Recover
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, during the Lantern Festival, the Xie family's house was haunted.
Xie Wanqing, the third young lady of the Xie family, ran out of the backyard in a daze, while the nanny who had served her for many years comforted her repeatedly.
The third young lady of the Xie family fell into a pond and injured her head in her early years, and has been mentally unstable ever since.
The servants of the Xie family surrounded Gu Youan, the torchlight reflecting off his face. The Xie family's large red lanterns were exquisitely made, but the red light made the Xie family look like the underworld.
Gu Youan hugged her arms, and Xie Daoqing considerately draped the cloak over her shoulders.
"Please excuse my foolishness tonight. My third sister has become mentally impaired ever since she kowtowed."
She took a few steps closer and then heard what Xie Wanqing was saying. Xie Wanqing was Xie Daoqing's half-sister. Xie's parents were sent to Liangzhou, and after the death of the old master Xie, only Xie Wanqing and Xie Daoqing lived in this huge Xie family.
Xie Wanqing was mentally challenged, so Xie Daoqing raised her alone in the backyard.
She took two steps back, turned around and looked at Xie Daoqing and Xie Wanqing. Xie Daoqing looked at Xie Wanqing with pity and guilt in his eyes, but why did he leave her alone in the backyard, with only an old nanny to take care of her?
Xie Daoqing was not disabled at all, but he pretended to be disabled by using his own affairs.
Her hand rested on his wheelchair. "It's chilly at night, and your leg ailment hasn't healed yet. Go back."
Xie Daoqing grasped her hand in return, "Let's go back."
Both of them harbored ulterior motives. After returning to Moshu Courtyard, Gu Youan looked into Xie Daoqing's eyes and paused, "You wanted me to see all of this tonight, didn't you?"
"Now that you've come to the Xie family, there will be even more ghost stories to come."
Gu Youan stroked his chin. "There are no ghosts in the world. Someone wants to make your Xie family's life uneasy."
Gu Youan suddenly remembered what Tianji had said: the eldest branch of the Xie family only had Xie Daoqing and Xie Wanqing. The eldest couple of the Xie family lived in Liangzhou all year round. If Gu Youan had drowned Xie Daoqing in the pond that day, then the Xie family's assets in Biancheng would have belonged to the collateral branch of the Xie family.
"I only found out about our engagement after I woke up. Did you also find out about the engagement afterward?"
Xie Daoqing nodded. "I thought you were sent by a collateral branch of the Xie family, but I didn't expect you to be a young lady from the Gu family."
"Then why didn't you resist?"
Xie Daoqing twirled the ring on his finger. “Everyone says my parents were sent to Liangzhou to serve as local officials, but how can parents not return home for so long? I suspect they have been murdered.”
Gu Youan stumbled, grabbing the table behind her for support. "Why are you telling me so much? Aren't you afraid I'll report you?"
Xie Daoqing looked up at her and said, "Your friend is missing. We're in the same boat."
Gu Youan pursed her lips, "Who said we're on the same boat as you?"
Xie Daoqing took out a gold medal, on which were clearly engraved the words "Jiannan".
Gu Youan snatched it away, "Where is he?"
"I want your Emperor's spies to go to Liangzhou to investigate the truth?"
Gu Youan sat on the desk, swinging her legs.
"What does the infighting among the various branches of your Xie family have to do with our Emperor's Ship? What if something happens to our people when they go to Liangzhou?"
The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered on her face, and the moonlight from the window reflected on Xie Daoqing's face, making Gu Youan feel a chill.
"The Xuanjia Army is currently hunting down my people, and our people are already in hiding. It's impossible for us to find people for you."
Xie Daoqing took out a land deed, "You people from the Emperor's Company have nowhere to go now. I have a hidden place here where you can stay."
Gu Youan sneered, "We could never be allies when you and Gu Changming were chasing the three of us at the Gu family's residence that day."
Xie Daoqing smiled. "But you also caused my subordinate to lose an ear."
Gu Youan suddenly spoke sharply, "So what if I lost an ear? My fellow disciples almost died. If they had been caught that day, their fate would have been the same as Jiannan's."
She suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Xie Daoqing by the neck, saying, "I won't help you."
After a long pause, she calmed down. "Let me see him, and don't torture him." Gu Youan took a deep breath. She couldn't believe the person in front of her was telling the truth, but she didn't dare to gamble, didn't dare to take Jian Nan's life.
"I need to see him before I agree to your proposal."
Xie Daoqing looked at her coldly, "Miss Gu really cares about Young Master Jing's life. Miss Gu should go and persuade him. Young Master Jing is too tight-lipped."
Gu Youan glared at him. "Everyone on the Emperor's Ship can endure all the cruel tortures. Of course you can't pry her open her mouth, but if you hurt her, I will make sure your parents, whose fate is unknown, die in Liangzhou."
Xie Daoqing threw two pebbles at Gu Youan, who flipped over and jumped off the desk. Even without her internal energy, she could still fight Xie Daoqing in close combat.
The two fought in the study, and Gu Youan was quickly defeated. She squatted on the ground, panting, and tears fell to the ground.
Xie Daoqing handed over a handkerchief, "I only want to make you sad, but now is not the time to talk back to me. You are no longer the highly skilled martial artist you used to be."
Gu Youan pushed his hand away, "Don't pretend here, Xie Daoqing. If it weren't for you, how could I have lost all my martial arts skills?"
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she swallowed the rest of her tears, her throat tightening and a breath caught in her throat.
Xie Daoqing grabbed Gu Youan's arm, "I'll take you to see him now."
She pried his fingers apart one by one. "He's not important to me, but he is important to you. Please trust me one more time. I'll take you to see her."
Xie Daoqing pushed the wheelchair to the bookshelf and gently moved the books. The bookshelf moved, revealing a hidden door behind it. She gently pulled the rope next to her, and the door opened. She stood there motionless, hesitant to take that step.
Xie Daoqing came to her side and said, "Now that you're here at the Xie family, stop being wary of me. As long as you're my fiancée, I will definitely protect you."
"Protect me? You're the one who dragged me into this abyss!" Gu Youan looked at him speechlessly. She walked deeper into the secret room. The dripping sound of water continued for a long time. Gu Youan pushed Xie Daoqing and held a dagger in front of him. "If you lied to me, I will definitely kill you."
Xie Daoqing smiled gently, "I really don't know whose temperament you took after."
Gu Youan sneered, "My personality is none of your business, Xie Daoqing. I'm not Gu Changming."
“Miss Gu, Young Master Gu is thinking of you. If your martial arts skills from the Emperor's Army are not crippled, how will the Xuanjia Army let you go?”
The dagger in her hand drew closer. "This is none of your business, Xie Daoqing. If you hadn't appeared in the Zhao family, none of this would have happened."
Xie Daoqing touched the bloodstains on his neck. "Miss Gu, be careful, swords and knives have no eyes, you might hurt yourself."
He grabbed Gu Youan's wrist and twisted it, causing the dagger to fall to the ground.
She clutched her dislocated wrist, her teeth chattering slightly from the pain.
Xie Daoqing gave her a cold look. "I am not someone you can threaten." He threw down a medicine bottle. "Apply it to your wrist and it will slowly recover. If you continue to be so arrogant, I will cripple more than just your wrist."
She gripped her wrist and twisted it hard, wincing in pain. "I'm not someone who gives in easily."
A lamp went out, and beneath it was a bed, on which lay a person.
Her eyes lit up. Jiannan lay calmly on the bed. She rushed over and looked closer, only to realize how strange it all was. A person lying in such a secluded room would drive even the most powerful person crazy.
Gu Youan gently stroked his face. After several months apart, Jiannan had become so haggard.
She turned to look at Xie Daoqing, "Why did he faint? What did you do to him?"
Xie Daoqing sighed, "Miss Gu, we are on the same path, please don't harbor such great malice towards me."
She pulled open Jiannan's clothes and carefully examined the wounds on his body!
A hint of surprise flashed across Xie Daoqing's face. How could this woman have no sense of propriety between men and women? He suddenly recalled her previous behavior and felt that the person in front of him was quite bold. But it was precisely this kind of woman who could suppress the demons and monsters in the inner quarters.
Jiannan had no injuries, yet he remained unconscious. Gu Youan could only think of one possible outcome.
She knelt down in front of Xie Daoqing, "I knew you had a way to save him. I beg you, if you can save him, I will activate the secret agents of Liangzhou to save you."
Xie Daoqing grabbed her by the neck, forcing her to raise her head. "He's really important to you, Miss Gu. You didn't give in when you drank the dispelling powder, but now you're giving in for Young Master Jing?"
Gu Youan stubbornly shook her head, "It's all my fault, I beg you to save him."
A ruthless glint appeared in Xie Daoqing's eyes. He released his grip, and Gu Youan fell to the ground. "He has been staying here to recover from his injuries. If I really wanted to kill him, he would be dead long ago. Gu Youan, as long as you obediently find someone, I will definitely save him."
For years they fought side by side, Jiannan had always been her best support, but now he lay here peacefully, without a trace of life.
Gu Youan was momentarily distracted and didn't even notice the layout of the place. It was dark and damp, and it was the dead of winter, which would be unbearable for an ordinary person, let alone a patient.
"I beg you to let me take him away from here. He's a patient and can't stay here alone."
Xie Daoqing nodded after a moment of silence, and Gu Youan smiled.
She strode out to find a stretcher to carry Jiannan out.
Xie Daoqing grabbed his hand, "You like him that much?"
Gu Youan looked down at him and said, "How could someone like you understand the bond between us? We're partners who've been through thick and thin together."
"Do you know that his true identity is a member of the Sheng family?"
Gu Youan paused for a moment, then said, "So what? No matter who he is, he's my partner. Since we made a deal, don't ask me why I saved him."
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