After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Why is Aunt Miao here?" Rong Yingluo asked, somewhat surprised.

"Young Madam, I have important news to tell you." Aunt Miao's expression was solemn.

"What news?" Rong Yingluo was startled. The fact that Aunt Miao came in person instead of her second sister meant that the matter could not be relayed through others.

Aunt Miao pulled Rong Yingluo into the inner room and closed the door before patting her chest and saying, "Young Madam, I overheard the Duchess and Granny Zhao saying something just now."

Before she could finish speaking, Aunt Miao's face had turned ashen.

"Aunt Miao, don't be nervous. Have some water to calm your nerves." Rong Yingluo poured her a glass of water.

Aunt Miao finished a glass of water in a few gulps before she felt her heartbeat slow down.

"Young mistress, I'd like to sneak out of the garden to pick a few flowers to put in a vase while no one is around."

As I was returning to my own courtyard, I saw the Duchess and Granny Zhao approaching. Fearing that the Duchess would scold me for cutting flowers, I immediately hid.

When the Duchess and Granny Zhao passed by the place where I was hiding, the Duchess said something that terrified me. At this point, tears welled up in Aunt Miao's eyes.

"What exactly did they say?" Rong Yingluo's worries and curiosity were piqued.

"She said, 'Granny Zhao, you must make sure things go perfectly tomorrow. You must ruin that bitch Rong and then divorce her from the Gu family.' Young Madam, I was terrified when I heard that. You are the only person in this mansion who is good to my daughter and me. I don't want anything to happen to you." After saying that, Aunt Miao cried softly.

Her daughter is not yet engaged to the man she likes.

If the young mistress leaves the Gu family, who will help her and her daughter? Her daughter doesn't know where she'll end up to be mistreated.

"Aunt Miao, thank you for telling me this news. Now that I know, I won't do as the Duchess wishes. Don't worry, just pretend you didn't hear anything and go back to your own courtyard. Don't tell anyone about this, not even Second Sister." Rong Yingluo was very grateful to Aunt Miao for bringing her such important news.

Although it doesn't necessarily mean we'll fall into the Su family's trap, knowing in advance is better than knowing nothing at all.

"Alright, I'll head back now." Aunt Miao wiped her eyes, trying her best to appear normal.

"Wait a minute." Rong Yingluo took two silver notes from her dressing box and stuffed them into Aunt Miao's hand. "I know you and your daughter don't have much money. Take these two hundred taels of silver and spend it if necessary, but don't let the Duchess know."

Rong Yingluo naturally managed the servants for her; if she wanted to know any information, bribing them was the most effective method. Since ancient times, money has always been the best teacher.

"How can I accept this? I cannot take it." Aunt Miao dared not accept her money.

"The news you brought tonight was very helpful to me. Please accept this money as a token of my gratitude." Rong Yingluo insisted on putting the money into her arms and then personally saw her out of the courtyard.

Just after seeing Aunt Miao off, Gu Ce returned from the outer courtyard.

"Is that Aunt Miao?" Gu Ce asked.

"Yes. Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The two went to the small study, where Rong Yingluo repeated what Aunt Miao had said in detail.

"Damn Su, she thought she could kick you out of the manor after not killing you within a month? I'll go tonight and make sure she doesn't wake up for a month!" Gu Ce couldn't take it anymore.

He hadn't paid much attention to the inner quarters before, but after his wife entered the household, the things she went through made him truly realize how vicious and unpredictable a woman's methods could be in the inner quarters.

"You'd better save your breath. I have my own way of dealing with this. Madam Su is a woman confined to the inner quarters, and the methods she can use are limited. If you really cripple her, it will be difficult to explain to the Duke later."

"If you kill someone without thinking, and the Duke marries you a stepmother who is the same age as you, would you be able to bring yourself to call her that?" Rong Yingluo patted Gu Ce's chest to soothe his anger.

"Am I just supposed to stand by and watch her scheme against you?" Gu Ce said unwillingly.

"Tomorrow I will summon Ling Feng and Ling Yun to the manor to hide in the shadows and protect me."

"If that's still not enough, leave one of your personal guards in the manor to protect me." Rong Yingluo thought that three guards should be enough.

"Alright. I'll have Anwu stay by your side tomorrow. I'll return to the manor as soon as I finish my official business." Gu Ce decided immediately.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Gu Ce said.

An Yi entered, followed by An Er.

"Your Highness, I have returned to report." An Er bowed.

"How about it?" Gu Ce asked impatiently.

An Er was the person he sent to the border to investigate the Duke of Guo's side.

More than twenty days have passed since he set off. He returned today, which shows that he didn't stay at the border for long before he investigated the matter thoroughly.

An Er glanced at Rong Yingluo but said nothing.

"It's alright, no need to hide it from Madam, just say it." Gu Ce knew what An Er meant at a glance.

He only investigated because his wife had become suspicious, so it's alright for her to know.

"Your Highness, as you instructed, I have investigated some of the generals of the army led by the Duke of Zhenguo, as well as the important figures around him."

One of them is about your age, named Gucci. He grew up on the border and has always worn a half-mask, supposedly because he was injured on his forehead and disfigured.

He joined the army at the age of thirteen.

Because of his outstanding performance in the army, he was promoted quickly, becoming a deputy general at the age of eighteen, and was an indispensable and fierce general by the side of the Duke of Zhenguo.

Five years ago, during a battle, Gucci took an arrow for the Duke of Zhenguo and was subsequently adopted as his son.

Therefore, everyone in the army regarded him as half a son of the Duke of Zhenguo. An Er reported all the information he had found.

Gu Ce's expression changed several times after hearing this. Finally, he closed his eyes tightly, and only opened them a few breaths later.

"You may all leave. An Er, take a good rest for two days before returning to your posts." Gu Ce waved his hand.

The two withdrew.

Gu Ce remained silent for a long time, and Rong Yingluo also remained silent.

Rong Yingluo gently held his hand, wanting to offer him some comfort.

Gu Ce felt the warmth from Rong Yingluo and opened his eyes.

"It's nothing. If I hadn't married you and started to doubt my identity, I don't know when I would have found out. Thank you, Madam." Gu Ce held Rong Yingluo's hand tightly in return.

At this moment, he was filled with mixed feelings. Although he had been mentally prepared, he still found it hard to accept when he actually found out.

"You're blinded by your own involvement, while I'm clear-headed as an outsider. Plus, I know some tricks for reading faces."

On the second day after I married into the family, during the tea ceremony, I noticed that my second brother looked like my second uncle, and my second uncle's two cousins ​​also looked like him. Since they are all family-oriented men, they must have some similarities. But you don't look like any of the three of them at all.

I haven't met the Duke and his ex-wife, so I dare not draw any conclusions.

When I first met the Emperor, you happened to be behind him, and I immediately felt that you two looked somewhat alike.

"After considering some other things, I made this guess. I didn't expect my guess to be so accurate." Rong Yingluo explained the reason for her doubts.

Suddenly, Gu Ce pulled Rong Yingluo into his arms, made her sit on his lap, and then wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

Rong Yingluo had never been hugged like this by a man before, and she struggled violently: "What are you doing?"

"Let me hold you for a while," Gu Ce growled in a low, trapped voice, burying his head in her shoulder.