The daughter of the first wife grew up in the countryside and was extremely powerful

After saying that, he turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation, inviting Gu Xunzhou and Gu Fanchu to enter the teahouse together.

"I'm so sorry, we just came out. We won't delay Master Ji and Master Shi's time. We'll go ahead now! When we're free in the future, we will definitely invite you two to have tea and chat together again."

As soon as he finished speaking, he led Gu Fanchu to bow and say goodbye to the two of them, then got on the carriage and whipped away.

Looking at the carriage moving further and further away, Ji Yunchen shook his head helplessly, then turned around and walked towards the teahouse with Shi Jinyan.

After entering the teahouse, he went straight to the second floor as if he was familiar with the place and chose a private room with a quiet environment to sit down.

However, at this moment he did not notice that the man behind him was thinking about something with his deep and dark eyes.

Stepping into the private room, Ji Yunchen walked lightly to the table as if strolling in the garden.

He gracefully extended his right hand, gently picked up the exquisite teacup on the table, and slowly brought it to his mouth.

He tilted his head slightly, opened his lips slightly, and carefully took a sip of the tea in the cup.

When he put down the cup, he was extremely gentle, for fear of making any sound and disturbing others.

However, after just taking a sip of tea, Ji Yunchen couldn't help but smack his lips a few times, frowning slightly, and muttering in dissatisfaction:

"Oh my! The taste of this tea is so different from the ones you have in your collection! It's like heaven and earth!"

Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly rolled around, as if he had thought of something.

Then, a sly smile crept onto the corner of his mouth, and he continued excitedly:

"Hey, guess what the Gu family's brother and sister are doing here today? I just happened to see that sickly guy from the Xiao family walking downstairs slowly.

Could it be that the rumors circulating outside are true? Could it be that the beautiful girl from the Gu family is really going to marry into the Xiao family?

Speaking of this, Ji Yunchen couldn't help but curl his lips, revealing a trace of contempt and disdain on his face without any concealment.

He snorted coldly, his tone full of sarcasm:

"Hmph, what good can there be about the Xiao family? Don't be fooled by the fact that Lord Xiao always puts on an honest and harmless appearance. In fact, that old fellow is more treacherous and cunning than anyone else!"

At the beginning, he found an excuse that he wanted to take his son out to recuperate and took the opportunity to escape from the capital. To put it bluntly, it was just to save his own life.

Now, look what happened. He has returned with his son in a dignified manner, and even put on a neutral stance. As a result, he has actually won the favor of His Majesty..."

To be honest, the death of the eldest daughter of the Xiao family has always made people feel very strange, and it always feels like there is some unspeakable secret behind it.

Maybe there is something wrong with the entire Xiao family!

However, these are just private speculations among the public. I am afraid only they themselves know what the truth is.

At this moment, Shi Jinyan looked uninterested and did not seem to be very interested in what Ji Yunchen said. He just replied casually:

"do not know."

Obviously, she was not willing to continue to pay attention to him.

However, Ji Yunchen was relentless and kept asking:

"I heard that the Empress intends to have the Crown Prince marry the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Fanchu! I never thought that Gu Fanchu would suddenly become a hot commodity that everyone would be vying for. If this could really be accomplished, it would be a great help to the Crown Prince. Wouldn't the power behind the Crown Prince become even more powerful?"

"Okay, shut up."

Shi Jinyan interrupted Ji Yunchen with an annoyed look on his face. His mind was already in a mess with all kinds of thoughts.

In fact, he knew very well that Gu Fanchu came to meet Yuan Chuannan today specifically because she did not want to marry the prince, so she was in such a hurry to make a marriage contract with someone.

Thinking of this, Shi Jinyan couldn't help feeling irritated.

"Well, since she doesn't want to marry the prince, and there are so many rumors about her and you in the capital, why not just let her marry you directly! That way, you can even avoid the headache of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship."

Ji Yunchen observed the changes in Shi Jinyan's expression and teased half-jokingly.

Hearing this, Shi Jinyan frowned tightly, but this time he didn't say anything more. He just stood there silently, as if he was lost in deeper thought.

On the other side, after finishing his meeting with Yuan Chuan, Gu Fanchu hurried back to the general's mansion.

Facing the old lady's concerned inquiry, she did not give a clear answer, but just said softly:

"Grandma, I need to think about this matter carefully. Please give me some time."

After saying that, Gu Fanchu turned and left, leaving the old lady standing there in deep thought.

After returning to the yard, Qingye, who had been keeping a close eye on Meng Hewan's movements, hurried over to report the situation to Gu Fanchu.

He said with a serious expression:

"Master, just as you expected, something has happened in that brothel! They actually sent people to a remote place to capture several beautiful women and forced them to entertain customers in the brothel.

Who would have thought that one of them would brave the dangers and travel thousands of miles to the capital, and resolutely beat the drum in front of the Jingzhao Yin Mansion to report the matter to the government.

Initially, the thugs attempted to bribe officials to drive away or even secretly eliminate the complainant. For unknown reasons, this scandal was exposed, eventually alerting the higher-ups. The matter is currently under investigation.

Hearing this, Gu Fanchu couldn't help but sneer, and said with disdain:

"Humph, these people are quite bold. They actually dare to rob a woman so blatantly!"

Then, she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked thoughtfully:

"Have you found out who leaked this?"

Qingye shook his head helplessly and responded:

"My lord, I am incompetent and have yet to identify the person behind this. However, in my opinion, this person must be extremely powerful and extremely cautious, leaving no trace."

Gu Fanchu bit his lip lightly, and after a moment's hesitation, a sly look flashed in his eyes, and he sneered:

"In that case, it's time to make the truth about Meng Hewan's collusion with the Third Prince public. I want to see how the Emperor will punish this unfilial son and that imposter now that he knows his beloved son has done such a thing."

After saying this, she crossed her arms and put on a meaningful smile, as if she had seen a good show about to be staged.