In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

It's Miss Zhuang's voice!

Why is Gu Zhao here today?

How could Miss Zhuang have seen them together?

Zhu Qingyu was almost numb, her mind filled with a dense barrage of comments.

Help! Help! Help!

We're doomed! We're doomed! We're doomed!

What does it mean to die before achieving one's goal? What does it mean to be moved to tears by the passing of heroes?

That's it!

At this moment, Zhu Qingyu felt an overwhelming empathy for the poet Du Fu, and she even wanted to cry on the spot.

Zhu Qingyu wanted to push Gu Zhao away, but also wanted to say something to make excuses and muddle through the current situation.

Gu Zhao didn't let go at all, still holding her hand tightly, and asked:

"Is this for you? Did you leave something behind?"

Zhu Qingyu glared at him:

Let go! If you keep pulling, your future wife will run away! If such a good wife runs away, you'll be crying your eyes out!

Holding the box containing the beautiful jade, Miss Zhuang asked hesitantly:

"Madam Zhang, is this your husband?"

Gu Zhao looked over with a cold expression:

"Who are you?"

Seeing their struggle, Miss Zhuang sensed something was amiss and replied:

"I am Zhuang, the son of the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review."

Is it the dealer?

Gu Zhao smiled this time, a smile on his face and in his eyes, and replied:

"Oh? So that's how it is, Master Zhuang, the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review."

Gu Zhao glanced at Zhu Qingyu, who looked utterly defeated, in his arms, and then chuckled inwardly. He looked at Miss Zhuang and replied:

"Miss Zhuang, I am Gu Zhao from the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion."

Miss Zhuang's expression changed immediately. She walked in and placed the box on the desk in front of the dormitory window.

Perhaps worried that the jade might break if it wasn't placed properly, Miss Zhuang calmed herself down and even pushed the box further in so that it was against the wall. She also shook the desk to make sure it was level.

The dormitory was not spacious to begin with, so the three of them squeezed together at the doorway with almost no space between them.

Looking at her expression and actions, Zhu Qingyu wondered if Miss Zhuang might actually hit someone on the spot.

As a result, after putting the box away, Miss Zhuang not only didn't hit anyone, but instead reached out to grab Zhu Qingyu's other hand, raising her head and glaring at Gu Zhao:

"You lecherous scoundrel, let go!"

Because Miss Zhuang squeezed in and Gu Zhao was afraid of bumping into her, she raised her hand and took a few steps back, actually letting go of her hand.

Miss Zhuang pulled Zhu Qingyu behind her to protect her, and said to Gu Zhao:

"Young Master Gu, after today's meeting, I will tell my parents that you are too old and I do not like you. Do you agree?"

Although it felt good to be protected by the brave Miss Zhuang, the moment the words "look at each other" were uttered, Zhu Qingyu felt even more hopeless.

Failed!

It turns out that the Zhuang family's visit to offer incense today was a pretense; their real purpose was to meet with the Gu family.

She could never have predicted that!

If Zhu Qingyu had known they were meeting today, she would never have left this door!

She ruined Miss Zhuang's wedding today, so how could Lord Zhuang possibly help her? If she dares to set foot in the Zhuang family again, Lord Zhuang will be lucky if he doesn't kick her out with a big stick.

While frantically trying to signal to Gu Zhao with her eyes, Zhu Qingyu attempted to save the situation and said to Miss Zhuang:

"Miss Zhuang, you've misunderstood."

As it turned out, Gu Zhao completely failed to understand Zhu Qingyu's good intentions and actually agreed with Miss Zhuang's suggestion.

"That's a good reason, I agree. I originally wanted to tell Miss Zhuang that I already have someone I love and I don't want to hinder your future."

Upon hearing the words "my beloved," Miss Zhuang was genuinely confused. She glanced at Gu Zhao, then at Zhu Qingyu behind her, and finally asked:

"Your sweetheart? But she's the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhang family?"

Gu Zhao's face was completely calm:

"Exactly, there's no conflict."

Miss Zhuang was even more confused. She wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. In the end, she simply let go of Zhu Qingyu's hand and said:

"It seems I've been meddling in other people's business. Well then, goodbye."

Once the valiant Miss Zhuang left, Zhu Qingyu could no longer hold back. She listlessly dragged the only chair in the room over, slammed her head on the desk, and closed her eyes, pretending to be dead.

Having resolved a major issue, Gu Zhao was quite pleased with himself and even leisurely opened the box on his desk. Upon seeing the beautiful jade inside, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"As white as snow on a mountain, as bright as the moon in the clouds, it is indeed a rare and exquisite piece of jade. Are you perhaps interested in Lord Zhuang and are you giving it to Miss Zhuang as part of her dowry?"

Zhu Qingyu replied in a muffled voice:

"Um."

Gu Zhao closed the box and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud:

"You've made a good choice. Lord Zhuang is with His Majesty every day, and his understanding of the Emperor is no less than mine. He also specializes in handling cases of injustice, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to take charge of Zhang Jingyan's case. If he does take charge, he'll be better than Xie Ze, probably about 30% sure. But, Qingyu, didn't you gather enough information? How could you have chosen today? What are we going to do now? I'm afraid Lord Zhuang can't help you."

Zhu Qingyu, her head lolling to the side, was so angry her chest ached. She didn't have the energy to deal with him, and didn't want to say a single kind word to him. She just glared at him.

"Miss Zhuang doesn't want you anymore, your marriage is off, and you're still laughing? What do you care what I do? You should think about what's going to happen to your own marriage!"

Surprisingly, Gu Zhao wasn't angry after being scolded. Instead, he leaned down, his head close to hers, and whispered:

"Qingyu, what does it matter if she doesn't want me? But what about you? When I said I wanted to marry you, did you never believe me?"

You're kidding me!

Zhu Qingyu really wanted to curse. She didn't want to stay with him anymore. She stood up abruptly, grabbed the box, and walked out.

A bad start, time to go home, rest, and start over!

She refused to believe that in such a vast city as the capital, she couldn't find a single person willing to save Zhang Shen for money.

The moment he stepped out of the dormitory, Gu Zhao casually remarked from behind:

"You're leaving already? I was going to tell you who in the capital can save Zhang Jingyan, but it seems you don't need to."

As soon as the bait was thrown, Zhu Qingyu stepped back, a smile on her face:

"Who is Shouming? Please tell me."