The killing intent intensified

Gu Jinghong watched as the maid moved her loquat tea away, her eyes darkened, and a strange anger welled up in her heart.

She naturally knew that tonight's events would not end so easily; Gongsun Lie's absence from the palace banquet meant he must have other plans.

But so what? Gu Jinghong can handle this herself.

He just thought that Gu Jinghong wouldn't know about his order to have the palace maids remove the loquat tea.

Why is he pretending to care about her health like this?

Just like the impeachment he warned her about at the beginning, and the scarlet undergarment later, all of these things made Gu Jinghong feel resentful when she thought about them!

What exactly is he trying to do?!

With that thought in mind, Gu Jinghong's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

Not far away, Xiao Chengyan's peripheral vision, which had been watching her, dimmed...

...

More than an hour later, the palace banquet ended, and Gu Jinghong walked out with the crowd.

The Duke's carriage was right in front of them. Gongsun Cheyuan reached out his hand, but Gu Jinghong seemed not to see it and stepped into the carriage alone.

Gongsun Cheyuan, as if he had not noticed anything strange, happily followed Gu Jinghong into the carriage.

Along the way, Gongsun Cheyuan chattered on and on to Gu Jinghong, who responded only half-heartedly, her mind preoccupied with Xiao Chengyan's attitude toward Princess Yongning.

Then, she suddenly asked Gongsun Cheyuan, "Why didn't Father come to the palace banquet today?"

Gongsun Cheyuan said, "He is not feeling well today."

Gu Jinghong nodded knowingly: "I see..."

I haven't heard anything about Gongsun Lie being ill these past few days; he just doesn't want to attend the palace banquet.

He had everything arranged perfectly. If he had been present, it would have been extremely awkward for him to speak up when Imperial Censor Li accused Gu Jinghong.

As the carriage arrived at the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Gongsun Cheyuan finally seemed to be summarizing the day's events: "Madam, you've had a hard day. Please go back to your room and rest."

He felt truly honored to be able to appear as "husband and wife" with Gu Jinghong in front of everyone.

However, just as the two stepped into the mansion and passed through the front courtyard corridor, their peripheral vision keenly caught sight of two figures flashing past under the corridor in the direction of the study located at the deepest part of the mansion.

The man in front, dressed in a python robe and jade belt, with a tall and upright figure, was none other than the Fifth Prince Xiao Chengming, who was known as a wise and virtuous prince.

The tall figure who was respectfully seeing her off half a step behind him was none other than her nominal father-in-law, the Duke of Zhenguo, Sun Lie.

At today's palace banquet, both uncle and nephew claimed to be ill and did not attend court; it turns out they were "resting quietly" here!

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw the steward already waiting in the hall with two accountants. Upon seeing her return, they immediately put on a big smile and bowed.

"Congratulations, Princess Consort! Congratulations on your great achievement today, bringing glory to our family! The Master has specifically instructed that since you have assumed the important responsibility of 'Imperial Merchant,' your affairs will undoubtedly be very busy. To save you from overworking yourself and to prevent outsiders from criticizing our household's accounts... from today onwards, all accounts of Jinghongwu will be managed by the Public Accountant Office. This will help ease your burden and demonstrate the unity of our Duke's Mansion."

Gu Jinghong smiled: "The wind in the Imperial Garden blows faster than a carriage wheel. I haven't even settled into my new role as a meritorious official, and the Duke's 'consideration' has already arrived... Truly, it lives up to its reputation."

The accountant forced a stiff smile and finally stepped forward, respectfully presenting a brand-new ledger in his hands.

Gu Jinghong took the ledger and flipped through it casually. It was a blank ledger. Then she looked up at the butler's face.

A mere steward would never dare to challenge her, the Crown Princess; his audacity must be at Gongsun Lie's behest.

Gongsun Lie was using the guise of a "royal merchant" to seize the property.

What a wonderful example of "unity of purpose"!

Gu Jinghong spoke gently, even curtsying slightly, “Father…you are so considerate of Jinghong. To be honest, Jinghong Village is growing larger and larger, and the accounts are complicated. I am finding it difficult to manage. Now that there are professionals like the public accountant to take care of it, I am extremely grateful.”

The butler was taken aback and exchanged a glance with the accountant beside him.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess was so unrestrained and even "sensible".

“However,” Gu Jinghong’s tone shifted slightly, tinged with a hint of difficulty, “as a ‘royal merchant,’ our accounts involve the palace and the border markets, making them even more crucial than before. We must be extremely careful, leaving no room for error. From now on, I’ll have to trouble you, sir… to take good care of things.”

The accountant smiled apologetically, "Your Highness, you flatter me."

...

The Study of the King of Jin's Mansion - Late Night

The flickering candlelight cast Xiao Chengyan's shadow long and short.

He sat alone at his desk dealing with military affairs. After Changfeng took away the stack of documents, Xiao Chengyan finally leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Half of the crimson sleeve of her undergarment peeked out, fluttering before his eyes and reminding him of her.

At the palace banquet, she coldly and indifferently said "yes," her gloomy face rejecting his concern...

He understood her attitude towards him, but he really didn't have a better solution.

He is afflicted with an uncontrollable Gu poison, which sometimes transforms him into a completely different person. Anyone who appears around him is at risk of being persecuted by that person, and this persecution is carried out in the guise of Xiao Chengyan...

Besides, her identity is special. If her father knew she was from the Southern Wind royal family, he would definitely kill her. He couldn't take the risk...

He also began to participate in the struggle for the supreme throne...

There is no doubt that this position will be decided between him and Xiao Chengming. If Xiao Chengyan wins, Gu Jinghong will be fine no matter what, and her identity as a member of the Nanfeng royal family will be revealed to the world.

But if Xiao Chengming wins... he has to consider a way for her to continue living a good life.

Gongsun Cheyuan was Xiao Chengyan's final choice.

Xiao Chengyan's mind became increasingly confused, and a dark aura began to emanate from his eyes...

Squeak—

The palace door was pushed open a crack.

A figure in crimson silently entered the hall.

Xiao Chengyan opened his eyes slightly, vaguely seeing a crimson figure.

Could it be Ah Hong?

He shook his head, rubbed his temples, and opened his eyes again—

Her scarlet palace dress and cloud-like bun, with a plain silver hairpin inserted diagonally, made her look exactly the same as she did at the palace banquet during the day.

Ah Hong...

"Your Highness." Her voice was soft and melodious, subtly different from the cold and stubborn voice he remembered, yet difficult to discern due to his dazed state.

“You don’t look well,” she said, reaching out her hand and gently touching his arm with her cool fingertips, bringing a shiver of relief. “Let me stay with you, okay?”

...

Just as Xiao Chengyan was about to lose control, Gu Jinghong was looking at a newly drawn diagram of a mechanical mechanism.

As the weather warms up, the sounds of insects can be faintly heard in the capital city at night.

During today's palace banquet, the transformation of crossbows into plows was a meticulously designed scheme by Gu Jinghong. This move did indeed broaden her thinking, and she wanted to combine more military and agricultural mechanisms into one.

Sudden--

"boom!!!"

The workshop's heavy wooden door shattered into pieces as if struck by a battering ram!

Affected by the airflow, Gu Jinghong stumbled and fell backward.

Amidst the flying sawdust, a black figure, exuding a suffocating aura of violence, burst in.

She squinted, two possibilities suddenly flashing through her mind—was he Gongsun Lie's man? Or Xiao Chengming's man?

Whoever it is, they're definitely up to no good.

She casually picked up a newly made crossbow and aimed it at the man in black. "What brings you to Jinghongwu at night?"

The other party did not speak, but when she finally saw who it was, her hand unconsciously loosened its grip on the crossbow—because the person was Xiao Chengyan.

But he was no longer the dignified King of Ash.

His pupils held no rational light; his dark red eyes radiated a madness that wanted to destroy everything.

His internal energy was overflowing uncontrollably, forming sharp bursts of energy that tore nearby tables, chairs, and utensils to shreds.

His right arm was the most horrifying; the sleeve was already torn, and tiny black snakes seemed to be writhing and thrashing wildly beneath the skin, giving the entire arm a grotesque, inhuman appearance.

Gu Jinghong was stunned—that cut was the arrow wound he had sustained in the desolate, frigid miasma, the wound that had never fully healed!

The two bodyguards who had been chasing him were blasted away by the force of his palm strike as soon as they got close to him, crashing into the wall and their fate unknown.

Two more guards approached from his side, but were knocked away before they could get close.

Then, his phoenix eyes, which were indistinguishable between red and black, instantly locked onto Gu Jinghong, who was lying in the corner.

Gu Jinghong subconsciously moved back a little, leaning against the wall. She had never seen Xiao Chengyan look at her like that before; it was the look of someone staring at a dead object.

Her blood was almost frozen, and the intense premonition of death made every pore of her body scream.

Xiao Chengyan looked at Gu Jinghong, tilted his head, and then raised his hand.

"Bang!"

Gu Jinghong instinctively dodged to the side and turned to look. She saw that the spot where she had just been standing had been blasted into a deep crater by a black burst of energy.

He approached step by step, like a huge dark cloud gradually enveloping Gu Jinghong.

Gu Jinghong exclaimed in disbelief, "Your Highness..."

Xiao Chengyan completely ignored what she said, reached out and grabbed Gu Jinghong's neck, lifting her up little by little.

Gu Jinghong's face turned bright red, and veins bulged on her forehead.

But she still tried to wake him: "Xiao Chengyan...look at me...look at who I am..."

But the familiar yet unfamiliar face seemed not to hear Gu Jinghong speak, tilting its head as if it were looking at Gu Jinghong intently.

Gu Jinghong wanted to seize this opportunity and kept guiding the conversation: "Chengyan, Ayan, I am Ahong..."

“Ah Hong…” he murmured, then lowered his eyes—

The next instant, Xiao Chengyan tightened his grip.

Just when Gu Jinghong thought she was really going to lose her breath, Xiao Chengyan suddenly loosened his grip.

He looked at Gu Jinghong with a puzzled expression, muttering, "A-Ning—"

In that instant of hesitation, a gray shadow swooped down from the blind spot on the beam like a ghost!

During this time, Gu Jinghong vaguely felt that someone was following her, but she could not see this person. It turned out that he was here to protect her!

Phantom dared not take the attack head-on, and could only use his agility to maneuver around, trying to lock his joints from the side.

But Xiao Chengyan swung his hand back, and the powerful force directly blasted the phantom away, sending it crashing into the equipment rack. Blood spilled from its mouth, indicating that it had suffered internal injuries.

Xiao Chengyan's attention returned to Gu Jinghong, his killing intent intensifying.