Sedatives
On that day, after three days of heavy snow, the charcoal fire in the brazier was burning brightly. Gu Youan, wearing a pink jacket, sat on the couch, holding a hand warmer in one hand and a letter in the other.
Gu Youan chuckled softly. She gently placed the letter over the candle flame, and the flame instantly engulfed the letter, the flickering light reflecting in her eyes.
Ye Qingchen stepped forward and asked, "Are you going?"
"Go, why not go?" Sheng Jingche has come to Biancheng and made no move on the contract, so why is he inviting her to a gathering at a temple in the western suburbs today?
"Miss, what about Young Master Xie?"
Gu Youan's eyes flickered, her pupils tightening. "I'm not her prisoner, there's no need to hide it from him."
“But Miss…” Ye Qingchen asked hesitantly.
Gu Youan knew his considerations: "This is Dayong, not Shengguo. He wouldn't dare to harm me."
The handwriting on the letter felt strangely familiar to her, as if she had seen it countless times before. The ink was still wet, and the strokes were powerful. Through the letter, she could sense the writer's presence.
She paused, then said, "I want to see what Sheng Jingche is up to."
A man from afar, in a prosperous country, is asking to marry a woman raised in seclusion. He wants to take a good look at the person Xie Daoqing fears.
She propped herself up and looked up at him. "You don't need to come with me today. If he sees your face, he will definitely recognize you. The situation in Dayong and Shengguo is still unclear. I can go alone."
Sheng Jingche's gaze lingered on the two of them that day. He must know them and know that they are together. However, Ye Qingchen was not mentioned in today's letter. The three of them are definitely not friends.
Ye Qingchen gently combed Gu Youan's hair with a comb. He picked up a hairpin from the dressing table, but Gu Youan shook her head: "Use the Five-Colored Phoenix Hairpin."
Ye Qingchen held up the hairpin on her head and said, "Isn't it too flashy?"
The mirror reflected a pale face. She had been busy these past few days and looked haggard. Touching her face, she smiled and said, "I should dress up nicely when I meet guests."
Sheng Jingche was dressed like a peacock, and she couldn't let herself be outshone by him.
Ye Qingchen was very skillful. Gu Youan touched the braid on her head and asked, "Did you braid the Princess's hair before?"
Ye Qingchen paused for a moment: "The Princess is of noble birth, I only braid hair for Miss."
Gu Youan's gaze darkened. It was probably her experiences in the Princess's mansion during those years that caused Ye Qingchen to turn evil in the original book. Seducing Gu Youan was a social death for a young lady. In some ancient books, if a woman's hand was touched by a man from another family, her hand would be cut off. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but touch her wrist. It hurt too much. How strict must the etiquette be and how cruel must one's heart be to cut off one's own wrist?
Gu Youan smiled slightly: "If anyone finds out you're a man, you should get castrated."
Ye Qingchen's face stiffened in the bronze mirror. "Alright, I won't tarnish Miss's reputation."
Gu Youan's eyes flickered. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
She stood up and looked at Ye Qingchen's face. "For the sake of the Princess, you'd agree to anything."
They sat around a stove, brewing tea, the boiling water hissing in the kettle, facing each other.
Sheng Jingche looked at him arrogantly: "I heard you've lost your previous memories. May I take your pulse?"
Gu Youan tilted her head and looked at him, saying, "I didn't even know that Young Master Sheng was a charlatan?"
Sheng Jingche held a teacup in one hand, looked up at him, and said, "I am your old friend, and also your former lover."
Gu Youan's lips twitched, and she almost spat out a mouthful of tea. "There's no love in your eyes, how could you possibly be my old friend?"
Sheng Jingche placed his hands on the table and leaned down to look at her: "It's been several years since we last met, and I never knew you had changed so much."
Sheng Jingche reached out his right hand and stroked her face. Gu Youan tilted her head and said, "Young Master Sheng, please have some self-respect. I am Xie Daoqing's fiancée."
He smiled, his eyes dimming: "I heard you've been inquiring about the whereabouts of the Emperor's Name. I've already asked the Emperor of Dayong for your hand in marriage. If you come with me to Sheng Kingdom, I'll answer your questions."
Gu Youan raised her head slightly, "I am engaged to the Xie family, and the Xie family will give me half of their family business. This business will become my private property. Does Young Marquis Sheng think that he can make me obediently go with you with just an imperial decree?"
Sheng Jingche grabbed Gu Youan's chin, forcing her to look up at him. "When did you become a money-grubber?"
Gu Youan glared at him and slapped him on the right cheek. "Please have some self-respect, young marquis. You don't care about your reputation, but I do."
Sheng Jingche touched his face. "Still as fierce as ever, just like before. There's only one face in the world like this. You'd be heartbroken if you damaged it."
Gu Youan stood up and poured the tea over his head, the tea seeping into his collar. Sheng Jingche's eyelashes fluttered, and she grabbed Gu Youan's hand, knocking the teacup away. "What are you doing, Gu Youan? It's winter! Are you trying to freeze me to death or scald me to death?!"
Gu Youan looked at her with a resolute gaze, ignoring Sheng Jingche's anger, "I'll make you snap out of it."
Gu Youan sat down in the chair and tossed a wad of banknotes at him. "I want to know the truth?"
Sheng Jingche sat lazily in his seat, chuckling softly, "As long as you come with me, you'll know everything."
Gu Youan turned her head, and outside the window, snowflakes fell like goose feathers. "Why do you want to marry me?"
Ye Qingchen's eyes held loyalty, Xie Daoqing's eyes held obsession, and Gu Changming's eyes held ambition, but the person before him only had scheming in his eyes.
"I'm an orphan with nothing, why do you insist on marrying me?"
Sheng Jingche smiled and said, "You want to leave Biancheng and the Xie family, and I can take you away. Why don't you marry me and go to Sheng Kingdom?"
Gu Youan said, "Da Yong and Sheng Guo are about to go to war. A woman will only become a sacrifice for both countries. If you really love me, you shouldn't ask to marry me, putting me in a difficult position between the two countries."
Gu Youan dropped the tea into the charcoal fire, and white smoke quickly rose from it. "I am like this cup of water. When the war breaks out, I can only die."
The Sheng Kingdom is ambitious and has been trying to annex the Dayong Kingdom for many years. Emperor Zhaoyuan is ruthless but also a good emperor. Gu Changming is ambitious but also an honest and upright minister. Xie Daoqing is cunning and only wants to stabilize the court.
"You are a citizen of Shengguo, and I cannot betray my country."
"The nation?" Sheng Jingche was furious. She placed her hands on Gu Youan's shoulders. "Let's talk about the nation and our stance after you regain your memories."
He suddenly grabbed Gu Youan's wrist, placed his fingers on it, his face calm but his heart trembling. "Your heart meridian is damaged, Youan. Come with me to Sheng Kingdom. I will heal you and help you find your lost memories."
Gu Youan withdrew her hand. "Young Master Sheng, you shouldn't have taken the initiative to ask me to marry you."
Li Yi is cold-hearted and suspicious. Gu Youan is Gu Changming's younger sister and Xie Daoqing's fiancée. Sheng Jingche's proposal to Gu Youan will inevitably make Li Yi suspicious of the two of them. How could a young lady from a secluded family be proposed to by the dashing young marquis of Sheng Kingdom?
"With just one marriage proposal, you've alienated the Gu and Xie families from His Majesty. Sheng Jingche, do you dare say you have no selfish motives?"
The charcoal fire inside was burning brightly when Gu Youan suddenly grabbed Sheng Jingche's clothes: "You poisoned him?"
Sheng Jingche smiled and said, "Poisoning? I wouldn't stoop to such a tactic. We've been tricked. Who else knows you went out today?"
He felt a wave of dizziness, and with a waving hand, he knocked over the charcoal brazier. Sparks flew everywhere, and the flames instantly engulfed the curtains beside him. She looked at the raging fire and shoved Sheng Jingche away, saying, "Are you crazy?"
Gu Youan pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it hard into her arm. In a moment of clarity, she dragged Sheng Jingche and pushed open the door. She couldn't die here today.
Ye Qingchen, who rushed over in a panic, helped her up: "Miss."
Gu Youan pinched her arm and leaned half her body against Ye Qingchen: "Someone is plotting against us and trying to get me out of here."
After saying that, she kicked Sheng Jingche next to her, "Let's go quickly."
Sheng Jingche's identity is sensitive, and according to the novel's setting, someone will come to catch them in the act soon, so Gu Youan must leave here quickly.
Ye Qingchen picked up Gu Youan, who wrapped her arms around his neck. The temple was thrown into chaos, and Ye Qingchen and Gu Youan took advantage of the confusion to run away.
Gu Youan tugged at Ye Qingchen's clothes, "Don't go back to the Xie family, go somewhere else."
She still doesn't know who did it, or whether Xie Daoqing was involved.
Ye Qingchen led her to a room and gently placed Gu Youan on the bed. Gu Youan clung to his neck, revealing a small section of her wrist. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were filled with seductive charm. Ye Qingchen turned his head away, and Gu Youan pressed her hand against his neck and bit him.
He was slightly surprised: "Miss!"
Blood flowed into Gu Youan's mouth. After a while, her arm gently slid down, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Ye Qingchen wiped the blood off her neck and smiled slightly as he touched his own neck.
He held Gu Youan's hand and channeled his inner energy into her, causing a thin mist to rise on her forehead.
The door was suddenly kicked open, and the Xie family's guards surrounded the courtyard. Gu Youan slightly opened her eyes, propped herself up to look at him, and then suddenly fainted again.
Xie Daoqing stared at the teeth marks on Ye Qingchen's neck with a dark and unfathomable look in his eyes. Ye Qingchen also noticed his gaze and unconsciously touched his neck.
He slowly pushed the wheelchair forward, touching Gu Youan's face with his right hand, "You can leave now, I'll take care of things here."
“Young Master…” Ye Qingchen looked at Xie Daoqing with some hesitation.
Xie Daoqing slapped him on the shoulder. "I agree that you should stay by her side to protect her, not to put her in danger, Ye Qingchen."
Upon hearing the name Ye Qingchen, Ye Qingchen paused for a moment, then lowered his head. "Please take good care of her."
In the silence, Xie Daoqing pried open her mouth and fed her a small pill.
"How can I protect you?" Before him was Sheng Jingche of Jiannan, and after him was Ye Qingchen. If it weren't for the marriage contract and the Xie family's business, Gu Youan could never have become her fiancée. He touched his eyes. If he were completely blind, would Gu Youan feel sorry for him and stay by his side?
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