Chapter 4 These two, each with their own heart, standing together, were... well, you could tell.

No sooner had Butler Bai left than Bai Xing arrived.

As soon as he entered, he saw a man and a woman standing side by side. The man was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, exuding an extraordinary air, while the woman wore a plain-colored silk dress, resembling a delicate begonia, standing quietly beside him. Anyone who saw the two of them together would have to say: they are truly a perfect couple.

But Bai Xingzhi suddenly found the scene before him particularly jarring.

He shifted his gaze from the woman to the man: "Greetings, Sixth Prince. I was unaware of Your Highness's presence and have failed to greet you properly." Bai Xingzhi bowed to Xiao Che, his voice neither humble nor arrogant.

"Please rise quickly, Mr. Bai, there's no need for such formalities." Xiao Che gently helped Bai Xingzhi up. He had always respected Mr. Bai, and now that he had saved Gu Xi, he was even more grateful.

Gu Xi looked at Bai Xingzhi and said, "Young Master Bai, I'm sorry to have bothered you these past two days. I've recovered quite a bit now and will be setting off back home soon." Actually, she was still quite weak, but she didn't want to delay any longer. Now that Xiao Che was accompanying her back, she had nothing to worry about.

"Xingzhi, thank you for saving Xiaoxi. You are Xiaoxi's benefactor, and therefore I am her benefactor as well. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will definitely do my best to help," Xiao Che said solemnly.

Bai Xingzhi previously only knew that Xiao Che had studied under Scholar Gu, and that he frequently visited the Gu residence; outsiders simply assumed he had close ties with the eldest son of the Gu family. But today, he realized that their Sixth Prince was actually after Liu Bang, and that his feelings for this Miss Gu were far more than just ordinary school friendship.

"Your Highness is too kind. It was nothing, not worth mentioning," Bai Xingzhi said, glancing at Gu Xi indifferently. "I have already ordered a carriage to be prepared for Your Highness and Miss Gu, and we can set off at any time."

"In that case, Gu Xi thanks Young Master Bai in advance."

Bai Xingzhi nodded slightly, his eyes remaining completely undisturbed.

Seeing his expression suddenly turn cold, Gu Xi felt a pang of disappointment.

"By the way, Xingzhi, why are you here? I don't remember this being your official residence," Xiao Che asked, voicing his doubts.

"It's quite a coincidence that this was my residence before I entered officialdom. Yesterday, there was a heavy snowfall, and I remembered that the plum blossoms in the old house should be blooming, so I took some time to come back and take a look," Bai Xingzhi said, his gaze sweeping over Gu Xi. "I didn't expect to run into Miss Gu on the road."

"I see......"

Gu Xiqiang tried to stay awake as they chatted back and forth, but drowsiness gradually crept in.

Before long, Zhu Yin had packed her luggage, and Butler Bai led the three of them onto the carriage, heading towards the Gu residence.

Bai Xingzhi watched the departing carriage, then turned and entered the Bai residence. For some reason, he found himself back in the west wing.

The slanting sunlight streaming through the window shone into the room, landing precisely on the chair he had been sitting in during the day.

After he sat down, he poured himself a cup of tea as usual, but when he tasted it, he found that the tea had gone cold.

*

Not long after Gu Xi got into the carriage, she fell asleep leaning against Zhu Yin.

An hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Gu residence.

As soon as Gu Xifu entered the door, she saw her father pacing back and forth in the front hall. When he looked up and saw her, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Father..." Gu Xi called out guiltily.

"Nonsense! If it weren't for Bai Xiang's rescue, you would have died out there!" Gu Chengzhong scolded Gu Xi. He had been waiting at home for a long time and finally saw his daughter return. The worry in his heart turned into anger and heartache when he saw her pale face.

"Father... I know I was wrong..." Gu Xi knew she had worried her family.

Gu Chengzhong looked at his daughter, who was tugging at his clothes and bowing her head to admit her mistake. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he couldn't bear to scold her anymore.

"This is a one-time exception!" Gu Chengzhong said sternly.

Gu Xi nodded obediently. "How is Mother now? Is she feeling any better?" Gu Xi asked worriedly.

"Your mother is alright, but you've scared her to death." In fact, Gu Chengzhong himself was the one who was scared to death. His beloved wife was critically ill and her life was hanging in the balance, while his beloved daughter's fate was uncertain. These past two days have been the most difficult days he has had in decades.

"Why didn't Father tell me that Mother was sick?" Gu Xi said with a hint of complaint. If it weren't for the letter from Mama Feng, Zhu Yin's mother, she would still be in the dark. "Also, why didn't Father let Master and Senior Brother come to treat Mother..." Gu Xi finally asked.

Speaking of her master and senior brother, one was a poison doctor feared throughout the martial arts world, and the other was a divine doctor revered by all. Her master also had another identity, the master of Medicine King Valley, but few people knew this, and the martial arts world generally believed that they were two different people.

When she received the letter, her master and senior brother were traveling. Fortunately, she had spent many years immersed in Medicine King Valley and had learned about 60-70% of the medicine from them. Time was of the essence, so she had to prepare a prescription herself based on the symptoms described in the letter. Before leaving, she wrote to her master and took the Rejuvenating Pill left by him with her to the capital.

Fortunately, the prescription worked. What if something had really gone wrong?

"Sigh, your mother..." Gu Chengzhong sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he couldn't do anything about his wife. He instructed her, "Don't mention your master in front of her later."

Gu Xi frowned. She didn't understand why her mother was unwilling to let her master treat her illness, just as she didn't understand why her mother, who was always gentle and kind to others, was so cold and distant towards her master.

"Father, I'll go see Mother first." No matter what the reason, her mother is now out of danger, and Gu Xi doesn't want to dwell on it any longer.

She knew that no matter how much she asked, she would never get an answer if her parents didn't want to tell her something.

"Ah Che also wants to see Master's wife," said Xiao Che, who had been by Gu Xi's side.

Before their marriages, Xiao Che's mother, Consort Xu, was sworn sisters with Gu Xi's mother, Lady Su, and the wife of Grand Tutor Yu, Lady Cui. Later, by chance, Xiao Che became Gu Chengzhong's student and frequently visited the Gu family. In public, to avoid suspicion, they maintained proper etiquette between ruler and subject, but at the Gu residence, Gu's parents treated him like a nephew. Now that his teacher's wife is seriously ill, he and his mother are very worried.

"Go on then." Gu Chengzhong waved to them.

*

Inside the Wutong Courtyard.

Gu Xi looked at her mother lying on the hospital bed and felt very sorry for her.

"Mother, Xiaoxi is back..." Gu Xi rushed into Su Jinhe's arms as soon as she entered the door.

"Xiao Xi, let your mother take a look..." Su Jinhe looked at her thin and weak daughter, filled with guilt and heartache, and tears streamed down her face. It was bad enough that she couldn't give Gu Xi a healthy body, but now she almost lost her life because of her.

Gu Xi gently wiped away her mother's tears with a handkerchief. It seemed that this time she was really worried. Her mother had always been strong, and she had rarely seen her cry since she was a child. The few times she had shed tears, it was all for her.

Gu Xi comforted her, carefully checked Su Jinhe's pulse, and asked her questions from all sides before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She chatted with her mother for a while, listening to her gentle reproaches, and felt much more at ease.

Su Jinhe was worried that she was tired, so she urged her to go back to her room to rest.

Once outside the Wutong Garden, Gu Xi looked sullen.

Xiao Che accompanied her the whole way, knowing that she must be blaming herself for making her family worry.

“Xiao Xi, Gu Xiao wrote to me a few days ago, saying that he will be back in three months and that he has prepared a wonderful gift for you.”

He had promised Gu Xiao he would tell her later, so she wouldn't be disappointed if he couldn't come back. But he couldn't bear to see her sad, so he couldn't help but tell her the good news to cheer her up.

Her birthday is in three months, and I hope Gu Xiao can make it back in time.

"Really?!" Gu Xi's eyes lit up.

"Really?" Xiao Che nodded with a smile.

"Did he say what gift he prepared for me?" Gu Xi was happy, not because of the gift, but because her brother, who was far away on the frontier, was finally coming back. She hadn't seen him for almost two years, and her parents missed him very much.

"It's a secret!" Xiao Che said mysteriously.

Gu Xi snorted and wrinkled her nose slightly, like a child.

Xiao Che was happy to see that she was finally in a better mood. He had been busy with official duties for the past six months, and she was often at the Medicine Valley, so they rarely saw each other. He had a lot to say to her, but now he could only wait until she recovered before he could tell her.

He recalled the past few days and was terrified. A few days ago, he went to Medicine King Valley to find her and bring her warm clothes, only to learn that she had already ridden away the day before. Heavy snow had fallen in many places recently, and he worried that her health wouldn't be able to withstand it. He had been searching for her at top speed, but to no avail.

To my surprise, I learned upon arriving at the Gu family home today that she had fainted on the street yesterday!

This reminded him of that winter ten years ago, when it snowed heavily for a whole month. The playful children secretly ran off to play in the snow without telling their parents. On the way home, she suddenly fainted in the snow and didn't move at all, no matter how much he called her.

That day, he carried her on his back for a very, very long time, so long that he thought he would never be able to go back. That time, she burned for three days and three nights and almost died. Fortunately, she was saved by the poison doctor of Medicine King Valley.

So when he heard that she had fainted in the snow again, he was gripped by a huge panic. Even though the people from the Bai family said that she was fine, he couldn't listen to a word. He just wanted to see her immediately and hear her call out "Brother Che". So he rushed to the Bai family without thinking.

Seeing her chatting and laughing with me again, I finally felt relieved.

Looking at the two laughing and joking people in front of her, Zhu Yin felt that they were even more beautiful than the people in the painting. At this moment, only the Sixth Prince could make the young lady happy.

The Sixth Prince was the most handsome man she had ever seen. The young master had once joked that if he were a woman, he would definitely marry the Sixth Prince, which always made the young lady and Miss Yu burst into laughter.

The Sixth Prince could only reply slowly, "Young Master Gu, please be careful with your words. My heart already belongs to someone else." After saying that, his gaze would inadvertently drift towards the young lady.

The Sixth Prince was not only handsome, but also gentle and polite. Zhu Yin hadn't read much, but by following his mistress, he had learned some characters. "Standing like a jade tree, smiling like the bright moon in one's arms," ​​he thought, that was probably the best description of the Sixth Prince. Zhu Yin thought to himself, in this world, no one could be more worthy of his mistress than the Sixth Prince.

She had actually realized long ago that the Sixth Prince was in love with the young lady, but her silly young lady was so focused on her medical skills and musical talent that she knew nothing about matters between men and women, which was why she couldn't see the Sixth Prince's feelings.

*

As the days passed, Gu Xi's health gradually recovered, and her mother's condition also improved significantly. Now, her greatest hope was that her brother could return home soon so the family could be reunited.

At this time of day, he would usually visit his mother at the Wutong Courtyard, but today his father said that there were important guests at home and that he should not leave the courtyard.

Gu Xi was carrying her zither and was about to go into the courtyard when she heard Zhu Yin's cheerful voice.

"Miss, look who's here?!"

A note from the author:

----------------------

Childhood sweetheart or a sudden love interest?