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

Rong Yingluo pretended to go to the restroom, and halfway there, she sent Yinghong away to fetch something, thus getting rid of her.

Just as she came out of the toilet, suddenly, a hand reached out from behind, and a handkerchief covered her mouth and nose.

With just one breath, Rong Yingluo knew the handkerchief was laced with a sleeping potion. She pretended to struggle a couple of times before "fainting" and being carried away.

Lying in the shadows, Gu Ce could see clearly that the person who took Rong Yingluo away was a guard from the manor. Although the guard's face was covered, his figure was familiar; he had seen him in the manor before.

Rong Yingluo was led into a room used for guests to change clothes.

This place is right next to the garden of the Gu family mansion.

During the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet, guests spend the most time in the garden, where they can change their clothes if they get dirty while playing.

The guard put her on the bed and left. Rong Yingluo didn't open her eyes until she could no longer hear footsteps.

She also smelled the scent of aphrodisiac in the room, and looking into the incense burner, she saw wisps of smoke rising.

She quickly pulled a pill from her pocket, swallowed it, and lay back down on the bed, pretending to faint.

During the banquet, Li Xuanye and Rong Zhixiu chatted happily, exchanging toasts.

At this moment, a maidservant squatted down to ladle soup for the two of them. It was too hot, and she accidentally spilled it, which landed right on Li Xuanye's legs. It was sticky and messy, not only soiling his clothes but also scalding the guest.

The maidservant immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"What kind of thing did you do? Men, drag him out and lock him in the woodshed to await further instructions." Su Jingyi's face turned cold.

Soon, two old women stepped forward and dragged the little maid away.

"Young Master Li, I'm so sorry, the maid is clumsy. I'll have someone take you to change your clothes right away." Su Jingyi apologized and immediately arranged for a maid to come forward.

Li Xuanye was not a fool. Although he did not fully understand the Duchess's meaning, he was already on guard.

He glanced around the room and saw that several people had already left, including Rong Yingluo.

He frowned, a bold guess forming in his mind.

He had asked Pan Zhenming to specifically inquire about the situation at the Gu residence.

Gu Ce has not returned to his post since today.

Oh no, it must be that the Su family is trying to scheme against the young Taoist priest and is using him as a pawn.

He had also discovered that Lady Su had sided with the Crown Prince. Today, it must be that the Duchess and the Crown Prince had joined forces to harm him and the young Taoist priest.

He had to rescue the young Taoist priest and break the Duchess's scheme.

Thinking of this, he immediately got up and left the table with the maid.

He hadn't walked far when he felt a heaviness in his head.

He drank some wine with Rong Zhixiu during the meal, but he was far from being drunk.

After walking for a while, he began to feel hot and bothered.

At this moment, he already knew what the Duchess was going to do.

"Damn the Su family, damn the Crown Prince, how dare they!" Li Xuanye cursed inwardly.

Before meeting Rong Yingluo, he couldn't easily judge whether this little maid was going to lead him to ruin Rong Yingluo's reputation.

He began to look forward to it. If she really was a young Taoist priest, could he take this opportunity to marry her?

He didn't mind that she had been married before.

Besides, he has bodyguards with him. As long as he gives the signal, they will come to his rescue.

"Young Master Li, please come in. This is the changing room that our lady has prepared for male guests." The maid gently pushed open the door and invited him in.

At this moment, Li Xuanye felt increasingly unwell. He staggered inside, and as soon as he entered, the maidservant closed the door and hurriedly left.

Li Xuanye's eyes were somewhat glazed as he walked inside. Sure enough, he saw a bed with a woman lying on it.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Rong Yingluo, her eyes tightly closed and her face slightly flushed.

"Young Taoist priest, it really is you. Aren't you a master of both medicine and poison? How did you fall victim to this?" Li Xuanye muttered to himself.

Just as he reached the bedside, a sharp pain shot through the back of his neck, and he let out a low groan before passing out.

Gu Ce caught his limp body.

Rong Yingluo opened her eyes when she heard the noise and saw Gu Ce's gloomy and dark face.

"It seems that everyone knows that Madam and Prince Li are close." Gu Ce felt a surge of anger when he thought of the reputation of Madam Su and the Crown Prince choosing Li Xuan Ye to disfigure Yingluo.

Su could easily have any servant or guard executed by Su himself, but since he had chosen Li Xuan Ye, he couldn't execute him so easily.

If he were to actually do something to Li Xuanye, it would surely be brought before the Emperor.

Whether things succeed or fail, the lady's reputation will be ruined.

He has no choice but to divorce this wife. If he's ruthless, Madam Su might just take her life. She's just a merchant's daughter, and no matter how much her family makes a fuss, they can't outdo the Duke's mansion.

What a vicious mind.

"Husband, don't overthink it. I only know him. Besides, I want to cure him of his poison so I can get you an accomplice. Aren't you short of manpower right now?"

He's been groomed by the Prince of Liao as his heir since childhood. Once your true identity is revealed, he'll be one of your greatest assets." Rong Yingluo was thinking of him.

"I must thank you more, Madam." Gu Ce's face darkened further.

How come this girl can't see that he's very unhappy?

"You're welcome."

Seeing that Li Xuanye's expression was off, Rong Yingluo paused for a moment, then immediately took his pulse.

"Damn it, this guy fell for it beforehand."

The aphrodisiac incense burning in the room alone wouldn't have such a great effect in such a short time.

Rong Yingluo quickly took out two antidotes, giving one to Gu Ce and one to Li Xuanye.

Gu Ce carried Li Xuanye to the back window and threw him out.

He was caught by Anwu, who was waiting at the back window, and taken away.

Rong Yingluo took out two small medicine bottles from her bosom and handed them to Gu Ce: "Sprinkle them in every corner of the room. Wait and see what happens. Then go and tell Yinghong that you can ask Grandmother to leave Shousong Courtyard." Rong Yingluo thought of her plan, and a kind of excitement of secretly doing something naughty rose to her cheeks.

Seeing her excited expression, Gu Ce realized that she was still a young girl at heart and hadn't quite figured things out yet.

Fine, I'll just play along with her.

During the banquet, the guests continued to chat and laugh.

Only Madam Rong was absent-minded and worried.

Seeing that she was lost in thought, Lady Qi brought over a wine cup and sat down beside her: "Lady Rong, come, let's have a drink."

The other ladies all looked down on Lady Qi's behavior today.

How could he be so close to a merchant's wife? Wasn't he afraid of losing face?

Did the Rong family offer tribute to the Qi family?

The wife of a censor took this matter to heart.

If the Qi family accepts bribes, then it will be an opportunity for her husband to make a name for himself.

"Thank you, Madam Qi."

With Lady Qi by her side, chatting and laughing, Lady Rong's mind was somewhat distracted.

"Madam Rong, is your son engaged?" Madam Qi asked about her children's marriage. She noticed that only Young Master Rong was accompanying Madam Rong today, and she didn't see any daughter-in-law with her, so she asked this question.

"Not yet," Madam Rong replied truthfully.

"Oh? I see that Young Master Rong is not young anymore, how come he is not engaged yet?" Madam Qi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"We consulted a Taoist priest who told Zhixiu's fortune. He said he shouldn't get engaged too early and should wait until he's over twenty-two," Madam Rong said with an embarrassed smile.

Many families don't usually believe in this, but the Rong family firmly believed that their son's fate was predicted by their daughter's master.

"Is that so? But there's no need to rush a man's marriage. He'll be more loving towards his wife when he's older." Madam Qi said, choosing words that sounded nice.

Just then, a maidservant came running up, panting, "Madam, something terrible has happened!"