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

She would only seek comfort in her husband's arms if she had suffered a great injustice.

Madam Gao was speechless after hearing Rong Yingluo's words, and her face turned red with anger.

"Guards, tie this arrogant bastard up!" Madam Gao could only vent her anger on Gao Zhiyuan.

"Madam, Yuan'er knows he was wrong." Aunt Gao knew that things couldn't be resolved peacefully; only by admitting his mistake could he lessen the punishment.

"Lord Gu, I was blinded by greed and failed to recognize your greatness. I was wrong, please be merciful and let me go." Gao Zhiyuan recovered and crawled toward Gu Ce and his wife, wanting to beg for forgiveness.

"You have insulted my wife, how do you expect me to forgive you?" Gu Ce was determined to teach this纨绔 (a spoiled, dissolute young man) a lesson he would never forget.

At this moment, he also understood the purpose behind Rong Yingluo's commotion.

Then he would help his wife achieve it, so that her great sacrifice would not have been in vain.

"Hurry up and tie him up!" Madam Gao knew that Gu Ce would not let him off easily, so she gave the order again.

The steward had no choice but to have his servant bring a rope to tie the person up.

Just then, Minister Gao Qiliang and his eldest son Gao Shixun entered the courtyard.

"Father, save me!" Gao Zhiyuan, relying on his aunt's favor with his father, immediately begged for help upon seeing Gao Shixun.

"What's going on?" Gao Shangshu asked, his face grim.

"Father, you don't know, Yuan'er is really outrageous. He actually snatched Lord Gu's wife back and wanted to take her as a concubine." Madam Gao explained the matter in just one simple sentence.

"What did you say?" Gao Shixun was furious upon hearing this.

How could he have given birth to such an unreliable son?

"Father, I didn't mean to. It was Madam Gu who disguised herself as a commoner to sell me the Nine Flowers. I was tempted by her and made a mistake." Gao Zhiyuan felt that he had been tricked by Rong Yingluo. If she hadn't pretended to be a commoner, he wouldn't have had any lustful thoughts.

Now he regrets not being more careful.

Ordinary women are rarely this beautiful with such fair skin.

"If you didn't have lustful thoughts, would she be standing here?" Gao Shixun went up and slapped Gao Zhiyuan twice.

That's infuriating.

Who is Gu Ce? He is the most favored minister in the emperor's court and the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. How could a mere illegitimate son like him provoke him?

"Sir, hitting him won't do any good. What's done is done. Let's think of a way to resolve this," Madam Gao advised.

"Lord Gu, please come to the main hall to speak." As the head of the family, Minister Gao remained calm at all times.

"Lord Gao, please." Gu Ce took Rong Yingluo's hand.

The group arrived at the main hall of the Gao family and took their seats as guests.

Gao Zhiyuan was bound hand and foot and forced to kneel in the center of the hall.

"Lord Gu, the Gao family was at fault today. On behalf of Zhiyuan, I apologize to Madam Gu and will present her with ten bolts of brocade as an apology. As for this unfilial grandson, I will personally seek family punishment. What do you think?" Minister Gao was full of sincerity.

He adopted a very humble attitude. Rong was just a merchant's daughter, and it was questionable whether she could even survive. He had gone to such lengths, and if Gu Ce still held a grudge, then he would be ungrateful.

The Gao family is not one he can trample on at will.

"You're too kind, Lord Gao. It depends on whether my wife accepts it." Gu Ce left the decision to Rong Yingluo.

"Lord Gao, I'm not actually that difficult to talk to. Since you've gone to such lengths, I certainly won't hold it against you anymore."

However, the Gao family is a scholarly family, and such a dissolute young man should indeed be properly disciplined.

There's a saying that makes a lot of sense: "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

My second younger sister and I are the closest at home. I heard that the fifth young master Gao is discussing marriage with my second younger sister.

If he dares to force me into his mansion today, who knows which important person he might force into his mansion tomorrow?

"Do you think such a man would be a good match for my second sister?" Rong Yingluo behaved in a generous and proper manner.

Her words made everyone present instantly understand what had happened that day.

What bet about pretending to be a flower seller? This was clearly a well-planned show by the two sisters-in-law.

They wanted to test Gao Zhiyuan's character. If he was a good person, everything would be fine.

If Gao Zhiyuan is too audacious, then we should play along and use this as an excuse to cancel the marriage.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Rong Yingluo knew they had come to a decision.

But she was not afraid.

The Gao family's son is a good-for-nothing. Does he really think he can marry a good girl? What a pipe dream!

After several changes in his expression, Gao Shangshu finally sighed and said, "It is because my Gao family has failed in educating its children that this matter is dropped."

Please convey my message to the Duchess, Lord Gu, to find a suitable match for Miss Gu the Second.

The two families haven't even exchanged birth certificates yet; it only takes a word.

The marriage alliance with the Gu family was originally the Crown Prince's idea, but now that this has happened, he can only fail to live up to the Crown Prince's expectations.

"Of course, I will certainly deliver it. My second younger sister is gentle and virtuous, with a kind heart. She is indeed not a good match for the impetuous nature of Young Master Gao. Farewell." Gu Ce stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and took Rong Yingluo's hand as they left.

Inside the main hall of the Gao family.

"Bring the family discipline!" Minister Gao shouted.

"Grandfather, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again." Gao Zhiyuan kowtowed repeatedly.

Her aunt also knelt down and begged, but no one paid any attention.

The steward personally went to fetch the family punishment.

It was a whip about half a zhang long, with barbs on it.

"No, I was wrong." Gao Zhiyuan was terrified and turned pale. "Grandfather, I am willing to stay at home and reflect on my mistakes for a year. Please forgive me this time."

"Execute him." Minister Gao was extremely disappointed in this grandson.

It was bad enough that he harmed the maids in the mansion, but who would have thought that he would be so bold as to kidnap a commoner girl and bring her into the mansion.

If today's woman were not Madam Gu, but a commoner, and if his political enemies were to seize upon this, his position as Minister would be over.

The executioner raised his whip high and lashed it down hard.

The Fifth Young Master, an illegitimate son, was a womanizer. He had defiled all the maids in the courtyard, including one who was the maid the family had arranged to marry him. She was the one he had taken advantage of. That girl was his favorite, but now they were no longer meant to be.

The servant swung the whip again and again, beating Gao Zhiyuan until he cried out in pain, but he couldn't dodge the serpentine whip.

By the time the thirty lashes were finished, Gao Zhiyuan's clothes were so tattered that not a single piece of fabric remained intact, and his entire body was covered in blood.

His aunt cried her heart out.

Madam Gao watched coldly, inwardly cursing that he deserved it.

Gao Shixun wanted to feel sorry for his son, but he didn't dare to say a word in front of his elderly father.

A whip only injures the skin and flesh, not the bones.

After this beating, Gao Zhiyuan will need at least two months to recover.

"Take him away." Minister Gao waved his hand. "Shixun, come with me to the study to discuss matters."

When the father and son arrived at the study, Minister Gao slapped his son without saying a word.

"Father!" Gao Shixun was stunned by the blow.

"If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault." Gao Shangwen wrote to Hanlu: "Do you know that Yuan'er's mistake today ruined a good move by His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Even if she's an illegitimate daughter, the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's family would have countless suitors if she didn't marry into a high-ranking family. Yuan'er has ruined this good marriage today, and now she has no connection with the Duke of Zhenguo's family anymore." Minister Gao was exasperated.

"Father, I was wrong. I will definitely discipline Yuan'er properly in the future." Faced with his father's anger, Gao Shixun could only admit his mistake.

"Send him away. News of today's events will surely spread," Gao Shangshu decided.

"Father..." Gao Shixun thought of Yuan'er's birth mother and felt very reluctant to part with her.

That was his favorite confidante; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Yuan'er to be so unruly.