Chapter 405 A year of confinement, daily sutra copying for her salvation.

"No, I'll take you to the palace right now."

Gao Yuanbin gently patted the dirt off her body, then helped her jump from the coffin to the ground above.

Finally, they hurriedly put the coffin lid back on and buried it again with yellow earth.

A gentle night breeze blew, and the soft moonlight shone as the two slender, graceful figures moved through the woods.

The next day.

Gao Changhong was worried about Gao Yuanbin, so after finishing his work early in the morning, he went to Gao Yuanbin's courtyard. But as soon as he entered the courtyard, he smelled a pungent smell of alcohol.

"Why does it smell so strong? Don't you servants clean the yard? Where is the eldest young master? What is he doing now?"

Gao Changhong frowned and looked coldly at the servants working in the courtyard.

"Your Highness, it's not that we don't clean the courtyard, it's just that the eldest young master drinks far too much. Bottle after bottle of wine is being brought into the courtyard, and the smell just won't go away no matter what we do."

The servants all knelt on the ground, their faces filled with bitterness.

"Has he been drinking all night? This is utterly indecent!"

Gao Changhong gave a reprimand and then strode towards Gao Yuanbin's house.

After he kicked the door open, he saw Gao Yuanbin, with disheveled hair and a haggard face, lying on the floor fast asleep.

The stench of alcohol inside the room was so strong that he couldn't help but cover his nose.

"Wake up, you!"

Gao Changhong walked up to Gao Yuanbin and shouted at him with exasperation.

But Gao Yuanbin remained unmoved and continued to sleep soundly.

"You bastard! You're acting like you're going to die for a woman! Is it worth it? Is this all the backbone a grown man has?"

Gao Changhong angrily kicked him a few times. Only then did Gao Yuanbin slowly open his eyes, glance at him with a dazed look, and then impatiently turn over.

He yelled, "Get out! Don't bother me!"

Gao Changhong: "!!!"

It's ruined!

This is truly ruined!

How could a woman have turned her son into such a useless person?

It's so heartbreaking and infuriating!

He cursed Gao Yuanbin in the room for a while, and when that didn't work, he tried to coax him, but that didn't work either.

Finally, he walked out of the courtyard with a livid face.

After he left, Gao Yuanbin's previously confused expression cleared, and he opened his eyes, revealing a mocking smile.

*

"This is all your doing! I told you not to lay a hand on that woman again, why didn't you listen?"

Gao Changhong had nowhere to vent his anger, so he thought of Mo Hanyu, the one who started this whole thing, and went to her courtyard to yell at her.

"Your Highness, this time it really wasn't me who did it. I listened to you and behaved myself in the palace. If you don't believe me, you can investigate for yourself."

Mo Hanyu truly felt wronged this time.

The current state of Gao Yuanbin's dejected state is indeed the scene she wanted to see, but the feeling of being wronged also makes her feel uncomfortable.

Over the years, she has always been the one to wrong others, and has never been wronged by others.

"You don't need to make excuses, and I don't need to investigate. Since you dared to do it, you must have cleaned up the mess. This palace wasn't created by me, so only you have the motive to do it."

Gao Changhong didn't believe her explanation at all; in his heart, he had already concluded that it was Mo Hanyu who did it.

"This time you disobeyed my orders and made things like this. Now Yuan Bin is heartbroken and dejected. I need to give Yuan Bin an explanation!"

"Your Highness, what do you intend to do?"

A bad feeling crept into Mo Hanyu's heart, and she looked up at Gao Changhong in alarm.

What did he want to do for that bastard son?

"Don't worry, I won't make you pay for that woman's life, but to make Yuan Bin feel comfortable, I will punish you by confining you to the courtyard for a whole year, copying scriptures to pray for that woman's soul every day, and delivering the copied scriptures to Yuan Bin every day to show your sincerity."

"You want me to copy scriptures for that lowly woman? Your Highness, are you insane? I, the dignified Regent's Consort, am actually expected to copy scriptures for a lowly woman from the Great Liang? What makes her worthy of this position? Is she even worthy of it?"

Mo Hanyu could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Although this punishment was not physical torture, it was a real humiliation!

She, the dignified Regent's Consort, was the most honored woman in the entire Northern Desert besides the Empress Dowager and the Empress. How could she be asked to copy scriptures for a woman like Chu Yan?

And it has to be copied for a year, and sent to that bastard son every day for him to check.

This is practically mental torture for her!

She refused.

"You have no choice but to agree! Do you want me to divorce you?"

Gao Changhong said in a cold voice.

"Your Highness, you...you want to divorce me because of this?"

Mo Hanyu staggered backward and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately the old woman behind her caught her.

She never expected that Gao Changhong would treat her like this for the sake of an illegitimate son!

“Yuan Bin is currently in a state of despair. If we don’t give him an explanation, I’m afraid he will be resentful and unable to move on. Therefore, you must do this!”

Gao Changhong didn't care about the resentment on Mo Hanyu's face at all, and strode away after he finished speaking.

He also left an order for people to watch Mo Hanyu copy scriptures, and forbidding the delivery of meals to her courtyard if she did not comply.

"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"

Mo Hanyu collapsed to the ground in defeat, cursing loudly.

After Gao Changhong left Mo Hanyu's courtyard, he had someone inform Gao Yuanbin of his punishment, but Gao Yuanbin still did not give him any response.

Only after he left did Gao Yuanbin leisurely pour all the wine in his hand onto the ground.

"This is great! He gets to torment that wicked woman a bit more this time; consider it interest he's getting in advance!"

*

"Is the eldest young master still the same?"

A few days later, Gao Changhong inquired again about the situation of his servant Gao Yuanbin.

"Yes, the eldest young master still drinks heavily. Although he's not as fierce as he was a few days ago, he still looks gloomy. Sometimes, he often goes to the room where Miss Chu used to live and stays there all day."

The steward reported honestly and helplessly.

"Alas! I have already gone to such lengths for him, how could he still do this? I am counting on him in the future... How can this be allowed?"

Gao Changhong sighed deeply, his face weary, looking like a helpless old father worrying about his son.

"Your Highness, in my opinion, the young master is too infatuated with Miss Chu, which is why he can't get over it. Now that Miss Chu is gone, there are still people in this world who look alike."

"Perhaps Your Highness could find a few more women who resemble Miss Chu; maybe that would help the young master."

The housekeeper suddenly had a flash of inspiration and made a suggestion.

"A woman who looks like her? That... doesn't seem impossible."

Gao Changhong's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this suggestion.