The Husband I Snatched Is Not Right!-Chapter 324 - 321: In This Game of Chess, I Too Am a Piece

Chapter 324: Chapter 321: In This Game of Chess, I Too Am a Piece

The wind rustled softly, faint strains of music could be heard.

The six arts of a gentleman, among them music, were also courses at Huaqing Academy.

Yu Tingwan’s eyes trembled slightly, yet she remained silent.

Perhaps there was some stirring within her, but not much. More so, it felt like listening to someone else’s story, filled with surprise.

The surprise was that there were many who wanted the Crown Prince dead...

If only Gu Fuju had come to her when trouble befell the Yu Family, told her these things, and taken her back to the Gu Family, perhaps things would have been different.

But now she was eighteen.

The suffering she endured was already enough.

When she was helpless, the Gu Family was not there.

When she cried in anguish, curled up somewhere, the Gu Family was not there either.

When she was tormented by the Hu Family to a state not quite human nor ghost, she had to be constantly on her guard, bending low to accommodate everyone, no longer the bright and lively child she once was.

The only thing that supported her over these years was the sweet childhood memories brought by her father and mother.

Yu Tingwan still liked all shiny objects, the various gems and golden beads Wei Zhao hung at her waist every day, but when going out, she no longer displayed the proud demeanor of holding her chin high like before.

She could no longer return to the carefree, worry-free state she had when her parents were still alive.

To be precise, it was as if Wei Zhao, like her parents, treated her as a delicate flower to be cherished. She gladly accepted the kindness of the man.

Yu Tingwan’s gaze was calm, looking at the composed Gu Fuju across from her.

To rise from humble beginnings to become the Grand Tutor was no ordinary feat. Especially given how passive the He Family was back then.

Gu Fuju: "But what I did was not enough."

"Back then, your mother was restless at night, awakening to search for you in tears all day."

Jiasan had a premature birth, her child’s position was not stable. The doctor following them had been dispersed by the crowd, and the birth was extremely difficult.

Without hot water, without clean bedding, the conditions were truly poor. To give birth to the child, Jiasan had already suffered greatly, constantly drinking medicine, unable to bear it.

Gu Fuju still remembered to this day.

The prideful person who never cried in front of him waited with swollen, red eyes every day for him to bring the child back.

But his return was always empty-handed.

["It’s all my fault, I didn’t take good care of her. She was so well-behaved, never caused trouble while inside me. I shouldn’t have gone outside, shouldn’t have come to find you."]

["I’m not a good mother."]

["Fuju, I lost our child."]

["I heard from the nanny, she’s so tiny, her breathing was weak due to being premature. What should we do, with the chaos outside, what will happen to her?"]

Until one day, she cried and made a fuss, insisting on getting up to search.

She set out to find the child, but after just getting up, she stood frozen, staring at her flat stomach.

["Fuju, I’m seven months in, why is there no sign of the baby?"]

Gu Fuju said hoarsely: "Your mother’s mind became hazy, sometimes clear, sometimes confused."

On one side was the lost daughter, on the other was the wife verging on madness.

Gu Fuju had already forgotten how helpless he was at that time, and how much he regretted not joining the corrupt when he was an Imperial Censor.

Why did he have to concern himself with people who suffered, who had nowhere to seek justice?

Why did he insist on being a clean official?

"But Duke Zhou still wouldn’t let me go."

"Your grandmother, far away in the old residence of Dongzhu, also learned about your situation through his hands, and fell severely ill." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Yu Tingwan calmly: "You were stretched thin, already exhausted, and in order to comfort your mother and wife, you adopted a child outside first."

"There are those reasons as well."

Gu Fuju: "Ah Wu was indeed the child I brought back from outside. Famine had broken out, and many outside were eating the flesh of others."

On the way to looking for Yu Tingwan, Gu Fuju had seen too many famine victims eating human flesh. A large pot of water was boiling, and they would directly kill a child with a hoe and throw it in to cook.

"Perhaps her family still had a bit of conscience, and they didn’t eat her but also didn’t want to raise her, so they threw her in the bushes and ignored her."

"At that time, I heard the child’s cries and thought it was you."

But it wasn’t.

The child was quite a healthy weight, not premature.

"But I still took her back."

"Your mother’s condition was very bad at the time, naturally she couldn’t recognize her. With Ah Wu there, though she often cried and made a fuss, she also cooperated, took her medicine, and her condition improved."

He also wrote a letter, letting someone send it to Dongzhu, to comfort his mother.

The emotions in Gu Fuju’s eyes were strong, and Yu Tingwan couldn’t fathom them.

"I did not reveal to the outside that she was an adopted daughter, not even to your mother."

Only he knew that the child was still not found.

Even the servants around Jiasan, Gu Fuju was extremely cautious, using the excuse that Jiasan needed quiet recovery and the child was premature and weak, not allowing them to serve closely.

From that time, he had been laying out a plan that lasted over ten years.

He wanted Duke Zhou to believe that his calculations had failed.

"After returning to my post in the Capital post the relocation, I secretly traveled between Ze County every year, hiding it from your mother. But too many people in the Capital watched my movements, I was afraid others would find out and interfere. And far away in the Capital, I couldn’t reach you, so your safety was increasingly uncertain, hence everything was concealed."

"When people mentioned the Gu Family, they only knew that the Gu Family’s Daughter had once gone missing but was found."

As he spoke, he paused, a gleam of coldness flashed through his eyes.

"But I didn’t realize, that in this whole plan, I was also just a pawn."

"Years ago, when your grandfather sent five Hidden Guards with me to decide the Capital, one of them had already been bought by Duke Zhou."

"Because your grandfather ultimately had grace towards him, he received Duke Zhou’s order to eliminate you, but he couldn’t bear to do so himself, so he left you in the forest, tearing a piece of cloth to create the illusion of your death."

"That forest was exactly on the route Yu Jingcheng traveled with escorts. He hadn’t gone far when he followed the cries and found a dirty little baby under the tree."

"He didn’t harbor any murderous thoughts and allowed you to be taken away."

"But at that time, I didn’t know."

"Afterwards, he continued to search for you everywhere with the servants at home. Yet no one saw his malice."

Even if a wrongdoing was done, his expression was naturally stiff, but not many paid attention to it.

Even if they paid attention, seeing his unusual face, they wouldn’t think much of it.

At that time, how many people’s expressions were ’normal’?

The outside world was in great chaos, order was lost, in the coming and going, many servants sent to search faced calamities and never returned.

"When I brought Ah Wu back, he was unaware of any deception."

He thought Gu Fuju had actually found her.

But as time passed, could the Hidden Guard not show a flaw? Yet the news of Gu Family finding their daughter, and failing his task, had already reached Duke Zhou’s ears, the truth and lies mingled, the Hidden Guard was also confused, afraid of Gu Fuju discerning any signs, simply not investigating further.

And so nine years passed.

When Duke Zhou realized there was hidden truth in those past events, he was infuriated. But he could no longer act against Gu Fuju, who had risen step by step and became a threat.

He even had to act amicably when they met.

He could only strike at the Yu Family.

"That fire was set by the man sent by Duke Zhou."

At this point, Gu Fuju’s tone turned icy.

If not for Yu Jingcheng, Yu Tingwan would have perished long ago.

But the Yu Family couple, however, were consumed by the sea of flames.