Gu Zhao did not even know how he managed to endure that conversation with Lord Cao. The tremendous disappointment of his shattered hopes, intertwined with the extreme fury of being deceived, pierced straight through his body like a sharp blade.
He could hear the sound of his heart being punctured by that blade, and the sound of himself shattering into countless pieces. The blade, forged from her lies, ruthlessly slashed him to ribbons, leaving him completely powerless to fight back.
Gu Zhao relied almost entirely on instinct to finish discussing the memorial regarding the disaster relief in the Northern Frontier with Lord Cao. Then, like a walking corpse, he returned to his seat and expressionlessly picked up the letter resting face-down on his desk to read it once more.
He read it carefully, word by word. Just now, he had not misread a thing.
The glaring words stated that no such place existed; there was absolutely no place called Qingyun Street in Shuzhong.
It was irrefutable that no such person existed either. Based on the name she had provided for her father, there were exactly seven people with that name in Shuzhong.
One was an eighty-year-old man, four were robust men in their twenties and early thirties, and the remaining two were young children—one eight years old, and the other still in swaddling clothes. Not a single one of them was a doctor from a family with generations of medical practice, and judging by their ages, none of them could possibly be her father.
Gu Zhao folded the letter exactly as it had been and placed it back into the envelope, unable to stop himself from letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
How laughable, how truly laughable. Gu Shouming, you are the most ridiculous person in the world.
She claimed your love was stronger than gold, yet she deceived you time and time again, playing you like a fool in the palm of her hand. And what about you?
Just moments ago, you were actually still thinking about helping her save Zhang Shen's life?!
You desperately tried to elevate her mother's family status so that the two of you could be a perfect match, yet she never even gave you her real name.
You even restrained yourself and endured time and time again just for her, just to make her feel cherished, just so she would take your relationship seriously.
You are even more pathetic than a jumping clown!
Gu Zhao suddenly stood up. Even so, he was still unwilling to accept it.
He was going to ask her what exactly he meant to her in her heart. How dare she treat him like this!
Gu Zhao strode out of the Wenyuan Pavilion, retrieved a duty horse at the Donghua Gate, and galloped wildly toward Qingyi Alley.
Upon arriving at the Zhang residence in Qingyi Alley, Gu Zhao immediately spotted the Taxue Wuya steed at the entrance.
It was Shen Xu's horse.
This horse had been bestowed upon Shen Xu by the Emperor. It was completely pitch-black, save for its four snow-white hooves. In the entire capital, this was the only horse with such a pure coat.
At this hour, Shen Xu should be at the Embroidered Uniform Guard. What was he doing here?
He knew that Shen Xu had always held a prejudice against Qingyu. Surely he wasn't here to do her harm?
But so what if he was? Since she dared to treat him this way, why should he meddle in her affairs?
Even if Shen Xu had come to commit murder and arson today, he would not care!
Ever since he opened that letter, Gu Zhao had been bottling up his anger. With nowhere to vent it, it only grew fiercer, making him angrier the more he thought about it.
But he was even more angry with himself. Even though his mind told him to completely ignore whether she lived or died, the moment he saw Shen Xu's horse here, his body moved out of his control. He quickly dismounted and, without even bothering with the courtesy of knocking, pushed the door open and barged in.
The Zhang family's residence in the capital was not large. It was a small courtyard with two enclosures, so it was only a few steps from the main gate to the main hall.
The door to the main hall was half-open, and the sound of someone speaking drifted out from inside.
Gu Zhao walked to the door just in time to hear Shen Xu's voice.
Shen Xu asked:
"Doctor Zhu, this is the situation. So, can you give me an answer now? Will you marry me?"
The shock this single sentence brought to Gu Zhao was even greater than the heavy blow he felt the moment he opened the letter and saw the words "no such place."
Gu Zhao kicked the half-open door wide open and asked in a deep voice:
"Shen Chongshu! What are you saying!?"
Just moments before, Shen Xu had rushed in and immediately mentioned that a Grand Secretary had proposed confiscating the Zhang family's wealth to build the Huiyi Temple. Because of this, the Emperor was going to summon Zhang Shen tomorrow.
Zhu Qingyu was still reeling from this sudden news. Gu Zhao kicking the door in gave her a start. The expression she wore as she looked at Gu Zhao contained panic, shock, and even a hint of helplessness.
In Gu Zhao's eyes, this only made her look guiltier, as if she were trying to hide something.
Gu Zhao even began to laugh:
"Heh, Doctor Zhu, no wonder you refused to marry me. You had already found a way out in advance, so you have no use for me anymore, isn't that right?"
Before Zhu Qingyu could answer, a burst of clamor came from the doorway.
Xie Ze's frantic, agitated voice rang out at the door:
"Mother! You have it wrong, you really have it wrong! It's not this house, it's not her! My refusal of the marriage has nothing to do with her!"
Dense footsteps approached the main hall, and a woman's voice sounded:
"Not her? If it's not her, then why do you stay away from home all day and keep running to a married woman's house! If it's not her, then tell me, who else could it be? She has you so bewitched that you even rejected a proper marriage proposal."
As soon as her voice faded, a luxuriously dressed noblewoman walked through the door. Behind her, Xie Ze was being pulled back by seven or eight elderly maidservants, struggling with every step as he tried to rush over.
The noblewoman had originally come to demand an explanation, but upon entering and seeing Gu Zhao and Shen Xu, she froze. She even began to doubt whether she had barged into the wrong house.
Xie Ze finally broke through the blockade of the maidservants and rushed over, grabbing hold of Marchioness Anyuan. Seeing Gu Zhao and Shen Xu, he was equally astonished:
"Why are you two here?"
Hearing Xie Ze's question, Gu Zhao looked at Shen Xu, and then at Xie Ze.
One had rejected a marriage with the Wen family for her, and the other was eagerly waiting for her to agree to marry him.
To think she had sought out so many people for Zhang Jingyan.
Then what was he?
To her, he was absolutely nothing. He was just an insignificant face among the many people she had approached.
It was truly too ridiculous.
Gu Zhao began to laugh:
"Indeed, why am I here?"
After saying this, Gu Zhao left the room full of people behind and walked away.
Zhu Qingyu snapped back to reality. Ignoring everyone else in the room, she hurried out to chase after him.
A moment later, at the main gate, Zhu Qingyu finally caught up to Gu Zhao, who had already mounted his horse.
Zhu Qingyu grabbed his sleeve:
"Shouming, the Emperor is going to see him tomorrow. Please help me."
Gu Zhao looked down at her from above, his eyes icy cold, devoid of the slightest trace of pity:
"Doctor Zhu, why should I help you? What are you to me? And what am I to you?"
