The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 520 Who Will Be the Next Emperor?

Gu Youtian was stunned by Gu Ruinian's cold gaze.

He asked with great interest, "What can you do for the Zheng family?"

Grandpa Gu added, "Ruinian, tell everyone what the Zheng family values ​​about you? Otherwise, our whole family will always be worried about you, worried about the Zheng family's retaliation later."

Is it possible that by studying hard, Chong Gu Ruinian could protect Gu Ruinian and make him an asset to the Zheng family in their official careers?

If that's the case, they have no reason to sever Ruinian's tendons.

Grandpa Gu really couldn't think of any way his grandson could help the Zheng family.

Gu Ruinian said, "I can write poetry and articles. The second son of the Zheng family values ​​my talent and wants me to help him with the imperial examinations in the future."

That's not actually the case at all, but Gu Ruinian had to say it that way.

If he were to tell the truth, Gu Youtian would probably be the first to kill him, and Jia would also finish him off by demanding that he return their biological son.

Grandpa Gu was taken aback for a moment, then said, "The Zheng family has such audacity to help him with the imperial examinations?"

Those who went to Shengjing to participate in the imperial examinations had to prove their identities. If they were found to have falsified their credentials, the entire Zheng family and the Gu family would be wiped out.

Gu Ruinian explained, "Grandpa, don't worry, it's not what you think. I know how to predict exam questions, and I'll help Young Master Zheng with his studies."

"If you can predict exam questions, why didn't you pass the imperial examination at the county level?"

Gu Youtian scoffed. He had long since given up hope that his son would be able to study, but he decided he would no longer interfere in Gu Ruinian's affairs. He told Gu Ruinian fiercely that as long as he didn't cause trouble for the family, he could do whatever he wanted.
If he causes trouble for his family, he should immediately return to Qinghewan, open an ancestral hall, and sever all ties with his father.

Gu Ruinian said calmly, "I've already mentioned that I was delayed when I was hit by a carriage while taking the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai."

Grandpa Gu thought about it over and over, but something just didn't feel right.

When asked again, Gu Ruinian remained silent.

Grandpa Gu decided to take Ruinian back to Qinghewan once he felt a little better, as they could no longer stay in Pingchuan County.

Madam Jia disagreed with Gu Ruinian helping the second young master Zheng. She cried and said that the Zheng family had ruined Gu Ruinian and that Gu Ruinian should not have helped the second young master Zheng.

"Why doesn't lightning strike that harlot Xu Zaohua?"

Grandma Gu joined in the cursing of Xu Zaohua.

Gu Ruinian listened coldly. He and Xu Zaohua were innocent, but the Zheng family didn't believe it, his own family didn't believe it, and no one in the whole city believed it.

He doesn't intend to explain to his family.

explain what?

Does this explain why he coveted Miss Lian and was outmaneuvered by her?
Is the explanation that he was too stupid and fell for Miss Lian's trick?
The thought of that day made him feel humiliated, as if a wheel was repeatedly crushing him.

Of course, Xu Zaohua was not innocent either. It was Xu Zaohua who took the initiative to bewitch him. If Xu Zaohua hadn't been so foolish as to try to scheme against Gu Taohua, he might not have fallen for the Second Miss Lian's scheme so easily.

Gu Ruinian coldly said to Madam Jia, "Mother, I want to rest."

The only person Gu Ruinian truly cared for in this family was Jia Shi, because only Jia Shi loved him wholeheartedly.

Today he was also disappointed in Jia. When Jia learned that his leg tendon was broken, she was as if she had lost her father. Her concern was not whether he had suffered serious injury, but that he had lost his qualification to be an official.

In Jia's mind, only a healthy son who could study and earn an official title for her was a good son.

From now on, this home will only be a place for him to stay, and he will not have any feelings or expectations for anyone in this home.

Gu Youtian, along with his grandfather and the rest of his family, lived in the Wu family's warehouse. The warehouse had three rooms, two of which were filled with goods, and the entire Gu family squeezed into one room. There was only one bed, which was usually slept in by Gu's grandmother and Gu Honglian, while the others slept on the floor.

Gu Ruinian's leg is injured, so he can't move around much in bed, and the others have to sleep on the floor.

Grandma Gu, along with Wei Shi and Gu Xiaoxue, spread the rolled-up bedding on the ground, unfolded the quilts, and then turned off the lights.

Sighs echoed as Grandpa Gu and the others tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep, thinking of Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian opened his eyes, filled with hatred, in the darkness.

These past few days he's been living a life worse than death in the Zheng family's cellar.

The Zheng family did not physically torture him, but instead subjected him to water torture and kept him awake with a lamp on.

At first, he repeatedly emphasized that he had no affair with Xu Zaohua, and revealed his desire for Miss Lian and the schemes of Xu Zaohua and Young Master Lian.

Young Master Zheng asked him with a cold laugh, "Now everyone in the city is saying that he and Xu Zaohua are having an affair. Who cares about the truth?"

Young Master Zheng said that he was originally going to marry Miss Lian, but he and Xu Zaohua ruined his marriage. So from his perspective, Gu Ruinian should die, both publicly and privately.

Gu Ruinian endured two days in the cellar, but finally couldn't take it anymore and loudly proclaimed that he was a person from the future who had traveled through time and that he knew everything about the future.

At first, Young Master Zheng thought it was too absurd. No matter how much water he was given, acupuncture, or sleep-deprived, he insisted that he was a time traveler from the future and that he knew many things that people in this era did not.

Only then did the second young master Zheng become interested in him.

To prove that he was indeed from the future, he described to the second young master Zheng everything about the future, including currency, shopping malls, computers, mobile phones, cars, airplanes, and high-speed trains, and even drew them out.

After reading it, the second young master Zheng's eyes were dark and unreadable. He then asked him, "Since you are from the future, do you know who the next emperor will be?"

In later generations, just like in this era, history will be taught in schools, and students will need to know in advance who the next emperor will be.

Gu Ruinian was stunned.

The Great Sheng of this era is not mentioned in history books at all. He has never heard of the current emperor of the Great Sheng. He knew from the moment he arrived in this era that he had transmigrated into a fictional one.

He was initially pleased to realize this, as it meant he could plagiarize the writings of the ancients that shone with the brilliance of human thought for his own use.

But now, Young Master Zheng is asking him who the next emperor will be.
How could he possibly know about the next emperor? He doesn't even know how the current emperor ascended the throne.

A sudden inspiration struck him. When he was studying in the south, his teacher had mentioned indignantly that the emperor favored the third prince, born to the imperial concubine who was his childhood sweetheart. The emperor had always wanted to make the third prince the crown prince. Since the eldest prince was the legitimate heir, the eldest prince was eventually made crown prince after a collective petition from the court officials, and the third prince was made Prince Ning.

After the emperor compromised and made the eldest prince the crown prince, he remained dissatisfied with the crown prince. The crown prince did not leave the palace to study until he was twelve years old, after repeated persuasion from the ministers.

Last year, the crown prince was executed on charges of treason.

According to Gu Ruinian, the second and fourth princes died shortly after birth. The emperor now only has the third prince, Prince Ning, and the fifth prince. The fifth prince was born to a palace maid and is fifteen years old this year but has not yet been granted a title.

He didn't know the rest of the inside story.

His teacher also learned about the prince's execution from the news report and from gossiping with others.

So Gu Ruinian thought for a moment and took a gamble, saying, "It's the Fifth Prince."

This answer was quite unexpected for Young Master Zheng.

When they were discussing matters concerning Shengjing at Wanliu Academy, none of them paid any attention to the Fifth Prince.

Young Master Zheng had his men continue to force-feed water to Gu Ruinian, asking as they did so, "If you dare to lie, you won't leave here alive. Tell me, is what you're saying true or not?"