Hearing what Gu Jiangyue said, Xie Jiuan immediately became interested. He looked at Gu Jiangyue and said,
"People from the Gu Mansion are insatiable. But how can I help you?"
Gu Jiangyue thought for a moment, stroking her chin with one hand and saying,
"Since I can't deceive them in person, I'll use rumors to mislead them. If the people in the Gu Mansion know that my father has military merits, they'll surely cling to him. But what if there's a rumor that my father has no military merits and is even burdened with a crime? Those people in the Gu Mansion will probably avoid him like the plague."
Now Xie Jiuan understood what Gu Jiangyue meant. A smile curled up on his lips, and his eyes looking at Gu Jiangyue were filled with admiration.
"It should still be some time before General Gu returns. I'll take care of spreading the rumor, and you deal with the people in the Gu Mansion."
The two had a clear division of labor, but Gu Jiangyue was troubled again. She sighed and said,
"The emperor may not allow this. If the rumor in the capital becomes too big, the emperor will probably step in to stop it."
As soon as Gu Jiangyue finished speaking, she heard a soft chuckle from Xie Jiuan.
"Leave the emperor to me. You don't have to worry."
Gu Jiangyue was stunned for a moment, then remembered that the emperor almost always obeyed Xie Jiuan and granted his every wish. This matter was surely a piece of cake for Xie Jiuan.
Finally, there was going to be an end. In the previous life, these people in the Gu Mansion had trapped Gu Jiangyue for almost her entire life. The second branch were easy to deceive, but Gu Jiangyue wasn't completely sure that the old matriarch would be so cruel because of her relationship with Gu Yanwu.
"What if they don't fall for it?"
These things needed to be considered. Gu Jiangyue was thinking, and then suddenly had an idea.
"As soon as the rumor that Gu Yanwu is burdened with a crime spreads, the old matriarch's only concern will be the marriage between me and you. Based on this, she won't give up on the marriage between me and Gu Yanwu so easily."
Xie Jiuan looked at Gu Jiangyue's shining eyes and knew that she must have come up with a solution. Xie Jiuan patiently asked,
"So what should I do?"
Gu Jiangyue hardly thought and said seriously,
"Act like you dislike me. Let the old matriarch know that you don't like me anymore. Then she'll have no reason to keep pestering me."
As soon as Gu Jiangyue finished speaking, she heard a scoff from Xie Jiuan.
"What if I can't do it?"
Can't do it? Gu Jiangyue was thinking about these words but couldn't quite understand. She had assigned Xie Jiuan tasks that weren't too difficult. How could he not be able to do them?
"I mean acting like I dislike you."
Xie Jiuan said it casually, but his eyes were seriously fixed on Gu Jiangyue. He couldn't dislike Gu Jiangyue. Even if it was just an act, Xie Jiuan didn't want to.
"Then... I'll..."
Before the words "come up with another way" could come out, Xie Jiuan interrupted Gu Jiangyue. He waved his hand casually and said,
"I'm just joking. It's a good idea. Let's do it this way. I'll try my best to act like I dislike you."
What Xie Jiuan said made sense. If they wanted to deceive the people in the Gu Mansion, they had to put on a big show there. If the show was exposed, the consequences would be disastrous.
"As long as we can deceive them. I'll marry you."
Xie Jiuan's eyes looking at Gu Jiangyue were full of tenderness. It was really difficult for him to act like he hated Gu Jiangyue. Almost subconsciously, Gu Jiangyue reached out her hand and ruffled Xie Jiuan's hair just like she comforted Gu Yi.
Xie Jiuan's hair was unexpectedly soft. Before Gu Jiangyue's hand could stay for too long, it was grabbed by Xie Jiuan.
"What's wrong?"
A look of panic flashed in Xie Jiuan's eyes. When he saw Gu Jiangyue's face, his aura calmed down again. Then Xie Jiuan put Gu Jiangyue's hand to his lips and gently kissed it a few times.
"I'll marry you with eight sedan chairs and a ten - mile red bridal procession. I'll never let you down."
Two more days passed. Early in the morning, Zhiyuan knocked on Gu Jiangyue's door with some envelopes in her hand.
"Miss, there are letters for you."
Looking at the signature "Mu Xia" on the letters, Zhiyuan felt it was extremely familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere.
"Come in."
Zhiyuan pushed open the door. Gu Jiangyue was sitting at the table. There was a painting on the table with the ink still wet, obviously just painted by Gu Jiangyue.
"Miss, these letters are from a person named Mu Xia. It's the address you gave me last time."
Zhiyuan just glanced at the content of the painting casually and then handed the letters to Gu Jiangyue. The painting was of a suspension bridge with two vague figures standing side by side on it.
Gu Jiangyue took the letters Zhiyuan handed her and carefully read them.
Mu Xia was still trying to curry favor with Gu Jiangyue, saying that everything she said was right. Xie Chengrui now trusted her very much. But what concerned Gu Jiangyue the most was that Mu Xia said Xie Chengrui had recently obtained a miraculous herb and treasured it so much that he wouldn't let anyone touch it.
Although Gu Jiangyue didn't know what Xie Chengrui was up to, now that she had something on Mu Xia, Xie Chengrui was not far behind.
"Have you received any other letters?"
Gu Jiangyue checked. The contents of these letters were not very important. What she cared most about was the news of her father.
Zhiyuan shook her head and said,
"No, miss. These are all."
It seemed that Xie Jiuan's news that Gu Yanwu would return was inside information. Otherwise, Gu Yanwu should have sent a letter to Gu Jiangyue. Two days had passed, and she didn't know how things were going on Xie Jiuan's side.
"Whose letter does the miss still want?"
Zhiyuan directly lay on the table, looking at Gu Jiangyue with bright eyes.
Gu Jiangyue just shook her head with a smile. She didn't tell Zhiyuan about this. If something really happened, she still wanted to leave a way out for Zhiyuan.
"By the way, miss. Recently, there seems to be some unpleasantness between the second branch and the old matriarch. The old matriarch has no one by her side and can no longer suppress the second branch. In that case, should we..."
Zhiyuan only showed her head, looking a bit dull, but her mind was very delicate. Gu Jiangyue understood what Zhiyuan meant.
"No. We'll just sit back and watch the tigers fight. If we get involved this time, we won't be able to get out."
What Gu Jiangyue wanted to do was not just take revenge on the Gu family. Now the Gu family was almost like an empty shell. What she wanted to do was completely leave the Gu Mansion. From then on, her glory and disgrace would have nothing to do with the Gu Mansion.
"You should pay more attention to the news in the capital recently. Remember to tell me immediately if there's anything special."
Gu Jiangyue's eyes were serious. Although what she said was a bit vague, Zhiyuan could understand its importance.
"Okay, miss. Zhiyuan knows."
Zhiyuan nodded heavily twice. She always felt that a big event was about to happen.
Zhiyuan had been serving Gu Jiangyue for almost ten years. Since Gu Jiangyue was poisoned by Gu Zhengwan last time, this was the first time Zhiyuan saw such a nervous and slightly scared expression on Gu Jiangyue's face.