newbobooks Chapter 784. Years have passed, and people's hearts have changed. At first, I didn't belie
Chapter 784. Years have passed, and people's hearts have changed. At first, I didn't belie
A month later, the snow in the capital had melted away, and new houses had been built on the ruins in the south of the city, with smoke rising from chimneys everywhere.
That upheaval that swept almost the entire city eventually ended with the Crown Prince's silence and the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion's growing prestige.
The Crown Prince was confined to the Eastern Palace, and the imperial decree of marriage was never mentioned again, as if it had never existed.
The main hall of the Duke of Zhenguo's residence.
Gu Junze sat to the side, holding a teacup in his hand, but a smile he couldn't suppress was playing on his lips.
"My daughter did a great job! She has my family-oriented spirit!"
He put down his teacup, looked at Gu Qingchen, and his eyes were full of approval.
"His Majesty will no longer make things difficult for you. As for the Crown Prince, he has suffered a major setback this time and will not seek trouble again in the short term."
Gu Qingchen nodded, his expression calm.
"My daughter understands."
"It's good that you understand." Chu Ruohan tidied a stray hair behind her ear. "Don't be so impulsive in the future. Your parents are here for you..."
“Mother, I’m not acting impulsively.” Gu Qingchen looked at his mother. “I just feel that some things have to be done by someone.”
Looking at the unwavering determination in her daughter's eyes, which was different from usual, Chu Ruohan sighed and said nothing more.
Gu Qingchen stood up.
"Father, Mother, we still have guests in the yard, so we'll head back now."
"Go."
In Gu Qingchen's courtyard, the plum blossoms were in full bloom.
Lin Jiayou stood under the plum tree, wearing a brand-new brocade robe. He looked a little thinner, but his eyes held an eager, ingratiating gaze.
In the stone pavilion not far away, there was a person sitting.
Gu Lanxin.
Her face was pale, her hands were tucked into her sleeves, and she kept her head down, not daring to look at anyone.
Gu Qingchen walked over, sat down on the other side of the stone table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Lin Jiayou immediately followed, a smile plastered on his face.
"Qingchen, let me explain. Everything that happened before was a misunderstanding."
Gu Qingchen didn't look at him, but simply used the cup lid to gently skim off the foam.
"I truly knew nothing about what happened in the south of the city. If I had known that His Highness the Crown Prince intended to do so, I would never have..."
"Are you done?" Gu Qingchen finally looked up and interrupted him.
Lin Chia-yu's words stuck in his throat.
"Qingchen, I...you're the only one in my heart. We grew up together, our bond..."
"Lin Jiayou," Gu Qingchen put down his teacup, his voice very soft, "I invited you here not to hear these things."
Her gaze fell on Gu Lanxin, who was fidgeting.
Gu Lanxin froze when she saw her.
Lin Jiayou followed her gaze and his expression changed, but he still forced himself to stay composed.
"You...you knew everything?" Lin Jiayou's voice was dry and trembling.
Gu Qingchen slowly stood up and walked to him.
She was shorter than him, but at that moment, he felt as if he were being looked down upon.
"No, there's a lot I don't know."
"For example, is the child in Sister Lan's belly also yours?"
There was a "clang" sound.
The teacup beside Gu Lanxin fell to the ground and shattered.
Her face drained of all color in an instant.
Lin Jiayou opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound; he just stared intently at Gu Qingchen.
Gu Qingchen smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he looked at him.
She turned away, no longer looking at the two men, leaving them only with her back to them.
"Gungung said, 'Ten years have passed, and people's hearts have changed.'"
"At first, I didn't believe it."
The atmosphere in the main hall was even colder than the ice of winter.
Chu Ruohan sat in the main seat, her hand holding the teacup trembling slightly. A few drops of tea splashed out and burned the back of her hand, but she didn't notice.
Her gaze was fixed on Gu Lanxin, who was kneeling below the hall, and her voice was filled with barely suppressed anger and disappointment.
"You're helping him scheme against Qingchen?"
She originally thought that Lin Jiayou was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and that he was only angry and embarrassed because he failed to harm her daughter.
But she never imagined that Gu Lanxin was involved.
Gu Junze remained silent, his face ashen, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest, each tap like a heavy hammer blow to Gu Lanxin's heart.
Gu Lanxin lay on the ground, her thin shoulders trembling violently, sobbing uncontrollably.
"No...no, Aunt..."
She suddenly raised her head, her face, streaked with tears, devoid of any color.
"It has nothing to do with Qingchen...it's...it's my fault..."
Her throat tightened, and she could barely speak the rest of the sentence.
Chu Ruohan was so angry that her chest heaved, and she slammed the teacup heavily on the table.
"Tell us! What are you and Lin Jiayou hiding from us?!"
"Aunt..." Gu Lanxin closed her eyes, as if she had used all her strength. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but it clearly carried throughout the entire main hall.
“I…I am pregnant with his child.”
In an instant, the room fell into dead silence.
Chu Ruohan froze, staring incredulously at her flat stomach, unable to utter a single word.
Pregnancy before marriage.
These four words struck her like a thunderbolt, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
Gu Junze stopped tapping on the armrest, and the air around him was frighteningly low.
How dare he?
Gu Lanxin bent down, her forehead hitting the cold ground heavily.
"I beg my uncle and aunt... to grant my request."
"To fulfill?" Chu Ruohan finally found her voice, laughing angrily. "What do you want me to fulfill for you? To allow you to debase yourself and be worthy of that kind of person?"
“He’s not like that…” Gu Lanxin cried as she defended herself, “He just… just had a very hard childhood. Qingchen was the only light in his youth, and he just… couldn’t hold onto it.”
“I know he’s not good, but we already have a child… Aunt, my heart has long belonged to him.”
She kowtowed repeatedly, and her forehead quickly became red and swollen.
"Please..."
Just then, a quiet footstep came from the doorway.
Gu Lu walked in.
He ignored his uncle and aunt in the main seat, walked straight to Gu Lanxin, and helped his sister, who was crying so hard she was about to faint, up.
"Have you thought it through?" Gu Lu looked at her, his eyes calm and without a trace of emotion.
Gu Lanxin grabbed her brother's sleeve as if he were her last lifeline and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, brother, I want to take him back to Chengdu."
She wanted to leave this place of trouble and return to where they grew up, where perhaps everything could start anew.
Gu Lu looked at the humble hope in his sister's eyes and saw it clearly.
"Lin Jiayou may not want to go back."
The siblings had relied on each other since childhood. He had protected her for so many years, but in the end, he couldn't protect her forever.