Chapter 368: Despicable Inducement

Gu Cheng climbed up from the soft couch, dressed himself, and looked down at Princess Changping on the couch from above.

Princess Changping curled up in a corner of the soft couch, frightenedly staring at Gu Cheng before her.

Her face was deathly pale, her clothes disheveled, and her eyes filled with endless hatred and shame.

She never imagined that the always refined and courteous eldest son of the Gu family would be such a beast in human guise.

She could hardly imagine that, after all these years, the person she had come to like was actually so despicable.

Gu Cheng looked at Princess Changping with satisfaction, slowly squatted down, and his long fingers seized her chin, jerking it up sharply.

"Your Highness, your person and your heart now belong to me, Gu Cheng."

"If you were sent to Bei Di in this state, the Bei Di royal family, seeing you like this, having lost your virtue before marriage, what do you think Tuoba Heng would do to you?"

Princess Changping's body trembled; Tuoba Heng was no pushover.

Moreover, the Bei Di tribesmen are fierce and violent, especially that crown prince, whose methods are ruthless.

With her ruined body, marrying him would mean a death with no place to be buried.

But if she refuses, the imperial edict has already arrived at the princess's mansion; that would be defying the decree.

If she told her father emperor that Gu Cheng had forced her, it would mean a deadly feud between her and Gu Cheng.

For a moment, Princess Changping felt both hatred and shame; her face turned as white as paper, and tears welled up in her eyes, leaving her humiliated and embarrassed.

"What are you crying for?" Gu Cheng laughed coldly.

He raised his hand and gently stroked Princess Changping's hair, his voice soft with a hint of enticement: "Think it over carefully; now you have only one path to take."

"Don't you like me? Want to devote yourself to me? Today I will fulfill that for you."

"Rest assured, I, Gu Cheng, will treat you well, after all you are a princess."

"All you need to do now is one thing: go before your grandfather and say that you have me in your heart and wish to meet me before marrying into Bei Di."

"If you can't control your feelings and end up being intimate with me, word of that would ruin the reputation of your Duan family."

"Now you can only have Duke Duan step forward to reject the Bei Di marriage alliance; in three days I will personally come to your mansion to propose, and then we can be a lasting couple—why not?"

Princess Changping burst into tears.

If Gu Cheng had spoken to her like this before, she would surely have been delighted in her heart.

Back then she liked Gu Cheng to the utmost, but now that he forces and even schemes against her, she is unwilling to marry him.

Yet she also understood what Gu Cheng said: the raw rice has already been cooked.

If she marries into Bei Di with her ruined body, she might very well lose her life.

Yet forcing her grandfather to beg before the emperor to withdraw the edict—this indignation she could not swallow.

Gu Cheng himself had no certainty at this moment; he was merely betting that this woman was timid and weak, afraid of him.

As long as he controlled her, he could certainly gain some advantage from the Duan family side.

Gu Cheng's voice clearly carried a hint of impatience; as he stroked Princess Changping's hair, his hand slid down and suddenly clenched her throat.

Princess Changping couldn't help but cry out in pain, raising her hand to try to pull Gu Cheng's hand from her neck.

Little did she know, Gu Cheng's strength was immense, leaving her unable to move an inch; he leaned in close to her ear and coldly laughed: "Your Highness, you have little time left—do you really intend to go to Bei Di bearing this ruined body?"

"Moreover, marrying me, Your Highness, would not be a loss; I am temporarily down on my luck due to a villain's scheming, but once I seize an opportunity I will surely rise rapidly, and then you will surely enjoy wealth and honor as well."

"Your Highness, you had better think carefully—perhaps……"

With a crash, accompanied by hurried footsteps, the door of the private room, which had been shut tight, was kicked open from outside.

Gu Cheng never expected that, at this critical moment, someone would come to disturb them.

He had already done this with Princess Changping and certainly needed to convince her quickly.

He knew her weakness; as long as he could grasp her lifeline, he would surely make her obey him.

But before he could finish saying that, the door was suddenly kicked open from outside, and Gu Cheng hurriedly turned to look at the doorway.

A tall man in a dark brocade robe rushed in from outside.

Upon seeing that man's face, Gu Cheng was instantly shocked, thinking to himself, "This is bad."

How could this living King of Hell have come?

If it were someone else from the Duan family, he could rely on his silver tongue to persuade them to agree to his marriage with Princess Changping.

But unfortunately, the one who came was the utterly unreasonable, violently tempered Xiao Wei.

He had still been planning to indulge with Princess Changping until evening before returning to the capital; by then, if no one could be found in the princess's mansion, they would surely have panicked and reported to the authorities.

The princess's mansion would surely be in an uproar; by that time, he would support the disheveled Princess Changping and appear again before the public.

Things would proceed naturally, as water finds its channel.

Who would have thought that Xiao Wei would burst in midway?

He racked his brains, unable to understand; only he and his confidant knew that Princess Changping had come here—could it be……?

Before his thoughts could even form a plan, Xiao Wei had already come charging at him, furious.

This time, Princess Changping on the soft couch was filled with shock and anger, shame and indignation hard to bear; just as she was about to be persuaded by Gu Cheng, she suddenly saw her imperial older brother.

She could no longer hold back her breath, and suddenly burst into a loud wail.

Gu Cheng now felt that everything had gone awry; things ought not to be like this.

Where exactly had gone wrong?

For a moment he couldn't figure it out—could it be that his confidant had betrayed him?

How could that be? That little servant had been with him for over ten years, growing up together from childhood, their bond extraordinary; precisely for that reason, he entrusted many important matters to the Frost Official.

At this moment, Gu Cheng couldn't even attend to his own affairs; Xiao Wei's fist came smashing down, instantly slamming Gu Cheng to the ground.

Xiao Wei had put all his strength into it; Gu Cheng only felt his head buzzing with pain, his vision going dark in waves.

A strong smell of blood filled his nostrils, blood seeping from his nose; he frantically waved his hands and climbed up from the ground.

He had wanted to resist, but facing Xiao Wei, who often went into battle to kill enemies, his meager skills were nothing to Xiao Wei.

He hurriedly braced himself against the table, rushed to Xiao Wei, bowed and apologized: "Third Prince, I and Princess Changping are mutually affectionate, between us..."

Xiao Wei gave Gu Cheng no chance to speak, kicked him again, and then rained punches and kicks upon him.

Instantly the room was in disarray; the guards who had rushed in from outside also charged in, but seeing Princess Changping in disarray on the couch, they were frightened and all retreated.

At this moment, Gu Cheng was already flustered.

He, too, had been slapped by Xiao Wei until hatred welled up; he absolutely could not be beaten to death by this madman Xiao Wei here and now.

He drew the dagger from his waist and viciously stabbed toward Xiao Wei's chest.