Gu Jiangyue was slightly startled, her delicate eyebrows knitting together. "Are you sure it was sent by Xie Chengrui?"
Zhi Yuan looked a bit embarrassed as she replied.
"The Second Prince came in person. He also brought a letter. I didn't know what to do with these things, so I kept them for now."
Xie Chengrui had come during the day. At that time, Gu Jiangyue was out, so she had no idea about it.
Presumably, Xie Chengrui had come secretly this time and hadn't alerted anyone else. Otherwise, if Gu Zhengwan had known that Xie Chengrui had come to give her something, there definitely wouldn't be such peace in her courtyard now.
Gu Jiangyue didn't say anything. She was also quite curious about what Xie Chengrui was up to. So she simply asked Zhi Yuan to fetch the letter.
She was going to see what tricks Xie Chengrui was playing.
Gu Jiangyue unfolded the letter in her hand. The content was simple, but it still made Gu Jiangyue grit her teeth.
The handwriting on the letter was extremely familiar to Gu Jiangyue. After more than twenty years of marriage, she had long remembered his handwriting in her heart. However, the familiar font was writing words that were extremely strange to Gu Jiangyue.
Xie Chengrui meant that he had only agreed to the marriage switch to deceive Gu Zhengwan. He didn't really like her. He still liked Gu Jiangyue now. So he hoped that Gu Jiangyue could talk to the emperor and get the engagement switched back.
After Gu Jiangyue finished reading, there was no expression on her face. Only her eyes were cold, and the bottom of her eyes was like a deep pool. She refolded the letter and then held it over the candle flame. Watching a corner of the letter being ignited by the candle until it turned to ashes, the chill in Gu Jiangyue's eyes dissipated a little.
Xie Chengrui clearly wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He was reluctant to let go of Gu Jiangyue and couldn't bear to part with Gu Zhengwan either. Thinking that Gu Jiangyue was easy to deceive, he came to take advantage of her.
After the coming - of - age ceremony that day, Xie Jiuan had gone to the emperor and told him about his and Gu Jiangyue's matter. With Xie Jiuan's status beside the emperor, the emperor almost immediately agreed to this. Gu Jiangyue was the legitimate daughter of Gu Yanwu. The emperor had a good impression of her and also approved of this marriage. He immediately issued an imperial edict.
Regarding the marriage between Xie Chengrui and Gu Zhengwan, Xie Chengrui had originally wanted to delay it and not let the emperor know. But Xie Jiuan directly announced it in the court and made the emperor recognize this marriage too.
Xie Jiuan even claimed it was "helping others to the end", which really angered Xie Chengrui.
Presumably, Xie Chengrui had no other way out. He was not valued by the emperor in the first place. If he went to the emperor to go back on the marriage now, it would be like seeking death. So he planned to instigate Gu Jiangyue to talk to the emperor about it.
Until now, Xie Chengrui still thought that Gu Jiangyue was just angry with him.
But no matter how much he calculated, he never thought that Gu Jiangyue now had no feelings of admiration for him at all. She wouldn't be as easy to deceive as before. Now, Gu Jiangyue just wanted to tear off his hypocritical disguise, make him fall into the mud, and preferably kill him with her own hands to avenge her past life.
Gu Jiangyue's eyes darkened. She stood up, looked at Zhi Yuan, and said in a soft but unassailable voice.
"Where's the guqin? Take me to have a look."
"Yes."
Zhi Yuan was slightly stunned and then quickly replied.
Zhi Yuan walked in front, and Gu Jiangyue quietly followed behind her, walking towards the darkness. The moon was on the branches, and the cool wind was blowing faintly, stirring Gu Jiangyue's heart. All the things that Xie Chengrui had done to her in the past flashed through her mind like a slideshow.
When they first met, she didn't know what love was. But under Gu Zhengwan's persuasion, she still thought that Xie Chengrui was a good person.
Xie Chengrui was very good at pretending. At least in front of others, he seemed perfect. But after Gu Jiangyue married Xie Chengrui, all the vows of the past no longer existed. Xie Chengrui's attitude towards her changed completely. From being distant to being disgusted, it only took two years.
Gu Jiangyue still remembered that on her deathbed, Xie Chengrui had asked her with a barely - concealed smile whether she preferred the white silk or the poisoned wine.
Thinking of this, Gu Jiangyue closed her eyes and suppressed her emotions. If she hadn't set the palace on fire, Gu Zhengwan and Xie Chengrui probably wouldn't even have left her a whole body.
The two walked all the way to the pavilion. Zhi Yuan pointed to a guqin in the pavilion and said.
"Miss, this is it. After the Second Prince sent it, I was afraid someone would see it, so I put it here first."
Gu Jiangyue stepped forward and looked at the guqin. It was exquisitely made, and the wood emitted a faint luster. Even those who didn't understand could tell that it was very valuable. It was carved with delicate patterns and was indeed much better than her own.
Gu Jiangyue guessed that at the coming - of - age ceremony, Xie Chengrui had noticed that her guqin was a bit old, so he planned to send her a new one to show his feelings and make Gu Jiangyue develop some affection for him.
Gu Jiangyue sneered. Xie Chengrui was still as scheming as before. If it had been her in the past, she would definitely have happily accepted it, because she really lacked love. As long as someone treated her a little better, she would remember it for a long time.
But now it was different. She had no interest in this exquisitely made guqin in front of her. Even though she loved the guqin so much, just because it was sent by Xie Chengrui, she didn't like it.
She would never forget Xie Chengrui's venomous face and all the unfair things she had suffered in her past life.
"Throw it away."
Gu Jiangyue parted her red lips and only said two words.
"Ah? Miss..."
Zhi Yuan was a bit surprised. Why would she throw it away for no reason? Although Xie Chengrui was not a good person, the guqin still looked good. Zhi Yuan just opened her mouth to confirm with Gu Jiangyue again, but the next moment, she was stunned by Gu Jiangyue's action.
The guqin was placed in the pavilion, and there was a pond outside the pavilion, not far from the guqin. Gu Jiangyue stepped forward. She could still lift a guqin.
Gu Jiangyue didn't even blink her eyes and directly pushed the guqin that was placed there into the pond.
A crisp sound of something falling into the water echoed in the quiet night.
As long as it was something sent by Xie Chengrui, no matter how valuable and precious it was, she wouldn't want it, because she thought it was dirty.
It was getting late. This was also a good place, far from the front hall. Although the sound was not small, presumably no one would hear it.
The pond was very large. The guqin disappeared into the water soon, and even the waves it had just stirred up gradually subsided. Everything here returned to calm. Except for Gu Jiangyue and Zhi Yuan, no one knew what had happened.
Just as Gu Jiangyue thought the matter was done and was about to leave with Zhi Yuan, a deliberately - lowered voice sounded, floating sinisterly in the dark night.
"Who made Miss Gu so angry?"