Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 233 The One to Whom My Heart Belongs Is Probably Not This Person
Is it right to go to someone's wedding banquet and end up drawing out the bride-to-be? No, it's wrong!

Even with Zhang Dai's meticulous mind, he was stunned by this situation and didn't react for a long time.

"Rokuro was ecstatic..."

Gao Chengxin chuckled from the side, but before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhang Dai's cold, sharp gaze glare at him, and his laughter abruptly stopped. He then gave a somewhat awkward, dry laugh and said, "Sixth Brother, let me explain why..."

Zhang Dai raised his hand and waved it, signaling Gao Chengxin not to continue. He pushed away Wang Rouniang's hands that were gripping his arm and put the wooden ball that Gao Chengxin had just put into his hand back into the woman's hand. At the same time, he said in a deep voice: "Zhang Liu may have some shallow talents and a love for showing off, but he would never dare to use this to lure a respectable woman into eloping!"

During the recent palace banquet, Your Excellency showed me some favor, for which I am deeply grateful and proud to have such a kindred spirit, but that is all. If anything has caused Your Excellency to misunderstand and come to this conclusion, I would be greatly guilty! If Your Excellency believes that such actions will win you the embrace of your lover, then the one whose heart truly belongs to Your Excellency is probably not this person!

"Why must you be so heartless, Sixth Brother! Madam Wang loves you madly, and I know that too, which is why..."

Gao Chengxin was surprised by Zhang Dai's reaction and attitude, and hurriedly stepped forward to grab his arm, but was shaken off.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Dai turned and glared at Gao Chengxin. He took a deep breath, pointed at the other man, and said, "Brother Gao, we have known each other for a long time. You should know my character. How could my actions today be based on loyalty and righteousness? I have placed my trust in you, and you have treated me like an enemy!"

As Zhang Dai spoke, he moved toward the door. The commotion in the hall attracted the attention of the people outside. An Xiaochen and Yin Huan, who had already gone to sleep at the Gao family's guesthouse, rushed over. When they saw Zhang Dai's angry face, they quickly asked, "What is it, Master?"

"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother, please don't be alarmed, let me explain in detail..."

Seeing Zhang Dai's enraged state, Gao Chengxin panicked for a moment and stepped forward to pull Zhang Dai away, but was blocked by An Xiaochen's arm. So he bowed repeatedly and said, "Sixth Brother is angry with me and resents me. Whatever punishment you give me, I will accept it with my head bowed."

But now that things have come to this, we must find a way to handle this properly, otherwise... otherwise, not only you and I, but this Lady Wang's life will also be in danger. She is just a woman who is infatuated with you; she is innocent..."

Zhang Dai knew perfectly well what Gao Chengxin was up to. This guy was quite ambitious, and his desire to gain or lose the money was much stronger than others. Seeing that this business would be taken away by Wang Maozhong, he was naturally unwilling to accept it. In order to sabotage the marriage alliance between the two families of Beimen, he would stop at nothing.

As for Wang Rouniang, she was just a pampered girl who was unaware of the wickedness of people's hearts, and who was also emotional and rebellious in her adolescence. It is really speechless that she actually dared to elope with Gao Chengxin's arrangement.

Of course, judging from the gossip Zhang Dai overheard when he went to the Wang family's wedding banquet, the woman may have been struggling to defend herself and claiming she had no romantic relationship with him, so she chose to act this way under Gao Chengxin's deliberate enticement. But in any case, simply leaving like this was not a solution to the problem.

While Zhang Dai was not a heartless person, he would never knowingly step into a trap, much less pay the price for someone else's mistakes. Therefore, upon hearing Gao Chengxin's words, his disgust for him intensified.

Before he could speak, Wang Rou Niang realized that it all seemed to be wishful thinking on her part. Tears streamed down her face like beads. She slumped to the ground, holding the wooden ball in her hands, and sobbed, "It's not Zhang Lang's fault, it's me... I was frivolous and lewd, committing this heinous crime..."

"Now that I have departed, I have no fear of death. I only never imagined that my sincere affections would burden Zhang Lang. Fate has its limits; all future fortune and misfortune are due to my own actions, and I have no blame for Zhang Lang! I only beg you, my lord, to take this with you, so that if you ever feel regret in the future, you may remember this foolish woman..."

In her grief, she tried to throw the wooden ball at Zhang Dai, but because of her tear-filled eyes, she dropped it a little further away.

Zhang Dai frowned slightly, took a step towards the direction where the wooden ball had fallen, but quickly stopped, then pointed at Gao Chengxin and said hatefully, "This sin is my doing. If you don't deal with it properly, I will never forgive you in the future! How shrewd is the Duke of Bohai to have taken in such a fool as you!"

He knew that the Wang family would soon find out about this, and Gao Chengxin and his group were undoubtedly the most suspicious. Therefore, Gao Chengxin's house was definitely not safe. After scolding Gao Chengxin, he immediately turned and left, taking An Xiaochen and Yin Huan with him.

Gao Chengxin originally wanted Zhang Dai to face and resolve the matter together, but he did not expect Zhang Dai's attitude to be so firm and ruthless. Zhang Dai scolded him severely and abandoned him without asking about Wang Maozhong's daughter whom he had risked bringing out. Gao Chengxin was naturally very angry and did not continue to chase after him with a cold face.

"Husband, what...what happened?"

Upon hearing the news, Madam Gong, who had been listening from under the eaves, hurriedly entered the hall and approached her husband, asking him urgently.

"These sons of nobles are truly cold-blooded and heartless! They talk about deep friendship in ordinary times, but when things happen, they just stand by and watch! If he hadn't been seducing others, how could I have taken advantage of him? Now I risked my life to lure his lover out, but he was afraid of power and turned away, and even blamed me for being ungrateful and committing a sin!"

Gao Chengxin was filled with resentment, but also knew the situation was critical. After a moment's hesitation, he hurriedly said, "Go tell Father! Go find Father! We must do this before Lord Huo finds out!" As he spoke, he walked towards Wang Rou Niang, who was still prostrate on the ground weeping, and said urgently, "Madam Wang, you have a bad fate. Don't blame me for tricking you into leaving! There are plenty of good men in the world, but you fell for such a heartless man, causing me to suffer this disaster! Shut up and come with me to the Duke of Bohai's house. If he has a plan, we can both survive..."

Wang Rouniang ignored him and continued to weep, covering her face. Gao Chengxin had no patience to comfort her. He quickly ordered the maid, who was also disguised as a eunuch and had come with him, to help her up. Then he ordered his family to prepare a carriage, put Wang Rouniang into the carriage, and prepared to leave.

But he quickly turned back and said to his wife, "If the servants from the North Gate come after us, our home will not be safe. My wife, you should go somewhere else for the time being and do not return home until I have sent word to you!"

After giving his instructions, he led his servants and hurriedly drove the carriage toward Gao Lishi's residence.

Seeing her husband so panicked, Madam Gong was also thrown into disarray. After seeing her husband off, she turned back and instructed her family to pack their valuables. At the same time, she couldn't help but complain softly, "My husband is right. Zhang Liulang is really heartless! In the past, when he was in trouble, my husband would go to great lengths to help him. Now that my family is in danger of destruction, he refuses to help us!"

Upon hearing this, Du Yunqing, the Eighth Sister, shook her head and said, "Sister, what you're saying is biased and unreasonable! This matter was clearly done by my brother-in-law alone. Matters between men and women are private matters that are difficult to discuss with others. My brother-in-law has ulterior motives and hastily interfered, harming both himself and others."

"Haven't you heard what Zhang Lang said? If your devotion is merely using your talent to seduce respectable women, then you are not the right person! Your heart is impure; how could you speak like that? I have seen Huo Gong's daughter before, but I never imagined she would be so confused by love, not knowing who her true love is, and now she is burdened by love!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Gong was momentarily speechless with anger. However, she also knew that her junior sister was straightforward and always said what she meant, to the point that even Madam Gongsun dared not easily introduce her to the mansions of powerful and wealthy people, fearing that her bluntness might offend someone without her realizing it.

She didn't have time to argue with her junior sister anymore, as she didn't know how long it would take to calm things down. So she went to instruct her family to pack up and take away as much valuables and valuables as possible.

Du Yunqing paced around the hall for a moment, then walked to the wooden ball that Madam Wang had thrown out earlier, picked it up, gently wiped off the dust, and put it away.

Gao Lishi's family was also located in Daoguang Ward. Gao Chengxin arrived there quickly and then instructed his servants to inform them immediately.

Gao Lishi was unusually off duty today, so he washed up early and went to bed for a good night's sleep. However, he was woken up by his family while he was still half asleep. With his composure, he did not get angry. He put on his clothes and went to the hall. As soon as he sat down, Gao Chengxin knelt down in front of him with a thud, held his feet and said urgently, "Father, I have caused trouble, a great disaster!"

"What happened? Tell me in detail!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi's lingering drowsiness vanished instantly, and he stared wide-eyed at Gao Chengxin, demanding an explanation.

Gao Chengxin knew the matter was of great importance and dared not conceal anything. He immediately said, "Tonight, I went to the Huo family's banquet with Zhang Liu. The Huo family's daughter sent me a letter to Zhang Liu, which I mistakenly obtained. What I saw was a love letter..."

He quickly recounted how he had cleverly lured Wang Maozhong's daughter away during the chaos, and then said with a mournful face, "But I never expected that Zhang Liu would be so heartless as to abandon me. Now I am left with the people, but the disaster is on my side. Please help me!"

"Fool, truly a fool!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi gasped in shock, angrily rising to his feet and kicking Gao Chengxin to the ground. He cursed, "You're stupid, but you think everyone else is just as stupid! Who is Zhang Dai? He's the grandson of Zhang Yue! He has endless pleasures with all kinds of women and talents, how could he be bewitched by a mere Wang woman? Such stupidity deserves to die!"

"I know, I know! At the time, I only wanted to disrupt the marriage alliance between the Huo and Geng families so that they would become too powerful to control. But I never expected... Father beat me to death. I dare not complain, but I am afraid that I will be captured by the two families and humiliated and tortured by them, thus tarnishing Father's reputation!"

Gao Chengxin, his face covered in tears, stepped forward and hugged Gao Lishi's legs, sobbing bitterly.

Gao Lishi was also very annoyed after hearing this. He kicked Gao Chengxin away and said in a deep voice, "Before things get out of hand, I will go to the palace first. Whether I can save you or not depends on your fate. You stay in the residence and do not go out. No matter who summons you, you are not allowed to leave!"

"Should we send that Wang girl... somewhere else?"

Gao Chengxin nodded in agreement, and then asked another question.

"If you send them elsewhere, it won't be because you led them out. If someone else catches them, they could prosecute you to death! Keep them in the mansion and don't let anyone see them!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi spoke again in a deep voice, then strode out of the hall to change his clothes and enter the palace. After taking two steps, however, he was still filled with resentment and turned back to kick Gao Chengxin twice: "Fool!"

(End of this chapter)