I just got divorced, and this cold, ruthless, and powerful minister is begging for a third child eve

Qi Huan looked warily at Gu Mingshuang and the people around her.

"Princess Consort, the Princess Consort is present today. You'd better not try anything to harm Lanyu! Otherwise, I won't let you off!"

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang couldn't help but tear up.

When Lord Qi was by Master Yun's side, he clearly promised to take good care of the young lady, but now he is treating her like this for the sake of Xie Lanyu!

But seeing the look in her daughter's eyes, she held back and didn't say anything.

Gu Mingshuang lowered her eyes coldly and did not speak again.

She doesn't need any tools, nor does she need to bring anyone with her.

These are the blueprints she drew before. Every brick, tile, and every fatal flaw of this small building is clearly marked in her mind.

At this moment, Xie Lanyu had already walked quickly to the courtyard gate and respectfully bowed to the Princess of Zhennan, who was being escorted by a crowd.

Princess Zhennan was slender and wore a palace dress that was not particularly luxurious. She was dressed in a light, warm yellow and wore only a few fine jade hairpins in her hair.

She always acted in a low-key manner, just like her attire. When she saw Xie Lanyu, who had a similarly understated style and was quite talented, admiration welled up in her eyes, and she personally reached out to help Xie Lanyu up.

"Lanyu, there's no need for formalities. I've come to your birthday banquet today, firstly to congratulate you, and secondly to support you."

"What I admire most are talented women, especially someone with your extraordinary talent. It shouldn't be buried because you are low-key."

As she spoke, the Princess of Zhennan looked at the group of officials and their families inside and smiled:

"Lanyu is a low-key girl. If she didn't know that I miss my daughter, she wouldn't have revealed to me that Master Yulou is her name outside."

"Not only that, she also drew up plans for my daughter's courtyard, which made me feel much better."

Knowing how much the Princess Consort of Zhennan valued Xie Lanyu, the ladies were even more shocked upon hearing this.

This is more than just ordinary appreciation; it's clearly a genuine effort to support Xie Lanyu!

Xie Lanyu, a cousin of a marquis, no matter how famous or talented she was, would at most marry into an ordinary noble family.

But now that the Princess of Zhennan has personally praised him like this in public, this will cause quite a stir if word gets out!

Marrying Xie Lanyu would mean gaining the support of the Princess of Zhennan!

The group of ladies immediately looked at Xie Lanyu with even more affection.

Meng's face looked even worse in the crowd.

If she still can't understand that she's being used as a stepping stone by a junior, then she's wasted her decades as the wife of a marquis!

She clutched her chest, nearly choking on her breath.

These days she has been scheming for Xie Lanyu, forcing Gu Mingshuang away and making room for her to become the heir apparent's wife!

Xie Lanyu said nice things, saying he would stay by her side and fulfill his filial duty for the rest of his life, but in reality he had long been plotting to climb the social ladder by stepping on the Marquis's mansion!

Listening to the discussions of the ladies around her, Madam Meng wished she could rush up, hold Xie Lanyu down, and tear off her obedient and compliant face!

Just as Princess Zhennan was about to step into the courtyard, Gu Mingshuang, having calculated the timing perfectly, moved slightly, her sleeve brushing against the wooden building, and in an instant, her finger pressed down on the spot she had chosen.

The first to sense something was amiss was Qi Huan.

With his excellent hearing and already on guard, he immediately turned to look at the small building.

Upon seeing a crack winding its way up from the bottom, his face turned deathly pale!

Qi Huan disregarded all decorum and rushed forward to hold down the building, but the force that was about to tear the entire building apart was unstoppable!

His face was ashen, and he reached out and gripped the pillar tightly, trying to stop it all!

As the sound grew louder, Qi Huan's face turned ashen, and he finally shouted:

"Everyone, get out of here! Don't come any closer!"

Finally, a sharp-eyed lady spotted the unusual sight at the observation tower and screamed.

"Oh no! That building looks like it's about to collapse!"

"My God! A crack has appeared in that building!"

"Hurry up!"

……

Gu Mingshuang's eyes were calm as still water. She had planned it all out before she made her move. When the Princess of Zhennan arrived, all the ladies followed her to the door, and there were hardly any people around the small building.

She had already retreated to a safe area.

Lingxiang turned around and looked, then said urgently:

"Young lady! Why is Lord Qi still there?"

Gu Mingshuang frowned and looked back, and sure enough, she saw Qi Huan still downstairs pressing on the pillar.

It's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

She frowned, and finally, at the last moment, ordered Jianlan to take action.

At that moment, a loud bang was heard.

The guards beside the Princess of Zhennan immediately stepped forward to protect her.

At the same moment, the sound made Xie Lanyu's face turn pale. She turned around in horror and saw the scene she least wanted to see:

The small building collapsed on the spot!

At that moment, all the smugness and pride on Xie Lanyu's face vanished instantly!

Her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, her eyes bloodshot as she screamed:

"Impossible! This is impossible! It was clearly reinforced! It was calculated that it couldn't have collapsed today!"

Xie Lanyu's shouts had no effect; dust and wood chips engulfed the entire Xiaoxiang Pavilion in an instant!

Fortunately, all the women rushed out of the courtyard, and they were all still in shock as they looked at the mess in the courtyard.

"Good heavens! We were just right next to that little building!"

"If we hadn't retreated to the gate, we would have been smashed to pieces!!"

……

Some of the more timid ones burst into tears on the spot.

At this moment, at the entrance of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, curses and cries mingled, and some hot-tempered ladies even stepped forward to surround Meng Shi and Xie Lanyu.

He looked at Meng Shi and Xie Lanyu questioningly and said angrily:

"What on earth is going on? We came to the Marquis's residence out of kindness to attend his birthday banquet, and we didn't skimp on the gifts. Is this how your Marquis's residence treats its guests?!"

"Exactly! A completely unstable observation tower, and they dare to entertain so many people? And they even claim to have talent renowned throughout Kyoto? What kind of talent is that! They're clearly trying to kill people!"

"No wonder Master Yulou never accepted invitations from nobles before; he was insecure and simply didn't dare!"

Xie Lanyu's face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head repeatedly.

"No, that's not it! It was an accident! It was an accident..."

At this moment, Meng grabbed Xie Lanyu, her complex gaze fixed on her as if she wanted to strangle her right there and then.

"You said this little building would bring honor to the Marquis's mansion! How dare you say that!"

The old woman hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Meng back, speaking in a low voice to persuade her:

"Madam! We mustn't panic now!"

Only then did Madam Meng notice the disappointed and even ugly expression on the face of the Princess of Zhennan not far away.

Fortunately, the building collapsed without injuring the princess; otherwise, no matter how many lives they had, it wouldn't have been enough to wipe out their entire family!

Meng immediately came to her senses, hurriedly pushed Xie Lanyu away, and said urgently:

"This viewing tower was all arranged by Xie Lanyu; it has nothing to do with our Marquis's residence!"

One of the ladies, unable to bear it any longer, said coldly:

"What does Lady Ningyuan mean by this? You just said that the construction of this small building couldn't have been done without the support of your Marquis's mansion, so how come it's no longer related to your mansion?"

Meng's face flushed red and then turned pale, but she couldn't utter a single word and almost fainted on the spot.

The old woman shouted urgently:

"Madam! Madam, are you alright?"

Gu Mingshuang stepped forward, bent down, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Meng's old woman. She reached out and pinched Meng's philtrum hard.

Meng cried out in pain and opened her eyes.

Upon seeing Gu Mingshuang, Meng almost burst into tears from the pain.

She is now filled with remorse.

Why did you make the decision to abandon Gu Mingshuang and choose Xie Lanyu as the Crown Prince's consort in the first place?

Xie Lanyu is not a good person at all!

At that moment, looking at Gu Mingshuang, Meng reached out and grasped her hand, looking at her anxiously.

"Mingshuang, thank goodness you're here! Quickly think of a way to handle today's events properly..."

Gu Mingshuang patted Meng's hand, slowly raised her eyes, and said loudly:

"Madam, please rest assured. Although I am no longer a daughter-in-law of the Marquis's mansion, I have been in the Song family for a year. I will take care of this matter for you before I leave the Marquis's mansion today."

These words were like a thunderclap.

"What is this heir apparent's wife saying? What do you mean she's not a daughter-in-law of the Marquis's household? When did she stop being a daughter-in-law of the Marquis's household?"

Gu Mingshuang raised her eyes and said loudly:

"The lady has already prepared the divorce papers for me and removed my name from the family genealogy. Since so many ladies are here today, they can be my witnesses. From now on, Mingshuang will no longer be a member of the Marquis's family."

Madam Meng was both angry and anxious. Not to mention that she was now extremely regretful and had no intention of letting her daughter-in-law go, even if Gu Mingshuang really couldn't stop her from leaving, she shouldn't bring it up at a time like this!

Sure enough, Madam Meng noticed that the ladies around her had all changed their expressions, and those who had been concerned about her and reached out to help her frowned and took a half step back.

"Lady Hou used to always talk about how she doted on her daughter-in-law, the daughter of her savior, and I actually believed it!"

"Yes, it's only been a year, and they've already kicked her out? The Lady of the Marquis seemed so kind, yet she could be so cruel as to discard her like a used tool!"

"I've heard that the Lady of the Marquis favors Miss Cousin more, and I'm afraid she'll force others to make way for her!"

……

Amidst the murmurs, Meng was speechless with anger and nearly choked to death.

But when she saw Gu Mingshuang roll up her sleeves, as if she was about to wake her up again, Meng thought of the excruciating pain in her philtrum and immediately gritted her teeth and woke up.

"It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

But all the ladies were shrewd, and they could all see from this that Madam Meng disliked and despised Gu Mingshuang.

Considering Gu Mingshuang's filial piety and virtuous deeds over the past year, everyone looked at Meng with even more disdain.

"Lady Hou's blatant disregard for justice is truly appalling. The collapse of this building might just be divine retribution!"

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but take a half step back.

In her haste, Meng disregarded everything else and grabbed Xie Lanyu.

"Tell me! What happened to this building? How could it just collapse like that?! Are you deliberately taking revenge?!"

Xie Lanyu grabbed Meng Shi with her backhand and said through gritted teeth:

"I made sure everything was done correctly! Someone must have tampered with it!"

Just then, Xie Lanyu remembered Qi Huan, who had been shouting downstairs. She spotted Qi Huan behind the crowd and called out urgently:

"Senior Brother Qi! You must know what happened! Right? Tell me quickly, who did it!"

At this moment, even the Princess Consort of Zhennan's face darkened as she looked ahead.

"Could someone really be committing evil deeds here? Deliberately vandalizing this viewing tower? I, the Princess, will not tolerate such a despicable person!"