Chapter 8: One Truly Dares to Marry, the Other Truly Dares to Wed

“Miss, who are you talking about?”

Ting Zheng crouched down in front of her, looking up in disbelief. “The young master Lu from the Marquis of Yu’s residence?”

Gu Xingwan nodded calmly. “Yes, him.”

This was the match Gu Xingwan chose for herself after transmigrating.

She hoped this path would be far less bloody and scheming than the original story’s palace intrigues.

She was never an ambitious person; as long as life could be managed steadily and peacefully, she would be content.

But Ting Zheng didn’t see it that way.

Lu Lan and their young mistress belonged to completely different worlds.

One was a notorious playboy with a bad reputation.

The other was well-mannered, talented, and beautiful.

Ting Zheng stood up in panic, her mind racing through various thoughts.

Nanny Qin had died and was being carried back to the house.

Coupled with the fact that the young mistress had returned home with her makeup disheveled that morning,

a dreadful suspicion took root in her heart.

Could it be that last night...

“My poor young mistress, did that beast Lu Lan...?”

Ting Zheng’s lips turned pale with fear, drowning in guilt.

She blamed herself for failing to protect the young mistress last night, worried something vile might have happened.

What if Lu Lan had taken advantage of her?

“Ting Zheng, Lu Lan is a good man, better than Mei Xianghan. You have to trust my judgment,” Gu Xingwan said with a smile, trying to ease her worries.

At least, Lu Lan wouldn’t kill her with his own hands.

Moreover, in this era, if a woman lost her purity and no one knew, it might be okay—but Jian Aozhu would never let such a scandal slide.

The two of them were destined enemies in the story.

Only by marrying Lu Lan could Jian Aozhu be stopped from secretly slandering her.

“But...” Ting Zheng’s eyes darted about, thinking of Master Mei—gentle, courteous, and the son of the Minister. He seemed the perfect match.

In Shengjing City, the noble daughters vying for his attention were as countless as stars in the sky.

Yet, he had chosen Gu Xingwan, the illegitimate daughter of a fifth-rank official.

Ting Zheng had once believed it was a match made in heaven, a destined union.

Why had the young mistress suddenly lost hope?

“But what if the young master Lu refuses to marry you? Forgive my bluntness, but that kind of man is hardly consistent in word and deed. He might have made reckless promises in the heat of the moment and then denied them later,” Ting Zheng fretted at the thought of the unreliable Lu Lan.

Gu Xingwan’s eyes gleamed with sudden clarity.

“Foolish girl, how many in this world truly keep their promises? Those who condemn money as evil are the ones who profit most. Those who call beauties a curse are the ones who desire them. Those who say ‘the heights are lonely’ are the ones climbing. Those who say smoking and drinking harm the body never give them up. And those who preach the West as the most beautiful place never go there.”

There were too many hypocrites in this world.

Lu Lan was just a man caught in the mundane world—why hold him to impossible standards?

As the best choice under the circumstances, Gu Xingwan was quite satisfied with him.

As for whether Lu Lan would keep his promise to marry her, judging by how different he was from the original story’s portrayal, it seemed he had also undergone a major upheaval—whether rebirth, transmigration, or awakening of past memories.

Her intuition told her Lu Lan would marry her.

It seemed this marriage could resolve the difficulties both of them faced.

Gu Xingwan smiled wryly; after all, their situation was quite absurd.

One dared to marry the prodigal son who had pushed her into the abyss.

The other dared to marry the cruel empress who had tormented him for twenty years.

Ting Zheng, half understanding, still had doubts.

“Miss, but you’ve already been betrothed to Master Mei. If your father and mother offend the Minister’s family, how will they dare to break the engagement?”

Gu Xingwan’s gaze darkened. This was the greatest obstacle for now.

The elders of the Gu family had to personally visit to break the engagement; otherwise, her marriage to Lu Lan would have no legitimacy or proper protocol.

Given the couple’s usual behavior, this would be no small feat.

The original young mistress had no courage to mention breaking off the engagement, but Gu Xingwan was different. Rebellion flowed fiercely in her veins. Rather than suffer injustice, she preferred to make things difficult for others.

They refuse to cancel it? She thought, “Not a chance.”

Gu Xingwan had a myriad of ways to force them to agree.

Her eyes sparkled with determination as she rose to head toward the mistress’s private courtyard.

“Ting Zheng, let’s go.”

“Miss, wait!” Ting Zheng shivered at the thought of what might come next and hurried to the bed, pulling out a wooden box containing a piece of soft armor.

“Miss, wear this. What if madam uses corporal punishment on you again?”

Last time, the young mistress had been dragged by the nanny to the water torture chamber and nearly lost her life.

Gu Xingwan looked calmly at the soft armor in her hand.

One piece of armor wouldn’t save her.

Even if it did, it would only buy her time.

To survive in this era, she had to anticipate what these villains thought and feared,

and then act more ruthlessly than them.

“Ting Zheng, throw this armor away. You won’t need it anymore.”

Ting Zheng was left speechless...