Gu Yefeng was taken away by Nangong Xuanning, and by coincidence, the danger they were in was resolved.
Meanwhile, Gu Qianying, as she led Lu Zhu back to the manor, encountered Bai Qi and his men on the road.
"Miss Gu, your subordinate was ordered by his master to protect your safety and to ensure you were safely returned to the manor."
Bai Qi's sudden appearance surprised Gu Qianying.
"Your master's news is quite timely. How did he know I was here?"
Bai Qi scratched his head.
Well... he couldn't possibly say that because his master had schemed against her brother, he was paying extra attention to the situation here and thus accidentally learned that she had followed.
"Miss Gu, our master is most concerned about your affairs. You are the person he cherishes most. Your whereabouts are naturally known to our master, so that we can protect your safety in secret."
"So, the people who ambushed around the thatched hut earlier were your people?"
Gu Qianying looked at Bai Qi, her gaze deepening.
Bai Qi was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
"Since you were following me and sent people to ambush around the thatched hut to watch the show for so long, I assume you saw the entire event clearly from beginning to end. This means my brother was most likely lured over by your master. No, not likely, definitely. So, your master's objective was to cause trouble for my brother, to have him entangled with a shrewish princess. This means making Nangong Xuanning the granddaughter-in-law of my grandfather. Nangong Xuanning's brother, the Third Prince Nangong Li, also follows your master's lead. In other words, your master intentionally wants my grandfather to stand on your side?"
Gu Qianying's words left Bai Qi dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that Miss Gu Qianying of the Gu family had such strong logical thinking!
However, his understanding of the situation seemed to differ somewhat from his master's intentions.
"No, no, no, Miss Gu, I think you've misunderstood our master..."
Suddenly, Gu Qianying threw an object into Bai Qi's arms, interrupting his words, accompanied by the sound of tearful weeping. "Please return this to your master on my behalf. Also, please convey a message to your master from me, saying that I, with my lowly status, am not worthy of your master. I will now return to report the entire matter to my grandfather and return half of the betrothal gifts that your master left at the manor!"
With that, Gu Qianying bypassed Bai Qi with Lu Zhu. Her tearful appearance frightened those around her.
Lu Zhu felt heartbroken and didn't know what to say.
Bai Qi stood frozen, Gu Qianying's sudden change in attitude caught him off guard, and he didn't know how to react.
A moment later, when he snapped out of his thoughts, he felt utterly terrible.
Seeing Gu Qianying about to leave, he hurried to catch up, but before he could take a step, he saw Gu Qianying returning.
Bai Qi was suddenly delighted.
An illusion! An illusion! He must have had an illusion just now, or perhaps he misheard. The jade pendant was picked up by him, carelessly dropped by Miss Gu!
Bai Qi thought this with great joy.
He had originally thought Gu Qianying had returned to retrieve the jade pendant, but then he heard her say, "The other half of the betrothal gifts were taken by the princess. I will win them all back, and then return them to your master completely."
This time, Gu Qianying did not look back. She walked away with unusual determination, and as she left, she deliberately wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
Bai Qi and his men watched her retreating figure, all of them bewildered.
When Gu Qianying's back was out of sight, Bai Qi's group erupted.
"Boss Bai, you, you, you've caused trouble!"
"Boss Bai, what do we do? How do we report back? Will our master kill us with a single palm strike?"
"Boss Bai, actually, I was stunned just now, so I didn't hear a single word Miss Gu said. I suddenly remembered my wife is about to give birth, so I need to ask for leave to go back. Boss Bai, I'll be going now."
"Boss Bai, I also suddenly remembered that my elderly mother needs filial piety, so I'll be leaving now too."
"Boss Bai..."
The people who had come with Bai Qi all found peculiar excuses to leave one by one, taking leave from Bai Qi and intending to avoid the situation for a while.
At this moment, Bai Qi could only carefully tuck Gu Qianying's returned jade pendant into his embrace and rush back to report, on the verge of tears.
Due to the unexpected nature of what had just happened, it even caused him to lower his guard, which he should have maintained at all times.
On the way back to the manor with Lu Zhu.
Lu Zhu saw that her young lady seemed to be in a better mood and finally voiced her doubts.
"Miss, the Ninth Prince's manor is such a good marriage prospect. Why would you just refuse it? Although, it's true that it's a bit of a hardship for you to be with someone who is paralyzed in both legs, but I heard the First Madam sent someone to ask a physician. The physician said that as long as the paralyzed legs are treated, it won't affect the pleasure of marital intimacy. The physician also said that even if the treatment is not ideal, a man's body's... that part can still..."
Gu Qianying stopped and looked at Lu Zhu, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised. "Hmm?"
Lu Zhu suddenly realized what she was saying. Her small face turned red, and her voice grew softer. "These words were spoken by the First Madam and Granny Wang. I... I overheard them."
Gu Qianying remained silent. She leaned forward and whispered quickly into Lu Zhu's ear.
"Be quiet. From now on, you will cry with me all the way back."
Lu Zhu let out a surprised "Ah," not understanding.
Gu Qianying quickly reached out and touched Lu Zhu's body twice.
Immediately, tears streamed down Lu Zhu's face without stopping.
The next day,
Gu Manor.
Gardening Pavilion.
"My poor child, how could you be so foolish? How could you be so heartbroken over such a heartless man? He has no feelings for you and only wants to use you. It's better that we don't marry such a man. Daughter, don't be sad. I'll introduce you to a good, healthy, handsome, and perfect husband another day. Don't cry. Look at your eyes, they're all red from crying. You're breaking your mother's heart."
The First Madam sat by the bedside, crying as if her heart would break, even more sadly than Gu Qianying, who lay on the bed with tears in her eyes.
"You scoundrel! How dare you bully my precious granddaughter! Watch as I go and chop him up!"
Beside them, Old Master Gu, holding a large saber, was about to storm out to settle the score with Nangong Mo, but Lu Zhu held him back tightly.
"Old Master, please don't be rash. That's the Ninth Prince Nangong Mo. We can't afford to offend him."
"I don't care who he is. Anyone who bullies my precious granddaughter will not escape my saber, not even the Emperor of Heaven!"
Just then, the First Madam suddenly exclaimed, "Qianying, what's wrong? Don't scare your mother! Qianying, sob, sob. My child, what's wrong? You..."