Chapter 1: The Woman Who Blocked the Marriage

  Gu Zhaodong was warm and elegant, but unexpectedly his younger brother was so rude that he could shut people up with just a few words. Shen Guiyan's face turned red with anger, while Gu Zhaobei still looked like a carefree rogue.

  Mr. Shen felt a bit helpless, if it were someone else, he would have had them thrown out long ago, but this was the fourth son of the Prime Minister's mansion.

  "Why is Master Gu so determined to marry Third Miss?" asked Ding Niang softly, "They didn't have any prior relationship either."

  Gu Zhaobei raised an eyebrow: "I liked her as soon as I saw her, can't I?"

  Shen Guiyan glanced at him sideways, unable to help but sneer. She didn't believe that a single glance could determine her marriage fate; this Fourth Master Gu was probably thinking of something else, yet pretending to be a rogue who wanted to force her into marriage.

  If she marries him, won't she become Gu Zhaodong's sister-in-law? What a joke.

  "This matter, let's wait until Master Gu sobers up and discuss it with the Prime Minister together." Madam Shen smiled: "The young master's words alone don't count."

  Gu Zhāo Běi raised an eyebrow, glanced at Shěn Guī Yàn, and didn't entangle her too much. Instead, he let go of her hand and smiled: "Alright, tomorrow I'll have my father come to propose."

  If the Prime Minister comes to ask for it, even if the Shen family is unwilling, they will still have to marry.

  Feng Xiao stood outside, listening, his face changing several times. He hastily pulled Bao Shan's sleeve and said: "Good sister Bao Shan, you must persuade Third Miss to stop this, I'll immediately go back and report to Young Master, we absolutely can't let this happen!"

  Bao Shan glared at him and said: "Young Master isn't already engaged to Fifth Miss, why is he still thinking about my family's young lady?"

  "Good sister, I'm begging you!" Feng Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Gu Zhaobei who was about to leave. He hurriedly caught up with him before he could walk away: "Sister helped persuade him to stay, next time I'll come with a generous gift!"

  Having said that, he quickly ran out and rode back to the residence of the Prime Minister.

  Gu turned to leave, but staggered and almost fell. It was clear he had drunk too much. Before he could take two steps, he was about to collapse onto the floor. Mr. Shen saw this and sighed, "Someone, please help Gu Gongzi to a guest room to rest. We'll send him back to his manor tomorrow."

  "Yes." The house slave replied, and then went forward to carry Gu Zhaobei out. Shen Guiyan stood aside, her brow still furrowed, when she heard Ding Niangniang laugh and say: "Third Miss is also very lucky, didn't marry the older brother, but was taken a liking to by the younger brother. Either way it's still the Prime Minister's residence, wealth and nobility can't be escaped."

  Shen Guiyan lowered her eyes: "Ding Niang has worried too much."

  "It's not a bad thing either." Madame Shen smiled and said, "If I really have to marry him, then it would be good for Ya'er and me to become sisters-in-law and support each other."

  Mutual support? Shen Guiyan smiled slightly, the person who snatched her marriage, still wants her to support? She is now just mourning her mother's death, many things are not thought through, after tonight's heavy rain passes, they think she is still so easy to bully?

  It was all because of Qin Niang that she endured and yielded. Now that person is gone, what's the point of her still enduring and yielding?

  But she didn't say anything, in such a situation, even if she spoke up, it wouldn't lead to anything good.

  Seeing her silence, Old Master Shen sighed and said: "Alright, let's all go back and rest first, we'll talk about it again tomorrow."

  "Yes." The people in the house dispersed one by one. Shen Guiyan also stepped out of the main hall, and Bao Shan came with an umbrella to support her on their way back.

  "Miss, it's about Master Gu..." Bao Shan was also annoyed with Shen Gui Ya, but Master Gu was still innocent. After so many years of feelings with the miss, could it really just end like this?

  "Let me rest for a moment," Shen Guiyan said, lowering her eyelids. "Don't ask anything else."

  Even hanging oneself would be out of breath, others were robbed of their wedding dress, lost their mother, and then a rascal rushed to marry, no one could bear it.

  Bao Shan stopped her from speaking and helped her back to wash up and change clothes. Seeing that the young lady was frowning, he thought it wasn't a good idea to disturb her, so he closed the door and left.

  Qin's death wasn't that simple. Shen Guiyan lay in bed with her eyes closed, thinking that no one would be foolish enough to eat a large amount of arsenic without knowing it. However, the personal maid, Xiujuan, claimed she didn't know anything and only said that Qin had gone to pay respects at the mistress's quarters in the morning after eating breakfast, and then came to her room to send off the bride before things became like this.

  That's what they say, but there is no evidence at all. Who dares to accuse the mistress of this Shen family? She has been under the control of Mrs. Shen since she entered the Shen Mansion, and everything about her daily life, marriage, and even food and clothing are all in Mrs. Shen's hands.

  Unless she gets married.

  But Gu Zhaodong has already married Shen Guiya, who will she marry? Marry and become his concubine? Wouldn't that be living under Shen Guiya's control again?

  She grasped the bed sheet tightly, Shen Guiyan opened her eyes and took two deep breaths. Heaven will not cut off a man's road, she must have other ways.

  "I thought for a long time, why did you refuse me."

  A man's voice suddenly rang out in the middle of the room.

  Shen Guiyan was startled and almost screamed, hugging her quilt tightly as she sat up to look outside the bed curtains.

  On the table, a lamp was lit, and beside it sat a man with a brocade belt and a jade crown. He was facing the mirror on the table, muttering to himself: "I thought your eyes were too unique, but when I went back to look in the mirror, I realized that the problem was actually mine."

  He turned his head sideways, with eyebrows and eyes like a painting. Shen Guiyan was slightly stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered the words written in an ancient book she had read a few days ago:

  A handsome young man with a free and easy spirit, raises his cup and gazes up at the blue sky, as bright as jade trees in front of the wind.

  A man with a very good birth, yet with an unseemly smile on his face, looked at her and said: "My clothes are stained with rainwater, but it's you who looks flustered. Now take a look, don't you think marrying me isn't so difficult after all?"

  Shen Guiyan suddenly came back to her senses and realized: "The Fourth Master of the Gu Family?"

  "Look down and face north." He said: "Miss, remember it well."

  Shen Guiyan's hand had already touched the dagger that had been placed on the edge of the pillow for years, and he smiled at the man, saying: "Lord Guo visits in the middle of the night, what brings you here?"

  There's no need to ask much, in the middle of the night running into a woman's boudoir, it can only be a thief or a seducer.

  Gu Zhaobei got up and walked to the bedside, stroking his chin: "I went back to look in the mirror and felt regretful, so I washed up and came to find you again. Miss Shen San, am I much worse than my older brother?"

  Shen Guiyan wanted to nod, but it was clear that he couldn't afford to provoke the other party at this time. So he smiled and said: "Gongzi is famous for his elegance in the capital city, I've heard that Princess Duanwen also has a good impression of Gongzi, how could you be much different from Gongzi?"

  "Is that so? Then what are you refusing me to do?" Gu Zhaobei's face was smiling but his heart wasn't.

  Shen Guiyan retreated a step back: "The young lady's heart belongs to the eldest son of the Gu family, it is difficult to change for the time being, so she will naturally refuse the young master."

  "Infatuated with Big Brother?" Gu Zhaobei raised an eyebrow, and immediately sneered: "You women just like to listen to sweet talk, only looking at a man's appearance. What's good about that kind of man? He's affectionate and doting in front of you, but who knows how he'll be with other women behind your back, always pretending to be deeply emotional."

  Shen Guiyan responded with a smile and a nod, thinking to herself, aren't you the same?

  "I'm different." Gu Zhaobei said seriously: "I'm romantic but not secretive, and I've never cheated on anyone. If someone says I have a dozen girlfriends outside, then that's absolutely true, not one more or one less. If I'm shameless, it's openly and honestly."

  Shen Guiyan's mouth twitched slightly, shamelessly proud and unapologetic?

  "It doesn't seem right for you to come over in the middle of the night." She said: "This is not something a decent person should be doing."

  "Oh?" Gu Zhaobei raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the window: "Are you sure?"

  "I'm sure." Shen Guiyan gripped the dagger tightly, seeing him cross over the bedside, and forced a smile to remind him: "One more step forward, young master will have a bloody disaster."

  Blood light? Is it her? These young ladies in the boudoir probably haven't even seen blood, have they? Gu Zhaobei snorted and continued to move forward fearlessly.

  As a result, Shen Guiyan quickly drew out her dagger and stabbed it into his shoulder.

  A woman from a respectable family, having never done such a thing before, naturally didn't know the limits. Shen Guiyan was only thinking of preserving her own reputation, so she also used more force, stabbing at the shoulder which wouldn't be fatal anyway.

  Gu Zhaobei didn't expect her to actually come, and for a moment he was unable to react. By the time he came to his senses, there was a sharp pain in his shoulder, accompanied by a gush of blood.

  "You..."

  Unexpectedly, he really made his move!

  Shen Guiyan drew back her dagger and hugged the quilt, looking at him with a serious face: "Please, young master, leave quickly. Otherwise, I'll call for someone to come over, which won't be good for either of us."

  Gu Zhoubei covered his shoulders and took two deep breaths, smiling helplessly: "Do you think that someone who comes in the middle of the night must be a bad person?"

  "Or what?" Shen Guiyan glared at him.

  Gu Zhoubei waved his hand and smiled, pointing to her window. Shen Guiyan was bewildered, but after a moment of silence in the house, someone actually knocked on the window.