Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Lingchuan turned around suddenly and unexpectedly...

To be honest, Gu Shi felt a little relieved that Lingchuan's parents had both passed away.

When Gu Shi saw her for the first time, he couldn't help but take two steps back.

God allowed him to meet Lingchuan by chance. She was a fragile and helpless girl who could only rely on him, which gave him a strange sense of security.

Yes, it was absolutely impossible for her to leave him because she was alone, had no relatives and was very young.

When Gu Shi saw her distraught look, he was secretly happy that there was another girl of similar age in the world who was as unfortunate as him.

If Gu Shi had not gone to that inconspicuous little shop on impulse that day, he would never have met her. If the fire had not happened that day, he would not have been able to get her so easily.

Gu Shi admitted that he had some moral flaws and took advantage of her situation. Her parents had both passed away and she was at a loss, so he succeeded at almost no cost.

After all, she was just a fourteen-year-old orphan who desperately needed someone to provide her with a living. He was two years older than her and could provide her with a luxurious life.

Lingchuan had no capital to exchange except his skin, so he had no choice but to do this.

Gu Shi knew that she had no choice but to commit herself to him, and from time to time he would fall into anxiety about whether she truly loved him, but this anxiety would soon be covered up by his self-deception.

Some maids who were slightly pretty would be jealous of Lingchuan's good fortune. She was favored by the prince just by her looks. They would gossip about her openly or secretly and try to trip her up.

He didn't like other women being jealous of Lingchuan, nor did he like other women treating him as prey, so he found a reason to get them all out. Only a few older maids who knew what was going on and were not very pretty were left in the palace to serve.

Seeing Lingchuan's slightly helpless eyes, Gu Shi thought that they had known each other for six years.

Sometimes Gu Shi would feel that Lingchuan had become someone he could not control, but that was just a wrong intuition. She was still alone and helpless and could never escape from his grasp.

"Lingchuan, tomorrow is your birthday, what do you want?"

He hugged Lingchuan, rested his chin on her shoulder, and kissed her neck.

A long-haired little white cat rushed in, jumped onto the bed, meowed, and rubbed Lingchuan's hand.

Gu Shi was fed up with the disturbance and wanted to throw the uninvited guest away, but was stopped by Lingchuan.

She held the kitten under its arms, lifted it up, looked at it carefully, and asked earnestly:

"Can you catch mice?"

The kitten let out a delicate and aggrieved meow. It was just a stupid pet cat that couldn't even jump onto the wardrobe. It was too difficult for it to catch mice.

The palace maid outside was nervous and hesitated to go in. It was her dereliction of duty that she couldn't even take care of a kitten, but she didn't dare to disturb Gu Shi's private affairs on the bed.

"A cat that can't catch mice is useless."

Lingchuan put the kitten down. It let out a soft and charming cry, twisted in her arms, with its belly facing the sky, purring and enthusiastically inviting her to touch its soft and warm belly.

It was in this posture, and it would be impolite not to touch it. Lingchuan had no choice but to put his hand on its soft belly, and it began to purr happily.

Gu Shi didn't like this furry animal, which shed hair everywhere. He patted his sleeves in disgust and said:

"Why is this cat's throat making a constant noise? Throw it out!"

Lingchuan chuckled:

"Gu Shi, are you stupid? Cats only purr when they are happy."

She touched the kitten's head and it squinted its eyes happily.

"The tabby cat I had as a child was very arrogant and never let me pet it, but it was a great mouse catcher."

"This kitten is probably kept by the palace maids for fun when they have nothing better to do... If you like it, I'll give it to you."

She shook her head.

"Never mind. This cat isn't wild at all. Let's just give it back to them. Even if it's a pet, I prefer one with a bit of dignity."

Gu Shi guessed that the palace maid must have been frightened outside, so he put on his clothes and reluctantly held the cat in his arms.

It tried to rub Gu Shi's face affectionately, but he moved away in disgust, and the kitten meowed in grievance and confusion.

This was the first time someone in the world disliked it, and the kitten felt very aggrieved.

"Who owns the cat?"

The two palace maids outside trembled their lips and could not utter a word. They knelt down and kowtowed.

Gu Shi sighed:

"Whoever it belongs to should take it back and take good care of it. Don't run it around anymore. This won't happen again."

When he returned to the room, Lingchuan was only wearing a shirt and lying lazily on the bed, asking him to pour tea.

"Lingchuan, tomorrow is your birthday, what do you want?"

She covered her face with a handkerchief and said:

"Although you said you gave me something, in reality, you only lent it to me temporarily."

"I can't escape your clutches anyway. Giving me things is just like throwing meat into a pot. It doesn't matter if it's gold, silver, jewels, or silk. If I die, you'll just give it to the next woman to curry favor."

Gu Shi frowned.

"Why are you saying this again?"

She just gave him a cold glance.

"Isn't it? I was right."

She looked at the ceiling and said slowly:

"Instead of giving me something, why not let me go out of the palace and have a good day."

Lingchuan had to find a chance to bypass Gu Shi and get rid of the fetus in her belly.

He took her hand flatteringly and said:

"Shall I accompany you tomorrow?"

Lingchuan turned his head, his eyes straightened, he pulled his hand back, looked at him coldly, and smiled:

"Aren't you the one who's most afraid of gossip and never wants to go out with me? Why are you willing to go out with me today?"

Gu Shi pursed his lips, looked Lingchuan up and down, and spoke slowly:

"It's already this day, there's no point in pretending."

"Yes, it's none of your business anyway. You don't think that going out with me is a reward for me, do you?"

Lingchuan laughed sarcastically.

"But didn't you always say you wanted me to go out with you?"

He tried to rest his head on her shoulder, but she moved away.

Last year, the year before last, and the year before last, Lingchuan said that he wanted to go out with Gu Shi on his birthday, but he refused for various reasons.

He remembered how she had once been extremely attentive to him, and how she had once lost her temper, causing chaos. Last year, she had only casually mentioned the incident, and after he had rejected her, she hadn't asked again.

"Lingchuan, do you really not want to go out with me? Didn't you beg me several times before?"

He continued to ask questions without giving up.

"Before was before, now is now. I just want to go out for a walk by myself tomorrow. Besides, you always made excuses when you were free before, but now that you are busy with government affairs, why did you remember to accompany me?"

After being stabbed back and forth by Lingchuan for a few times, he lowered his head as if admitting defeat and whispered:

"Then I want to travel with you, can you promise me?"

Lingchuan's eyes widened in shock that Gu Shi could actually say such words.

She couldn't help laughing, holding her stomach and said:

"Okay, I promise you, I want to see what kind of embarrassment you are going to make."

Her expression turned cold, and she changed the subject:

"I can go out with you today, but tomorrow is my birthday. I want to go out on my own and you can't control me."

Gu Shi had no choice but to nod his head.

An hour later, Gu Shi and Ling Chuan appeared in front of the theater together.

"We are now performing a play about Lady Hibiscus, a play about love between a man and a woman. I hope you two will do me the honor of attending."

Hearing this name, Lingchuan's calves couldn't help but twitch. Why was it another scene where a woman loved a man to death, which was so stupid.

She clutched her sleeves and her breathing became rapid. Who was the person who watched this play with her last time?

Lingchuan just stood aside, stroking his chest with his hand, trying to calm his breathing.

When the theater owner saw that Gu Shi was dressed so well, he put on a flattering expression and said with a smile:

"Our current private room costs fifteen taels of silver, and there's a vacant seat. If you two need it..."

Lingchuan interrupted.

"The price of the private room was clearly five taels of silver, how did it go up to fifteen taels? How do you do business, boss?"

This boss was clearly trying to extort money from her, and she happened to be in a bad mood.

The boss was embarrassed for a moment, then became very happy:

"Miss, you don't know that the service standards for the private rooms that cost five taels of silver and fifteen taels of silver are different..."

"Don't play tricks on me, Gu Shi, let's go. I've seen this play before."

Lingchuan pulled Gu Shi's sleeve angrily and was about to leave. She hated being treated as a fool the most.

"Lingchuan, are you blaming me for not giving you enough monthly salary?"

Gu Shi was pulled out of the theater by her. She argued for a long time even for this little money. Was she dissatisfied with the fact that the money he gave her was too little?

He remembered that he had previously warned Lingchuan to be frugal, and felt a little guilty. How could he let Lingchuan get into trouble with others for ten taels of silver? He had to give her more monthly allowance.

"I've seen Madam Hibiscus. There's nothing much to see. It's just a story about a woman who was so stupid that she got herself killed."

Lingchuan folded his arms and said unhappily.

"Have you seen it? Who did you watch a play like this with?"

Lingchuan was suddenly stunned and couldn't answer for a moment.

She watched this play with Qin Sizhao. He gently called her Rong'er. Qin Sizhao also said... I came to Beijing to take the exam just to meet you... something like that...

Lingchuan tried hard to tell herself that she couldn't believe such words, but she still remembered that his eyes were curved when he smiled, and there was a little teardrop mole under his eye, which was very beautiful, very beautiful.

It was so good that she almost believed what he said.

"I pay my respects to the prince."

A clear voice sounded, and Lingchuan turned around suddenly, and saw Qin Sizhao wearing a simple blue dress, bowing slightly to Gu Shi.

Why is he here...

He looked normal, looking at Gu Shi neither humbly nor arrogantly. The small mole at the corner of his eye hurt Lingchuan's eyes.

Lingchuan stood there in a daze, opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and he felt ashamed.