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

"I am married. But didn't we sign an agreement? Of course he has to wait for me." Rong Yingluo used her brother-in-law as a shield very skillfully.

"Rong Liuli, let me tell you, while you are still my wife, you are not allowed to have any involvement with other men." Gu Ce's face was ashen, and his eyes were icy cold.

The harmonious atmosphere was instantly shattered.

"Who's involved with other men?" Rong Yingluo instantly bristled.

"Of the four guards today, two were sent by the Fourth Prince, and two were sent by some Young Master Qin. If you weren't involved with other men, what were you?" Gu Ce asked logically.

"So what? They're afraid I'll die in the Duke's mansion. By helping me, they're actually helping you too. It's your fault for not being able to protect me." Rong Yingluo exposed his weakness.

"You..." Gu Ce was speechless, feeling utterly humiliated.

He never cared about those women before; they were all arranged by Madam Su, and they were all daughters of officials from the Crown Prince's faction.

But Rong was different; Su couldn't find a suitable candidate to drag her into the Gu family's vortex.

Moreover, Rong's various behaviors caught his eye, and he would not allow any other man to interfere in their relationship.

"Alright, I won't argue with you. The Fourth Prince and I are friends; we became friends because we saved each other's lives. As for Young Master Qin, I'll tell you why he protected me when the time is right."

Rong Yingluo softened her tone, and Gu Ce's expression eased somewhat: "You really have nothing to do with them?"

"Of course. I am your wife now, and I will not do anything to betray you until this relationship ends." Rong Yingluo never intended to marry any man. Her mind was not on marriage and having children.

Gu Ce's anger was completely calmed by these words.

"These past few days I've come to understand your situation clearly. You've been held hostage in the Duke's mansion all these years, without your own people, which is why you're controlled in every way."

I still have the same guess: you are very likely not a child of the Duke of Zhenguo's family.

The second brother and the second uncle have some physical similarities, which indicates that they are related by blood. However, I see that you have absolutely no resemblance to the second uncle and the second brother.

If you are the Duke's biological son, as the heir of the Duke's mansion, the Duke cannot restrict the number of people under your command.

This is because he's afraid you'll become too independent, ambitious, and unruly. Once your true identity is revealed, it will be difficult for him to control you.

"Either your true identity prevents him from giving you power within his household," Rong Yingluo analyzed.

She had no evidence, but her gut feeling told her she was right.

Gu Ce fell into deep thought.

When he first heard her say that, he immediately refuted her. But when he heard it for the second time tonight, he felt that her analysis made some sense.

He then thought of his grandmother's attitude towards him.

He was the eldest grandson of the eldest son's family and the future heir to the Duke's mansion. Logically, his grandmother should have doted on him the most, but he didn't clearly feel any favoritism from her.

It seems he really needs to investigate his own background.

"The five men you brought today are quite skilled. Who gave them to you?" Rong Yingluo noticed that the men were all relatively old, around thirty years old, so it was unlikely that Gu Ce had trained them himself.

"It was given to me by the Emperor." Gu Ce came back to his senses.

He then recounted why the emperor had provided manpower.

"The Emperor really favors you. He's using you as his most useful weapon." Rong Yingluo pouted.

They may seem glamorous, but they could lose their lives at any moment.

Those five men were not only Gu Ce's helpers, but also the Emperor's spies.

A thought flashed through Rong Yingluo's mind, as if something had just crossed her mind.

"That's right." Gu Ce certainly knew.

"Don't speak." Rong Yingluo suddenly closed her eyes.

Your Majesty, Gu Ce.

Gu Ce, Your Majesty.

The faces of the two people kept flashing through my mind.

She seemed to be trying to grab something.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide: "Husband, I suspect you might be the Emperor's child."

"How could that be? That's utter nonsense. Never say such things again." Gu Ce was truly impressed by her; she dared to make such a guess; she was incredibly bold.

"Don't you feel that you look somewhat similar to the Emperor?"

"I suggest you thoroughly investigate whether any of the Emperor's concubines have been plotted against. For example, who had a conflict with whom, deliberately switched the child, or killed something bizarre." Rong Yingluo trusted her intuition.

Gu Ce paused for a moment, then pulled Rong Yingluo into the inner room and sat down in front of the bronze mirror.

As a man, he rarely looked in the mirror and didn't care about his appearance as much as a woman would.

He stared blankly at his reflection in the bronze mirror. Though the image was blurry, his features did indeed resemble the emperor's.

"How was it? Did you see it clearly?" Rong Yingluo raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Gu Ce slammed the bronze mirror down on the table: "Madam, fetch me a basin of water."

Rong Yingluo went to the washroom to fetch water.

Gu Ce stretched his head out, and his reflection floated in the basin until the water surface became completely still, making it even clearer.

He noticed that apart from the similar outlines and eye shapes, he couldn't discern anything else.

However, his face shape is similar to his father's.

He never doubted that he was not his father's biological child.

However, since Rong Yingluo mentioned it twice, he couldn't help but have doubts.

"I will investigate this matter thoroughly," Gu Ce decided.

He was already starting to believe Rong Yingluo's guess to some extent.

"If what I think is true, then it makes sense that the Duke of Zhenguo treats you this way." Rong Yingluo felt as if she had discovered a great secret.

"How so?"

"If you are a prince, then when the time is right, the Duke of Zhenguo will surely explain your identity to the Emperor."

But as far as I know, from the first generation of Zhenguo Duke, all three generations of Zhenguo Dukes were loyal to the emperor and loved their country.

If he doesn't give you manpower, you won't be able to develop ambitions. You can only obediently follow the path he paves for you.

The day you acknowledge your ancestors and return to your clan, the emperor will understand his good intentions.

You are merely a civil official in the imperial court. It is virtually impossible for a civil official to rebel because he has no troops under his command, while a military official has the opportunity to rebel as long as he raises an army.

"The Duke of Zhenguo's actions are a way of showing his loyalty to the Emperor." Although Rong Yingluo was not born into a powerful family, her master had told her many such stories.

"You're right." Gu Ce agreed with Rong Yingluo's analysis.

But right now we're just guessing based on his appearance.

"But there's still a question: if I'm not my father's son, then where did the real Gu Ce go?" He had never heard of any child dying in the Gu family.

"That's easy, of course we'll raise him outside. No, that would mean the real Gu Ce would have no future, and the inheritance of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is so important to the Gu family." Rong Yingluo couldn't imagine how the Duke of Zhenguo would arrange for his own son.

"In the past ten years or so, my father has only returned to the capital to report on his duties once every two or three years. If he took people to the border and personally trained them in the military camp, it would make sense." Gu Ce thought about it more and more and felt that this was very likely.

"Do you want to investigate?" Rong Yingluo asked.

He grew up in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and should have a father-son relationship with the Duke. If he investigated, the Duke of Zhenguo would naturally find out.

The fact that the Duke of Zhenguo has not said it all these years shows that the time is not yet right.

"Check it out. The five people the Emperor gave us are quite capable; they should be able to do it without anyone noticing." Gu Ce had made his decision.

"Aren't you afraid the Emperor will find out?" Rong Yingluo felt it was inappropriate to use someone given to her by the Emperor.

"Just say you're checking if there's anyone around my father who's the same age as me and very close to him. As long as there's even the slightest clue, it'll prove your guess is correct." Gu Ce had already come up with an excuse.

If there really was such a person by my father's side, many people at the border would know about this, and if he sent someone to investigate, it wouldn't attract my father's attention.

The next day.

Rong Yingluo received a message from Wu Dali that her four newly recruited guards had already bought a small courtyard in the back street of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and settled in.

She wrote a letter and asked Wu Dali to deliver it to them.

Su Jingyi's health is gradually improving, so it's time to resolve the issues concerning Aunt Miao and her second sister.

Now that we have manpower at our disposal, things are much easier to do.

That evening, Gu Ce returned with two pieces of news.