Chapter 14: The Secret of the porcelain Bottle

“Don’t touch it!”

Gu Yunru’s hand was interrupted by his stern rebuke before it could touch the red-tassel gun.

“I won’t touch it, but do you have a hobby of collecting antiques?” she said, backing away.

On the left was a large shelf not filled with books, but with many old utensils like celadon vases, covered in layers of dust. Gu Yunru made a face and pinched her nose, feeling disgusted.

At some point, Rong Zhen had gotten off the bed and now stood behind her like a ghost.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, noticing the sudden change in his gaze.

His eyes were fixed on the oval bottle with dragon carvings on the shelf. The ancient patterns on it were exquisite, but what he did next stunned Gu Yunru.

He picked up the bottle and smashed it to the ground. The immense anger in his icy gaze seemed as though he was going to devour someone.

Perhaps it was due to his rage, but Rong Zhen coughed up blood and nearly collapsed.

Gu Yunru gave him some medicine and instructed Qing Feng to take care of him, while she took the broken pieces of the bottle and went to the backyard.

She couldn’t figure out what the bottle had to do with him. There must be a secret to it that nobody in the mansion knew.

She planned to bring the fragments back to the Gu mansion, but was stopped at the gate by the Gu sisters.

“Why are you coming back? You’re going to marry into the Wang family soon and should stay by the Prince’s side. Moreover, your affairs have been the talk of the town,” Gu Junyao said, blocking her way.

Gu Yunru could not say a word in her defense. Her eyes showed a determination that was not to be underestimated.

“I’m here by the Prince’s orders. How dare you stop me? Do you want me to tell my father?” she said.

Gu Junyao’s face turned red with anger. She had finally caught an opportunity to humiliate them severely, but she didn’t expect that the other party was also a shrewd person who had climbed up the social ladder. She no longer regarded the two sisters in her eyes. If things went on like this, wouldn’t it be difficult for her to get along with them in the future?

“Sister, my elder sister and I were just joking with you. Sister, a prime minister can do great things, and he shouldn’t bother with us younger sisters, right?”

Gu Junyue was a tactful person who could speak accordingly to the situation.

“Of course, I won’t bother with idiots like you. Hurry up and move aside. If you delay important matters, can you bear the responsibility?”

“You! Gu Yunru!”

Gu Junyao clenched her fists tightly, unable to tolerate Gu Yunru’s cold and sarcastic remarks. Her anger grew stronger as she watched Gu Yunru’s graceful figure enter the mansion, and her heart pounded with rage.

“Sister, she won’t have many good days ahead of her. Once she marries into the Prince Zhao’s mansion, who knows when something unexpected will happen to her,” Gu Junyue whispered in her ear, as Gu Junyao kept her emotions under control and said, “I’m just waiting for that day!”

“Please give my regards to father and mother. I’m sorry for making them worry. It’s my fault,” Gu Yunru said.

“Oh, Yunru, you’re back. Please have a seat. I heard that you were not feeling well a few days ago. It’s good to see that you’re better now. Where’s His Highness, Prince Zhao?” Madam Gu poked her head out and looked around the room, but she couldn’t see Prince Zhao anywhere.

Gu Yunru’s heart skipped a beat. She briefly explained what had happened over the past few days, then put on a pitiful and delicate expression and said, “I’ve come to apologize this time.”

When Gu Laoye heard this, he asked in a serious tone, “What happened?”

Gu Yunru was certain that Gu Laoye had been an official in the court for many years and should know the origin of this bottle. So, she decided to put on a show for the two of them and said with a sad face, “I accidentally broke Prince Zhao’s favorite porcelain bottle. I’m afraid of getting caught, so I had to bring the broken pieces back home. I’m hoping that Dad can think of a way to repair the bottle. Is there any way to fix it?”

Grandfather Gu was startled by these words and quickly opened the bundle. As he looked at the patterns on the broken pieces, his jaw and double chin began to tremble and he shook his head desperately.

“This…this…this is the imperial porcelain vase, one-of-a-kind in the world, and you actually broke it!”

“Yes, father, our daughter also thought of this. If the prince investigates, it could be a capital offense for our entire family. So, we would like to ask father to find a solution.”

Madam Gu couldn’t hold back her impatience and her face turned pale in an instant.

“You…are you trying to endanger the lives of our entire family, you wicked girl!”

“Father and mother, please calm down. This is our daughter’s mistake and she will take full responsibility. I don’t know how much father knows about this vase and whether it can be restored.”

“Restored? Even if it is restored with cracks, the Prince Zhao will still find out.”

“I’m not afraid of that. His eyesight isn’t very good. Father, please leave the matter of the vase to me. I just don’t know how much you know about it.”

Gu Yunru kept talking in circles, and her lips were almost worn out. She finally heard Grandfather Gu’s instructions.

It turns out that this vase has a secret history of the royal family. The emperor and Prince Zhao were raised by the empress dowager, but there have always been rumors that Rong Zhen was the empress dowager’s illegitimate child from outside the palace.

This goes back to twenty years ago, when the late emperor questioned the empress dowager’s betrayal and publicly proved their kinship by shedding blood. Later, rumors spread in the palace, and Rong Zhen had never been favored by the late emperor since he was a child. He became increasingly cold towards Rong Zhen and sent him directly to the border. However, Rong Zhen began to achieve remarkable military accomplishments to win the favor of his father, but unfortunately, the late emperor passed away. Rong Zhen left for some time and returned to the capital, only to find that Da Qi had completely changed.

Currently, the emperor and Rong Zhen have a good relationship, but Rong Zhen and the empress dowager have grievances against each other, and they have not seen each other for several years. The bottle, which was also a gift from the empress dowager to Rong Zhen, was rumored to be a token of love between the empress dowager and someone outside the palace. The rumors became more and more outrageous…

After hearing all this, Gu Yunru shook her head repeatedly. She did not expect such a piece of gossip.

Regardless of whether the empress dowager had betrayed the late emperor, Gu Yunru believed that Rong Zhen’s violent temper was closely related to his lack of trust from others since he was a child.

“Yunru, there might be someone who can fix this bottle.”

“Who is it?”

Gu Yunru’s eyes lit up after receiving news from the empress dowager’s old lover, Chu Sheng. However, this old lover had already left the capital and was leading a life of anonymity. Finding him would not be easy. This old lover was a top-notch porcelain craftsman. Could he be the key to unlocking Rong Zhen’s emotional issues?

But what if… Rong Zhen was really the illegitimate child of the empress dowager and her old lover… No, she couldn’t dig any deeper. What if she hit a landmine and blew herself up?

This matter had been resolved for many years, and she couldn’t let it stir up trouble again. Gu Yunru took a deep breath and looked at the table full of broken porcelain bottles, lost in thought.