Gu Jingzhe hurriedly rushed home.
He was caught in self-doubt, he hadn’t been flirting outside, nor had he met Princess Ming Yue, so how did he end up being targeted by her?
He would rather Princess Ming Yue was seeking trouble with him than have her fancy him.
This whole thing was terrifying!
Even though he was already married, even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t want to get involved with Prince Yu Mansion.
Lu Zhaozhao sneezed hard several times at home.
"Who is cursing or thinking about me?" Lu Zhaozhao mocked herself.
"It must be the master thinking about you," the nursemaid said while massaging Lu Zhaozhao’s calf.
At this moment, Lu Zhaozhao still didn’t know that her husband had caught Princess Ming Yue’s attention.
"The young master is back," Lu Zhaozhao’s maid called out.
Lu Zhaozhao sat up, and Gu Jingzhe quickly walked in, supporting her as she got up, then squatted down to take over the massage from the nanny.
The young master was so considerate to his own lady, the nanny smiled and left the room.
"What’s wrong with you?" As a close partner, Lu Zhaozhao could keenly capture any subtle emotional changes in Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe smiled and said, "They say women face the gate of hell when giving birth; thinking of how you’re about to give birth makes me nervous."
Lu Zhaozhao said bluntly, "So you must always be good to me."
Gu Jingzhe raised his hand to swear, but Lu Zhaozhao pressed down his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, I know your heart."
Originally, Gu Jingzhe planned to hide the matter of Princess Ming Yue looking for him, but remembering his mother’s advice before marriage that he should communicate openly with Lu Zhaozhao about everything, many misunderstandings were due to not explaining things, leading to trust being breached, causing their relationship to break down fundamentally.
Gu Jingzhe didn’t want Lu Zhaozhao to hear rumors from elsewhere, so he thought it over and decided to tell Lu Zhaozhao.
"Zhaozhao, today Princess Ming Yue went to the Imperial College to find me," Gu Jingzhe said.
"Looking for you? Princess Ming Yue really is just like Mrs. Min said, silly and evil. The Emperor just admonished her, yet she dares to come looking for trouble with you."
"Did she embarrass you in public?"
Lu Zhaozhao asked with concern.
Lu Zhaozhao instinctively thought Princess Ming Yue held a grudge against Tong Huaqiong and Gu Taohua, thus wanting to take it out on Gu Jingzhe.
Scholars have thin skin, and it’s entirely possible Princess Ming Yue might deliberately go to publicly shame Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe shook his head and hesitantly said, "Before finding me, Princess Ming Yue didn’t know about my connection to Taohua Dessert, so it doesn’t seem like it was because of my mother and sister. She didn’t make it hard for me; she seemed very off..."
"Off? How so?"
Gu Jingzhe blushed.
Princess Ming Yue didn’t say outright that she fancied him, but her gaze clearly conveyed that meaning.
Yet, saying it directly was something he couldn’t bring himself to do.
Princess Ming Yue’s intense gaze made him feel very uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Seeing Gu Jingzhe’s expression, Lu Zhaozhao understood why Princess Ming Yue had gone to the Imperial College.
Her husband was as handsome as an exiled immortal; whether in Ning City or Shengjing, no one could compare.
Even the Flower Snatcher who was older than her brother couldn’t compare.
If she could fall for Gu Jingzhe at first sight, it was possible for others too.
Lu Zhaozhao bluntly asked, "They say flies don’t attack seamless eggs; have you met Princess Ming Yue before, or did you do something to cause her to misunderstand? Otherwise, in all of Shengjing, with so many unmarried men, why did she choose you?"
It was not surprising for Princess Ming Yue to fancy her husband.
The point wasn’t what Princess Ming Yue did, but how Gu Jingzhe thought.
This was a lesson she learned from her mother-in-law, that you can’t eliminate all the butterflies outside. Today it’s a commandery princess, tomorrow it might be a princess. The key is how the flower behaves, not how the butterfly does.
Gu Jingzhe was startled by Lu Zhaozhao’s question.
Was Lu Zhaozhao suspecting him of flirting outside?
This led to him self-doubting if he hadn’t been caring enough for Lu Zhaozhao recently, given she was pregnant, and pregnant women tend to overthink.
Frightened, he supported Lu Zhaozhao and said, "Zhaozhao, I swear I’ve never met Princess Ming Yue before, today when she came to find me, I thought it was because of my mother and sister’s affairs."
"I already told her I’m married."
If Princess Ming Yue had any sense of shame, she naturally wouldn’t continue to fixate on him.
Lu Zhaozhao said, "A commandery princess is a member of the Royal Family; who doesn’t want to attach themselves to the higher branches? It’s a blessing to be fancied by a commandery princess. Having Prince Yu Mansion as a backing makes one’s official career smoother than others."
Gu Jingzhe anxiously said, "If I dare to associate with Princess Ming Yue, my mother could tear me apart."
Lu Zhaozhao said, "If she doesn’t tear you apart, would you agree?"
The anxious Gu Jingzhe swore again, "I did not" "I am not."
After chastening Gu Jingzhe enough, Lu Zhaozhao turned and worriedly said, "Princess Ming Yue is so arrogant and domineering; having stumbled because of my mother and sister, and then being rejected by you, she’s certainly not convinced and won’t let you go easily. Be careful these days not to be schemed on by her."
Gu Jingzhe said, "As long as you trust me, I fear nothing. What can she scheme against me with? You can’t make a cow drink by forcing it; even as a commandery princess, she cannot go against my will."
"Princess Jingan had her eyes on my brother before, and my brother still rejected her. Zhaozhao, do you trust my brother? If you trust my brother, then trust me too."
Gu Jingzhe took the example of Princess Jingan having her eyes on his brother-in-law.
Lu Zhaozhao held her forehead, thinking to herself why the Royal Family’s offspring were so interested in married men.
Three years ago, Lu Zhaoyang was the Champion Scholar, and Princess Jingan fell for him at the Qionglin Banquet.
Lu Zhaoyang clearly rejected her, but Princess Jingan still kept chasing after him. When the coercion failed, a horse accident almost injured Huang Jingshan, causing a stir in the Jinluan Palace.
With Lu Zhaoyang already married, no matter how much the Emperor wanted him as a son-in-law, he couldn’t dismiss his wife for another marriage.
Princess Ming Yue is more arrogant and gossip-prone than Princess Jingan, surely she would be more reckless in pursuing someone.
After dinner, Tong Huaqiong learned from Lu Zhaozhao that Princess Ming Yue had sought out Gu Jingzhe.
As Tong Huaqiong had expected, just like in the story of the previous life, Princess Ming Yue fancied Gu Jingzhe.
However, unlike before, Lu Zhaozhao was no longer the orphan girl without a backing and obsessed solely with Gu Jingzhe. Lu Zhaozhao could now laughingly discuss it with Tong Huaqiong, showing she wasn’t worried about Princess Ming Yue taking Gu Jingzhe away.
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t worried either.
If Gu Jingzhe truly was taken by Princess Ming Yue, she wouldn’t consider him a son anymore.
The person most affected was Gu Taohua.
"There aren’t the dead men worldwide, what’s so good about fancying a married man, especially as a commandery princess, how shameless," Gu Taohua scolded.
After cursing Princess Ming Yue, Gu Taohua’s sharp gaze landed on Gu Jingzhe, asking, "Third brother, are you flirting outside? There are many single scholars at the Imperial College; why did Princess Ming Yue choose you? Did you send some signal to the princess? If it’s about me and mother offending the princess and she seeks revenge, why not target our second brother, who looks just fine?"
Gu Jingzhe: "..."