The scumbag was secretly having an affair, while I was openly having an affair with the prince.

Chapter 64 My Son's Wrongful Argument

When the butler came in to relay Gu Yong's words to him, he had already straightened his clothes, stood upright with an elegant demeanor, and calmly agreed to tomorrow's trip.

The steward squinted at him, scrutinizing him from his appearance and physique to his demeanor and manners. Perhaps he thought highly of this scholar, so there was not much contempt in his eyes.

On the other side, Gu Shiya was so anxious upon hearing her father's words that she was about to burst into tears again.

But Gu Yong didn't tolerate her this time and immediately ordered her maid, "Take the second young lady back!"

After giving the Ye family a cold look, Li personally led her daughter away from the tavern.

Ye Shishu suddenly remembered something, glanced around, and spotted Fan Yunying's clothes behind the servants of the two mansions.

She subtly shifted her position, taking in Fan Yunying's expression.

At this moment, Fan Yunying looked as if she had just recovered from a serious illness; her complexion was even worse than that of Gu Yong and his wife, so pale it was almost frightening. Her once beautiful eyes were fixed on the room where her second brother was, her gaze filled with venomous hatred.

A cold laugh escaped his lips as he felt at night.

There wasn't enough time to find a 'good match,' otherwise I would have arranged one for her tonight!

Never mind, I'll deal with her later.

The main purpose tonight is to get my second brother off Gu Shiya, since marrying Gu Shiya is worse than marrying Fan Yunying.

The people from the Grand Secretary's office went to investigate the tavern, but the result was that the owner of the tavern had sold it two days ago.

The former owner was summoned and brought evidence that the tavern had been resold.

After obtaining the new owner's name, the man Gu Yong sent to investigate returned and reported, "Sir, I went to the yamen and found out there is a man named Cheng Dong, but he died in an accident a few years ago due to alcoholism! As for the waiter who worked at the tavern before, he has disappeared without a trace, and we have no way of finding out anything about him!"

Gu Yong found it hard to believe.

Ye Shijun came out of the room and couldn't help but complain, "This is really a ghost! My family has been leading troops and fighting battles all year round and has no contact with people in the capital. Today, it is obvious that someone deliberately set a trap to harm people. Who is the enemy that they will not even spare me?"

As he spoke, he looked at Gu Yong with great dissatisfaction.

Gu Yong's face was as black as if he had been splashed with ink.

"Shi Jun, don't be so presumptuous!" Ye Shiting scolded his brother, then cupped his hands to Gu Yong and said, "Lord Gu, Shi Jun has been on the border for a long time and is not as well-disciplined as the young masters in the capital. If he is rude, please don't take it to heart."

The brothers are like a master of disguise, one playing the bad cop and the other the good cop, making it impossible for you to vent your anger.

Ye Gengxin was unaware that his three good children were responsible for tonight's events. He, who had been mostly silent, decided to say a few words: "Tonight's events concern the reputation of both our families. My son Shi Jun was not wrong. The person who went to such lengths to set up this scheme must have a grudge against our two families. And the fact that they disappeared so completely after scheming against our children shows just how capable they are."

Gu Yong rolled his eyes, practically spitting blood at him.

A brute is a brute; what he's saying is utter nonsense!

As dawn broke, the investigation yielded no results, and no definitive conclusion could be reached. The two families had no choice but to return to their respective homes.

……

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for many.

Upon returning to the manor, Ye Gengxin immediately began scolding his second son, "I asked you to handle the marriage with the Gu family, and yet you were sleeping with Miss Gu?"

Ye Shiting couldn't bear to see his brother get scolded, so he took the initiative to tell him about Gu Simo's background.

After listening, Ye Gengxin was still uneasy, "Can you guarantee that she's not a pawn of the Gu family?"

Ye Shiting smiled slightly, "Father, it's better to marry someone who isn't favored than someone who is. After all, we'll have more reservations about making a move on someone who is favored, won't we?"

Ye Shishu chimed in, “Father, eldest brother is right. The Prime Minister’s wife took the initiative to act as matchmaker, which is clearly to restrain our Ye family on behalf of the Crown Prince. If we refuse, we will directly offend several powerful families. Since we can’t refuse, we might as well marry someone who is not favored, rather than the arrogant and domineering Gu Shiya.”

Ye Gengxin's gaze towards his second son suddenly held a hint of heartache. "Shijun, your father never expected anyone to target you. This matter... has wronged you!"

Ye Shijun chuckled and said, "Dad, do I look like someone who's been wronged? On the contrary, I'm quite happy for others to target me. Outsiders all know my temperament, so at least I don't have to put on an act for anyone. If someone is disobedient, I'll just do what I'm supposed to do. But it's different for my eldest brother. He's the 'family's 'status quorum,' so there are more things he has to consider."

Ye Gengxin patted his shoulder, smiling with great satisfaction, "My good son!"

Ye Shijun suddenly suggested, "Father, let's send someone to the Gu family to propose marriage at dawn. The Gu family originally wanted to marry their second daughter into our household, but now that the eldest daughter has taken her place, it has disrupted the schemes of those behind the scenes. To avoid any further problems, I think it's better to marry the eldest daughter sooner rather than later. This way, my aunt and cousin Yunying will give up on me sooner."

Ye Gengxin went to look at the second and third sons of the new dynasty.

Ye Shiting and Ye Shishu nodded in unison, agreeing with Ye Shijun's words.

Their scheme tonight caught the Gu family and those behind the scenes completely off guard. Since they've decided to marry Miss Gu, they'll go all the way and not give the Gu family and those behind the scenes another chance to make a move!

Ye Gengxin said, "Alright, I'll go and have Hao Fu prepare the betrothal gifts overnight, and we'll take the matchmaker to the Gu family tomorrow morning to present the betrothal gifts!"

Now let's talk about Qiushuiyuan.

Hearing that her granddaughter had failed again, Madam Fan was so angry she wanted to slap her granddaughter a few times.

"You useless piece of trash, you keep failing, what good are you anyway?"

For Fan Yunying, the fact that Ye Shijun slept with the eldest daughter of the Gu family meant that she had completely lost Ye Shijun.

At this moment, she was filled with despair and had no heart to explain anything to Madam Fan. She just kept weeping.

Fan Yunru supported Old Madam Fan's hand and comforted her, "Grandmother, Ying'er's matter is not urgent. The most important thing is my matter with Miss Gu. If I can take this opportunity to marry Miss Gu, I will be the son-in-law of the Grand Secretary. Not to mention that I have a good chance of passing the imperial examination this year, even if I don't pass, Grand Secretary Gu will not ignore me. Once I climb up to the Grand Secretary's mansion, our Fan family will also become a new noble family in the capital. At that time, will I still be afraid that Ying'er will not be able to marry into a good family?"

Grandma Fan was furious that her granddaughter had failed again tonight, but she had to admit that her granddaughter's "adventure" that night was a tremendous gain.

Marrying the daughter of a high-ranking official was something the Fan family could never even dream of.

Moreover, the second young lady who lost her innocence to her grandson was the most beloved daughter of the Grand Secretary. Compared to Ye Shijun marrying the unloved eldest young lady Gu, her grandson made a huge profit!

"My grandson is so lucky! He actually managed to get into the Grand Secretary's residence. It's truly a blessing from our ancestors!" Old Madam Fan's face was full of wrinkles with joy. She took her grandson's hand and earnestly instructed him, "Didn't they say that the Grand Secretary wanted to see you today? You should go back to your room and rest. Make sure you are properly dressed before you go to see the Grand Secretary. You must make sure you leave a good impression on him, understand?"

"Yes, grandson knows what to do." Fan Yunru smiled, then looked at his younger sister beside him, "Ying'er, you should go and rest too."

Madam Fan looked at her granddaughter again and said disdainfully, "What can you do besides cry? Get down here and stop getting in my way!"

Fan Yunying's silk handkerchief was already soaked. Faced with disdain, she almost bit her lower lip until it bled. The thought of losing everything filled her with endless hatred and resentment.

They say that those near the water get the moon first, but she refused to believe that she couldn't get a man even though they lived in the same mansion!

……

Lanxia Palace.

Crown Princess Zhu Huaning came to pay her respects to Consort Lan early in the morning, and also brought news of what happened between the Gu and Ye families last night.

Consort Lan's smile vanished instantly, and she roared, "Who did this? How dare they ruin our plans!"

Zhu Huaning said, "Your Highness, Lord Gu sent people to investigate, but the other party left no clues. However, precisely because of this, it's even more certain that someone did it intentionally. Lord Gu suspects it was the Second Young Master Ye who did it, but upon closer examination, it doesn't make sense. It's said that the Second Young Master Ye's cousin also went last night. If the sleeping potion was administered by the Second Young Master Ye, and he wanted to refuse the marriage proposal from the Gu family, then he could have used his cousin as a shield; there was no need for him to sleep with Gu Simo."

Consort Lan said coldly, "Could it be the eldest daughter of the Gu family who did it?"