Chapter 202: Gu Huai’s Suffering

Chapter 202: Gu Huai's Suffering

In the capital city.

Gu Huai was completely bewildered when he was suddenly subjected to a family punishment.

The rod struck his body, breaking the skin and causing excruciating pain.

Gu Huai assumed it was because his father prized loyalty and promises, and was enraged by his unilateral decision to break off the engagement, tarnishing both families' reputations.

Hadn’t his mother already persuaded his father?

After returning from the palace, his father dragged Gu Huai to the ancestral hall without explanation and personally administered the family punishment.

Had the Yongning Marquis taken the matter of the broken engagement to the Emperor?

Though the Yongning Marquis’s family was in decline, their swift stance during the palace coup still earned them some imperial favor.

If the Yongning Marquis pushed the Emperor to uphold justice, the Emperor might consider past ties and grant a small concession.

Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!

Everything had been settled: the Duke’s family would assist Lu Minghua in entering the Ministry of Personnel and arrange his marriage to the Qin family’s daughter, while the Yongning Marquis’s family would accept the broken engagement and never bring up the marriage contract again.

Both the Duke’s family and the Wu Xing Shen family had begun lobbying for Lu Minghua, yet the Yongning Marquis had betrayed them and burned bridges.

Did he assume Lu Minghua’s marriage to the Qin family’s daughter was finalized and no longer required the Duke’s family’s support?

"Father, I admit I was wrong to insist on breaking off the engagement, and I accept the punishment, but..."

The response to Gu Huai was another merciless blow.

The Duke’s face was icy, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s. "Do you think I’m punishing you for breaking off the engagement?"

The Duke, seething with rage, had abandoned all pretense of refined etiquette.

Gu Huai was stunned. "Isn’t that why?"

He had always guarded his reputation and cherished his integrity. Beyond the broken engagement stirring controversy, he couldn’t fathom what else would provoke his father’s wrath.

Seeing Gu Huai’s confusion, the Duke’s anger only intensified.

He swung the rod again, striking him repeatedly.

"You claimed the Lu family’s daughter had a flawed character and a cruel temperament, making her unfit to be a wife. I thought it over carefully and allowed you to break off the engagement."

"The Lu family’s daughter has a flawed character and a cruel temperament, but what about you?"

"What kind of decent person are you, flouting the law, distorting justice, and abusing your power, with no trace of the Duke’s family’s integrity and pride?"

Gu Huai’s heart sank.

"Father, are you saying the minor case in Changhe County has come to the Emperor’s attention?"

The Duke, unable to contain his rage, slapped Gu Huai across the face.

Gu Huai felt a searing pain, as though scorched by fire.

"A trivial matter?" The Duke's face turned red with anger. "He murdered his brother, imprisoned his mother, and hired thugs to pose as bandits, eliminating rivals for profit."

"And you call such actions a trivial matter?"

"Our Gu family has served loyally for generations—how could we have raised such a disgrace?"

"His Majesty has handed the case to His Highness Prince Duan."

Gu Huai remained silent.

"Father, I was misled."

Gu Huai explained everything to the Duke's family, leaving out Lu Mingchao.

The Duke's vision blurred, and the room spun.

"What good is a man who kills his brother for profit?"

Gu Huai looked up, his thin lips parting, his voice soft and shallow, like drops of blood quietly dripping onto the floor. "Didn’t Father also serve someone who murdered his nephew, stole the throne, and betrayed the loyal?"

"Gu Huai!" the Duke roared, shaking with rage. "Have you lost your mind?"

Murdering a nephew, usurping the throne, betraying the loyal—can you say such things out loud?

Gu Huai steadied himself against the ancestral hall’s doorframe, struggling to stand. "I want to live."

"Father, too, wants to survive."

"Father accused me of lacking the family’s honor, but hasn’t that honor been lost in the bloodshed?"

"He revealed Lu Minghui’s murder plot, and I spared his master—a fair trade."

"I followed their lead—what did I do wrong?"

Gu Huai smiled bitterly, mocking himself for his clarity in a corrupt world, yet resigned to his fate.

"If I’m guilty, shouldn’t the emperor confess his sins and kneel before the Xiao ancestors?"

The Duke's face turned pale, his gaze deep and cold as he stared at Gu Huai. "Do you want the Gu family to end up like Xinguo and Cheng'en?"

"Gu Huai, some things are better left unsaid."

The Duke’s cane clattered to the ground, tumbling down the steps.

"In those dark times, the Gu family was helpless but blameless."

"Your actions have disgraced the Gu family!"

"The emperor is furious. Stay in the capital and keep quiet."

"The engagement is on hold—don’t mention it again."

Gu Huai’s nails bit into the doorframe as he spoke each word deliberately. "Father, you’re saying I can’t leave the capital next spring, right?"

"Can't break off the engagement, can't leave the capital for my post."

"Then what can I do?"

"Should I honor the engagement and marry Lu Minghui, as you wish?"

Gu Huai's eyes churned with a dark, menacing intensity.

"Gu Huai, you were the one who did wrong first!" the Duke stated icily.

"Sun Zhiye's guilt is irrefutable and beyond question. You persist in defending him—where is justice, where is divine retribution?"

Gu Huai smirked and scoffed, "Father, I told you, I only know of his deliberate act of fratricide."

"Sun Zhipeng bullied men, oppressed women, and forced the innocent into prostitution—shouldn’t he die?"

Sun Zhipeng’s repeated harassment of A Chao alone warrants his death!

The Duke exhaled heavily, "He should die."

"But he shouldn’t have been killed by Sun Zhiye."

"Gu Huai, right and wrong are clear—they can’t be muddled by evasiveness and obfuscation."

"Your arrogance, gullibility, and negligence nearly denied justice to countless victims."

"Reflect on this carefully."

Gu Huai, knowing he was at fault, fell silent.

After a long pause, he pleaded, "Your son wishes to atone for his mistakes. Please put in a good word for me before His Majesty, allowing me to leave the capital for my post after the new year."

The Duke stared at Gu Huai, "Since when does a subject dictate to His Majesty?"

"His Majesty has kept this matter under wraps, avoiding public scrutiny, and allowed me to handle it myself, which is already a great favor."

"To press further would make the Duke’s family appear greedy and unrestrained in His Majesty’s eyes. Who knows what storm it might stir up then?"

"Gu Huai, you must understand, the current Emperor is no pushover."

Gu Huai’s heart sank.

All his efforts and scheming had come to nothing.

"Father, His Majesty has entrusted Sun Zhiye’s case entirely to His Highness Prince Duan—is that to say..."

"It was Prince Duan who presented the memorial..."

The Duke said, "Huai'er, that is Prince Duan’s duty."

Gu Huai: ...

So, it’s neither Prince Duan’s fault nor His Majesty’s—only mine?

Why can't I?