Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Chapter 23 The Ridicule of Colleagues in the Ministry of War

Yun Shuyao admitted that she was still provoked, and when she spoke again, her voice was as cold as ice.

"Gu Jinghuai may be blind, but he won't marry someone like you who's eager to become a concubine."

"Who are you calling a concubine!"

Su Yuyan was so angry she jumped up and down.

"You wait! Fifteen days from now, I'll be watching from the entrance of the Marquis's mansion. I'll see if you get into the bridal sedan chair on your own or if you'll be tied up and forced into it!"

I'll see just how tough your bones are!

"Spring Peach".

Yun Shuyao closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, she had regained her composure, but her voice was filled with coldness.

"Gag her and drag her out of here, don't make a mess of my place."

This time, several more old women went over and simply lifted Su Yuyan off the ground, carrying her towards the door.

Her screams and curses pierced through like knives.

"Yun Shuyao! You can't escape!"

"Your father's command is inviolable! You will never escape the Marquis's mansion in this lifetime!"

The door slammed shut, and the jarring sounds finally disappeared, but the words "father's command cannot be disobeyed" still echoed in her mind.

Yun Shuyao slowly sat down, picked up her teacup and took a sip. The tea had gone cold, just like her current state of mind.

"Miss……"

Seeing her dejected appearance, Chunzhi's eyes welled up with tears.

"Are we... really out of options?"

Yun Shuyao didn't speak, but just stared at the old locust tree outside the courtyard gate.

Sunlight streamed through the branches and leaves, bright and dazzling, yet it couldn't penetrate the gloom in her heart.

The 15th.

She only has fifteen days left.

Chuntao looked at her pale face and said anxiously:

"Miss, she's just trying to upset you! Don't take it to heart!"

Yun Shuyao remained silent for a moment, then her eyes regained their calm.

We need to think of other solutions.

Since breaking off relations won't resolve the engagement, the only option left is to find a loophole elsewhere.

Yun Shuyao didn't speak again, her brows furrowed.

Now that things have escalated to this point, if the Marquis's family had any sense of shame, they should take the initiative to annul the engagement.

But they refused, and instead hastened their wedding.

To say it's just for revenge would be too reckless.

If we really push her too far, we might as well fight to the death, which would only make the Marquis's reputation even worse.

After this, which noble lady would dare to marry into the Marquis's family?

Unless... they have a reason to marry her.

Just as she was pondering this, Zhao Hu led in a hunched-over servant with shifty eyes, who was the spy she had bribed at the Marquis's residence.

"Miss."

The servant's voice trembled, and he looked around before daring to speak.

"Last night, the Marquis's mansion was in complete chaos. The Marquis was forcing his wife to give him the 700,000 taels of silver."

The lady confessed that she had given all the money to her brother.

Something seemed to flash through Yun Shuyao's mind, too fast to catch.

"Su Yuyan's father?"

Su Wenbin, the Marquis's Mansion, 700,000 taels of silver... These fragments swirled in her mind, but she could never piece them together into a complete picture.

How could a fifth-rank official afford to spend 700,000 taels of silver? And where did he get the audacity to offend the Marquis's mansion?

"Okay, you can go back now. Report back if there are any new developments."

She waved her hand, and Chunzhi handed over a ten-tael silver ingot. The servant accepted it with both hands, thanked her profusely, and withdrew.

"Miss, what are your plans for your wedding?"

Chuntao was so anxious when she saw her pale face that she stamped her feet.

"The wedding is in fifteen days..."

Yun Shuyao rubbed her throbbing temples, feeling a splitting headache.

She could bring down the Marquis's wife and recover her dowry, but faced with the combined pressure from the Marquis's and Duke's mansions, she was truly at a loss.

"I'm tired, I'm going to rest for a while."

She stood up, her steps unsteady.

"Have Guard Zhao keep an eye on the Su family and see what Su Wenbin has been up to lately."

Ministry of War.

As soon as the morning light touched the desk, Gu Jinghuai sensed something was amiss when he stepped into the duty room.

Several of his former military colleagues were gathered together, and their laughter and chatter stopped abruptly when he entered.

Their gazes swept over them in unison, filled with undisguised mockery.

One of them, Wang Meng, a military officer with a full beard, was known for his straightforwardness and immediately scoffed.

"Oh, isn't this the young master of the Marquis of Guangyang's mansion? You've arrived early today."

Gu Jinghuai gripped the dossier in his hand, trying to appear calm.

"General Wang is joking; everyone is simply doing their job."

"Each has their own role?"

Wang Meng took two steps forward, his voice so loud it could shake the dust off the roof beams.

"Is Gu Shizi's 'duty' to force girls to marry you?"

I heard that the young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has all gone to live in the outer quarters, yet you're still pestering her relentlessly. Your behavior is truly appalling.

Lieutenant Li, standing nearby, joined in the commotion:

"Exactly, that girl would rather break off all ties than marry you, so don't be so shameless as to cling to her."

Gu Jinghuai's face flushed red, and he said stiffly:

"Shu Yao and I are childhood sweethearts. When my grandfather passed away, I observed three years of mourning, and she waited for me for three years."

"Shu Yao is twenty years old now. If I don't marry her, who else will want her?"

"Bullshit!"

Wang Meng glared at him, pointed at his nose, and cursed:

"So what if she's twenty? She's the legitimate daughter of a Duke's mansion, talented and beautiful. Who gave you the right to say 'nobody wants her'?"

"But you, before the wedding even takes place, are already spending your fiancée's dowry. A noble family like yours, driven mad by poverty, surely no noblewoman would dare marry into such a family!"

These words struck a nerve, and Gu Jinghuai's face turned pale and then red, his hands trembling:

"You...you're spouting nonsense!"

"Making false accusations?"

Wang Meng sneered.

"Who in the entire capital doesn't know? The Emperor punished you two by making you kneel for a whole day, and you still dare to be stubborn!"

Let me tell you, everyone in our Ministry of War has experience leading troops; we value integrity and uprightness, and we despise hypocrites like you!

His colleagues around him echoed his sentiments, and their laughter and chatter pierced Gu Jinghuai's ears like needles.

He was good at witty banter among the civil officials, but these military generals had no sense of decorum, and he was left speechless by their rebuttals.

"That's enough!"

Gu Jinghuai slammed the case file onto the table.

"This young master requests half a day's leave!"

He turned and walked away, the mocking voices following behind him.

"Oh, he's getting anxious?"

"Yeah, that shouldn't be the case. I'm too shy to do something like that..."

Gu Jinghuai practically fled the Ministry of War, and even the Minister of War looked at him with a strange expression.

There was indifference and disdain in his eyes, but none of the usual politeness.

He felt a sense of panic. In his previous life, he had enjoyed a successful official career, but in this life, his career was so unsuccessful.

The mockery of his colleagues from the Ministry of War still echoed in his ears as Gu Jinghuai staggered out of the door.

He rode his horse at breakneck speed, and the eyes of passersby on the street seemed to mock him.

He gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles turning white, with only one thought in his mind:

All of this was caused by Yun Shuyao!

If it weren't for her stubborn refusal to marry!

If she hadn't run away to hide in the outer courtyard!

If it weren't for her making the scandal between the Marquis's mansion and the Duke's mansion known to everyone!

How could he have been insulted by those brutes? How could he have become the laughingstock of the entire capital?

Back at the Yong'an Marquis's residence, he kicked open the study door, disregarding etiquette, and roared at his father, who was handling official business:

"Father!"

Gu Jinghuai was furious but had nowhere to vent his anger.

"Those military men in the Ministry of War are all laughing at me; my son has become the biggest laughingstock in the capital!"

Marquis Yong'an raised his eyes, his gaze icy.

"Can't even withstand this little bit of wind and waves?"

"A little storm? My son won't be able to survive!"

Gu Jinghuai was like a firecracker that had been lit.

"I don't want a woman like that! Let whoever wants to marry her marry her!"

"A complete idiot with a head full of romantic fantasies!"

Marquis Yong'an slammed his hand on the table.

"Are you asking me to marry her so you can have romantic relationships?"

Gu Jinghuai was stunned.