Chapter 726 She is good in every way, but she is too kind, and she feels pity for everyone she sees
The yard was very clean, but it felt deserted, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Lin Jiayou did not bring her into the house, but led her to sit at the stone table in the yard.
"You are the first one here except my mother." He spoke in a low voice.
Gu Lanxin looked around, her heart beating wildly.
Lin Jiayou's gaze drifted into the distance, as if he was lost in some distant memories.
"Lan Xin, aren't you curious about my life experience?"
He didn't wait for Gu Lanxin to answer and continued talking.
"Everyone knows that my mother is the princess of Prince Yong's mansion, but who knows that she is just an imposter."
This beginning was like a thunderclap, leaving Gu Lan's mind blank.
"During the Five Princes' Rebellion, cholera spread throughout the capital. At Prince Yong's mansion, the princess was about to give birth. The midwife, tempted by greed, switched her newborn daughter with the real princess."
"My mother is the daughter of that midwife. She grew up in the royal palace, surrounded by the stars and enjoying all the splendor and wealth." Lin Jiayou's mouth curled up in a sarcastic arc, and it was unclear who he was mocking. "But paper will eventually reveal the truth."
His voice sank, filled with suppressed hatred.
"A lazy dandy in the capital somehow learned the truth about this matter. He used it as leverage to threaten my mother... and then, I was born."
Gu Lanxin covered her mouth, her eyes full of shock.
She never imagined that beneath Lin Jiayou's gentle and elegant appearance, he actually had such a terrible life experience.
"That man was insatiable and my mother was ruined by him... Unfortunately, in the end, she was also blinded by love and greed, and she ended up hurting herself by hurting others."
"After my mother died, the capital was so big, but there was no place for me to stay." Lin Jiayou turned his head and looked at Gu Lanxin. "At that time, it was Qingchen who was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see me desperate, so she asked someone to send me to Jinguan City to seek refuge with her brother Gu Lu."
He described Gu Qingchen's good deeds as a kind of condescending charity and sympathy.
"Qingchen...she's good in every way, but she's too kind. She feels pity for everyone she sees."
These words instantly helped Gu Lanxin find a certain balance.
It turned out that Gu Qingchen's kindness to him was just out of pity.
But he was willing to tell me about this shameful past without reservation.
Lin Jiayou looked at her changing expression, reached out and covered the back of her hand, his eyes painful and sincere.
"Lan Xin, I've told you everything about me. I don't want to hide anything from you."
Gu Lanxin's defenses completely collapsed at this moment.
She looked at the man in front of her. He was ambitious and resourceful, but all his struggles seemed to have reasons.
She could no longer control her emotions, and she leaned forward and pressed a tender but firm kiss on his lips.
Lin Jiayou's body stiffened for a moment, then he took the initiative and deepened the kiss.
After a long moment, he finally let go of her, resting his forehead against hers, his breath hot.
"With my background, I still have a long way to go if I want to gain a foothold in the capital and marry you in a dignified manner..."
His voice was hoarse and full of temptation.
"Lan'er, are you willing to wait for me?"
Qian Zhenyun's tactic of "retreating to advance" was really like cutting off the source of the problem.
The generous gift from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was delivered to the palace, and the Queen handed it to Princess Jiahe, shutting up the royal family.
Immediately afterwards, the Censorate reported the matter to the emperor, who took advantage of the situation and reprimanded Prince Yongding for not managing his household properly, causing him to be overwhelmed and no longer have the energy to cause trouble for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
The turmoil in the court was suppressed quietly.
But the open turmoil has subsided, and the means behind the scenes have become more and more sinister.
Princess Yongding could not swallow this insult, and began to cry about her daughter's grievances intentionally or unintentionally at banquets attended by noble ladies in the capital, portraying Gu Qingchen as a shrew who bullied others and had a vicious heart.
As soon as Gu Qingchen's house arrest was over, he felt this malice as soon as he stepped out of the mansion.
Today was the birthday party of the old lady of the Duke of England's mansion. As soon as she entered the garden, the voices of the groups of people who were originally chatting and laughing became quiet.
Those noble ladies who would normally come forward to greet her warmly upon seeing her, now stood at a distance as if by agreement, casting glances at her that either showed contempt or looked on in amusement.
A young girl in a goose yellow dress, the distant niece of Princess Yong, deliberately raised her voice.
"Some people are so lucky. They pushed the princess into the water and almost killed her, but they acted like nothing happened and even came out to attend the banquet."
Someone nearby immediately echoed, "That's right. A good family background makes all the difference. If it were us, we'd probably still be in jail right now."
Gu Qingchen stopped and looked over coldly.
The girls felt uneasy when she looked at them, but they relied on their numbers and stared back at her with their necks stiff.
Just as she was about to speak, Lin Jiayou's voice sounded gently.
"Sisters, please be careful with your words. This matter has been concluded. It was just an accident. Qingchen is not that kind of person. Please don't believe the rumors and hurt the relationship."
He walked over at some point and stood naturally beside Gu Qingchen, with an attitude of complete protection.
The girls curled their lips, looking at the two of them with increasingly ambiguous eyes, and said, "We dare not offend the relationship with the young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion," and turned and walked away.
"Ignore them." Lin Jiayou said softly to Gu Qingchen, "They are just jealous of you."
His "heroic rescue" not only failed to make Gu Qingchen feel relieved, but made her even more upset.
Qian Zhenyun was checking the accounts in his own clinic. After listening to the servant's report about the birthday banquet, the account book in his hand slammed shut.
He did not go to the Duke's Mansion, nor did he go to comfort Gu Qingchen.
He simply walked to the back hall and gave a few instructions to a servant who had always been with him.
"We went to the taverns west of the city, favorite haunts of the porters and waiters, and casually chatted. They said that the northwest border had cooled down early this year, and the soldiers were still wearing thin clothing. But the black fox cloaks newly acquired by the Yongding Palace were incredibly shiny and sleek, each worth over a thousand taels of silver."
The guy understood immediately and immediately bowed and retreated.
But within two or three days, the wind direction in the capital city quietly changed.
The original gossip about Gu Qingchen was gradually replaced by new topics.
In teahouses, taverns, streets and alleys, people were talking about the extravagance of the Yongding Palace and the hardships of the soldiers at the border.
"Have you heard? The prince of Yongding bought a Ferghana horse a few days ago and spent a full five thousand taels!"
"Five thousand taels? My God, that's enough for our brothers at the border to buy winter clothes!"
None of these news reports accused Prince Yongding of embezzling military funds, but every single one of them put Prince Yongding's palace on the spot.
In the imperial study, the emperor read an anonymous letter and remained silent for a long time. The letter did not contain any long speeches, but only two accounts.
One amount was the various extravagant expenses of the Yongding Palace over the past year. The other amount was the amount allocated for military supplies to the northwest border.
The comparison between the two is shocking.
By the time Prince Yongding realized the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, it was too late. He sent people to investigate the source of these rumors, but found nothing.
Those words seemed to have appeared out of thin air, spreading from the lowest corners of the capital...
In the martial arts training ground of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, Gu Qingchen was distracted and shot arrows with his bow, but his arrows always missed the center of the target.
"Let your shoulders drop, don't tense them."
Qian Zhenyun came over at some point and placed a bowl of iced mung bean soup on the stone table next to him.
He did not mention what happened at the birthday party, nor did he talk about the rumors outside. He just walked behind her and raised his hand to help her adjust her bow posture.
"You're too impatient."
His palm was warm, and he placed it gently on her shoulder through the fabric with a steady force.
Gu Qingchen's body stiffened and he turned his head to look at him.
The prince forced her to apologize, and it was he who came up with the best of both worlds. She was humiliated at the birthday banquet, and in the blink of an eye, the Yongding Palace became the laughing stock of the whole city.
She is not stupid.
There are not so many coincidences in this world.
Gu Qingchen looked at Qian Zhenyun's calm profile, and the swaying scale in his heart finally fell in one direction at this moment.
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