Chapter 202: Gu Huai Suffers
Go to the capital city.
When Gu Huai was completely confused, he was given a severe beating.
The stick hit his body, tearing his skin and flesh, and he grimaced in pain.
Gu Huai just thought that his father was loyal and trustworthy, and was angry that his father insisted on breaking off the engagement, which hurt the reputation of both families.
Didn’t mother convince father already?
His father went into the palace and when he came back he dragged him out of the ancestral hall without saying a word and personally beat him to death.
Could it be that Marquis Yongning brought the matter of breaking off the engagement to the attention of Yu?
Although the Yongning Marquisate was gradually declining, it still received some favor from the emperor because it quickly made its position clear at the time of the palace coup.
If Marquis Yongning desperately asks the emperor to do him justice, the emperor will also consider their old friendship and give him a little face.
hateful!
How hateful!
Obviously, everything had been settled. The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion helped Lu Minghua enter the Ministry of Personnel and facilitated Lu Minghua's marriage with the Qin family's daughter. The Marquis of Yongning's Mansion then agreed to cancel the engagement and never mentioned the engagement between the two families again.
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and Wuxing Shen's family had already begun lobbying for Lu Minghua, but the Marquis of Yongning turned his back on them.
Do you think that Lu Minghua's marriage to the Qin family girl is a done deal and no longer requires the help of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion?
"Father, I was wrong to insist on canceling the engagement. I admit my guilt, but..."
Gu Huai was responded with another merciless blow.
The Duke of Zhenguo's face was as gloomy as water, his eyes were as fierce as a hawk. "Do you think I am using the family law to cancel the engagement because of you?"
The extremely angry Duke of Zhenguo had thrown all elegance and etiquette to the winds.
Gu Huai was startled. “Isn’t it?”
He has always been a self-disciplined and self-respecting person, and apart from the controversial matter of breaking off the engagement, he really can't think of anything else that could make his father so angry.
Seeing Gu Huai's confused look, Duke Zhenguo became furious.
He swung the stick again and hit him several times.
"You said that the daughter of the Lu family has flawed character and a cruel temper, and is not fit to be a wife. I have carefully considered it and will allow you to cancel the engagement."
"The daughter of the Lu family has flawed character and a cruel temper. What about you?"
"What good are you? You ignore the law, confuse right and wrong, and bully others. You don't have the integrity and pride of the Duke of Zhenguo!"
Gu Huai's heart skipped a beat.
"Father, are you saying that the small case in Changhe County has reached the ears of His Majesty?"
Duke Zhenguo could no longer bear it and slapped Gu Huai on the face.
Gu Huai only felt a burning pain, as if he was burned by fire.
"A minor case?" The Duke of Zhen was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. "He killed his brother and imprisoned his mother. He also recruited local hooligans to pretend to be bandits to eliminate dissidents and commit murder for money."
"How can you call such an act just a minor case?"
"My Gu family has been loyal and dedicated to protecting our country for generations, how could we have produced such an unfilial son like you?"
"Your Majesty has handed over the case to His Royal Highness Prince Duan for trial."
Gu Huai: ...
"Father, your son has also been deceived."
Gu Huai did not dare to make excuses any more and told the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion the whole story in detail, only omitting the part about Lu Mingchao to avoid causing any harm.
Duke Zhenguo’s eyes went dark and the world was spinning.
"What's the point of having someone who kills his brother for profit under your command?"
Gu Huai raised his eyes and opened his thin lips. His voice was so soft and shallow, like drops of blood quietly dripping on the floor. "Didn't father also pledge allegiance to the man who killed his nephew, seized the throne, and harmed loyal officials?"
"Gu Huai!" Duke Zhenguo shouted fiercely, shaking with anger. "You are going to die!"
Can you openly say that you killed your nephew to seize the throne and harmed loyal and good people?
Gu Huai leaned against the door frame of the ancestral hall and staggered to his feet. “I want to live.”
"My father is also going to die."
"Father angrily accused me of not having a single bit of the integrity and pride of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, but ask yourself, didn't the integrity and pride of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion disappear in that bloody storm?"
"He told me the evidence that Lu Minghui was planning to kill someone, and I saved his master's life. The transaction of courtesy and favor was over."
"What's wrong with me?"
Gu Huai revealed a strange smile, which seemed to contain a self-deprecating meaning that he was the only one who was clear in the world, and also seemed to reveal a kind of resignation and numbness of blending in with the world.
"If I am wrong, then shouldn't the person in the Golden Palace also issue an edict of repentance to the world and kneel before the spirit tablet of the Xiao family's ancestors to repent?"
Duke Zhenguo's face turned pale, and he stared at Gu Huai with deep and cold eyes, "Do you want the Gu family to be filled with the descendants of Duke Xin's Mansion and Duke Cheng'en's Mansion?"
"Gu Huai, some words are best left unsaid."
The stick in the Duke of Zhenguo's hand fell to the ground and rolled down the stone steps outside the ancestral hall.
"Back then, I was willing but powerless to take care of my family, and I have a clear conscience!"
"It is your actions that have brought shame to the Gu family!"
"The emperor knows what you have done and is very unhappy. Until the emperor calms down, you should stay in the capital and stop making any more rumors."
"Let's put the matter of breaking off the engagement aside for now and don't bring it up again."
Gu Huai dug his nails deeply into the door frame of the ancestral hall, and paused for a word. "Father means that the matter of being sent out of the capital in the spring of next year will also be dropped, right?"
"I can't cancel the engagement, and I can't leave Beijing to take up my new post."
"What can I do?"
"Why don't you follow your father's wishes and be a man of your word and keep your promise to marry Lu Minghui, okay?"
There were clouds and storms in Gu Huai's eyes, which looked eerie and scary.
"Gu Huai, you were the one who did something wrong first!" Duke Zhen said coldly.
"Sun Zhiye's crimes are proven and cannot be denied. You insist on making excuses for him. Where is justice and morality?"
Gu Huai curled his lips and sneered, "Father, I've said it before, I only know that he deliberately killed his brother."
"Sun Zhipeng bullied men and women and forced them into prostitution. Shouldn't he be put to death?"
Sun Zhipeng deserves to die just because he teased Ah Chao again and again!
The Duke of Zhenguo sighed, "Damn it."
"But, he shouldn't have died at the hands of Sun Zhiye."
"Gu Huai, wrong is wrong, right is right, and you can't confuse it by talking nonsense."
"Because of your arrogance and credulity, you almost left countless victims without any means of redress."
"Think about it carefully."
Gu Huai knew that he was at a disadvantage in this matter, so he kept silent.
After a long while, he pleaded, "I am willing to use my merits to atone for my crime. Please speak well of me to His Majesty and allow me to leave the capital and take up my post next year."
Duke Zhenguo stared at Gu Huai and said, "When can a minister be the master of your majesty?"
"Your Majesty has suppressed this matter, not made it public, and allowed my father to handle it on his own. This is already a great favor."
"If I were to go on, Your Majesty would think that the people in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion are greedy and do not know how to restrain themselves. Who knows what kind of disturbance will be caused by then."
"Gu Huai, you should know that the emperor today is not easy to deal with."
Gu Huai was dejected.
He worked hard to plan, but in the end it was all in vain.
"Father, His Majesty has handed over Sun Zhiye's case to His Royal Highness Prince Duan. Does this mean..."
"It was Prince Duan who wrote to me..."
Duke of Zhenguo: "Huai'er, that is Prince Duan's responsibility."
Gu Huai: ...
So, he can’t blame Prince Duan, nor can he blame His Majesty, but only himself?
Why can't I?