It really works
The main courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion
The candlelight flickered, illuminating Wang's red and swollen eyes from crying.
She held a handkerchief, occasionally rubbing the corners of her eyes, her voice thick with sobs and barely suppressed resentment.
“In my entire life, as a daughter-in-law and a mistress, I have never suffered such humiliation. I have been so angered by a daughter-in-law of unknown origin that I have shut myself in my house and now I don’t even want to stay at home anymore…”
She became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice rose a little.
"As for Gu Jinghong, I can forgive her for those rumors with King Jin! But now she's actually angered you like this! Does she even respect her elders? Does she even care about this family?!"
"Enough!" Grand Duke Sun Lie frowned and hissed, "Be careful, the walls may have ears."
Wang was taken aback by his shout, then felt even more aggrieved, her tears falling even harder, but she subconsciously lowered her voice: "You...you actually yelled at me? Gongsun Lie, I've been married to you for most of my life, and you've never, never laid a finger on me, yet that day, for, for her..."
She couldn't continue speaking, only covering her cheek, as if the slap Gongsun Lie had given her in a moment of desperation that day was still burning her face.
She truly never expected that after so many years of loving marriage, she would be treated this way in her old age. This was even more disheartening than the humiliation brought by Gu Jinghong.
Seeing his wife's state, Gongsun Lie's expression softened. He sighed, walked to her side, and spoke in a gentler tone, but still with a heavy warning: "Don't cry. It's precisely because she's useful that useful people are inevitably a bit difficult to deal with."
"Useful? What use is she?" Madam Wang raised her tearful eyes, full of incomprehension and resentment. "She does look like a vixen, but besides causing trouble and making our Duke's Mansion a laughing stock..."
"Such a woman's view!" Gongsun Lie interrupted her, his eyes sharp. "What does appearance matter? The real gold mine is the Jinghong Dock behind her. Now, we have the Jinghong Dock's ledgers and some of its manpower under our control. As long as we are patient, infiltrate step by step, and seize its core strength, then whether Gu Jinghong stays or goes will be up to us."
He leaned down slightly, lowering his voice even further, "But now, it's not the right time. We need time, we need her to stay in this position for now and do what she can. So, we must be patient for now and not let small things ruin my plans."
Wang choked back sobs, calming down a little. After thinking for a long time, she still asked with resentment, "Then, how am I supposed to treat her from now on? Am I supposed to treat her with utmost care and deference?"
Gongsun Lie straightened up, shook his head, and his tone returned to its usual calm: "That's not necessary. Excessive flattery will only arouse her suspicion. Just be the same as before, and treat her the way you should. Just remember one thing: don't go too far. Right now, you absolutely cannot drive her away. Keep her calm and composed, and that will be enough."
Hearing this, Wang finally felt a little more at ease, and the resentment she had been holding back seemed to find a vague boundary. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and whispered, "...I understand."
Gongsun Lie patted her shoulder, but his gaze was fixed on the deep night outside the window, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
Wang finally got up to leave, but seeing that it was already late at night, she stammered, "Master, aren't you going to make your way to the afterlife?"
Gongsun Lie glanced at her and said, "I'll go sit in the study for a while."
Having been married for many years, Wang Shi understood Gongsun Lie very well, so she didn't say a word and walked towards the bedroom on her own.
The night was as dark as ink.
After returning to the Duke's mansion, Gu Jinghong did not go to Chengxin Residence, but went straight to the study.
Seeing the princess's icy expression and the invisible aura of menace surrounding her, the guards dared not stop her and allowed her to push open the door and enter.
At that moment, Gongsun Lie was sitting on a round stool, facing the moonlight outside the window, drinking alone while looking at a half-finished game of chess.
Hearing someone enter, he barely looked up, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "What urgent matter is it so late?"
Gu Jinghong sat down opposite Gongsun Lie's chessboard and said calmly, "So it was a chess game... Jinghong came here specifically to play a game with the Duke."
"Oh?" Gongsun Lie put down his wine cup and looked at her with interest. "What will you bet on?"
The red mole at the end of her eyebrow seemed to gleam with a scorching yet cool luster under the moonlight: "Let's see if the Duke will retire peacefully or be utterly disgraced in the future."
The air in the study seemed to freeze instantly.
After a long silence, Gongsun Lie forced a smile and said, "Jinghong, are you threatening me?"
Gu Jinghong said calmly, "Jinghong wouldn't dare, it's just a reminder. A reminder to the Duke that some lines, once crossed, are hard to turn back from."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Then let's say something the Duke can understand. During the trip to Nanzhao, His Highness encountered danger and returned injured. Was all of this arranged by the Duke?"
Gongsun Lie's eyes flashed, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Gu Jinghong, it was His Majesty's decision to have King Jin change his route and penetrate deeper into Nanzhao. What does it have to do with me?"
When the Duke of Zhenguo arranged for Xiao Chengyan to go south, he had his younger sister, Consort Xian, whisper sweet nothings in the Emperor's ear, which persuaded His Majesty to send Prince Jin deep into Nanzhao. This was so that someone would use Xiao Chengyan's death to make trouble for him in the future.
But Xiao Chengyan was so lucky that he managed to escape and even return to the capital. He was utterly despicable!
"Hahaha"
Gu Jinghong's Xiao Cheng pulled Gongsun Lie back to reality, "What a 'Your Majesty's decision'!"
Her gaze was sharp as a knife as she stared at him. "So, according to the Duke, His Majesty made a mistake, which led to the Prince's danger and poisoning?"
A veiled attack on the heart!
Gongsun Lie finally lost his composure, his voice rising as he sternly said, "You... I never said such a thing. His Majesty's will is absolute; how dare you presume to speculate!"
"Since His Majesty's decision was correct, it is you, the trusted minister who carried out His Majesty's will, who failed to understand His Majesty's profound meaning, made improper arrangements, and failed to provide adequate protection, which led to His Highness's misfortune. It is you who have failed His Majesty's grace, and it is you who have failed in your duties."
What a clever trick of shifting the focus!
Gongsun Lie's face was a little pale, but he still maintained his posture: "The battlefield is ever-changing, how can one predict everything?"
"Then what about that mad elephant that charged straight at the imperial carriage during the winter hunt? Was that also an 'accident'? Or did the scheme against His Highness actually begin long before he went to Nanzhao?"
Gongsun Lie unconsciously rubbed his fingers, his knuckles turning slightly white. He forced a smile and said, "Jinghong, without any evidence, how dare you slander the Duke?"
"Evidence?" She chuckled. "When the Duke proposed marriage to His Majesty, he must have conducted a background check on me, right? The Gu family of Yingchuan is a fallen noble family. Why would the Duke bother to propose marriage to them? Besides 'Jinghongwu,' which perfectly meets your requirements, Qianyuan Pavilion was also in your calculations, wasn't it?"
Gongsun Lie picked up the teacup, lowered his eyes, and took a sip, perfectly concealing the fear in his eyes.
She continued, "In that case, I suppose the Duke should also know whether I, Pavilion Master Gu, have any evidence at all."
Gongsun Lie's heart trembled, but he calmly took a sip of tea and looked at Gu Jinghong.
"What do you want? Just say it."
"I just want back what belongs to my Qianyuan Pavilion—the token that was hidden in the Duke's mansion."
"The token of Qianyuan Pavilion? How could the token of Qianyuan Pavilion be in our Duke's mansion?"
Gu Jinghong leaned closer to Gongsun Lie and lowered her voice: "...Then you'll have to ask the Duke, what is your relationship with him, and why do you have the Qianyuan Pavilion's token..."
Gongsun Lie's gaze suddenly sharpened as he stared intently at Gu Jinghong.
The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
After a long silence, the Duke of Zhenguo chuckled first: "Of course, since Jinghong is a member of our Duke's mansion, the Duke's mansion's things can certainly be used to support our own people."
Gongsun Lie poured Gu Jinghong a cup of tea as well, then suddenly changed the subject, his tone becoming concerned: "How is His Highness doing now? I am very worried about him."
Gu Jinghong picked up the teacup: "Thank you for your concern, Father. My sworn brother just needs to rest."
Her answer was ambiguous, neither admitting it was serious nor denying there was a problem. She even took a sip of tea with a relaxed air and said casually, "Good tea."
This expression, when seen by Gongsun Lie, only aroused his suspicions even more.
He couldn't tell whether Xiao Chengyan was truly unharmed or just putting on a brave face.
Seeing this, Gu Jinghong continued, "Hand over the Qianyuan Pavilion token. What I said today, having come from my mouth, is now in your ears. Let's end it here. Business at Jinghong Dock will continue as usual. Otherwise..."
"I wouldn't mind letting this pool boil over completely. Let's see who drowns in the end."
Coercion, bribery, and a combination of deception and reality.
Gongsun Lie maintained the composed demeanor of a duke on his face, but inwardly he was frantically weighing his options.
This woman's madness and keenness exceeded his expectations. She seemed to hold some clues, which, while not necessarily enough to kill him, were enough to stir up a huge storm and completely disrupt his plans. And the interests of Jinghongwu were indeed what he needed at the moment…
After drinking the last cup of tea, Gongsun Lie finally asked Gu Jinghong to wait a moment.
A moment later, he took out a token from a hidden compartment in the study.
It was golden yellow all over, and its shape was very similar to the one Gu Jinghong saw in the secret room of the King of Jin's mansion, but there were also differences.
"Take it." Gongsun Lie's expression was blank. "Remember your promise."
Gu Jinghong picked up the token, replied with a "yes," and turned to leave.
Looking in the direction she disappeared, the light in Gongsun Lie's eyes flickered uncertainly.
As Gu Jinghong stepped out of the study, he allowed himself a slight sigh of relief in a corner where no one could see him, only to find a thin layer of sweat on his back.
But she was very determined, so much so that the thin layer of sweat on her back looked like armor that had just won her a battle—Ayan, wait for me, I will definitely save you!
Just as she was thinking this, Gu Jinghong caught a glimpse of a black figure out of the corner of her eye, heading towards Chengxin Residence.
Who is it?
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