How about we each take a step back?

"ah--"

Gu Jinning opened her eyes wide, jumped up from the bed, and cried out, "Qinglian, Qinglian!"

Qinglian stumbled in upon hearing the noise, thinking something terrible had happened. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Gu Jinning splashed cold water on her face, grabbed Qinglian's arm, and asked anxiously, "Was I drunk yesterday?"

Qinglian nodded.

"Did Xiao Heng'an escort me back to my room?"

Qinglian nodded again.

Did I say anything I shouldn't have?

Qinglian shook her head.

Gu Jinning breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear Qinglian say, "You spent half a day alone with His Highness Prince Jin yesterday. No one else knows what you talked about."

Gu Jinning rolled her eyes, flopped onto the bed, and cried out, "Oh no! My eyelids have been twitching, I must have been talking nonsense. What was Xiao Heng'an's reaction when he left?"

Qinglian replied, "Your complexion is normal. I just want you to drink less alcohol."

"Ugh~" Gu Jinning covered her face in frustration, "I should have known better than to drink, it's so embarrassing."

"no."

Gu Jinning jumped out of bed, quickly dressed, and headed outside.

"I'm going to find Xiao Heng'an and make him forget what happened yesterday."

Qinglian chased after her to remind her, "Miss, you are still under house arrest."

“Yes.” Gu Jinning turned back and went to climb the wall instead. “I’m going to sneak out for a while. You cover for me.”

She was already quite adept at escaping, and had even carved out a secret alleyway within the mansion.

In less than half an hour, Gu Jinning appeared inside the walls of the Prince of Jin's mansion, just as a patrol of guards happened to pass by.

The patrol soldiers exchanged bewildered glances at the girl who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They then warily drew their swords and surrounded Gu Jinning, shouting, "Who goes there?"

Gu Jinning blinked and said with an awkward smile, "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. I came to see your prince. We're all friends, put down your sword and let's talk."

"How dare you! Your Highness is not someone you can see whenever you want."

The patrolmen shouted and were about to take her away for questioning.

Just then, a figure moved in front of them, and Gu Jinning called out urgently, "Hey, young man in front, ask him, he recognizes me."

The servant who was not far away heard the sound and came around. When he saw that it was Gu Jinning, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly ran over.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

The patrolman said, "She climbed over the wall into the mansion. We're taking her in for questioning."

Gu Jinning quickly corrected, "I'm looking for His Highness."

Chu Lang received a look from Gu Jinning and smiled, "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. She is from the Princess's residence and wanted to see Your Highness. However, it was inconvenient for her to use the main gate, so she resorted to this tactic. Here, I will take her to see Your Highness."

The patrolmen were skeptical.

Chu Lang pulled the patrol captain aside and said, "Yesterday, His Highness went to the Princess's residence for half a day. Perhaps he left something behind, so the Princess sent someone to deliver it."

The patrol captain was puzzled. What couldn't be reported through the gate? Why would it be necessary to climb over the wall?

Chu Lang nudged him and gave him an unspeakable look. The patrol captain quickly realized what was going on and ordered Chu Lang to lead her away.

Chu Lang thanked him and led Gu Jinning away quickly. Once they were all alone, he called out, "Master, why are you climbing over the wall in broad daylight?"

Gu Jinning said, "I can't stay here, so I shouldn't attract attention. Who knew there would be patrols in the backyard too?"

Chu Lang said, "Since the last time we caught the thief, Deputy General Yang has adjusted the guard routes in the mansion, which now basically cover the area."

When the topic of catching the thief came up, Gu Jinning asked, "Last time I asked you to send Guifang away, why did she come back to the hospital halfway?"

Chu Lang complained, "I was surprised too. I timed it perfectly and watched her leave. But in the blink of an eye, I heard her calling for help at the courtyard gate. It scared me to death. I thought you had been arrested."

Gu Jinning said smugly, "Who am I, your master? I'm not afraid of four people at once." She was certain that Ji Lin was behind it all.

"Master," Chu Lang quietly pointed in the direction of Lotus Courtyard and asked in a low voice, "Is that all there is to it? I'm only on duty in the outer courtyard now, and I can't enter the inner courtyard anymore."

"Who said it's over? I never do business at a loss. Just keep an eye on things, I'll settle the score with her later."

Gu Jinning patted Chu Lang on the shoulder and strode into Yunshu Courtyard.

As Song Ming and Song Hui watched Gu Jinning approach, their eyes widened.

"county……"

As they were about to bow, Gu Jinning shushed them, "I snuck out, don't make a sound. Is Xiao Heng'an here?"

Upon hearing the commotion, Xiao Heng'an came out. He gave Song Ming and Song Hui a look, and they tactfully withdrew from the courtyard. Gu Jin Ning, on the other hand, felt rather awkward upon seeing Xiao Heng'an again.

"Um, I..." Gu Jinning stammered, "I came to ask you something."

She took small steps inside, awkwardly exchanging pleasantries: "You seem to have some free time lately, not busy anymore?"

Xiao Heng'an pulled out a chair for her to sit down, poured her some tea, and said, "I'll leave the camp affairs to Yang Yu."

Gu Jinning smiled as she accepted the tea, then asked hesitantly, "Was I drunk yesterday?"

Xiao Heng'an sat above her and nodded, saying, "She's quite drunk."

"Right? I told you I don't remember anything when I wake up in the morning," Gu Jinning asked cautiously. "Did I say anything outrageous?"

Xiao Heng'an pretended to think for a moment, then shook his head, "No."

"That's good, that's good."

Gu Jinning felt relieved instantly. She took a sip of water to calm herself down and said seriously, "Xiao Heng'an, I drank too much yesterday and my mind went blank. I inevitably made some mistakes. Don't take it to heart. We're not strangers, but we can't spread rumors, right?"

Xiao Heng'an nodded in understanding, "I understand. Words spoken while drunk don't count. I won't hold it against you."

"You're the one who knows what's good for you." Gu Jinning patted his shoulder and said cheerfully, "That puts my mind at ease."

Xiao Heng'an watched her quietly, pouring tea and refilling her water.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you stay and have something to eat?"

"No need to eat." Gu Jinning rubbed her hands together, her eyes darting around before landing on Xiao Heng'an. "Since you're here, I'll just mention it. Have you considered my suggestion?"

Xiao Heng'an asked, "What?"

Gu Jinning said, "You annul the engagement."

Xiao Heng'an retorted, "Why don't you consider my suggestion?"

Gu Jinning replied, "I've thought about it eight hundred times, it really won't work. You're not in the capital, so you don't know how shrewd your uncle is. To put it bluntly, my blood relation with him can save my life. Your blood relation with him, on the other hand, is death."

Xiao Heng'an retorted, "I am useful to him, not to that extent."

Gu Jinning knew Xiao Heng'an was stubborn, but she didn't expect him to be even more stubborn than her. She couldn't reason with him at all, and she was so angry.

Gu Jinning leaned back in her chair, glaring at him angrily.

Xiao Heng'an suggested, "How about we each compromise and cooperate?"

Gu Jinning couldn't figure out what Xiao Heng'an was up to. Just as she was pondering this, she heard footsteps coming from outside, along with a voice calling out, "Miss Biao."

Gu Jinning stood up abruptly and shouted, "Xiao Heng'an, I'm here today to tell you that you have to call off this marriage whether you like it or not."

As she spoke, she walked out, her posture resembling that of a fighting rooster, leaving Xiao Heng'an both amused and exasperated. He had no choice but to get up and play along with her act.

"I cannot make decisions about marriages arranged by His Majesty."

Gu Jinning stepped out of the door and shouted back inside, "I don't care. Now that you have Miss Biao to serve you and Cousin Li as your confidante, don't bother me."

"If you don't agree, I'll make your life a living hell, hmph!"

After Gu Jinning finished her rant, she turned and left. When she saw Ji Lin outside the courtyard, she vented her anger on her, "Miss, didn't you see His Highness receiving guests? You just barged in like that, don't you know any manners?"

Ji Lin felt wronged; she hadn't even been admitted to the hospital yet. Song Ming and Song Hui were equally bewildered.

Xiao Heng'an followed closely behind as he was discharged from the hospital. Seeing that Gu Jinning had already walked away, he asked Ji Lin, "Is something wrong?"

Ji Lin, feeling uneasy, didn't know where she had offended the princess. She replied, "I heard that a stranger had entered the manor. I was worried about my cousin, so I came to check on him. I didn't expect it to be Your Highness. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about her, that's just how she is. By the way, don't tell anyone about the commotion today."

Xiao Heng'an gave a cold reprimand and then left the mansion with Song Ming and Song Hui. Ji Lin was left standing there dumbfounded, feeling wronged and saddened by the inexplicable scolding.

Gu Jinning returned empty-handed and in a bad mood, pulling and tugging at the blooming crabapple blossoms.

"cousin!"

Quan Zichu skipped into the pavilion, found Gu Jinning, and pulled out a money pouch, waving it around, saying, "Cousin, I won three games in a row with Little White Fighting Cock. I earned you quite a bit, it's all here."

Quan Zichu placed the money bag on the stone table, wondering why so many crabapple blossoms had fallen before autumn had even arrived.

Gu Jinning said uninterestedly, "That's right, Xiaobai is a rising star in the cockfighting world."

Quan Zichu sat down and poured himself some water, then chatted with her about having fun.

"I heard that Princess Anning's face became itchy and swollen that night after she returned home, and she summoned several imperial physicians to examine and treat her."

Gu Jinning gave a reluctant "Oh".

Quan Zichu asked curiously, "Cousin, aren't you excited?"

Gu Jinning rolled her eyes. Xiao Lei's face was only smeared with periwinkle sap; he'd be uncomfortable for a few days, what was there to be happy about?

Quan Zichu didn't believe that Gu Jinning wouldn't be interested, and added, "You'll definitely be interested in this."

"Yesterday, a hundred or so students gathered outside the palace gates of the capital to plead for the Crown Prince's tutor, which even alarmed the Imperial Guards."

Gu Jinning's expression changed, and she asked, "What time was it yesterday?"

Quan Zichu replied: "It was just yesterday afternoon. I had just received your roast chicken when someone from the palace summoned my father, saying that the students were causing trouble."

Gu Jinning muttered, "Why didn't they call Xiao Heng'an?"

Quan Zichu said, "The imperial city is under the jurisdiction of the King of Qin. The King of Qin suppressed it himself."

"Suppressed? How were they suppressed?"

"Of course, those who should be arrested should be arrested, and those who should be chased away should be chased away."

Quan Zichu leaned close to Gu Jinning's ear and whispered, "His Majesty doesn't want things to escalate and discourage the students of the land, so he ordered the Prince of Qin to give a verbal punishment but not pursue the matter further. He also set the execution of the Crown Prince's tutor in three days. As long as the Crown Prince's tutor is not around, this matter will be over."

Quan Zichu let out a long sigh, lamenting repeatedly, "Although the Crown Prince's tutor was usually rigid and harsh, he wasn't a bad person. It's such a pity that he died like this."

"However, because of this matter, the academy has given us a few days off, so we can be lazy for a few days."

Gu Jinning asked, "What did the Crown Prince say?"

Quan Zichu sighed again, "The Crown Prince used the students' request to plead for the Grand Tutor, but the Emperor rejected it on the spot and he was punished by being confined to the Eastern Palace. You two are in the same boat."

A row of wine jars was placed by the flower bed under the corridor. Quan Zichu picked up a jar and said, "Cousin, since you can't go out, why don't I stay here with you and drown your sorrows in wine?"

Gu Jinning grabbed his folding fan and threw it at him, "Get out! I'm quitting drinking."

Quan Zichu thought that Gu Jinning was in a bad mood because she was locked up, so he didn't dare to provoke her anymore and actually left with the wine jar.

Gu Jinning gets a headache whenever she sees alcohol. She always feels like something happened yesterday, but she can't remember it, so she simply falls into the swing and tries not to think about it.

A white dove flew in, fluttered its wings, landed on the swing set, and cooed a few times.

Gu Jinning raised her hand and whistled.

A white dove nimbly landed in her palm, its sharp beak pecking three times at her hand.