Chapter 545 - 546: The Real Culprit

Chapter 545: Chapter 546: The Real Culprit

Princess Ning glanced over the flock of beauties sitting around. These were all titled concubines of the Prince Ning Mansion. Today, each of them was dressed to the nines, their eyes practically glued to Rong Ruiyuan.

"Today is a joyous day," Princess Ning said, raising her cup. She stood up and bowed toward Rong Ruiyuan. "Congratulations, Prince!"

Following her lead, the women congratulated Rong Ruiyuan in unison.

Rong Ruiyuan’s expression remained placid. He had gone to great lengths to bring these women into the mansion, and they brought with them a myriad of complex connections. No matter how much he disliked it, he forced a smile at this moment. "Thank you, everyone. From now on, we share in both glory and disgrace. I hope you all perform your duties well in the inner quarters and do not cause me any trouble outside."

His words were meant as a warning. He had just been granted the title of Prince, and as the only one thus far, his brothers would likely pay extra attention to him. Therefore, he had to lay down the harsh truth beforehand to prevent anyone from finding a vulnerability to use against him.

Princess Ning took the lead in acknowledging his words, and everyone began to enjoy today’s celebratory banquet.

Someone with a loose tongue muttered in a low voice, "If Gu Shufei were here, our household would be complete."

Princess Ning smiled but said nothing, turning her head to look at Rong Ruiyuan. She used to think Gu Antong would become the most favored figure in the entire inner court. She wondered who had been kind enough to deal the woman such a devastating blow.

Yet, she also felt a lingering dread. The mastermind behind the scenes had yet to be caught. If they were to target her one day... The mere thought of it made her break into a cold sweat.

"Let’s not waste this table of good food." Rong Ruiyuan downed the wine in his cup and stood up. "The Princess Consort will host this family banquet. Once you finish eating, you may all disperse." He slammed his cup heavily onto the table, turned around, and left immediately.

Princess Ning led the women in standing up to respectfully see him off. Then, she cast a cold glance over the flock of beauties. "If you find your days too comfortable, you can go back to your rooms to reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors and copy the Book of Women’s Virtues..."

The concubine who had spoken up earlier was filled with regret, wondering why she had run her mouth again.

However, Princess Ning didn’t give her a chance to repent. With a wave of her hand, two servant girls stepped forward and dragged her right out. For someone who occasionally acted foolishly like this, Princess Ning would at most give a slap on the wrist as a warning. Such a person would never become a serious threat to her.

"From now on, everyone must speak and act with even greater caution. When we step outside, we represent the Prince Ning Mansion. If anyone tarnishes the Prince Mansion’s reputation, don’t blame me for showing no mercy."

Standing in the courtyard, Rong Ruiyuan could hear the scolding from the main house clearly. He had always turned a blind eye to the infighting within the inner quarters. There were plenty of women in the world anyway; these were just playthings for his amusement.

But just the thought of Gu Antong gave him a headache. He had no idea how to deal with her now.

He hadn’t seen her in a while, but given her increasingly obese body, he had heard that she now had to squeeze through single-panel side doors. If things continued like this, they would probably have to tear down the doors to her courtyard in the future.

The worst part was that if word of this got out, his Prince Ning Mansion would become the laughingstock of the world. Having such a morbidly obese concubine in his inner quarters—those who didn’t know the truth might think he had some bizarre fetish.

All he had left for Gu Antong now was disgust. She was clearly a very smart woman, so how had she fallen into someone’s trap? The state she was in now put him in a very difficult position. If he kept her, she would become a running joke and a stain on his life. If he got rid of her, it would be impossible to cover up. At that point, his royal father would definitely think him cold and ruthless, and his brothers would gang up to attack him.

There was also Gu Baijiang, who had helped him out after all and had Gu Antong bring in hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. If this got out, who would dare follow him in the future?

As for that damn mastermind behind the scenes, they better pray he never found them.

All the clues uncovered these past few days pointed to the missing servant girl, but he did not suspect the Gu Family. The Gu Family’s hopes were entirely pinned on Gu Antong; they had no motive to do such a thing. Someone else must have plotted this early on and made thorough preparations. He leaned more toward the women in the inner court, or perhaps their maiden families.

After all, because of the past rumors between him and Gu Antong, they had encountered several assassination attempts before even arriving at the Capital City. As for the poison in his own body, he figured it was the handiwork of his brothers. The women in the inner quarters were all counting on him to secure their status by bearing a son.

Lost in these thoughts, he didn’t even realize he had wandered right outside Gu Antong’s courtyard. Seeing the familiar walls, Rong Ruiyuan didn’t even pause to think before turning on his heel and leaving. He didn’t know how to face that woman right now, and he was afraid he would have nightmares tonight.

Unbeknownst to him, Cai Hua had already seen him and had quickly hidden in a corner before he could spot her. She wondered why Prince Ning had come here. Could it be that he still had lingering feelings for Gu Antong?

Experiencing her first pangs of romance, the young girl looked toward the courtyard with a hint of jealousy and resentment. She thought about how unfair fate could be. Fortunately, given Gu Antong’s current state and how much she had bullied her recently, there was no need to tell her about the visit.

***

By the Start of Autumn, news from the Capital City had already reached Gu Kaiyuan’s hands. Seeing their current miserable state, Gu Kaiyuan felt vastly relieved.

In this lifetime, Rong Ruiyuan and the Gu Family were no longer as high-spirited and successful as they were in their previous life. It seemed everything could be reversed. He shared his joy over the letter with Bai Suihe before immediately tossing it into the fire to burn.

"It looks like the Gu Family won’t be making any waves anymore," Bai Suihe breathed a sigh of relief. This way, they no longer had to worry about being implicated.

Imperial power and its laws were just like that sometimes. No matter how much you prepared, if they decided not to be reasonable with you, you just had to suffer it.

Gu Kaiyuan scratched his head. "You make a good point, my dear. Even if Rong Ruiyuan commits a crime now, the Gu Family is too insignificant to be dragged down with him."

"I’m afraid your good niece won’t be around much longer," Bai Suihe said, without a shred of sympathy in her voice. "Do you want to notify your father?"

"Don’t worry. With that shrewd old fox’s cunning, he can probably guess some of it. He might have already prepared for the worst and started looking for a way out."

Bai Suihe instantly perked up. "You said he’s looking for a way out..." She knew well that the people who understood you best were usually your closest relatives. Gu Kaiyuan likely hadn’t said that casually.

"It’s possible. Even without Gu Antong, he still has two precious grandsons."

"Then do you think it’s possible he might return to Lingnan?" Bai Suihe asked.

After all, Gu Kaiping was here now. If their families moved over, Rong Ruiyuan couldn’t say anything and might even have to arrange travel funds for them.

"There really is such a possibility." Gu Kaiyuan was suddenly stunned, wondering if he was going to get tangled up with this family again. He knew that as long as Gu Baijiang was alive, there was no way for him to completely rid himself of that extended family.

"The land in the village has long since been replanted with crops by the villagers, and that old house was destroyed by the typhoon and heavy rains earlier. You need to have a word with the village chief later so that they won’t be able to settle down in this area." Bai Suihe was genuinely terrified that this shameless family would cling to them like leeches, so she had to cut off their escape route first.