With the precedent of the missing corpse of Jiang Yin in mind, Gu Ying had always kept Li Yang right in front of her, lest something happen to him and he end up causing trouble in the end.
She sat quietly at the desk, drawing and writing, without even looking at him.
Li Yang mumbled to himself for a while, feeling bored when he realized she paid him no attention. He couldn't see what she was writing, so he stared coldly at her exquisite fair face under the lamplight, his gaze sweeping lightly over her thin, bony figure. For some reason, a hint of distress suddenly welled up in his heart.
He knew she was beautiful, inheriting the looks of Madam Ye, the number one beauty. But in the past, she was nothing but a useless, talentless embarrassment in the eyes of others, just barely passing as the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Dongping. No one took her seriously.
He'd never imagined there would come a day he would look upon her favorably.
This fearless little girl actually dared to recklessly plot to poison him, then fed him all kinds of antidotes and experimental drugs. So many women were trying their best to seduce him, yet she was the only one who looked down on him with disdain.
He wrinkled his brows in irritation, trying hard to brush aside the strange feeling of discomfort in his heart.
But his gaze simply couldn't be shifted away from her face, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.
No wonder Zhao Changdu was infatuated with her the moment he married her and sunk deeply into the sea of love. He had only been staying in this study for six days, looking at her gentle, beautiful, extraordinary face day and night, and listening to her gentle voice. He was also somewhat reluctant to part with her. If he married her, things would be even better.
Gu Ying put down her brush lightly, not even raising her brow, and said, "This isn't something Your Highness should be worried about. You should be praying hard that I can find an antidote as soon as possible, otherwise even your life may not be guaranteed."
Li Yang gave a cold laugh, meaningful, "Gu Ying, you still haven't talked about your husband."
Gu Ying put down her wolf brush and smiled lightly. "How my husband is doing is none of Your Highness's business."
Li Yang snorted coldly. "Being stubborn. If you were to follow me, I would never allow you to be in danger. I could let you live a pampered, worry-free life. Could Zhao Changdu do that?"
Sowing discord?
Gu Ying silently rolled her eyes, also not knowing why he had to compete with the Crown Prince over this matter. Listening to him chattering in her ear every day was quite annoying.
She got up from her chair.
Li Yang thought she was leaving and felt inexplicably flustered. "Where are you going? Are you panicking? Zhao Changdu can't do it after all, right? If you regret marrying him, it's not too late to become my woman now."
It was the first time in his life he had addressed a woman with "me." Gu Ying may not have noticed, but Li Yang's heart skipped a ferocious beat as he berated himself in exasperation and awkwardly shifted his gaze.
Gu Ying was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. She mocked casually, "Can the Crown Prince accompany me for a lifetime? Can Your Highness do that?"
Li Yang was stunned by her shocking words. "Accompany you for a lifetime?"
"Mm," Gu Ying replied, gently folding the letter she wrote to the Crown Prince, her eyes very soft.
A flash of ridicule crossed Li Yang’s mind as he laughed at her naïveté, but when he thought of those women with ulterior motives in his backyard, he somehow felt a sense of loss. He sneered, "Is that all you women pursue?"
It was rare for Gu Ying to chat with him for a few more sentences. The corners of her lips curled into a mocking smile. "We women do not ask for much. Among the men in the world, how many can truly fulfill our wishes?"
Li Yang was left speechless.
Gu Ying didn't want to waste her breath with him anymore. She took the letter and went out to give it to Huai An, asking him to deliver it to the Crown Prince as quickly as possible.
Huai An nodded and sent the letter away.
On her way back to the study, there seemed to be a ghostly black shadow closely following her from behind. Gu Ying was on high alert, but when she looked back, she didn't see anything.
Yin Lan asked worriedly, "My lady, what are you looking at?"
Gu Ying knitted her brows. "I feel like someone is following us."
Yin Lan immediately shielded her from behind, looking as nervous as a mother hen protecting her chicks. Her face was all scrunched up as she said urgently, "My lady, we'd better hurry back to the study. The Crown Prince still hasn't sent any news. We must be extra careful."
Gu Ying gave a gentle laugh. "Okay."
The next day would be the memorial day. That night, after making sure with her own eyes that Li Yang and Zhu Yulou were still alive, Gu Ying finally felt slightly relieved.
She had not rested for days and nights. Huai An persuaded her to go and rest for a while. She sat at the edge of the desk, supporting her temple with one hand, dark circles under her eyes.
Zhou Yan, Ye Qingchi, and the others were also in the room.
"We will all stay awake tonight, keeping an eye on these two people. We definitely won't let anything happen to them."
"Go rest, Ying," Ye Qingchi also persuaded. "Cousin is here too."
Li Yang pressed his lips together, silently staring at Gu Ying in the center of the crowd, looking all the more enchanting in her weariness. Her expression was miserable, her eyes brimming with an enticing wet sheen.
He clenched his fist awkwardly and shifted his gaze.
Gu Ying smiled helplessly. "Then I'll take a quick nap. Remember to wake me up."
"Alright."
She didn't sleep well, feeling vaguely as if someone was calling her name in her drowsiness.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a dark shadow flashed before her blurry vision.
"Gu Ying, wake up!" It was Li Yang's panicked voice.
Gu Ying was instantly jolted awake. Next to the couch, Zhu Yulou had collapsed on the floor. Li Yang seemed fine, still sitting on the chair. Huai An had broken through the door to chase the shadowy figure. Yin Lan, Ning Si, Zhou Yan and the others were still in the room.
"What happened?" she asked.
Zhou Yan pressed his lips. "Just now someone was about to throw soporific smoke into the study. Fortunately none of us were asleep. As soon as Huai An caught sight of the figure he chased it out." I think from the ghostly stealthy movements it was Han Lin like Lady Gu said."
Yin Lan anxiously sat down beside the couch. Ning Si also looked very serious.
Gu Ying frowned puzzledly. "Strange. What was Han Lin doing at the villa at this time?"
Zhou Yan analyzed calmly, "He released soporific smoke into the study. Could it be for one of us?"
Gu Ying narrowed her eyes, casting her gaze lightly over Li Yang and Zhu Yulou. "I wonder who it could be?"
Ye Qingchi said, "It must be either Prince Shu or Zhu Yulou."
Gu Ying shook her head. She felt something was off. If Jiang Yin and Han Lin wanted to destroy evidence, they only needed to kill them. There was no need to waste time releasing smoke.
What exactly was his purpose?
"At least everyone is fine now," Ning Si laughed drily, stroking her chest. "It's late, we should think about tomorrow's memorial service arrangements."
"Miss Ning is right," Zhou Yan said to Gu Ying. "My lady, will the Crown Prince be back tomorrow?"
Gu Ying raised her beautiful eyes and looked at everyone for a while before smiling. "I didn't plan on asking the Crown Prince to come back in the first place."
In her letter to the Crown Prince, she merely informed him she was safe so he wouldn't worry and could concentrate on finding Zhuge Doctor.
Zhou Yan frowned. "Then what about the memorial service—”
Gu Ying said lightly, "Tomorrow, Huai An will disguise himself as the Crown Prince and attend it with me."
With the precedent of the missing corpse of Jiang Yin in mind, Gu Ying had always kept Li Yang right in front of her, lest something happen to him and he end up causing trouble in the end.
She sat quietly at the desk, drawing and writing, without even looking at him.
Li Yang mumbled to himself for a while, feeling bored when he realized she paid him no attention. He couldn't see what she was writing, so he stared coldly at her exquisite fair face under the lamplight, his gaze sweeping lightly over her thin, bony figure. For some reason, a hint of distress suddenly welled up in his heart.
He knew she was beautiful, inheriting the looks of Madam Ye, the number one beauty. But in the past, she was nothing but a useless, talentless embarrassment in the eyes of others, just barely passing as the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Dongping. No one took her seriously.
He'd never imagined there would come a day he would look upon her favorably.
This fearless little girl actually dared to recklessly plot to poison him, then fed him all kinds of antidotes and experimental drugs. So many women were trying their best to seduce him, yet she was the only one who looked down on him with disdain.
He wrinkled his brows in irritation, trying hard to brush aside the strange feeling of discomfort in his heart.
But his gaze simply couldn't be shifted away from her face, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.
No wonder Zhao Changdu was infatuated with her the moment he married her and sunk deeply into the sea of love. He had only been staying in this study for six days, looking at her gentle, beautiful, extraordinary face day and night, and listening to her gentle voice. He was also somewhat reluctant to part with her. If he married her, things would be even better.
Gu Ying put down her brush lightly, not even raising her brow, and said, "This isn't something Your Highness should be worried about. You should be praying hard that I can find an antidote as soon as possible, otherwise even your life may not be guaranteed."
Li Yang gave a cold laugh, meaningful, "Gu Ying, you still haven't talked about your husband."
Gu Ying put down her wolf brush and smiled lightly. "How my husband is doing is none of Your Highness's business."
Li Yang snorted coldly. "Being stubborn. If you were to follow me, I would never allow you to be in danger. I could let you live a pampered, worry-free life. Could Zhao Changdu do that?"
Sowing discord?
Gu Ying silently rolled her eyes, also not knowing why he had to compete with the Crown Prince over this matter. Listening to him chattering in her ear every day was quite annoying.
She got up from her chair.
Li Yang thought she was leaving and felt inexplicably flustered. "Where are you going? Are you panicking? Zhao Changdu can't do it after all, right? If you regret marrying him, it's not too late to become my woman now."
It was the first time in his life he had addressed a woman with "me." Gu Ying may not have noticed, but Li Yang's heart skipped a ferocious beat as he berated himself in exasperation and awkwardly shifted his gaze.
Gu Ying was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. She mocked casually, "Can the Crown Prince accompany me for a lifetime? Can Your Highness do that?"
Li Yang was stunned by her shocking words. "Accompany you for a lifetime?"
"Mm," Gu Ying replied, gently folding the letter she wrote to the Crown Prince, her eyes very soft.
A flash of ridicule crossed Li Yang’s mind as he laughed at her naïveté, but when he thought of those women with ulterior motives in his backyard, he somehow felt a sense of loss. He sneered, "Is that all you women pursue?"
It was rare for Gu Ying to chat with him for a few more sentences. The corners of her lips curled into a mocking smile. "We women do not ask for much. Among the men in the world, how many can truly fulfill our wishes?"
Li Yang was left speechless.
Gu Ying didn't want to waste her breath with him anymore. She took the letter and went out to give it to Huai An, asking him to deliver it to the Crown Prince as quickly as possible.
Huai An nodded and sent the letter away.
On her way back to the study, there seemed to be a ghostly black shadow closely following her from behind. Gu Ying was on high alert, but when she looked back, she didn't see anything.
Yin Lan asked worriedly, "My lady, what are you looking at?"
Gu Ying knitted her brows. "I feel like someone is following us."
Yin Lan immediately shielded her from behind, looking as nervous as a mother hen protecting her chicks. Her face was all scrunched up as she said urgently, "My lady, we'd better hurry back to the study. The Crown Prince still hasn't sent any news. We must be extra careful."
Gu Ying gave a gentle laugh. "Okay."
The next day would be the memorial day. That night, after making sure with her own eyes that Li Yang and Zhu Yulou were still alive, Gu Ying finally felt slightly relieved.
She had not rested for days and nights. Huai An persuaded her to go and rest for a while. She sat at the edge of the desk, supporting her temple with one hand, dark circles under her eyes.
Zhou Yan, Ye Qingchi, and the others were also in the room.
"We will all stay awake tonight, keeping an eye on these two people. We definitely won't let anything happen to them."
"Go rest, Ying," Ye Qingchi also persuaded. "Cousin is here too."
Li Yang pressed his lips together, silently staring at Gu Ying in the center of the crowd, looking all the more enchanting in her weariness. Her expression was miserable, her eyes brimming with an enticing wet sheen.
He clenched his fist awkwardly and shifted his gaze.
Gu Ying smiled helplessly. "Then I'll take a quick nap. Remember to wake me up."
"Alright."
She didn't sleep well, feeling vaguely as if someone was calling her name in her drowsiness.
She slowly opened her eyes, and a dark shadow flashed before her blurry vision.
"Gu Ying, wake up!" It was Li Yang's panicked voice.
Gu Ying was instantly jolted awake. Next to the couch, Zhu Yulou had collapsed on the floor. Li Yang seemed fine, still sitting on the chair. Huai An had broken through the door to chase the shadowy figure. Yin Lan, Ning Si, Zhou Yan and the others were still in the room.
"What happened?" she asked.
Zhou Yan pressed his lips. "Just now someone was about to throw soporific smoke into the study. Fortunately none of us were asleep. As soon as Huai An caught sight of the figure he chased it out." I think from the ghostly stealthy movements it was Han Lin like Lady Gu said."
Yin Lan anxiously sat down beside the couch. Ning Si also looked very serious.
Gu Ying frowned puzzledly. "Strange. What was Han Lin doing at the villa at this time?"
Zhou Yan analyzed calmly, "He released soporific smoke into the study. Could it be for one of us?"
Gu Ying narrowed her eyes, casting her gaze lightly over Li Yang and Zhu Yulou. "I wonder who it could be?"
Ye Qingchi said, "It must be either Prince Shu or Zhu Yulou."
Gu Ying shook her head. She felt something was off. If Jiang Yin and Han Lin wanted to destroy evidence, they only needed to kill them. There was no need to waste time releasing smoke.
What exactly was his purpose?
"At least everyone is fine now," Ning Si laughed drily, stroking her chest. "It's late, we should think about tomorrow's memorial service arrangements."
"Miss Ning is right," Zhou Yan said to Gu Ying. "My lady, will the Crown Prince be back tomorrow?"
Gu Ying raised her beautiful eyes and looked at everyone for a while before smiling. "I didn't plan on asking the Crown Prince to come back in the first place."
In her letter to the Crown Prince, she merely informed him she was safe so he wouldn't worry and could concentrate on finding Zhuge Doctor.
Zhou Yan frowned. "Then what about the memorial service—”
Gu Ying said lightly, "Tomorrow, Huai An will disguise himself as the Crown Prince and attend it with me."
