Chapter 04
The Third Young Master Gu Comes to Demand Someone (Page 1/2)**
Fortunately, Uncle Wang asked the question that was on everyone’s mind: “Are you mute?”
A-Nu first nodded, then shook his head.
Ye Qiong: ???
What was that supposed to mean?
Steward Wang guessed, “Can you speak, but just don’t know how to get the words out?”
A-Nu nodded.
Steward Wang turned to Ye Qiong. “Princess, this person has probably suffered some kind of shock, which has left him temporarily unable to speak.”
Ye Qiong had originally wanted to ask A-Nu about his injuries and why he had fled the Gu family.
Never mind. At least he was the task target who had helped extend her lifespan.
She was definitely keeping this person.
“Uncle Wang, prepare a deed of sale.”
Then she turned to A-Nu. “Remember, from now on your name is Daji, and you are a guard of this princess’s manor.”
A-Nu nodded happily.
Steward Wang also prepared a contract document with lightning speed.
Once the fingerprint was pressed, Ye Qiong’s confidence soared.
“Let’s go, Uncle Wang. Let’s go have a word with that Third Young Master Gu!”
Before Ye Qiong even reached the manor gate, she could hear the Third Young Master Gu’s abrasive voice from afar.
“Princess Zhaoyang, come out here! Don’t think that just because you’re a princess, you can shield my Gu family’s runaway slave! Hand him over now!”
Ye Qiong frowned and looked at the attendant Jixiang beside her. “Is his father also a prince?”
Jixiang quickly shook her head.
“Then why is he even more arrogant than this princess?”
Jixiang hesitated, then finally gritted her teeth and said, “In the past, the princess was most fond of that Young Master Gu. To curry favor with him, you held the entire Gu family in high regard. So the Gu family members have always been quite arrogant here at Prince Duan’s manor, and the princess always indulged them.”
Ye Qiong pointed at herself. “I was that good-tempered before?”
Jixiang quickly shook her head. “The princess was only good-tempered with the Gu family.”
Ye Qiong: !!!
“Please don’t tell me I also spent money on that Young Master Gu?”
Jixiang quickly shook her head again. “No, not at all. The princess and the Fourth Princess both liked that Young Master Gu. But you thought the Fourth Princess was wealthier than you, and if it came down to spending money, Prince Duan’s manor definitely couldn’t compete. So later, you and the Fourth Princess agreed that someone as pure and refined as Young Master Gu could never be tainted by something as vulgar as money.”
“Moreover, you both vowed to compete fairly and win Young Master Gu over with genuine sincerity. The Fourth Princess thought you made a good point and immediately agreed to a three-part pact with you.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Qiong’s expression improved somewhat.
But soon, her expression soured again.
When Gu Chengyang saw Ye Qiong emerge, not only did he not restrain his arrogance, but he seemed to ignite further, his aggressive demeanor growing even more intense.
“Princess Zhaoyang, I wonder when a runaway slave from my household managed to catch your eye, to the point that you would personally step in to shield him?”
His gaze was contemptuous, and there wasn’t a shred of respect for Prince Duan’s manor in his tone.
In his view, this Princess Zhaoyang must have seen that half a month ago, his elder sister had saved His Majesty and been granted the title of County Princess, putting the Gu family in the spotlight recently.
So she had deliberately found this excuse to make her presence known, hoping to catch his elder brother’s attention. What a calculated move.
Ye Qiong frowned and shot Steward Wang a questioning look. “What official rank does he hold? Why doesn’t he have to bow to this princess?”
Steward Wang was first startled by the unexpected question, then quickly recovered.
“Princess, this Third Young Master Gu has not yet entered official service. He holds no rank.”
Ye Qiong smirked. “Oh? No official rank? Then he’s a commoner. Yet a commoner dares to be so disrespectful to this princess. They say the Gu family is a scholarly household with strict rulesāit seems that’s hardly the case.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Chengyang was first stunned, then flew into a rage.
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He sneered sarcastically, “The princess jests. Although I, Gu, hold no official title or noble rank, I do know that one should bow before a princess. It’s just that I was in the middle of questioning this maidservant just now and momentarily neglected proprietyāI didn’t expect the princess to take such offense.”
He paused, let out a mocking laugh, and his tone grew even more dismissive.
“But why is the princess so fixated on such a minor oversight of mine? Could it be that you’ve noticed my elder brother has been busy with official duties lately and hasn’t had time to attend to you, so you thought you’d find a pretext to have my brother come apologize on my behalf?”
“If the princess wishes to see my elder brother, there’s no need to go through such a roundabout wayāand certainly no need to kidnap a runaway slave from my household.”
The System couldn’t stand it anymore and immediately piped up.
[Host, he’s even more narcissistic than you. You have to beat him up!]
Ye Qiong raised an eyebrow. Indeed, he deserved a good thrashing.
This princess has the right to be narcissisticāwhat does this worthless wretch have?
“Uncle Wang, get someone to beat him up!”
“Right away!” Steward Wang, who had long been unable to tolerate it, immediately went to summon the guards.
Ruyi was startled. Seeing the commoners gradually gathering at the manor gate, she quickly reminded her.
“Princess, His Majesty said that if you get into another fight, he’ll punish you by making you marry.”
Ye Qiong, who had already rolled up her sleeves and was ready to throw down, suddenly regained her senses. “You have a point.”
Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief.
Ye Qiong lowered her sleeves and put on a terrified expression. “How terrible! The Gu family actually wants to storm into Prince Duan’s manor and beat up my father! My poor father!”
Jixiang immediately caught on and raised her voice to shout, “Help! The Third Young Master Gu has brought a bunch of thugs to break into the manor and assault the prince!”
Steward Wang, who had just arrived with the guards: What?!
The Third Young Master Gu was going to break into the manor and beat up the prince?!
This was outrageous!
Ye Qiong spotted her own guards and immediately roared, “Protect the prince with your lives!”
Upon hearing this, the manor guards charged forward with battle cries, shouting “Protect the prince with our lives!” as they surged ahead.
When the Gu family servants saw the opposing force, their minds hadn’t even processed the situation before their feet instinctively charged forward to meet them.
The surrounding commoners, seeing the commotion, immediately crowded around to watch the spectacle.
And then they heard repeated shouts about the Third Young Master Gu trying to break into the manor to beat up Prince Duan.
And the manor guards’ resounding cries of “Protect the prince with our lives!”
It was enough to get anyone’s blood pumping.
Soon, the news that the Third Young Master Gu had brought thugs to storm Prince Duan’s manor and assault Prince Duan spread like wildfireāand grew more absurd with each telling.
By the time it reached the palace, it had becomeā
The Third Young Master Gu had killed Prince Duan.
Upon hearing this news, the Emperor was so shocked he nearly choked on his breath and almost collapsed.
Seeing this, the Empress quickly called for Imperial Physician Zhang.
After a flurry of chaos, the Emperor regained some clarity and immediately dispatched someone to Prince Duan’s manor to see what those two troublemakers were up to now.
Soon, Eunuch Fu, who had investigated the matter, returned.
Behind him followed the bruised and battered Third Young Master Gu, as well as Princess Zhaoyang, who looked as if she’d just won a great victory.
The Emperor’s head throbbed with pain at the sight of Ye Qiong.
It hadn’t even been an hour since this scoundrel left the Imperial Study, had it?
What new disaster had she caused now?
The Emperor glared at her with a dark expression.
“What have you done this time?”
Ye Qiong was the first to lodge her complaint, recounting everything Gu Chengyang had said at Prince Duan’s manor.
The arrogant, contemptuous, mocking, condescending toneāYe Qiong imitated it perfectly, and if anything, she surpassed the original.
“Imperial Uncle, this really wasn’t my fault this time. It was this Third Young Master Gu who was disrespectful to me first.”
