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

Chapter 98 Shattered

Gu Zhao had no idea how he got through the conversation with Lord Cao. The huge disappointment brought about by the dashed hopes, along with the extreme anger caused by being deceived, was like a sharp blade that drove straight into his body.

He heard the sound of his heart being pierced by a sharp blade, and he heard himself shatter into pieces. The blade forged from her lies ruthlessly cut him to pieces, and he was powerless to fight back.

After discussing the memorial on preparing disaster relief for the northern frontier with Lord Cao almost instinctively, Gu Zhao sat back down in his seat like a walking corpse, expressionlessly taking out the letter that was face down on the table to read again.

He looked at each word carefully, and he was certain that he hadn't misread it.

The place is clearly not listed; there is no place called Qingyun Street in Sichuan at all.

There is no way to find such a person. According to the name of her father that she mentioned, there are seven people in Sichuan with this name.

There was an eighty-year-old man, four strong men in their twenties to early thirties, and two young children, one eight years old and the other still an infant. None of them were doctors who had practiced medicine for generations, and judging by their ages, none of them could be her father.

Gu Zhao folded the letter back to its original shape and put it back in the envelope, then couldn't help but laugh at himself.

How ridiculous, Gu Shouming, you are truly the most ridiculous person in the world.

She and he were deeply in love, yet she deceived you time and time again, manipulating you at will. And what did you do?

You were actually thinking of helping her save Zhang Shen's life?!

In order to be a good match for her, you went to great lengths to elevate the status of her maternal family, but she never even gave you her real name.

You even restrained and endured time and time again for her sake, to make her feel valued, and to make her take the relationship seriously.

You're even more ridiculous than that clown jumping around on the beam!

Gu Zhao stood up abruptly, but even so, he was still unwilling to give up.

He wanted to ask her how she truly regarded him. How dare she treat him like this!

Gu Zhao strode out of Wenyuan Pavilion, retrieved the horse he had prepared for his duties at Donghua Gate, and galloped off towards Qingyi Lane.

Upon arriving at the Zhang residence in Qingyi Lane, Gu Zhao immediately spotted Ta Xue Wu Ya at the entrance.

It is Shen Xu's horse.

This horse was bestowed upon Shen Xu by the Emperor. It was entirely black except for its four white hooves. In the capital, there was only one horse with such a pure coat as Shen Xu's.

At this hour, why is Shen Xu, who is not with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, here?

He knew that Shen Xu had always been prejudiced against Qingyu, so he couldn't possibly be here to harm her.

So what? She dares to treat him like this, so why should he bother with her business?

Even if Shen Xu came to kill and set fires today, he wouldn't care!

From the moment he opened the letter, Gu Zhao had been holding back his anger, but with nowhere to release it, it only intensified, making him angrier the more he thought about it.

But he was even angrier at himself. He had clearly thought he didn't care whether she lived or died, but when he saw Shen Xu's horse there, his body moved uncontrollably. He quickly dismounted and, without even knocking or being polite, pushed the door open and went inside.

The Zhang family's residence in the capital was not large; it was a small two-courtyard house, and the distance from the main gate to the main hall was only a few steps.

The door to the main room was half-open, and voices could be heard coming from inside.

Gu Zhao walked to the door and just then heard Shen Xu's voice.

Shen Xu asked:

"Madam Zhu, that's the situation. Now, can you give me an answer? Will you marry me?"

The shock this sentence brought to Gu Zhao was even greater than the moment he opened the letter and saw "No such place found."

Gu Zhao kicked open the half-closed door and asked in a deep voice:

"Shen Chongshu! What are you saying!?"

Just now, Shen Xu rushed in and said that a Grand Secretary had suggested using the Zhang family's money to build Huiyi Temple. Because of this, the Emperor wants to see Zhang Shen tomorrow.

Zhu Qingyu was still reeling from the sudden news when Gu Zhao kicked her in, startling her. Her expression towards Gu Zhao was a mixture of panic, shock, and even a bit of helplessness.

In Gu Zhao's eyes, this only made things more obvious.

Gu Zhao even laughed:

"Ha, Lady Zhu, no wonder you didn't want to marry me. You've already prepared your escape route, you don't need me anymore, is that it?"

Before Zhu Qingyu could answer, another commotion erupted at the door.

Xie Ze's frantic and panicked voice rang out from the doorway:

"Mother! You've got it wrong, you've really got it wrong! It's not this family, it's not her! My disagreement with the marriage has nothing to do with her!"

The sound of hurried footsteps approached the main room, and a woman's voice rang out:

"Not her? Not her? You're never home, why are you running to a married woman's house! If it's not her, then tell me, who else could it be? You're so infatuated with her that you even turned down a proper marriage."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a richly dressed noblewoman walked in. Behind her, Xie Ze was being pulled along by seven or eight maids, struggling to get through.

The noblewoman had come to confront him, but when she entered and saw Gu Zhao and Shen Xu, she was stunned and even wondered if she had entered the wrong house.

Xie Ze finally broke through the nannies' obstruction and rushed over, grabbing Lady Anyuan's arm. Upon seeing Gu Zhao and Shen Xu, he was equally surprised:

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing Xie Ze ask this question, Gu Zhao looked at Shen Xu, then at Xie Ze.

One of them even turned down a marriage proposal from the Wen family for her sake, while the other eagerly awaited her agreement to the marriage.

She actually contacted so many people for Zhang Jingyan's sake.

So what is he?

To her, he was nothing at all; he was just one of the many people she had sought out, someone who didn't count for anything.

It's so ridiculous.

Gu Zhao laughed:

"Yeah, how did I get here?"

After saying this, Gu Zhao left the room full of people and walked away.

Zhu Qingyu snapped out of her daze, ignored everyone in the room, and chased after them.

At the gate, Zhu Qingyu finally caught up with Gu Zhao, who had already mounted his horse.