Xie Chengrui felt a throbbing pain in his temples whenever he saw Gu Zhengwan. But with so many people watching outside, he couldn't do anything out of line. After all, this incident would surely have a significant impact on him.
Xie Chengrui just gave Gu Zhengwan a cold, sidelong glance, then quickly got dressed.
He got out of bed right away without even looking at Gu Zhengwan. Gu Zhengwan watched his departing back and felt that the current Xie Chengrui seemed somewhat strange to her.
Xie Chengrui walked through the crowd, pretending not to hear their discussions. He let out a cold snort and strode away.
Gu Zhengwan watched all this. When she raised her hand to touch her face, she felt her tears. Despite Xie Chengrui's extreme cruelty, Gu Zhengwan still harbored fantasies about him. Maybe he was just angry that she hadn't told him in advance.
Seeing Xie Chengrui's attitude towards Gu Zhengwan, Gu Jiangyue curled her lips into a sarcastic smile. She wanted Gu Zhengwan to see clearly the man she had loved for several years.
She winked at Xie Jiuan, showing a bit of the innocence appropriate for her age, as if praising Xie Jiuan for doing a great job.
After things were almost done, Gu Zhengwan and Chen Yanqin started crying again. Gu Jiangyue wasn't in the mood to watch their mother - daughter affection, so she left with Xie Jiuan.
This incident spread like wildfire throughout the Qingshan Temple, not to mention reaching the ears of the Grand Matriarch. The Grand Matriarch didn't say much. Since the incident had already happened, Xie Chengrui had to marry Gu Zhengwan. For the Gu Mansion, apart from the damage to its reputation, there wasn't much impact.
But Gu Zhengwan's mood had been rather low recently. Xie Chengrui hadn't looked for her since that day, and Gu Zhengwan became even more silent. To avoid any more accidents, the Grand Matriarch decided not to stay at the Qingshan Temple any longer.
They would return directly to the Gu Mansion. The Grand Matriarch would find several doctors for Gu Zhengwan to recuperate her body and prepare for her marriage in peace.
Gu Zhengwan didn't seem to care about this news. The skin on her leg hadn't improved. The doctor had said she needed to be carefully nursed, but the incident that night made her already bad leg even worse.
Gu Jiangyue asked Zhiyuan for news. What Zhiyuan told her was scarier than what the Grand Matriarch had said.
Zhiyuan was very concerned about Gu Zhengwan's movements. After all, Gu Zhengwan often schemed against her young lady. Zhiyuan jumped up and down, vividly describing the information she had heard.
"Miss, you don't know. The maids said that Gu Zhengwan stays in her room all day and never goes anywhere. From time to time, she looks at her leg. Her eyes are almost swollen like peaches, and her look is so empty. It's really scary..."
Gu Jiangyue smiled but didn't really care. After all, she hadn't seen Xie Chengrui for a long time and had to keep an eye on his movements. If Xie Chengrui really investigated this incident, she and Xie Jiuan might be discovered.
Gu Jiangyue worried for several days. Fortunately, in the end, she was sure that Xie Chengrui should have stopped investigating. Because when they left the Qingshan Temple, Gu Jiangyue saw Xie Chengrui again. It was the first time she had seen him since he left that day.
His attitude had indeed changed, but only towards Gu Zhengwan. He was less patient and more impatient. Gu Jiangyue keenly noticed that Xie Chengrui's attitude towards her was the same as before. It seemed that he hadn't discovered her involvement in that incident.
Apart from greeting him, Gu Jiangyue didn't say anything else to Xie Chengrui. Xie Chengrui seemed to have recovered quickly. He put on his gentle and elegant mask again, as if he had thought of a solution.
Gu Jiangyue naturally noticed this unusual behavior of Xie Chengrui. Based on her understanding of Xie Chengrui, he was not a very calm person. Instead, he was rather impatient.
So Gu Jiangyue didn't idle around after returning to the Gu Mansion. She contacted the black - clothed man and asked him to pay more attention to Xie Chengrui's movements.
The news spread very quickly. Almost as soon as the Gu family returned to the capital, the matter between Xie Chengrui and Gu Zhengwan had spread throughout the capital. It had no impact on the other people in the Gu Mansion, but Gu Zhengwan didn't want to see anyone.
Gu Jiangyue hadn't seen Gu Zhengwan's injury, but Xiyun told her that Gu Zhengwan had been going to the Huayan Tower more frequently.
Because the rumors had changed in people's spread and speculation. Many people had seen Gu Zhengwan crying naked early that morning, while Xie Chengrui hadn't said anything.
Therefore, many people speculated that Gu Zhengwan wasn't willing. It was Xie Chengrui who forced her. This made Xie Chengrui suffer in silence.
When Gu Jiangyue heard about Xie Chengrui's movements again, it was from the black - clothed man.
The moon rose above the branches, and the Gu Mansion fell silent.
Different from before, this time the black - clothed man walked in through the main gate. He was dressed in black, his clothes fluttering in the wind. But Gu Jiangyue felt that there was something wrong with him today.
Gu Jiangyue put down what she was doing, stood up, and looked at the black - clothed man.
"Got any news?"
The black - clothed man was silent for a while, then spoke with a bit of helplessness in his tone.
"He's going to participate in disaster relief. I guess he wants to use this to save his reputation."
Gu Jiangyue knew who he was talking about without him having to explain. She squinted slightly. So Xie Chengrui had already thought of a way and wasn't afraid.
"Disaster relief has never been an easy task. If he takes it on and does a good job, people will surely look at him with new respect."
"Then let his plan fail."
Gu Jiangyue chuckled. She remembered that in her previous life, Xie Chengrui had also distributed disaster - relief grain, but a bit later. She still remembered Xie Chengrui's plan at that time.
He was going to spend his own money to buy more grain. When the victims found out, he would tell the whole world, and then he would become the most virtuous prince. At that time, Gu Jiangyue loved Xie Chengrui so much that she ignored the fact that Xie Chengrui had used everyone to pave the way for himself and wasn't really going to relieve the victims out of sympathy.
The black - clothed man was surprised by Gu Jiangyue's words. He was stunned for a moment, then looked at her. But in the next moment, the emotion in his heart wasn't curiosity but pride. No wonder she was the one Xie Jiuan had taken a fancy to. She was really smart.
"How?"
Xie Jiuan suddenly felt much better. He had been worried that the emperor also approved of this matter, and it would be bad if he refused openly. But now that Gu Jiangyue had a way, he didn't have to worry too much. He trusted Gu Jiangyue and was willing to be her backup.
Gu Jiangyue smiled mysteriously and said,
"He's going to distribute disaster - relief grain. We'll just rob it. I can find out the route of his grain transportation."
"And then?"
Xie Jiuan didn't object but continued to ask.
"Then sell the grain back to him at a high price."
Since everyone was optimistic about him, he would surely buy it. He was rich, so Gu Jiangyue would make him bankrupt.