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

"Ouch!" Yuwen Jing exclaimed in surprise.

Gu Ce was gazing at the waterside pavilion at the end of the Nine-Bend Bridge, wondering if Rong Yingluo was really there.

His eyesight is quite good, so how come he saw that the waterside pavilion was empty?

Just then, he heard Yuwen Jing's exclamation, and at the same time, a slender hand grabbed his arm.

Without a second thought, Gu Ce flung Yuwen Jing away, sending her flying like a kite with a broken string into the water beneath the Nine-Bend Bridge, splashing out with a loud thud.

Gu Ce then realized what he had done; it was just an unconscious action.

He knew that Yuwen Jing had grabbed his arm, but she was neither his wife, nor his sister, nor his grandmother. He would not allow any woman other than these three to touch his body.

"Lord Gu, why did you throw my young lady into the water?" Yuwen Jing's maid was stunned for a moment by the sudden turn of events before she cried out in alarm.

"Hurry up and call someone to pull her out." Gu Ce's eyes turned cold.

There was no one at the pavilion across the water. What did the Fourth Miss mean by bringing him here?

He looked down at the road. The bump wasn't high, less than an inch. As a well-bred young lady, she had been taught how to walk properly. It was impossible for her to be so careless as to kick it and fall so hard.

This was clearly intentional.

"But there's no one in the garden. I went to call someone from elsewhere, but it's too late. Lord Gu, please save my young lady." The maid was clever; although her mistress hadn't told her what to do, she understood what was happening now.

The young lady wanted to make it clear that she had a physical relationship with Master Gu so that she could marry into the Gu family.

"Help...me, help...me!" Yuwen Jing finally surfaced from the water and cried out.

But it was too cold, and she only managed to shout once before sinking back down.

Gu Ce remained unmoved.

"Lord Gu, please, please save my young lady!" The maid knelt down and kowtowed in desperation.

Gu Ce continued to coldly observe Yuwen Jing, who was bobbing up and down in the water.

The water wasn't deep, and some withered lotus stems and leaves were still visible above the surface.

Seeing that Gu Ce remained unmoved, the maidservant became truly anxious. She hurriedly scrambled to her feet and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help! Fourth Miss has fallen into the water!"

The maid's voice was shrill, and the servants nearby heard it. Soon, some people ran over.

Seeing that it was almost time, Gu Ce took advantage of Yuwen Jing's struggle to surface again, skimmed across the water like a dragonfly, grabbed Yuwen Jing's arm, pulled her out of the water, touched a dry lotus leaf, and flew back to the Nine-Bend Bridge.

Yuwen Jing was thrown to the ground, coughing repeatedly and spitting out a puddle of water.

The servants who heard the shouts and ran over witnessed Gu Ce's rescue.

The maid immediately helped Yuwen Jing up and asked worriedly, "Fourth Miss, how are you?"

Yuwen Jing was so angry that she wanted to kill Gu Ce.

She simply lunged at him; he could have caught her. Why humiliate her like this, throwing her into the water?

"Lord Gu, you've gone too far! I'm just a weak woman. It's so cold outside. I have no grudge against you. Why did you throw me into the water?" Yuwen Jing had never suffered such humiliation.

Even if she really wanted to marry Gu Ce, she couldn't suppress her temper as a young lady of the Prince An's mansion.

She is a member of the royal family, while Gu Ce is merely the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

"Fourth Miss, you said you were bringing me to see the old prince, and that it would be at the waterside pavilion. Look for yourself, is there anyone in the waterside pavilion?" Gu Ce's question was colder than the weather.

He already understood what Yuwen Jing was planning.

She's utterly clueless. How dare she make a move on him? Doesn't she even know her place? She's just a concubine's daughter born to a maid. Even if he were to take her as a concubine, he wouldn't choose her.

"Achoo!" Yuwen Jing couldn't stand the cold and sneezed loudly.

"Miss, hurry back to your room, or you'll catch a cold." The maid knew what was important and knew that now was not the time to argue with Master Gu, so she helped her mistress back.

The servants who had run over looked at each other in bewilderment.

How could the Fourth Miss be on the Nine-Bend Bridge with Lord Gu? And the Fourth Miss even fell into the water.

Lord Gu's rescue was superb; he truly deserves to be the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, skilled in both literature and martial arts. He only needed to lift the Fourth Miss by one arm to save her. If it were them, they would definitely have to jump into the water to save her, and in this cold weather, they would surely catch a cold.

The little farce ended with Yuwen Jing's departure.

Gu Ce realized he had been tricked by Yuwen Jing, so he didn't stay in the garden any longer and returned to his study in the outer courtyard to continue waiting for the old Prince An and Rong Yingluo.

The news that Yuwen Jing had been thrown into the water by Gu Ce quickly spread throughout the Prince An's residence.

Naturally, this was also reported to the old Prince An.

Rong Yingluo heard it too and frowned.

Why would Gu Ce throw someone into the water? Wasn't he waiting in the front yard? Why did he go to the Prince's garden?

"Why would Gu Ce go to the garden?" Old Prince An asked curiously.

"It was Miss Si who took him there," the attendant replied.

"Girl, come with me to take a look." Old Prince An had lived his whole life and seen everything, so he already knew what was going on.

"Yes." Rong Yingluo obediently got up and helped the old Prince An.

"Ah Sen, go and invite Gu Ce to the main courtyard as well," the old Prince An instructed his attendant.

The attendant accepted the order and left.

When they arrived at the main courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, a number of people had already gathered in the main hall.

Princess Consort of the old Prince An no longer manages affairs; now, it is the eldest daughter-in-law of the old Prince An, Madam Yang, who is in charge. At this moment, she is looking at a middle-aged woman kneeling on the ground with a grim expression. This woman is none other than Yuwen Jing's birth mother, Aunt Yao.

"Look at the good daughter you raised! She has completely disgraced our Prince An's Mansion."

Princess Consort Yang was furious. Consort Yao was a maid she brought from her maiden home to the Prince An's mansion. She had served her closely for many years and had even saved her life in a dangerous situation. That's why she was treated with some respect and indulgence. As a result, she had raised this illegitimate daughter to be arrogant and ignorant of the world.

"It's all my fault. Please, Your Highness, forgive Fourth Miss this time. If you must punish someone, punish me instead," Aunt Yao pleaded, kneeling on the ground.

When Lady Yang saw the old prince enter, supported by a young woman, she immediately rose to greet him: "Father, what brings you here?"

Yang didn't expect that this matter would alarm her father-in-law.

She can handle this kind of thing; there's no need for the old man to get involved.

Without saying anything, the old Prince An walked to the main seat and sat down, and even asked Rong Yingluo to sit in the guest seat to his left.

Just as she sat down, Yuwen Jing, who had changed her clothes, rushed in with a pale face and knelt down in front of the old Prince An without saying a word: "Grandfather, I was wrong, but I had no choice."

She knew her little tricks; her grandfather was well aware of them.

"What do you have to do?" Although the old Prince An was old, he was not senile and knew everything that was going on in the mansion.

This granddaughter hasn't settled down yet because she's the only daughter of the eldest son's family and is spoiled and pampered.

The eldest daughter-in-law was very fertile, giving birth to three sons in a row. Later, she was given a concubine before she gave birth to this daughter. Everyone in the eldest son's family doted on her and wanted to find the best and most suitable family for her to marry into.

As a result, he was too picky and couldn't settle down, and he was almost seventeen years old and still hadn't found someone.

Just then, Gu Ce was invited in.

He was taken aback when he saw Rong Yingluo sitting to the left of the old Prince An. However, his current status was that of a first-rank prime minister, and his position was only higher.

He strolled up to the old Prince An and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Prince An."

"No need for formalities, please have a seat."

Gu Ce sat down directly next to Rong Yingluo.

"Speak now!" Old Prince An roared and slammed his fist at his granddaughter.