Gu Helian’s chest tightened with frustration as memories of the past resurfaced.
That night, he had been slightly drunk, angered by Rong Yue’s poor judgment of character. After being caught in her room, the startled Rong Yue refused to hear his explanation. Everyone believed he was jealous of her engagement to Xie Tianyu and had tried to ruin her reputation with dishonorable intentions.
In his drunken state, feeling wronged, he had said things he shouldn’t have, escalating the situation beyond control.
At the time, Rong Yue and Xie Tianyu’s marriage was nearly finalized. She was already considered a royal consort in name, and any affront to her was seen as an affront to the royal family. With the presence of the imperial consorts who witnessed the incident, the scandal could have spelled doom for him.
The matter almost spiraled into chaos until the Crown Princess interceded on his behalf. Rong Yue’s elder sister also stepped in, arguing that if the scandal spread, it would tarnish not only the royal family’s reputation but also that of the Prince of Cheng. Rong Yue and Xie Tianyu’s marriage would be impossible to salvage.
Xie Tianyu, unwilling to lose Rong Yue, claimed he didn’t care about her compromised reputation, playing the role of a devoted lover. The Crown Princess then ordered the other consorts to remain silent about the incident, successfully quelling the scandal.
Gu Helian pressed his lips into a thin line. He knew that Grand Tutor Rong had initially disapproved of the marriage, but Xie Tianyu’s pretended indifference to Rong Yue’s tarnished name had impressed both the tutor and Rong Yue deeply.
“I made a grave mistake,” Gu Helian admitted. “My adoptive father almost beat me to death before expelling me from the Rong family. It wasn’t because he was heartless but because he had no other choice. Given the circumstances, if he hadn’t punished me harshly, my fate would have been much worse.”
Humiliating a future royal consort and sabotaging a royal marriage would have given Xie Tianyu every reason to eliminate him without repercussions. But Grand Tutor Rong had taken drastic measures, having him beaten half to death and personally ordering him removed from the capital, declaring he was no longer connected to the Rong family.
“That’s how I kept my life,” Gu Helian said quietly.
“After leaving the capital, I struggled for a long time,” he continued. “Eventually, I ended up in Zuozhou and encountered the Gu family. The rest, you already know.”
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes. “Did you ever investigate the incident afterward?”
“Of course I did!” Gu Helian said through gritted teeth. “Once I established myself in the Gu family, I sent people back to the capital. But to preserve Rong Yue’s reputation, every servant in her household was replaced, except for Nanny Jiang. My agents found no leads. No one knew how she was drugged, and even my drunken state seemed oddly coincidental.”
He clenched his fists. “If I weren’t the victim, even I’d suspect myself of harboring ill intentions. How else could everything align so perfectly? Me being drunk, barging into her room, her being drugged and disheveled—all seen together?”
“That’s why I’ve never been able to clear my name, despite knowing I was innocent.”
Xiao Yan, piercing as always, asked directly, “Your drunkenness—was it provoked by Xie Tianyu?”
Gu Helian’s face darkened like a storm cloud.
Xiao Yan snorted. “So, after gaining control of the Gu family, you returned to the capital, found no evidence, and couldn’t accept Rong Yue’s marriage to Xie Tianyu. So you picked a fight with him?”
He paused, then added with a sharp smirk, “Or wait—did you actually try to trap him into confessing, only to fall into his trap and get injured instead? Did he use your failure to stage a pity act and drive a final wedge between you and Rong Yue?”
Gu Helian: “…”
Xiao Yan delivered the final jab with a mocking smile. “You really were a fool.”
“Watch your mouth!” Gu Helian growled, his anger flaring as he rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike.
Tangning, seeing the tension rise, quickly pinched Xiao Yan’s arm to silence him. “Big Brother!” she whispered urgently.
Enough with the provocation—Uncle Gu still has a role to play!
Xiao Yan glanced at the girl signaling him furiously, her eyes pleading. He relented, though his gaze toward Gu Helian remained indifferent.
“I’ll stop,” he said, then asked calmly, “Who were the imperial consorts present that night?”
Gu Helian bristled, his pride wounded. “Why do you keep calling it ‘that night’? I told you, nothing happened between me and Rong Yue!”
“Just answer the question,” Xiao Yan said evenly.
Gu Helian grumbled but replied, “The Crown Princess, the consorts of the Third and Fifth Princes, and the woman who was newly betrothed to the Sixth Prince.”
“No one else?”
“No, just them and a few attendants.”
Xiao Yan tapped the edge of the table, his expression pensive. Then he stood abruptly and turned to Tangning. “That’s enough. Let’s go.”
“What do you mean, ‘enough’?!” Gu Helian demanded, leaping to his feet. “You haven’t told me what to do about Rong Yue, and why were you asking about the consorts?”
Xiao Yan glanced back coolly. “Has gold clogged your brain, Master Gu?”
“Three failed engagements for the Prince of Cheng, one near-fatal accident for Rong Yue—yet you, a powerless Rong family foster child, believe Xie Tianyu would risk tarnishing his own betrothed’s reputation just to get rid of you? Think carefully.”
Gu Helian froze, his mind reeling. “You’re saying…”
Xiao Yan continued, “Xie Tianyu might have played underhanded tricks before, but the person who drugged Rong Yue wasn’t him. You’ve been chasing the wrong target all along—how could you expect to uncover the truth?”
Gu Helian sat motionless for a moment, processing Xiao Yan’s words. Then rage flared in his eyes as understanding dawned.
Xiao Yan added, “Tangning and I can’t stop Rong Yue from returning to the Cheng manor. But if her marriage was manipulated from the start, and there’s someone dangerous behind the scenes, her return could be perilous.”
Before Xiao Yan could finish, Gu Helian shot to his feet, his face contorted with fury. “I’m going to find Rong Yue!”
Without waiting for a response, he stormed out, leaving Xiao Yan and Tangning behind.
Xiao Yan watched his retreating figure, recalling the pain and regret in Gu Helian’s words about his lost chance with Rong Yue. Despite being the one closest to her, Gu Helian had helplessly let her slip away, handing her to Xie Tianyu while he remained bitter and powerless.
Turning to Tangning, Xiao Yan found himself lost in thought. People always said love made fools of men. Could he truly stand by and watch as Tangning, draped in bridal red, gave her heart to another?
Could he hand her over, watch her marry, bear children, and live a life with someone else—while he faded into the background, a mere memory?
The thought alone made his chest tighten, his breath hitching painfully.
His voice dropped low. “Tangning.”
“Hmm?”
“You said earlier you wanted to stay in Jiyun Alley with me?”
Tangning, still distracted by thoughts of Rong Yue, tilted her head. “I can take care of you, Big Brother. Don’t you like that idea?”
Xiao Yan’s lashes lowered slightly, his tone deepening. “I like it.”
He reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.
“If you wish to stay, then stay.”
Tangning’s face lit up with joy. “Really? Alright!”
Xiao Yan’s gaze darkened momentarily before softening into a rare smile.
He would not repeat Gu Helian’s mistakes.
What was his would remain his.
Fingering the edge of the table absently, his thoughts drifted to the girl following him so closely. Raising a wife shouldn’t be much harder than raising a sister, should it?
After all… she’s my little begonia.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 300 (100+ extra chapters) here
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You can read ahead to chapterr 300 (100+ extra chapters) here
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