On the night of the broken engagement, the paranoid prince came to me crying and asking for my statu

Gu Xiuyan knelt down immediately.

"My grandson knows that this move was a foolish one, but I have no regrets."

His back was straight and his tone was firm without any regret, which immediately made Madam Gu furious.

"Do you know how difficult it was to get this marriage? How can you be so careless when the emperor has granted you a marriage?"

Gu Xiuyan lowered his eyes, "I'm afraid that even if my grandson is not rash, His Majesty may not allow our marriage to go ahead."

Madam Gu's expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

"What do you mean?"

"Can't grandma see it?" Gu Xiuyan smiled bitterly. "If His Majesty really wanted to keep me in marriage, why would he allow me to cancel the engagement? If His Majesty was really unhappy with me canceling the engagement, the entire Duke Gu's Mansion would have been implicated. Why did he only give me twenty strokes of the cane?"

Seeing the thoughtful look slowly passing across Madam Gu's face, Gu Xiuyan continued, "The emperor didn't punish me because I broke off the engagement, but because I broke off the engagement right before the wedding, which damaged the reputation of the royal family. But at the same time, my breaking off the engagement also destroyed the prestige of the Marquis of Changping's mansion. Grandmother, why do you think the emperor did this?"

Seeing that Madam Gu's expression was becoming increasingly serious, Gu Xiuyan continued, "In fact, if His Majesty really wanted to reprimand us, do you think a mere twenty lashes of the board would be enough to appease His Majesty's wrath?"

This time, Madam Gu really fell silent.

Gu Xiuyan smiled, "Grandmother only knows that it's a pity to cancel the Su family's marriage now, how can you know whether it is a blessing or a curse?"

Madam Gu was not a woman in the backyard who knew nothing. When she heard Gu Xiuyan bring it up, she dismissed the servants in the room and said slowly after a moment of silence, "Su Kang is about to return to the capital. If Su Kang makes another military achievement this time, it will be suspected that his merits are greater than his master's. The emperor intends to suppress Su Kang, so he will take this matter lightly and let it go."

Gu Xiuyan nodded, "As grandma guessed, the Changping Marquisate is basically over."

Madam Gu was now completely silent.

Thinking about how busy Gu Xiuyan had been these days, and now seeing that he looked pale and had lost some weight, she more or less understood what was going on.

"I heard that you have been cleaning up the mess in Cuihong Garden..."

"Someone wants to use Cuihong Garden to make a fuss, so my grandson will naturally help him. Otherwise, how can I see clearly what the other party is up to?"

Seeing that Gu Xiuyan was as confident as ever, Old Madam Gu finally put her mind at ease.

The words of blame on my lips turned into, "Since you have a plan in mind, that's good."

"Everything is under your control, grandma, please rest assured."

When Gu Xiuyan left Yongshou Hall, it was already dusk.

Cong Hui followed behind him without saying a word.

Gu Xiuyan took only a few steps and stopped again, "Where's Congming?"

Cong Hui was not aware of it for a moment, and the guilty look on his face was clearly seen by Gu Xiuyan.

Gu Xiuyan immediately understood and his narrow eyes slowly narrowed.

"Zhao Qingwan is here again?"

Cong Hui immediately knelt on the ground, "Master, spare my life, I know nothing, I really know nothing."

Gu Xiuyan snorted coldly and ordered Conghui, "When Congming comes back, you can ask him to go back to the Southland directly."

A confidant with his own ideas can be a nuisance at any time if he is kept by your side.

On the other hand, Cong Ming still doesn't know the fate he is about to face.

Looking at the weak woman in front of him who had a stubborn face but refused to shed a single tear, he felt his heart twisted.

"Don't worry, Miss Zhao. Since the master would rather be beaten than break off the engagement, it is enough to show that he has you in his heart. You don't have to belittle yourself."

Zhao Qingwan looked at Cong Ming with a grateful look on her face, "Thank you, Guard Cong. I feel relieved with your words."

As she spoke, she shyly took out a sachet from her bosom and stuffed it into Cong Ming's hand. "This is the amulet I got from Huguo Temple not long ago. Thank you, Cong, for your help these days and for bringing Wan'er the news of the prince. Wan'er has no way to repay you, so I give you a amulet as a token of my gratitude."

Cong Ming was flattered, a trace of desire flashed in his eyes, but his hands were resisting, "Miss Zhao, how can I do this? If you marry my master in the future, you will be the mistress, and I cannot overstep my authority."

How could he possibly hide his little thoughts from Zhao Qingwan?

Zhao Qingwan immediately smiled and said, "It's not a valuable thing. I even asked for the share from Guard Conghui. I will definitely not cause any trouble to Brother Cong."

The beauty is so thoughtful and considerate. If I refuse again, I will seem hypocritical.

Cong Ming happily accepted the amulet given to her by Zhao Qingwan.

When he returned to his residence, he saw Conghui waiting for him with a sad face, and he didn't understand why.

"What's wrong, what are you doing?"

"Okay, we are brothers, so don't say I didn't take care of you. This is the amulet Miss Zhao gave you..."

Cong Ming enthusiastically handed another sachet containing an amulet to Cong Hui, but Cong Hui pushed it away mercilessly.

"Cong Ming, you really crossed the master's bottom line this time."

Cong Hui's face was full of seriousness. "You know, the master has already told you to go to the South."

The smile on Zong Ming's face froze, and the two sachets that Zhao Qingwan gave him fell to the ground because his hands slipped.

When Conghui looked at Congming again, he found that the smile on his face was gone.

Instead there was disbelief and a look of panic.

He finally couldn't bear it anymore and slowed down his tone, "If you rush to the master now, maybe you can still make it in time."

As soon as Cong Hui finished speaking, Cong Ming had disappeared.

Looking at Cong Ming's back as he hurriedly went to look for Gu Xiuyan, Cong Hui shook his head secretly: If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?

No one knows what Ming said to Gu Xiuyan that day.

The people in Duke Gu’s Mansion only knew that after that day, Cong Ming was never seen in the Mansion again.

It was two days later that Su Sui'an learned about this little episode.

At this time, she was drawing a blueprint, planning to make a handy self-defense weapon for herself and the maid around her.

"I didn't expect that Young Master Gu is so cruel. He used his confidant for so many years, but now he doesn't want him anymore." Liu'er was helping Su Sui'an grind ink. After hearing the news brought by Shopkeeper Fu, she couldn't help but click her tongue. "I don't know what unforgivable thing Cong Ming did to make his master hate him so much."

"It's not disgust at all, it's just anger."

Su Sui'an's attention was entirely on the drawings, and he didn't even raise his head.