In front of his father, he called his assistant and canceled the acquisition of the Gu family.

Jiang Chenyu stood up and said, "Don't expect me to treat her well. She doesn't deserve it." With that, he left his father's study.

Outside, he saw the woman who had been waiting by the wall.

Gu Nuannuan also looked at him, her clear eyes holding flames of anger and endurance.

He glanced at her and walked away.

Gu Nuannuan then entered the study. "Jiang Lao, you said that as long as I married into the family..."

Before Gu Nuannuan could finish, Jiang Lao interrupted coldly, "From now on, this matter is not to be mentioned to anyone in the family. The crisis in the Gu family has been resolved, and Chenyu will not do this again."

As he was about to leave, Gu Nuannuan stubbornly blocked Jiang Lao's path. "Words are just empty promises. You have to give me a written guarantee."

After she said this, even the butler was stunned. She didn't trust the master's words.

No one likes to have their words doubted, especially someone as high-ranking as Jiang Lao. A mere servant girl demanding a written guarantee from him made Jiang Lao's face darken. The butler immediately intervened, knowing that the master had a bad temper and fearing that he would lose his temper with the new bride.

"Second Young Madam, Master always keeps his word. You'll understand over time. Since Master said he will protect the Gu family, there's no need for a written guarantee. Now that you're part of the family, let's not do anything to hurt the relationship," the butler said, signaling to Gu Nuannuan not to be stubborn.

Gu Nuannuan accepted the butler's kindness and remained silent.

Instead, it was Jiang Lao who angrily left the study.

In the bedroom, Jiang Lao said angrily, "If it weren't necessary, how could our Jiang family accept such a daughter-in-law?"

The butler tried to calm Jiang Lao down. "Please calm down, Second Young Madam is young and straightforward. She married into the Jiang family for reasons unknown to others, but we know. From her perspective, it's understandable. After all, until today, she was still a child of the Gu family. On her wedding night, she learned that her family was going to be acquired by her husband. Naturally, she was anxious."

This slightly eased Jiang Lao's anger. "Send two people to guard their rooms. We can't afford any more incidents tonight."

"Yes."

Gu Nuannuan knew she had displeased Jiang Lao, but she still couldn't shake her unease.

What if, over time, the Jiang family forgot their promises and didn't keep their word?

But she knew she dared not go to Jiang Lao again.

As Gu Nuannuan was walking, she suddenly heard a commotion downstairs.

Curious, she went to the railing to look down.

It was Jiang Chenyu.

He was about to leave.

The butler and the mayor were blocking his way.

"Second Young Master, tonight is your wedding night. You should be with the Second Young Madam. It's not auspicious for the newlyweds to leave on their wedding night," the butler said, having just learned from a servant that Jiang Chenyu intended to leave.

The mayor, coincidentally passing by, also intervened. "Chenyu, you're in your thirties. Can't you be more mature? Nuannuan is your wife now, and you have to take responsibility for her. If you leave tonight, how will you face her tomorrow at the Jiang family?"

"Big Brother, I don't know the details of this marriage, and neither do you. I'm only married by order, not by obligation. Don't stop me, you can't stop me," Jiang Chenyu said.

Jiang Chenyu tried to leave, but the mayor stopped him again. "Nuannuan is watching you from the second floor."

Jiang Chenyu turned his head and saw the girl in a dress watching him. His Adam's apple bobbed, and without saying a word, he passed by the mayor and left the old Jiang family mansion.

He was showing his disgust towards Gu Nuannuan through his actions.

Now that Gu Nuannuan was in the Jiang family, her father-in-law disliked her, and her husband treated her with indifference.

She sighed wearily and returned to her new room.

The room was filled with red, which was ironic to Gu Nuannuan.

She tidied up the sofa and lay down without moving anything else in the room, closing her eyes.

Mayor Jiang returned to the bedroom, where his wife Wei Aihua was already in bed. He said, "Aihua, go and accompany Nuannuan. On her first day here, Chenyu gave her the cold shoulder. If this gets out, people will think our Jiang family lacks manners."

Wei Aihua was already dissatisfied with this marriage. She had refused it initially, but no one in the family listened to her. "Even her own husband can't keep her. I'm not going."

"Aihua, you're the sister-in-law and the mistress of the Jiang family. Morally and logically, you're the most suitable person to go."

"She dares to marry into the family shamelessly. Do you think she deserves it?"

Wei Aihua turned off the bedside lamp. "Let's sleep."

At night, Jiang Chenyu drove to Yenan Villa.

Yenan Villa was his true "home." Usually, he lived alone there. He couldn't stand staying in the old mansion for more than ten days a year.

He parked the car and noticed a drunken woman sitting at the door, holding a bottle of alcohol in her hand, her eyes blurred as she looked at the light coming towards her.

When the car lights went out, Jiang Chenyu got out of the car.

He walked to the door. "Why are you here?"

Gao Rouer saw him and tears welled up in her eyes. "Why did you marry her?"

Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes to the tip of her nose, her eyes red from crying for a long time.

Gao Rouer was wearing a red dress, blocking his home's entrance.

In a weak voice, she asked, "Chenyu, tell me why."

She cried until she had no strength left, as if all her energy had been drained from her body and she couldn't even stand up.

Jiang Chenyu said, "You've had too much to drink."

"I haven't, Chenyu, you know my feelings. I've liked you for 15 years, I've been by your side the longest. I thought, if you were going to get married, it must be me. Why her? Is it just because she's younger than me?"

Jiang Chenyu stepped up and picked her up, carrying her into Yenan Villa.

Gao Rouer continued to speak. "You're not like this. Tell me why you married her. You must not love her, you love me, right?"

Jiang Chenyu put her down on the sofa. "Sober up and go."

"No!"

"Are you trying to avoid facing the truth I pointed out? Chenyu, if you love her, why are you here alone on your wedding night? If you love her, why did you marry her to the old mansion instead of here?"

Gao Rouer cried bitterly. "I've been with you for 15 years, I understand you. The woman who can live in your Yenan Villa is the one you truly approve of. Chenyu, is that woman me or not? But why did you marry her? Who is she, and why did she come between us?"

Since Gao Rouer found out that Jiang Chenyu was getting married, her father locked her up to prevent her from causing a scene at the wedding. She was only released late at night.

Gao Rouer couldn't accept the fact that the man she loved had married someone else.

Jiang Chenyu looked at the woman sobbing beside him, unable to explain her questions.

In the end, he called someone from the Gao family. "She's here with me, drunk. Come and take her away."

"I'm not leaving. I want to be with you. Chenyu, let's run away! Why, why did you marry her?" Gao Rouer cried until she was exhausted, her tears streaming down.

When the Gao family's people arrived, she refused to leave. In the end, Jiang Chenyu carried her out and handed her over to the Gao family. "Take care of her."

That night, Jiang Chenyu had a splitting headache. He went to the study and looked through the documents he obtained from his father, page by page. He didn't know if this was right—to marry a girl he had never met before, just for the sake of these documents.

"It's just mutual use."

Thinking like this, his heart felt less tangled.

The next morning, when Gu Nuannuan got up to eat, she sat at the table, and someone handed her a basin of water.

She didn't understand what it meant.

Wei Aihua looked at her mockingly. "Those from humble backgrounds really are different. How can you not know this? Even if you don't, you should have seen it on TV. Do you look down on TV too?"

When someone mocked her, Gu Nuannuan clenched her fists and told herself to endure.

Then, she watched Wei Aihua's every move and slowly imitated her actions.

Wei Aihua felt disdain in her heart. Speaking in a small voice, she muttered, "Compared to Rouer, the difference is not just ten thousand miles, it's like heaven and earth. How did we end up choosing someone like her in the end?"

Mayor Jiang coughed to remind his wife, "Nuannuan doesn't know, just teach her as the eldest sister-in-law should. Don't talk about others behind their backs."

"Comparison is inevitable."

Wei Aihua, sitting opposite Gu Nuannuan, showed no mercy. "If anyone introduces someone like her to my son in the future, I'll crash into them right in front of their face."

"That's enough!" Mayor Jiang wasn't stupid; he could understand what his wife was implying.

Wei Aihua was clearly saying that both she and Jiang Lao had made the wrong choice for Chenyu's wife.

"You're just Chenyu's sister-in-law. Chenyu's marriage is his own business, and you have no right to interfere." Mayor Jiang got angry early in the morning.

Jiang Lao arrived slowly. After a good night's sleep, he was no longer angry about what had happened with Gu Nuannuan last night.

He sat down and looked around, noticing the empty seat next to Gu Nuannuan. He asked, "Nuannuan, where's Chenyu? Go call him down for breakfast."

Gu Nuannuan looked at the empty seat next to her and wondered how to tell them that Jiang Chenyu wasn't home.

Understanding Gu Nuannuan's dilemma, the butler spoke up, "Young Master wasn't home last night; he probably went to the company."

"What! He went to the company on his wedding night. Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on him? Why didn't anyone tell me last night? Is everyone trying to rebel?" Jiang Lao was furious upon hearing this.

Wei Aihua sarcastically remarked, "If he doesn't like the person lying next to him, he'll naturally keep his distance."

Mayor Jiang also got angry. "Shut up."

On the second day of the bride's arrival, she was bullied to such an extent without saying a word.

Mayor Jiang couldn't stand his wife's behavior. He pulled Wei Aihua away from the dining table.

Jiang Lao pounded the table in anger. "Bring Jiang Chenyu back to me. He's becoming unruly."

"Yes, sir."

Back in the bedroom, Mayor Jiang pushed his wife away and pointed at her. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You're dissatisfied, but you're just Chenyu's sister-in-law. You have no right to interfere in Chenyu's marriage! And don't think I don't know what you're planning for our son. Jiang's future is the future of Jiangsu Province. You can't choose his life path for him."

"What do you mean? You better make yourself clear. What am I planning? Jiang Mayor, I've been married to you for twenty years, and I can't compare to a newcomer like Gu Nuannuan? I see, Gu Nuannuan is the one you like, isn't she!"

"Nonsense!" Mayor Jiang gritted his teeth, and his raised hand almost slapped Wei Aihua in the face.