Yanluo was willing to come and confront him, so he could only ask Mo Ji to return to the palace to inquire.
Fortunately, the Prince's Mansion was not far from Qingyun Tower, and Mo Ji soon returned.
Chu Yanluo returned with Mo Ji.
As she stepped down from the carriage, gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd.
She was dressed in flowing white robes, with long, ink-black hair, skin as white as snow, and red lips and white teeth.
She wore no makeup or jewelry, and her whole being was like a lotus emerging from clear water, or a snow lotus on a high mountain—pure and noble, as beautiful as a fairy who did not partake in worldly affairs.
But this beautiful and ethereal person had a brand new wound on her face, and the wound was even bleeding, clearly indicating that she had just been injured.
The men in the crowd were already filled with righteous indignation: "Who?! Who hurt the fairy's face?! I'll fight them to the death!"
"How could someone be so cruel to someone with such a beautiful face? Who on earth is so heartless?"
"Could it be Gu Qianhan? Otherwise, Prince Xiao wouldn't be so angry!"
"He must have tried to force himself on her. The fairy resisted to the death, and then her face was slashed! That beast!"
"He's more than just a beast; he even forced himself on his brother's woman. He's a complete scumbag!"
"Tsk tsk, he looks like a gentleman all day, but he's such a scoundrel in private. It seems the Duke's mansion isn't all that great either, raising a son who would do such a despicable and immoral thing!"
Gu Qianhan was scolded again for no reason, and his brows furrowed.
Chu Yanluo listened to these discussions, but she was quite satisfied.
Her reputation was originally terrible because she became pregnant with an illegitimate child before marriage, and almost everyone in the capital scorned her. But now, people have begun to sympathize with and pity her; she traded Gu Qianhan's reputation for her own.
Anyway, the Gu family will rebel in the future, and Gu Qianhan will die sooner or later, and his whole family will die. So let's just use her as a stepping stone for now!
She walked step by step up to Gu Qianhan, her tone cold and arrogant: "Gu Qianhan, today I will expose your true colors in front of everyone! You are a shameless scoundrel, a despicable person who only bullies weak women!"
"I have been insulted and coerced by you, but I am not afraid of you! So what if you are the second young master of the Duke's mansion? I will fight to the death to get justice!"
Gu Qianhan admitted that he was somewhat arrogant. In both his lives combined, he had never given Chu Yanluo a second glance. He had never taken this woman seriously. However, he never expected that this woman would have such superb acting skills and be able to ruin his reputation in an instant.
He frowned at her and asked, "Are you sick?"
Chu Yanluo, putting on a brave front while holding back tears, pointed at him and said, "It's him, Gu Qianhan! He said he fell in love with me at first sight, that he couldn't help himself after just one meeting, and that he wanted me to be his woman! When I refused, he hit me and even drugged me!"
"Today I want to stand up and tell all women that after being bullied by scum, you must bravely expose him, tear off his gentlemanly facade, and reveal his filth!"
"It's not our fault as women to be bullied, it's their fault! It's the injustice of this world, and the inadequacy of the law to protect us!"
Gu Qianhan was dumbfounded. She was lying through her teeth and then suddenly escalated the issue to such a level. How dare she? How could she be so shameless?
Xiao Qingyuan listened with excitement and pride. His Yan Luo was indeed different from other women. Her thinking was always so unconventional and extraordinary, always a level above others!
Inside and outside the restaurant, countless people were applauding Chu Yanluo, as if she were some great hero.
Even some of the women who had previously criticized her were moved by her impassioned speech and couldn't help but start supporting Chu Yanluo.
"She's right, this world is unfair! It's too hard for us women to survive!"
"If you ask me, Gu Qianhan bullied Miss Chu, so he should be thrown into jail and tortured properly!"
"I misunderstood Miss Chu before. I thought she was a scheming woman, but I didn't expect her to be so aloof and refined!"
"Yes, she is a role model for us women! No wonder Prince Xiao likes her so much. She is truly beautiful and brave. If I were a man, I would also fall deeply in love with her!"
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