Gu Fei rose from his seat, offering Gu Yuan a perfunctory bow before turning to leave. His movements were precise, deliberate—and utterly devoid of any acknowledgment toward Xun'er.
The deliberate snub didn't escape notice. Xun'er's fingers twitched as an unfamiliar pang shot through her chest.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be...
Hadn't Gu Fei once gazed at her with stars in his eyes? When had those constellations dimmed to this cold indifference?
She bit her lip hard enough to leave crescent marks in the soft flesh.
As the doors closed behind Gu Fei, Gu Yuan released a weighty sigh that seemed to age him decades in an instant. His spoiled daughter—married yet still entangled with another man. Had his leniency after his wife's death cultivated this willful disregard for propriety?
"Xun'er," Gu Yuan's voice carried the weariness of a father rather than a patriarch, "do you understand your transgression? When one takes a spouse, certain... liberties must be sacrificed."
His gaze sharpened. "Particularly for a supposed 'genius' who can't hold a candle to your husband. That Xiao boy is—"
"A Trash," Xun'er finished bitterly, recalling the spies' reports Gu Yuan had undoubtedly received. "I know what your investigators say about Xiao Yan's... decline."
"Then why?" Gu Yuan's composure cracked for the first time. "Why jeopardize your marriage for—"
"Because Gu Fei blew this out of proportion!" Xun'er's cry echoed through the hall, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. The sight softened Gu Yuan's stern expression despite himself.
With a dismissive wave, he sent her away. There were other ways to salvage this—starting with Gu Lie. If anyone could sway Gu Fei, it would be his revered grandfather.
News traveled through the Gu Clan's sprawling compounds like wildfire fanned by Gu Yunyou's strategically dropped hints. By midday, every disciple knew:
The golden couple was fracturing.
And a certain "waste" from the Xiao Clan was to blame.
Gu Fei walked through the buzzing corridors with measured steps, the weight of countless stares prickling against his back. The usual sycophants kept their distance now, their whispers a susurrus of:
"He actually dared to slight the Patriarch's daughter..."
"That Xiao trash isn't fit to lick Young Master Gu's boots!"
"How could Lady Xun'er...?"
[Emotion Detected: Gu Yue - Curiosity. Value +1]
[Emotion Detected: Gu Feiyang - Resentment. Value +1]
[Emotion Detected: Gu Yao - Rage. Value +5]
The last notification gave Gu Fei pause. His gaze slid toward a shadowed alcove where Gu Yao stood rigid, his knuckles white around the window frame.
Their eyes met—Gu Fei's calm as a frozen lake, Gu Yao's burning with barely restrained fury.
A slow, knowing smile curved Gu Fei's lips before he continued walking. Behind him, he felt Gu Yao's murderous intent solidify like tempered steel.
Gu Yao's chambers rattled with the force of his slammed fist.
Xiao Yan.
The name tasted like rotted meat on his tongue. That mediocre worm from some backwater clan, daring to taint what even he—a direct descendant of the Gu bloodline—had respectfully yielded to Gu Fei?
His reflection in the polished bronze mirror twisted into something grotesque.
"Brother Gu Fei I could accept," Gu Yao hissed to his phantom counterpart. "But that? A failed genius who couldn't even keep his engagement to some lowly Nalan girl?"
The mirror cracked under his palm.
No. This insult wouldn't stand. If Xun'er's judgment was this flawed, someone needed to... correct the oversight.
And as luck would have it, Gu Yao knew precisely where to find this "Xiao Yan." After all, hadn't Gu Ling mentioned that Xun'er still sent letters to that wretched Wutan City?
A slow, venomous smile spread across his face.
Some pests needed exterminating.