After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 46

At this moment, everything fell silent before the gates of the Protector Duke’s Manor.

Even those bold aunties who were originally going to the gatekeeper to collect their reward money now wished they could cover their mouths and slink away into the background.

Cui Jue had originally been lying in bed to recuperate, but upon hearing that someone was deliberately targeting Gu Wanlan outside because of last night’s events, he had hurried out of bed. He hadn’t expected to run straight into Gu Wanlan and Xiao Sun.

Looking past Gu Wanlan, Cui Jue’s gaze landed on the embroidered handkerchief in Xiao Sun’s hand, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

Xiao Sun naturally noticed the gaze Cui Jue cast upon him. After last night, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Gu Wanlan’s current husband possessed a sinister streak—he was nothing like the submissive man he appeared to be. He suspected this “live-in husband” was deliberately acting like a “pretty boy” just to win favor.

He had heard that women in Great Xia these days loved men with this kind of temperament. It seemed that after so many years back in Great Xia, even Gu Wanlan’s tastes had changed. However, to be a man and act so affected was truly contemptible.

Xiao Sun let out a cold snort. Intentionally doing so in front of Cui Jue, he slowly unfolded the handkerchief and was about to speak—

“Stop!”

Gu Wanlan’s hand blocked his vision. She stood with her arms spread wide, one in front and one behind, halting both of them. She spoke with lightning speed, fearing that if she were a second slower, these two would start shouting her name again. “Both of you stop right now! Let me speak!”

Gu Wanlan turned her head and pointed at Cui Jue behind her. “First, you! Why are you wandering around out here instead of listening to the doctor’s orders? Do you think the crowd out here is going to eat me alive? Go back and lie down. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Alright, I’ll head back first.” Cui Jue chuckled and helplessly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Seeing that the first person Gu Wanlan ordered away was Cui Jue, Xiao Sun raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes full of provocation. Cui Jue seemed oblivious, the faint smile still lingering on his face. However, as he turned to leave, he clutched his chest and let out two coughs.

He said softly, “It’s just… I’ll have to trouble Madam to apply my medicine when you return.”

As soon as he spoke, Xiao Sun saw Gu Wanlan’s face turn red instantly.

Thinking of Cui Jue’s injury from the night before, how could Xiao Sun not understand? His expression darkened immediately. He took a step forward, interposing himself between the two, and said with a fake smile, “I am all too familiar with such blade wounds. Since you are so ill that you must cough just to leave your bed, it must be quite dangerous. How about I help instead?”

Cui Jue’s movements paused. He let out a light laugh. “I would think that rather than saving me, Your Highness would prefer to kill me.”

Xiao Sun’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What? Are you afraid?”

Cui Jue sighed. “How could I be? To be served by a Prince of a nation is my honor.”

Xiao Sun scoffed. “As it happens, those who have been served by this Prince’s medicine usually don’t end up with a very good fate—”

“Stop, stop, stop!”

Gu Wanlan truly hadn’t expected these two to start bickering with such sharp tongues the moment she looked away. She felt a massive headache coming on. “Stop arguing.”

“Husband, I see that you are quite sharp-witted and spirited just now, so your health must be fine. Take this man into the manor and host him for a bit.”

“Xiao Sun, I’m leaving the task of changing Cui Jue’s medicine to you. If you dare to play any tricks, I won’t forgive you.” Gu Wanlan shot “daggers” from her eyes at both of them.

“Any more problems? If not, get moving!”

Seeing that Gu Wanlan was truly about to get angry, the two didn’t dare say another word. They cast looks of mutual disgust at each other and muttered in unison:

“No problem.” “I leave everything to Madam’s decision.”

Only after the two men’s silhouettes disappeared did Gu Wanlan turn back to Gu Baozhu, who was standing before her with a look of hesitation. Gu Wanlan pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling quite helpless. “And what do you want to say now?”

Gu Baozhu hesitated for a long time before slowly saying, “It turns out… there are things you aren’t good at either.”

Gu Wanlan’s face darkened. She turned to the elderly female servants. “Didn’t I say to take her to the Ancestral Hall? Why are you still standing here?”

Hearing she was to be punished in the Ancestral Hall, Gu Baozhu looked up at Gu Wanlan with burning eyes. “I don’t need them. I can go myself. But how many hours do you want me to kneel there?”

Cuiyun arrived at a jog with the Second Madam, only to witness this exact scene. Cuiyun was stunned; she never imagined that her young mistress, who had been full of resentment toward Gu Wanlan before leaving, would now so readily accept a punishment from her.

Could the shock have been so great that she’s lost her mind?!

Cuiyun was about to rush forward when the Second Madam grabbed her arm. “Wait, don’t go over.” The Second Madam let out a meaningful sigh. “We raised her to be a bit arrogant and self-centered. This encounter today… might just be her stroke of luck.”

Gu Wanlan didn’t know that someone was viewing her punishment as a “stroke of luck.” Considering Gu Baozhu was the instigator of today’s trouble, Gu Wanlan actually maintained a bit of patience with her. First, she knew that if it wasn’t Gu Baozhu today, it would have been some “Fang Baozhu”—she needed an opportunity to clarify her relationship with Xiao Sun before the public anyway. Second, after the “trial” against Xiao Sun just now, she truly couldn’t find much resentment for Gu Baozhu, who was merely a miniature reflection of a sheltered noble lady.

However, feeling that fervent gaze, Gu Wanlan suddenly got goosebumps. She raised her hands to keep a distance between them and instinctively took two steps back. Her lip twitched. “If you want to go to the Ancestral Hall yourself, then go. Why are you looking at me like that?”

At the final moment, Gu Baozhu felt a bit embarrassed. She bit her lip. “I will accept whatever punishment you give for today’s matter without a single word of complaint. But I want to know—why?”

Gu Baozhu suppressed her shame and forced herself to look into Gu Wanlan’s eyes. “Why were you able to instigate the scholars to pressure Cui Liquan at the Poetry Society that day, but I couldn’t do it today? Why is it that clearly everything you said today was rebellious and shocking, yet I feel it makes sense?”

Gu Wanlan narrowed her eyes. “You really want to know?”

Gu Baozhu nodded. “I do. That’s why I’m willing to accept your punishment.”

Gu Wanlan sneered. “And why do you think that just because you want to know, I should tell you? And why do you think your willingness to accept punishment is some kind of submissive gesture of goodwill? Let me tell you, it was you who caused the trouble first today.”

Gu Baozhu’s face instantly flushed deep red. That hateful Gu Wanlan! She had bowed her head, and Gu Wanlan still mockingly called her “Eldest Miss”—everyone knew Gu Wanlan was the true Eldest Miss!

“Don’t… don’t call me Eldest Miss! In any case! What will it take for you to tell me?! Just name your conditions!”

Taking a breath, Gu Baozhu thought that since she had already bowed her head this far, she might as well go a bit further. She cleared her throat, tilted her chin, and brought out her bargaining chips. “I, Gu Baozhu, have at least been rolling around in the noble lady circles of Xijing for over ten years. I know exactly who is friends with whom and who is at odds in the inner chambers. Since you want to control the Protector Duke’s Manor on your own, you should know what that entails. These are things that the adopted daughter you’re close with doesn’t have.”

Only then did Gu Wanlan look at Gu Baozhu with a serious expression. It was true—she had grown up in Roulan, and her people were all military officers from the border. She lacked an understanding of the intricate social dynamics between the great households of Xijing. Even though she held the power of the Embroidered Uniform Messengers, their true master was Emperor Qingyuan. If she wanted to do her own work within the inner chambers in the future, it wouldn’t be very convenient. Looking at it this way, Gu Baozhu truly had her uses.

Gu Wanlan crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her forearm as she pondered for a moment. “If you really want to know, you don’t need to kneel in the Ancestral Hall today. I have a more suitable place for you.”

“Where?”

“You were so practiced at teaming up with Cui Liquan to make me look bad at the Poetry Society—I’m sure that wasn’t the first time you’ve done something like that.”

“I… I haven’t! That day I was just—”

“No need to explain.” Gu Wanlan gave her a flat look. “I only have one requirement: go personally to every girl you have ever humiliated like that and apologize. Once you have collected a letter of forgiveness from each of them, I will tell you whatever you want to know.”

“Gu Wanlan! You… you are going too far!”

“I am not forcing you. Do as you wish. But this is a one-time offer. Next time we meet, I won’t waste my breath on someone irrelevant.”

“I’m leaving. Close the gates.”

Gu Wanlan shrugged indifferently and turned to enter the manor.

As she watched the gates of the Protector Duke’s Manor slowly closing and Gu Wanlan’s back growing smaller, Gu Baozhu was suddenly swept by a wave of immense panic.

Since childhood, because she was as cute as carved jade, she had been the darling of her family. When she went out, because her mother was a distant relative of the Cui family and her father was the brother of the Protector Duke, there was no end to the flattery she received. However, all those years of social success hadn’t given her the inner thrill she felt just now when she stood before the manor trying to “judge” Gu Wanlan.

That surge of excitement from the depths of her soul when she spoke, that massive attention she drew simply because she was Gu Baozhu, gave her an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. This was a far more joyful feeling than buying a favorite piece of jewelry or even finding a good suitor!

She was almost becoming obsessed with it. Therefore, she found her previous failure even more unbearable.

Gu Baozhu clenched her hands at her sides, desperately pushing down waves of shame, and shouted toward Gu Wanlan’s back:

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

She saw Gu Wanlan’s footsteps stop. Gu Baozhu immediately ran forward. In that instant, she even forgot to order the guards; she gritted her teeth and used her own strength to push back open the heavy gates that were about to close.

Panting, she stopped behind Gu Wanlan and emphasized urgently once more, “I will work hard to seek everyone’s forgiveness first! Then I’ll come to see you! When that time comes… you must—”

Gu Wanlan let out a light laugh and turned to look at her. “When that time comes, I will surely tell you everything.”

“In fact…” Gu Wanlan leaned forward slightly and winked at Gu Baozhu. “If you want to learn how I argue with people, I’ll teach you that as well.”

With a boom, Gu Baozhu’s face instantly exploded in a deep red.

The fact that she was secretly trying to imitate her… had been discovered by her long ago?!