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

Gu Jinghuai stumbled into the courtyard, his bright red wedding robes crumpled and rumpled.

Her hair ornament was askew to one side, and the wet strands of hair at her temples clung to her face.

The musicians following behind were all sweating profusely, their suonas playing out of tune, making them look like a group being driven over with whips.

"Shu Yao!"

Gu Jinghuai spotted Yun Shuyao under the corridor and rushed over anxiously.

"Don't go with him! You can only marry me!"

Xiao Fang stepped aside to block him, his eyebrows raised high.

"Is Prince Gu finished with his work? Has his concubine been settled?"

"Mind your own business!"

Gu Jinghuai pushed him with red eyes, and in his desperation, he was much tougher than usual.

But when he turned to Yun Shuyao, his tone softened, carrying an unprecedented pleading quality.

"Shu Yao, I know I was wrong. Come back to the Marquis's manor with me, and I'll send Su Yuyan to the estate immediately. I..."

"It's too late."

Yun Shuyao looked at him expressionlessly, her voice as cold as frost.

Gu Jinghuai's face instantly turned ferocious.

"What do you mean 'finished'? Yun Shuyao, can you please stop being so petty?"

"Yu Yan has suffered so much, and I'm only giving her a title. You can't even accept that?"

At this moment, Gu Jinghuai was in a very sorry state. Whether he was desperately trying to persuade Gu Jinghuai to stay or hysterically questioning him, it all seemed so ridiculous.

Yun Shuyao stepped forward.

Xiao Fang's expression changed slightly, but Gu Jinghuai's eyes lit up.

After Yun Shuyao closed the distance between them, she said in a very low voice:

"I'm speaking too late, not now."

When I saw you stopping Su Yuyan from admiring the peach blossoms, it was the end for us...

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinghuai was first taken aback, then his pupils suddenly trembled.

"you also……"

From the initial marriage negotiations, the medicine was cut off, the shop was shut down, and the matter escalated to court...

All these events, all the anomalies and inconsistencies, finally came together at this moment to form an almost impossible truth.

Yun Shuyao has also been reborn!

So there was no feigned indifference or jealousy at all.

She wasn't throwing a tantrum; she just wanted to cut ties with herself completely!

"Shu Yao, let me explain..."

Gu Jinghuai wanted to say something to persuade Yun Shuyao to stay, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know where to begin.

He had no way to explain the betrayal he suffered in his past life.

And this attempt to make amends in this life is nothing but a laughable scheme.

Gu Jinghuai wanted to step forward and pull Yun Shuyao back, but his mind was a mess and he only had one thought in his mind.

We absolutely cannot let her marry someone else!

Yun Shuyao should be his wife!

As Yun Shuyao watched his changing expressions, a secret sense of pleasure rose within her.

Without further entanglement, Yun Shuyao turned and left.

Gu Jinghuai seemed to be provoked by this action, and suddenly chased after him, reaching out to grab him.

Xiao Fang suddenly dodged between the two men, raised his foot, and kicked him in the chest.

"boom--"

Gu Jinghuai flew out like a tattered sack and crashed into a pomegranate tree in the courtyard.

He groaned and slid to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

The musicians stopped playing their suonas in fright, and the guests fell silent.

After a long while, Gu Jinghuai forced himself to stand up, and his first thought was to rush forward.

He was so quick to move that he almost tripped, but he didn't care about his injury at all; all he could see was the beautiful figure standing next to Xiao Fang.

"Shu Yao, don't go!"

I know I'm late, I know I've let you down, but now I really want to live a good life with you.

I can make up for the past. Many things aren't as you imagine. Let me explain!

His urgency was no longer concealed; it even carried a hint of pleading.

The matter involving Su Yuyan has caused such a huge uproar that the Marquis's mansion is in complete chaos.

If he fails to marry Yun Shuyao, not only will he have to side with the Wing King, but he might even lose the title of Marquis of Yong'an.

Yun Shuyao felt neither joy nor sorrow, simply regarding him as a madman spouting nonsense.

That extremely cold, indifferent gaze, as if looking at a stranger, made Gu Jinghuai's heart sink.

"explain?"

Xiao Fang chuckled.

"Explain why you elevated a prostitute from the brothel to a concubine? Explain why you left the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion here unattended?"

"There's a reason for that!"

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

"My cousin... she's also desperate!"

If I don't take care of her, her life will be ruined!

Shu Yao, you've always been sensible, you'll understand, right?

"sensible?"

Yun Shuyao finally spoke, her voice as cold as ice.

"You mean I should congratulate you with a smile, for finally marrying your beloved cousin as your second wife?"

Or will I obediently return to the Marquis's mansion with you and sit on equal footing with a prostitute?

Gu Jinghuai was speechless, and in his haste, he almost blurted out the words "past life," but he stopped himself before he could finish.

"Shu Yao! I stopped liking my cousin a long time ago. You are the only one I recognize as my wife!"

I'm telling the truth, why won't you believe me?

Yun Shuyao didn't say much, only watched his performance with a cold smile.

When the Duke of Zhenguo saw that Gu Jinghuai could not stop her, his expression changed drastically, and he stepped forward to pull Yun Shuyao away.

"Shu Yao! Now that Young Master Gu has arrived, you may go with him..."

"Let him do as he pleases?"

Xiao Fang abruptly interrupted Yun Chongshan, his eyes as cold as ice.

"So they let her marry into the Marquis's mansion and live her life with a man who treated prostitutes as his concubines."

Duke, we all understand your thoughts, and even His Majesty understands them.

But your lack of backbone is truly disappointing.

The Duke of Zhenguo's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"Xiao Fang! The affairs of the Yun family are for this Duke to decide; it's none of your business to interfere!"

"Housework?"

Xiao Fang smiled, took out a roll of bright yellow silk from his pocket, and held it high.

"So, is this enough to manage your 'family affairs'?"

The bright yellow imperial edict was so dazzling it made one's eyes dizzy.

Everyone in the courtyard froze, even the suona horns stopped.

The urgency on Gu Jinghuai's face instantly turned into terror.

"Kneel down, all of you!"

The Duke of Zhenguo's legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees.

The guests immediately knelt down.

"Your subject receives the imperial decree..."

The Duke of Zhenguo's voice trembled uncontrollably.

Xiao Fang didn't look at him, but instead focused his gaze on Yun Shuyao, softening his tone.

"Shu Yao, stop standing there and kneel down to receive the decree."

Yun Shuyao looked at the imperial edict in his hand, and then at the light in his eyes.

There was a protectiveness, a firmness, and a barely concealed nervousness in that light, as if afraid she wouldn't cooperate.

She slowly knelt down, her bright red wedding dress spread out on the ground like a beautiful flower.

Xiao Fang unfurled the imperial edict, his clear voice resounding throughout the courtyard:

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

Gu Jinghuai, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Yong'an, was morally flawed. On his wedding day, he secretly took a woman from the Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment institution) as his concubine.

It disgraces our family and disturbs the emperor's ears.

He shall immediately strip the crown prince of his position!

Yun Shuyao, daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, was virtuous and kind.

She was truly innocent in suffering this humiliation, and therefore her marriage agreement with Gu Jinghuai is hereby terminated.

Xiao Fang, the heir of the Prince of Zhenbei, is both benevolent and brave. He and Shu Yao of the Yun family are deeply in love. Therefore, he is hereby granted a marriage and they shall be married on this very day.

So be it—

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Everyone in the courtyard kowtowed in unison, except for Yun Shuyao, who stood frozen in place.

Mutual affection? Or an arranged marriage?

She suddenly looked up at Xiao Fang, who was looking down at her with his usual smile on his lips.

"Did you hear that? Even His Majesty thinks you should marry me."

Gu Jinghuai slumped to the ground, his face ashen.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but under the bright yellow light of the imperial edict, he couldn't utter a single word.

Xiao Fang stepped forward, ignoring everyone's gaze, squatted down in front of her, and extended his hand.

"Now, can you come with me without worry?"

Yun Shuyao looked at his hand; the warmth from his palm seeped through his fingertips, firm yet comforting.

Yun Shuyao recalled the wine on the painted boat, the wind on horseback, the tug-of-war behind the artificial hill, and his words last night, "I'll be here until dawn."

It turns out he wasn't just talking nonsense.

He really has always been there.

Yun Shuyao gently placed her hand in his palm.

Xiao Fang grabbed her hand, pulled her up from the ground.

The hem of her red wedding dress swept across Gu Jinghuai's pale face, as if bidding farewell to a long-decayed past.

Just as they turned around, the Duke of Zhenguo suddenly spoke.

"Yun Shuyao, once you step out of this door, you will no longer be a daughter of the Yun family!"

Don't even think about taking a single piece of the dowry with you!