Prince Xuanping's Mansion
"I……"
As soon as Xu opened her mouth, she choked up. The sunlight outside the window changed, gradually moving away from her legs, and she was completely immersed in the shadows.
She closed her eyes, and from the initial ruthlessness she took here to genuine affection, she didn't really understand what emotions were, and kept trying to imitate others to show that she was the same as them.
She has always felt that way.
But why did she feel so distressed when she tried to speak? "Three years ago, Lu Kou, the niece of the Prince of Xuanping, passed away. Do you remember, Father?"
"Um."
“She didn’t actually die. She was the woman who jumped off the pleasure boat two years ago. She truly died when she returned home with Zhixu.” She lowered her head and said slowly.
“Father, besides Sui Zhixu, Lu Kou also woke up from the frozen lake. Lu Kou remembers nothing, including the person who has been in the Taoist temple for eighteen years.”
Cong Lan was a little confused. "What?"
At the same time, he also had a bold guess in his mind.
She said, "It's amazing, but Yueling says we are one person. This is what she calls the great tribulation at eighteen."
She slowly recounted her experience, from waking up in the frozen lake with amnesia to confirming that she was Lu Kou.
Sui Zhixu licked his dry, cracked lips. There was no water in the room, and he was getting a little thirsty after talking for a while.
"So, you don't actually need to stop me."
Because I didn't choose him.
Sui Zhixu closed her eyes. "He was just saying goodbye to me."
Cong Lan sighed heavily, "Your mother and I always thought you were naive and inexperienced since living with Yueling at the Taoist temple, and we were afraid you would be deceived..."
It turns out that it was his own woman who was lying.
The palm of the hand is mottled with red spots, imprinted with jasmine patterns, and the fine white jade pendant has even developed faint cracks.
"Smack—"
The broken jade pendant fell sparsely from her bloodstained hands.
"I really want to..." Sui Zhixu slowly slipped off the chair, and Cong Lan caught her. She seemed as fragile as a thin piece of paper, floating lightly into his arms.
"If only I had just followed Zhixu's lead."
Her voice was very soft, as soft as a feather falling on the water, and Cong Lan felt as if she had been punched hard in the heart.
“Ah Xu…”
Sui Zhixu stumbled to her feet, seemingly oblivious to his words. Her shawl fell to his knees, the bright red shawl stained with vivid, glaring bloodstains.
The jade pendant fell to the ground with a crisp sound, and upon seeing this, her eyelashes trembled slightly.
"That's all there is to it." She smiled, ignoring Cong Lan behind her, and turned to leave.
Cong Lan slumped to the ground, knees bent and face up. He had spent half his life pursuing a career in government, all for the sake of his wife and children. How could things have come to this?
His upturned, almond-shaped eyes were incredibly sharp, and his laughter was chilling.
Fan Lingzhang stood serenely beneath the withered tree, his jasmine-yellow robes fluttering in the wind, as if he were still the dashing and unrestrained owner of Yunlai Tower.
"Little Hibiscus, come here, my hand is injured."
Dan Hong was about to step forward when Zhen Jiao stopped her from behind and shook his head at her from the shadows.
He walked towards her step by step, his brow furrowed with worry. "How did you get hurt?"
His gaze fell precisely on the lone half of the jade pendant.
Sui Zhixu tilted his head and asked, "Could you carve another one for me?"
"This time I want hibiscus."
He paused briefly, then gave a helpless smile. "Whatever you want is fine, let's bandage your hand first."
The two walked side by side, exchanging a few words. Fan Lingzhang didn't ask any questions, and she didn't answer either. She simply took his hand with a handkerchief, as if nothing had happened.
"Is Yue Nu pregnant?" His tone rose at the end, his words carrying a hint of uncertainty.
He walked backwards, hopping and skipping in front of Sui Zhixu. She responded good-naturedly, waiting for him to continue.
“She was lying at my feet this morning, and I was telling her not to go out to look for Daju when I unexpectedly discovered that her belly was round and big. Speaking of which, before I left, I asked Afu to go to Mother. Mother has experience with this. If it weren't for Mother three years ago, the two of us would have really thought that Yuenu was fattened up by us.”
His narrow phoenix eyes revealed a sense of longing, and his eyebrows curved into a smile, which even Xu, who did not have that memory, was moved by.
Can't catch the big orange?
Speaking of this, Fan Lingzhang gets angry. "I sent Alu to catch him, but he outsmarted Alu completely. He's even more cunning than a rabbit with multiple burrows. Otherwise, I really would have turned him into a eunuch cat."
“That might not work. Eunuchs who have just been castrated in the palace often have fevers, and some of the weak ones can’t withstand it and have to leave. Cats are fragile, so I’m afraid they can’t take it even more.” Sui Zhixu shook his head slightly.
"I can only think about it now." Fan Lingzhang looked slightly regretful, his gaze fixed intently on Sui Zhixu.
His eyes were filled with endless tenderness and affection. When they returned to Jianjia Pavilion, he pulled her to sit on the stone bench in the courtyard and carefully bandaged her wounds.
"Back when we first got married, I pulled you to bandage my wounds."
"Yeah?"
"You have a quiet personality and always like to stay in the greenhouse, sitting there all day. I used to think you didn't want to talk to me, so I deliberately went up to you and begged you to bandage my wound. It wasn't a big wound, and you asked me if it even needed bandaging?"
Upon careful consideration, he felt there was more to the story than met the eye. She disliked talking to people, preferred flowers and plants, and thought that being injured was nothing serious.
His hand stroked Sui Zhixu's ear, gently tucking the stray hairs behind her ear. "You're doing well now. You have your loving father and mother, and no one can bully you anymore."
As she looked into his eyes, she inexplicably placed her fingertip on the corner of his eye.
She thought, she seemed to understand, that the stars are faint and dim in the vast night sky.
Fate led her away and then back together, and the bond between them was both too deep and too shallow.
They looked into each other's eyes, and she said, "You always say that."
—
Xuanping Prince's Mansion
"I disagree! How can she have the face to come back after betraying her cousin? Besides, I don't believe that the tavern incident has nothing to do with her. Fan Lingzhang agreed at first, so why did he suddenly change his mind? It must be because she secretly plotted against me, causing me to lose all my money!"
Ye Taoyao slammed her hand on the table and stood up, firmly opposing Gu Qingyi's decision.
"Foolish! You clearly fell for her scheme from the start. Did you really think Fan Lingzhang was cooperating with you out of kindness?"
"Betrayal? What counts as betrayal? She's just a child. If a child is disobedient, she should be taken home instead of left to wander outside."
Gu Qingyi's voice was sharp, and she opened her eyes with disdain.
Ye Taoyao gritted her teeth: "Gu Qingyi! I don't agree."
"I don't need you. You can't do anything right. You've messed up the business in the underworld. It's one thing for those who try to pick up bargains to not be able to keep up, but you can't even keep your own business. You're such a stupid person. How did you manage to start your business with the king's money? Maybe you just got lucky and stumbled upon a dead mouse."
"You think you're so great? You pride yourself on being a master strategist, but in the end, you were driven to the brink by a few little girls and had no choice but to kill them."
Ye Taoyao's words stung Gu Qingyi, and the two remained locked in a stalemate, arguing so much that Sima Xian had a terrible headache.
Sima Xian: "Enough, stop arguing."
"You're just a female official at best," Ye Taoyao shouted as she rushed up to Shen Huaiyu, ignoring her attempts to stop her.
Gu Qingyi sneered, "Do you still think you're the eldest daughter of the Ye family?"
"Can't you hear me? Shut up!" Sima Xian rarely showed his anger and joy on his face.
The two shut up. Gu Qingyi smiled indifferently, her disdainful look once again enraging Ye Taoyao. She was about to burst into a tirade when Sima Xian stopped her with a look.
"Do you still think you're a teenager? What's the point of arguing?" Sima Xian rubbed his forehead. The two of them had been arguing endlessly, giving him a headache.
The system in my mind broadcasts news in various ways every day, as if speaking of the devil himself.
[System rebroadcast: The system has detected that the current fortune of the person with the highest luck, Sui Zhixu (Lu Kou), is yellow and cannot be taken away. The danger index is high! It is recommended that the host eliminate him! Otherwise, it will bring incalculable consequences. Please handle this matter as soon as possible.]
[The system has detected that the host's luck is yellow, meaning the luck value is not full. It is recommended that the host deplete their luck to replenish it. The system will provide real-time support. Note that the host's luck cannot fall below yellow; if it does, the system will no longer monitor it. The host is advised to pay attention to their luck. The system wishes you all the best.]
Sima Xian observed the three people in front of him out of the corner of his eye. Huaiyu kept trying to ease the tension between Gu Qingyi and Ye Taoyao and calm the atmosphere down so that they would stop being so arrogant.
Qingyi, who always had a cold face, now revealed the mockery in her eyes. She was not usually this impatient.
Tao Yao, who was standing to the side, was the most troublesome to him. When she was young, she could be described as lively and agile, but as she got older, her mind didn't improve at all.
Qingyi is right; she clearly fell for A-Ling's trick from the very beginning.
This time, it was thanks to Qingyi covering their retreat that even if they investigated, they could only trace it back to Xun Wang. Otherwise, with A Ling's luck, they might have been able to find him.
Sima Xiansi said, "In another month or two, it will be the New Year. During the New Year, the whole family should be together."
Ye Taoyao was immediately displeased, her eyes filled with absurdity, "Cousin!"
He remained unmoved. "After all these years, you should have made some progress by now."
"Qingyi is right. The child will eventually come home. You are her aunt, so why don't you want her to come back?"
Sima Xian stared at her, the pressure from his elder brother over the years rendering her speechless, "I..."
“The counterfeit needs to be dealt with, otherwise she will be unhappy.” Gu Qingyi was much happier to receive the affirmative reply, but she remembered that there was still an uninvited guest at the Prince’s mansion.
Sima Xian readily agreed, as they were essentially pawns delivered to his doorstep. "Now that Xi Lang has taken office, it's time for them to leave as well."
A look of understanding flashed in Gu Qingyi's eyes, and she said, "I will bring her back."
Seeing that they had resolved A-Ling's matter, Shen Huaiyu quickly took out a letter and handed it to Sima Xian, saying, "This was sent by Jiang Li."
He reached out and took the unusually thick stack of papers. In short, her nephew, Jiang Yun, had caused a lot of trouble in Miao territory. She only carried out her mission after dealing with the trouble, and it had been successfully completed.
In addition, she inquired about Lu Kou and promised to visit Chang'an at the end of the year, hoping that the trip to Chang'an would not disappoint her.
"I understand." After reading the letter, his face showed little expression, and Shen Huaiyu was at a loss for words.
"Qingyi, get started on it. As for you, stay home and don't go out for the time being. You're just as troublesome as Anniang."
After saying that, he turned around, leaving Ye Taoyao, who was furious, jumping up and down.
Gu Qingyi shrugged, slowly sketching out how to get the disobedient child home in her mind. With a general idea in mind, she left, beaming with joy.
Ye Taoyao left early, leaving only Shen Huaiyu looking around. She sat on the stone bench, muttering, "What kind of mess is this?"
"Princess Consort! The County Princess is in trouble again!"
Shen Huaiyu had barely sat down when a servant rushed to her. She frowned. What could possibly happen to Sima An at home? He was just making a scene again, refusing to learn manners.
Just as she was about to speak, the words came back to her: "Never mind, I'll go check on her."
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