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

A girl dressed in coarse linen clothes ran out of the room, her hair disheveled and her clothes torn, revealing her neckline.

Gao Zhiyuan was holding the girl's hand, trying to pull her back into the room.

It was just turning red.

"Why are you running away? I sincerely want to take you sisters into my household as my concubines. My Gao family is a prestigious family that you could never reach in several lifetimes. How dare you be so ungrateful!" Gao Zhiyuan was furious.

He should be grateful if he were willing to take them as concubines, but he refused.

"Sister, we can't be concubines, Mother will beat us to death. You must escape from the Gao family and report to the authorities." Rong Yingluo grabbed Gao Zhiyuan's clothes from behind to prevent him from grabbing Yinghong.

But there was no trace of fear on her face; instead, she looked somewhat excited.

Seeing his young master's demeanor, the steward of the Gao family looked up at the sky speechlessly.

Fortunately, the Fifth Young Master brought back two commoner women, not some young mistress from a wealthy family.

When Gu Ce saw Rong Yingluo and Ying Hong's outfits, he knew what was going on.

When did Gao Zhiyuan offend her?

But this is not the time for him to expose his wife's disguise. Since his second sister had someone summon him, it must be to support her.

Gu Ce rushed forward and kicked Gao Zhiyuan away.

Gao Zhiyuan fell heavily to the ground, landing on his back.

"Gao Zhiyuan, how dare you! Do you have a death wish? You dare to steal my wife!" Gu Ce walked over and stomped on Gao Zhiyuan's chest again.

"Lord Gu, is there some misunderstanding? How could the Fifth Young Master dare to snatch your wife? These two young ladies are just commoners. My young master wanted to take them as concubines, so he brought them back to the manor." The steward's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, was greatly relieved after seeing the two young ladies' attire.

When Rong Yingluo saw Gu Ce arrive, she and Yinghong stood obediently to the side, watching Gu Ce's performance.

"A commoner woman? Does that mean we can disregard your wishes and snatch her back to the manor?" Gu Ce's eyes flashed with a cold light like sharp arrows.

"Gu...Gu Ce, let me go." Gao Zhiyuan finally recovered, but the pain in his body made it difficult for him to speak.

"Let you go? Fine." Gu Ce stomped on him again before letting go. Gao Zhiyuan couldn't take it, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

Just then, Madam Gao rushed over and saw Gao Zhiyuan being bullied by Gu Ce, and secretly laughed to herself.

You lowly dog, you deserve it.

"Yuan'er, what's wrong with you?" A middle-aged woman behind Madam Gao ran to Gao Zhiyuan in a panic, squatted down to support him, and hugged him. "Yuan'er, you mustn't frighten your aunt."

"Auntie, it hurts so much." Gao Zhiyuan's face was contorted in pain as Gu Ce kicked and stomped on him.

"Young Master Gu, why are you causing trouble at my Gao family's residence?" Madam Gao spoke with confidence, considering her age and the fact that her husband's official rank was higher than Gu Ce's.

Gu Ce ignored Madam Gao and instead beckoned to Rong Yingluo: "Come here."

Her tone was gentle, and the coldness on her face disappeared.

Rong Yingluo lowered her head and hesitated as she walked toward Gu Ce.

He looked guilty, as if he had made a mistake and been caught by his family.

With two steps to go, Gu Ce stepped forward, pulled the person into his arms, and held him tightly.

"Ouch!" Rong Yingluo bumped heavily into Gu Ce's arms, her nose hurting from the impact.

Hearing her cry out in pain, Gu Ce released his arm.

"Husband... Husband," Rong Yingluo called softly.

But everyone present heard him call out "husband".

Mrs. Gao was stunned and shocked.

She then took a closer look at Rong Yingluo and realized that she was indeed Gu Ce's wife.

I met her once at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. At that time, she was dressed in brocade and was very well-groomed.

It's nothing like it is now.

Her hair was disheveled, held in place only by a wooden hairpin. Her face was devoid of rouge and somewhat filthy, and she was dressed in simple cloth. No one would associate her with a noblewoman from a high-ranking family.

Even the aunt, who was heartbroken for her son, stopped sobbing.

The butler's eyes widened in disbelief.

It's over, the Fifth Prince is doomed. Of all people to steal, he had to steal the wife of the Emperor's favorite.

The Emperor could easily punish a high-ranking official with a single remark about lax household management.

He immediately instructed the servant beside him to quickly fetch the master back.

"Lord Gu, it must be a misunderstanding. How could Yuan'er possibly steal your wife?" Aunt Gao was the first to react.

If this matter isn't handled properly today, Yuan'er will be finished.

She'll never have a good life in this mansion again; she'll have no one to rely on.

"Yes, yes, Lord Gu, it must be a misunderstanding." Madam Gao also realized that the problem was serious.

"Madam, you tell me, is there any misunderstanding?" Gu Ce hugged the person in his arms.

Actually, he didn't know what had happened, but that didn't stop him from guessing that the lady had asked him to come and support her.

"My husband, today my second sister and I went out shopping and made a small bet while we were joking around."

Whoever loses has to take their maid and disguise themselves as a commoner girl to sell nine flowers in front of Honghao Tower.

I lost, so I bought clothes from two random girls and wore them. Then I cut two baskets of flowers in the backyard of the restaurant to sell.

When we tried to sell our flowers to the Fifth Young Master Gao, he bought them and even invited us to dine with him. I thought that since the Fifth Young Master was someone my mother had chosen, he must be a good person.

We went with them, but they made us drink, and we ended up getting drunk.

When we woke up, right here, he told Yinghong and me that he wanted to take us as concubines, and he even tried to touch us inappropriately.

"We were just about to escape when you kicked open the courtyard gate, as you saw." Rong Yingluo recounted the events simply and clearly.

To put it bluntly, Gao Zhiyuan had lustful thoughts and even preyed on ordinary women.

If he hadn't been unlucky enough to run into Rong Yingluo, who was pretending to be a commoner, he would have really committed the crime of bullying men and women.

Now that he's taken Mrs. Gu by his side, things have gotten even worse.

Madam Gao was so angry that her face turned ashen.

That utterly foolish idiot has ruined the Gao family.

"Lord Gu, thankfully you arrived in time, and fortunately, no major mistake was made. Please let this matter go. Our Gao family will certainly discipline this boy severely." Madam Gao wanted to downplay the matter and resolve it peacefully.

"Madam Gao, do you intend to let this matter drop by simply disciplining him?" Gu Ce's eyes narrowed, clearly quite angry.

Is his wife so easy to bully?

"Lord Gu, although your wife suffered an injustice, she was also at fault. Why didn't she reveal her identity from the beginning?"

"If she reveals her identity, even if you gave me ten times the courage, Yuan'er wouldn't dare to kidnap her into the manor." Madam Gao, having lived for over forty years, had already guessed that this matter was far more complex than Rong Yingluo described. However, she couldn't immediately grasp the reason behind it.

"Mrs. Gao, I lost the bet. I don't want anyone to know about something so embarrassing."

How could I possibly reveal my identity? Wouldn't that be embarrassing for my husband?

If people found out that I was selling flowers in the streets, how could my husband maintain his standing in the court? He would definitely be ridiculed and unable to hold his head up high.

This will greatly affect the relationship between my husband and me.

If he can't stand being bullied, he'll come home and vent his anger on me, and might even consider divorcing me.

"It would be such a waste if I were to be divorced after all the hard work I put into this marriage. How can I ever remarry after being divorced?" After saying this, Rong Yingluo turned slightly and hid her face in Gu Ce's chest.