Shen Zhongbai was sitting in one of the gazebos. He was only twelve at that time. The first time they met, he wore a light blue robe which was of exceptionally rare material.

He raised his head proudly and totally ignored Gu Zhihua who was kneeling on the ground. It seemed that he would leave at any moment.

However, she just couldn’t move her eyes away from him. Never had she seen a man more handsome than him. That encounter had made a difference in her life.

Now she only ended up like this. After she had pulled every string she had and used up her intelligence, she still didn’t get anything at last.

Having stepped out from behind Ye, Gu Zhihua raised her head and took a deep breath. Then she said with a trembling voice, “Since you dislike me and my family so much, why don’t you divorce me now?”

Everyone was shocked at once and turned to Gu Zhihua.

Everyone in the capital knew that Gu Zhihua was crazy in love with Shen Zhongbai and had tried her best to sleep with him.

However, she had just asked Shen Zhongbai to divorce her.

Being divorced by a man, especially a man like the Third Prince meant that Gu Zhihua might never be able to get married again.

“You stupid girl. Are you crazy? How could you say something like that?” Even the white flower on Ye’s head started to shake. She reached out her hand and wanted to slap Gu Zhihua, but finally didn’t do it. As Gu Zhihua’s mother, she knew how miserable Gu Zhihua had been feeling these days.

Ye knew how difficult Gu Zhihua’s life had been, Shen Zhongbai did too. Now Ye only wanted Shen Zhongbai to experience all the things Gu Zhihua had suffered. ‘Shen Zhongbai, you are not a man!’ Ye thought.

Perhaps Gu Zhihua finally couldn’t bear it anymore.

Shen Zhongbai was stunned at first. Then his gaze started to wander in front of Gu Zhihua, trying to figure out if Gu Zhihua was joking.

He knew the level of Gu Zhihua’s intelligence too much. Maybe the words ‘you don’t like my family’ were the wisest thing she had ever said.

That was not a compliment but a threat. She had used her family to threaten Shen Zhongbai. He understood her words.

“Zhihua, can you represent the Gu family? You know my position. If I have to marry a girl from your family, I can only marry the legal daughter. But you are just an illegal daughter. How could you call yourself my wife?” Shen Zhongbai’s voice was never gentle when he spoke to Gu Zhihua and he always gave her a cold face.

Gu Zhihua suddenly got softhearted. Even if his words were harsh, she was already indulged in his attitude.

Ye’s face turned green and Prime Minister Gu also felt very embarrassed. Ye was the only partner he had now. Although she was not his wife, she was closer to him than his wife. Prime Minister Gu always believed that if they hadn’t met at the wrong time, Ye should have been his wife. It was just a matter of time. The other woman had appeared in his life first.

“Third Prince, there are so many things for us to deal with today. Please go back. My legal daughter and my illegal daughter are all my favorite. I treasure both of them. Maybe you should stop asking things about my family.” Prime Minister Gu finally put on a long face. He had already been pushed to his breaking point.

Having pondered for a long while, Shen Zhongbai turned to Shen Qiangwei to make eye contact with her. The latter who had already got familiar with Shen Zhongbai’s character kept nodding. After she sized Gu Zhihua up, she at last took back her eyes.

Then she left slowly. This was the business between the Gu family and the Prince. As a prostitute, she couldn’t get involved, or she would surely suffer.

Gu Zhihua still wanted to stay there, but was pulled away by Ye.

Only Prime Minister Gu and Shen Zhongbai were left there. There was a long silence. Prime Minister Gu raised his jaw and then the two men walked to the main hall where there were white candles on the table. The light was bright, making Shen Zhongbai’s face look fairer and more handsome.

“Prime Minister Gu, what do you want to say to me here? Just cut to the chase.” He clearly was out of patience. When he had heard that Gu Qiang had lost her memory, he had been cheerful deep down. She hadn’t liked him before, but it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t like him in the future. He seemed to have felt the hope.

Gu Qiang was a stubborn girl. If she insisted on marrying Shen Zhongbai, he would give her everything she wanted.

Suddenly, Shen Zhongbai felt that maybe he should be good to the old man in front of him. After all, this old man was not only Gu Zhihua’s father, but also Gu Qiang’s father.

Prime Minister Gu took a sip of the tea and couched lightly. Then he said, “It doesn’t matter that you don’t like Zhihua. No one is forcing you to marry her, but you don’t want to go against the whole Gu family and shouldn’t have brought that woman here. Are you trying to provoke us? Or trying to suggest us that the girl from our family is no better than a prostitute?”

Prime Minister Gu had told himself to calm down, but he still lost control. He just couldn’t let Shen Zhongbai insult him like that, even if the latter was a prince.

Shen Zhongbai sighed and took the teacup while saying breezily, “Prime Minister Gu, did you forget that it was your daughter who had begged to marry me? Why didn’t she think of the life she would have if she married a guy who doesn’t like her? Even a fool would know what kind of life that will be, you think Gu Zhihua had no idea?”

Prime Minister Gu kept silent and only stared at Shen Zhongbai coldly. That man wasn’t wrong. Gu Zhihua was crazy in love with Shen Zhongbai, which meant the latter was actually the victim.

“Then, you’ve heard what Zhihua said. Can you please divorce her?” Prime Minister Gu said.

In Prime Minister Gu’s view, Gu Zhihua was too young to know that there were a lot of men in this world and that she didn’t have to give up all these men for Shen Zhongbai.

No matter Gu Zhihua had uttered those words on a whim or out of impulse, Prime Minister Gu still believed that it was not bad for her to give up this marriage now. A powerful man like him was able to find Gu Zhihua a good husband who was at least better than Shen Zhongbai.

Shen Zhongbai never expected Prime Minister Gu to say that and got nervous at once. Although he didn’t like that woman, he had never thought about divorcing her. To be honest, he felt it would make him look so good if he could marry the two girls of the Gu family.

Love was one thing, but possession was quite another thing.

“I’ve been through so much to marry her. How could I send her back? Anyway, we can discuss this a few days later. After all, maybe your Zhihua would already regret at that time.” Shen Zhongbai stood up and said to Prime, “That’s all I want to say. Pardon me for leaving.”

After saying that, he walked to the corridor slowly. Then, Shen Qiangwei walked out from the corner and took his arm. After that, they both headed toward outside.

The sky was turning bright in the east. There was sudden descent of frog. Prime Minister Gu breathed heavily, but could do nothing.

He turned his head. The main hall was the highest place in the Gu’s Mansion. He could see white lanterns everywhere in this mansion. They formed a sea of whiteness, looking strangely splendid. Although the cold color sent people chills, he still felt as if he was in wonderland.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ye and Gu Zhihua hiding behind the screen. And their ambition and curiosity were also obvious.

He sighed deeply and said with resignation, “Come out.”

He had already done his best. Like Third Prince had said, he had no feelings for Gu Zhihua. He had been very clear about that.

Maybe Shen Zhongbai had had a soft spot for Gu Zhihua before. After all, Gu Zhihua was still a pretty girl.

Though she was not as gorgeous as Gu Qiang, she looked pure and innocent like a child. However, Prime Minister Gu was well aware of what kind of person she really was.

Ye tapped on Gu Zhihua’s back and then pushed the latter. Gu Zhihua had been crying the whole time and didn’t have time to guess what her mother meant. She fell ahead instinctively. Luckily, Prime Minister Gu reacted fast and held her up. The look in his eyes suggested that he felt sorry for her. Having let out a big sigh, he finally made up his mind and said resignedly, “Zhihua, you’ve already seen it. Third Prince doesn’t like you at all. If you are still so obsessive about him, you’ll get hurt eventually. I am capable of finding a man who will love and adore you. You’ll live an extravagant life forever. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Gu Zhihua lowered her head. She was still wearing the white mourning dress. Her face was so pale as if she was about to faint at any time. Prime Minister Gu gnashed his teeth. If Shen Zhongbai took the Gu family a little more seriously, he wouldn’t have done that to Gu Zhihua. Now, he suddenly remembered it was Gu Qiang who had insisted that Gu Zhihua should marry Shen Zhongbai. If Gu Qiang hadn’t lost her memory, Prime Minister would ask her why she had done that to her sister.

People always started to pay attention to the things which they had ignored when their interests were affected. For example, Prime Minister Gu had been playing the role of a good and impartial father the whole time, but he couldn’t keep pretending after what had just happened.

Gu Zhihua shook her head reluctantly, saying, “Father, can you tolerate that kind of insult? Since Third Prince doesn’t want to divorce, I’ll go back and live with him. I believe that whore doesn’t love Third Prince for real. I’ll be devoted to him, why couldn’t it work? I have to impress him and let him know that I’m the only woman who will always accompany him.”

Prime Minister Gu opened his mouth but still didn’t say a thing at last. In his view, the company and the touching moments were all pointless. Even if Shen Zhongbai was touched by Gu Zhihua, it didn’t mean anything. A man would never love the person who touched him. It was easy to ignore the ordinary and thoughtful things. Maybe she would do these kinds of things for her entire life to touch Shen Zhongbai, and the latter might still ignore her the whole time. If that really happened, it would break Prime Minister Gu’s heart.