It must be said that Li Lianying was quite clever; he came up with a solution in no time.

Empress Dowager Cixi was very impressed and rewarded him with ten taels of gold.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!"

Li Lianying was overjoyed, knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude, and then explained in detail the plan he had come up with.

It's nothing more than a honey trap.

The next day, a handsome guard, as good-looking as Pan An, kept passing by Zhen'er, intentionally or unintentionally.

However, Zhen'er was not a lustful person; she wouldn't be so easily infatuated with just one man.

It looks good, but liking it is another matter. Besides, it came with an ulterior motive, so how could Zhen'er not be wary?

To find out what this person was up to, Zhen'er put down the memorial and went to investigate.

But as soon as she left, she saw the man also take off running, so she followed closely behind him.

She only caught up with them when they reached a dilapidated courtyard.

However, little did she know that the man was already waiting for her.

He was dressed in a blue robe, with a smile on his face, and bowed to Zhen'er: "This humble servant, Gu Qingtong, greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

"Why did you lead me here?" Zhen'er looked up at him and saw that he was even more handsome than she had seen him from afar, resembling Qiao Zhenyu in his youth. She couldn't help but take another look at him.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"Tell me, who exactly ordered you to do this?" Zhen'er didn't want to hear any nonsense and asked directly.

Gu Qingtong didn't mince words either, "No one instructed me. I found this dying kitten on the road, but my status is too lowly, and the Imperial Hospital was unwilling to deal with it. After thinking it over, I came up with this idea."

"Oh!" Zhen'er raised an eyebrow. "Are you so sure I'll save this cat?"

After saying that, she glanced down at the cat on the ground. The cat was very small, no bigger than a palm, and its snow-white fur was stained red with blood. It was on its last breath and looked like it was about to die.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingtong quickly shook his head, "This humble servant knows that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is benevolent and would certainly not be able to bear seeing this cat suffer, and would lend a helping hand."

Zhen'er glanced back at Gu Qingtong and noticed a scar on the back of his hand, like an animal scratch, which made her suspicious.

She thought to herself: Could this be the cat he abused, deliberately doing this to get my attention?

Thinking of this, she remained calm; turning the tables on someone was a tactic she often used.

So she smiled and said, "You have a sweet tongue. In that case, I'll do as you wish and save this kitten!"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Gu Qingtong clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, then bent down and picked up the kitten.

But the kitten let out a shrill meow, as if it saw this person as a demon from hell. It wanted to struggle, but it had no strength and could only cry out in fear.

The kitten's action only reinforced Zhen'er's belief in her earlier thoughts.

Fearing that if Gu Qingtong continued to hold the kitten, it would die from stress, Zhen'er casually called over a palace maid not far away and instructed her to take the kitten to the Imperial Hospital.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is kind-hearted; this humble servant is truly grateful," Gu Qingtong flattered, showing no intention of backing down.

Looking at Gu Qingtong's handsome face and thinking about his ruthlessness, Zhen'er felt nauseous, but she still endured it. "It's a good thing that Guard Gu is so kind-hearted. Judging from your physique, your martial arts skills must be quite good. From now on, you will protect me!"

"Really?" Gu Qingtong first feigned disbelief, then said gratefully, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this humble servant swears to serve Your Majesty to the death."

"You should go back and rest first! Tell your superiors that you will come to my palace to guard me tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. I shall take my leave."

After bowing respectfully, Gu Qingtong turned and left.

As she watched him leave, Zhen'er's face turned cold.

Zhen'er had seen this old trick countless times on TV; how could it possibly fool her?

"Empress Dowager Cixi, you couldn't wait this long. But you're really generous, giving me such a handsome man instead of keeping him for yourself." Zhen'er said sarcastically, looking in the direction of Chuxiu Palace.

Why would people suspect Empress Dowager Cixi but not others? The reason is simple: Cixi's motives were the most compelling.

She was ready to face whatever came her way, and wanted to see what tricks Empress Dowager Cixi was up to.

The following day, Gu Qingtong stayed in Zhen'er's palace to guard her.

At first it was fine, I just watched from a distance, about a meter away.

Later, Zhen'er deliberately indulged him, and he became bolder and bolder, always intentionally or unintentionally touching Zhen'er's hand.

Especially when he saw that Zhen'er did not resist, he became even more aggressive. On several occasions, when no one was in the hall, he even pulled her into his arms and kept stroking her with his big hands.

Zhen'er felt disgusted, but still teased, "Does Master Gu like me?"

"I love it! Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is a woman of unparalleled beauty, the dream lover of every man in the world. If one does not have such feelings, wouldn't that be a desecration of Your Majesty's beauty?" Gu Qingtong flattered without any politeness. "Especially after these two weeks of contact, I am even more infatuated and cannot extricate myself."

Old Mrs. Xu, whose wrinkles could trap mosquitoes, was also described as stunningly beautiful. If word got out, she would probably be the subject of much ridicule. Zhen'er was well aware of this.

Upon hearing this, Zhen'er smiled and didn't continue the conversation. Instead, she looked at him gently and said, "I like you too."

"Really?" Gu Qingtong was clearly delighted, and unconsciously moved closer to Zhen'er.

Zhen'er dodged, thus avoiding Gu Qingtong's harassment.

However, she was not angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "There are too many people during the day. It would be bad if someone saw us. Why don't you wait until midnight to come and meet me?"

"Okay." Gu Qingtong replied without hesitation, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "At midnight, I will come clean and ready to serve you properly."

After saying that, he reached out to brush away the stray hairs on Zhen'er's forehead.

Zhen'er dodged with disgust, and Gu Qingtong's hand missed. He then moved closer to her.

Zhen'er was annoyed, but she couldn't show it, so she just smiled and looked at him, "Alright, I've been waiting for you. You need to nourish yourself tonight, otherwise how will you have the strength?"

"Okay," Gu Qingtong replied again, looked at her for a long time, and then reluctantly turned and left.

Watching his departing figure, Zhen'er sneered inwardly.

However, at this moment, she had no time to worry about anything else. She quickly finished reading today's memorials and then took a good rest.

If you don't get proper rest, how can you act tonight?