Chapter 262: Ambush on All Sides

“Father, aren’t you going to save Sister?” Liu Rongran gritted his teeth. “That ungrateful dog, Gu Qingsong! If not for Sister, he would have died long ago. How could he have achieved his current fortune without her?”

“He’s now a prince of a different surname. How can we, mere merchants, fight against him? Your sister acted too recklessly, leaving herself at his mercy. If we want to save her, we’ll have to start with Zhen’er and make him pressure Gu Qingsong to release her.”

Father Liu was never one to take things lying down. Since Gu Qingsong dared to treat his daughter this way, he would make him pay the price. “Doesn’t he care about that woman from Great Zhou? He plans to settle accounts with us and won’t let our family off lightly. Pack your things now and escape back to Great Zhou. Capture his original wife and children there, so they can serve as our family’s bargaining chips.”

A sinister glint flashed in Liu Rongran’s eyes as murderous intent toward Gu Qingsong’s family took root. “If he dares to harm Sister, I’ll make sure he and his wife from Great Zhou are separated by life and death. Let them reunite in the underworld!”

After saying this, Liu Rongran went back to his room to pack his belongings, preparing to escape through the back door.

The moment he stepped out, a gleaming sword, cold as ice, was pressed against his neck.

Liu Rongran’s face turned deathly pale with fear.

Mo Yuan spoke in a cold voice, “I’ll have to trouble Young Master Liu to come with me.” Without waiting for Liu Rongran to respond, the hilt of the sword struck the back of his head with a sharp blow.

Liu Rongran collapsed to the ground.

Mo Yuan picked him up like a sack and threw him into the carriage before continuing to wait for his next target.

Father Liu, witnessing this scene, was so terrified that he retreated back into the mansion. Without hesitation, he headed straight to Gu Yunzhen’s room, intending to use him as leverage to escape.

He thought about what Lady Liu had done to Gu Huaizhi, clinging to the hope that his plan would succeed.

Since Gu Qingsong dared to capture his son, having Gu Huaizhi fall into their hands would serve as a fitting lesson for Gu Qingsong!

—

After Gu Huaizhi and Su Wan left the residence, they took a carriage back to the palace.

“Mother stayed in our hometown before, waiting for him despite everything. But now that she’s willing to move to the capital, it shows she’s ready to leave him behind. Over the years, she’s gradually healed from the pain, and in her heart, the most important people are you, Second Brother, and Third Sister.”

Su Wan hugged Gu Huaizhi from behind, resting her cheek against his back. “You don’t have to force yourself. If you don’t want to acknowledge him, then don’t. I believe Mother is a decisive person. Once she knows his situation, she’ll definitely move on and live well in the future.”

Gu Huaizhi held her hands tightly. “Compared to learning that he is alive, remarried, and has other children, Mother would rather believe he had died. Yet, she has always been forgiving toward her own people.

No matter how much he betrayed her and let her down, he is still the father of me and Third Sister. Deep down, Mother wishes him well, though it inevitably causes her sadness and pain.”

Su Wan, thinking of how forgiving Mother Gu had been toward her, fell into silence.

Gu Huaizhi was reluctant to share this news with his mother, yet he feared that Gu Qingsong would not easily give up, and sooner or later, his mother would find out.

“It might not be a bad thing for Mother to know,” she said. “Right now, he lives in her heart as the man he once was—the one who sacrificed himself to wild beasts for this family.

If she learns that he has built a new family and life, she may be heartbroken for a time. But once she picks herself up and lets go of Prince Changxing, she’ll finally be able to live her own life fully.”

In Su Wan’s heart, Mother Gu was a resilient and strong-willed person who would surely be able to move on from the shadows of her past quickly.

“You’re right,” Gu Huaizhi said with a smile, turning around to pull Su Wan into his embrace. “Mother deserves her own life and shouldn’t waste it dwelling on him.”

The carriage moved slowly through a narrow alley. The quiet lane echoed only with the sound of the wheels rolling over the stone pavement.

Suddenly, ambushers hidden on both sides of the alley raised their bows. They lit the tips of their arrows with fire and aimed at the slowly approaching carriage, releasing a volley of flaming arrows.