Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1060 Turning a deaf ear

"Young master, let's report it to the authorities!" The servant had been searching for most of the night, and the weather was freezing cold; he couldn't bear it any longer.

"We can't report this to the authorities, we can't report this to the authorities." The Emperor and Empress of Great Zhou are in the city now. What if we report this to the authorities and alarm them? Zhou Chen dared not take that risk.

"But this search isn't going to work; we're not getting any leads at all."

In a desolate forest outside the city, all was quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the wind. Gu Yuanyuan was tightly bound by a thick hemp rope, unable to move an inch. Her eyes were filled with fear and helplessness as she stared intently at the men in black standing before her.

"Brothers, please let me go! I'm just an ordinary citizen, I really have no money on me! You must have made a mistake, please spare my life..." Gu Yuanyuan said in a trembling voice, tears welling up in her eyes.

However, the men in black showed no mercy. They stared at Gu Yuanyuan expressionlessly, as if she were a lamb to the slaughter. One of the burly men spoke up: "Enough nonsense! You're the one we're looking for!"

Gu Yuanyuan thought about many things. She had no enemies, so these people rushed into the yard and kidnapped her. They must have scouted the place beforehand. The only possibility was that Zhou Chen had offended someone and they were here to take revenge; or they were kidnapping her to demand a ransom.

"You want to use me to blackmail Young Master Zhou? You've come to the wrong person. He treats me badly and never spends any money on me. If you want to kidnap someone to blackmail him, you should go to that house on Xiangyang Street. That's his residence. He has a wife and a concubine. His wife is from the Marquis of Jing's household, and his concubine is also very wealthy. It would be more appropriate for you to kidnap them both!"

Hearing that she was trying to shift the blame onto the second young lady, the men in black became even more ruthless and stepped forward to end her life.

As the razor-sharp blade was about to fall, Gu Yuanyuan's eyes widened instantly. Suddenly, several masked men sprang out of nowhere from the forest. These men drew their swords with ghostly speed and began fighting with the black-clad men who were about to kill Gu Yuanyuan.

These masked men didn't seem to intend to kill anyone. They were agile and nimble, their moves skillful and varied, yet they never managed to inflict any real harm on the men in black. In just a few rounds, the initially aggressive men in black were forced into retreat and were easily bound hand and foot by the masked men.

One of them quickly stepped forward, grabbed Gu Yuanyuan who was frozen in fear, and then disappeared into the depths of the dense forest like a gust of wind...

Zhou Chen and his men searched all night but found no clues. Even the footprints on the road were covered by the heavy snow that fell again and disappeared without a trace.

He returned home dejectedly, and before he could even rest for a short while, a group of armored guards rushed into the backyard and arrested him.

When Jing Yuwei heard the news, she was instantly at a loss: "Guards? Where did these guards come from, daring to arrest people in my residence?"

The steward, sweating profusely, couldn't speak. "Judging from their attire, they don't seem to be from the Yanzhou garrison, nor from the Marquis's residence. These days, the only guards who can wear armor are... are probably from the imperial family..."

The housekeeper's words left Jing Yuwei speechless for a long time, and some things she hadn't been able to figure out before flashed through her mind.

"The imperial family... the imperial family..." Could it be related to Gu Yuanyuan?

"I told Zhou Chen to hide Gu Yuanyuan well and not let her show her face in public. If the Empress had seen her face, how could she not be suspicious?"

She was now filled with regret. If she had known, she would never have agreed to let the Fourth Princess take in Gu Yuanyuan. She didn't care about the princess's kindness, the sister-in-law relationship, or the monthly allowance. For a little benefit, she was going to ruin her whole family!

"Quickly, go to the Marquis's residence, find Father!" Jing Yuwei didn't even have time for breakfast. She hurriedly packed up and rushed to her parents' home.

"What? She's here? Didn't we tell her not to come today!" Marquis Jing and his wife were having breakfast when they heard that their troublesome daughter had arrived, and their expressions instantly turned displeased.

Lady Hou sneered, "This second young lady, relying on the Marquis's favor, has become increasingly unruly, and doesn't even listen to the Marquis anymore. Marquis, you are going to spend the New Year with the Emperor and Empress today, so you must not cause any trouble."

Lord Jing nodded: "Of course I know, otherwise I wouldn't have sent Mu Bai to personally explain things to Yuwei yesterday. But... this wretched girl completely ignored my words!"

Because Jing Yuwei kept shouting outside the mansion, the gatekeeper dared not let her make a scene and finally had to let her in. When Lord Jing saw her in the front hall, he immediately started scolding her: "You unfilial daughter, do you not listen to your father anymore?"

Jing Yuwei immediately burst into tears: "Father, help me!"

Seeing that she seemed to have something urgent, Lord Jing stopped scolding and let her explain in detail.

Jing Yuwei dared not let outsiders hear, so she quickly dismissed everyone before telling them about how she and the princess met Gu Yuanyuan, how the princess couldn't bear to see her suffer, took her in, and entrusted her with taking care of her.

"It was also because my daughter was confused. She thought that since people look alike, saving her life would be an act of kindness, so she kept her. Later, Zhou Chen saw her and found that the woman was stunningly beautiful. He couldn't resist and kept her outside as his mistress."

She didn't answer the question about whether the princess needed money to support Gu Yuanyuan or instigate a conflict between Gu Yuanyuan and Hua Ruyan; she only said what she wanted to say.

Upon hearing this, Lord Jing felt as if his head was about to explode, and he was in excruciating pain.

"You're confused. Back then, the King of Northern Yan searched the whole country for beautiful women. As long as they resembled her even slightly, he would bring them into the harem as concubines and let them enjoy wealth and honor. Have you forgotten that? This woman surnamed Gu is probably one of those who slipped through the net back then. Before she could enter the King of Northern Yan's harem, the Yan Kingdom was destroyed."

He glared at his daughter with exasperation: "You think it's a good thing that you look like Empress Tao? If Empress Tao weren't in Yanzhou, it might be a good thing, but she is! It must be that someone close to His Majesty saw Gu's appearance and reported it to His Majesty, reminding him of how the Prince of Northern Yan coveted Empress Tao back then, and that's why... Alas! You wretched daughter, you wretched child, you and your husband are both fools!"

"Father, what... what do we do now? Zhou Chen has been arrested, but I don't know if it was His Majesty's men who arrested him!"

Marquis Jing glared at her: "If it's not His Majesty, then who else could it be? Who in this Yanzhou City would dare to enter your residence in armor and arrest someone?"

Lord Jing was so angry he could hardly breathe, and Jing Yuwei's face turned pale: "What can we do? I didn't want this either... It's all the Fourth Princess's fault. Why did she have to be so kind and insist on saying that she saw someone who resembled the Empress and couldn't bear to see her wandering outside..."

"What?" Lord Jing suddenly interrupted her: "...You mean, the Fourth Princess is doing everything she can to protect her?"

Jing Yuwei nodded.

Lord Jing seemed to be deep in thought.

"Go, invite the princess over." Lord Jing's eyes darkened. Although he did not want to assume the worst about the Fourth Princess, this matter was strange in every way, and he had to bring the Fourth Princess over for a face-to-face confrontation.