And who should it be?

Xiao Chengyan remained unconscious, with Changfeng and Huanying sitting beside him.

Upon seeing Gu Jinghong enter, the two quickly made way for her.

He seemed to be dreaming, his face and head covered in sweat, muttering, "A-Ning..."

Xiao Chengyan's memory vaguely returned to his childhood.

That day was different from usual; Gu Ning was unusually quiet.

When Xiao Chengyan appeared, Gu Ning was still on the branch of that tree. The weather had turned cold, and only the bare trunk remained on the tree.

He saw her smile at him, then skillfully climbed down from the tree, dusted herself off, and took out a newly made mechanical bird from her sleeve, handing it to Xiao Chengyan.

“Brother,” her eyes shone brightly, but her tone was calm, “this is for you. Pull the string on its tail.”

The Fourth Prince Xiao took the mechanical bird without suspicion and gently pulled it as instructed.

"Click".

A tiny drawer popped out from the mechanical bird's belly. Inside the drawer was a beautifully patterned little pouch and a few pieces of melted, sticky candy.

Immediately afterward, before Xiao Chengyan could react, a slight "clucking" sound came from inside the mechanical bird, like gears chuckling mischievously.

The next second—

"puff!"

A small amount of red liquid mixed with cinnabar and ink was precisely sprayed from the bird's beak, hitting Xiao Chengyan squarely between the eyebrows.

He looked just like a clown in a play who had been dotted with cinnabar.

Xiao Aning stared at the glaring red mark on his forehead, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was doubled over and tears streamed down her face.

The Fourth Prince Xiao was completely stunned, standing there dumbfounded, and then he also laughed.

After the two had finished laughing, Xiao Chengyan saw Gu Ning wipe away the tears from laughing with the back of her hand, and then give him a deep look.

Before he could understand what she meant, she turned and ran. Her lotus-colored figure, like a real butterfly, disappeared gracefully around the corner of the palace wall, never to look back.

Xiao Chengyan touched the cold, sticky red spot between his eyebrows, staring blankly in the direction she had disappeared, clutching the mechanical bird and the few melted candies inside tightly in his hand.

He thought she just liked to tease people, until he waited for her for a very, very long time, until winter came and spring came again... and she still did not appear.

Only then did he realize that her unrestrained laughter was her final farewell; that mischievous "little red dot" was the unique mark she left for him; and that little purse and those few sticky, cheap candies were all she could give him.

He missed her terribly, and he wanted to ask the Empress Dowager for permission to bring her back.

Just as he was about to rush to the entrance of the Empress Dowager's palace, an old palace maid stopped him; she was the one his mother had left behind.

She said, "Fourth Prince! No!"

She said, "Your Highness! You can't bear to part with that little girl, do you know who she is?"

She said, "She is the princess of the Southern Wind Kingdom!"

The royal family of Nanfeng Kingdom—even though he was young at the time, he knew that the royal family of Nanfeng Kingdom was a thorn in his father's side. If his father knew who A Ning was, he would definitely kill her.

But he was somewhat powerless at that time, and he stumbled and staggered to the palace gate of the Empress Dowager.

He didn't remember how the palace maid who opened the door reported and informed him. He only remembered that when he stumbled and knelt before the Empress Dowager, she asked him kindly, "Ayan, why have you come in such a hurry? Is there something important?"

Xiao Chengyan seemed not to have clearly heard what the Empress Dowager was saying.

He moved his lips for a long time before slowly uttering two words with uncertain rhythm—"A-Ning".

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "How did you know Yongning would come today?"

His once turbulent eyes suddenly darkened, as if even fate was telling him that he must not reveal Gu Ning's matter. So he could only lower his eyes and nod blankly.

He didn't know how he dealt with Yongning afterwards. He only knew that he seemed to have fallen ill after that, and was in a daze. Yongning seemed to be with him often.

It's likely that the rumors about him and Yongning in the palace started around that time.

After he recovered, he went back to the place where he had been forced to kneel as punishment. The wall was empty, the trees were empty... Gu Ning's shadow was everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found.

The first time, she ran away, and he couldn't catch her.

The second time, she came, but he pushed her away.

The more Xiao Chengyan dreamed, the more heartbroken he became, until finally he vomited a mouthful of black blood.

Xuan Ru, who was giving him acupuncture, was covered in sweat. She frowned slightly when she saw Xiao Chengyan like this.

Gu Jinghong was stunned, and kept calling him, "Ayan, Ayan..."

He then asked Xuanru, "How is he? Is he alright?"

Xuanru also cares a lot about Xiao Chengyan. The two have known each other for many years and have a deep friendship. In addition, she knows how important he is to Ah Hong.

Changfeng stared at Xiao Chengyan, who had been slightly awake for a long time, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, he muttered, "Valley Master Xuan, your medical skills are so high, shouldn't... shouldn't you..."

Upon hearing this question, Xuanru's face, already exhausted from treating Xiao Chengyan, turned even paler.

At that instant, Gu Jinghong suddenly turned her sharp gaze toward Changfeng.

"Shouldn't you be quite clear about the patient's condition? Changfeng, I'll let it go because you acted impulsively for the sake of the prince."

"You know, Master Xuan is indeed skilled in medicine and has a high talent, but she has only learned proper medical techniques, and her mother has never taught her the art of Gu poison. Since this is the Southern Wind Gu, even if there are medical books related to Gu poison in her Medicine Master Valley, they are obscure and difficult to understand. Doesn't it take time to learn and study them?"

“Your so-called A-Yuan claims to be an expert in Gu poison techniques. She treated him for so long, but did she cure him? Now, A-Ru is doing everything she can to save him, what else do you want to say? Aren’t you going to apologize to Master Xuan?”

Xuan Ru stared blankly at Gu Jinghong.

She knew Ah Hong; she knew Ah Hong was a very stable person. But faced with Xiao Chengyan's state, she must have been more anxious than anyone else present.

Despite such anxiety, she still had to consider Xuanru's feelings and maintain a reasonable and stable attitude to rebuke Changfeng... She seemed calm, but in reality, she was just mobilizing all her bodily functions. If she suddenly relaxed...

After listening to Gu Jinghong's lecture, Changfeng suddenly realized that he had indeed been wrong. He quickly clasped his hands in apology: "Valley Master Xuan, I was just thinking about the Prince and spoke without thinking. I am really sorry."

Xuanru's expression softened considerably: "No need, I know you're worried about the Prince."

She continued administering acupuncture and had Gu Jinghong use her internal energy to protect Xiao Chengyan's heart meridian.

After a long while, she removed the cloak from his body, frowned, and slowly said, "The prince should be out of danger."

—A very familiar feeling. Gu Jinghong felt her spirit suddenly go from being extremely tense to suddenly relaxing, and an indescribable discomfort swept over her again.

After a while, Xiao Chengyan, half-opening his eyes in a daze, saw Gu Jinghong in a dreamlike state.

Why... did he dream about her again?

Her cheeks were still as delicate and fair as ever, but this time she seemed a little aggrieved, her eyes were red, and even the mole at the end of her eyebrow seemed to be filled with brimming pink tears.

It's so strange. She's someone who never cries, so why is she always crying when he dreams about her?

He reached out and touched her cheek; the touch was so real and delicate, more real than any dream he had ever had.

“Ah Hong,” he said, “don’t cry.”

Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances and obediently left the secret room, giving the space to the two of them.

Xiao Chengyan seemed to have nothing but Gu Jinghong in his eyes. When he saw her glancing at him, there were red finger marks on her neck.

He found it strange and reached out to touch her neck again: "Why are there fingerprints? Did I do this? Did I hurt you?"

She suddenly sobbed and said a few words, then buried her face in his chest and cried.

This feeling was so familiar. That time in the desolate, frigid land, she held him and cried like this, soaking his chest with her tears, making him feel both heartache and... strange happiness.

But why does my chest feel wet and warm?

Xiao Chengyan's gaze snapped to attention, and he snapped back to reality almost instantly—no, this wasn't a dream, the sensation was too real.

It really is her!

The red marks on her neck—did he hurt her while he was controlled by the darkness?!

He propped himself up and sat up. The prolonged fury of the dark night made his chest feel hot and painful, but he had no time to pay attention to it. His brows furrowed unconsciously.

This expression clearly caught Gu Jinghong's eye, and Gu Jinghong subconsciously asked, "Does it hurt somewhere?"

Xiao Chengyan seemed to sigh: "I..."

—I shouldn't have come to you, I shouldn't have lost control and pinched you, I shouldn't have reached out and touched you.

A thousand words were stuck in his throat, but in the end he only said, "I'm sorry."

Her beautiful eyes were still glistening with tears as she asked quite earnestly, "What exactly did you do to offend me?"

Yes, he has wronged him in so many ways. Where should I begin?

He instinctively turned his face away.

Gu Jinghong was no longer easily fooled. She stretched out her hands and turned Xiao Chengyan's head around so that he was looking at her.

She asked him, "Who exactly is A-Ning?"

He looked at her expression and seemed to freeze for a moment before answering, "It's Yongning, the one you've met before."

“You’re lying,” she suddenly opened her eyes wide, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, but her expression was already quite serious. “If it were Yongning, you wouldn’t have treated her that way that day.”

Xiao Chengyan knew that Gu Jinghong was referring to the day he took off his formal attire without hesitation.

He did regret this incident; upon reflection, it seemed that there had never been a day in his life when he was as unable to maintain his composure as that day at the palace banquet.

Upon entering the Imperial Garden that day, he saw Gu Jinghong and Gongsun Cheyuan wearing the same clothes. The two seemed to be chatting and laughing, and Gongsun Cheyuan was so intimate with her in front of him.

The two of them were clearly not in good spirits that day, which made him think that Gongsun Che had distanced himself from him... So he was momentarily flustered and found it difficult to suppress his emotions.

"If it wasn't her, then who could it be?"

He suddenly looked at her very seriously, "Ah Hong, if it's not her, then who is it?"

Gu Jinghong was speechless for a moment, as if trying to understand what he meant.

Yes, she was a country girl who didn't even know where she came from, while the man in front of her had grown up in the palace. How could she have such thoughts, such a feeling that she might really be "A-Ning"?

Compared to those "A-Ning"s that she couldn't even detect, she would rather Yong-Ning be "A-Ning." After all, she was skilled in Gu magic, and if she had feelings for him, she shouldn't harm him.

Thinking of this, Gu Jinghong suddenly felt a pang in her heart, and her swollen eyes seemed to be triggered by a strange headache.

Headache?

Suddenly, Gu Jinghong's eyes flickered—wait a minute, didn't she lose ten years of memories? Then who exactly was she during those ten years?

Her gaze suddenly fixed on Zhiji Pavilion.

Ever since Gu Jinghong was stabbed by Guo Da while his hands were being held, she has temporarily given up on her goal of investigating her origins.

Because she was afraid.

She feared that the final answer might actually be her father, and then how would she live the rest of her life?

But should we close our eyes just because we're afraid?

Obviously, that's even less appropriate...