Chapter 13: A Plan for Sabotage

Having sent Gu Yan away, Gu Yanya was upset but she still had to play the role of the supportive mother and a proper host. Embarrassing the Zhao name further was out of the question.

She stepped to the side and said, "Sorry about the commotion. Please come in and have some tea. It must have been quite the drive."

Gu Yanya had been even more upset because she hadn't expected them back so easily. In truth, since she and her husband had been to the Liu Villa before, she had sent some people to interrupt them on their way back.

They weren't supposed to do anything too crazy but they were supposed to remind Zhao Yingyue who was in charge and rough her up a bit. That way, if any of the bruises were to be discovered, there would be a valid explanation as to why they were there.

Seeing how late it was, she had expected that someone would come with her but needed to make sure so that there would be a witness.

It was to be staged as her having offended someone extremely important—like one of the Young Misses that were above them in the social latter and had wanted Liu Haoyu for themselves.

Instead, every time she checked in with the men she'd sent out, they hadn't yet seen her.

What Gu Yanya hadn't known was that the Liu Villa was completely separate. It was the home that they used to accept public guests who weren't apart of their family's inner circle.

However, they truly lived in the Liu Pavilion which was not only a further distance away but also in the complete opposite direction of the Villa. Due to this lack of insight, Gu Yanya's plan was doomed to fail from the beginning.

"Yes, it was quite long. Thankfully, nothing happened on the way here. Of course, I'll always be safe with Young Master Liu personally accompanying me."

That jab was meant for her mother. It was a reminder that she would be marrying into the Liu family whether she liked it or not. The choice of whether she remained hostile toward her or changed was in her own hands.

"Of course, of course. How could I ever expect anything less from the Young Master of the Liu house? Why don't I leave you guys here for a few minutes as I go fetch my husband?"

Gu Yanya let one of their maids hold open the door to the small dining room as she stood to the side and let them enter.

After they were inside, she finally let the smile drop from her face. She was livid.

Gu Yanya knew that Zhao Yingyue was mocking her as she now had the power to do so. Most parents would be happy that their daughter is marrying off into a good family but Gu Yanya was angered that she wouldn't be able to control Zhao Yingyue anymore.

Admittedly, she'd never wanted her daughter to marry up. That's why she'd made sure her husband never sent out any proposals to the few families that were higher in status under the guise that it would just be embarrassing as it would never happen. Each of the blind dates were people who would help her further control the girl but now, it was all ruined!

With every step she took toward her husbands office, she grew more upset. She wanted to find a way to end this engagement. Her husband was already seeing the benefits that come from this engagement and wouldn't let it go. It didn't help that they didn't have as much power as the Liu family either.

Instead, she would have to find some way to stain her daughter's reputation. The only issue with that would be making sure it was something that would ruin her public image permanently. She still wanted to reap the benefits of her daughter's fame.

She'd have to finish thinking about this later though. She knocked on the door to her husband's study.

Meanwhile, the three people downstairs had sat next to each other and were all rather amused from the show that had happened.

Zhao Yingyue turned to the maids in the room and said, "Leave us."

They didn't hesitate before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, she started laughing.

"My mother has never touched a hair on Gu Yan's head. That was golden! I bet she's upstairs trying to figure out ways to get back to me at this very minute."

Zhao Yingyue knew this room was soundproof because her dad used it for many important meetings that had information that was way to sensitive to be shared with outsiders.

Since no one could hear them, she no longer had to hold it in.

"Liu Haoyu, you're great! You could see in her face how badly she wanted to be out of that situation but you wouldn't let her off that easily."

Liu Haoyu smiled at the sound of her laughter. He was sure this was the first time she could laugh off any encounter between her and her mother and he was happy that he was the reason why she could.

"Of course! No one can bully my woman—even if they are her own flesh and blood."

Zhao Yingyue felt satisfied then. She then turned to Bai Xinyi.

"What do you think? You'd never expect a family to treat their daughter this way, right? It's okay to speak freely with me, don't worry."

Bai Xinyi shook her head as she said, "It's completely unacceptable how they treat you, Young Miss."

Zhao Yingyue flicked her hand, "You don't have to be so formal with me. You can call me by my name when we're in private."

Bai Xinyi looked over to Liu Haoyu for permission but he simply said, "She's the one in charge."

Seeing that he wasn't going to stop or punish her, she nervously said, "Okay Z-Zhao Yingyue."

Bai Xinyi's shy response was adorable and Zhao Yingyue could see the bit of excitement in the girl's eyes. She knew that it had to be hard to always be so formal with everyone. After all, she was human, too.

Zhao Yingyue smiled. She hoped that her bodyguard could also one day become her friend. She didn't have much experience with those. Most people in her life just wanted to control her or use her.

"Anyway, I'm kind of curious as to what my mother will do to get back at me. She obviously will plot something on behalf of herself and Gu Yan."

As she was thinking this, her parents entered the room followed by a few of the maids. They had brought out some tea and snacks.

Everyone in the room stood and bowed to each other.

Zhao Xiang and Gu Yan the proceeded to their own seats as the maids started placing down the cups of tea and snacks.

Zhao Xiang then said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't here to greet you. I didn't know that you were coming inside Young Master Liu."

"It's okay, Uncle. I know that Auntie may not have realized that's what Yingyue meant when she said she wouldn't be coming home alone," Liu Haoyu said with a respectful tone.

Zhao Yingyue glanced over at him through the corner of her eye. He was using his words to indirectly shift blame over to her mother for not telling him.

Zhao Xiang was upset with his wife for leaving out that piece of information but couldn't scold her in front of their guests and daughter.

"Oh I see. I'm sorry about that bit of miscommunication. Now we'll know better for the next time. May I ask who this young lady beside my daughter is?"

Bai Xinyi got up and bowed deeply.

"I am Bai Xinyi. I was sent over by my Young Master's parents to keep an eye on Ms. Zhao. Since they can't be here themselves, they are interested in what kind of family the Zhao's are—and especially what kind of person their son is marrying."

Liu Haoyu then spoke, "Yes. I'm sorry but I'll have to trouble you Uncle and Auntie. You see, this was the only way my parents could be sure I was marrying the right person. Please take no offense to this. I already know that she's the one for me so there's nothing to worry about."

Gu Yan perked up. If this girl was here to keep an eye on Zhao Yingyue, this was the perfect opportunity to break off the engagement. All she would have to do is create situations that would make Zhao Yingyue seem like a bad person in front of Bai Xinyi and the rest would happen on its own.

Putting her intentions to the side, Gu Yan said, "Of course there's not a problem. I understand your parents' concern."

Liu Haoyu replied, "Thank you Uncle and Auntie. There's also something else I wanted to inform you of. While we understand these dates are last minute, tomorrow night we would like to have dinner with the parents. Then we'd like to have the engagement party on Friday. My family will handle all the planning."

Zhao Xiang immediately nodded.

"Yes, of course. We will discuss the subject of the party further during the dinner tomorrow."

Liu Haoyu then said, "I will text the information to Yingyue and she will tell you guys. That's all. I won't hold you guys up any longer and will be taking my leave now."

Liu Haoyu then stood up and turned toward the door.

Zhao Yingyue stood up after him and said, "Allow me to see you out."

Liu Haoyu smiled and continued walking as Zhao Yingyue followed him out of the room.

When they reached the front door, Zhao Yingyue smiled and said, "Thank you again. We aren't even married yet and you've made my life so much easier already."

Liu Haoyu said, "I'm not done yet. I've yet to get revenge for the torment that woman has put you through. I know something that I can use to only get rid of the one's who have harmed you. Will you like to know now or wait until the party where the show will begin?"

Zhao Yingyue knew she was terrible at being left in suspense and she would just keep guessing so she replied, "Tell me now."