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Chapter 45: This Miss does not agree!

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Around two in the afternoon, the wedding guests all headed towards the Ancestral hall – even the number of guards increased.

A neat row of guards lined up on the side of the road, making the guests couldn’t help but sigh. The pair of newlyweds had already gone to the Ancestral hall to prepare the sacrificial offering to the ancestors. Marshal Gu stood with An Shufen by the gates of the Ancestral hall, welcoming the guests.

Marshal Gu was silent towards every guest, while An Shufen smiled in welcome. The smile was like a light spring breeze.

Zi Luolan wore an all-white outfit that looked somewhat like horse riding outfit with a high ponytail, and even entering on a rickshaw. She held on with her small fragile hand as she exited the vehicle. She carelessly glided towards the expressionless Marshal Gu and the enthusiastic An Shufen. The corners of her mouth perked up, how strange…

“Aiyo! Miss Zi came, welcome welcome! Welcome Miss Zi for giving our Nana some face!” An Shufen saw Zi Luolan coming from far away, her face became full with a beaming welcoming smile.

“Aunty An! You don’t have to be so polite, we met in the afternoon already! This miss doesn’t like for others to call me Miss Zi!” Zi Luolan raised her brows, calling towards Aunty An.

The smile on An Shufen’s face froze momentarily; Zi Luolan’s words were undoubtedly used to poke at her heart. She had already risen to this type of status, the kind of people she hated most are those that called her Aunty An.

However, what Zi Luolan said afterward truly did slap An Shufen hard on the face. She held onto Little Cui’s hand, and sarcastically spat out, “Right! When coming over here today, this young lady came here for your An Jiaona’s face, not because of Gu Yunlan, humph!”

Seeing Zi Luolan strutting in, An Shufen immediately started to tremble in anger. Her face’s color turned indefinitely pale with rage. She briskly walked furiously to Gu Zhengting and pinched him hard at the side. Gu Zhengting just stood there expressionlessly nevertheless.

Little Cui supported Zi Luolan as they entered the room. There weren’t many people, so the two of them walked around as they pleased. Little Cui asked uncertainty, “Miss! Just now, won’t your actions have offended Marshal Gu?”

“So what if we offended him?” Zi Luolan raised her brows, and said disdainfully, “I completely despise that gold digging mistress! If she were the wife of my father, I would abandon them immediately. If Gu Yunlan is really alive, then I would love for her to come back now!”

“But even if she is alive and comes back, then I’m afraid that the Gu family would already…” Little Cui turned quiet. She was only a maid, even if she were to guess it, she still didn’t dare to say it out loud.

“What? You also noticed that something’s wrong?” Zi Luolan halted her steps and sized up the situation on all sides. Very grand, to spend this much money, the Gu family really was wealthy!

“Miss! Any clear-sighted person can see that there’s something wrong with Marshal Gu!” Little Cui glanced around, mentioning softly, “From beginning to the end, Marshal Gu hasn’t said anything at all, he’s completely expressionless. He definitely wasn’t like this when we met him before!”

“Idiot! It’s good that you know, yet why do you have to say it out loud!” Zi Luolan teasingly tapped her forehead, then turned around voicing, “Let’s go! We’re going to the Ancestral Hall right? They probably arrived there already!”

“Miss! You’re bullying me again! I won’t say anything next time!” Little Cui supported Zi Luolan as they slowly exited the courtyard.

Until the two people’s shadows disappeared from sight, a lengthy and tall shadow gradually appeared. He wore a red groom’s clothing, and his brows creased tightly. What did their words mean?

He stood there for a long time, as if he couldn’t think it through clearly. Only then did he turn around and leave.

Gu Yunlan looked the guy hugging her frostily, her heart turning gloomy. When did he appear?

“I came here before you!” The guy’s voice appeared in her mind. The man looked at her smilingly, “What? Are you not curious of why she spoke of those things here?”

“It could never be for only me to hear!” Gu Yunlan glanced at him coldly, “I really am curious as to why the groom Yangjin would appear here, and now you!”

 

“You don’t know of the relations between us?” The guy gasped out loud feigning shock. Looking at her expression, she clearly didn’t know. “In short, that lady ain’t simple. You should be careful, that was too rash of you back then. If you were to have gone out….”

Gu Yunlan grabbed onto his Chinese suit, and said furiously, “I’ll tell you again that my legs are numb from squatting. I didn’t plan on going out!”

Was she that dumb? She had squatted here for so long, but how come she couldn’t sense it when somebody came near?

“Shh! Careful of others eavesdropping on us!” The guy hooked up the corners of his mouth, and glanced at his crumpled clothing which was seized by her. They hadn’t met in a year, yet she was so rough? “Can’t you be a bit more gentle towards me?”

Gu Yunlan let out a long sigh, and asked, “What’s wrong with my father?”

“You’re still wondering over that?” The man pointed at his seized clothing and continued on, “They must have taken advantage of the time when the Marshal was distressed over you to control him!”

“Oh? Why didn’t you save him? Isn’t this letting my father suffer from avoidable pain?” Gu Yunlan tightened her grip.

“He’s fine, he just can’t move! Didn’t you say to wait for you to come back for revenge? If I were to make a move, then those three would be dead…” The man put on an innocent expression. He had purposely let Gu Zhengting suffer a little bit, for he lacked self-discipline in his younger days. Wasn’t it this that attracted the deadly disasters that nearly destroyed the entire Gu Clan?!

“Hmph! And you! What did you come here for?” Gu Yunlan released her grip and awkwardly smoothed his shirt’s collar. She didn’t know why, but her mood would turn grumpy whenever she met with this guy!

“As soon as you guys came into the city, Yiran told me!” The guy looked at Gu Yunlan smilingly. Hearing the nearby firecrackers popping, he warned, “I’ll be going over there now, be careful!”

“That traitor!” Gu Yunlan gritted her teeth furiously! That Bai Yiran had actually reported to him behind her back!

The man gently hugged her for a moment and pecked her on the forehead. With a sway of his body, he disappeared out of sight.

Gu Yunlan stared blankly. She snapped back to consciousness after a long time. Only at this moment did she feel as if her calmed mind returned to her body. She patted her cheeks, what happened just now? No point in thinking about it too much, time was running out!

She stood her body up and walked out. She met up with three people including Xuanyuan before heading towards the Ancestral Hall!

“Yunlan! How come you were gone for so long?” Bai Yiran looked at her worriedly. Everyone was at the Ancestral Hall at this point, no one could be seen in the backyard. The three people walked with a slight strut.

Gu Yunlan stared blankly. Of course it’ll be long if it had to do with Xuanyuan. Only, she still didn’t want to say it out loud, “When I exited the room earlier, I saw Zi Luolan and her servant. I didn’t have a choice so I just crouched down and hid!”

“It’s fine as long as you weren’t discovered!” Bai Yiran looked her up and down. Seeing that Gu Yunlan looked fine, she then said, “Let’s go quickly now!”

The Gu Family ancestral tablets could be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. All around were neatly arranged rows and columns of tablets, the smoke from incense lingering.

Gu Zhengting led An Shufen, An Jiaona, and Yangjing to burn incense, offer sacrifices three times, and pray before walking out of the Ancestral Hall and towards the guests.

The left side of the lobby already had a red carpet laid out on the ground. Because it was inside the Ancestral Hall, they dared not be too grand about it.

At the very end were placed two seats, and on both sides in the audiences were packed full of guests. Each one of them were engaged in conversations.

Gu Zhengting didn’t have the same expressionless look as before. Now, his face was full of smiles as he stood up, cupping his fists in a salute, his deep voice booming, “I give my thanks to all guests, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t thank you enough for coming here to take part in the young lady’s wedding!”

“To hear the Marshal talk really is great! Just now when I saw the Marshal standing at the doorway, completely silent. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that he wasn’t happy with his daughter’s wedding!” Zi Luolan leaned back on a chair with a smile, the edges of her mouth curving up slightly. It looked like a slip-up yet also as if it was on purpose.

“That’s true, if the Marshal didn’t even attend the newlywed’s wedding, wouldn’t we not know what was going on?” Sitting across from Zi Luolan, Xuanyuan Ying asked coldly.

“That’s right! I was also pretty skeptical! Could it be that the Marshal actually doesn’t care? How interesting!” Xuanyuan Ying said, acting like a scholarly man who was interested in seeing the chaotic world.

“Everyone! Apologies! Father-in-law received a telegram just now, which held up the wedding. So that was why he was standing outside the Ancestral Hall silently.” Yangjin wore a full red Qin Dynasty styled groom outfit. With his handsome expression, Yangjin walked proudly from the side, his face lit up with an appropriate smile.

“Apologies! My Father didn’t mean to be disrespectful!” An Jiaona also wore a wedding outfit as she followed him out.

“Is that so? What’s up? The Marshal can’t explain it himself?” Zi Luolan really isn’t that easy to get rid of. She looked at everyone on the scene, who actually stayed silent. At last, she settled her gaze on the two men in front of her. One of them was fidgeting with his finger, another was shutting his eyes in rest. She curved up the edges of her mouth disdainfully and smirked.

“In reply to Miss Zi’s asking, this Marshal shall speak. Just now really was because of a telegram, which was why I couldn’t attend the wedding and didn’t speak. As for the contents of that telegram, forgive me for not being able to tell you! Announcer, shall we start!” After Gu Zhengting spoke, his pupils darkened before it once again returned to its former state.

At this order, the middle-aged announcer at the side stood up, announcing clearly, “Let the ceremony begin!”

“Slow down! There’s something I still don’t get!” Xuanyuan Ying made his move. He stood up as he whistled with his fingers, saying softly, “I heard that the Marshal has a butler. No matter what kind of important matters there were, it would usually be him organizing it all. Why did the person change today?”

“You!” The event organizer was immediately cut off. An Shufen was very angry, she creased her brows, “Who exactly are you. You can’t be someone who came just to mess up everything right?”

Yangjin cupped his fists in a salute, saying with a deep voice while pressing on An Jiaona, “Uncle Zhong has grown old, the great Marshal allowed him to return home in retirement!”

“Oh?” The man raised his eyebrows, and said to the casually dressed attendant behind him, “Don’t you guys want to know who I am? Tell him, who am I?”

“The son of Shanxi Province Commander in chief, Yan Zhikuan!” Xuanyuan Ying opened his eyes unhurriedly, replying before the attendant did.

The people on the scene all stared blankly. Commander in chief Yan of Shanxi was a huge figure, for him to appear here and start opposing, what was going on now?

Hearing what he said, Yangjin’s face turned deathly pale as he clenched his fists tightly. Damn it! Another person looking for trouble came. He couldn’t tell if it was a friend or foe just yet, it was better to just tolerate it for now!

Zi Luolan lifted her brows. How interesting, another big-shot had arrived.

“So it was the Commander-in-chief Yan’s young master!” Gu Zhengyu cupped his fist in salute and smiled brightly, “May I be so bold to ask what Young Master meant by that?”

“Nothing! This Young Master is just bored and went on a stroll all around! Whatever looked wrong I should just point it out!” Yan Zhikuan shrugged his shoulders and sat down, with a smirk on his face.

Zi Luolan giggled into her sleeves, isn’t this totally to cause a disturbance?

Marshal Gu’s pupils flashed as he sat back down, then said to the announcer at the side, “Continue!”

An Shufen sat to the side and smiled perfectly, as if everything before was unrelated. An Jiaona and Yangjin immediately backed away.

“Welcome our newlyweds!” The announcer pronounced.

Yangjin held An Jiaona’s hands as they slowly walked out. “Kneel!” And according to the announcer’s words, the couple kneeled down.

“I welcome the Marshal to come authorize!” The announcer’s voice once again sounded.

Marshal Gu stood up slowly and walked to the couple’s side. A prepared maid who stood to the side carrying a tray walked out. He slowly took out the military insignia inside, and with a slight tremble in his hands, reached out towards Yangjin’s head.

“Hold it! This Miss does not agree!”

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