Zhao Changdu's face was still tense. Thinking that his little girl was somewhere unknown, he suddenly felt panicked and afraid for no reason.
He threw Chu Jiuniang on the ground like a ragged cloth, looking down at her condescendingly. His eyes were so cold they could cut like knives. "If you utter half a lie, I will cut your corpse into ten thousand pieces!"
Chu Jiuniang trembled, feeling a chill run down her spine. She really did not expect that when this god-like man was angry, he would be so terrifying.
She did not dare to conceal anything further. Begging for mercy, she said, "My Prince, it wasn't me who wanted to do this. I was...forced by someone."
Zhao Changdu said in a low voice, "Who was it?"
Chu Jiuniang pursed her lips, speaking in a tearful voice, "It was...it was Master Jiang who ordered me. Master Jiang said he has an irreconcilable vendetta with Second Miss Gu. His greatest wish in this life is to humiliate her and then get rid of her, feeling happiness after. I was merely a tool he used to take revenge on Second Miss Gu!"
Zhao Changdu's eyes widened in anger, uncontrollable fury on his face.
"She had just given birth!"
And she had massive bleeding and was hovering between life and death!
Chu Jiuniang lay trembling on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "This slave did nothing to Second Miss Gu, it was all done by Master Jiang... He said that right after giving birth was when Second Miss Gu would be weakest. Long ago he had Han Lin prepare a scheme to lure the tiger from the mountain, using this slave to replace Second Miss Gu to get her to leave... Second Miss Gu was bleeding profusely then...this slave saw her face ashen white, unconscious...looking as if she wouldn't make it..."
The words "wouldn't make it" made Zhao Changdu's body shake violently.
His eyes were bloodshot, his dark brows furrowed tightly, his secluded eyes slowly sinking into the abyss.
...
In early November, the first snow of winter fell.
Flurries of snowflakes drifted down, landing on the layers of towers and pavilions in the Duke of Zhen Guo's estate.
The skies of Bianjing turned cold all at once.
Zhao Changdu regaining consciousness was supposed to be a joyous event worth celebrating, but before the palace could summon him, the Zhao family was in turmoil again.
A blood-stained female corpse was thrown in the middle of the main hall of Zhen De Pavilion by Zhao Changdu.
Seeing this, Mrs. Lin's face changed. She thought her son had lost his mind and killed Gu Ying.
Before they could react, Zhao Changdu brushed the blood off his sleeves, held the sleeping Nian in his arms, and slowly said, "She is not Ying."
Everyone exclaimed in shock, "What?"
The news that Gu Ying had gone missing was like a bombshell going off in the entire Duke of Zhen Guo's estate.
No one expected that someone would actually dare to pull something like bait and switch right under their noses in the Duke's estate.
Even Gu Boqing now felt astonished.
His daughter had just given birth to a child, yet a living person disappeared right before their eyes?
Looking at Zhao Changdu sitting in the chair, exuding lifelessness all over.
Gu Boqing was furious. He immediately demanded that the Duke's estate give him justice and hand over the child his daughter had suffered greatly to give birth to.
Upon hearing Gu Boqing wanting to take Nian away, Zhao Changdu's hand tightened. In a daze, he gathered the child into his arms.
Raising his head, his crimson phoenix eyes were as gloomy and icy as a demon that crawled out of hell.
In a hoarse voice, he said, "No."
Gu Boqing's eyes were also red. He accused, "I knew nothing good would come of my daughter marrying a man like you! Now look, not only did you fail to protect her, you let her disappear without a trace after she gave birth to an heir for your Zhao family! Zhao Changdu, give me Nian!"
Zhao Changdu's thin lips were pressed in a straight line. His elegant yet cold fair face, from his cheekbones to jaw, was tensely sharp. In his obscure eyes was unconcealed regret.
He was wrong...
He shouldn't have left Ying alone in Bianjing.
Even more so, he shouldn't have dismissed her repeated reminders to be wary of Jiang Yin.
Now look... His little girl had suffered greatly giving birth to Nian, and her body was still so frail...yet no one knew where she was.
If what Jiang Yin said was true, that she had died once already, why did heaven treat her this way?
She had already endured enough torment from Jiang Yin. How could heaven let him come back to life to harm Ying again!
Why! Why didn't heaven let him be reborn instead!
If he was reborn, he would never let his little girl suffer this ordeal!
Zhao Changdu's eyes reddened. That kind of indescribable pain felt like his heart was being crushed and thrown underfoot.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh, refusing to let go. "Father, Nian belongs to Ying and me."
Gu Boqing shook with anger, pointing at him and cursing, "You are not fit to be Ying's husband, even less fit to be Nian's father!"
Zhao Changdu's expression grew even colder. He slowly stood up holding the child.
Fearing the father-in-law and son-in-law would start fighting, everyone began trying to mediate.
Old Duke calmed Gu Boqing down, speaking solemnly, "Boqing, I know you are upset, but now is not the time for in-fighting amongst ourselves. We need to gather people quickly to find Ying first."
Gu Boqing of course knew this was right. He flung his sleeve in anger, gave Zhao Changdu a cold glance, and threatened, "Let me tell you, if anything happens to Ying, my Gu family will cut all ties with you Zhaos! And Nian, he is Ying's child, he will return to my Gu family after this!"
Zhao Changdu ignored Gu Boqing's words. He looked tiredly at the soft little dumpling in his arms, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said in a low voice, "Huai An."
Huai An stepped forward solemnly, "Sir, you called for me?"
Zhao Changdu tossed out a jade token, "Take my qilin authority token and summon the qilin troops."
Huai An was confused, scrambling to catch the qilin token.
This was the qilin token...
"Sir, this is..."
"Go."
"But--"
Once they mobilized the qilin troops that they had painstakingly kept hidden, the imperial clan would quickly find out the Zhao family still had military power.
When that happened, how would the sir extricate himself?
Zhao Changdu looked at him expressionlessly. Amidst the cold and gloomy shadows in his eyes, he said, "If you hesitate a moment longer, I will chop off your legs."
Huai An no longer dared advise otherwise. Taking the qilin token, he ran out.
The remaining people's expressions were ugly. Zhao Hui naturally had no standing to speak. Mrs. Lin also did not understand the intricacies involved.
Only Old Duke and Gu Boqing who had led troops before knew how risky Zhao Changdu's actions were.
If things were done secretly and the imperial clan did not notice, it would be fine. But if they caught wind of it, the Zhao clan might be charged with the capital offense of deceiving the ruler and exterminating their clan.
Seeing the dark circles under Zhao Changdu's eyes despite having just recovered from illness, and his pained expression, Gu Boqing's attitude softened slightly. But he still glared at Zhao Changdu, wanting to speak yet stopping himself, "Have you thought about the consequences of your actions?"
Zhao Changdu gave a bitter smile. Amidst the shattered glow in his crimson eyes he said, "I have not thought about it."
Gu Boqing said indignantly, "You just act without thinking about the aftermath--"
"Without Ying, I do not want any fallback plan or care about any consequences." Zhao Changdu's eyes flashed sharply as he suddenly shouted, "Even if heaven wants to stop me, I will defy heaven and charge ahead!"
Zhao Changdu's face was still tense. Thinking that his little girl was somewhere unknown, he suddenly felt panicked and afraid for no reason.
He threw Chu Jiuniang on the ground like a ragged cloth, looking down at her condescendingly. His eyes were so cold they could cut like knives. "If you utter half a lie, I will cut your corpse into ten thousand pieces!"
Chu Jiuniang trembled, feeling a chill run down her spine. She really did not expect that when this god-like man was angry, he would be so terrifying.
She did not dare to conceal anything further. Begging for mercy, she said, "My Prince, it wasn't me who wanted to do this. I was...forced by someone."
Zhao Changdu said in a low voice, "Who was it?"
Chu Jiuniang pursed her lips, speaking in a tearful voice, "It was...it was Master Jiang who ordered me. Master Jiang said he has an irreconcilable vendetta with Second Miss Gu. His greatest wish in this life is to humiliate her and then get rid of her, feeling happiness after. I was merely a tool he used to take revenge on Second Miss Gu!"
Zhao Changdu's eyes widened in anger, uncontrollable fury on his face.
"She had just given birth!"
And she had massive bleeding and was hovering between life and death!
Chu Jiuniang lay trembling on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "This slave did nothing to Second Miss Gu, it was all done by Master Jiang... He said that right after giving birth was when Second Miss Gu would be weakest. Long ago he had Han Lin prepare a scheme to lure the tiger from the mountain, using this slave to replace Second Miss Gu to get her to leave... Second Miss Gu was bleeding profusely then...this slave saw her face ashen white, unconscious...looking as if she wouldn't make it..."
The words "wouldn't make it" made Zhao Changdu's body shake violently.
His eyes were bloodshot, his dark brows furrowed tightly, his secluded eyes slowly sinking into the abyss.
...
In early November, the first snow of winter fell.
Flurries of snowflakes drifted down, landing on the layers of towers and pavilions in the Duke of Zhen Guo's estate.
The skies of Bianjing turned cold all at once.
Zhao Changdu regaining consciousness was supposed to be a joyous event worth celebrating, but before the palace could summon him, the Zhao family was in turmoil again.
A blood-stained female corpse was thrown in the middle of the main hall of Zhen De Pavilion by Zhao Changdu.
Seeing this, Mrs. Lin's face changed. She thought her son had lost his mind and killed Gu Ying.
Before they could react, Zhao Changdu brushed the blood off his sleeves, held the sleeping Nian in his arms, and slowly said, "She is not Ying."
Everyone exclaimed in shock, "What?"
The news that Gu Ying had gone missing was like a bombshell going off in the entire Duke of Zhen Guo's estate.
No one expected that someone would actually dare to pull something like bait and switch right under their noses in the Duke's estate.
Even Gu Boqing now felt astonished.
His daughter had just given birth to a child, yet a living person disappeared right before their eyes?
Looking at Zhao Changdu sitting in the chair, exuding lifelessness all over.
Gu Boqing was furious. He immediately demanded that the Duke's estate give him justice and hand over the child his daughter had suffered greatly to give birth to.
Upon hearing Gu Boqing wanting to take Nian away, Zhao Changdu's hand tightened. In a daze, he gathered the child into his arms.
Raising his head, his crimson phoenix eyes were as gloomy and icy as a demon that crawled out of hell.
In a hoarse voice, he said, "No."
Gu Boqing's eyes were also red. He accused, "I knew nothing good would come of my daughter marrying a man like you! Now look, not only did you fail to protect her, you let her disappear without a trace after she gave birth to an heir for your Zhao family! Zhao Changdu, give me Nian!"
Zhao Changdu's thin lips were pressed in a straight line. His elegant yet cold fair face, from his cheekbones to jaw, was tensely sharp. In his obscure eyes was unconcealed regret.
He was wrong...
He shouldn't have left Ying alone in Bianjing.
Even more so, he shouldn't have dismissed her repeated reminders to be wary of Jiang Yin.
Now look... His little girl had suffered greatly giving birth to Nian, and her body was still so frail...yet no one knew where she was.
If what Jiang Yin said was true, that she had died once already, why did heaven treat her this way?
She had already endured enough torment from Jiang Yin. How could heaven let him come back to life to harm Ying again!
Why! Why didn't heaven let him be reborn instead!
If he was reborn, he would never let his little girl suffer this ordeal!
Zhao Changdu's eyes reddened. That kind of indescribable pain felt like his heart was being crushed and thrown underfoot.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh, refusing to let go. "Father, Nian belongs to Ying and me."
Gu Boqing shook with anger, pointing at him and cursing, "You are not fit to be Ying's husband, even less fit to be Nian's father!"
Zhao Changdu's expression grew even colder. He slowly stood up holding the child.
Fearing the father-in-law and son-in-law would start fighting, everyone began trying to mediate.
Old Duke calmed Gu Boqing down, speaking solemnly, "Boqing, I know you are upset, but now is not the time for in-fighting amongst ourselves. We need to gather people quickly to find Ying first."
Gu Boqing of course knew this was right. He flung his sleeve in anger, gave Zhao Changdu a cold glance, and threatened, "Let me tell you, if anything happens to Ying, my Gu family will cut all ties with you Zhaos! And Nian, he is Ying's child, he will return to my Gu family after this!"
Zhao Changdu ignored Gu Boqing's words. He looked tiredly at the soft little dumpling in his arms, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said in a low voice, "Huai An."
Huai An stepped forward solemnly, "Sir, you called for me?"
Zhao Changdu tossed out a jade token, "Take my qilin authority token and summon the qilin troops."
Huai An was confused, scrambling to catch the qilin token.
This was the qilin token...
"Sir, this is..."
"Go."
"But--"
Once they mobilized the qilin troops that they had painstakingly kept hidden, the imperial clan would quickly find out the Zhao family still had military power.
When that happened, how would the sir extricate himself?
Zhao Changdu looked at him expressionlessly. Amidst the cold and gloomy shadows in his eyes, he said, "If you hesitate a moment longer, I will chop off your legs."
Huai An no longer dared advise otherwise. Taking the qilin token, he ran out.
The remaining people's expressions were ugly. Zhao Hui naturally had no standing to speak. Mrs. Lin also did not understand the intricacies involved.
Only Old Duke and Gu Boqing who had led troops before knew how risky Zhao Changdu's actions were.
If things were done secretly and the imperial clan did not notice, it would be fine. But if they caught wind of it, the Zhao clan might be charged with the capital offense of deceiving the ruler and exterminating their clan.
Seeing the dark circles under Zhao Changdu's eyes despite having just recovered from illness, and his pained expression, Gu Boqing's attitude softened slightly. But he still glared at Zhao Changdu, wanting to speak yet stopping himself, "Have you thought about the consequences of your actions?"
Zhao Changdu gave a bitter smile. Amidst the shattered glow in his crimson eyes he said, "I have not thought about it."
Gu Boqing said indignantly, "You just act without thinking about the aftermath--"
"Without Ying, I do not want any fallback plan or care about any consequences." Zhao Changdu's eyes flashed sharply as he suddenly shouted, "Even if heaven wants to stop me, I will defy heaven and charge ahead!"
