I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 10 Personally Breaking Off the Engagement

"He dares."

Ye Huaisu's eyes darkened, and then she realized that her niece was setting a trap for her.

"Wanwan, you know your uncle well. He's very dull and busy with official duties all day. How could he have the time to think about such things?"

In order to appease his niece, Ye Huaisu could only respond insincerely: "If he really has this intention, I, as the mistress, naturally cannot be petty. The most taboo thing for a woman is jealousy."

"My aunt is so generous."

Ye Wanshu complimented her, but she had already started to think in her heart, wanting to test whether her aunt was really so magnanimous.

My aunt is now completely focused on my marriage with Gu Tingzhou. If I don't find something to keep her busy, who knows what she and my uncle will come up with to plot against me.

Thinking of her two little ones, Ye Wanshu couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Aunt, Wanwan often heard my grandmother mention that you and mother had a good relationship since childhood. Do you still remember what mother looked like?"

"How could I not remember this?"

A smile appeared on Ye Huaisu's face. "Your mother is a few years older than me and loves me the most. If it weren't for your mother's matchmaking, I wouldn't have been able to marry into the Duke's Mansion."

Ye Wanshu pursed her lips. She didn't expect that she still remembered these old stories.

When my mother moved back to the Ye family, she donated all the dowry she brought back to the court, helping the court pay tribute to the northern country. She won the favor of the queen dowager, who promised to arrange a marriage for my mother, but my mother gave the opportunity to my aunt.

It happened that Duke Rong had lost his wife, so my aunt came to marry him again.

The Queen Mother felt sorry for the Gu brothers and remembered the generosity of the Ye family, so she never allowed my uncle to take a concubine. Otherwise, my aunt would not have such a smooth life.

Thinking of this, Ye Wanshu turned her gaze back to Ye Huaisu and continued to ask her with pretended curiosity, "Wanwan, do you remember that when my mother and grandmother passed away, my aunt stayed with them and talked for a long time? Does my aunt still remember what they said?"

Feeling that the girl's question was not asked on a whim, Ye Huaisu was suddenly choked and did not dare to respond.

When her late sister passed away, she still had her mother. But after her mother passed away, Wanwan only had her aunt. What her mother was most worried about was naturally her marriage. She was most afraid that she would force Wanwan to gain power in order to make friends.

But everything she is doing now is for Wanwan's own good, so it can't be considered as coercion.

After a moment's silence, she slowly spoke, "It's been so many years, how could your aunt still remember? Wanwan, just remember one thing: your aunt won't harm you."

"Yes, Wanwan believes in my aunt." Ye Wanshu answered obediently, but she already had an idea in her mind.

It seemed that she did not dare to keep the oath she made in front of her mother and grandmother.

She was too lazy to say anything about her aunt's paranoid nature. She would only repent after she suffered.

Ye Huaisu was afraid that she would ask more questions, so he quickly stood up and pointed to the things on the dressing table.

"The years have been tough in Tongyang, and the Ye family has been in arrears with rent. Your grandmother didn't leave you much money either, so I've brought you two thousand taels of silver notes. You can use them first. I've also got some new spring clothes for you. Try them on. It's a beautiful spring day, don't stay cooped up in the house all day."

Ye Wanshu glanced at the banknotes on the dressing table, smiled faintly and nodded, "Thank you, aunt."

Ye Huaisu was about to leave when he suddenly noticed something. He frowned and asked, "Wanwan, why do I feel like there are a lot of things missing from the room?"

"They're just some winter supplies. They won't be needed in the spring. Wanwan asked Chunhong and Xingtao to pack them up first."

Ye Wanshu stood up calmly and walked her out of the house. Ye Huaisu nodded thoughtfully and didn't ask any more questions.

As the aunt and nephew walked out of the yard, they saw Xiaodie running over in a hurry. Sweat waving from her face, she reported, "Madam, the Duke has had the Crown Prince beaten with a stick. He's been beaten so badly that his skin is torn and flesh is bruised. I'm afraid someone might die. Please go and take a look."

Ye Huaisu's face darkened and he looked at his niece nervously.

Ye Wanshu didn't want to join in the fun, but then she thought that if she went there at this time, she would have a chance to encourage Gu Tingzhou to bring the matter to the Queen Mother as soon as possible.

"This is terrible."

Ye Wanshu feigned distress and said, "Brother Zhou has never suffered such physical pain before. If he gets hurt, even if my uncle doesn't feel bad, the Queen Mother will feel bad too."

When Ye Huaisu heard this, his face turned terribly dark and he hurried over with Ye Wanshu and the maids.

As soon as he reached the main courtyard gate, he heard the sound of heavy caning coming from inside, and Gu An's scolding continued. "You bastard, if you don't agree to go to your father-in-law's house today and admit your mistakes, I will beat you to death."

Ye Wanshu and Ye Huaisu walked quickly into the yard and saw Gu Tingzhou being pressed on a bench. Two servants were hitting him hard on the back with sticks as thick as bowls. Jiang Yueling was so scared that she kept sobbing, while Gu Tingchen knelt calmly beside her and did not even beg for mercy.

Seeing that the prince's outer robe was torn to pieces and blood and flesh were mixed together, Ye Huaisu was frightened and hurried forward to push the servant away.

"Master, let's talk it over nicely. How could you be so cruel as to beat Tingzhou like this?"

Ye Huaisu bent down distressedly, looking at Gu Tingzhou, whose lips were pale, and urged him urgently, "Tingzhou, quickly submit to your father and go to the Ji family tomorrow."

After saying this, he deliberately looked at Jiang Yueling and said, "If you really can't bear to leave Miss Yueling, it's not a bad idea to take her in as your concubine after you and Wanwan get married."

Gu Tingzhou was like a dead pig, lying on the stool motionless, too lazy to pay attention to her.

Ye Huaisu was at his wit's end and could only turn to Ye Wanshu for help: "Wanwan, please try to persuade your eldest cousin and don't let him make your uncle angry again."

Ye Wanshu felt a chill in her heart when she heard this, but she still walked forward slowly.

Looking at the cold and resentful eyes of Gu Tingzhou and Gu Tingchen, he knew that whatever he did or said now would be seen as malicious in the eyes of their brothers. It would be better to disgust them while he was still in the mansion.

She squatted down with a calm expression, wiped the sweat from Gu Tingzhou's forehead, and spoke slowly.

"Brother Zhou, you know Wanwan loves you the most. The pain of beating you hurts me too. But she's just a lowly woman, and I'm not against you. As long as you come with me to see father tomorrow, I'll treat her like a poor cat or dog and ask my aunt and uncle to keep her at home."

"You've mastered this game of saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs."

Gu Tingzhou felt extremely disgusted and glared at her coldly: "You two, aunt and nephew, are becoming more and more shameless. How could I have been so blind as to feel pity for you in the first place?"

"Oh, so you and Brother Chen pity me because I'm blind. I didn't know that either."

Ye Wanshu wasn't angry at all. Instead, she teased the two of them in a sweet voice, "Look at you two. You've caused such a huge misunderstanding that even the Queen Mother and my uncle and aunt have gotten involved. How about Brother Zhou just bear with it and continue to be blind?"

"you"

Gu Tingzhou was very angry at her shameless behavior. She was nothing like the cousin they remembered.

Ye Wanshu glanced at the somewhat shocked Jiang Yueling and asked, "Brother Zhou, don't you like Wanwan being like this?"

Don't all men like women who look soft and weak? Otherwise, she really couldn't understand why the two brothers were so protective of Jiang Yueling.

Gu Tingchen couldn't stand it any longer. He rolled his eyes, pointed at her, and started to curse: "Wanwan, have you had enough? You instigated Father and Mother to harm Big Brother like this, and you really think you're happy?"

Ye Wanshu pursed her lips in disdain.

Of course she was happy. How could she not be happy when she saw the person she hated the most being beaten?

Gu An was so angry that he gasped, "You bastards, it's clearly you who are unrepentant, yet you're taking your anger out on Wanwan. I think you're just blinded by greed."

After saying this, he sternly ordered the servants, "Beat them! Beat these two evildoers together until they beg for mercy."

Gu Tingchen was not so obedient. Before the stick hit him, he stood up angrily and kicked the servant away.

Gu An was shocked: "You rebellious son, what do you want to do?"

"Don't worry about it, father. At worst, we can just leave the Duke's Mansion. There's no place for us here anyway. Begging for mercy is impossible."

Going forward to help Gu Tingzhou up, Gu Tingchen shouted to Jiang Yueling in a very firm tone: "Yueling, let's go."

Jiang Yueling stood up trembling, went over to support Gu Tingzhou, and the three of them walked out in slow steps.

When walking past Ye Wanshu, Gu Tingzhou suddenly stopped.

Looking at her with icy eyes, Gu Tingzhou said in a deep voice, "Don't have any more wishful thinking. I will personally go to the Queen Mother and cancel this marriage."

(End of this chapter)