Report to the palace

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Xiao Chengyan's crimson eyes, churning with terrifying desire, suddenly contracted the moment they touched the butterfly mark. The raging storm of desire deep within his eyes seemed to be cleaved open by an invisible, icy sword! A fleeting, almost hazy clarity of mind streaked across the crimson abyss like a shooting star.

Looking into Gu Jinghong's eyes, which were already brimming with tears, he felt a sense of familiarity.

“Ah… Ning…”

He uttered a muffled murmur, and the grip on her shoulder seemed to loosen slightly.

Then, to Gu Jinghong's astonishment, his head, still burning hot, slowly drooped down in a dazed manner.

Thin lips gently landed on the cool butterfly mark.

A kiss.

It was neither a violent possession nor a passionate outpouring, but rather carried a strange lingering quality...

The contact between the scorching heat and the icy cold sent a violent shiver through Gu Jinghong's body.

The feeling was like being licked by the cold tongue of a venomous snake, or like being burned by a scalding brand.

Humiliation, shock, and an indescribable sense of unease instantly overwhelmed her, and the short arrow in her sleeve almost flew out of her hand.

However, this hazy touch lasted only a moment before Xiao Chengyan suddenly raised his head.

Seemingly jolted awake by his own out-of-control actions, or as if the coldness of the butterfly imprint had briefly pierced his illusion, a terrifying rage erupted in his crimson eyes—

"Ugh—!"

He let out a low growl of pain and rage, and shoved Gu Jinghong away violently!

Gu Jinghong staggered back a few steps, only managing to regain her balance after her back hit the door frame.

The bare skin on her shoulder and the butterfly mark that had been kissed felt slightly cool in the air. She quickly gathered her torn clothes to cover that skin, and quietly put the broken arrow back into her sleeve.

An indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

Xiao Chengyan was almost losing his mind. His slender finger pointed to the door, his voice hoarse and broken, every tremor carrying the torment of burning passion and overwhelming humiliation, "Get out! Get out of here! Don't you dare set foot in Chen'an Residence again!"

After speaking, he didn't look at her again, stumbling and crashing like a wounded beast towards the direction leading to the inner bathroom.

"Bang--!"

With a loud bang, the heavy bathroom door slammed shut, cutting off any view from the outside world.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of icy water violently hitting the body could be heard, along with the sound of a wooden frame hitting the ground.

Seeing Xiao Chengyan leave, Gu Jinghong's body suddenly deflated as if all the air had been released. She leaned against the cold door frame, breathing heavily. The fabric on her shoulders was torn, and the spot on her collarbone where she had been kissed felt burning hot, as if branded, carrying a lingering, eerie sensation and a sense of humiliation.

She slowly straightened up, gathered her tattered clothes, brushed her disheveled hair over her shoulders, and then, like a truly terrified maid, lowered her head and dragged her feet, silently retreating from the main hall of Chen'an Residence, which was filled with a dangerous atmosphere.

The heavy door closed gently behind her, shutting out the chilling sounds of water and low growls from inside.

Standing under the cold corridor of Chen An Residence, the chill of the winter night instantly enveloped her, but for some reason, Xiao Chengyan's appearance just now lingered in her mind, and she didn't even realize that she was still within the boundaries of Chen An Residence.

...

Low growls echoed from the bathroom, like trapped beasts struggling to stay afloat.

The guards paced back and forth at the door, trying several times to rush in and see what was wrong with the prince, but Xiao Chengyan firmly told them to get out.

The stewards, guards, and maids of the Prince's mansion all seemed to have noticed the strangeness of Chen Anju, but when they saw Changfeng, who exuded a murderous aura and had his hand on the hilt of his sword, no one dared to take a step forward and could only silently disappear into the night.

Changfeng was not allowed to enter the bathhouse and had no way of knowing how Xiao Chengyan was doing, so he had no choice but to ask Gu Jinghong.

At that moment, Gu Jinghong was wearing tattered clothes, sitting alone in the shadows by the corridor outside the bathroom, hugging her knees, feeling the cold winter wind trying to penetrate her body.

The emotions surging within her were so complex that they felt unfamiliar even to herself. After the fear and humiliation, there was a heavy feeling in her heart, like a damp cotton ball blocking her throat... guilt.

Changfeng's cold, harsh voice rang out: "Gu Jinghong, what exactly did you do to the Prince?!"

Gu Jinghong seemed not to understand, and simply looked up at Changfeng.

Seeing this, Changfeng had no choice but to raise his voice and ask again.

Gu Jinghong seemed to only then realize what was happening, her eyelashes casting a shadow, her voice numb: "I didn't do it."

"You didn't do it?! Weren't you the only one who followed the prince into the room just now? I noticed something was wrong with you a long time ago. If it weren't for... if the prince hadn't been holding you back... a woman as ruthless as you would have already become a dead soul under my sword!"

"No matter the means"—Gu Jinghong's head buzzed, and she couldn't hear what Changfeng was saying afterward at all.

It turns out that my guilt just now stemmed from these four words.

She exploited Xiao Chengyan's long-sought-after, almost obsessive, butterfly mark, and his lingering pity and restraint towards that phantom, to achieve her goal of stealing the token and the "Nine-Turn Resurrection Grass." This shows that she would stop at nothing.

Especially just now, she watched as he was tormented by the drug, his eyes bloodshot and his mind completely lost, yet he stopped abruptly in front of that mark as if frozen in place... She was truly stunned. For the first time in her life, she did not firmly commit to carrying out her mission, and for the first time in her life, she felt a sense of guilt and bewilderment.

Gu Jinghong bit her pale lower lip hard, her voice slightly dry: "The prince must have been poisoned by 'Warmth Powder'."

Changfeng's pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "Warmth Powder?!"

Gu Jinghong nodded slightly, his voice low and hoarse: "This medicine is extremely potent and domineering, and not an ordinary physique can withstand it. If an ordinary man is poisoned by this medicine and has nowhere to release it, it will not only severely damage his foundation and vitality, but also cause devastating damage to his body. Those with slightly weaker physiques... it is not uncommon for them to die immediately."

She paused, then looked up at Changfeng with a complicated expression: "But Your Highness... is physically stronger than most people—I suppose, I suppose nothing serious will happen." Even she herself seemed unsure of the words "I suppose."

"I suppose?!" Changfeng's hand gripping the sword bulged with veins, the scabbard humming. "Gu Jinghong! What do you take the Prince for? A plaything to toy with?! You poisoned him with this insidious substance and left him alone in this predicament... You are simply... utterly despicable!"

Gu Jinghong remained curled up in the shadows, knees drawn up to her chest, her voice numb and calm: "I told you, it wasn't me. If Lord Changfeng doesn't believe me, he can investigate."

The two stood frozen in the biting wind, with only the howling snow swirling up the withered leaves under the eaves, creating a mournful rustling sound.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of water and low growls in the bathroom gradually faded away, eventually falling into silence.

Changfeng left with the words, "Don't let me catch you doing anything wrong," and ran towards the bathroom.

Gu Jinghong's heart leaped into his throat. Was it over? Had he... pulled through? Or...?

She held her breath and listened intently. There was no sound from the bathroom—an ominous premonition gripped her. The drug was so potent; had he forcibly suppressed it with cold water…damaged his very being?

No, no, the Prince's mansion must be in chaos right now. Xiao Chengyan is unconscious and Changfeng Wuxia is at his wits' end. This is the best time to retrieve the token. Even if the Prince is injured, it wasn't because he poisoned him.

Two diametrically opposed thoughts clashed and tore at her mind like two ferocious beasts locked in battle. In the end, her obsession with the mystery of her origins overwhelmed her emotions, and Gu Jinghong decided to retrieve the token first.

She descended from the corridor, her figure quickly disappearing into the night. Just as she was about to pass through the bathhouse and head towards the secret chamber, she heard Changfeng's slightly raised, anxious voice: "Your Highness!"

Gu Jinghong's heart tightened suddenly—"Using any means necessary"... Changfeng's words still echoed in her ears.

Looking at her toes as she prepared to step into the secret chamber, Gu Jinghong felt for the first time that the direction led not to life, but to an abyss that even she herself could not look directly at.

After a pause, she turned around and went to the bathhouse at Chen'an Residence.

He fell into a coma.

And the situation looks terrible.

Inside the enormous white marble bath, unmelted ice fragments floated on the icy surface. Xiao Chengyan's tall body was half-submerged in the water, his back against the pool wall, his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, his lips an unnatural bluish-purple, and his wet black hair clung to his full forehead and hard jawline.

His breathing was weak, and his chest barely rose and fell, like a lifeless jade sculpture.

If it weren't for his tightly furrowed brows, he would almost blend into the cold white marble in the pool, losing all the majesty and authority that belonged to the King of Ashes, leaving only a fragile vulnerability that was almost sacrificial.

Gu Jinghong couldn't help but feel a tremor in her heart—so, men could be like this too?

Gu Jinghong grew up in Zhuoyue Tower, a place where people were treacherous and profit was paramount. The men she saw most often were the tower master and her four senior brothers.

The eldest brother, Wen Linchuan, the Grand Secretary, spends all his time with abacuses and ledgers. His eyes are only on cold numbers and mountains of gold and silver. In his eyes, women are nothing more than adding color to his path to wealth.

When Zhuoyuelou's business was just starting out, it needed an astronomical sum of money. He was even able to set up a series of schemes without batting an eye, swindling several daughters of wealthy merchants from Jiangnan who were deeply in love with him out of their fortunes. In the end, all he got in return was a nonchalant "love can lead to trouble, money is more practical."

No matter how beautiful a woman is, or how genuine her feelings are, in the face of his calculating and cold-hearted nature, she is nothing more than a tool that can be exchanged for chips at any time.

Second Senior Brother, Lin Xiuyuan, the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Academy, seemed born to control people's hearts. Beneath his handsome exterior lay a ruthless ability to manipulate emotions at will.

In his eyes, women are pawns on a chessboard, tools to achieve his goals; those lacking in intelligence are merely clowns to be manipulated by him.

He once used extreme gentleness to make a descendant of a former royal family fall head over heels for him, willingly offering her the intricate connections within several powerful families. But after succeeding, he ruthlessly pushed her into an abyss of no return, leaving behind only a cold assessment: "Women are only good for this purpose."

Third Senior Brother, Xie Yan… Compared to the first two, he seems much “better.” He is dashing, sensible, and generous, but the women around him never stay for more than three months.

He reveled in the thrill of pursuit and conquest, in the excitement of novelty. No matter how beautiful a face, how intriguing a soul, once he understood it, it was like a pearl losing its luster, discarded like trash. He once sneered at his departing lover, embracing his new flame, saying, "This world is nothing more than mutual benefit and living for the moment."

Needless to say, the fourth senior brother, Qin Jin, not only treated women as playthings but also seduced them to satisfy his perverted desires. Lan Yin lost her life under his endless, perverse humiliation…

Therefore, in Gu Jinghong's past understanding, men were either like Wen Linchuan, who was profit-driven and cold-hearted; or like Lin Xiuyuan, who used love as a weapon to kill and destroy the soul; or like Xie Yan, who craved novelty and was heartless; or like Qin Jin...

The words "love" and "affection" are nothing more than a pretense, a tool for manipulation, or a pastime. So-called devotion and persistence are nothing but the delusions of storytellers.

Before today, she saw all men this way, and Xiao Chengyan was no exception—the initial plan of creating a "white moonlight" was nothing more than the only faint hope she clung to when she was about to drown.

But now, Gu Jinghong's conviction has wavered.

As she pondered, a voice seemed to drift into her ear: "This matter is of great importance, and we must report it to the palace."