FBC – Chapter 120 Debt Collection

From a distance, Chi Yu, who was hiding far away, felt a chill run down his spine.

He craned his neck to peek at the bridal chamber. It was pitch-black inside. Dong Hua and Dong Qing stood guard at the door, and everything appeared normal.

On the joyous day of their wedding, the bride was resting while the groom stood outside the window in anger?

Then the groom entered the room. Still, no lamps were lit. He simply stood motionless by the bead curtain separating the outer and inner chambers.

What kind of situation was this?

Mu Junyan, fearing that Gu Hua might be startled, had instructed that their guards need not watch over Wenhan Pavilion tonight. Only two were left to guard the entrance.

Just as Chi Yu was trying to figure things out, a gust of icy wind suddenly swept past him. He instinctively tilted his head.

A warm droplet fell on his cheek. He reached up to touch it. It felt sticky. Under the moonlight, he took a look—

Blood!

Before he could react, a second object stained with blood came flying toward him. He quickly dodged, and it landed right at his feet.

He looked down in shock.

Huh? Wasn’t that the Lord’s jade thumb ring?

It was shattered… and bloodstained.

Need he guess?

It was clearly a signal to scram.

Chi Yu immediately retreated a dozen steps but didn’t dare to leave completely. He strained his eyes, trying hard to observe what was going on in the bridal room.

Inside the bridal chamber.

Gu Hua was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

She never imagined that the Brother Ji she had longed for all this time wasn’t dead after all.

What’s more, they had reunited on the very day she was getting married—this cruel coincidence tore her apart.

She had met Ji Xuanyu when both were nobodies, still too young to understand love.

But he had been the only ray of sunlight in her otherwise despairing life.

That brief period of time was the only one in her past life filled with laughter.

Back then, she never once considered whether life would be hard if she escaped the living hell with Brother Ji.

She just wanted to follow the kind-hearted Brother Ji, because at least then, she could live like a human being.

The sound of the bead curtain swaying rang clear in the quiet night, jolting Gu Hua’s heart. She quickly stifled her sobs and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

But she didn’t dare light the candles in the room, afraid he would see she had cried.

Behind a screen and bead curtain, the bridal candles—a pair of dragon and phoenix red candles—cast a flickering glow that stretched the man’s tall silhouette across the room.

Afraid Mu Junyan might notice something amiss, Gu Hua quietly walked outward in small steps, taking deep breaths, trying to suppress her sorrow.

“My Lord, you—”

Gu Hua noticed her voice was hoarse and still laced with the sound of crying. She quickly shut her mouth.

Through the screen, the man’s outline swayed with the candlelight. Her footsteps paused.

Mu Junyan sensed her approaching. After a long silence, he pulled out a silk handkerchief and wrapped the wound on his finger.

He stepped around the screen and entered.

The faint light cast down upon the girl, who wore only her bedclothes—thin inner garments—and was barefoot. His eyes instantly turned cold.

Was this how she greeted her childhood sweetheart?

He said nothing, just walked to the clothes rack, grabbed a jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. The warmth of his large palm seeped into her skin, and for some reason, Gu Hua’s flustered heart settled slightly.

“Not afraid of catching a cold?”

The words sounded like ordinary concern, but his voice was like ice from the deepest winter.

Gu Hua clutched her collar and looked up. Their eyes met, and she felt the chill in his gaze.

“My Lord…”

Gu Hua wanted to tell him that Ji Xuanyu had just been here. But before she could speak, he cut her off.

“Forgot what you should be calling me?” His tone held a trace of reprimand.

The large hand on her shoulder tightened slightly, the searing heat making her nose sting with emotion.

“Zi Yuan… ah—”

The world spun, and before she knew it, she was being carried horizontally in his arms.

“Don’t you know your health isn’t good? The autumn night is damp with heavy dew—aren’t you afraid of catching a chill?”

Gu Hua felt a rush of warmth in her eyes. Before she could speak, she heard Mu Junyan call out to someone outside.

“Come in and help the madam change clothes.”

Madam?

Gu Hua looked at him in surprise, her heart giving a tremble.

Dong Hua and Dong Qing, who were guarding the doorway, also heard it. They exchanged glances, a flash of astonishment in their eyes, then both pursed their lips into a smile.

The master only had one woman in the manor. He could spoil her however he pleased.

Gu Hua was placed on the bed, her cheeks flushing crimson. When the two maids entered, the questions she wanted to ask didn’t come out.

While they helped her freshen up, Mu Junyan personally selected an elegant and dignified crimson ruqun (襦裙) from the wardrobe.

“Wear this one.”

Once she was properly dressed, Mu Junyan took her hand. “Are you ready?”

Gu Hua knew what he meant and nodded firmly.

Ever since she was reborn, she had been waiting for this day.

Suddenly sensing something off, Gu Hua grabbed his hand. “You’re hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Just a scrape.”

Mu Junyan held her two small hands in his large ones and softly explained what was going to happen soon.

Gu Hua’s eyes widened in surprise.

So it turned out—he had considered everything for her, down to the smallest detail.

“Hu’er, if…”

Mu Junyan’s slightly rough fingertips brushed her cheek and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

His voice remained cold, but there was a silken undertone in his tone.

Gu Hua grew a little nervous.

“If things don’t go your way tonight, what will you do?”

Would she leave with Ji Xuanyu as planned, never looking back?

Gu Hua didn’t quite understand what he meant.

Did he mean… in case the family reunion failed, or perhaps the Wang family refused to acknowledge her because of their pride…

She pondered for a moment, then slowly said, “In this world, things rarely go as one wishes. I’ll choose the path most suitable for me.”

As expected.

The most suitable path for her would probably be with her childhood companion, Ji Xuanyu, right?

Mu Junyan closed his eyes briefly before opening them again.

He took her hand and said lightly, “Let’s go.”

Xuan Yun Hall.

The atmosphere was exceptionally pleasant.

Madam Wang, rarely seen with such a confident smile, chatted happily with the Wang family relatives.

Even Gu Yuan was showing rare kindness and concern toward her.

Only Concubine Pei sat in the lower seat, looking anxious and uneasy.

Mu An and Gu Wanru sat side by side like wooden statues—Mu An with a frosty face, unwilling to speak a single word to Gu Wanru.

Gu Wanru, on the other hand, looked at the Wang family members with a hopeful expression.

The Wang family of Langya was a powerful and prestigious clan. With them as her backing, even the Duke’s estate wouldn’t dare to dismiss her as a wife.

When Gu Hua entered hand in hand with Mu Junyan, she was momentarily surprised by the scene.

Anyone unaware might think the Gu family had always been so harmonious.

It was her first time seeing high-ranking officials of the Wang clan from Langya present in the capital.

A glance across the room revealed a tightly packed crowd of people seated.

When they saw the two enter, they all rose together and offered greetings.

Gu Hua suddenly had the urge to laugh.

What a mess this seniority is.

Among the Wang clan members in Bianjing who held official ranks, the most senior was Wang Heng, a Hanlin Academician of third-rank. He was the eldest legitimate son of the current Wang clan head and the future heir of the Langya Wang family.

The Wang clan had once been the leading noble family among the four great aristocratic clans, spanning three dynasties and over ten generations. Not only did they produce numerous talented descendants across the realm, but their family discipline was also famously strict. For over 300 years, their prestige never waned. The world called them the “unchanging crown of nobility.”

However, due to their overwhelming success, they inevitably attracted jealousy and hostility from other noble families. Internal strife over interests also became constant.

The magnificent legacy built by their ancestors led their descendants to indulge in pleasure, live extravagantly, and gradually ruin the family’s reputation and integrity.

To make things worse, in the previous dynasty, the Wang clan sided with the wrong prince in a power struggle for the throne. After the prince they supported lost, other noble families took the opportunity to pounce on them.

Eventually, a dike collapsed from an ant’s nest.

When the new emperor, who won the power struggle, ascended the throne, he refrained from destroying the Wang clan entirely, out of consideration for their many talented offspring and prestigious name. However, the most they were allowed to retain was the nominal post of Hanlin Academician—a position with no real power.

With the older generation fallen and the younger generation incapable, the family gradually declined.

Thus, the Wang clan now hoped to use marriage alliances to restore the family’s former glory.

At this moment, the Wang family members were doing everything they could to preserve their image, cautious in their words and actions, not daring to offend any influential party.

Today, they hadn’t come just to witness a concubine marriage for a mere illegitimate daughter like Gu Hua.

They came because they had finally managed to latch on to one of the most powerful figures in the empire—Duke Yong.

Mu Junyan and Gu Hua returned the greeting.

“I’ve asked you all to stay late tonight because there is an extremely important matter to announce,” Mu Junyan said bluntly, skipping any polite pleasantries.

Upon hearing this, Gu Hua’s eyes welled up, and she looked up at the tall man standing beside her.

She hadn’t expected him to protect her to such an extent.