Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 346. Status and Reputation
Gu Kaiping was overjoyed; it seemed he was destined to become the son-in-law of the Third Prince.

Liu Yun held her daughter's hand tightly, finally having endured these hard times.

From now on, their daughter will belong to the royal family, and even if they return to the capital now, no one will dare to look down on them.

Only Gu Antong remained calm, feigning shyness at the right moment, covering her face with a handkerchief, but revealing her reddened ears.

Gu Baijiang glanced back at his granddaughter, then turned to Rong Ruiyuan and said respectfully, "My granddaughter has been pampered since she was little, and I'm afraid she's not capable of doing any servant's work."

Liu Yun was furious. What was her father-in-law trying to do? Was he trying to belittle her daughter? How could she be expected to serve others?
Seeing that she was about to speak, Gu Antong quickly grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear, "Mother, listen to Grandfather."

With the entire Gu family bound together, she believed that Gu Baijiang would never harm her.

Rong Ruiyuan's eyes flickered slightly, "I am naturally reluctant to part with her, and I am willing to welcome Miss Gu into the manor as a concubine."

Gu Baijiang felt relieved. At least it was still the rank of Consort. Even a concubine was still a Consort, and she had a certain status.

However, he looked troubled. "Your Highness, you know that's not what I meant. It's just that we are currently insignificant and our voices carry little weight. His father is also useless and doesn't hold any official position. I'm afraid that this will have a negative impact on Your Highness."

These words were spoken with such sincerity that Rong Ruiyuan would almost have believed them if he hadn't repeatedly declined beforehand.

"Lord Gu is overthinking this. This is my own private matter, and I have no right to question it."

I know it's a bit of a disservice to Miss Gu to bring her into the household like this. Once she bears me children, I'll find a way to elevate her rank."

Gu Antong's hand tightened, and at this moment there was no shyness on her face. If she really loved her, why would she talk about marriage in front of her and make such a promise?

She knew Rong Ruiyuan had ulterior motives, but now he was treating her like a commodity, haggling over her price, which completely shattered any glimmer of hope she had.

It seems that women are insignificant to the Third Prince compared to his interests.

At the same time, her heart hardened. Since it was a business transaction, she had to make sure that her value was fully realized so that no one would look down on her in the future.

The Gu family father and son were overjoyed, as Rong Ruiyuan had finally given them a positive promise.

The next level up from a concubine is at least a secondary consort. If An Tong's womb is successful, then the position of princess is not out of the question.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Gu Kaiping, the father, stepped forward excitedly and knelt down to kowtow before Gu Baijiang could say anything. "This sinful subject will do his utmost to serve Your Highness."

“Young Master Gu, please rise,” Rong Ruiyuan said, knowing that the conversation had gone well. His tone became much more relaxed. “I still have some things to take care of here. We’ll return to the capital as soon as the New Year is over.”

You don't need to prepare anything here; I'll take care of everything."

Ming Peifeng stepped forward, cupped his hands in congratulations, and said, "Congratulations, Lord Gu, congratulations, Miss Gu."

Gu Baijiang was in a great mood and returned the greeting, "I am very grateful for Lord Ming's care before. I will remember your kindness to my family and repay you in due time."

“No problem, no problem,” Ming Peifeng smiled. As long as Gu Baijiang kept his promise and gave him what he deserved, he would be content.

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Rong Ruiyuan made an excuse that he had other business at the yamen and left first.

Soon, someone brought in a table of food and wine, and the Gu family enjoyed a sumptuous meal before returning to the village with joyful faces.

"Your Highness, are we really going to wait until after the New Year?" Ming Peifeng asked anxiously after everyone had left. Such a commotion had already erupted in Zhang County, and word had spread from the real estate brokerage that many wealthy households were preparing to sell their properties, but everyone was observing and no one was making a move.

If they keep pushing the price down, it will drop in a while. Then they won't have enough money to buy them, and who knows who will benefit.

Rong Ruiyuan said, "No rush. I'm still on business. If I go back so early, it will inevitably arouse suspicion."

"You should also make some preparations here. When the time comes, have Gu Baijiang and his men disguise themselves and set off, and then find a way to mislead the spies around us."

This time when he left the capital, he brought many skilled men with him under the guise of running an errand. He not only wiped out the bandits on the road, but also took the opportunity to kill some of their henchmen. Those who had previously robbed and killed the Gu family were either dealt with by him or escaped.

While we can't say that Zhang County is completely under our control, we have certainly quelled a lot of unrest. The county town has been unusually quiet these past few days, which shows that these people are afraid.

"Will Gu Baijiang really hand over the items when he goes back?"

If he were Gu Baijiang, he probably wouldn't have been so quick to agree.

Rong Ruiyuan said, "It depends on whether he's smart enough. If he takes the initiative and doesn't cause trouble, I definitely won't treat them badly in the future."

Ming Peifeng: "Should we continue to send people to guard Tamura's side?"

He's short-handed right now, so he really wants to call back the people guarding Tamura as soon as possible.

"Not for now. I've already rounded up a lot of them recently. Even if one or two slipped through the net, they wouldn't dare go to Tiancun to their deaths." Rong Ruiyuan thought of the information sent over earlier, "Is Gu Baijiang's third son really that skilled in martial arts?"

“He does have some skill,” Ming Peifeng’s eyes flickered slightly, “but the two guards the Bai family sent him are both very capable.”

Gu Baijiang already has a granddaughter in the inner courtyard, so let's not let his son come to the master's side, otherwise the master's side will be full of Gu family members in the future.

He and Gu Baijiang seem to be getting along peacefully now, but who knows if Gu Baijiang will hold a grudge against him for the difficulties he caused before?

Therefore, it's best not to let Gu Jia get too arrogant before he's exhausted his usefulness.

“I knew it,” Rong Ruiyuan smiled. “I hadn’t heard of any particular strengths of his before when we were in the capital. He’s become so amazing in such a short time. It’s true what they say, people just follow the crowd.”

Ming Peifeng quietly wiped his forehead. Although His Highness had sent him out to protect the Gu family, he didn't really trust him much and didn't know how many people had been planted among them.

He clearly hadn't told Gu Kaiyuan anything, but His Highness still knew not to let him know who it was, or he would definitely make him pay.

"Gu Kaiyuan is a bit ungrateful. The Bai family hired a security escort agency to protect them, but because of some minor conflicts with the Gu family, they didn't lend a hand when the Gu family was attacked."

I went to his house before to plead with him, asking him to put aside his prejudices and help us, but he still refused.

Ming Peifeng timely offered his opinion, believing that Gu Kaiyuan was the biggest threat to the Gu family.

"That's rather ungrateful. Don't take him with you when you go back to the capital this time."

"Then he probably won't go back with them. Gu Kaiyuan has already changed his household registration at the yamen and is now married into the Bai family."

Rong Ruiyuan was now somewhat puzzled. "Why would he suddenly decide to marry into the family?"

(End of this chapter)