That's what I meant.

It seems like life consists of only four words: eating, drinking, and having fun.

Su Wanwan felt much better.

At least for now, in this small bedroom, spring is in the air, and everything is peaceful and serene.

He kept all the storms and hardships at bay.

Every woman hopes to be cherished, pampered, and coaxed, and she was no exception.

...

Liu Qi still brought He Ying home.

The next day he said, "I'm going on a long trip. If you need anything, contact my mother and my brother and sister-in-law."

He Ying asked curiously, her tone wistful, "What are you doing out in the dead of winter?"

She understood that Liu Qi intended to marry her, which was why he brought her home.

However, she is now in a hurry to find a way to enter the palace to see the Empress, but Liu Qi has chosen to go on a long trip at this time. He is really unreliable.

They didn't consider her feelings at all.

Liu Qi frowned. "Something really has happened."

"Is there something you can't tell me?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to see the Empress? I'll go find out if there's any medicine that works quickly, then you can enter the palace smoothly." Liu Qi shrugged.

He Ying looked at Liu Qi with a complicated expression.

That day at the Duke of Baoguo's mansion, Gu Ziyu came back and said that the medicine they found this time was probably the right one for the symptoms.

Liu Qi listened intently from behind her the whole time and even asked a few questions about her symptoms.

Why are you asking for an antidote now?

She didn't know if he was genuinely doing it for her own good, or if it stemmed from a special concern for the Empress.

In fact, during the more than six months he had spent with Liu Qi, he had never brought up the Empress.

Aside from the statement that he "likes married women," he made no other suggestive remarks.

But she still felt too insecure.

That's the Empress.

She is gentle and unassuming, never competitive or aggressive.

Yet there is a calm and unhurried air about him that attracts others like a magnet.

It also attracts the crane's shadow.

So many men were infatuated with her, it was only natural that Liu Qi would be infatuated with her as well.

Liu Qi sighed.

"Wait for me to return, then I'll propose marriage to the Empress?"

He Ying's eyes reddened, and she nodded blankly.

My heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally settled down.

Be careful on your way home.

...

Zhang Yong experienced a very turbulent night in the imperial prison.

Assassins, poisons, and poisoned wine appear one after another.

Zhang Yong neither ate nor drank.

Sit still as a bell.

Until a sneer came from outside the cell.

"Eunuch Zhang really has great self-control." Qian Ning pinched her chin through the prison bars, a half-smile on her face.

Zhang Yong opened his eyes: "Did Liu Jin send you to kill me?"

Qian Ning handed the wine jar and roast chicken she was carrying through the cell bars and sat down on the floor.

"I've come to see you off."

Before execution, death row inmates in the imperial court would be given a sumptuous meal.

Zhang Yong accepted the wine jar and roast chicken without any hesitation.

The cell smelled awful, but the hunger in my stomach was undeniable.

The two men raised their jars to signal each other to drink and eat meat.

Qian Ning found it somewhat amusing, "Aren't you afraid I'll poison you?"

Zhang Yong glanced at him and said, "I admit it."

Qian Ning clasped her hands in a fist and said, "I admire you!"

Before they had finished the first jar of wine, another group of people arrived; it was Zhang Zhong from the internal affairs factory.

Zhang Zhong has now become the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Workshop.

He sternly dismissed Qian Ning, saying, "Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to linger."

He didn't speak to Zhang Yong, but simply found a chair and sat down outside the cell.

Currently, the internal affairs factory is nominally under the management of Liu Jin.

He couldn't tell whether Zhang Zhong was an enemy or a friend.

It wasn't until dawn that Meng Yue came to deliver an imperial edict, and Zhang Yong was finally released.

The air outside the cell was cold and fresh.

It was completely different from the foul and filthy smell inside the prison.

Zhang Yong squinted and looked up at the azure sky.

He will remember this moment forever.

...

Wen Shuyi finally caught up with Gu Ziyu in the outer study.

"My husband..." she called out timidly, mustering her courage.

Gu Ziyu was changing clothes when she was surprised to see her suddenly come in. She quickly pulled her clothes up and frowned.

"What's up?"

Wen Shuyi's heart tightened, and she felt a sharp pain.

The woman who once shared my bed, I now treat like a thief.

Is there something you're unhappy about with me?

Wen Shuyi forced herself to stay calm and asked in a low voice.

With her father imprisoned and the Wen family in dire straits, she dared not be arrogant anymore and adopted a very humble attitude.

Gu Ziyu looked at her with a distant yet scrutinizing gaze.

For more than a year, he was traveling around, and Wen Shuyi did not send him a single word.

She has never bought any clothes or shoes.

Fortunately, his mother helped him take care of things, so he managed to get by with these trivial matters.

He once walked towards the inner courtyard.

Just through the door, I could hear Wen Shuyi arguing with her maid.

"Don't do needlework for him, just pretend he died out there."

The maid couldn't help but advise, "Second Madam, how can you say that? Second Master will be heartbroken if he hears it."

Wen Shuyi said coldly, "He won't. He doesn't care what I say; he only thinks about the person in his heart."

Gu Ziyu's feet felt like they were filled with lead, so heavy that he couldn't take a single step.

No matter how hard two people try, they will grow increasingly heartbroken if they don't love each other.

He left quietly.

He no longer tries to play the role of a gentle and considerate husband.

For more than a year, he has been traveling all over the country.

He followed Lu Xingjian to Yansui and handled matters concerning the imperial clan in Shanxi, keeping him extremely busy.

When he saw Su Wanwan travel thousands of miles to Yansui to find Lu Xingjian, his envy and jealousy instantly reached their peak.

He also hoped that someone would rush towards him without any regard for the consequences.

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