"You are..." Gu Zhixing stared at the man in white before him, his voice unconsciously deepening.

Shangguan Qingchen also frowned, his gaze falling on Shen Jintang, as if waiting for her to explain something.

"Let me introduce you." Shen Jintang broke the silence, tapping her fingertips lightly on the table. "This is Shangguan Qingchen." She turned to the other side, "This is Gu Zhixing."

An eerie silence fell over the room, and even the sound of rain outside the window seemed exceptionally clear.

Looking at Shangguan Qingchen's almost perfect face, Gu Zhixing felt as if a stone was lodged in his heart.

Shen Jintang suddenly reached out her hand to Gu Zhixing and asked, "Gu Zhixing, where's the Poria cocos cake?"

Gu Zhixing immediately snapped out of his daze, took three steps at a time to walk to her side, and grasped her hand that was hanging in mid-air: "It fell to the ground and got muddy, so you can't eat it."

Shen Jintang raised the corners of her mouth slightly and tugged at his sleeve: "Then you have to compensate me."

This intimate gesture instantly dispelled Gu Zhixing's displeasure.

"Okay, I'll make you two boxes, plus a string of candied hawthorns, how about that?"

Shangguan Qingchen watched the interaction between the two, her eyes darkening, but she said nothing.

"Shangguan," Shen Jintang suddenly spoke, "I need a doctor to cure my eyes."

Shangguan Qingchen stopped what he was doing, his voice returning to its usual calm: "Your constitution is special. I have already sent someone to fetch a doctor who specializes in this condition, but it will take another day or two for him to arrive."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Why don't we go to the capital first? It has a full range of medicinal herbs and is safer there."

Shen Jintang nodded: "Okay."

While packing his luggage, Gu Zhixing kept a straight face, but his hands moved very efficiently.

He found that he wasn't as jealous as he had imagined—three months ago, he probably would have been furious.

This realization surprised even himself.

The carriage was parked by the roadside. It looked simple on the outside, but inside it was covered with fine brocade cushions, the small table was carved from a single piece of agarwood, and even the hooks for the curtains were made of warm, lustrous mutton fat jade.

Gu Zhixing touched his nose; this was completely different from the flamboyant style he liked.

However, it does suit Shangguan Qingchen's temperament very well. You can tell at a glance that he is the kind of person who hides his vast wealth in his bones—he appears aloof and ethereal, but inside he exudes an air of nobility that cannot be overstepped.

Once inside the carriage, Gu Zhixing initiated the conversation: "Recently, bandits have been rampant in various places. Has something happened?"

Shangguan Qingchen was brewing tea when he heard this and his fingers paused slightly.

The aroma of tea filled the carriage. He poured a cup and handed it to Shen Jintang before slowly speaking: "In Kyoto, the Princess's Party and the Crown Prince's Party have completely turned against each other, and the power struggle is intensifying."

He spoke in a flat tone, as if discussing the weather, "His Majesty has fallen ill from anger, and the governors of the thirteen prefectures are all watching and waiting, so naturally the world is in chaos."

Gu Zhixing keenly sensed that there was something reserved in those words, but after glancing at Shen Jintang, who was leaning on his shoulder and pretending to doze off, he ultimately did not press the matter further.

He accepted the tea offered by Shangguan Qingchen and thanked her.

As evening fell, they settled down at an inn beside the official road.

To Gu Zhixing's surprise, Shangguan Qingchen personally went to the kitchen to oversee the decoction process and even specially instructed the shopkeeper to prepare the food that Shen Jintang liked.

"The doctor has arrived." After dinner, Shangguan Qingchen led in an elderly man with white hair. "He can begin treatment first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, then you can arrange it as you see fit."

Shen Jintang nodded and turned to Gu Zhixing: "Want to go for a walk with me?"

The night breeze was slightly cool, and Gu Zhixing took off his outer robe and draped it over Shen Jintang's shoulders.

She suddenly grabbed his hand: "Don't overthink it."

"I didn't..."

“Your palms are sweaty,” Shen Jintang chuckled. “Just ask whatever you want.”

Gu Zhixing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you known each other for a long time?"

"It's been ten years, hasn't it?" Shen Jintang looked up and felt the night breeze. "When I was little, my father said that I was too wild in the army and didn't look like a girl, so he asked my brother to send me to Yangzhou to learn poetry and etiquette. That's when I met Shangguan Qingchen."

Gu Zhixing did some mental calculations. At that time, Shangguan Qingchen should have been only fifteen or sixteen years old, while Shen Jintang... was still a child.

This realization inexplicably relieved him.

"What are you thinking about?" Shen Jintang poked his cheek.

Gu Zhixing grabbed her mischievous fingers and said softly, "You really did a good job learning poetry, literature, and etiquette. You could even be my teacher later on."

He wondered why Shangguan Qingchen looked so familiar; wasn't this Shen Jintang, who had taught him so meticulously before?

Gu Zhixing naturally knew that Shen Jintang had spent a few years studying poetry and literature at the Shangguan family when she was young, and he had indeed cared about it before. However, now that Shen Jintang had made things clear to him, he was no longer bothered by it.

"Alright, it's getting late, you should rest too. You still need to get treatment for your eyes tomorrow," Gu Zhixing said.

"good."

Shen Jintang nodded.

Gu Zhixing escorted Shen Jintang back to her room, tucked her in, and gently stroked the edge of her veil with his fingertips. He whispered, "Call me if you need anything. I'm right next door."

Shen Jintang buried half her face in the brocade quilt and mumbled an "Mmm," her eyelashes casting two faint shadows under the gauze ribbon.

Gu Zhixing stared at her for a moment, then turned away, the tenderness on his face gone, his eyes calm as a deep pool.

When he knocked on Shangguan Qingchen's door, the lantern under the eaves was swaying in the night wind, casting ever-changing light and shadow on the pillars.

"Young Master Gu?" Shangguan Qingchen opened the door, wearing a silver-gray outer robe casually draped over his moon-white inner robe, his hair still damp from his bath.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he still stepped aside to make way: "Please come in."

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