Gu Pingsheng's hands trembled, but he finally calmed down.
Yes, he couldn't fall. His family had always protected him; now it was his turn to stand up. But being an inexperienced young man, he ultimately panicked.
The noise around me continued, and Qiaoniang had already given the instructions.
They sent people to the Lu family to gather information and inquire about Lu Zhao'an's current situation; they also sent people to the Princess's residence to report on Gu Yaoniang's current predicament and inquire about the current state of the Gu family's master and mistress; and they also sent people to report to the authorities. Whether it was useful or not, it was all just a formality.
All that remains is to wait.
The Gu family seemed to be stuck in a stagnant pool. At night, Gu Xingzhi finally woke up again.
Qiao Niang and Gu Pingsheng rushed to his side. He didn't see Gu Yao Niang and couldn't help but feel strange. He asked, "Where is Yao Niang?"
Gu Pingsheng hesitated, unsure whether to tell Gu Xingzhi that Gu Yaoniang was also in critical condition. Qiaoniang, however, said casually, "She's been busy all day. I saw she was almost asleep while watching over you, so I sent her to sleep. I'll have someone go and wake her up."
As she spoke, she made a move to leave, but her eyes remained fixed on Gu Xingzhi. Sure enough, Gu Xingzhi stopped her: "The children are asleep, why are you calling her? Where is my elder brother? Have you sent someone to inquire about him?"
"Don't worry, we've already sent people over. We'll have news tomorrow. Take good care of yourself, and don't let your older brother see you like this and worry about you."
Gu Xingzhi chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Who would have thought I'd collapse over a bowl of noodles?"
Qiaoniang gave him a playful, reproachful look: "Are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Xingzhi moved his arm and smiled, "I don't think there's anything seriously wrong."
He turned his head and looked around, but suddenly realized there was no doctor in the room, which seemed strange. He straightened his expression and asked, "Has something happened at home?"
Qiao Niang wanted to say more, but Gu Xingzhi looked at Gu Pingsheng beside her and said, "You go ahead."
Gu Pingsheng was torn between two conflicting emotions. He never lied. But the doctor had said today that his second uncle couldn't take any more stress. His uncle's health had already been severely damaged, and he could only recover slowly. Today, the shock of his parents' situation had caused him to faint, and he was already at his limit. If he knew that his sister had also collapsed, things would truly be bad.
-
Gu Yaoniang felt a chill run through her body, as if she had returned to her childhood. In her half-dream state, she seemed to see again in the small courtyard of the Gu family in Qingyun County, where her mother made sweet osmanthus cakes, shaped them into rabbits, and let her hold them and eat them slowly.
She carefully nibbled on the osmanthus-flavored sweet cake in her hand, and when she looked up again, she saw her mother, who was heavily pregnant, asking her whether she preferred a younger brother or sister.
However, she saw her mother slip and fall straight backward. A large hole had appeared in the courtyard of the Gu family, which was originally paved with bluestone slabs, leading to a bottomless black abyss. Her mother's body plummeted into that dark void.
The father rushed from afar, but failed to catch even a thread of the mother's clothing. The second uncle, who arrived shortly after, jumped down without hesitation.
She heard her second uncle call out to her father, "Big brother! Remember to take the children to see your sister!"
His older sister, Gu Yaoniang's aunt, Gu Huiniang.
Gu Yaoniang was clearly standing still, but she found that the bottomless darkness in the black hole was spreading up and engulfing her, making her breath quicken. She closed her eyes in fear.
Finally, Gu Yaoniang opened her eyes again.
The candlelight flickered, but Gu Yaoniang found it somewhat dazzling. She opened her eyes, then closed them again. Bitao, who was guarding the bedside, exclaimed with delight, "My lady, you're awake!"
Gu Yaoniang's face was still somewhat pale, but her lips were no longer bluish-purple. Bitao breathed a sigh of relief: "Is my wife still feeling unwell?"
Gu Yaoniang shook her head: "I'm just very tired."
Hearing the commotion inside, Bizhu and Bishuang came in as well. Bishuang was holding a small bowl in her hand. "Isn't my wife tired? If you encounter any bad people in the future, can't you just hide behind me? I am here to be your shield. If something really happens to you, I'm afraid I will never have peace for the rest of my life."
Gu Yaoniang curled her lips and said nonchalantly, "Isn't everything alright?"
She tried to sit up and take the medicine bowl, but the movement aggravated her wound, causing her to wince in pain.
Bizhu bent down and picked up Gu Yaoniang, then placed two soft pillows behind her so that Gu Yaoniang could lean against them before letting go.
Gu Yaoniang frowned: "Why didn't I feel this much pain back then?"
"You're right! There was poison on the knife today, and when I cleaned your wound, I cut open some flesh. It must hurt, right? Just lie down and relax. My dear, thank goodness you fainted! Doctor Song's touch really hurt. But he said he forced all the poison out of you, so we don't need to bother looking for an antidote. But you still need to be careful with this wound. I've also prepared some ointment for you to take good care of it, and we'll try our best to prevent scarring."
Gu Yaoniang scolded her, "Why are you so long-winded? So what if there's a scar?"
Before she became dizzy and lost consciousness, she sensed something was wrong, realizing that finding the antidote would be quite a challenge. She didn't know the other party's identity or why they had attacked; how could she possibly find it?
There's no need to find an antidote; just treat it like a normal external injury and let it heal, and it'll be much better. As for scarring... that's not something she wants to worry about right now.
This Doctor Song is quite capable. Thinking of this, Gu Yaoniang frowned again: "How is Boss Lu?"
"He's fine. Qiaogu sent someone to look for him as soon as you got home. Don't worry."
Upon receiving the news, Qiao Niang and Gu Pingsheng saw that Gu Xingzhi had rested, and then hurriedly went to Gu Yao Niang's side.
Qiaoniang sat down on the edge of the bed: "I didn't dare tell your second uncle. I came over after he had rested."
Gu Yaoniang smiled and said, "It's alright."
Gu Pingsheng's eyes reddened, and the tears he had been holding back for so long finally broke out: "Sister!"
Gu Yaoniang was startled: "What's wrong?"
She looked at Qiaoniang questioningly. Qiaoniang's face was full of difficulty, and she was also caught in a dilemma, not knowing whether she should tell Gu Yaoniang about the changes that had happened today.
One thing after another has happened today. Is Gu Yaoniang's body still able to handle it?
Seeing that Qiaoniang remained silent, and Gu Pingsheng also kept quiet, Gu Yaoniang straightened her face and said, "Just say what you have to say. You know my temperament. If you really care about me, then don't make me guess! If you keep it from me, I'll be guessing every day, which will only harm my health!"
Qiao Niang sighed, and Gu Pingsheng, sobbing, recounted in detail what he had heard that day about his parents being escorted into the country, his mother seeming unwell, and his second uncle fainting again.
Gu Yaoniang couldn't help but recall the scene she had vaguely seen while she was unconscious—her mother and second uncle had fallen into that bottomless black mist...
My heart was pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of my chest.
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