Gu Yaoqing bought a ticket for the next available flight and rushed back to the capital. Along the way, reporters tried to stop him to ask about the photos, but his bodyguards blocked them.
As soon as Gu Yaoqing boarded and before he could even settle into his seat, he received a call from Wen Shengsheng.
Crouching in the corner of her room, Wen Shengsheng trembled uncontrollably, unsure how those photos had appeared online.
"What should I do? I'm so scared..." Wen Shengsheng listened to the sounds outside her door, not daring to even look at the lights.
Someone had just smashed at her door, and there were insults and paint being thrown from outside.
She dared not respond to any of it, and calling the police was useless.
When this group left, another would come.
She had nowhere to escape. Her fans had all abandoned her, and her once loyal supporters were now hurling the most vicious insults, wishing her dead.
What had she done wrong?
She had merely fallen in love with an excellent man and done intimate things with the person she liked.
Why was it being treated as if she had committed some heinous crime?
She only wanted to be famous and to be cherished by the man she loved.
She had done nothing wrong...
"You should hide for now," Gu Yaoqing said, his voice growing impatient as he listened to Wen Shengsheng.
Why were these women unable to live without him? When trouble arose, they only knew how to scream and cry.
Like useless trash.
"I need to return to the capital to handle this matter. We'll discuss everything when I get back."
With that, Gu Yaoqing hung up the phone, not giving Wen Shengsheng a chance to beg for help.
By the time Gu Yaoqing arrived in the capital, it was already completely dark.
He dared not rest and went straight to the Gu family's old residence.
Everyone who held any influence in the Gu family was gathered there. When they saw Gu Yaoqing enter, no one offered him a friendly look.
The Gu family patriarch sat in the main seat, with Yu Linwan beside him. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face pale, giving off an appearance of delicate fragility.
Seeing Yu Linwan in this state, Gu Yaoqing felt another wave of annoyance. He had merely slept with a minor celebrity, what was the big deal? It was as if she couldn't go on living.
Gu Yaoqing's eyes swept across the room, and then he spotted Gu Yaoyang sitting on the side, still with that arrogant, disdainful expression that made people dislike him.
"Grandfather," Gu Yaoqing said directly to the Gu family patriarch, "I'm back."
"Kneel," the Gu family patriarch commanded sternly.
Gu Yaoqing froze, completely taken aback by the patriarch's attitude.
He had always been groomed as the future family head of the Gu family.
With so many people present, and that useless Gu Yaoyang also here, the patriarch was showing him no respect at all!
"Grandfather, I..." Gu Yaoqing tried to argue, but upon meeting the patriarch's icy gaze, he could only resignedly bend his knees and kneel.
Even then, Gu Yaoqing felt a sense of injustice. In his eyes, it was just a bit of gossip.
Men being philanderous was not a big deal in this circle; why did it warrant such a reaction?
And besides, Gu Yaoyang was still here...
"You beast! Look at the mess you've made!" the Gu family patriarch roared, slamming the table.
"Grandfather, it was that little star who seduced me. I just lost control for a moment, I didn't mean to," Gu Yaoqing said, then looked at Yu Linwan, hoping she would be sensible and say something. However, he saw Yu Linwan avert her gaze.
Seeing Yu Linwan act this way, Gu Yaoqing's heart seethed with anger.
He would teach that slut a lesson later!
Hadn't he told her earlier? She hadn't remembered a single thing!
Did she think that a few tears shed in front of Grandfather would gain her support?
How foolish!
He was the eldest grandson of the Gu family, the heir to the future family head, and what was Yu Linwan in comparison?
An unintelligent slut who deserved a good beating to teach her a lesson!
"I truly believe you are beyond redemption!" the Gu family patriarch said, taking a deep breath. "Bring out the family law!"
Hearing the patriarch mention the family law, Gu Yaoqing was somewhat stunned.
His uncles and cousins all had women they doted on outside, so why was it that when it came to him, it had escalated to using the family law!
He refused to accept this!
"Grandfather! I truly made a mistake. You—you shouldn't use the family law for this! It was that little star who seduced me!" Gu Yaoqing defended himself, watching his second uncle take out the rattan cane for the family law and pour salt water on it in front of him before approaching him.
Gu Yaoqing's face turned pale with fear. Just as he was about to get up and flee, he heard the Gu family patriarch say, "Today, I will make you understand clearly!"
Immediately after, a manila envelope filled with a thick stack of documents was thrown in front of Gu Yaoqing.
"Look at what you've done! Every single offense! If I were to send you to jail, even if they didn't execute you, 20 to 30 years would be a light sentence!" The Gu family patriarch was so angry his voice trembled.
Gu Yaoqing's heart skipped a beat. He opened the manila envelope and pulled out the stack of documents, only to discover that everything he had done over the years was meticulously recorded.
It included not only embezzlement and bribery, coercing accountants to create false accounts, and sexually assaulting female employees, but also the use of private torture leading to severe injury. Even his conspiracy to eliminate the CEO of Huaheng through the second and third young masters of Huaheng was clearly documented!
Furthermore, records of his expenses for entertaining the second and third young masters of Huaheng, as well as his compensation payments after injuring people and bills for his relatives to settle these messy affairs, were all included.
Gu Yaoqing was stunned into silence, a chilling fear creeping into his heart.
"Gu Yaoyang... it was you!" Gu Yaoqing turned his head dazedly towards Gu Yaoyang. "It must have been you! You're so wicked! You're jealous that I married Yu Linwan, you're jealous that Grandfather relies on me! This is all fabricated by you!"
Gu Yaoqing crawled towards the Gu family patriarch. "Grandfather! Believe me! This... this is all fake! Gu Yaoyang is jealous of me! He fabricated it! Grandfather!"
"You truly refuse to shed tears until you see the coffin," the Gu family patriarch said, taking a deep breath. "Do you want me to submit all of this and let public officials investigate your actions? Hmm?"
"No!" Gu Yaoqing immediately shook his head, then swallowed. "No matter what, Gu Yaoyang is part of the Gu family... Such an incident would disgrace the Gu family.
Grandfather, as long as you believe me! This is all a deliberate frame-up by Gu Yaoyang, he—"
"You scoundrel!" The Gu family patriarch raised his hand and slapped Gu Yaoqing fiercely. "You dare to frame Yaoyang!
Today, I will make sure you understand why you're being beaten! Listen to me, these documents were not given to me by Yaoyang; they were given to me by Linwan. Your wife gave them to me!
What? Are you going to say that your wife is also plotting against you?"
The Gu family patriarch's words stunned Gu Yaoqing. He looked at Yu Linwan in disbelief.
He saw Yu Linwan with a look of profound grief and vulnerability, speaking the most cruel words in the world: "Yaoqing, you cannot continue down this path."
With those words, Gu Yaoqing's fate within the Gu family was sealed.